A/N Everything you recognize belongs to Janet Evanovich. Thank you to Kathy's amazing beta skills, Heather for all her sound advice and encouragement and Lisa who did a little of both! This chapter is the halfway point in word count. Thanks to everyone who is sticking with this story! I really appreciate your kind words and reviews.

~Chapter 15

***Jun 8

After a week of working, I start to think about what I'm going to do. I was so wrapped up in this, I haven't thought of what my next steps need to be. I still don't have a legitimate ID. I need a place to live. I extended my stay at my hotel but I can't live here forever. I also really need to get health insurance. I need a plan. I walk by the Harbor View Restaurant on my daily stroll around town when I am stopped by the owner, Arnie Beck. He declined using my services and still goes to the docks to yell his way into overpaying for the leftover fish that the small boats bring in.

"Hello Claire," he says as he approaches. "You are just the person I want to talk to."

"Good morning Mr. Beck," I reply.

"I only have a few minutes before I have a meeting but I was wondering if you could stop back after lunch and meet with me. How about 1:00? You could have lunch on the house."

"That would be great, I'll see you then," I answer, excited that I may have a new client. Depending on how much he orders on a daily basis, I may need to source more fish. I will see what he has to say and go from there. I continue down toward the beach reflecting on how much my life has changed. I'm beginning to love the early morning walks along the beach. I love the solitude now. I love that I created something that helps people. I love that I don't have to rely on anyone. I love that no one is telling me what a screw up I am. I love what I am becoming. I love having a life growing inside of me. Some days I am overwhelmed by the fact that I'm going to be a mom and this little one is going to be here before I know it. Some days I cry because I'm so scared. What a roller coaster my emotions are. I guess that's normal. I read the "What to Expect" book at night and that helps me not lose it.

I splurge today and get an ice cream cone along the boardwalk. It's noon and I'm hungry. It will hold me until I have my lunch meeting with Mr. Beck. I look at the ocean and draw peace from the waves rhythmically crashing to shore. I really love Cape May. Point Pleasant is nice but Cape May feels like home to me. I finish my ice cream and slowly make my way back to Mr. Beck's restaurant.

I arrive at 12:50 and the lunch rush is just beginning to lessen. As I walk in, I take off my sunglasses and glance around, noting that all the indoor tables are still full. A woman catches my eye. Crap. I don't want to be recognized so I look away quickly but it's too late.

"Stephanie, is that you?" she asks, getting up from her table and making her way toward me. I stand there waiting for her to approach, wanting her to stop yelling my old name. No one here knows me by Stephanie and I want to keep it that way. Before I know it, I'm standing face to face with Sarah King. We were roommates at Douglas, she was in my sorority. We were very close friends but like many college classmates we fell out of touch when we graduated.

"Sarah. It's good to see you. You look well." I say, noticing that she is dressed in casual but expensive clothes. I recall that she was going to law school after Douglass and that apparently was working out for her.

"Thank you. You look great too. How have you been? The last I heard, you were getting married." she says looking at my ring-less left hand.

"Oh yeah, that didn't work out so well." I said making a face. Just then, Mr. Beck approaches the hostess stand, getting our attention.

"I'll be a few minutes. Erica will show you to my table as soon as you're ready," he says with a smile and turns back toward the kitchen. I turn back to Sarah.

"I'm sorry. I have a meeting in a few minutes. I have time later if you want to catch up?"

"I would love that. I'm here visiting my Grandfather. I'm from here and I'm spending the week with him. My brother's here too. You remember my Grandpa, right?"

"Oh my goodness, yes I remember him. He would come and visit and take our whole floor out to dinner and entertain us with hilarious stories. How is he?"

"His health is failing so we are trying to figure some things out. Let me give you my number and we can catch up. Maybe you can come out to the house for dinner? I would have you over to say hi now but I doubt you would make your meeting" I watch her walk back to her table and grab her purse before heading back to me. I look down at her offered card and see that her cell is listed.

"It was so good to see you and I hope you can come by. I would love to catch up."

"I think I can rearrange my schedule and make it work," I say with a smile. We hug and I turn to Erica and she walks me back to my meeting with Mr. Beck.

The meeting goes well and, as I expected, I have a new client. His order is big and I'll need to find a new fishing boat to cover the increase in demand. I had taken notes while we discussed his needs and I explained to him how the process worked. In the end, we come to an agreement that he would now have his mornings free to do whatever and his order would be delivered to him by 10:00am. No more crazy yelling at the docks. He really didn't save money and if he did, it was so small, it wasn't worth the time and stress to which he was subjecting himself. Everyone wins. I even got a really good lunch out of it. I had ordered the catch of the day which turned out to be flounder. It was amazing. I have been watching what I eat but fish, as long as it's not full of mercury, is perfectly healthy for expectant mothers.

I call Sarah not long after my meeting and we make plans for later that evening. I keep busy by doing laundry and shopping for a new sundress. I want to look good and have nothing but casual wear with me..

I drive my car up the coast about 15 minutes. The house is right on the beach and looks like a good family home. We are far enough away from the downtown beach area to be strictly residential. These aren't even beach rentals. It's a neighborhood of owner occupied homes that feels warm and friendly. No glass or modern structures that oozed money. I instantly feel at home as I walk up on the large front porch to knock on the door.

"Stephanie, I'm so glad you could come," Sarah says as she opens the door. She pulls me across the threshold before I can even respond.

"Me too." I say genuinely. "I'm really glad to see you again. It's been so long. Can you believe we graduated over ten years ago?"

"No. Time is flying by," she agrees. "Come on, let's say hi to my Grandpa and my brother." She adds, pulling me into the kitchen.

Wonderful smells greet me as I enter the nicely appointed kitchen. As homey as this house feels, it can't shake the fact that it is on the beach and therefore expensive, not exorbitantly so but expensive enough. It's large and bright. It has white cabinets with granite countertops. It has every appliance you can imagine and all are in use at the moment. The fresh bread smells that are coming from a countertop box are more than I can handle. My stomach greets the magic machine, and thankfully noisy machine hides the sound so I don't have to make excuses for my embarrassing reaction.

"Grandpa, do you remember Stephanie? She went to Douglass with me. We were in the sorority together. She was from Trenton."

"Of course Miss Stephanie." We were all Miss such and such to him. He has warm eyes and grabs both of my hands in his.

"Hello Dr. King." I say, matching his infectious smile. He has such a big personality and is loved by everyone who meets him. Time is taking its toll on him and he looks tired. You can see it in his eyes.

"So, what have you been doing for the last ten years?" Sarah asks.

"Oh my gosh." I start. "So much has happened. After graduation, I got a job with a company named EE Martin. I married Dickie Orr. I divorced the cheater and my company went belly up. I went back home and got a job as a bounty hunter. I started dating a guy I knew from home. That ended and now here I am. I needed a change so I came to Cape May looking to start over." I conveniently leave out all mention of Ranger. I'm not ready to talk about him. I may never be.

"How about you? I heard you went to law school and your business card says partner. Sounds like you are doing really well. I'm so happy for you"

"Thank you. I'm very lucky. I love what I do. I worked really hard and I'm the youngest partner at the firm I work for. I live in California which is so different from here. I could tell you stories..." She trails off as a man walks into the kitchen and plops down on the bar stool. "Oh Jason. Meet Stephanie. Stephanie is like a sister to me." She winks before continuing. "We went to college together. We were Alpha Xi's. Stephanie, meet my big brother, Jason."

Jason gets up and reaches out to me.

"Nice to meet you." I say, shaking his hand. I notice the family resemblance. Tall, nice looking, slim build. I had never actually met him but I heard loads of stories of his escapades from when he and Sarah grew up. I feel like I know him.

"Likewise," he responds.

The rest of the evening we discuss everything from work to Cape May. I relate bounty hunter stories and they are astounded at how many of my cars have blown up. I Google myself to prove that I'm telling the truth. I confide that I'm looking to shake that lifestyle and have a new, less chaotic, life in a calm beachside community. Sarah talks about her life in California saying all she does is work. Jason works as the activities director on a cruise ship and he sails all but a few weeks a year. He loves the single unattached lifestyle and is able to tell his own hilarious stories of vacationers on his boat. Dr. King loves hearing all our stories and adds a few of his own. I vaguely remember some of them, but it was good to hear them again. They were that funny. The evening was winding down and it was just me and Sarah sitting on the front porch enjoying the evening, still talking as the sun went down over the rooftops of the houses across the quiet street.

"So, my Grandpa is sick." she blurts out. My eyes go wide imagining he has just days to live. "It's not like that," she amends. "He has dementia. It's still early and he's participating in a clinical trial. We are hoping he won't progress but he won't get any better than he is. His memory is affected and he gets confused. He's fine most of the time but when he has a bad day, he forgets to eat. When he cooks, he forgets to turn off the oven, or faucet or whatever. My brother and I are here to figure out what we're going to do for him. I don't want to put him in an assisted living facility at this point, but neither of us can keep an eye on him. My life is in California and Jason lives on a boat. He's out of the country most of the time and can't even take a phone call in an emergency."

"I'm so sorry. That is really hard. He's so amazing. You're lucky to have such a great grandpa." I say wistfully. I would trade her grandpa with dementia over my father any day. I still can't believe that when they thought I had had an abortion, their first thought was to tell me what a failure I was. They couldn't even bring themselves to ask how I was handling it physically or show any concern over what it would do to me emotionally. They didn't once think maybe they should listen to my side of the story. No, they just listened to the grapevine and assumed the worst. I still have a hard time accepting that everyone would believe that I would trap a man by getting pregnant on purpose. Does anyone even know me? . We are both lost in our own thoughts when Sarah breaks the silence.

"What are your plans here?" she asks. I have been dodging questions all evening about why I was here and what I'm going to do. I didn't want to discuss Ranger and what I'm hiding from everyone.

"I'm not quite sure yet." I answer vaguely.

"Would you be interested in staying here with Grandpa?" she asks hesitantly. "I know you. You're fun and responsible and caring. You wouldn't need to be with him every hour. You could just check on him. He loves to read and cook. He likes to take walks but I am scared he's going to get lost. If you are even a little bit interested, we could work something out," she says, starting to get excited. "We don't know what to do but we know we can't leave him like this."

I look at her desperation and my heart breaks for her. I can't imagine what she's going through, having to make this decision. I wish I could help but I'm pregnant, I have an identity crisis and I really need a job with health benefits.

"Oh Sarah. I wish I could but there is a lot going on with me that I can't really talk about. I'm not in trouble per se but I have to lay low for a while."

"You can lay low here. There's a cottage on the property that you can use as an apartment. It's small but it may work for you. Maybe you could try it out and if it doesn't work, it will give us time to find another solution."

Maybe she's on to something. I need a place to live and I can get to the docks each morning from here. I can come back for meals and keep tabs on him. I can take walks with him and it'll work out for both of us. I'll need to tell her about the baby though. I need to tell her about the danger if Ranger finds me. Right now, though, I'm pretty sure I'm safe and that no one even wants to find me. That was the main purpose of the fake abortion. I mentally debate the dangers of confiding in her and decide that I need to take a chance.

"Sarah, I have a story to tell you before you decide if you really want to ask me to live here. Once upon a time there was a crazy girl. This girl was always getting into trouble. She lost her job and was down to her last severance check when she blackmailed her cousin to give her a job. She made a new friend and this friend helped her with her new job. He was so great that she fell in love with him but found out that he didn't want her. His life didn't lend itself to relationships and he just wanted a friend with benefits situation. Somehow she got pregnant with the friend and he was very angry and thought that she tricked him and wanted to either get him to marry her or just get money from him. She didn't trick him and was in fact terrified of being pregnant. He gave her an ultimatum. She either had to choose to give him the baby or have an abortion. She didn't know what to do. She knew she couldn't get an abortion but she also didn't want to give up the baby. She decided that she wanted to keep the baby but she couldn't based on the options he gave her. She couldn't just run away. He would find her. He has lots of friends and resources so she couldn't hide. She decided to fake an abortion and slip away and start a new life somewhere else. She didn't think he would look for her if he thought she had gone through with the abortion and so far, it's working. The crazy girl now finds herself with very serious needs. She needs a new identity and she needs health insurance. She also has to lay low and not get recognized by anyone who knows her. Sooooo, this girl has to prioritize getting an ID and full time employment with benefits before she can commit to anything else. Just having a place to stay is a necessity but the other needs must be met as well." I say as I raise my eyes to meet hers. The tear drop that slides off my chin onto my dress is my first indication that I was crying. Sarah gets off her chair and pulls me up into a hug.

"I'm so sorry Stephanie," she says as she continues to hug me. "I want to help you. I think I know a way." she says as she pulls me inside. The sun has gone down and the soft light from the back of the house alerts us to where the boys have gone. Sarah grabs her laptop and leads me to them. They were reading on the back porch side by side. Like Grandfather, like grandson. That thought made me smile.

"I need to do a couple of things for work, can you entertain Steph? I don't want her to leave yet." Sarah says as she turns, leaving me with the boys.

Jason jumps up, closing his book.

"How about ice cream?" he asks. "Sarah is the dessert Nazi and won't let us have any. Since she's occupied, we have our opportunity."

I'm definitely on board with this plan. I need extra calcium for the baby, I justify, smiling and following him to the kitchen. Dr. King jumps in line with us as we pass. He doesn't even say a word. He just silently closes his book and falls in step. We make sundaes and are eating and laughing when Sarah finds us thirty minutes later. She has a 'Mom scowl' on her face as she looks at our near empty ice cream bowls.

"Humph," she grunts as we all give her a guilty look. "Steph, I have to show you some things. Come into the office.

I take the chair on the other side of the desk and she turns her laptop so that we can both see the screen.

"I think I may have an answer for both of us. I know what it took for you to confide in me. I can't imagine being in your shoes but I'm in awe of you. All you're doing to protect yourself and your baby is courageous. My firm is predominantly corporate law but we have a family court division and I'm friends with some of those guys. We have personal lunch dates and we sometimes talk about cases. There was a recent case where there was an adult child whose parents were suing for custody of the younger siblings. It was a mess. Lots of money, lots of drugs. All of the kids were messed up. The oldest was 29 and had just graduated from college. She was on the ten year plan I guess. Anyway, they couldn't find her for the longest time. She was never listed as a missing person because the parents didn't want to be embarrassed by her so they weren't looking. She had a drug problem and was passed back and forth from parent to parent throughout the divorce. There are unconfirmed reports that she died of an overdose. The parents do not want to investigate as they don't want it to be official, so our internal confirmation is going to be left unofficial since making it official will jeopardize the parents reputation and all hell will break loose for them. Soooo, I have an identity for you. It's a common last name and you can change it through official channels but that may draw attention to you or her. Honestly, the parents would actually be relieved to have someone using her identity and causing a paper trail for her. They really do think that she is gone and have washed their hands of her so to speak. I know this is strange and illegal but I'm hoping that will help you trust me. If I'm involved with something illegal then you have proof that I'll keep your secret. It's a win for everyone," she tells me. I sit there stunned. If what she is telling me works out then I can have two of my three problems solved.

"Are you sure there won't be any problems legally?" I ask.

"Well. The way I see it, her parents would be the only people looking at this with the knowledge that she is dead. Everyone else thinks she ran away. If anyone were to look you up then you may have an issue. Your identity comes with a past. It is a real social with a real birth certificate. You'll have to pretend you're 29. She doesn't really look like you and you have the option to change to look more like her. Here, look at her photo," she says as she pulls up the screen with family photos. The picture is in front of a large mansion with older looking parents, an older child and three teenagers. No one is smiling and I can't help but see the pain that comes with being in this family. I guess there are lots of us who are unlucky and don't have the opportunity to grow up in a home full of love and laughter. I note her dark hair, medium skin tone and dark eyes. It would take a lot of effort to look as dark as that. I take a deep breath and think about my options. Sarah is giving me an identity. Is it perfect? No, but will it work for now? Maybe. I start letting my hope grow.

"Okay, so how will this work? Will I be able to get a job? I still need benefits. Working a full time job will take me away from your Grandpa. Is that ok?" I ask her.

"Grandpa doesn't need around the clock care. He just needs someone close by to keep tabs on him," she says. "We would pay you a small salary. Your room and board would be covered but not health insurance."

"I know I can't work closely with tourists. You recognizing me made that point. I don't know what I'm qualified to do."

"You could work from home and do data entry," she offers.

I laugh. "I would rather stick a fork in my eye but I know I don't have a choice."

"Well, we can figure that out later. So what do you say? Do you want to be Nicole Harrison and live with my Grandpa?" she asks hopefully.

"Yes" I answer on a whim. My Spidey sense is quiet so I'm going to trust that this will all work out. I really want to be Claire but I'm lucky to have gotten an identity that I can use. No one will connect me and Nicole Harrison. I believe this is the path to my future. Suddenly I feel like a weight has been lifted off me. I still need health insurance but I can start looking seriously for a job now that I have an ID.

***Jun 15

I moved my stuff over to Dr. King's house last week and am getting settled into the cottage. In some ways it is perfect. It's on the beach, just steps away from the ocean. And they have a pool. Yay! My cottage is cute and small and easy to clean. It's basically one medium sized room with a small backroom that I converted into a bedroom with a full sized bed and a tall dresser. No closet but I bought a rack on wheels so I will use that for my hanging clothes, when I get some. Right now, I have plenty of room. There's a full compact bathroom off the main room. I don't have a lot of stuff right now so I don't feel cramped. I have come to really love my clutter free life. I'm also liking my asshole free life. That thought never fails to make me smile.

I have access to the main house laundry. Dr. King has a housekeeper that cleans and does his laundry. I could mix my stuff with his but I would rather not take advantage. I'm a little concerned that once the baby comes, I'll run out of space really fast but I push that thought back down. I'll deal with that when the time comes. Right now, my biggest worry is that I need to find a job with benefits.

The job search is frustrating. I don't have a business degree with the Nicole identity. She was a fashion design major and that in and of itself is wildly useless. I'm not starting a fashion clothing line and jobs in this field are nonexistent. I'm finding out that employers do not even recognize this as a degree so I have to look for entry level stuff that I can get without a degree. Working from home is another preference. Working from home and no degree is a killer combo. Job killer that is. Ugh. I shut my laptop. I'm glad to have money from my fish business and I have a small salary coming in from Sarah so I'm not strapped for cash but I do need health insurance, my internal dialogue screams. I estimate that I'm at least twelve weeks pregnant and if that is true, I need to get prenatal care...NOW.

I get up and go check on Dr. King. He's on the back porch and I ask him if he wants to go for a walk down the beach. I need some fresh air and I know he could do with some too.

***Jun 17

I'm sitting at the docks waiting for my grandmother to call. I only talk to her once a week. We text every day but a conversation is more risky. The morning rush is done and I have time to sit and wait. I only turn on my phone when I'm away from the house. I don't want to lead anyone to me if Grandma accidentally lets it slip that she knows where I am. I'm thinking about my job prospects when the call comes in.

"Hello" I say in a cheery greeting.

"Hello Baby girl." She says in a whisper. My Mom is probably downstairs cooking breakfast and my father is probably in the bathroom trying to get away from everyone in the house.

"Oh hi Grandma. Tomorrow I estimate that I'll be around 12 weeks. I feel great and everything is going well.

"How's the fish biting?" she asks.

"Also great. The fish business is booming," I respond smiling. "What's new with you?"

"Well, I have a lot to tell you. You have finally been discovered missing. Not officially mind you. I guess Ranger went to your place and saw your apartment all packed up. He asked Dillon about it and Dillon called here. I, of course, offered to take over your lease and no one was the wiser. I really hate not defending you but I know this is how it has to be. I want to tell the ladies at the Clip and Curl to shove it when they talk badly about you. I just tell them I don't want to talk about it. They think I'm embarrassed when I'm really trying not to rip them a new one. I'm moving into your place at the end of the week." I was stuck on Ranger going to my apartment. I don't know what to make of that. What on earth could he have to say to me that he needed to come to my apartment. He was pretty angry. I guess I thought it would be Lula or Connie. I wasn't sure just who would come looking for me first. I have been here for almost a month and was anxiously waiting to see if anyone was genuine enough to miss me. I guess I can take comfort in the fact that no one cares, which means no one will come looking for me.

"...I have to arrange to get your stuff carried down to the dumpster. Do you think your neighbor across the hall would be interested in a tawdry affair?" she asks and it finally snaps me out of my musings.

"Oh my gosh Grandma! I don't know." I tell her, barely able to suppress the snort. We chat for another five minutes and she has to go. "I have to go, Helen is calling up the stairs that breakfast is ready."

"Bye Grandma, I'll talk to you next week."

"Bye Claire. Love you."

I sit back on the bench and continue my thinking of why Ranger would be the one to discover that I have left. I'm still so angry that he could think that I wanted to trick him. I was only coming to tell him and he not only jumped to conclusion but somehow found out in advance that I was pregnant. I hadn't told anyone so the only thing I could think of is that he broke into my apartment and saw the test. How he got from seeing the positive test to I'm trying to trap him is a mystery. I guess I know what he thinks of me and having a baby. We're better off without him.

I make my way back to the beach house and walk into the kitchen to find Dr. King cutting up fruit. I didn't confide in anyone but Sarah so I can't fill him in on the soap opera that was my old life. I settle for discussing our plans for the day.