The Parent Pact (Book Three of The Return to Redemption Series)

by Laurie Kellogg

  “I know he doesn’t. But I want to do it.”

  She evidently needed to prove something to herself. If he was lucky, it was that they could have a future together.

  “Okay. Charge whatever you need and make sure you save the receipts. I can write the expense off at tax time. And while you’re at it, get yourself a nice dress for the evening. Greg Larson’s aunt owns Abby’s Closet. Erica bought some really great cocktail dresses there.”

  Abby Foster’s creations were all one of a kind designs and a bit more expensive than something from the department stores, but at least if he sent Annie there, he could be sure she wouldn’t come home with some bargain basement prom gown.

  While they quietly enjoyed their dessert, he racked his brain for a way to broach the subject of Brian O’Donnell. Finally he decided straight out was best. “I was wondering about something today.”

  “What?” She spooned in a mouthful of apples.

  “Was there anyone you suspected of your dad’s murder?”

  “Who would I suspect? The police said it was a robbery.”

  “I don’t know. I thought someone might’ve been giving your dad a hard time. The detective investigating must have questioned your mother about your father’s business dealings.”

  “Mr. O’Donnell didn’t ask about much. It’s why I felt like the police didn’t look very hard for my dad’s killer.”

  “So you knew the detective who led the investigation?”

  “Yes.” She did a double take at him. “He was one of our neighbors where we used to live. How did you—”

  “You called him Mr. O’Donnell. Most people refer to a cop as detective or officer.”

  “Well, the fact that they were friends was what upset me. I mean, if either Luke or Ben were murdered, wouldn’t you move heaven and earth to find their killer?”

  “They were that tight with each other?”

  “No, but they were close enough that Mr. O’Donnell hung out at the garage in his free time and helped out whenever my dad got busy.”

  Great. It sounded more and more like her father might have been involved in O’Donnell’s illegal activities. As much as Tyler wanted to see her father’s killer punished, he didn’t want Annie to know if her dad had been a criminal. She should be allowed to remember her father as an honorable man.

  He of all people knew what it was like to have been sired by a man for whom he had no respect. Unfortunately, if Luke kept digging and proved who killed Sam Barnes, he’d have no choice but to see that the man was prosecuted. Annie might have to learn the truth.

  All at once, the kids noticed them eating dessert and raced each other up to the terrace. Annie catapulted off the glider to make sure Mandy and Noah served themselves reasonable portions without making a colossal mess.

  Tyler set his empty plate on the end table beside him and sighed. He would cut off his right arm to keep Annie from being hurt any more. A spear of guilt stabbed him at realizing how much she’d come to mean to him. Maybe if he’d ever felt as deeply for Erica, he would’ve had an easier time forgiving her.

  ~*~

  Tyler tossed and turned the entire night, thinking about Sam Barnes and all the ways he could’ve been dirty. The next morning, he punched Luke’s picture on his cell phone while sitting at a traffic light. When his friend answered, Tyler said, “Hey, I have some info for you on Brian O’Donnell.”

  “Great.”

  He told his friend everything Annie had revealed the evening before. “Now I’m afraid Barnes might’ve been tangled up in O’Donnell’s dealings.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time a crook killed his accomplice. I owe you an apology, Tyler. I thought you were wasting your time with this.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m wondering if maybe we should let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak.”

  “If we do, it won’t be fair to her father. You’re convicting him without a shred of evidence.”

  “I realize that.” Tyler sighed. “I’m worried, if we uncover something we don’t want to know, we won’t be able to keep it from Annie.”

  “Good or bad, buddy, she has a right to know. It wasn’t easy to find out your old man’s selfishness contributed to your mom’s death, but would you have wanted the facts kept from you?”

  “No. You’re right. Keep digging.”

  ~*~

  “Hey, stranger.” Jennifer Hanson stopped beside the table in the library where Annie had spent the last three hours plowing through recipe books and studying the proper way to set a formal dinner table.

  “Hi, Jenn. Why aren’t you at work?” Since Keith’s lay-off, Jenny had been working as many hours as possible at her job as a dental hygienist and assistant.

  “I needed an afternoon off, so I cut out early.” Jenn gestured toward the volumes spread over the table. “What’s with all the cookbooks?”

  “Tyler asked me to plan a formal dinner party a week from Saturday. I haven’t the vaguest idea what I’m doing.”

  “If you need some help, let me know. I’ve thrown a few parties in my time.”

  Annie rolled her eyes. “I may take you up on that offer.”

  Jenn studied her sideways. “If he asked you to play hostess, it must mean things are going pretty well between you and Tyler. Will we be hearing wedding bells soon?”

  “Don’t you start, too.”

  Jennifer sank into the chair across from her and laid the reference book she’d been holding on the table.

  Annie stared at the newborn on the cover. “Forget about Tyler and me,” she said, changing the subject and gesturing toward the book between them. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re pregnant?”

  Jenn shielded the book from view with her arm. “Maybe because I haven’t even told Keith, yet.”

  “But you’re sure you are?”

  “Yes. If I tell you something, do you swear not to breathe a word to anyone?”

  “Mum’s the word.” Annie mimed the act of turning a key to lock her lips.

  Jenn leaned closer and said softly, “Ever since Keith lost his job, sex has been, uhh....a bit of a challenge.”

  “Are you saying he’s having trouble getting aroused?” Annie asked, lowering her voice to match Jenn’s.

  “Not so much getting hard,” Jenn whispered, “but staying that way. We almost made love one night about a month ago, but then he lost it when I stopped him to put in my diaphragm. That’s the night I think I got pregnant.”

  “Without any penetration?”

  “Well, there was a lot of close contact during foreplay.”

  Annie’s stomach knotted. If her friend had conceived from just a little close contact, maybe the odds weren’t so slim that Tyler could’ve impregnated her when his condom leaked all over her.

  “Why haven’t you told Keith?”

  “That’s why I’m here. I want to be able to show him in black and white that it’s not unheard of for this type of thing to happen. So far, I haven’t found anything in print that refers to it.”

  “You don’t think he’ll believe you?”

  Jenn sucked in a deep breath. “I’m not sure. His self-esteem has been lousy since he lost his job, and he’s been acting really jealous ever since we met the new dentist at Dr. Webber’s Labor Day picnic. The guy is a flirt, and I’ve been assisting him a lot. I’m afraid Keith won’t believe I haven’t been fooling around—especially after hearing all the rumors about Erica.”

  “What rumors?” Despite already knowing the answer, Annie wanted to find out what everyone in town was saying.

  “I hate to spread gossip, but since you’re involved with Tyler and Erica’s dead, I don’t suppose it’ll hurt anyone.” Jenn leaned closer, and lowered her voice even more. “The talk is Erica was a regular visitor at the Redemption Motel last year when Mandy was at school. In fact, several times, the clerk saw Tyler’s wife go into a motel room with more than one man—sometimes more than once a day.”

  “Tyler confided to me that she was really promiscuous. But
you’re nothing like her. Talk to Keith. He’ll believe you.”

  “I hope so.” Jenn smiled. “If you happen to see me checking in at the motel, you’ll know he didn’t.”

  ~*~

  While Tyler entertained the kids in the evenings that week, Annie prepared tiny mushroom turnovers, bite-size spinach and bacon quiches, and crab canapés. She froze them all to reheat the night of the party.

  “Mmmm....sweetheart, these are incredible.” Tyler groaned after church on Sunday as he munched on the hors d’oeuvres she’d defrosted and heated for him to sample while they waited for the stuffed pork chops to finish baking.

  It felt so good to please him. “Thanks. Jenn gave me the recipe for the mushroom turnovers.”

  “Send her my compliments.”

  “By the way, I hope this won’t be a problem, but Keith called today to tell you the Tiger Cubs are planning a trip to the science museum in Philly for the boys next Saturday. They won’t be getting back until six.”

  “That’s just great.” He huffed and swiped the napkin over his mouth. “I wanted to stay home to help you with the party.”

  She was actually glad he couldn’t. He would only end up making her a nervous wreck. “It’s okay. Since Keith will have the twins, Jenn said she’ll come over and help me set everything up. I’m just grateful to you for going with Noah.”

  “You don’t need to be grateful. I’m going because I love him.”

  Unshed tears stung her eyes.

  He tipped her face up and frowned. “What’s the matter?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “It’s just, seeing the way you care for him, I can’t help praying Jared O’Donnell contracts some horrible disease that’ll make his Willie shrivel up and fall off.”

  “O’Donnell?” Tyler stiffened. “Was Noah’s father related to your neighbor, the cop?”

  “Yes. I thought I mentioned that. Jared was his son.”

  “No.” He shook his head staring into the distance as if he were in a trance. “I would’ve remembered something like that.”

  “Tyler? Are you okay? You have a funny look on your face.”

  “I’m fine.” He turned and smiled at her. “I-uh, I was just thinking about something. So what else are you serving on Saturday?”

  “Jenn suggested I keep it simple and put out a veggie platter and a variety of cheeses and crackers with chilled shrimp and cocktail sauce.”

  “That sounds great. But make sure the shrimp are the extra jumbos from the fish market and get the cheeses at the gourmet cheese shop, not from the grocery store. Make one choice double-cream brie. Oh, and get some caviar, too.”

  “Where do I buy that?”

  “There’s a phone number in my directory in the study under caviar. Order it on Wednesday before the party. And make sure you keep it packed in ice. The refrigerator isn’t quite cold enough by itself. You should buy about an ounce per person. We want Gordon going home feeling as if Daddy Warbucks wants to adopt him.”

  “Is rack of lamb with a mint glaze fancy enough for dinner?”

  “That’ll be stupendous. Ben loves it. Just make sure there are plenty of side-dishes in case someone doesn’t like lamb.”

  Tyler slipped his arms around her and hugged her. “The food all sounds great. When am I going to get some of you? It feels like a year since we were alone.”

  It’d been a week since they’d made love. He’d tried to get Dani to stay with Mandy on Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, to his and Annie’s extreme disappointment, the teenager had plans that night to work on a group school project with a few of her classmates.

  “I’ve been trying to find a good time to tell you something, and I think this is probably the best moment I’m going to get. I checked my calendar, and discovered and the night the condom leaked was not a good one.”

  He stiffened a moment and gradually smiled. “I’m not really worried. Since I suspect I might be sterile, it’s unlikely anything will come of it, and if something does, I can think of worse things that could happen. Maybe fate will convince you we were meant to be together.”

  She really wished he would stop making her wish for something that could never work. As he captured her mouth in a hungry kiss, she pushed him away. “What if the kids come upstairs and see us?”

  “So?” He brushed his lips over hers. “Engaged people kiss.”

  “But we’re not engaged.”

  “We could tell them we are.”

  “Tyler,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Annie,” he mimicked her tone. “Admit it. You want to be with me and Mandy as much as I want to be with you and Noah. We should be a family.”

  His declaration made her throat ache. “You know how I feel about that. We don’t belong together.”

  “I don’t care. I want to make love to you.”

  “I want that, too.” She moaned. “But I don’t see how that’s going to happen today.”

  “That’s why man invented locks.” He pulled her by the hand into his study. “If the kids come looking for us, I’ll stall and tell them the door got locked by accident.”

  As soon as they were inside, they tore at each other’s clothes in a frenzy of need. His urgent hands roamed over her while she frantically sucked and nipped at his neck.

  Still wearing his unzipped jeans, he tumbled her down onto the sofa, naked. “Annie, this is nuts. We shouldn’t have to hurry like this.”

  “What do you suggest,” she gasped as he covered her nipple with his mouth.

  “I don’t know.” He groaned. “I just know I want a lot more time alone with you than we’ve had.”

  He lightly pinched her stiff peaks, repeatedly rolling them back and forth between his fingers. The pleasure was almost enough to make her come. She arched her back and held his wrists captive so he wouldn’t stop. “Oh, that’s good.”

  “I’m glad,” he murmured, nibbling his way down her neck, past her breasts to her belly.

  She wanted him inside her. “Please, now.”

  He smiled, sheathing himself with a condom. “Are we getting impatient?”

  “Yessss!”

  “Good. That’s just how I want you.” He swirled his tongue around her nipple. “Because I’m not going to last long, sweetheart.”

  She arched her body up to his as he slid into her and they moved together in fluid unison. “Oh, Tyler.”

  Every nerve in her screamed its pleasure as he rotated his hips and pumped them faster. Knowing they could be interrupted at any moment should have put a damper on the fire in her, but instead it intensified her excitement.

  The kids’ voices rose several decibels in the basement. “Oh, no.” She gasped. “I think they’re arguing.”

  His warm breath puffed erratically in her ear. “Baby, unless the house is burning down or someone’s bleeding, I’m not stopping—especially not to referee a little childish bickering.” He sucked on her nipple and murmured, “Now, where was I?”

  Chapter 12

  “No running, guys!” Keith called to his twins, Austin and Aiden, as they raced Noah down the hall at the Franklin Institute.

  Tyler smiled at Keith and followed the three boys. “They’re full of energy today.”

  “They’re full of it every day. Or at least they have a lot more than I have.”

  “You seem down in the dumps. Still no call-backs on your job interviews?”

  Keith heaved a sigh. “Job hunting is the least of my problems.”

  When he didn’t say anything more, Tyler glanced sideways at him. “Wanna talk about it?”

  Keith just shook his head. A few seconds later when the boys stopped at the giant heart exhibit, he also stopped and tossed his hands in the air. “Hell, why not? If anyone could understand you probably can.”

  “Understand what?”

  Keith’s cheeks turned a deep red. “How it feels to wonder if the baby your wife’s carrying is yours.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’ve heard the stories about Erica
. I’m sorry, man.”

  “She was sick.” Tyler swallowed hard and waved his hands as if to erase the statement. “No. I don’t know why the hell I keep trying to kid myself? Lots of women have bipolar disorder and don’t spread their legs for every man they meet. My late wife might have been mentally ill, but she was also a selfish, vain egomaniac who worried more about maintaining her size two figure than in taking her medication and remaining faithful to me.”

  “At least you knew it wasn’t you that was the problem.”

  “Listen, Annie confided to me about Jennifer’s pregnancy and how she’s worried you’ll think she cheated on you.”

  “Did she also tell you we haven’t had sex in three months?”

  “Yeah. She gave me all the gory details. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Jenn is nothing like Erica.”

  “Exactly. If my wife cheated on me, it’s because I can’t give her what she needs. I’m ten years older than her and pretty soon I’m gonna have more hair on my ass than I’ve got on my head. Believe me, you’ll understand when Annie hits her sexual prime and you have trouble gettin’ it up. Why wouldn’t Jenny want to be with someone who can satisfy her?”

  Tyler lowered his gaze to the floor. The sex was so good between Annie and him he hadn’t considered the possibility they could become physically incompatible as he grew older. He lifted his gaze to Keith and stared into his eyes. “Because Jennifer loves you.”

  “She used to. We’ve been fighting so much lately I’m not so sure anymore.”

  “Believe me, she’s still crazy about you. Why else would she be so worried about you believing her? And what good would it do her to lie about something that a DNA test can disprove after the baby is born? If she didn’t love you, she’d be walking out instead of trying to make you believe her.”

  “That’s more or less what my neighbor, Nick, said the other day.”

  “Nick Riverá? Are he and Samantha back together? Dani never mentioned her dad moved back home.”

  “Well, he’s only been back in Redemption for about three weeks now. He’s still working on the reconciliation part.”