Covert Affairs

by Rhonda Laurel

  “I’ll remember that. Now, how about we get some dinner? I’m starved.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me.” Theresa smiled. “Dana, will you be able to join us?”

  “Sure.” Dana rubbed her stomach. “This one loves to eat all the time. I feel like a blimp.”

  “It’s the Reed metabolism. My niece or nephew would love some jambalaya from Imani’s,” Trina cooed and patted Dana’s belly.

  “I just have to close up the store and call the hubby to let him to know where I’ll be,” Dana said. “He’s becoming a real Nervous Nelly each month this pregnancy progresses.” She waddled off in the direction of the store room.

  “Let’s help the mommy-to-be.” Theresa began to put books back on the shelves.

  They scored a good table as soon as they arrived at Imani’s Soul Food Cafe. Theresa loved to hear the Reed women interacting with each other. It was a lot of over-talking and bouts of hysterical laughing over something funny that happened in the family, but it was coming from a place of love. She remembered Trevor saying he found the chatter of the women in his family to be soothing.

  It was also fun to hear about Morgan and Isabelle’s adventures in Texas. And the upcoming Reed family reunion, which Trina was in charge of, was in the planning stages. She said she had everyone on board except Trevor, who was who knows where. No surprise there. She wondered if he missed anything about his life in Philadelphia. Especially her.

  After they ate delicious meals, then complained about stuffing themselves, it was time to go. Theresa tightened the belt around her coat so the crisp autumn air didn’t sneak in. She hoped she’d get that leather jacket in time to show it off before it got too cold to wear. Trina’s car was at the mechanic shop, so Theresa offered to drive her home so Dana could go get some rest. As the radiant pregnant woman waved and pulled off, Theresa and Trina looked at each other.

  “It’s still early on a Friday night,” Theresa said. “You know what that means.”

  “Wine.”

  They laughed, linked arms and walked to the car.

  “I have a couple of bottles at my house, but everything is still in boxes. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find my corkscrew.”

  “No worries. Grandma has a fancy one that Charisma got her last Christmas. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if we borrowed it.”

  “Cool. I also picked up some peach nectar the other day if you want to make Bellinis too. You can fill me in on everything you wouldn’t say in front of your sister.” Theresa gave her a nudge.

  “I had the date from hell the other night. Never go out with a man who interrupts a date with you to pick up his mother, whom he still lives with, from her physical therapy session.”

  “Ouch.” Theresa crinkled her nose and hit the button on her car key fob to open the doors.

  “But this is the light at the end of the dark tunnel. I met someone else. His name is Devon. He works in the music industry. He’s handsome and he has the cutest dimples.”

  “Nice. When did you meet him? Where?”

  “I’ll fill you in after we have a couple of glasses of wine.”

  Theresa easily navigated the roads, and a half hour later they pulled into her driveway. She noticed the lights were out at Mrs. Reed’s house. “Where’s your grandma?”

  “She’s spending the day with Charisma and Alexis. They should be home soon. I’ll go get the corkscrew.”

  “OK. I’ll look for wine glasses.” They both hopped out of the car. She retrieved her briefcase from the backseat while Trina hurried over toward her grandma’s house.

  Inside, she turned off the alarm, kicked off her heels, and slipped into her fuzzy panda slippers she kept by the door. It had been a relatively quiet day, but it was good to be home. When she first began looking for a house, she’d visited so many open houses her head was spinning. But when she’d heard that a big house on the idyllic street next to Mrs. Reed was for sale, she thought it was fate. She loved visiting the Reed home during her high school years. She’d spend plenty of time cuddling on the swing porch with Trevor and dreaming about the future.

  She had an early day tomorrow with the contractor coming in, but she’d make time to have wine with a friend. Plus she’d wanted to hear all about the new guy Trina had met. Her cell phone rang. It was Trina.

  “Hey. What’s taking so long?”

  “Theresa! Get over here now!” Trina yelled into the phone so loudly Theresa dropped her wine glass.

  “Trina?”

  But the call had already ended.

  Her blood ran cold. Was Trina in trouble? She ran into the hallway and got out the steel bat from the closet that she kept in her house for protection and sprinted across the grass as fast as she could, barely keeping on her panda slippers.

  “Trina?” She entered the house and raised the bat. “What’s wrong? Where are you?”

  “I’m in the sitting room!”

  Theresa’s heart thudded wildly as she ran down the hall and made a left into the sitting room. A panicked Trina was on the phone, pacing around the room. “I don’t think he’s conscious.”

  “Who?” She put the bat down and rounded the couch to find none other than Trevor lying there. Her heart began beating wildly again, but this time it was because the man she loved looked haggard. There was blood on his shirt and meds on the end table. She took a deep breath and lifted up his shirt to see if she could find the source of the blood. It was coming from a dressing on his side that had soaked through. Fear seemed to freeze her heart at the sight of his wound. For a moment she was sure this was some kind of nightmare.

  But she couldn’t seem to wake up…

  * * *

  When Trevor arrived in Philadelphia, the first thing he wanted to do was get a hug and a home-cooked meal from his grandma, but he was surprised to find a new alarm system activated and she wasn’t home. He’d taken care to keep his wound clean and bandaged—he didn’t want to bleed through his shirt. And he certainly didn’t want his grandma to know he’d been shot. There was a note on the fridge’s dry erase board that said she was going shopping with Charisma and Alexis. He thought they’d have dinner and get in some hugs while she gave him the rundown on the latest happenings in the family.

  She’d keep his secret about being in town until he was ready to let everyone else know he was back. He wanted to get some sleep and to be refreshed when he saw everyone.

  He milled around the house, took his meds, and ate a piece of apple pie. An hour later the pain returned, so he took another pain pill and collapsed on the couch. He hadn’t intended to drift off, but he was exhausted and he soon fell asleep.

  Trevor stirred when he felt a soft, warm hand roving over his body. He felt something loving in the person’s touch as they explored down—

  “Ouch.” He winced when the mystery person’s hand moved over the bandage covering his wound. He reached up and grabbed the person’s hand. The moment he touched her, he knew. His eyes flew open, and as if his prayers had been answered, Theresa was standing there. “Reese?”

  She smiled at him. “Trina, he’s awake.” Then the ray of sunshine faded as she slipped out of his grasp.

  “Reese. Wait.” He did his best to sit up and he craned his neck to see her going in the direction of the kitchen. He didn’t want her to go.

  Trina rushed over and gave him a squeeze. “Thank heaven. You scared the life out of me.”

  “Trina, it’s good to see you too.” Trevor hugged her back. “Can’t a man take a nap on his grandmother’s couch?”

  “Never mind, operator.” Trina said into her cell phone. “He’s conscious and in dire need of a decent haircut. No, I just hit the panic button. I’m sure we won’t need an ambulance.”

  Theresa came back into the living room and handed him a glass of water. “Here. Drink this.” Her eyes darted to the prescription bottles on the end table. “Do you need anything?”

  “No.” He pressed his eyelids with his fingers. “I was just sacking out until Gra
ndma came home. Nothing’s happened to her, right?”

  “She’s fine.” Trina put a pillow behind him. “She spent the day with Charisma and Alexis, and they should be home soon. How did you bypass the alarm? Grandma had that installed by a new company just last month.”

  “I didn’t bypass anything. I took a shot in the dark that the code was Grandpa’s birthday and voila.” He shrugged.

  Trina’s cell phone rang. She looked at the display. “This is Robert.”

  “You called Robert?”

  “Of course, he’s a cop. He told me he was on the way and to call 911.” Trina answered her phone and walked out of the living room.

  “How many people did she call?” Wait. Theresa was in his grandmother’s living room. “How did you get here? And so fast?”

  “I’d love to say I jumped in my car and sped over here, but it was more of a sprint across the front lawn.” She took a seat next to him and lifted her feet to show him her panda slippers. “I live nearby.”

  “What? When did this happen?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She put her hand to her throat. “Trevor Reed doesn’t know something? The earth must be rotating backward on its axis.”

  “I’ve been busy.” He snagged his meds off the end table and stuffed them into his pants pocket. “Apparently too busy.”

  Trina came back into the room, phone still up to her ear. “OK, Charisma. We’ll see you ladies in a little bit. You call Derek and let him know everything is OK. I’ll call Jared and Autumn.”

  “I can’t believe this.” He ran a hand over his face. This was the exact opposite of what he wanted. Theresa scooted closer to him, and he instinctively put his arm behind her on the couch. It hurt to do it, but the move was automatic. He always put his arm around her shoulders when they sat together, but she didn’t look like she’d go for that. So he kept his arm behind her on the couch.

  She looked just as stunning as he remembered. Those striking eyes, long, jet-black hair, full, pouty lips that looked like she was mid-kiss, soft, caramel skin, and that illuminating smile always made his body stir. She looked downright adorable in those panda slippers. His heart sped up as she leaned in, inches away from his face. Maybe she was happy to see him.

  “You might want to clean up before the family arrives,” she whispered in his ear.

  “What do you mean?” Did he smell? He’d had a very long day, but he didn’t think he stank. He was also in dire need of a shave and a haircut, but that wouldn’t happen tonight.

  She pointed to his shirt. “You’re bleeding.”

  “Damn.”

  “How serious is it?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  She eyed him as if she didn’t believe him. “Come on.” She took his hand and helped him off the couch. “I’ll change your bandage and you can explain to me how it happened.”

  Theresa tried to ignore the spark that ignited when their hands connected. The wound coupled with the meds meant he’d come home to recuperate, and he’d get nothing of that if the Reed women caught sight of him bleeding. She glanced toward the kitchen. Trina was still on the phone while she pulled out food and placed it on the kitchen table as if she was getting ready for a party.

  She guided him to the bathroom down the hall. He brought his duffle bag with him and closed the door behind him. He was normally immaculately dressed and finely groomed, so it was surprising to see him looking so disheveled and wild. She was sure the explanation he’d give for this would be a doozy.

  “Shirt off.” She rifled through the decorative white cabinet looking for the first aid kit.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Since when have you been too shy to take your clothes off? Besides, I’ve seen it all before.”

  “Fine.”

  Ah, she’d found the first aid kit. Her mouth went dry when she turned back around to see a shirtless Trevor. A few things had changed since the last time she’d seen him without a shirt. He’d always had a lean, athletic body in high school, and he’d obviously kept himself in shape. There was more definition and muscle to his body, and his stomach was ripped. He looked good, right down to his round, outie belly button. She used to tease him about it, but there nothing funny right now about the way the hair on his chest went down past the cute belly button and continued below the waistband of his pants.

  It felt hot in here, considering the house was set at a cozy temperature. All the air seemed to have left the room, and the reasonably spacious half bath suddenly had the dimensions of a gym locker. No, she’d said the next time she saw Trevor she’d treat him like he had a plague and that’s exactly what she intended to do.

  “So.” She cleared her throat as she put on a pair of latex gloves and opened some sterile gauze packets. “How did you manage to get mangled?”

  “Would you believe I was gored by a bull?” He leaned against the sink.

  “I believe you’re running some bull right now.” She tenderly pulled off the old dressing and dabbed the area around the stitches with peroxide on a soaked cotton ball. It looked serious, but he was joking about it. Apparently they were gauging the situation differently. “Does this hurt?”

  He winced. “I’m on my second pain pill of the day.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  “It stings mostly.”

  “Were you in too much pain to get a haircut and shave? You’re dangerously close to looking like an urban farmer who wears sandals in the wintertime.” She looked up at his wild, curly mane.

  “I should have cleaned up better before I arrived.” He ran a hand over his stubble-riddled face. “You bought a house?”

  “I did.” She threw the cotton ball in the wastebasket, took the top off the antiseptic tube, and applied it to his skin with another cotton ball. “The market is bouncing back, so I took the plunge. It needs a lot of work, but it’s cozy, and I like the neighborhood. I had a few unexpected surprises pop up this past month, but I found a contractor. So it’s a work in progress.”

  “You want to make sure—”

  “No worries.” She cut him off as she applied the new bandage. “I did an extensive background check on the person I chose. Now back to how you got injured.”

  “I wasn’t watching where I was going and crashed into some guy on a moped.”

  “Is that the best you can come up with?” She sighed. “All done.”

  “Wait.” He reached for his belt. “I have another injury.”

  “Where?” She folded her arms across her chest.

  “My leg.”

  “There’s no blood on your pants.” She squinted at him.

  “I really think you should take a look. Like you said, you’ve seen it all before.” He gave her a wide grin.

  There was a knock at the door.

  “Is everything all right in there?” It was Robert.

  “Everything’s good,” Trevor called back.

  “If everything’s good, why did anybody call me?” Robert grumbled under his breath, even though they could clearly hear him.

  She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “I’d put this in the trashcan out back so no one finds all the blood.” She closed the top to the first aid kit and tied the bag holding the old bandages. “I think I’d better go.”

  “No.” He wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “You can’t leave me here with these people.”

  “They’re your family who you love very much. Let them fawn over you. They don’t get a chance to do it often. They missed you.”

  “Did you miss me?”

  There was another knock on the door that was much softer. “Open up Uncle Trev!” a little voice called out.

  Trevor’s eyes lit up. “Is that…?”

  “Yes, that’s your niece.” She grinned. “Now you can’t say in here.”

  “Please stay.”

  She saw the sincerity in those mysterious brown eyes. How could she say no? “Just for a little while.”

  “We’ll be out in a minute.” Trevor f
ished through his bag and put on a fresh shirt.

  She sighed. “I don’t know how this happened. But you need to take it easy.”

  “Thank you. For staying and the patch job.” He moved closer.

  She wanted to think that being so close to this man didn’t mean anything anymore. But the heat between them was palpable. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was worried about him. She waited for him to put the bloodstained shirt into his bag, then opened the door.

  “I should have known he was in there with Theresa. Some things never change.” Robert, who was holding Alexis in his arms, shook his head.

  “Uncle Trev?” Alexis gave him a funny look.

  “Hey, jelly bean, it’s Uncle Trev.”

  Charisma, who couldn’t wait for them to come out, barreled in and gave her brother a big hug. Theresa wanted to get out of there, but she’d promised Trevor she’d stay, at least for a little while. Why was it that she was always going against her better judgment where this man was concerned?

  * * *

  A little while later, Trevor shared a potato chip with his niece while trying to shield himself from the look of exasperation from his sister. He knew Charisma preferred healthy snack foods, but when Alexis reached for a chip, one look into those adorable blue eyes and he couldn’t say no. He was Uncle Trevor after all, which meant he let her do what she wanted. She’d grown so much since the last time he’d seen her. She was beautiful and full of energy just like her mom. Charisma looked more radiant than he’d ever seen her, dressed in a pretty cranberry-colored dress and with her hair done up in a double bun. He was pleased to see her happy. It was also good to see Robert and his wife Alicia, as well as Jared, Autumn, and their son Harper.

  The house was abuzz with family members who’d heeded the distress call Trina sent out when she’d found him. If only he could have stopped her from sending out the SOS, but in a way it felt comforting to know that they cared. They’d never been short on love and support in this family, and it eased his mind that his sister had a support system at home when she needed it.

  So much had changed, but so much had remained the same too. There had been a few changes to the décor in his grandma’s house—along with the new alarm system, which was definitely an upgrade—but the feeling of warmth and comfort remained.