Double Dealing (2013)

by Cajio, Linda

  Although he’d told her the situation wasn’t hopeless, and it wasn’t, he knew he wasn’t ready to accept that the answer to the alternate site wasn’t to be found in the reports. They’d been sorted every which way and still nothing promising had turned up. The answer lay elsewhere, but that meant leaving the estate and Rae. It was the last thing he wanted to do. He hated the thought of not seeing her for days, not making love with her and waking up to find her sleeping next to him. He found such immense satisfaction in that. A day without her presence would be unbearable.

  Jed stopped in his tracks. His jaw dropped in astonishment as he realized why being with Rae was more important than a job.

  He was in love with her.

  It was why he’d been fighting for her, risking his career to keep the home she loved. It explained his obvious behavior. It was so damned obvious now.

  He started laughing, as he thought of the butler’s words. Burrows had known all along. Hell, he thought in amusement, while remembering his own reasoning that it had been the house causing his obvious behavior. How wrong could a person be? Then he remembered something else and his mirth faded.

  Glancing up at Rae’s bedroom window, he wondered if her behavior had been as obvious as his. Burrows had included her in his observation. The man might not have a green thumb for gardening, but Jed doubted the butler was often wrong in his judgment of people. Rae probably hadn’t recognized her own symptoms yet.

  Maybe he ought to tell her.…

  Jed grinned to himself, deciding to wait until she realized it herself.

  He couldn’t wait to see the expression on her face when she did.

  Twelve

  Rae tugged her robe tighter around her and sighed, as she watched Jed from her bedroom window.

  What, she wondered, was she going to do with him? He was supposed to be fixing up a new site for the marina complex, and instead, he was fixing up the herb garden.

  The better question, she decided, was what she was going to do with herself. She’d always been a fairly sensible woman. Well, at least until Jed had reentered her life, she amended with a wry smile. Since then, she’d been in a state of confusion.

  Yesterday morning, she’d been too angry to think rationally. Now that she was calmer, she realized Henry Morrison’s words were just that—words. She honestly couldn’t say that they were true. It was just that she’d been vulnerable to the jolt Morrison delivered.

  If only she were more sure of Jed, she thought. Their relationship was so fragile that it had seemed easier to believe the worst of him. There were times when he was still the Jed she remembered so well, and times when he seemed like a total stranger. She imagined there were moments when he had found her completely different from the girl he’d known. They had both grown up, and she had fallen in love. She just needed reassurance that she wasn’t misplacing her heart.

  Silently, she admitted that she had to give him a chance—she had to trust him. She knew love and trust were intertwined; she couldn’t offer one without offering the other. Their relationship was so new and fragile that it could also be easily shattered. She had to believe that Jed hadn’t lied to her about searching for a new complex site. She had to believe Henry Morrison was wrong about Jed. She had to have faith in him … and in her heart.

  But what the hell was he doing in the damn garden?

  “Ah! You are up, miss. Good morning.”

  Rae turned around as Burrows entered the bedroom. He carried a fully loaded coffee tray. Setting it down on the walnut table next to the window, he poured her a cup and offered it to her.

  “You’re spoiling me,” she said, as she accepted it and took a reviving sip of the steaming black brew.

  He nearly smiled. “Thank you, miss. It’s agreeable to know that I am performing my duties well.”

  She chuckled.

  “Mr. Jed has offered to repair some of the damage in the herb garden,” he went on, “and if I may say so, I am relieved. He has more knowledge of what’s needed than that …” His lips tightened for a moment. “That so-called gardening service.”

  “So I noticed,” she said dryly, while pointing out of the window.

  “You don’t sound happy, miss.”

  “Believe me, Burrows, I’m thrilled down to my toes.”

  The butler drew himself up and glared at her. “You should be thankful for Mr. Jed’s able assistance.”

  She felt her cheeks heating at the deserved reprimand. “I’m sorry. It’s just that … I don’t know if his behavior is as obvious as mine.”

  “So he has told you about my observation,” Burrows said.

  “He thinks the house is possessed and making everyone act crazy,” she said, turning back to look out the window.

  She heard a suspicious snort that reminded her of suppressed laughter, and she turned around again. Burrows’s face was red, and his jaw was tensed in an obvious attempt to keep from venting his amusement. Helplessly, she began to giggle.

  “He’s something, isn’t he?” she asked, shaking her head.

  “Yes, miss, he is, and if I may say so, very well suited to you.”

  Her mirth instantly subsided, and she set the coffee cup on the table and returned her gaze to the window. “I know he’s well-suited, Burrows.”

  “That is what you are not happy with, isn’t it, miss?”

  “I’m … unsure.”

  “If it were a choice between this estate and Mr. Jed, which would you choose?”

  For a long minute, she watched Jed set boards around the damaged section. Finally she smiled sadly and said, “I’d like to think I have a choice to make, Burrows.”

  Four hours later, Rae found herself being hustled into Jed’s BMW sports car.

  “Are you crazy?” she asked, after he had tossed a hamper full of food in the back and had settled into the driver’s seat. “It’s barely fifty out here, and you want to have a picnic lunch in the park?”

  The car roared to life, and he nearly shouted over the engine’s whine, “Sounds great to me.”

  “I’ll remind you of that later, when your buns are frozen.”

  He laughed. “You can always warm them up.”

  “Sex maniac,” she muttered, shaking her head.

  “What?”

  “Never mind.” She waved a hand. “Lead on, Waters. At least we won’t have to worry about ants.”

  Lapsing into silence, she decided he had one heck of a work schedule. He’d spent the entire morning on the garden, and now was taking an afternoon picnic. It was disheartening to know that he wasn’t even making a pretense of looking for a new site.

  Pushing the thought away, she reminded herself about giving him a chance. It wasn’t fair to condemn him on circumstantial evidence. She vowed not to allow her doubts to interfere any longer, and she would start right now by enjoying the picnic lunch. Suppressing a groan, she admitted she might not be a candidate for Resident Eccentric, but Jed certainly was.

  It was a short drive over the bridge to the park, and after finding a suitable spot under the trees, they started eating the lunch Burrows had packed.

  “Still think it’s too cold?” Jed asked later as they lounged on a thick horse blanket and nibbled at the remains of their meal.

  “I’m wearing a heating pad under my jeans,” she replied, before popping a cracker into her mouth.

  He chuckled, then sipped his glass of wine. The air was brisker than he had thought. Still, there was a beautiful pink glow in Rae’s cheeks. “At least we didn’t have to bother chilling the wine.”

  “Or the caviar. No crowds either.”

  “Do people use this park much in the summer?” he asked, curious. The park was deserted again, as it had been when they came with the boys. Of course, it was October.

  “I don’t think so. At least I’ve never seen more than a dozen people here at any one time.” She grinned. “It seems like the Barkeley Club uses it more than anyone else.”

  Jed grinned in return. “Still looking for tha
t treasure, right?”

  She leaned back on her elbows and laughed. “I have the feeling they’ll never give up now.”

  With hooded eyes, he admired the slender line of her thighs and the tilt of her breasts under the jacket she wore. A deep satisfaction ran through him at the thought that he could touch her at any time, and she would respond. Her happiness mattered very much to him, and he would do everything in his power to give her what she wanted.

  He resisted the sudden urge to tell her what Burrows had actually meant. She deserved the time to discover it on her own.

  He finished his wine, then stood up and held out a hand to her. “Come on. We can clean up later. Let’s take a walk around.”

  Smiling, she accepted his offer, and he helped her to her feet. They walked hand in hand along the paths through the dense woods by the riverbank.

  “Both of us should be working,” Rae finally said, as they stopped to untangle several strands of her hair from a low tree branch.

  “Do you want to go back?”

  She chuckled. “No. I just thought I’d point out the obvious.”

  “A lunch break never hurt anyone. You hibernated in that library all morning.”

  “That’s my busiest time, between the clients calling and Wall Street opening. Just before closing it gets hectic again.”

  “I promise to have you back by three.”

  They strolled along for a few more moments, before she said, “I was surprised to see you working in the garden this morning.”

  “Burrows was upset about the damage, so I thought I’d help out. It’s been years since I’ve done that kind of work, but I’ve got to admit I enjoyed it.” He glanced at her. “Why?”

  She shrugged. “Just surprised.”

  “I hear the implied reprimand, Madam,” he said, patting her cheek. “I’ll have you know I’m working very hard on finding another site. Can’t you tell?”

  “You are bad, Jed,” she said, shaking her head.

  He grinned at her. “Yeah, I know. But you like it.”

  “Wise guy,” she murmured.

  Chuckling, he shifted his gaze to the quiet grounds of the park. He hadn’t actually lied. While he’d been working in the garden, he’d found his eyes straying more and more to the wooded area on the other side of the river. A crazy idea had occurred to him, and he’d decided to at least take a look about the park. A picnic with Rae seemed the perfect way to do so. In fact, anywhere with her was the perfect way to spend a day. Or night …

  Nearly tripping over a tree root reminded him to concentrate on what he knew about the park, which wasn’t much. It hadn’t been in the site reports, and he had to admit that was a bad sign. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember whether the park had even been looked at by the company. Maybe someone had only given it a cursory check. After all, the Barkeley estate had seemed like a sure thing.

  Jed frowned to himself, as they continued their stroll. He’d been hoping to see some homes within the boundaries, which would have meant the park was zoned for residential buildings. There weren’t any. He didn’t even know whether the park was a federal, state, or county one, and that would make a big difference. There were probably other obstacles to consider too. Still, if they could be solved, the park would be perfect for the marina complex. It had all the qualities of the estate plus one more. He couldn’t think of a grander view than the elegant grounds of the Barkeley home.

  Absently pulling a leaf from a leggy growth of bush, he wondered if he should tell her about his idea. Not yet, he thought. After all, the park was only a nebulous possibility at the moment. He would make several calls after they returned to the house.

  “Jed!” Rae suddenly exclaimed, breaking into his thoughts. “Are you holding what I think you’re holding?”

  He looked down at the sprig he’d been lazily twirling between his fingers … and instantly dropped it. “Dammit! Poison oak!”

  “Really?” Rae bent down to examine it. “I thought it was poison ivy.”

  “Good thing you knew it was poison something,” he said, silently cursing the fact that there was no soap and water handy. “Let’s just hope it’s too late in the season for us to be affected by it.”

  “Us?” she drawled, as she straightened and arched an eyebrow.

  “Us,” he said firmly. “Because there’s no way I’m moving back to that damn trophy room.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” she muttered, rubbing her hand against his possibly affected one. “Might as well get it now, and get it over with.”

  Jed shook his head. “My way would have been more fun.”

  She grinned. “I’m sure we’ll find a new use for calamine lotion.”

  He burst into laughter.

  Later that evening, Jed stared out the kitchen window at the park. He had made his phone calls, and one had turned up a piece of good news. His assistants hadn’t done more than a cursory check of the park, since the company had expected to acquire the estate. What the other phone calls would turn up was a huge guess. He crossed his fingers that his would be the correct one.

  “That’s the fourth time you’ve stared out that window,” Rae commented, as she dished up ice cream for them. “What’s so interesting out there?”

  “Just enjoying the view,” he said with a grin.

  On Friday night, Rae admitted defeat.

  As she paced her bedroom, she muttered curses under her breath. All of them were directed at Jed.

  Over the past three days, he had done everything but work on the new site. Oh sure, there had been telephone calls for him, she told herself, but that was the extent of it. He’d spent the mornings in the library with her, asking questions about her work. She appreciated his interest. Really she did. He had helped Burrows polish silver on Wednesday afternoon, and rearranged the drawing room on Thursday. He’d also “tsked-tsked” the condition of the grounds with the butler until the two of them were happy as clams. And when he wasn’t busy with other things, he’d succeeded in enticing her into bed. She conceded she hadn’t put up much resistance about those “work breaks.”

  It was time to face the truth, she thought. He was no longer looking for a new site. But why? Every time she’d hinted he ought to be working, he would just reply that it was “under control.” It was almost as if he’d been avoiding it.…

  Her eyes widened, and she halted her pacing. He’d been hard at it Monday, but after that he’d made no effort on the project. Something must have happened between those two days, and she had a pretty good idea what it was. Morrison’s phone call. Maybe Jed had been told to stop work on a new site, and maybe Morrison had been the one to tell him.

  “Stop it!” she hissed to herself, while covering her face with her hands.

  She wasn’t being fair again, and she knew it. She also knew she couldn’t continue on the way she was. She had to corner Jed and get the answers she so badly needed. It was what she should have done in the first place.

  She lowered her hands when she heard footsteps in the hallway.

  “All locked up,” Jed said, as he entered the bedroom. The dogs rushed past him into the room. He frowned at them and pointed to the door. “Out! You guys are supposed to be roaming the halls in case of burglars.”

  Rae watched in amazement, as both dogs reluctantly left the room. She could understand Samson obeying him, but not Delilah. “Since when did you make friends with Delilah?”

  Shutting the door, he chuckled. “I’m as surprised as you are that she listened. I think I’m growing on her.”

  As he strode across the room, she braced herself to confront him, but before she could say a word, his mouth settled firmly on hers.

  She was startled for a moment, then her insides melted as he pressed her against his hard body. Her arms crept up around his neck. When he finally lifted his head, she gave a long sigh.

  He kissed her lightly on the nose and whispered, “You know how to make a man feel good.”

  “You know how to make a woman feel
good,” she murmured back, resting her head on his chest. She knew she ought to ask him about the site, but decided a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

  “You never did settle on my ransom,” he murmured, caressing her back with his strong hands.

  “I’m thinking of keeping you,” she said softly. “Jed—”

  He hushed her with another kiss. “I’d love to stay forever, but I have to take a leave of absence on Monday.”

  Her head snapped up. “What?”

  “There are some people I need to see, Rae,” he said, taking her arms from around his neck and stepping out of the embrace. Still holding her right hand, he began to walk toward the bed. “Let’s sit down and—”

  She refused to budge, and he stopped to gaze at her with puzzled eyes. “No. Let’s stand up. Why are you leaving?”

  He frowned. “I told you. I have to see some people on Monday, and I should go in to the office. I’ve been ignoring my other work for the new site—”

  “I see.” She pulled her hand from his. Her whole body felt ice cold at the announcement of his unexpected departure. Maybe it wasn’t so unexpected, she thought numbly. Maybe she had been forcing herself to ignore the truth. Henry Morrison had given her fair warning. “Well, I shouldn’t be surprised, should I, Jed? I should have known Morrison was right.”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  She drew in an uninterrupted breath. “I’m talking about how convenient it is to suddenly have people you need to talk to, and other work to do. What happened to the work on the new site?”

  “Nothing—”

  “That’s what I thought,” she broke in. “Your boss made it very clear to me on Monday that he wants the estate. He also made it very clear that you always get him what he wants.”

  “What?” he exclaimed, staring at her in puzzlement. “Henry talked to you?”

  “Oh, yes.” She smiled grimly. “And he had quite a lot to say.”

  “Why,” he gritted between clenched teeth, “didn’t you tell me he talked to you?”