Gavin’s temper exploded. “You wanna take me on, you little weasel?” He rolled Anna to his side, jumped from the bed and stepped into his jeans.
“Gavin, no,” Anna cried.
“What gives you the right,” Gavin demanded through gritted teeth, ignoring her and advancing on Ben, “to walk into your sister’s bedroom uninvited, unannounced?” He grabbed Ben by the collar and dragged him from the room.
Shivering in reaction, Anna allowed herself a full five seconds to huddle beneath the sheet. Then humiliation gave way to rage. How dare her brother walk in that way and pass judgment on her and Gavin? How dare he?
And how dare Gavin...
How dare Gavin what? Defend her honor?
Tears stung her eyes. Adding herself to the list of people she was angry with, she dashed the tears away and grabbed her robe, intent on putting a stop to the shouting in the living room before things got out of hand.
When she reached the living room a few seconds later she realized things were already out of hand. Gavin and Ben stood nose to nose, Gavin’s eyes narrowed to furious slits, his fists clenched at his sides.
Ben’s face was beet red. “I won’t have you amusing yourself at my sister’s expense, damn you.”
“Amusing myself?” She’d never heard Gavin’s voice that quiet, that steely. “Is that—”
“Stop it! Both of you, just stop it right now.”
Both men, chests heaving, kept one eye on each other when they turned to her.
“I can’t believe,” Ben said to her, “that someone with as much common sense as you’ve got would fall for whatever line this bastard used.”
“You’re digging a hole, kid,” Gavin said coldly. “And I’m gonna bury you in it.”
“Anna, can’t you see he’s using you? What better way to get to me than to cozy up with my sister?”
“I think you’ve said enough,” she told him.
“Think about it, Anna,” Ben said desperately. “Why else would a rich, famous songwriter come on to a woman like you?”
Anna reeled as though he’d slapped her. The blood drained from her head. Her stomach rolled. “A woman like me?”
“Way to go, jackass,” Gavin snarled. “How many more ways can your pea-size brain come up with to insult her?”
“I’m not insulting her. Anna knows what she is. She’s nice, and she’s good, and she’s nothing like the party girls you hang out with.” To Anna he said, “He’s only here because I owe him money. You pay him off and watch how fast he leaves. It’s not you he wants, it’s his lousy five thousand dollars.”
It hurt. Oh, God, it hurt. The truth of her brother’s words sliced to the bone.
Gavin gripped her arm. “Anna, don’t—”
“It’s all right, Gavin. We both know he’s right.”
“He’s not right, and you know it. Things changed. You know they did.”
“Pay him, Anna,” Ben urged. “Pay him off and get rid of him.”
“She gonna pay me, too?”
Anna whirled toward a new voice from the couch. Stunned, she could only stare. The man rose slowly to over six feet. He had to weigh at least two twenty-five. His head was as bald as a baby’s behind and he wore a wide gold hoop in one ear. When he crossed his beefy arms over his chest, he looked, incredibly, like Mr. Clean. But Mr. Clean had never leered at her that way, making her feel dirty and exposed.
A shudder of revulsion tore through her. “Who are you?”
“I’m Rocko.” He grinned, showing a shiny gold front tooth. “Rocko Mariano from Reno. Your little brother said you’d pay his debt, but he forgot to mention what a looker you are. If you don’t have enough money, maybe we can work out a trade, you and me.”
Gavin snarled and started forward, but Anna blocked him with her arm. Horrified, she kept Gavin at bay and whirled on Ben. “You dare?” she whispered harshly. “You dare bring one of the goons you owe money to into my home?”
“I didn’t have any choice,” Ben said tightly. “If you’ll just lend me a little, I can pay him off and he’ll leave.”
“Anna.” Gavin’s fingers dug into her arm. “Don’t do it.”
“How much?” she snapped to Ben.
For the first time, Ben looked uncomfortable.
“How much did you lose this time?” Anna demanded.
“Not much. Just six. Grand.”
Anna’s heart stopped. “Six...thousand? Dollars?”
Gavin let go of her arm and turned on Ben. “You stupid, self-centered bastard. She’s not buying your way out of this mess. Not this time, you little weasel.”
Ben’s gaze had lowered, but suddenly his eyes bulged as he stared at Anna’s arm. “Good God, a tattoo?” He snarled at Gavin. “What the hell have you done to my sister?”
“Ben—” Anna began.
“Dammit, Anna.” Gavin whirled on her.
“Pay him and get him out of here, Anna,” Ben urged. “Get him out of here before he ruins you completely.”
“You’re not giving up your college again for this ungrateful jerk.”
“Come on, Anna,” Ben wheedled. “You know you’ve always got a little extra tucked away.”
“Six thousand dollars?” she said again. “Plus the five you owe Gavin?” She looked at Ben as though she’d never seen him before.
“Whatever money she’s got is what she’s saved up for her college,” Gavin said with a snarl.
“Get off it, Marshall. Anna’s never been to college.”
“And why do you think that is?” Gavin mocked. “Could it be because every time she saves up enough money, you come dragging in here with some sob story? You’re pathetic, Collins. A mooching little weasel who’d rather live off his sister, no matter what it costs her, than stand on his own two feet and act like a man for a change.”
“So much for friendship,” Ben muttered.
“Friendship?” Gavin glared. “Yeah, I thought we were friends. Until I made the same mistake she makes by believing you when you said you’d pay me back. You paid me back, all right. Took my money, took my car, and took off. So help me, if you’ve put so much as a ding in the door, I’ll rearrange your face.”
“That’s enough,” Anna said quietly. “Gavin’s right about one thing, Ben. I am going to college. I start this fall. That means I don’t have any money to give you.”
“Come on, Anna, I’ll pay you back by fall, I swear it.”
She saw the panic in his eyes, heard the desperation in his voice. Saw the way the thug across the room narrowed his eyes into menacing slits.
“No,” she told him, her insides freezing into a hard knot. “I’m through being used. By anyone.” She met Gavin’s eyes and held them.
Gavin felt a sliver of panic prick him. “Anna—”
“I’m going to go take a shower now.” She felt dazed. Battered and bruised. “When I come out, I want all of you gone.”
Ben protested viciously.
Gavin held her gaze. “I’m not leaving, Anna.”
“Why not?” She smiled at him sadly. “It was fun while it tasted, but you came to get your hands on my brother. Well, here he is. You can take him and go home now. Like I said, I’m through being used. By anyone.”
“Anna, don’t do this. I love you.”
Anna heard him, but the words barely registered. They were too far-fetched to be believed. Gavin didn’t love her. He had made that more than plain yesterday.
Too much of what Ben had said echoed her own fears. She was just dull little Anna Collins. Had it been only two days since she’d reminded herself that a man like Gavin could never be serious about a little mouse like her? How right she had been.
Oh, she didn’t doubt that he cared. A little, at least. But love? No. He was only trying to make her feel better.
“That was sex, Gavin, not love. Really good sex, but it’s over now. You’ve got what you came for. You can go home.” She turned her back and walked away.
Ben snickered. “Guess she told you.”
Gavin didn’t say a word. He just turned to Ben and punched him in the mouth. Seeing the son of a bitch stretched out on the floor did wonders for the black mood engulfing him at Anna’s stinging rejection. Gavin had never told a woman he loved her before. Anna was a first for him. She was in his blood, and she’d just ripped his heart to shreds without batting an eye.
As he grabbed Ben’s collar and pulled him from the floor, he was feeling particularly ugly. “Are you satisfied now, you worthless piece of—”
“Hey, all I did was tell her the truth.”
“The truth?” Gavin demanded, incredulous, furious. “Is that how you see your sister? As some perpetual old maid no man would ever be attracted to?”
Ben gaped, stunned. “I never said anything like that.”
“It was close enough, and that’s what she heard. You just sliced your sister to ribbons. You’re not fit to even speak her name.”
The stranger by the couch took a step toward them. “You wanna save the family spat for later? I want my money, Collins. You said you’d get it here.”
Looking decidedly uneasy, Ben ran stiff fingers through his hair. “You’ll get it, man. I just need to talk to my sister again. As soon as she gets out of the shower—”
“You won’t be here when she gets out of the shower,” Gavin told him coldly.
“Neither will you.” Ben glared. “She told you to get out, too.”
“You can both get out,” the man said, grinning like a crazed jack-o’-lantern. “I’ll make my own deal with Sis.”
Gavin’s blood ran cold. “You brought this creep into her home? Were you out of your mind?”
“Yeah, well.” Panic seeped into Ben’s eyes. “It would have worked out fine if you hadn’t been here, putting ideas in her head.”
“What kind of ideas? That she’s entitled to a life of her own? That she shouldn’t have had to dream and scrimp and save for twelve years for enough money to go to college because you kept bleeding her dry every time she turned around? That her brother is a grown man and she’s not responsible for his stupidity? Or maybe you mean the idea that she’s a beautiful, desirable woman that any man would be proud to call his. What’s the matter, Ben? Can’t stand to realize that somebody or something else other than you might be important to her? Grow up, damn you, and grow up fast, before you completely destroy her.”
Rocko from Reno propped hands the size of whole hams on his linebacker hips. “Ah, hell, man, you’re breaking my heart. Is somebody gonna pay me my six grand plus expenses, or do I need to take it out in trade from Sis in the shower?”
Ben gulped. “Expenses?”
“Hey, I rode in with you. I got no way home, man. You owe me for that.”
Ben’s smile was shaky and full of nerves. “Okay, okay. As soon as she comes out—”
“No way in hell,” Gavin said. He was afraid that Anna would give in and pay the bastard, just to get rid of him. Gavin wasn’t about to let that happen. He wasn’t about to let Ben or the bruiser with the earring stay under her roof one more minute. He jabbed a finger toward the guy’s chest. “Stay.”
He swore all the way to his bedroom. The room he hadn’t slept in for two nights. He was going to have to leave her, leave with everything unsettled, with her not believing he loved her. All because of that overgrown juvenile delinquent of a brother of hers. Gavin knew Ben wouldn’t leave unless he did. And if Gavin didn’t drag him all the way back to California, Ben would just turn around and come back to Anna’s.
He wasn’t having it. He wasn’t going to let Ben hang around and spew any more of his poison at Anna.
He dug six thousand in cash from the money belt in his duffel bag, and while he was there he finished dressing and packed all of his belongings. Seething with fury, frustration and pain, he went back out and paid the goon off. “Count it.”
“Hey,” Ben said, his eyes widening, his throat working on a swallow. “Hey, man, I mean, wow, thanks, Gav.”
“That’s six thousand, all right. Now where’s my traveling home money?”
“Oh, we’ll see you get home, Ben and me. Won’t we, Ben?”
“We will?”
“We will. You’re going to drive him, in my car, to the airport. Just to make sure our good friend Rocko doesn’t change his mind and come back here, we’re going to wait with him at the airport until his plane leaves.”
“Long as you buy my ticket, you don’t need to stay. I’ve got what I came for.”
“We’ll wait until your plane leaves,” Gavin repeated. “The two of you are going to the airport in the car and I’m going to follow on the Harley. When we leave the airport I’m going to follow you.” He got in Ben’s face to make his point. “All the way to my house. And if you even think about trying to lose me anywhere along the way, I’m reporting the car stolen and your ass is going to jail. You got that?”
Ben stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and swallowed. He couldn’t meet Gavin’s eyes. “Yeah. Sure. I got it, Gav. No problem.”
Chapter Thirteen
For Anna, each day dragged out longer than the one before. At the office, Donna didn’t need to be told that things hadn’t worked out for Anna’s “friend.” She offered a shoulder to cry on, or a girl’s night out, complete with serious drinking at the nearest male strip joint, whichever Anna preferred. Both if she wanted.
Anna thought—hoped—she had smiled at all the appropriate places as she turned down the offers, but she wasn’t sure if she pulled it off.
She didn’t seem to be pulling much of anything off lately, except sitting and staring at the wall in her living room, hugging her stupid stuffed monkey from Frontier City and picturing a black velvet portrait of Elvis while listening to the CDs Gavin had bought on the stereo he’d left behind.
She couldn’t even cry. Tears meant emotion, and she had none. She was...empty. Just...empty.
Life after Gavin might have been bearable if he’d done something simple like kiss her goodbye and walk out. Instead, he’d told her he loved her.
He couldn’t know, of course, how badly her heart had wanted—needed—it to be true.
But of course it wasn’t true. He hadn’t meant it. Maybe he had just been being kind. Maybe he’d thought he meant it at the moment, but if she had accepted his words at face value...
No, he hadn’t meant it. A man like Gavin Marshall, and dull Anna Collins the bookkeeper? The idea was laughable. She had been a convenient amusement for him. Rather like his own personal Eliza Doolittle. Only instead of teaching her how to walk and speak like a lady, he’d taught her to laugh, to have fun.
She could almost hate him for that.
She had told herself as she’d huddled shivering in the shower that Sunday morning, scrubbing at that stupid tattoo until her arm was raw, that the first day would be the worst. The first day without Gavin.
She’d been wrong. Oh, it had been a nightmare, to be sure. She had felt as if she’d had ten-pound weights strapped to both arms and legs. The shock of realizing, when she had finally left the bathroom Sunday morning and found the house empty, that he left his Looney Tunes T-shirt on her bedroom floor had been bad enough. And his underwear. She’d wondered for a moment what the proper etiquette was for returning a man’s Jockey’s. Did one enclose a card? Say thanks for the good times?
Even more painful had been finding the photograph on her pillow, the photograph taken at Frontier City with Gavin and her dressed in costumes. The outlaw and the schoolmarm. She remembered that they’d left the photo in the saddlebag on the Harley when they’d come home that night. He must have found it when he and Ben and that other man had left. Found it, and decided he didn’t want it.
All through that bleak and lonely Sunday night, Anna told herself that this was the worst. In the morning things would start getting better.
They hadn’t, of course. She had only been fooling herself. Each day was worse, longer, lonelier, harder. By Thursday evening, though, she thought she was doi
ng better. At work she had managed as much as ten minutes at a time, twice, without thinking of Gavin.
She was going to survive.
When the phone rang Thursday evening, her traitorous heart leaped with hope that it was him.
“Anna?”
Her heart sank. For a moment, she couldn’t speak.
“Anna, it’s Ben.”
For the first time in days she nearly smiled. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he had called her over the years. As angry as she still was with him, as hurt as she still was by the things he’d said, he was still her brother. It was good to hear from him. “Yes,” she told him. “I believe I recognized your voice. How about me?”
A long silence, then, “What are you talking about?”
“It was a joke, Ben. Or am I not allowed to make jokes? Is that one of the things your good ol’ dependable sister just wouldn’t do?”
“You know I didn’t—Ah, hell, Anna, those things I said last weekend, they came out all wrong. You know I love you. You know I’d never hurt you on purpose.”
She sighed. “Yes, I know.”
“Anyway,” he said, his voice strengthening, “I was calling to let you know that I’m in California, and everything’s okay. I didn’t want you worrying about me.”
If his calling was a surprise, his reason—just to let her know he was okay, and where he was—came as a shock. Then her heart folded in on itself. “Did Gavin make you call?”
“What, you think I can’t call you on my own?”
“You rarely do, and never unless you want something.”
“Well.” Nervous laughter came over the line. “Guess I know what you think of me, huh?”
“Do you? Do you know that I love you very much?”
She heard him swallow. “I love you, too, Anna,” he said quietly. Then, “I have a job.”
Any more shocks and Anna wasn’t sure she would be able to cope. “A job?”
“Well, it’s not much of one. I’m a gofer at a recording studio. But it’s a foot in the door, and it pays regular. And I’m playing the piano in this club three nights a week.”
Gavin, she thought. Gavin had done this. “Congratulations. Two jobs. I’m impressed. What...what about the money you owe?”
Until You Page 19