begonia9508 What happened to you, Eve? You’ve been so very loyal with your reviews!
Grace52373 In a way, yes. But he is in no way married anymore! I know it is hard, but I like having input from y'all!
sonia62 Thank you for your comment. I promise that this chapter will reveal answers for everyone that is asking after them.
Author’s Note: For those that have been so patient, Michael’s BIG secret is about to be revealed! Sean will also have his long-awaited talk with wife Jenna then has one with Maria at the rehearsal dinner.
Chapter Ten
Paris, France
The next morning, Michael eased his daughter off of him in slow motion before climbing out of the queen-size mattress and placing her gently back onto it. He smiled as he watched her curl up to her mother and Maria’s arm came around Mercedes’ small body, pulling her close. After pulling on a white V-neck T-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants, Michael makes his way out of the suite he, Maria and Mercedes were going to stay in during their stay with Amy and Jacques. He heads downstairs in search of something to eat and found Jim sitting at the kitchen’s large island, nursing a cup of coffee. “Good morning, Michael. Did you sleep well last night?” the older of the two asked as Michael made his way over to where the coffee pot sat, as well as several coffee mugs.
Amy must have done that before she left this morning, Michael thought to himself as he poured himself a cup before joining Jim, sitting down across from him and taking a sip of coffee. “Actually, yes, I did. It was a new experience in a bed bigger than the one back home or the one…” Michael said, trailing off before he could tell Jim any more details about his life “after” Maria, after the White Room. It was something he hadn’t even talked to the woman sleeping upstairs about.
But Jim had immediately caught on to his unfinished thought, taking another drink of coffee before asking, “Or the one what, Michael? You can talk to me, you know. I’m just an ordinary man right now.”
“I know,” Michael said quietly as he stared down into his coffee mug. Jim could hear regret in the younger man’s voice but he could also detect a hint of sadness. His head shot up and his eyes met Jim’s; there were tears flowing down Michael’s cheeks. “If Maria finds out I was married after her, she’d never forgive me.”
Jim nods in understanding, one hand coming up to settle on Michael’s shoulder and squeezing gently. “Why don’t you tell me about it while I cook breakfast?” he suggests in a soft question. Michael nods in response as his hand come up to wipe away the tears and Jim nods back before finishing his coffee and dumping out the remaining contents.
While Jim began to cook a deluxe meal – pancakes, bacon, eggs and biscuits & gravy – for everyone that was sleeping upstairs, Michael began to tell him the story of his “life” after Maria. “I met Evangeline shortly after I killed all those FBI agents.”
2008 – Somewhere in West Virginia
Michael eased the Honda Accord into the first available parking spot he spotted in the parking garage. His hazel eyes fell onto a small billboard, one that seemed to call out to him. Michael glanced this way & that and didn’t see anyone so he quickly memorized the address before he started the engine of the car he’d driven from Maryland with Kyle’s help. To escape the law, Michael and Kyle had decided to switch identities. After leaving the parking garage, Michael delivered a text message to Kyle once he came to a complete stop at a stoplight. ‘I forgot to thank you for helping me and for not blabbing to Maria about where I am,’ he wrote.
‘You’re welcome, Michael. Did I mention I got an unexpected visitor today?’ Kyle writes back. Michael sends him a confused smilie and waits until the next traffic light to read the follow-up text message Kyle sent him. ‘Cute, blonde, petite…ring any bells?’
‘That has to be impossible, Kyle. She is supposed to be dead,’ Michael wrote back. Unless Tess faked her death… ‘Ask her something for me when you have the chance but DO NOT tell her I was the one who said it.’ He quickly pressed SEND then turned his phone to silent as he pulled the car up to the memorized address. It had to be the wrong place but it had the same sign from the billboard, it wouldn’t lie to him.
Evangeline Montebello may not have had her sight but all of her other senses were in full swing. She let her hands on the wall guide her way to the foyer and the front door. With her soft and angelic touch, Evangeline stepped out onto the porch, letting the railing continue to guide her out to where the gentleman had parked his car. Michael jumped slightly from inside the car at the shadow approaching it, waiting with bated breath until she finally stopped. “I have been waiting for your arrival with some anticipation, Monsieur Guerin,” she says. Her voice was heavily accented with a French dialect. “Come inside with me, and I will see what I can do about healing the wound on your abdomen.”
Michael waited until the shock wore off and she had gone back to the porch before he hesitantly followed her. “How do you know my name, and more importantly, how did you know about my wound?” he asked her softly after they were safely tucked into her two-story house that also seemed to double as her clinic.
“You are different, Monsieur Guerin. I do not know how but your vibes tell me something else entirely,” Evangeline replies with a knowing smile. “So why don’t you go settle on the bed in the first room down the hall to your right and I will join you as soon as I gather up my supplies?” Michael did what she had instructed, remembering to ease in because of his wound.
Present Day – Roswell, New Mexico
Liz opens the door and lets out a soft squeal at the sight of her favorite cousin, startling a sleeping Annie and causing her crying to begin once more. Liz bounces her daughter while gesturing for Cassandra to come in. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming for a visit, Cassie?” she asked after putting Annie in the bassinet next to the couch.
Cassandra only shrugs. “It was a spur of the moment kind of visit,” she replies. She and Liz sat down with Liz staying close to Annie just in case. “Sam is back overseas and…I don’t know. I suppose I get lonely if he isn’t home, especially with J.R. on the way.” At the look her cousin gave her, she laughed softly. “I don’t mean that way, dearest Lizzie. It is only when he’s home that I feel comfortable enough to stay home with him.” Then she remembered Liz hadn’t heard her good news. “Oh! I forgot. You asked me for a favor and I’m here to pay up on my promise. So, I want you to go upstairs & get dressed; you and I are going shopping. And before you ask, we will be taking my goddaughter to visit her Auntie Tess on the way.”
xoxoxo
Paris, France – Now“So Evangeline is – was – a healer?” Jim asks Michael, who nods in response.
“Yes. And the day FBI found out was also the worst day for me,” Michael tells him quietly.
2008 – West Virginia
Evangeline’s slim hand reached out and turned the knob of her front door, her other hand resting protectively on her pregnant belly. She smiled at the two men, the dimples of her cheeks nearly reaching her cobalt blue eyes. “Can I help you, gentlemen?” she asked softly.
“Yes, ma’am. We’re looking for a man that killed a handful of FBI agents. Have you seen this man?” the agent on the left asked, holding up a photo of Michael. Evangeline shook her head no in a brief response.
“I have never seen that man before in my life, sir, so I will think you kindly to get off my property,” Evangeline hisses and slams the door in his face.
Michael came from out of his hiding spot in the front hall closet and rushed quickly to Evangeline’s side, embracing her the best he could with her protruding belly. “I think I should start moving on, Eva. It’s not safe for me to stick around here,” he tells her softly. He frames her face in his hands and cringes inwardly at the sight of her recently-healed eyes welling up with tears. “I’d take you with me, but it’s not safe – for you, me or the baby on the way.”
She nods slowly, the tears still falling down her rose-colored cheeks. “I understand, Michael. But…” She says, her voice trailing off as her gaze shifted down to her feet, groaning at the sight of the puddle beneath her feet.
Michael lets a groan loose as well. “After I deliver our baby, I am going to ask your neighbors to help get the baby to the local orphanage,” he tells her as he guides her onto the couch in the parlor. “Then you will turn yourself into the authorities like we discussed.” Picking up the hand that was rubbing gentle circles on her stomach, Michael pressed a soft, tender kiss to her knuckles. “But if you want to go to the hospital, I would be more than happy to get one of your such kind neighbors for you.”
Evangeline grits her teeth against the mind-numbing pain and shakes her head no repeatedly. “I cannot allow you to risk your safety, Michael Guerin,” she tells him softly, removing her hand from his to reach out and gently scratch his close-shaved scalp. “I want you to just help me get through the labor. I will coach you.”
Present Day – Paris
“So did she turn herself into the authorities?” Jim asked Michael as he wrapped up fixing breakfast and sat down with the younger man at the large table in the adjoining dining room.
Michael nods silently. “Yes. And I got the baby to the hospital, where she was eventually adopted by a local wonderful couple,” he replies softly.
Jim nods, feeling the emotions in Michael’s words and repeating his earlier motion of laying his hand on Michael’s shoulder and squeezing firmly but gently.
xoxoxo
RoswellLiz wobbles slightly on the low heels Cassandra encouraged her to buy so they would match the midnight-black strapless cotton dress Liz had bought to wear for her “date” with Max as she climbs out of the limo. Her smile is wide when she spots Max holding a single red rose.
Author’s Note 2: This chapter kind of took on a life of its own after Evangeline “arrived” in it and I know that some Candy lovers came out of hiding to protectively claim their couple! And for all you “Dreamer” lovers out there, hope you enjoy the last part of this chapter!
