by Leanne Banks
“You may be a little late for that,” his mother said. “It’s hard not to get attached to someone who saves you from a terrible accident. Especially when she has red hair and shares her brownie.”
His mother had a point. It was hard not to get attached to the woman who had saved his daughter. “Lisa, you should go home with Nana now. Adele needs to rest.”
Adele raised her eyebrows. “I do?”
Lisa giggled. “She doesn’t always follow Daddy’s rules.”
“That’s probably good for Daddy,” his mother murmured, then smiled at Lisa. “Come with me, sweetie. Adele, thank you for filling in for Lisa’s guardian angel.”
Adele’s cheeks bloomed with color. “You’re welcome. Now that’s enough. No more thank-yous. I appreciate the food.”
“I hope you feel much better tomorrow,” Jasmine said with a wave, and led Lisa out the door.
After they left, Jason turned to face Adele.
“You can go, too,” she said. “I’m fed, bandaged and safe. There’s nothing else you can do for me.”
His lips twitched. “Is this your sideways way of saying my presence isn’t needed?”
“This is probably going to be difficult for you to understand, but I’ve been taking care of my scrapes and bruises most of my life, and I’ve done a pretty good job.”
“Did you ever wish you could take a break from it and let somebody else do it?”
Her eyes flickered with a hint of secret longing, then she glanced down, and her eyelashes shielded her expression from him.
“Did you ever wish there was someone you could trust to take care of you every now and then?”
She lifted her head and met his gaze a shade defiantly. “You mean did I ever wish I had someone I could depend on?” She nodded. “Of course I did. But I wasn’t raised in your wealthy situation. When I say wealth, I don’t mean money, I mean wealth of family. So, wishing for someone I could depend on could be a very dangerous wish. Don’t seduce me with your family when what you really want is a one-night stand.”
Anger, swift and hot, shot through him. “You disrespect both of us when you say all I want is a one-night stand. How can you think one night would be enough?”
Adele inhaled sharply. “Jason, when it comes to you, I don’t know much. That’s why I don’t want to get involved. We both know we’re not interested in anything permanent. So tell me what you’re shooting for here. Something more than one night but less than forever?”
Her question was so right and wrong at the same time that it made him want to howl in frustration. Jason had spent years developing his self-control, and the idea that Adele could shatter it so easily upset him even more. When had a woman had an impact on him like this?
“I’m making you totally crazy, aren’t I?” Adele asked.
“Yes,” he said as he counted to one hundred.
“Good,” she said. “At least we’re even on that.”
Raking his hand through his hair, he debated kissing her and decided against it. His control was too frazzled. As much as he wanted to disrupt her the way she disrupted him, this wasn’t the time. “I want to kiss you, right now,” he told her. “I want to make love to you until the only thing you can say is my name. But you’re sore from the accident and not convinced about us. Both those circumstances will change. If you need me for anything,” he said, “anything at all, call me.”
The silence in her house after Jason left was the same kind of stunned quiet she would expect after a bomb explodes. His energy and passion reverberated inside her for moments after he left.
Adele spent the rest of the evening wandering around her condo, surfing channels on the television, then turning it off and wandering some more. She went to bed early in search of some of that rest everyone insisted she needed, but she only tossed and turned.
Glaring at her alarm clock at midnight, she cursed Jason Fortune for disturbing her life and sleep. Adele made a snap decision and impulsively dialed Jason’s office number. She knew no one would pick up and she would get the voice mail, which was exactly what she wanted. In no mood for any more confrontation, she left a message telling Jason she was taking the day off and she would return to work on Friday.
When Adele hung up the phone, she turned off the ringer and felt a rush of relief. Tomorrow would be a Fortune-free day.
The decision worked like a charm. She fell asleep and even slept in the following morning. She felt stiff upon rising and bored after an hour of puttering around the condo. Adele missed Minneapolis and all the familiar things that made her feel secure. Although the condo was well appointed, she realized she’d been so busy she hadn’t added any touches of comfort.
She headed for a local nursery she’d spotted during one of her many trips to the Fortune offices. “Can I help you find something?” the sales clerk asked.
“I’m just interested in picking up some houseplants,” she said. “I’m from Minnesota, so I miss the green.”
The clerk nodded sympathetically. “We have a wide variety. You may need to water some of them a little more frequently, but they’ll still thrive.”
“Thanks,” Adele said, and turned down an aisle.
“Did I hear someone say Minnesota?” a somewhat familiar female voice asked. “Is that you, Adele?”
Adele turned to find Jasmine Fortune smiling at her. Adele struggled with a yeah/boo sensation. Jasmine was so friendly and vital it was a pleasure to see her, but she was also Jason’s mother, and Adele was doing her best not to think about Jason today.
“Mrs. Fortune,” Adele said.
“Call me Jasmine,” she instructed. “Between your work for the hospital and rescuing Lisa, you’re practically part of the family.”
Adele felt a surge of pleasure out of nowhere and reminded herself that practically was the operative term.
“You’re here for houseplants.”
“It may sound silly, but I miss my plants. I think more green in my condo might make me more at home here.”
“A little homesick,” Jasmine said, and put her arm around Adele’s shoulders. She glanced down the aisle thoughtfully. “We can’t have that. Do you want something that blooms?”
For the next hour Jasmine, in her friendly, embracing way, helped Adele select a miniature forest for her condo. “I hope I don’t kill them all,” Adele said at the checkout.
Jasmine reached for her purse. “Why don’t you let me give them to you as a welcoming gift?”
“Absolutely not,” Adele said, a little more sharply than she intended. She deliberately softened her voice. “I owe you because you made sure I got some potato salad last night.”
Jasmine laughed and shook her head. “That’s the most original turndown of an offer for a gift that I’ve ever received. Would you join me for lunch or do you need to get back to work?”
“I took the day off,” Adele said, and although she wasn’t sure it was wise in the long run, she didn’t have the heart to refuse Jasmine a second time.
“Kate’s been very enthusiastic about you,” Jasmine said as the two of them sat at a table in a charming café near Four Corners.
“Kate is a marvel,” Adele said, “and when she’s sold on something or someone, she’s the most generous person I know.”
Jasmine nodded. “I know she struggled with the fact that her husband had fathered Devlin and Hunter by another woman, but ever since she pushed aside her reservations, she’s been gung-ho in her involvement with the family. The woman is a born matchmaker. She’s determined to see every unattached member of the family happily married.”
“Is Tyler on the top of her list?”
Jasmine arched an eyebrow. “Tyler is on the top of everyone’s list. He’s dodged the commitment bullet, but I’m pretty sure that will change soon.”
Adele sipped herbal tea. “Has he met someone?”
Jasmine smiled. “If he hasn’t, he will.” She waved her hand. “Enough about that. Tell me about yourself.”
“I’m
originally from Minnesota. I graduated with a double major in philosophy and prelaw, then picked up a master’s degree in business ethics.”
“I already know you’re eminently qualified. I’d like to know more about your interests and your family.”
Adele squelched a trace of nervousness. It was silly, but she didn’t want Jasmine to think less of her because of her lack of family. “My job has kept me very busy, but I like to swim and fish when I get the opportunity. In Minnesota I volunteered by reading to kids in the hospital. No family. I was raised at the local children’s home where I coached volleyball until I left.”
“No family,” Jasmine repeated. “Then I bet all these Fortunes must feel a little overwhelming at times.”
“At times,” Adele admitted. “But for the most part, I think the Fortunes are lucky to have each other.”
“We are a close family, but my sons are very private about their personal lives. I’m a mother, so I worry about both of them. Jason got married young and was forced to grow up quickly. Of course, Devlin and I married young, too, but that was very different,” she said, and her beautiful features turned pensive. She looked down and tapped her finger on the table. “Sometimes I think Jason buries himself in his responsibilities for Fortune Construction and Lisa.”
The humanness of Jasmine’s concern for her grown son affected Adele deeply. There was no prying, meddling attitude, instead Adele could feel Jasmine’s love and tenderness like a warm breeze. She had the oddest urge to comfort her. “Your son is a strong man,” she said simply. “You obviously did a wonderful job raising him.”
Jasmine met her gaze and slowly smiled. “Devlin and I would agree that we got great raw material to work with when we got Jason.” She cocked her head to one side thoughtfully. “You have a good heart, Adele.”
Adele’s heart swelled in her chest. The quick joy took her by surprise. No one had ever complimented her on her heart before. Her mind, yes, her discipline and perseverance, yes. But never her heart. In fact, Adele had always received the vague impression that it was always best to follow her head instead of her heart. For that sliver of a moment it was as if she had a mother who had praised her.
It felt as if she’d just been given a rare gold coin. “Thank you,” she said, but the words seemed inadequate.
The following day Jasmine’s words stayed with her, and she couldn’t help seeing Jason in a different way. The two of them spent the afternoon setting preliminary policy for the teen pregnancy center.
“I really admire your commitment to this issue. Some children’s hospitals don’t want to touch it.”
He leaned back in his leather chair and tossed his pen on the desk. “We couldn’t not touch the issue. My grandmother, Natasha Lightfoot, was nineteen when she became pregnant with my father and his brother,” he said, then paused and looked away. “My wife became pregnant the first time when she was nineteen.”
“The first time?”
“She miscarried,” he said, and Adele sensed, as she always did, that Jason’s wife was a difficult subject for him. He looked at her, and she could tell by the glint in his gaze that a subject change was coming. “My mother told me she had lunch with you yesterday. I asked her what was her secret.”
“Secret for what?” she asked, clueless.
“Secret for getting you to join her for lunch,” he said.
Adele felt a rush of warmth from the hint of edgy but controlled passion she saw in his eyes. She wished she didn’t identify so easily with that same edgy passion. She wished she felt more control.
“So what is her secret?” he asked.
Adele’s mind went blank. “I, uh—” She bit her tongue to stop her blasted stammering. “She doesn’t affect me the same way you do,” she blurted out, and immediately wanted to melt into the Southwestern carpet beneath her feet.
He gave a wry smile that was entirely too sexy. “I suppose that’s good.”
Adele glanced down to avoid Jason’s gaze and caught sight of her watch. She gasped. “I didn’t realize it was so late. It’s 6:30. I bet your daughter’s going to jump you when you get home.”
Jason shook his head as if he saw through Adele’s diversionary tactic. “Lisa’s already attending a combination birthday, slumber party at a friend’s house.”
“Oh,” Adele said, feeling her stomach do strange things at the expression on his face.
“I thought dinner at—”
The phone rang, interrupting him. Jason frowned. “Who would be calling at this time?” he muttered, then picked up the phone. “Jason Fortune,” he said. His eyes widened in shock. “An accident at the hospital construction site?” he echoed.
Adele watched his face grow taut, and her blood turned cold through her veins. Jason stood and walked toward the window. “Was anyone else hurt?”
Adele’s heart sank. She watched Jason hang up the phone, his entire demeanor shrouded in shocked grief. “There’s been an accident at the site,” he told her in a too-calm voice. “The temporary service elevator crashed. Our construction foreman, Mike Dodd, was in it. He’s dead.”
“Oh my God,” Adele said. “What—”
“I need to go to the site right now,” he said, raking his hand through his hair. “But I also need to call the other members of the board.”
“Would you like me to call them?” she asked, desperate to help.
He gazed at her as he decided. He nodded. “Yes, I would. Here are the phone numbers,” he said, pulling a short list from his top drawer. “Tell them we don’t have many details yet and they’ll be updated within an hour.” Jason grabbed his suit coat from the back of his chair and shook his head. “Just like that he’s dead.”
“Did you know him, the foreman?” she asked.
Jason nodded. “Primarily as an employer. Mike had a rowdy youth, but he really seemed to have started to pull things together. Being foreman for the hospital project was very important to him.” He sighed, and she could see the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. “The next few days are going to be a nightmare. A death at the hospital construction site.” He closed his eyes for just a moment. “We’ve never had a death at a construction site before.” He opened his eyes and met her gaze, turmoil and determination mingling in the depths of his amber eyes. “The board members are going to have three thousand questions, and believe me, I’ve got four thousand.”
“I can stay here and be the phone tree when you want to give an update. If you like, I can call Lisa so she won’t be alarmed.”
“Good idea.” He checked his watch. “It’ll be late, and it’s a Friday night.”
“There is really nothing I’d rather do,” Adele said.
“Okay,” he said, and the power of trust hummed between them. He could count on her. The knowledge shifted something inside her. More than anything, she wanted him to count on her. She wanted to be the one on whom he could depend.
Her heart in her throat, she watched him head for the door. “If there is anything else I can do, anything at all, please tell me.” He looked so strong, so grieved and so alone in that moment that she could hardly bear it. After all the hours she’d spent with Jason, she knew how important this project was to his family, and even more so, to him.
Following her heart instead of her head, she stepped toward him, put her hands on his arms and kissed him. He kissed her hard in return, then left, and as Adele watched him walk down the hall, she had the impending sense that everything in her world was about to change.
Seven
At the construction site, Jason parked his car behind a collection of vehicles with flashing lights. A police cruiser was parked behind a fire truck. An ambulance was just pulling out of the drive.
Jason’s gut clenched. The ambulance was probably carrying Mike Dodd’s body. The nightmare had begun. He narrowed his eyes and caught sight of his brother talking to a policeman.
Jason approached them both. “Jason Fortune,” he said, introducing himself to the policeman.
“Officer Crowther,” he said. “You two brothers?” he asked.
Tyler nodded while Jason continued to look around the site. It was difficult to believe they had all been celebrating the progress on the hospital just two days before.
“I was just telling your brother that since there was a death there will be a full investigation from both the police and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.”
Jason knew the investigations could cause extensive delays in construction.
“There are always questions to be answered in these cases,” the officer said.
“Believe me,” Jason said. “We will want those questions answered more than anyone else. Could you excuse my brother and me for a moment?”
“Sure,” he said, and Tyler and Jason walked to the construction trailer that housed the site office.
“What was Dodd doing at the site so late?” Jason asked as soon as he shut the door behind him.
Tyler looked gutted. Jason had never seen his brother so shell-shocked.
Tyler shook his head. “I don’t know. Everyone else had left. Maybe he was checking something. It looks like the elevator fell from the fifteenth story.”
“So no one else was here?”
“No one except Angelica Dodd, Mike’s sister, and Riley.”
Confusion rocked through him. Riley Fortune, their cousin, was vice president of finance for Fortune Construction. Jason wrinkled his brow. “Riley? His area is finance. What in hell was he doing here tonight? Have there been some financial discrepancies?”
Tyler shook his head again. “Not that I know of. The only thing I know about Angelica is that she pretty much raised Mike and she’s a waitress at the Camel Corral. Maybe she knew he was working late and was bringing him something to eat.”
“Did you have any idea there were problems with the elevator?” Jason asked.
“There have been no problems with the service elevator,” Tyler said adamantly, and swore. “If there was one project I didn’t want messed up in any way, it’s this one. I don’t know how this could have happened.”