Finally, satisfied that she’d done the best she could, she returned to the office to find it empty. She didn’t know whether to be pleased or insulted that Malone would disappear without an explanation. Quickly she slipped into the hall and back into the banquet room where the mayor was saying, “Octavius Henry Lawson, for his hard work in cleaning up his neighborhood, is being rewarded with two weeks at summer camp in the mountains of North Georgia.”
Octavius, now over his shyness, bounced forward, took the trophy from the mayor and shook the hand of the man standing next to him. Ryan Malone. The boy started off the platform, then stopped and turned back. Ryan said something and the child took a flying leap, landed in Ryan’s arms and hugged his neck. When Ryan let him down, he gave the boy a thumbs-up and watched proudly as he danced down the steps and into his grandmother’s arms.
A grandmother, that was another thing Sunny hadn’t had. Both sets of grandparents had died before she was born. Then she’d lost her mother. But her father had been enough. At least to the best of his ability, he’d tried. Then he’d been sent to jail. Until then, he’d believed that hard work and living right brought a man rewards. Losing that trust had almost destroyed him. His despair had driven Sunny to search out dishonesty. She’d thought that would make everything better. But when she’d tried to tell her father about the corruption in Martinsville, he’d warned her, “Sometimes, people kill the messenger because they can’t deal with the message.” He’d been right. She’d lost her job and the truth had been concealed.
“You okay?” Walt asked.
“I’m working on it,” she answered more sharply than she intended. “Is this guy for real? Retirement homes. Children. Grandmothers?”
“The children and the old folks seem to believe in him. Don’t you?”
“I don’t know.” She knew Walt was asking about more than the story, but she didn’t have an answer.
One by one, each child accepted a trophy, shook Malone’s hand and exchanged a thumbs-up with him. Sunny felt her anger melt away as she watched. Ryan Malone, the lover, had turned into Ryan Malone, proud parent of twenty-six kids. At least she’d had her dad, even if he hadn’t quite known how to show her he cared. Ryan had no one. So he’d created his own family.
Finally, the mayor presented the last award, then picked up a plaque and said, “Now, it is my distinct pleasure to announce the final award, recognition for a great humanitarian, the man who made it possible for all these boys and girls to go to summer camp, Ryan Malone.”
The applause was deafening. In moments, every person in the room was standing.
Ryan looked embarrassed. His hair was still mussed and his tie was still crooked, but it didn’t matter. He was as elegant as he was generous. After shaking hands with the other officials on the platform and with the mayor, he said humbly, “Thank you, but I’m not the winner here. I’m not the one to be recognized. The winners are these kids, kids from broken families, often without a place to live, who deserve better than we give them. Children deserve hope and respect. I know how they feel. I’ve been there. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to give back and so long as I can, I will.”
Ryan’s speech rang true, and Sunny knew he was sincere. She motioned to Walt and they quickly left the building. All the way back to the station she expected Walt to say something, ask questions. He didn’t, until they pulled into the parking lot. “What are you going to do about him?”
“I don’t have a clue. I never met anyone like him. All I know is that he’s too much for me.”
Walt chuckled. “I doubt that. He’s made it clear that he’s interested in you, Sunny. I think it’s going to be great fun finding out what he does next.”
6
HER PHONE RANG at midnight.
The voice was low and seductive. “Hello, Sunny. Why did you run away?”
“Malone, don’t you ever give up?”
“Not when I find something I want.”
Sunny sat up in bed and pulled the covers to her chin. “Tonight—the kiss—was a mistake,” she spoke softly into the telephone. “You know it.”
“Probably, but even if I wanted to, I couldn’t stay away from you. And I don’t think you want me to.”
“It’s late, Malone. What do you want?”
“You, here with me. I want to kiss you again. Close your eyes, Sunny. Imagine it.”
“I’m not good at imagining. I much prefer reality.”
“I like reality, too. Especially the reality of you kissing me back.”
“It was just a kiss, Malone.”
“Maybe. But you can’t fake a response like that. I know you felt the same thing I did.”
“I was just surprised.”
“Don’t lie to me, Sunny. The truth, remember.”
He was right. How could she lie to him if she was committed to exposing lies and corruption? “You’re right. I was shocked but I…your kiss was awesome.”
“And so was yours. I want to see you, Sunny. Just say the word and the next sound you hear will be me, knocking on your door.”
“No, please don’t. Ryan, I can’t do this. I have a job, a job that’s important to me. I’m not wealthy like you. Earning my own way is important, so is sticking to my plan. You’re messing up my head and I can’t let you do that.” There was desperation in her voice, fear even. She couldn’t think rationally. What if he really came over? She was barely in control. Desire flared at nothing more than the sound of his voice. She couldn’t resist him any more than Lord Sin. At least Sin was a fantasy.
There was a long silence. “All right, Sunny. I won’t push you. I told you I want you but when we make love, I want you to want it, too. I’ll wait.”
“Good night, Ryan.”
“Good night, Sunny. Oh, one more thing. I’ve arranged for you to talk to Lottie tomorrow. Are you still interested?”
She took a quick breath. She’d given up on a meeting with Lord Sin. Apparently he was willing to keep to his bargain. But it was her decision. Was she willing to keep to her part of the bargain? “Not tomorrow,” she finally answered. “I need a day to do some research and get my schedule together. Could you postpone it until the next day?”
“Coward!” he whispered.
“It’s just that I don’t think I can see you again so soon, Ryan. And that’s the truth.”
“All right, Friday it is. She’s invited you to tea. Shall I stop by the station for you about four?”
“Friday, at four,” she agreed.
“Good night again,” he whispered. “By the way, stretch knit sheets aren’t bad. Don’t know why I never tried them before.”
“You’re sleeping on stretch knit sheets?”
“I’m not sleeping much, but I’m trying.”
Sunny ran her fingers over her smooth cotton sheets and smiled. “You’re kidding,” she said.
“I never kid. And just in case you’re interested, I’m trying out your idea of nightwear as well.”
“My nightwear?”
“Yeah, cologne and a smile.”
SUNNY CALLED HER FATHER every Sunday. Calling him on Friday morning was an abrupt departure from her normal routine. “What’s wrong, Sunny girl?” he asked.
“Nothing really. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Uh-huh. So, let me hear you telling me why you needed to hear mine. Is it the job?”
“The job’s great, Pop.”
“Your apartment? Maybe you’d be better off in one of those condos. I’m a little worried about your being by yourself.”
“No, I love my garage apartment. The people who live in the big house in front are in Florida so I have plenty of privacy. Everyone in town doesn’t know what I’m doing. I like that.”
Well, her statement sounded good. It should be the truth. But according to Melinda, if the telephone calls and e-mail were any indication, her life with Ryan Malone was quickly becoming front-page news.
“Then what’s wrong?”
She’d never
told her father that the politicians she’d wanted to expose were associates of the man who’d owned the construction company where he’d worked. Even though he’d been blamed for their corruption, the inferior materials they’d used, he’d gotten over being bitter. She never had. No one had believed her father and she figured out right away that no one would believe her. So Sunny had made it her goal to go after the criminals, changing her college major to journalism to give herself the credentials and a forum to expose their wrongdoings. But her boss had put a gag on her. She’d failed.
Then her father had decided to go into the ministry, believing that all that he’d suffered was leading him to serve others. She’d known that she couldn’t put him in the spotlight again.
But this was a different kind of dilemma.
“I’ve met someone. Someone I don’t quite know how to handle, Pop. I guess I’m just scared.”
“This isn’t like you, Sunny. You’ve only been there two weeks. Isn’t this kinda sudden?”
“It isn’t at all like me. I only met him a couple of days ago. But he’s like a freight train coming at me and I can’t seem to get off the tracks.”
“Never known you to be scared before. Guess I can take it to mean that you’re not physically afraid of him.”
“No. I’m afraid of me.”
“You like him?”
“Like? I don’t really know. He likes me, at least he likes my…attitude.”
“So, what’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing. But my instinct tells me that there’s something…not quite right. He’s very attractive, wealthy, good-hearted and he’s interested in—me? That scares me.”
“And I always told you to go with your instincts, didn’t I? Tell you what. I’d planned to come up and check out your new living quarters,” her father said, suddenly serious. “I think I’ll just drive on up after church on Sunday. Think I could meet him?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’d like that.”
Her father had tried to be there for Sunny after her mother died. And they’d spent time together, time arranged more often by Sunny than her dad. He never seemed unduly upset at her escapades. Part of it, she knew, was that he was just too tired to argue. But he also simply wanted her to enjoy life. Her yellow treehouse might have raised a few eyebrows in their small town, but he’d pronounced it the mark of a happy place. Gymnastics instead of ballet seemed a good idea. He worked along beside her on building a Habitat for Humanity house, teaching her how to use a hammer and nails and a saw. When she’d decided to become an actress, he’d pronounced it to be a fine career. By the time she entered college, she’d grown used to his weary smile and automatic approval. He hadn’t been there when she’d changed her college major from theater to journalism but he’d known he was the reason she’d set her sights on exposing corruption and he’d warned her to be careful. She was glad he was coming. Byron Clary was a man whose judgment had been impaired once. Neither he nor Sunny would ever make that mistake again.
She wanted her father to use his judgment on Ryan Malone.
“I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!” It was later in the morning and Sunny was in the room affectionately called the station’s morgue. She’d just pulled up the computer file of Ryan Malone’s real estate holdings and discovered that the Commerce Club belonged to him.
“What’s up?” Ted Fields, foam cup half full of coffee in his hand, took the seat at the computer next to Sunny.
“Just doing a little research on Ryan Malone,” she said, exiting the file and leaning back in her chair.
“Good piece you did on that awards banquet last night. The man never ceases to amaze me.”
“You know you misled me about Malone, Ted,” she claimed with affected anger.
“No, you asked me if he was paying for the dinner and I said no.”
“Yeah, that’s the only thing he didn’t pay for. Even the building belongs to Ryan Malone.”
“I knew about the building, but I honestly didn’t know that he’d financed all those kids attending summer camp. He keeps a lot of his philanthropy to himself. Understand your public information officer for the evening was Anne Kelley. She’s a good contact for you. How did you get along with her?”
“I like her fine.” Except that she’s one of Ryan’s ex-girlfriends.
“Walt said you had a little trouble with Malone. He seems concerned. Frankly, so am I. Maybe you’d better drop this business about interviewing him.”
“Interviewing him isn’t my first choice, Ted. I’m working on unmasking Lord Sin. Malone is the way I get to Sin, and he’s also my consolation prize if I don’t find Sin.”
“Forget Lord Sin for now. I have a new assignment for you. Ever covered a celebrity golf tournament?”
“Not in February. Isn’t it a bit cold?”
“Not for these guys. It’s a local thing, not covered by the networks. But we tape the highlights. I’m sending Walt with you.”
“He ought to be happy. At least this is a sporting event. When do we go?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Oh!”
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you don’t have anything to wear.”
“No, it isn’t that, I just had something planned. But that’s all right, I’ll call and change my appointment from tomorrow to today. May I leave about four?”
“Sure, in fact, go whenever you like. Once you do the two stories I assigned to you, you’re free.”
“They’re done. Thanks.” Sunny sprang to her feet and headed to her desk, her mind whirling a mile a minute. She’d just call Lottie and change having tea at her place to something less personal, like going out for lunch. An hour later she’d given up. Ms. Lottie Lamour was a ghost. She’d have to call Ryan. If Lottie was a ghost, Ryan was a spirit. Yes, he had phone numbers but the voices on the end of those numbers were pleasant, perky and firm. Each took her number and promised to get it to Mr. Malone as quickly as possible.
It was two o’clock when Sunny’s phone finally rang. “Sunny Clary. May I help you?”
“It’s me,” Malone said. He didn’t even have to identify himself. The sound of his voice did it for her, immediately firing her nerve endings.
“About having tea with Lottie, do you think we could make it today? I’m on assignment tomorrow.”
“Pick you up at four,” he said.
ALL HIS GOOD INTENTIONS went out the window when Ryan opened his car door to help Sunny Clary inside. He’d seen her story on the children, the tenderness and dignity with which she’d told it. It touched him that she understood how he felt about these kids. After a night of swearing that he’d do this last thing, then back off, he took one look at her and knew that he was only fooling himself. He was attracted to her, but he was learning that he liked her goodness, too. “Hello, Sunshine.”
Sunny grimaced as she sat down. “Don’t call me that. My mother called me Sunshine.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad thoughts.”
“No bad thoughts about my mother,” Sunny said. “She was an angel. It’s just that nobody ever called me Sunshine before, except her.”
“What happened to her, or would you rather not talk about it?”
“Brain cancer. Headaches. Tumor. Surgery. Malignant. She died within six months. I was twelve.”
“That’s tough.” Ryan said. He knew what it was to watch your mother die. He took Sunny’s hand. He couldn’t help but notice the smudges beneath her eyes. She wasn’t sleeping either. That should have bothered him, but it was oddly reassuring because his sunglasses were hiding the same tell-tale signs on his own face. Now he’d given her more cause for concern.
The day was dark. A battleship-gray sky gave birth to an icy wind whistling down Peachtree, gathering up leaves and pieces of paper and flinging them angrily about. Sunny was dressed in a camel-colored wool coat that fell midway to her calves, and camel-colored leather gloves. Sensible brown pumps and opaque hose covered all he could see of her legs. The only cheery addi
tion to the somberness of her dress was a bright tan-and-yellow scarf around her neck. With her briefcase under her arm, she pulled the ends of the scarf closer with one hand while the other caught her auburn hair and held it close to her head as he closed the door behind her and moved to the driver’s side. “I hope it wasn’t too much of an imposition on Ms. Lamour.”
“Hard to tell,” he admitted. “Lottie is a woman with a mind of her own and sometimes I can’t fathom her at all.”
“She doesn’t want to see me.”
“No, quite the opposite. She is delighted. She likes you.” And that disturbed him.
“Where does Ms. Lamour live?” Sunny asked, bringing him back to the present. “I’ve been studying a city map.”
“She lives in Vinings in a house that survived the Civil War. At least some of it did. After the war, the owner rebuilt it but it’s hard to tell the old from the new. By the way, I think you might want to drop the ‘Ms.’ Lottie likes to think of herself as a modern woman, but she’s really very old-fashioned.”
“Do you see a lot of her?” Sunny asked curiously.
“No, but I did work with her in the transfer of the club to the Arts Council and in arranging the program for the fund-raiser. She’s fiercely loyal to Sin and she’ll peck your eyes out if you threaten him.”
“Must be nice to have someone so protective,” Sunny observed.
“They were together a long time. They trust each other.”
“Sometimes loyalty and trust are an illusion.” She thought of her dad and the man he’d worked for. “You think you can count on someone only to find out they’re using you. I hate that. I really hate that.”
Ryan cut his gaze to Sunny. She was serious. Who in hell had made her so suspicious? He thought about her mother’s name for her, Sunshine, and he had a sudden need to make her smile. “The governor’s mansion is on your right. We’re on West Paces Ferry Road where the real estate is worth a few bucks.”
Baring It All (Mills & Boon Temptation) Page 9