Author's Notes: Happy Thanksgiving to my U.S. readers!

So…a warning. This is not a particularly happy chapter. I may be ducking objects, in fact.

Chapter Thirty-three: "Truth or Dare"

"This was Parker's idea." Nathan's blunt greeting to his father after he opened the door to his house was crafted from years of experience. There were no 'let's talk about our feelings and sing kumbaya' moments in the Wuornos household growing up. It didn't seem that at the age of thirty-four it was going to start.

"Hello to you, too." Garland shoved a cold six-pack into Nathan's hands—not that the younger man could feel it—but the condensation on the glass bottles was a dead giveaway.

Nathan grimaced slightly. This wasn't starting well. He had promised Audrey he would make an attempt to be civil and already he was not following through. "Sorry. Come in."

Garland walked inside; he had detected the smell of grilled food wafting through the house. Somewhere along the way, Nathan learned to cook. It was unexpectedly domestic. At least the table wasn't set. "Still looks like a bachelor's home."

"What did you expect in the last three days since you were here?"

"Nothing really. Audrey's not really the lace doilies kind of woman, now is she?"

Nathan eyed his father. The old man was baiting him; Nathan didn't bite. "Grilled some chicken. I know you like it better fried, but…"

"None of this is really about what I want."

And Nathan knew it wasn't about the food; it was about being railroaded into doing something he didn't want to do.

"Right. Because having this conversation with you is so much about what I want, too."

"Nope. It's about what Audrey wants."

Garland followed Nathan into the kitchen, watching the younger man pull plates from the cupboard and silverware from the drawer.

"Smells good," Garland commented. "I take it you've become quite a cook."

"When you only have four senses, you learn to make them count."

The men filled their plates and settled at the kitchen bar. A silence settled, interrupted only by the occasional clanking of a fork.

"Your mother was a good cook," Garland finally said in an attempt to make conversation.

"You have something you want to tell me?"

"I thought maybe you had something you wanted to tell me. You and Audrey are sleeping together, right? A man doesn't let a woman lead him around by the balls otherwise."

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "She's not leading me around by the balls."

"Would you've called me on your own?"

"No."

"Audrey has a way of pushing, getting things done. So how long have you two, uh, been…?"

Nathan thought about denying it, but he couldn't form the words. Maybe it was foolish, childishly defiant, but he wanted his father to know that for all the blustering the older man had done about how Nathan needed to avoid a romantic relationship with Parker, he had jumped in head first and had no intention of cooling things. "It's recent."

"Ohio?"

"Yes."

Garland wished he could be happy for his son. Under different circumstances, he would be. Audrey was smart, beautiful, caring—everything a man would hope his son would find in a woman. Of course, Audrey wasn't like any other woman.

Going to the orphanage and digging around—that must've been a shock. Briefly, Garland wondered what ran through their minds when they saw his name on Audrey's paperwork. Falsifying documents? It hadn't been the first time and likely wouldn't be the last. "You've had a dry spell."

"I am not talking about this with you," Nathan replied pointedly.

"She's the only one you can feel. You're thinking with your pecker, not your brain. That's a dangerous position."

"No, I'm not. It isn't casual between us."

"So you're saying you love her."

"It's none of your business, but yes."

"Because you can feel her."

"No, I love her because she's Audrey!"

The climate of the room reminded Nathan of a police interrogation, the questioning more akin to baiting as though his father was testing him to see if he would slip up.

Garland took a deep breath and regarded his son with sympathetic eyes. That was not something Nathan expected

"But she's not just Audrey. She's Lucy and every other version of the woman who came before her. Nathan, she's not the woman you meet, fall in love with, and marry. She's the woman who will haunt you, who will always be out of reach. You get what I'm saying? There is no happy ending for you and her."

"Why? Because there was no happy ending for you and Lucy?"

The first salvo was fired. He had been as patient with the older man as he could for Audrey's sake, but he was at his limit.

"Never thought there would be. I had that with your mother. Thought I would anyway."

"You really never slept with Lucy?" Nathan asked, disbelief tingeing his voice.

"No. Never even kissed her."

"Does it bother you to see Audrey with me?" It was a petty question.

"Of course it does. Not…not on a…a… personal level, but you're playing a game you know nothing about. Hell, for that matter, Audrey doesn't even know the rules, but she's going to learn them."

"And you figure you know them?"

"Only know the consequences, and I don't want that for you, son."

Nathan took a drink from his bottle of beer. "I met someone today."

"Who's that?"

"Max Hansen. You have anything you want to tell me about him? Because he sure seemed to know you and mom." Nathan watched his father's reaction closely, could see the weariness there and the flashes of emotion.

"Max Hansen had a history with your mother."

"So he was a friend of hers."

"That man's not a friend to anyone," Garland scoffed with disgust. "What did he say to you?"

"Enough to make me think you lied to me."

"He's a murderer and a thief, a violent son-of-a-bitch who…" Garland took a deep breath, willing himself to control his emotions. "Let's just say he has his own agenda."

"Doesn't everyone? But even liars tell the truth sometimes."

And there it was. Garland swallowed hard. Audrey told him he should tell Nathan everything, but how could he do it? There were some truths a child—no matter how old—should not be face. And Holly's death had been horrific. There was no way to tell Nathan the truth about his mom without revealing the whole truth. Nathan was smart. He would figure it out.

Garland scrubbed a hand over his grizzled face, the weight of world bearing down on him. Keep it together. Keep it together. The relationship was so tenuous between them; the truth would forever break the one bond Nathan thought they had. And yet how could he not do it? Max Hansen would only poison Nathan further, and that man had already done enough damage to last a lifetime.

"So what did I lie to you about? You being the little boy Lucy saved? Sure I did, and I'd do it all over again."

"Audrey talked to you. Gave you the heads up," Nathan realized. He thought having this confirmed would fill him with some sense of vindication, maybe coupled with indignation. Instead, he felt as numb on the inside as he did on the outside as his father's words sank in.

"I did it to protect you. No child should have to live with…"

"What? Being responsible for his mother's death?" Nathan spat out. "Somehow she traded her life for my own. Is that why you've hated me all these years?" And the numbness was replaced by fury, indignation, and hurt.

"That's what you think? That I hold you responsible? That I hate you? Dammit, Nathan, I know I've not been the most sensitive of dads, but I tried to be there for you. I know I'm not good …"

Nathan stood and began to pace, his pent-up anger needing some sort of release. "I was a little boy who couldn't feel anything after she died except like a freak, and you pretended I didn't exist! You were punishing me."

"I shoulda been a better father. I know that. But if you don't believe anything else I tell you, you have to believe that I never blamed you for your mother's death. I blamed myself."

"Why?" Nathan demanded.

"We argued. She thought I was having an affair with Lucy. Your mother was driving away with you. The road gave way. Cracks. She swerved to miss 'em and went over the embankment on Route 9. When I got word there had been an accident, I was beside myself. Couldn't find her. Couldn't find you. Divers found the car empty. She had pulled you out, and you weren't breathing. Hadn't been."

Nathan froze. "So what Max Hansen and Lady Cassandra said was true. The little boy died. I died."

"Lucy Ripley brought you back. Don't understand how. Not even sure she understood."

"And Mom?"

"I wasn't there. Eleanor Carr called it a dry drowning. That's about the extent of it." Garland took a deep breath. "I should've told you. I just couldn't see how it would benefit you to remember something so horrific."

"You're still not telling me everything," Nathan said flatly.

Garland lifted his eyes to meet Nathan's. "The cracks. That's my…that's my Trouble. So if there's anyone to blame for your mom's death, it's me."

"You're the one? You always said you didn't have a Trouble."

"I've been trying to hold it together for so long, to keep control, but sometimes my control slips."

"Like today. You were in a pissy mood over Max Hansen being back in town." Nathan shook his head. "Wish you would've said something. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out the source, and you knew that."

"I couldn't."

Nathan was about to ask why when the truth dawned on him. "Troubles run in families. Our Troubles—they aren't the same. Mom's family isn't Troubled." He watched the chief for a reaction, but the older man's blue eyes remained fixed. "Max Hansen, he squeezed my shoulder, testing me. He knew about my Trouble, knew who I was…You have something else you want to tell me?"

"You know." And the façade crumpled. The shaking in Garland Wuornos's voice was something Nathan had never heard. "You know that we aren't biologically related. Hansen was your mother's first husband. They married a couple of years out of high school."

Nathan took a step back, staggered almost. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"You were a kid. He was locked away. You were mine in every way that mattered."

"What happened between them?"

"He mistreated her. He mistreated his little boy. She left him; I helped her get back on her feet. We fell in love, and I loved—still love—her son. My son. You."

The mixture of music and the crowd gave the Gull an almost frenetic energy, which had to be good for Duke's bottom line. Audrey preferred a more sedate setting at the end of the day, she decided as she sat the bar with Julia Carr, both nursing drinks, though Julia's was non-alcoholic, and sharing a shrimp cocktail.

"It's either a brave—or foolish—woman who can tear herself away from her lover," Julia commented before popping a shrimp into her mouth.

"Nathan's with his dad right now." As it was, Audrey had nearly been late getting to the Gull. She hoped Nathan was faring better with dinner. Between their lovemaking, falling asleep, and desperately needing to shower, she didn't feel all that put together. Her hair, casually pulled up into a ponytail, was still damp from the shower spray, in fact, but her body felt both deliciously spent and craving Nathan all over again.

"I figured you two would be joined at the hip," Julia arched a brow, "or someplace else."

"Okay, you've got to stop."

"Why are you embarrassed? Sex is a part of life, a basic biological function. Really good sex, on the other hand, is not as easy to come by. Chemistry might be about pheromones, but even I can admit there's something almost magical about it."

"I'm just not a kiss-and-tell person," Audrey replied. "It's…private."

"Too bad. I so could live vicariously through you right now. In case you haven't noticed, the pickings in Haven are slim."

"They aren't that slim."

"Says the woman who is still on a high from coital bliss."

Audrey was about to protest Julia's teasing when she spotted a familiar figure. He stood out from the crowd, as ever. Maybe it was his solid frame accentuated by an immaculately fitted button-up shirt. Perhaps it was his eyes. Whatever it was, he moved with a combination of authority and just enough nonchalance that he perfected the art of appearing mysterious.

Brand.

Julia followed Audrey's line of sight and smiled when she saw Ephraim. "The pickings are looking better all the time," she murmured to Audrey while lifting her glass to him as his eyes fell on the two women.

Brand approached the bar, sidling up to the brunette. "Julia. Am I right?"

"Ephraim. It's good to see you."

"Likewise." He looked at Julia's companion. "Audrey. I did not anticipate your return from Ohio so quickly."

His eyes lingered on her. She was going to have to deal with him, both as Lucy's husband and as the potential culprit for what was happening around them. But tonight—tonight this was the last thing she wanted. "I got what I needed."

At that, Julia chortled slightly before trying to mask the sound as a clearing of her throat. "So, Ephraim, are you here alone tonight?"

"Yes, I thought I would soak up the local ambience."

"The house on the hill getting lonely?"

"Something like that." He glanced at Audrey, who narrowed her eyes, before he turned his attention back to the slender brunette.

"I'm sure we can find a solution for that," Julia replied suggestively.

"Surely Mr. Brand won't be alone for too long. Last time we ran into you here, weren't you seeing someone?"

"A mild flirtation. And please, it's Ephraim. Mr. Brand was my father."

At that, Audrey rolled her eyes. He was certainly laying it on thick for Julia's benefit.

"I was hoping to encounter you, Julia," he said smoothly.

"Oh?"

"To inquire if you would be free for dinner—on another evening of your choosing, of course."

"That depends."

"On what stipulation?"

"The body count." At Ephraim's perplexed look, she added, "Poor coroner's humor. Yes, I would enjoy that very much. Hopefully, the…issues…in town won't interfere." Her phone began to ring. "Speaking of interference, what timing. I'm on call doing a favor for an OB-Gyn friend of mine who had an emergency appendectomy. I have to take this."

"By all means."

Julia took her phone and moved out to the deck, leaving Audrey and Brand alone.

"What the hell are you doing?" Audrey demanded of Ephraim.

He leaned against the bar, his body very close to hers. "Moving on with my life, as are you, I trust."

Blue eyes met green ones. "You need to leave my friend alone."

His amusement was a direct contrast to her seriousness. "It would be rude to rescind my invitation. Besides, you have assured me you are not Lucy, so I have no obligations to you or any other woman."

"You're trying to manipulate me."

"Manipulate you? To what end?"

Audrey clammed up. To what end, indeed? To get a reaction out of her? Well, she had certainly given him that. To propel her to offer herself in Julia's stead? Not going to happen.

"You've had an agenda from the first moment I saw you."

"And you like it."

Audrey opened her mouth to respond when she saw Julia returning.

"I've got to go. Mrs. Bellmeyer is having contractions." She slipped a card from her small clutch and handed it to Ephraim. "I look forward to hearing from you."

"And I look forward to our next encounter," Ephraim replied graciously before tucking the card into his pants pocket.

"We'll catch up later, Audrey," Julia promised.

"Sure thing." But Audrey felt uneasy with what had transpired in the last few minutes.

Ephraim watched Julia leave and mused, "As a medical examiner, what training does Dr. Carr have in the delivery of infants?"

"She spent two years in Darfur with Doctors Without Borders. She has training in just about everything—except dealing with you." At that, Audrey reached into his pocket and retrieved the small business card of Julia's before securing it in one of the cups of her brassiere.

"You are brazen." His accented voice held a tinge of admiration mingled with amusement.

"She's my friend."

"You are fortunate I'm a gentleman, or else I would take similar measures to reclaim what you've purloined. However, I don't require Julia's card to locate her, so your efforts are for naught."

"What do you want with her?"

"Why would I not want to acquaint myself with her further? She is attractive and intelligent. I wish to have someone to be my equal in every way; you are aware of this."

"I'm actually glad we ran into one another."

"Now look who is changing her tune."

"Saved me the hassle of tracking you down. I saw something interesting today, some cracks out at Wapék Park."

"We've both seen those before. It's the result of the sandstone in this area, as I recall, shifting."

"These cracks were filled with blood." She watched for a reaction from him but got nothing. "What's going on around here?"

But his features remained impassive. "You're the detective. Detect."

"You could help a girl out and be cooperative. Tell me what you know."

"Where's the fun in that?" he replied.

"What do you want?"

"You."

"You can't have me. Next?"

At that, Ephraim raised an eyebrow. "One time, Lucy and I found ourselves in a rather seedy bar in rural Massachusetts. She was determined to play billiards, and I was so certain the local clientele…"

"…would try to rob us," Audrey finished. She shook her head slightly, "Rob you and Lucy."

"You remember."

Audrey exhaled. "Not really. I'm not sure where that came from."

"I am. It's a fond memory. I bought out the bar for night, and we had the place all to ourselves."

"Do you still play?"

"On occasion. I never enjoyed it with the same enthusiasm as you, but I was fairly capable."

"Capable enough to wager?"

A smile curled on his lips. "What are your terms?"

"If I win, let's say…Eight Ball, you leave Julia Carr alone and answer some questions for me. No bullcrap."

"And if I win…"

"You won't," Audrey asserted.

"Correction, when I win, you will provide me with twenty-four uninterrupted hours of your time."

"I have a job."

"And a partner to whom you are very close, yes? You just spent twenty-four uninterrupted hours with him. I require the same consideration."

"Back to blackmail, Ephraim?"

"You always have a choice, Audrey. Choose to take your chances or don't, though I suspect that the prospect of spending time with me is not as excruciating as you feign."

His challenge hung in the air. Finally, she replied, "Let's do this."

The two walked to the Gull's pool table and briefly observed in silence, waiting for the players before them to finish. After Brand flashed them a twenty, the two shrugged, took the money, and went to the bar for drinks.

Audrey set up the balls in the wooden triangle, placing the eight ball in the center, while Brand selected a pool stick and applied chalk to the tip. She then joined him in selecting a stick.

"Would you like to break?" she asked.

"I will defer to you."

She leaned forward, stretching her body to maneuver the pool stick to strike the cue ball. Ephraim's eyes appraised her as her loose navy blue shirt moved from her body, allowing him a glimpse of her undergarments. "Red lingerie? You are a delicious enigma, Audrey Parker."

She struck the cue ball, sending it into the other balls, breaking the formation.

"Eyes up, Mr. Brand. What I'm wearing is none of your concern." She tapped the cue ball lightly, propelling it into the two-ball, which dutifully went into the corner pocket.

She moved around the table, brushing past him to reposition herself in an attempt to pocket the four-ball.

"Mmmm. I've seen you in far less."

His words jarred her, breaking her concentration, and the cue ball went awry.

"That was Lucy. You and I haven't slept together," Audrey reminded him.

"Yet," he whispered in her ear as he moved to her right, his fingers grazing the skin on her side as he positioned himself to go after the twelve ball. He easily sank it in the side pocket. He moved behind her and murmured so that only she heard, "I took you that night on the pool table in that bar."

"Stop."

"You don't want me to stop. You want to remember because it was always so good between us, the pleasure we would give each other. I will be inside of you again. You will welcome me."

She stopped him as he began to move past around the table. "We won't. Ever. I'm not Lucy. Not anymore."

"You are more of Lucy than you realize. Right now, you stand there, indignantly lifting your chin, but there is a part of you who perceives the pull you feel to me. It has always been there. It will always be there, regardless of the childish games we play."

"I'm done with this game." At that, Audrey shoved her pool stick into Ephraim's hand.

"Because I always win."

With his free hand, he traced the contours of her face, and she couldn't move, could barely breathe. The atmosphere around them changed, swirling almost, and then they were in another time, another bar. This one was quiet except for the jukebox in the corner and the sound of their greedy kisses. He lifted her on the pool table, and she almost laughed as the felt of the table rubbed her elbows. If she got rug burn from a pool table, what a tale that would be! Rational thought quickly left her as he pushed her dress up and pulled her legs around his waist, even as the pool balls scattered around them. "Yes," she whispered against his lips. An intense rhythm built within them as they joined, until she felt like she was rising on a tidal wave only to come undone. The contracting of her muscles found her stifling a cry of pleasure as the waves broke.

And the atmosphere swirled again, the sound of the crowd drowning out her labored breaths as Ephraim stared at her, a look of immense satisfaction on his face. They were fully clothed, but she could feel the pleasure echoing from her memory, as contradictory feelings warred within her. She loved him. She hated him. She wanted him. She wanted to get away from him.

His hand was still pressed against her face.

"What did you do to me?" she whispered, queasiness quickly replacing the gratification her body felt just seconds ago as Lucy's memory faded. Her face burned with shame. Nathan.

"You wanted a memory. I gave you one." Noting her flushed features, he added, "More than a memory, I suspect."

"I didn't want that."

"Yes, you did. You chose the memory. Some part of you wants to remember us, chooses to remember us, our love, our connection."

She shook her head. No. She didn't love Ephraim. She loved Nathan. Good, decent, beautiful inside and out, Nathan was the one who made her heart race, made her yearn. Nathan was the one she wanted to make memories with, not Brand. "I don't love you. I will never love you."

"You will. You always come back to me."

"No!" Without conscious thought, her hand went to the back of his neck and dipped under the collar of his shirt, finding its way to the raised scar branded onto his back so long ago. Palm outstretched, she pressed against the scar, which seemed to practically flare with heat.

He hissed in pain and stepped back from her, breaking their contact.

Her eyes widened, partly from the realization she had caused him pain and partly from the sensation of power surging through her.

It was intoxicating.

Ephraim half-grinned/half-grimaced as he studied her. "There you are."

to be continued...