Disclaimer: In first chapter.

Chapter 3

Once Jarod and Zoe left, Josh turned to his side, glancing at his mother.  “As much as I hate to say this, Dad is right. I need to take you to the hospital to get you looked at,” he stated.

As she watched Jarod drive away, she looked back at Josh.  “Your father is just being overprotective.  I’m perfectly fine.”

Josh grabbed Miss Parker’s shoulders, looking at her with a serious face.  “Mom, you’re not fine.  Something is terribly wrong. I can feel it.  You know who Dad is, yet you don’t know your own children.  Please, just humor me and let me take you.”

Miss Parker looked away from Josh, looking out into the distance.  He was showing so much concern for her, that it melted the icy walls around her heart a bit.  Looking back at him she said with a half smile, “Fine, you win.  Lead the way.”

Josh grinned down at her.  “Okay, I’ll be right back.  Let me go grab my car keys.”

Before he could run off, Miss Parker grabbed his arm.  “Drive?  How old are you?”

Josh rolled his eyes playfully at her as he answered, “Mom, Sarah and I are sixteen.  I got my license right before school started.  However, Sarah still hasn’t gotten hers.  Maybe it’s because she scares half the instructors to death.  When they see her they run for the hills.  The last guy she was with nearly had a heart attack.”

Miss Parker couldn’t help but laugh at that.  If these were indeed her children, then Sarah must’ve inherited her driving skills.  Looking back at Josh, she stared intently at his face.  He did resemble Jarod somewhat.  They both had the same jaw line and nose, but what caught her attention were his eyes.  These were not Jarod’s they were hers.  In fact, they were mirror images of her eyes.

Feeling uncomfortable under his mother’s scrutiny he asked, “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just…that I’m seeing you for the first time,” she answered with wonder.

Josh gave his mother a strange look.  “Okay,” he said with confusion.  Looking up, he saw one of their neighbors coming across the street.  “Hey, Mr. Broots,” he yelled out, waving his hand in the air.

Broots.  Miss Parker’s eyes grew wide.  Turning around, she saw her lovable moron walking across the street, flanked by his daughter Debbie.         She wanted to ask him what was going on.  But, with the two teenagers standing beside them she remained quiet.

“I pulled up into the driveway to find Jarod leaving.  He didn’t look too happy.  Did something bad happen?” Broots asked anxiously.  He glanced at Miss Parker.  “Parker, are you okay?” he asked with concern.

Miss Parker gave him a bewildered look.  “Parker?  Since when have you started calling me that?”

Broots looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he answered, “I well…you’ve asked people to start calling you that when Jarod and you separated.”  He paused an added, “Did something bad happen between you and Jarod?”

“Everything’s bad between us,” she answered with exasperation.

Before Broots asked more questions, Josh chimed in.  “Mom was out walking Buddy and fell, hitting her head on the driveway.  She doesn’t remember us.  The only person she does remember is Dad,” he said sadly.  “I was just about to leave and take her to the hospital.”

Miss Parker needed to speak with Broots alone.  Seeing her opportunity she commented, “Josh, why don’t you stay here with your brother and sister, and let Broots take me.”

“But…”

Miss Parker interrupted him.  “No buts.  Besides, didn’t you promise Brandon a round of video games?”

Josh looked between Broots and his mother.  He knew that stare his mother was giving him.  It was the one he knew not to argue with, because he knew he wouldn’t win.  “Alright,” he sighed in defeat.  “Call us and let us know how everything went.” 

“I will.”  Before she could walk off, Josh grabbed her, giving her a quick hug.  She froze in the embrace, somewhat stunned by the action. When he let go of her, he looked back down at her with a mischievous grin.

“Be good, Mom.  I don’t want to turn on the evening news, and find a news report talking about a tall brunette taking out doctors left and right, because she had to wait an hour,” he said jokingly.

Miss Parker flashed him the same smile.  “I can’t make any promises,” she replied back in the same manner.

“Um, Parker, we better go,” chimed in Broots.

Miss Parker nodded her head, and waved goodbye to Josh and Debbie. Climbing into the car, Broots drove her off to the hospital. 

XXXXXX

3 ½ HOURS LATER

Miss Parker was irritated as hell.  Having to wait three hours in a hospital waiting room was not her idea of fun.  After all the waiting, the doctor only confirmed what Jarod said only hours before.  They said she had amnesia, but she scoffed at the ludicrous diagnosis.  She knew she didn’t have amnesia.  The only explanation she could come up with was that this had to be some sick dream, or nightmare for that matter. 

She tried to get Broots to open up, but he remained tight lipped.  He told her he would give her the answers she needed once they left the hospital.  Walking out in a huff, she headed straight for the parking garage with Broots on her heels.

“Parker?”

She abruptly stopped, turning on Broots.  He instantly took a step back.  “What Broots?” she asked with annoyance.

He dug into his pocket, bringing out his cell phone.  “You need to call home, remember?”

She stared at the phone for a few seconds before snatching it out of Broots’ hand.  She was about to dial, when she remembered something.  She had no idea what the number was.  “Broots, what’s my number?” she asked more calmly.

“It’s 555-1189.”

She could feel the apprehension building within her with each passing ring.  These three children were still a blank slate to her.  She felt somewhat comfortable with Josh, but she still didn’t know anything about the other two.  Feeling more nervous, she began to pace back and forth, waiting for one of them to pick up.  Just when she was about to give up, someone answered.

“Hello, Hunter residence,” answered Brandon.  “Hello.”

Miss Parker took a deep breath before she answered back.  “Brandon, it’s me.  Is your brother there?”

“No.  He left to pick up some pizzas.  He should be back shortly.”  He paused, before asking, “He said you went to the doctor.  Is everything okay?”

Miss Parker couldn’t help but smile at the little boy’s concern.  There was so much love in his small voice, that she couldn’t stop the warm feeling that melted her heart.  Bringing her left hand up to cover her heart she answered, “I’m fine.  There’s nothing to worry about.”  Changing the subject she asked, “Is your sister there?”

“Yeah, she’s upstairs with Debbie listening to some music.  I’ll go get her.”  Miss Parker waited patiently as Brandon went to go get his sister.  A few short seconds later he came back on.  “Here she is.”

“What?” Sarah asked with annoyance.

Miss Parker’s smile only got bigger when she heard the way her daughter answered the phone.  “Do you always answer the phone like that?” she asked with a curious voice.

“Sometimes, it depends on how I’m feeling at the moment.  So, what do you want?”

Miss Parker could hear the animosity in Sarah’s voice when she spoke.  She was now starting to dread this call.  “I was just calling to let you know that I’m okay, and I’ll be home soon.”

“Great.  Maybe when you get home we could throw you a big parade to celebrate this momentous occasion,” Sarah bit out sarcastically.

Miss Parker clutched the phone more tightly in her hands, starting to become angry with Sarah.  “Don’t get smart with me.”

“Whatever Mom.  Listen I have to go.”  Before Miss Parker could answer back, she heard a dial tone come out of the phone.  Pulling the phone away from her ear, she looked at it with disbelief.  “What a little brat,” she muttered to herself.

Broots took a step closer to Miss Parker.  “Sarah’s not that bad.  She’s just angry at the world over your separation.  But, be warned Parker.  She blames you for the separation.  Just as Josh blames Jarod.”

Giving Broots a dumbfounded look she asked, “I need to go the Centre.”

XXXXXXX

When Broots pulled up to the building she turned to him.  “You moron, this isn’t the Centre.  I think you’ve been spending way to much time on those porn sites.”

Broots gave her a gaping look.  “I’ve never been to those sites,” he adamantly denied.

Miss Parker let out of soft chuckle.  With a calmer voice she commented, “The Centre I’m talking about is a huge building that sits on the side of the ocean.  This…” she paused waving her hand in the air, “is not the Centre.”

Broots gave her a puzzled look.  “Parker, this is the only Centre in town, well, besides the Blue Cove shopping Center.”

Looking through the windshield, Miss Parker read the sign out loud.  “Blue Cove Animal Center.”  Letting her gaze fall back on Broots she asked, “Do I work here?”

Broots smiled at her.  “Yeah, of course you do.  You’re a veterinarian.  You run this place along with Emily.”

“Emily?”

“She’s Jarod’s younger sister.”  He paused, giving her a sympathetic look.  “You still don’t remember anything, do you?”

Looking at the clinic she answered softly, “No.”

Broots gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.  “Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will come back to you soon enough.”

Looking at Broots she asked, “If there’s no Centre, then where’s my father?”

“He works over in Dover.  He’s a big time lawyer on the east coast.  His law firm is called Parker, Raines, & Cox.  The law firm is very powerful, of course, they have a questionable reputation.”

Miss Parker gave him a bewildered look.  “What do you mean by that?”

She could tell this was a question that Broots didn’t want to answer.  To try an avoid her; he looked out of the drivers side window.  “Broots?” she asked pleadingly.  “Answer me.”

With reluctance, he looked back at her.  “Well, there have been rumors going around saying that your father and his partners have been known to buy off a few judges, politicians, lawyers on other cases, and even jurors.  I’ve even heard that they’ve been known to ‘permanently’ silence witnesses from testifying against them in court, just so they could win.”

“Are these rumors true?” she asked with dread.

Broots rested his left elbow by the window, rubbing his mouth.  “I think they are,” he responded in a low whisper.  “I think that’s one of the reasons why your father and Jarod don’t get along.”

“How does Jarod fit into all of this?” she asked.

“From what I gather, Jarod and your father have never gotten along.  He thought Jarod filled your head with foolish ideas.  See, your father wanted you to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer yourself, but your heart just wasn’t in it.  Jarod told me about the story of the bunny, and that was one of the reasons why you became a veterinarian,” he answered.

“The bunny?” 

Broots gave her a solemn look.  “When Jarod and you were twelve, you found a white bunny out in the woods that had a broken leg.  Jarod said you instantly fell in love with it; you wanted to help it and nurse it back to health.  Gathering up all the spare change you could, with some help from your mother, you took it down to the vet’s office to have it fixed.  Once the rabbit was more stable, you took it back home, hoping you could keep it for a pet.  However, when your father saw it, he became furious.  Ripping the rabbit from your arms, he drove to the pound and dropped it off.  You pleaded with him to keep the bunny, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”

Miss Parker could feel her eyes watering up, but she held the tears at bay.  How could her father do that to her?  She was only a child.  “How could my father be so cruel?” she asked sadly.

Broots gave her a half smile.  “Well, there is a happy ending to the story.   Jarod was coming back to your house to visit, when he heard you and your father fighting.   He followed your father on his bike.  When your father left the pound, Jarod went inside to adopt the rabbit.  With his parents support, he brought the rabbit back home, so you could help take care of it when you came to visit.”

Miss Parker smiled to herself.  “Jarod did all that for me,” she stated with astonishment.

“Of course he did, Parker.  He loves you.”

Miss Parker gave him a look of disbelief.  How could Jarod love her after all the things she’d put him through.  But, then she remembered, this was a different life.  All the horrible deeds she did in her other life were null and void in this life.  Looking back at Broots she asked, “So, how did Jarod and I meet?”

XXXXXXX

To Be Continued…