THE HEART TEACHES BEST (REAL ROMANCE COLLECTION Book 2)

by M. J. Schiller

  “Find something?”

  He jumped, wishing he could shield her from this. She came forward when she saw what was in his hands and took it carefully from him. She sat down, Indian-style and began paging through it without speaking. He watched her for a minute, concerned, but then turned back to the shelves. He was surprised to see a small key hanging down from a pink ribbon. He reached up and pulled it down, and a second book came crashing down with it. Laney jumped up from her place on the floor.

  “Syd’s diary!” she blurted out, running her hand over the worn cover reverently. It had a picture of pink ballet slippers on the cover and it locked with a tiny, golden latch. “You don’t know how many times I tried to break into this when I was a girl.” She looked at him with comic seriousness. “This holds all of the secrets of a twelve-year-old girl, it’s priceless.” She laughed, still rubbing her hand over the cover. “Wait…this isn’t the right key. This is too big.”

  Cooper examined it. “You’re right. It looks like it’s about the right size for a desk drawer, though. Come on.”

  They raced downstairs to the office. Laney sat behind the desk as he bent and slid the key right into the lock. They shared a look of delight, excitement, and apprehension. Slowly he opened the drawer. It was empty except for a pile of envelopes tied up with a red ribbon. He reached in and pulled them out, setting them on the desk in front of her. The envelopes had yellowed some but were addressed to her father, David Essex, and were from a woman named Lea Essex who lived in Phoenix.

  “Who’s Lea Essex?” he asked.

  “I haven’t the faintest idea.” She picked them up and began to page through them. “There must be ten letters here, all from Lea Essex.” She carefully slid a letter out of its envelope. Her face paled as she read. “They’re love letters,” she murmured, incredulous. She let the sheet drop on her lap.

  Cooper got a sinking feeling. Could David Essex be the basis for Sydney’s novel about a man with two families?

  “Simple love letters, with everyday commentary, like you’d share with someone you were close to.” She picked her letter up again after a minute and read out loud. ‘Missed you at bridge club. Don and Susie said to tell you hello. Jay was not the partner that you are. We lost all four rubbers.’” She paused, her breath catching a few seconds later. “Further down she goes into some more intimate details about how much she missed him and how she was going to welcome him home. Home? I don’t understand. Who is this woman? Was she deranged? And if so, why did my father keep her letters?”

  Cooper perused one that he had opened. “Laney, I think you better read this.”

  “‘I was so happy you could come to the sonogram with me this morning, honey. It’s nice to put a face with the name we came up with, isn’t it? And to think, in a few months our Scottie will be here.’ Oh, my gosh!” She jumped up and began pacing behind the desk.

  “Laney, what is it?”

  “Scott was going to be my name if I was a boy.” She looked at him, her eyes wide. “My father had another family in Phoenix. He had a son. He had a son…” she repeated faintly, settling back down into the chair with a shocked expression on her face. After a few minutes, she turned to him and asked. “How can we be sure?”

  “If I could borrow the laptop…”

  She hopped out of the seat and let him take over. “Do you think your sister had wireless internet access?” He looked up to catch her are-you-kidding-expression. “Right.” He started to type in Lea Essex, but as soon as he typed the first three letters, a drop-down appeared with her name in it. The pair exchanged a look. “Are you sure you want to know all this?”

  “I’m in this far. I need to know the answers.”

  “Okay.” He clicked on the name and maneuvered deftly around the web. He pulled up Lea Essex’s obituary, and there it was in black and white. She had died in an automobile accident, killed by a drunk driver, and was survived by her husband, David, (42) and son, Scott (10).

  “Oh, my God!” Laney started pacing again. “That was my tenth birthday.”

  “What?”

  “The day she died. I remember! My parents had a huge fight. I heard them, even over the chatter of all the girls at my birthday party. I snuck outside his study and listened, peeking through the door crack. He told my mom that he had to go, that something had come up at the office in Phoenix. She said, ‘You’re not leaving Laney’s party to go to her. I won’t let you.’ and then my dad broke down and cried. I’d never, in my whole life, seen him cry. He put his head in his hands and cried out, ‘She’s dead, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? Dammit, Camille! She’s dead.’ and that’s all I heard because my mom turned around to march out and I had to run away before she caught me. I always thought that they were talking about my Great-Aunt Martha, who lived in Phoenix. She and my mom never got along, so I thought…” She stood still, lost in thought. “My mom knew and she never said a word. Never. Not even after he died. I have a brother, or half-brother, I guess. Man!” He watched as the realization dawned on her. “This must have been what Syd was going to tell me. She was doing research and somehow stumbled upon these letters.”

  The real question was who wanted to keep Laney from finding out? Who needed to keep Sydney quiet? He glanced at her. She looked utterly befuddled and shell-shocked. He closed the laptop. “I think you’ve had enough for today. I’m taking you home.”

  She glanced up as if remembering he was in the room with her. “Okay.”

  Chapter Eight

  Laney didn’t say a word on the way home, just stared forward, in a daze. She jumped out when the car came to a stop in her parking lot. Cooper hurried around to her side of the car where she had closed the door and was now leaning against it.

  Laney had so many thoughts and emotions churning through her she felt like a witch’s cauldron with things popping up at random to the surface, not the least of which was her confused feelings for Cooper. She felt pulled to him like no man she had ever met before, but she also knew the kindness he offered was little more than an obligation to his job, and her frustration over that, along with her grief and shock, were kindling for the fire under her boiling pot.

  “Man. I can’t even begin to imagine what you must think of me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, first you see my mom hit me—no, no, revise that, first you almost get into a fight because of me, then you witness a family throw-down, and then you find out my dad was a lying, cheating bastard.” She started to rush past him, muttering, “Yeah. I got the whole package, all right. A mom that freaks out from time-to-time and strikes people in public, a dad living a dual life…oh yeah, it’s a barrel of laughs with the Essexes.” She set off at a pretty fast clip across the parking lot.

  “Laney, wait.”

  She spun to face him, her face hot with anger and pain.

  “This isn’t any reflection on you.”

  “Oh, you are the eternal optimist, Cooper.” She responded with lethal vehemence. She turned her back on him and continued storming away.

  “Laney? Laney?” He scrambled after her and grabbed her arm. “Wait a goddamn minute!”

  She shook him off. “Your duties here are finished, Officer,” she said coolly. “You’ve done a great job of offering comfort to the deceased’s sister. I’ll commend you to your superiors.”

  He stood there for a moment, mouth hanging open. “What? Now you’re mad at me?”

  “No, Officer Sullivan, not at all. Your goddamn professional courtesy is appreciated, now leave me alone!” The tears which threatened earlier ran down her cheeks now. She didn’t even know what she was shouting at him, let alone why.

  “Laney, let’s talk. You’re upset.”

  She struggled with the key in the lock, not helped by the fact tears were blinding her and her hands were shaking. “I’m okay. I’ll handle it the way all we Essexes do.” She jerked the door open. “I’ll drink ‘til I’m blind, deaf, and dumb and then maybe I’ll do a header off the b
alcony.” She tried to close the door on him, but he wedged his foot in it. She stared at him through the crack, her eyes burning from tears and lack of sleep. “I’m kidding, Officer. Don’t worry. You won’t have to scrape me off the pavement. Now, if you could please, leave me alone.”

  “Lane,” he said, his voice soft and desperate, “is that really what you want?”

  She struggled to find words, looking down, the anger dissipating, leaving her tired. “Yes.” Her voice was a mere whisper. “Yes,” she said more firmly, looking him in the eye with a hint of residual anger stirring.

  He took his hands from the door frame, where he had been trying to force his way in, and pulled his foot out. She slammed the door in his face and turned the deadbolt. She laid her forehead on the door, her hand still on the bolt. It was dead silent. She’d never felt so alone.

  She turned and plodded up the stairs to her bedroom and curled up on her side in her bed. The words from the letters kept floating through her mind. “Come home soon, honey. We love you-Lea and Scottie.”

  Her father had been her staunch supporter, her advocate, and all the while he had been lying to her. Her mother knew the whole time but had never bothered to say anything to her. And Sydney had gone and left her with this mess. She couldn’t cope. She cried until she fell asleep.

  In her dreams, someone was standing over her, speaking her name tenderly, but when she woke in the dark room later, she was alone.

  She got up and dragged herself to the kitchen to warm up a bowl of soup. She caught her reflection in the microwave. Her eyes were so puffy they looked like swollen pickles, her nose was sore, and the exhaustion of sleepless nights showed on her face. Why would Cooper want me? Why would anyone want me?

  She turned away from her reflection and took her soup to the kitchen table. As she sat stirring her soup, with no real interest in eating it, there was a soft rap on the French doors that led to her back patio. She saw her neighbor, Steve, outside. She got up and went to unlock the door.

  “Hi, Steve,” she mumbled dully, shuffling back to the table. Steve was 6’3 and gangly, with curly brown hair and a killer smile. He had moved in several years ago and they had become friends.

  “I brought you some cookies.”

  She looked up and noticed, for the first time, the plate of chocolate chip cookies he held in his hand. He knew they were her favorite. The sweet gesture penetrated the haze of pain. Unable to speak, she patted the chair next to her.

  “I don’t think I’ll be very good company tonight,” she got out after a bit.

  “Oh, Laney.” He came to sit by her. “I didn’t expect you to be. You don’t have to say anything at all. I thought you might like some company.”

  His unexpected kindness broke the dams. Her shoulders started shaking.

  “Oh, Laney. Poor baby.” He rose and bent to sweep her out of the chair in his arms, taking her to the couch and depositing her there next to him. She wept until she fell asleep again, in his arms.

  * * *

  Cooper left Laney’s and drove straight to the precinct house. He typed up all he had learned that day and, with several interruptions—not the least of which was the informal inquisition Aidan had given him about he and Laney—wasn’t finished until well after seven. He hadn’t eaten, but he didn’t feel hungry either. He went home and turned the basketball game on, but had trouble following it.

  The words Laney shouted at him in the parking lot kept repeating in his head. Every time she had called him ‘officer’ had been like a bullet to the heart, emphasizing how wrong it was to have these feelings for her. But what bothered him the most were the images of her face he couldn’t shake, the stark pain and confusion. More than once he picked up the phone to call her then hung up without doing so. She made it clear she wanted to be by herself. He needed to respect that.

  When he went out for a drive, he had no idea he would end up over at her place. He sat in the parking lot for a while. This is silly. I’m here, I might as well check on her. She was upset. It’s what any caring individual would do,” he further rationalized. Deep down, he only wanted to see her again, make sure she was all right. And, if he were completely honest with himself, he wanted more than that, but knew it wasn’t right.

  He got out of his car and ambled up to the door. He raised his hand to rap on the door, glancing in one of the long side windows. He saw her curled up, her head on another man’s lap; the man was stroking her hair. He turned and hurried away.

  Of course she had a boyfriend. Why had the thought never occurred to him before? Maybe because if I were her boyfriend, I would keep better tabs on her, at a time like this. I wouldn’t allow her to walk into some bar and dance with some strange man…and look so good…and… He shook his head. But then again, Laney wouldn’t have listened to anybody. And that was one of the things he liked about her, he realized. When she made a decision, she was strong-willed and fearless.

  And she belonged to another man.

  * * *

  When Laney woke up in Steve’s arms, she felt embarrassed. They were good friends, but not fall-asleep-in-your-arms kind of friends. She felt utterly awkward until he left. Meandering around her condo, she reviewed the day’s events over and over, feeling like a caged animal. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed over the past couple of days and she wished, desperately, to have her old life back—the life of papers and red pens, teenaged angst and poor grammar. Not the life she had inherited—a life of murder, betrayal, and deceit. She felt incapable of handling the situation she had stumbled into.

  And again and again, she kept coming back to the end of the day, to the hateful way she acted with Cooper, the nonsense that had come out of her mouth. One thing was for certain, she owed that man an apology.

  So, apologizing was what she had in mind when she showed up at the precinct house the next morning. She wandered the halls, amazed by how big the building was and wondering if the people that worked there ever felt like a mouse in a maze, when she almost ran into someone. In fact, he had to take her arms to prevent them from ramming into each other. He was mopping sweat from his face with the ends of the towel slung over his shoulders. He wore a sleeveless shirt and sweats.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  “No problem,” he said with a grin. He was tall, with dark hair and a tanned complexion. “Can I help you find someone?”

  “You wouldn’t, by any chance, know where Cooper Sullivan is, would you?”

  “I would,” he answered brightly. “I just left him. He was giving me one hell of a workout, and he’s still at it. Down the hall to your right.”

  “Oh, thanks.” But before she could turn to go, he stopped her.

  “I knew something was gnawing at him and now I see why. You’re Laney Essex, aren’t you?”

  “Why, yes! I…how did you know—”

  He stuck out his hand. “I’m Aidan. Aidan McConnahy, Cooper’s partner.”

  “Oh. Well. Very nice to meet you. I didn’t even realize he had a partner.”

  He eyed her. “Yeah. Well. He’s been kind of lone wolfing it lately. May I say…you don’t look anything like I expected.”

  “Oh, I don’t?” She glanced down at her faded blue jeans and t-shirt. “What did you expect?”

  “Somebody more…I don’t know…uptight.”

  “That would be my mother.”

  His grin widened. “So I heard.” A uniformed police officer rounded the corner with some papers in his hand and stopped short. Aidan didn’t look up or acknowledge him.

  “And I’m plenty uptight.”

  “You don’t look it. You look more like the kind of girl that every designer in Europe would be dying to get to walk down the runways in their latest fashions.”

  Laney felt a wave of heat rush to her face. “Oh. Well…thank you. You may have suffered some oxygen deprivation in that workout.” This is shaping up to be one of the strangest conversations I’ve had in a while.
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br />   He laughed. “Sense of humor, too. Yep. Coop’s in trouble.”

  “Uhh…McConnahy? I’m kind of in a crunch here.”

  “Keep your shorts on, Bohouser. I’ll be right with ya.” He took her hand and bent to kiss it. “Nice meeting you, Laney Essex.” He gestured again. “Down the hall and to your right. Take it easy on him.”

  “Oookay,” she replied, but he was gone, slapping the uniformed officer on the back with a “Now what can I do for you, Jack?”

  Laney stood for a second and then laughed and shook her head. Aidan McConnahy was one of a kind.

  She continued down the hall and paused outside the door to the weight room. A window took up half the door, so she was able to look in and see Cooper right away. He was preoccupied with adjusting his machine, so he didn’t see her. Her heart stopped for a minute as she watched him. He had his shirt off and sweats on. His shoulders were huge, and the muscles in his back and arms, well defined. When he turned and sat down on the end of the bench, she could see the rest of him, and she had to remind herself to breathe. He looked like he should be on the cover of a romance novel with some exotic woman running her hands down his chest. She wished she could be that woman. When he started to lift his eyes, she dropped into a crouch below the window and waited anxious, holding her breath, to see if he had observed her outside the door. She duck-walked out of view of the window and then straightened up. Spotting a women’s restroom down the hall, she tore off in its direction. Behind the closed door, she leaned against the wall, breathing heavily and feeling foolish. What had she done? Had she really ducked like some junior high-schooler caught staring at her crush? What an idiot! She laughed at herself. Geez, Laney, maybe he’ll ask you to the senior prom, she chided herself. For goodness sakes, pull yourself together.