Promises of Forever

by Celya Bowers

Where was his brain?

  He wasn’t supposed to say that. He was supposed to keep the banter light, not confess how much he actually loved her. Talk about a bad investment. It would give her too much power over him. He couldn’t take the words or the feelings of those words back. He was as bad as Harry, wanting a return when there wasn’t one possible.

  Just forget it and move forward. Maybe she didn’t hear the last part? Fat chance on that. Women could hear anything that had to do with a commitment, even if it was whisper.

  “Finn, are you okay?” Harley asked, walking into the kitchen with Ben in tow.

  “Yeah, just thinking.”

  “I know that look,” she said and winked at him. “I’m very happy for you and Kayleigh. I’m also grateful that you’re going to look into this for us.”

  “No problem. How long have you suspected your boss of laundering money?” He walked to the refrigerator to get the salad and dressing.

  Harley whispered to Ben, and he nodded and left the kitchen. “I guess the last few months. He’s been having us come in on Saturdays when it really wasn’t necessary. I think he’s using our department as a cover. You know, like blaming the misapplied payments on us. He keeps hiring new people and assigning them more senior level work where more mistakes could be made.”

  He sat a large bowl on the counter. Harley shook her head. “Here, let me do that.” She washed her hands at the sink, then wiped them dry with a paper towel. “Contrary to popular belief, women today still cook. I think I can make a salad.”

  He laughed. In such a short span of time, he’d gotten use to Kayleigh’s non-cooking status. “You got me. So you can cook?” He got the vegetables for the salad and placed them by the bowl.

  “Not on your level. That chicken thing you made for Kayleigh was delicious. You have to give me the recipe for that. I’ll like to try to make that for Ben.” She started chopping up the cucumbers, red onions, radishes, and peppers.

  People were always surprised he cooked so well. “Sure, I’ll give it to you before you leave. Now back to your boss. What kind of invoices do you have?”

  She emptied the salad mix into the bowl. “The ones Kayleigh had were for a company that I’ve never heard of. I’ve worked in the accounting department for five years, and I’d know when a new company is added.”

  “Did you confront him about it?”

  “Yes, about a year ago, when I first noticed it happening. He told me that the billing department changed vendor numbers and account preference codes from time to time and not to worry about it.”

  He didn’t like this guy and he hadn’t even met him yet. “How long has he been your boss?”

  “About three years. I think he transferred to our department from the Boston office.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, our old boss got a promotion to vice president. Ever since Mr. Dahlar, that’s the idiot’s name, has been our manager and the attrition rate has risen by 20 percent.”

  “And your bosses don’t say anything?”

  “They probably would if they ever got the reports, but he doctors them before he sends them out. Any kind of report has to go through him first before it goes to headquarters.”

  Finn shook his head. This guy had a cushy set-up. He was monitoring anything that went out and could change it at will. “Your company management program is not in the employee’s favor. They’re leaving themselves open for a lot of lawsuits.”

  “Kayleigh should be at the top of the list. She could sue him for just about anything. He gives her grief everytime she has to take off. Like when she was sick, she had to produce a doctor’s note, which she did. Our company policy is if you’re out more than five days without a viable excuse, you must produce proof. I told him she was in the hospital, still he demanded proof.”

  “She should have told me, I’d like to have a talk with this moron.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, Finn. Kayleigh can hold her own against him and does all the time.”

  That made him feel a little better. He couldn’t fight all her battles for her, but he could damn well make sure the deck wasn’t stacked against her. The oven timer announced it was time to take out the lasagna.

  “That smells so good,” Harley said, putting the finishing touches on the salad. “I’ll take this to the dining table.”

  He uncovered his masterpiece and cut it into equal pieces. He took it into the dining room where Ben and Kayleigh were setting the table. It felt like they’d been doing this for years. Just two couples having dinner, a little conversation and enjoying each other’s company. Kayleigh sat across from him and smiled.

  It was like destiny had brought them together for just this purpose. They needed each other. She needed someone to look after her and he needed to look after someone. It was what he did.

  * * *

  Later that night, Kayleigh slid into bed beside Finn. He’d been reading the report Harley handed him earlier that evening as she and Ben said good night.

  “So what do you think?” She kissed him briefly and snuggled against him.

  He set the report on the bedside table and turned to her. “I think I need to run some numbers on it. Some of the ledger accounts aren’t making sense. He’s carrying debt where he shouldn’t be, but he’s accruing for some bills from companies that aren’t on the general ledger.”

  “Okay, I meant in English.”

  He laughed. “Sorry, I get carried away. Especially when it’s stuff like this. He’s an amateur. I don’t think he’s your problem, I think there’s someone else and he’s a go-between. He’s just the person to be sacrificed. That would explain a lot.”

  Kayleigh thought it sounded too easy. “So if things start going wrong, he’d go to jail or whatever, but as long as things are going right, he can continue his reign of terror over us.”

  He sighed. “Pretty much. To find out who it is will take some work. Inside work. Is there anyone there you can trust?”

  “Outside of Harley, no. When I dated Manny a few years ago, most of the women were mad at me. Then when we broke up they were still mad at me for letting him go. So no, I don’t trust any of the women there.”

  “I was afraid of that. Does Harley have access to his office?”

  “No. Officially, she’s his assistant, but he won’t let her move into the office next to his. He keeps it locked. I’ve seen him go in there a few times, but he locks up each time he leaves.” She moved closer to him. “I want to thank you for helping us. I honestly thought it was just a case of the idiot being greedy.”

  He put his arms around her. “Well, sweetheart, I’m sorry, but this is much bigger than the idiot, I’m afraid. From what you and Harley have told me about him, he doesn’t have the smarts to do this. He’s embezzling, not laundering. On the surface, it does look like laundering, but he’s inventing companies and adjusting the ledger to reflect that loss.”

  “Wow. You’re right, that doesn’t sound like him.”

  He yawned. “Okay, no more work talk. Besides, I can’t do much more until I talk to a friend of mine.”

  “Finn, I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not doing anything illegal.” He moved so that he was leaning over her. He touched the strap of her silk nightgown. “Now about this gown…”

  She suddenly remembered about the condoms, or the non-use of them. She sat up, almost hitting him in the head. “Finn, I have to tell you something.”

  “Okay, tell.”

  “You know the times we’ve been together intimately?” She really didn’t want to bring this up. Especially now.

  “Yes.” He sat up and leaned against the headboard. “This is going to be one of those talks, isn’t it?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Okay, why don’t you just say it? I hate it when people beat around the bush, instead of just getting it over with.”

  She hated it too. “Okay. Here goes.” She took a deep breath and let it go. “All the t
ime we’ve had sex, we haven’t used protection except maybe once or twice. I don’t think I’ll get pregnant, but I wanted you to know.”

  He stared at her as if she were a stranger in his bed. Those blue eyes were unrelenting. “You’re not on birth control? I thought all women were on some sort of birth control.”

  “I’m not all women, Phineas Callahan. I told you the first time I wasn’t on anything, and you used a condom. But after that we haven’t.”

  “And you decide to mention this now?” He ran a finger through his curly hair.

  “I just realized it yesterday.”

  He took a deep breath. “I know.”

  “You knew and you didn’t say anything?”

  “Like you, it just occurred to me when I looked in my cabinet yesterday morning. There’s a full box of condoms in there,” he explained. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Kayleigh, I don’t regret anything that has happened between us. Besides, we can’t do anything about it now, anyway.”

  “What if I get pregnant?”

  He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. My feelings for you won’t change.”

  “So just so I can wrap my head around this correctly. You knew we weren’t using any protection and didn’t say anything about it? You know, I was freaking out about how you’d take the news.” He kissed her, showing her how little he cared about their conversation. “I thought you’d be mad.”

  “Baby, we’re human. Things happen.” He kissed her again, and Kayleigh forgot about their talk. All she cared about was Finn and how well he could kiss.

  CHAPTER 25

  Wednesday evening, Finn met Brendan for a drink after work. He needed to hear some solid advice, and Brendan was just the man for the plan. They sat in Jump’s Bar and Grill discussing Finn’s problems over a couple of imported beers.

  Brendan took a swallow and sat his mug on the table. “Man, I don’t see a problem. Just tell her she’s important to you and you want her to move in with you.”

  Finn hadn’t wanted to go there. “She’s not that kind of woman. I mean, yeah, I’d like her to move in with me permanently, but we’ve haven’t known each other that long. And lately my track record hasn’t been that good. I want to go into this with my eyes open so there will be no regrets later. You know, like you and Kristin. You guys dated years before you got married.”

  Brendan shook his head. “Man, you don’t get it? Kristin and I dated so long because I didn’t want to get married. I didn’t love her. Not like I thought I was supposed to.”

  He didn’t remember any of this. He’d always thought his friends were happy. “Why did you marry her?’

  “Because I thought I should be married. It’s been one disappointment after another. We’ve been separated for the last six months.”

  “What?”

  “After ten years of mediocre sex, fighting about everything under the sun, and her tantrums, I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.”

  Finn knew that Brendan’s wife was wealthy in her own right and couldn’t imagine what he could have offered her. “So?”

  “I had her followed.”

  “No way.”

  Brendan finished his beer and signaled for another round. “Very way. I’d suspected she’d been getting it somewhere else. We hadn’t had relations in about a year, but I found a new box of condoms in her underwear drawer.”

  The lawyer in him wanted to ask why he was fishing for something like that, but he knew better than to ask. “So you had her followed. What did you find out?”

  “She’s messing with some guy at the country club. He’s also married and high up on the chain of mayoral candidates in Dallas. So I told her to get out, or I was going to sell the pictures of her and her new friend doing some very disgusting things with whipped cream to the highest bidder.”

  Finn laughed. Brendan didn’t let life spit on him often. He usually spat back. “What did she say?”

  Brendan shrugged his shoulders. “What could she say? She tried to offer me sex as a bribe.”

  “You refused, of course.” Finn already knew the answer to that question.

  “You know it. My point is, Finn, if I had have went my initial feelings, I wouldn’t have wasted ten years of my life with a woman I don’t love. So if your gut is saying this is the one, then this is the one.”

  He leaned back in the hard chair. “But that’s just it. I don’t know what my gut is saying. It could be a lot of things. She’s got an illness, so I don’t know if that is somehow making me feel something that isn’t there.”

  “Is she going to die?”

  “Not from this.” He smiled as the waiter deposited two more beers on the table and left.

  Brendan stared at him. “Either I’m not hearing you correctly, or it’s not making any sense. Are you afraid she’s going to get sicker?”

  “There’s always that possibility.” Finn played with his mug. Was he really that shallow?

  Brendan shrugged. “Man, I don’t think I’m liking the answers I’m getting from you. You’re sounding like one of those whiny people, pissed because things aren’t going your way. This isn’t the Finn Callahan I know.”

  He wasn’t upset, because it was very true. “Thanks, Brendan. You’re right, I’m acting like a spoiled child. Yeah, Kayleigh is sick, but it doesn’t take away from who she is. In fact, I think it makes her stronger.”

  Brendan smiled at him. “I love it when you get these epiphanies. Even though I haven’t met her, I can tell. She’s the one.”

  He thought so, too. He just wished he could be sure. But there were go guarantees on life. “You sound like Beth. We’re having dinner with her, Robert and the boys on Friday night.”

  “Well, well, it sounds like we’re doing the couple thing already. Next thing I know you’ll be jetting her off to somewhere for a romantic weekend.”

  Was he already too far gone emotionally to realize it? “Been there. Done that.”

  “See, what I tell you? You didn’t need me to tell you that you loved her, you already knew that. You’re just scared, because this time your heart is on the line, too.”

  * * *

  “Okay, Manny, what did you want to talk to me about?” Kayleigh unlocked the door to her house. Manny had followed her home, claiming he needed to talk to her. She flipped on the light in the living room and put her book bag on the table.

  He sat down on the couch. “We hardly ever have time to hang out anymore since Finn came on the scene. I just want to make sure this is what you want.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I’d thought you’d be happy that I’m dating. Harley begs for details every day.”

  “I am happy. It just seems you guys are moving way too fast. Remember, I’m the last man you dated and that was over two years ago.”

  Was that sarcasm or male smugness in his voice? “Yes, I’m well aware how long it’s been since I caught you in bed with that model. I don’t need any reminders.” She sat on the couch next to him. “So is it you don’t want me with any other man, or just Finn?”

  “It’s not that, Kayleigh. I don’t want you to get used to what he can do for you and then, when it’s over, go into some kind of funk. Remember, he’s wealthy and he’s used to a certain kind of woman.”

  She sighed. This was going to be a long night. “Manny, I know you think you have my best interest at heart, but you don’t. You have your best interest at heart. We’ll always be friends, unless you say the crap you just said again.”

  “Oh, this must mean it’s pretty serious. I know he was by your side at the hospital.”

  “Yes, he was. Manny, you know I love you.”

  “As a friend, right?”

  “Yes, remember, we’re friends,” she said.

  “So I guess you told him you love him.”

  She nodded. “Yes, we admitted it to each other last weekend in California.”

  “He told you! This is way serious. He admitted he loved you after, what, a month and a half?”

  She
nodded again. Then laughed as Manny hugged her and said, “I’m happy for you, Kayleigh.”

  * * *

  Friday evening, Kayleigh enjoyed visiting with Finn’s sister and her family. Of course, at first, she was too nervous to do more than nod when it was appropriate.

  She had chosen her outfit with care, not wanting to offend a military wife. Not that she could have. The minute she and Finn arrived at the modest home in Fort Worth, Beth treated her like an old friend.

  Beth was thin, medium height, and had dark hair and blue eyes. According to Finn, Beth was the same age as Kayleigh, which put her at thirty-five.

  “It’s so nice to meet you officially, Kayleigh,” she said, pulling her into the living room. “My husband Robert is working late at the base. Some big brass meeting at the last minute.”

  Kayleigh looked back at Finn as he followed them. “I hope everything is okay,” she offered.

  “You and me both,” Beth said. “Seems every time he has one of those closed-door meetings, we end up moving somewhere soon after. We’ve been here about a year and the kids really like it here. We were hoping this would be his last post before he retires in two years.”

  Kayleigh and Finn sat on the couch while Beth went to round up the boys. “Kids, Uncle Finn and Kayleigh are here. Come say hello.”

  Beth returned and sat in a chair opposite them. The house was decorated much like Finn’s. Instead of a fireplace, she had pictures of their large family hanging on the wall. It made the place seemed a lot homier. She felt like she knew most of Finn’s family already without meeting them.

  “So, Finn, what’s the plan for Labor Day?”

  He glanced at Kayleigh before he spoke. “It’s a little up in the air right now.”

  Beth’s blue eyes twinkled. “It won’t be the same without you there.”

  “I know. Grammy hasn’t forgiven me for missing last year.”

  Kayleigh laughed.

  “The Callahans are big on family traditions. Every September we met in Dublin for our grandparents’ anniversary. This year marks their seventieth anniversary.”

  Kayleigh did the math in her head. Finn’s grandparents had to be in their mid-eighties or early nineties. “Finn, you have to go. That’s a blessing to live that long and still be married.”