Chapter Fifty-Three -Revelations

Chloe continued stomping away from the pier, the sound of Brady's gloating laughter ringing clearly in her ears. "He's just trying to get to you," she muttered to herself, angrily swinging her arms with each step she took. She stopped when she was reasonably sure she was out of his line of sight and admitted to herself, "And, damn him to hell, he's succeeding!" She glanced over her shoulder and frowned, grateful that the object of her tirade was no longer visible. Her frown grew deeper while she visualized the infuriating man.

Chloe continued on down the pier, heading for her car, colorfully cursing Brady Black under her breath the entire way. "What the HELL did I almost do back there?" Chloe asked herself, shaking her head in disbelief over the near kiss. "I almost let Brady Black kiss me! And, heaven help me, for that moment when I was caught in his eyes, I wanted him to! What is wrong with me?"

Chloe turned her worries inward, wondering how on earth she could have given into the urge to kiss Brady Black. She hated to admit it, but she was had been ready, willing, and totally able for the near miss kiss. "I can't rationalize this one. I'm not the one who prevented it. He is, the bastard. I was more than willing, hell, more like eager to feel his lips on mine!" She shivered in response, wondering how she could have been so stupid. Or so disloyal to her family.

"I don't even like that irritating man!" she continued ranting to herself after resuming her furious trek towards her car. Chloe threw her hands up in the air while she walked, emphasizing each word. "Even before that almost kiss, he infuriated me when he dissected me. Imagine that! He prefers a woman who doesn't exist over me! Why on earth…"Chloe stopped her progression again, amazed at what she had just admitted to herself. "Whoa, hold on there, girl. You don't WANT Brady Black preferring you! He's the enemy, remember? Let him whine about that other woman who is a product of his very own vivid, misguided imagination."

Chloe glanced longingly back at the water one more time, praying for the tranquility it had so recently given her. Of course, the tranquility was gone now, erased by Brady Black's unsolicited character analysis. And his potent desirability, which had nearly been her undoing. "What does he know about me anyway?" she continued ranting, curling her lips into an unattractive sneer. "I know exactly who I am!"

She noticed a restaurant close to where she had parked her car and briefly considered going inside to help herself cool down from the aftereffects of that emotionally charged meeting with Brady Black. She halted her steps quickly when she noticed the sign hanging cheerfully near the door. "The Brady Pub," she mumbled with a curt shake of her head. "It figures." She rolled her eyes, muttering about her horrible luck, and started away from the pub, not wanting to frequent a restaurant owned by the Brady family.

Chloe was lost deep in thought at her newest humiliating encounter with Brady and did not see the customers heading towards the pub. She glanced up in surprise when she heard her name called.

"Chloe!" a childish voice shouted gleefully. "Aunt Chloe!" J.T. broke away from his parents without a second glance and fairly flew to Chloe, a person that he had missed a lot during her time away from Salem.

Chloe stopped in her tracks when a boy who looked to be about five years old hurled himself at him and then she reacted instinctively to his enthusiastic greeting. She fell to her knees and found her arms completely full a second later. She returned the warm hug the boy wanted to give her, holding him comfortably while she wondered about his identity and the reason why he had greeted her so familiarly.

Hope gazed at the embracing pair, a large smile wreathing her face, while she felt heartened by Chloe's unexpectedly warm reception to her son. When she had seen J.T. take off like a rocket towards Chloe, she had been afraid that Chloe would have been cold to J.T. or that she would have ignored him. Of course, Hope silently rationalized to herself, maybe Chloe hadn't realized who the parents were of the child she was presently embracing. She grabbed Bo's hand for added support and the two of the warily approached the pair.

Chloe looked up in surprise at the two people who were walking towards her and the boy. Suddenly, everything clicked in her mind and she realized that the boy who had been so excited to see her was J.T. Brady. Actually, he had been Isaac Carver, until the baby switch had been revealed. Then, Hope had regained custody over the boy after it had been revealed that Isaac was really her son. He had then been renamed John Thomas, or J.T. Chloe opened her mouth to speak, not exactly certain of what she was going to say, when J.T. stopped her.

J.T. brought Chloe's undivided attention back to him while he gently patted her face with his hands, almost as if he couldn't believe that she was really there. "It's you, Aunt Chloe! It's really you!" he finally announced, grinning crookedly at one of his mother's closest friends. His hands then found their way to her hair, where J.T. touched the silky strands and innocently noted, "Oh, you cut your hair!"

Chloe focused completely on the boy in her arms, ignoring his parents for the moment. She decided to deal with the hair issue first, uncertain how to explain her true identity to J.T. She thought she would let Bo and Hope deal with that one. "I like my hair shorter," she explained neutrally, smiling hesitantly at the adorable boy.

J.T. smiled winningly and scrunched his eyes closed while he recalled all he had learned about Chloe since she had disappeared. Then, he declared to Chloe, placing his hands on her shoulders, "I know what happened to you, Aunt Chloe. Mama 'splained it all to me. You can't remember your life. Kinda like you lost it."

"You're right, I can't remember my past. Only the past seven months," Chloe admitted, responding to J.T.'s warmth instinctively.

J.T. tapped her on the shoulder. "We can help you find it. I know we can, Aunt Chloe." His face grew serious while he met Chloe's eyes directly, hoping that she would be able to help settle his worry about Chloe's continuing absence from his life.

"I wish it was that easy," Chloe replied, with a curt shake of her head. When she had lived in Ireland with her father and Lexie, her memory loss hadn't bothered her that much. Now, since she came back to Salem and met all of these people from her past, she wished with her whole heart that her memory would come back. The sooner, the better. That way, she rationalized, she would be able to prove to the Bradys, Blacks, and their friends the complete innocence of her father. Chloe brought herself out of her short reverie, and then added, "But the doctors don't think I'll ever remember now. It's been too long since the accident."

"I'll love you anyway," J.T. stated simply, with the devoted innocence of a child. His own eyes shone with the love he felt for his "Aunt Chloe." "Even if you don't know me anymore. Mama says that you don't know any of us anymore. But that's ok, 'cuz we all love you just the same."

Chloe was breathless after J.T.'s innocently stated beliefs. She didn't know exactly how to respond to him, so she simply smiled at him and said, "Thank you." J.T. followed up with a giggle and then another hug, which Chloe returned easily, a beautiful smile breaking through her lips.

Bo finally broke into the amazing scene before him. He looked over at Hope, caught her eye and knew exactly what she wanted him to do next. "J.T.," Bo began while he turned back to J.T. and Chloe, breaking into his son's reunion with his "aunt." "Grandma and Grandpop are waiting for us in the pub. Grandma made you your very favorite dinner."

J.T. squealed loudly, "Pancakes!" He hugged Chloe once more and then squirmed out of her arms. "Let's go, Daddy!" he sang out to Bo, grabbing Bo's hand and leading him into the pub, chatting the entire way. He looked back from the open doorway of the pub and waved enthusiastically to his mother and Chloe.

Chloe slowly rose from her position on the ground, keeping her eyes on Bo's and J.T.'s progression into the pub, waving farewell to J.T. when he was framed inside the doorway. She was still shocked after the warm, loving reception that J.T. had given her. Her eyes deepened in concentration while she wondered the reason behind it, momentarily forgetting about Hope's presence behind her.

"Thank you," Hope finally said, gazing at Chloe's profile and making her presence known to the woman in front of her. When Chloe turned her face towards Hope and arched one eyebrow in silent question, prompting her to explain herself, Hope clarified, "For being so kind to J.T."

"I don't normally eat children for dinner," Chloe quipped with a small degree of sarcasm, trying to smother her uneasy feelings that were brought on by the innocent encounter with J.T. Brady.

Hope laughed slightly, shaking her head at Chloe's response. "I know that, Chloe. But J.T. came at you, out of the blue, with his bountiful enthusiasm. And I really appreciate it. How you took the time and the care to listen to J.T. and answer his questions." She gazed directly into Chloe's eyes, her own reflecting the gratitude she felt for Chloe's thoughtful treatment of J.T.

Chloe felt uneasy with Hope looking at her that way and quickly broke the contact, staring at the closed door of the pub that J.T. and Bo had just entered. She quietly replied to Hope a moment after taking her eyes away from the door, "He's really a sweet little boy. Very open and friendly."

Hope glanced at Chloe again, trying to read her expression. She looks…unsettled, Hope decided with a great deal of puzzlement. "I'll, ah, thank you again, then, Chloe, and completely agree with you. J.T. is a sweetheart."

Chloe started to walk by Hope, wanting to go somewhere private where she could ponder her uneasy feelings brought on by J.T.'s warm welcome and Brady Black's infuriating presence earlier on the pier. "Enjoy your dinner with your family," she whispered in farewell to Hope Brady. Chloe stopped a few paces away from Hope and gazed once more at the closed door of the pub, thinking about the lovable little boy within its domain. She shook her head once more and then continued on slowly towards her car.