On His Honor

by Jean Brashear

  Good. She’d go down and visit until JD returned.

  As she descended the stairs, Skeeter saw her and dashed over, leaping up, tail wagging.

  “Skeeter, no!” Sophie reprimanded. “Clearly, we still have work to do.”

  Violet laughed and bent to him, ruffling his fur then clasping his jaws. “Oh, but who cares? You are the most handsome boy,” she crooned.

  “It’s a wonder he can get his head through a door. I tell him the same thing all the time.” Sophie approached, smiling. “Cade says I spoil him terribly.”

  Violet grinned. “Like I haven’t seen him sneaking Skeeter treats.”

  Sophie shared a smile. “Too true.”

  “Has Cade already left?”

  Sophie nodded and sighed softly. “I always miss him so much, but his work is important to him, and he’s so good at what he does.”

  “He’s extremely talented, that’s for sure. But it’s not hard to see that he’s reluctant to leave you.”

  “He doesn’t actively court danger anymore, thank heavens, but neither of us counted on him needing to travel so much when I couldn’t go with him. His new book about his best friend Jaime has hit big.” Her smile was fond. “I couldn’t be happier for Cade. Jaime’s death haunts him still, but the book’s proceeds go to a fund for Jaime’s family, and the strength of reader response helps with the guilt he still feels because he survived when Jaime didn’t. Knowing he’s taking care of Jaime’s family eases his mind.”

  “That has to be hard for him. If I weren’t here, could you go along on this trip?”

  “Oh, heavens, no.” Sophie’s response was instant. “We went into this knowing our lives wouldn’t be like others’, that we’d have to forge a different path to accommodate our diverse careers. One of these days, I’ll feel more able to leave the hotel in other hands for a time, and once he’s done with the publicity for this book, Cade hopes to be able to stay around more, but…” She shrugged. “It’s not like we met when we were young and unformed and could build our life together from scratch. We have to be inventive. Flexible. But love will find a way, right?”

  “I’m not really the best person to ask that.”

  “Oh, Violet, how thoughtless of me. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’m honestly glad for both of you. I still believe in true love, however much I’ve bungled my own relationships.”

  “You’re hardly the one who bungled them.” Sophie’s indignation was heartwarming.

  “That’s a matter of opinion.”

  “Well, anyone who disagrees is just wrong. You’re a good person, Violet. You deserve a happy ending.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Violet responded drily. “I think I’ll leave that to you, at least for now. You’re clearly better at it.”

  Abruptly Sophie teared up.

  “What’s wrong? Did I say something—”

  Sophie waved off her concern. “No, it’s not you, it’s—I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. I love Cade so much.”

  Violet touched her arm. “But Cade’s crazy about you, too.”

  “I know. It’s just that…I suspect I might be pregnant.”

  “Oh.” A little tendril of envy. Sophie had a man, a wonderful man, who loved her…and now that man’s baby. “So…” she began cautiously, “you don’t want it?”

  “No! Oh, no.” Sophie spread her fingers over her belly. “I love her already—or him. I don’t care, it’s just that…”

  “From what I can tell, the MacAllisters are big on family. Are you worried that Cade will be unhappy?”

  “Not really…or at least, he’d never say so, but…it’s too soon. And I don’t want us to get married only because we’re having a baby. I haven’t done a test yet, but I remember how this feels. I just couldn’t tell him before he left. Not until I’m sure. And I’m—” Sophie’s slender fingers pressed to her lips.

  Scared. Suddenly Violet heard the words Sophie hadn’t said. She’d lost her family once before. Violet touched Sophie’s shoulder gently. “Tragedies like yours don’t happen twice, Sophie.”

  Sophie turned, gripped her hand. “I realize it’s not logical, but I’m just so happy and…”

  “Can you talk to your family about this?”

  “I don’t have any family. I lost my parents when I was a child.”

  Good heavens, no wonder Sophie was spooked. Tragedy had indeed struck twice. Violet tried to imagine a world in which she had no one who loved her, no one to turn to. “I’m sorry. And I’m an idiot. I’d be scared half to death, too.” Violet was renowned for her clever wit, her ready repartee, but right now she had no idea what was the proper thing to say.

  Sophie grinned. “Thank you.”

  Violet stared. “Thank you?”

  “It helps to hear someone say it out loud. To know I’m not crazy or paranoid or…” She smiled at Violet, and her eyes shone. “Cade’ll likely be thrilled, as will his whole family…I just…this love was so unexpected. I thought I was done with love, that I was better off without all that you risk, given all that can go wrong…” In an uncharacteristic move for her, Sophie clasped Violet in a quick hug. “It’s terrifying to be so happy, you know?”

  Violet understood intimately the risks of letting yourself revel in that emotional abandon. Sophie had suffered enough in her life. Violet hoped with all her heart that this woman she’d come to like so much would never have to come down from her cloud.

  She’d like to think that she’d be on that cloud again herself—only with a man who truly loved her. Ruthlessly banishing a little tug of envy, she smiled back. “What plans could you possibly have that are better than having a good man love you and the two of you cherishing the child who’s the result of that love?”

  Sophie teared up again. “Oh, look at me. I never cry. Never.” She hugged Violet again. “Thank you.” For a moment she clung.

  Then she straightened. “There’s JD.”

  “Oh.” On the heels of Sophie’s revelation and all the longings it stirred up in her, Violet wasn’t sure how she felt about seeing JD now.

  “Violet? Is JD…he’s treating you right, isn’t he?”

  “He absolutely is.” She glanced over her shoulder to see him coming through the gate. Oh, but that grin of his… She couldn’t help a little sigh.

  Sophie smiled. “Yeah. A nice hunk of man candy, isn’t he?”

  Violet spurted out a laugh.

  “You’re blushing. Not that I blame you. Go for it, girl. He’s not only gorgeous, he’s a good man. I trust him completely.”

  Before Violet could respond, JD was right in front of her, a look in his eyes making her glad she’d chosen the halter-top flowered sundress instead of jeans. “Hey, Sophie,” he greeted without ever taking his eyes off Violet.

  “Hi, JD. How are you?”

  I want to get you naked, his expression clearly said.

  Violet felt her body react. She arched an eyebrow, meeting his challenge with her own.

  He rewarded her with a quick, devilish grin before he tore his attention away. “Uh, did you ask me something?” he said to Sophie.

  Sophie shook her head. “You two kids go have some fun. You have plans?”

  “He’s taking me to see his house.”

  Sophie’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  “You haven’t seen it, Soph. You don’t know how it really looks.”

  “Stories abound.”

  “Jenna and her big mouth,” he complained. “I’m making progress, honest.”

  “I hear we need a work day,” she teased. “Like you all did with me here.”

  “Not that I wouldn’t appreciate taking you folks up on it, but my manhood’s been challenged. I have to
do the work myself or I’ll never hear the end of it from Vince, for starters.”

  Sophie glanced at Violet, shook her head. “Men. They’re so predictable.”

  “Hey, now,” JD began.

  “So it’s in worse shape than he warned me?” Violet asked her.

  Sophie opened her mouth, but JD spoke over her. “She hasn’t been there. She doesn’t know. Repeat, she does…not…know. Not for sure, anyway.”

  Violet looked at Sophie. “It’s a test of my courage. I have to do this.”

  “I guess so, but don’t say you weren’t warned. And call me if you start feeling faint.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very funny, you two.” JD took her hand. “I won’t let anything scary get her, Sophie. Cross my heart.” He demonstrated.

  “I’ll sic Jenna on you if you don’t.”

  “Now that’s just mean. Ready, Violet?” He glanced down at her, eyes more serious than his words.

  To be with a kind, generous, extremely sexy man? Was she ever.

  “Yes.” She turned and hugged Sophie, whispering in her ear. “Don’t wait up.”

  “I won’t,” Sophie whispered back. “Have fun. And, Violet…?”

  Violet mimed zipping her lips. Our secret, she mouthed as JD towed her off.

  * * *

  "LOOK, WE REALLY DON'T HAVE to go to my place,” JD said as they drove. “I could take you back to Sophie’s and come get you after I shower and change or…”

  “What? You’re reneging on me? Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”

  Oh, man. Her cheer and mischief only made him feel worse. “I’m not sure if it’s better to tell you that the place isn’t so bad and hope that predisposes you to believe it when you see it…or tell you it’s one step up from a dump. Then you might feel so sorry for me you’d work hard to disguise your horror.”

  “Does it matter what I think?”

  Their gazes locked. “I’m afraid it might.” Then he pulled his eyes away to concentrate on his driving.

  Keep it light. Don’t think about all the lies underpinning everything.

  Easier said than done. He grasped for the first topic that hit him. “Skeeter’s great, isn’t he? I’ve been considering getting a dog, except—” Crap. He’d been about to say that his work hours were so unpredictable. “It wouldn’t be fair to have a pet in a war zone.”

  “Now I really cannot wait to see this place.”

  “Well, you’re about to get your wish.” He rounded the corner and onto his shady street. Halfway down, he pulled into what could laughingly be called a driveway—two parallel, broken tracks of concrete about forty years past useful. He glanced at the two-story structure that could be the setting for a haunted-house movie, its weathered paint—what there was left of it—a contrast with the brand-new roof that he’d just paid for with money that could’ve bought him a Harley instead of merely keeping him dry.

  “As bad as you thought?” He tried not to wince as he waited.

  She didn’t say anything as she emerged from his truck and turned a slow circle to take in the houses around him, a jumble of beautifully-restored Victorians side by side with teetering bungalows and single-family-turned-boardinghouses for students.

  Get back in the truck, he wanted to order the longer she went without speaking. I know it’s a dump, but—

  “The trees are amazing,” she said first.

  He didn’t give a damn about the trees. Though he did, of course—they were a compelling reason to buy here. But—

  “This feels like a neighborhood, a real one. Like you could make a home here.” Her eyes were wide with wonder as she looked at him.

  His tension eased a little. “Sort of. I mean, people are trying.” He gestured around. “But there are holdouts, landlords who don’t give a damn about the neighborhood or its character—such as that one.” He pointed to a bungalow across the street and down, dirt lawn and junker cars lining the driveway and in front.

  “But look at that one,” she said, gesturing to the house to his right. “They’ve really made it shine.” She focused on his then. “Your house has good bones, doesn’t it?”

  It did, but he was surprised that she saw that. “You know construction?”

  “Um, does it count that I love to watch HGTV?”

  He enjoyed the relief of laughing. “You’re ahead of where I was when I started looking. I got the MacAllister clan full-court press on what to search for. My real-estate agent was ready to kill me because I had to have every house vetted. According to the family, my life would have been worth nothing if I’d screwed this up.” He nodded toward his house. “So I can verify that, yes, it does have good bones. The structure is sound, and I can make something of it if I really want to.” He glanced over. “That’s a direct quote from my mom, by the way.”

  They shared a quick grin. “So do I get to see the inside?”

  “You do recall the whole shoving laundry, throwing away pizza boxes thing, right?”

  “It can’t be that bad. I have brothers. I’ve been in their bachelor pads, and I survived.” She shuddered dramatically. “If only barely.”

  “Consider yourself warned—again.” With great trepidation, he unlocked the door and gestured for her to proceed ahead of him.

  She stepped into the wide entry, gazed at the staircase that curved upward to the bedrooms. “Oh, that’s beautiful.”

  Beautiful? The scarred banister, the treads that dipped in the center?

  “Don’t you love it?” She turned to him, eyes wide. “Can’t you just picture a woman descending this a hundred years ago, her long skirts trailing behind her as her hand glides down the banister?”

  He blinked. Took another look. “I’ll be damned.”

  But she was moving ahead of him to the right, going for the heavy sliding doors that sealed off what had once been a parlor. She tugged at the doors, but couldn’t make them budge.

  He put his muscle into the task. “These rooms are closed off for now.”

  When the door opened, she made her way to the center of the room, taking in the peeling wallpaper, the high windows and their dirty glass. “Oh, look at this old wavy glass. You can’t find these windows anymore.”

  “You’re telling me,” he muttered. He’d priced replacements, and these windows would be waving for the foreseeable future, no matter how much wind whistled through the panes.

  She ran her hands over one sill. “The woodwork is beautiful.” Then she glanced down and gasped. “And random-width pine floors!” She gazed up at him, eyes glowing, noticing his staring. “What?”

  “Don’t tell me—the MacAllisters recruited you to their unholy alliance. Either that or you’re blind and can’t see all the stains and scarring on this floor.”

  A white smile sparkled as she flicked away his negative comments. “Nothing a little elbow grease can’t fix.”

  He made an elaborate show of perusing his elbows. “The grease done dried up, Miz Scarlett.”

  Violet laughed. “Okay, so there’s a lot of work here, but still… JD, this will be a showstopper when you’re done. Aren’t you proud of yourself for how you’ve rescued this lovely lady?”

  Wow. All he saw, most of the time, was what was still in desperate need of repair. “Thank you.” He studied her for longer than he should have, then caught himself. “Okay, one room down. Don’t assume you’ve seen the worst. You’re in for it now. No stopping until we’re done. You’ll just have to buck up.” He proffered an arm. “Madame, shall we continue the tour?”

  “Oh, please, kind sir.” She dropped into a playful curtsy then slipped her small hand into the crook of his elbow.

  The dining room, straight across the hall behind another set of sliding doors, sent her into another swoon. He had to admit th
at under the influence of her admiration, even he regarded the place differently.

  “A buffet here, against this wall, and a big oak table centered on an area rug…” Violet had deserted him and entered the room, tapping one finger on that lush lower lip that he wanted another taste of. “A big mirror over the buffet would give you another view of the—what?”

  “I think I’m jealous of my house.”

  One delicate eyebrow arched. A slow smile curved her lips. “You could show me your bedroom.”

  It was all he could do not to growl like some caveman and grab her.

  But she hesitated, as though she felt awkward. Violet James, famous movie star, awkward?

  He didn’t know what the hell to do. No way was he pushing her into anything, yet she’d already expressed enough self-doubt that he knew he could hurt her by rejecting her.

  Apparently she decided, though, as she sauntered toward him. “We do have some unfinished business, don’t we?” Her fingers walked up his chest, and she rose to her tiptoes against him, her body soft and sweet, enough to make a man lose his mind.

  “You are killing me,” he said.

  “I really, really don’t want to do that.” When her hands slid into his hair and her mouth brushed over his, he was most of the way to gone.

  He fought his way back to the surface. “Violet, um, are you sure…”

  She hesitated again. Lifted uncertain blue eyes to his. “You’re not?”

  “No, that’s not it. I just—”

  “If you don’t want…” Hurt crept in, trapping him between a rock and a hard place.

  “Oh, honey, I very much want.” Though his soul was surely damned. He gathered her in and returned the kiss.

  Doc’s words echoed in his head: if she trusts you, Lofton might, too. That kind of access is everything.

  Damn it, Doc, how the hell am I supposed to do this?

  “JD, stop worrying. We’re both adults.”

  “But you’re—”

  “If you say I’m Violet James, I won’t be responsible for my actions.” She smiled up at him then sobered. “And if you’re worried about my bruised heart, well, that’s really nice and just tells me you’re as good a man as I thought.” She trailed her forefinger down his chest. “You also have this very hot body. I’m told there are those who think the same of me.”