Identity Crisis(116)

If anything, the crowd of reporters on the front lawn had swollen. But then the story that Carla Flannery broke about the chase and the ultimate death of Fredrick “Edge” Parks, the stalker of Tess Delaney and other women in the past, had captured everyone’s imagination. And what was about to happen next would be even more of a surprise.

Kendra and Garrett stepped out of the limo into rain-washed sunshine. There was a low mumbling among the press and they parted for the couple as they walked up to the porch through the strobe and click of flashing cameras and the myopic focus of television lenses. Don was waiting for them. He gave Kendra a kiss on the cheek and Garrett a gentle pat on the back.

‘Are you sure?’ Kendra whispered against Garrett’s ear, to the click, click, click of cameras capturing their intimate moment for all the world to see. Beyond the porch they could hear a television reporter’s excited voice giving her audience the blow by blow, along with a recap of the events of the Tess Delaney saga to date.

‘I’ve never been more sure of anything in my whole life,’ Garrett whispered back. He kissed her tenderly and took a deep breath. Then he squared his shoulders and turned to face the press, keeping a tight grip on Kendra’s hand.

‘I’m sorry you’ve all had to wait for our statement.’ He offered them a teasing smile. ‘But we’ve been recovering at my brother’s house for the past two days, and he and his fiancée only just now let us out on good behavior. As far as the attempted abduction of Kendra Davis, and the death of Frederick Parks, who has had a long history of violence, Carla Flannery has pretty well covered those details. That’s not what I’m here to talk about.’

Again it was the impatient Mike Pittman who spoke out. ‘Kendra Davis? Who is Kendra Davis?’

Garrett and Kendra looked at each other, and Kendra nodded. ‘I’m Kendra Davis.’

The press went wild, and it took a few seconds for everyone to calm down again. When they did, Garrett spoke into the enormous silence that followed. ‘I hired Kendra Davis to play the part of Tess Delaney because I didn’t want her identity made public during the Golden Kiss Awards.’

There was another low murmur of the press and everyone shuffled closer.

‘I thought that was Mr. Bachman’s job, to hire help for Ms. Delaney,’ Pittman said.

‘Ultimately it was Tess’s choice,’ Garrett answered. ‘It has been Tess’s choice from the beginning, and it still is.’ He shot Kendra an adoring glance that made her knees weak. ‘It’s impossible for Tess Delaney to allow Kendra Davis to pretend to be her any longer when … Well, when Tess is head over heels in love with Kendra.’

There was a wave of confusion in the crowd as Don stepped forward to flank Garrett, nodding his support. Then Garrett pulled Kendra close, took a deep breath, and found his voice, a voice laced with emotion that surprised Kendra, that made her feel things she never dreamed she would ever feel.

‘I’m Tess Delaney,’ Garrett said, in a confident voice. He spoke the words carefully, as though he wasn’t quite sure how they would feel on his tongue. Then he repeated them into the stunned silence. ‘I’m Tess Delaney.’

This time the press erupted into total mayhem, and it took ages to quiet them. It was only when Garrett pulled Kendra into his arms, grunting slightly from the pain of his injury, and lingered to kiss her deeply and tenderly that the press silenced. At last he turned to face them.

‘Tess Delaney has always written the deepest, the most sensitive parts of Garrett Thorne’s heart. Tess Delaney has always found a way to express what Garrett could never have expressed. She was the secret part of me making itself known through her novels, helping me know myself a little better. I kept her secrets and she kept mine. She always knew what I wanted, better than I did. It wasn’t until Kendra Davis came into my life that I understood what Tess was trying to say, what she wanted for me, what I wanted for myself. And now, I don’t need Tess to tell me that, any more. I see. I understand.’

The reporter from the Oregonian stepped forward. Her eyes looked as though she might have been crying. ‘Will Tess Delaney continue to write?’

Garrett smiled at her. ‘Tess isn’t dead. Of course she’ll continue to write. And now she has a new muse.’ He smiled at Kendra. ‘A flesh and blood muse. I won’t say nothing has changed. Everything has changed. But I will say that for Tess Delaney, at last it really is time to come out into the world and celebrate the love she writes about.’ He turned and took Kendra’s hands in his. ‘And this is the woman I want to celebrate with. This is the woman I want to love and romance for at least the next 50 years or so. If she’ll have me.’