Using diversion tactics—commonly known as changing the subject—he said, “Everything’s fine. What's going on around here?”
Not the least bit fooled, his grandfather smiled, then allowed the directional change. “There’s a new cook down at the diner. She’s a spry young thing, not even seventy yet.” Granddad rocked in his chair. “I think I’m going to invite her to bingo at the senior center.”
Gavin stopped swinging and stared at his grandfather while scanning his memory. “That’s the first time you’ve ever mentioned a lady friend.” His grandmother had passed away before Gavin was born, and in all these years it never occurred to him that his grandfather never remarried. Hells bells, he’d never even dated.
His grandfather had always seemed old, because when you’re ten, everyone is old. Looking back on it now, he would have been in his late fifties when Gavin came to live with him. “You never dated when I lived with you. Why?”
“I was too busy raising you to be worried about dating.” His grandfather shrugged. “My priorities changed after you came to live with me.”
Deep-seated despair and disgust flooded Gavin, and his skin felt like it shrank to three sizes too small. What a selfish bastard he was. In all these years, he'd never recognized the sacrifices his grandfather made. Had he ever even thanked him?
Gavin needed to work. He needed physical labor to help him sort out the feelings of frustration and self-loathing squeezing him. “What were you working on in the barn?”
“Got some rotten boards that need to be replaced. I’m ripping out the old ones, so when I get the new lumber delivered it won’t take no time at all to get it nailed in place.”
Gavin looked down at his khakis and polo shirt. It was a good thing he still had a closet full of old work clothes here. Filled with purpose, he jumped from the swing and headed toward the door. “I'll get changed.” He looked over his shoulder at the old farm truck. “Does the truck still run?”
His grandfather seemed confused at Gavin’s sudden burst of energy, but nodded and said, “Sure.”
“Good. We’ll get a supply list together, then go into town and pick up the replacement boards and nails ourselves.” He hadn't planned on spending the day working, but the idea excited him. It would allow him to work off some of his frustration and do something for his grandfather, other than writing a check. He’d also have the added bonus of proving to Sunny and Robby that he could be useful.
As he headed for the door, his grandfather said, “If you decide you want to talk, I’m here.”
Gavin backtracked, leaned over, and wrapped his grandfather in a strong hug. “I don’t say it nearly enough, but I love you.” Forcing the crack out of his voice and the lump in his throat to break loose, he added, “Thank you… for everything.”
***
“Callie, stop fidgeting. Why are you so nervous?”
Callie forced her hand away from the front of her skirt and gave her mom the best fake smile she could muster. “I’m not nervous. I…”
Her mother didn’t know about last night’s fiasco in Anticue, or this morning’s conversation between Callie and her father, and Callie wanted to keep it that way. It wasn’t that her mother didn’t like Gavin. She’d always welcomed him into their home and treated him like one of the family. But she also always maintained he was too old for Callie.
Every time Callie protested, by reminding her mother that Daddy was twelve years her senior, her mother would nod and give Callie a look that said, “Exactly.” Callie never wanted to consider, even for a brief moment, that her parent’s marriage might have problems. She’d learned to avoid the discussion by avoiding conversations that involved Gavin.
Now, she was more than a little suspicious about her parents' seemingly perfect marriage. Given the circumstances of her father’s acquisition of the company, she questioned if their marriage had been anything more than one of her father’s carefully orchestrated plans.
“You what, dear?”
Her mother’s concern snapped Callie out of the depressive musings and back to the present. She flipped her gaze to her mother's and studied her soft, blue eyes.
Daddy wasn’t who she’d grown up believing him to be. Gavin wasn’t the man she’d thought him to be. Could her mother be something different, too? Something more than a self-absorbed woman. “I guess I’m a little nervous about this new dress. It’s more revealing than I usually wear.”
Pride radiated from her mother’s eyes. “Yes, it is. But it’s a beautiful dress, and you’re gorgeous.” The corner of her mother’s mouth lifted, and her expression turned conspiratorial. “I bet Jason will agree.”
“Jason?” Callie coughed to clear her throat. How did her mother know about him?
Her mother’s gaze drifted across the clubhouse to where Jason stood. “He’s a nice young man.”
“Yes, he is.” Callie’s voice cracked. She’d made a fool of herself last night, but through it all, he’d been nothing but kind and compassionate. She wasn’t in any hurry to rehash last night’s events, or trust that any man was as he seemed on the surface. But she did want to thank him again for his help and for being so kind. “I think I’ll go say hello.”
Overcome by an urge she couldn’t stop, Callie wrapped her arms around her mother for a hug. It was hard to tell which of them was most shocked when Callie added. “I love you, Mother.”
***
By seven thirty it was obvious Gavin wouldn’t be attending the party, and Callie found herself experiencing an odd mix of emotions over his absence. Out of habit, she constantly watched the door, looking for him. But when it came right down to it, she didn’t want to see him.
Max, on the other hand, wasn’t handling Gavin’s no-show well, and she feared her father was going to have a stroke. Callie, along with everyone else in attendance, had heard her father repeatedly leaving messages on Gavin’s cellphone. It was impossible to miss the barked, snarly commands for Gavin to “Call me.”
None of his calls were returned, and the longer the night went on, the more furious her father became. She was still upset about their morning conversation and the realization that her father would accept Gavin’s infidelity if necessary for the cause. But he was her father, and lifelong habits of worrying about someone you loved weren’t broken in a matter of hours.
She looped her arm around his and gave him her best little princess smile. “This is a wonderful party. I’ve never seen Lorraine so happy.”
He cut his eyes to her, and though his stare was cold and harsh, his words were soft and kind. “Trying to soften me up so I won’t kill Gavin?”
She laughed and squeezed his arm tighter. “He did send flowers and a note.” Although, Callie suspected her father was more upset with Gavin’s defiance than his disappointing Lorraine through his absence. When her daddy spoke, he expected everyone to listen.
She couldn’t help but wonder if some of her father’s anger might also spring from an underlying concern that Gavin’s loyalties could be shifting. She realized it hadn’t been what Gavin said during the phone call with Max yesterday that made her go to Anticue. It was the tone he used while talking about the bartender that led her to believe things between them had moved from professional to personal.
If she picked up on that, her father must have, as well. Gavin’s refusal to come to the party tonight served as further confirmation Max might have something to worry about.
A part of her felt it would serve her father right if that happened. He’d sent Gavin to Anticue to seduce the bartender, then use their attraction to make her cooperate.
What would happen if she seduced Gavin and turned the tables on her father?
***
Gavin swung his SUV into the gravel parking lot of the Blackout and mashed the brakes. “Whoa.” What he expected to find at nine thirty on a Saturday night he didn’t know, but apparently it wasn't a full house. Going by the limited number of available parking spaces, the place was packed. Which was good for Sunny’s bus
iness. Bad for him getting her alone.
The trip to New Bern had been exhausting and enlightening. Who knew working out in a gym, even for hours on end, didn’t make up for a lack of physical labor. The longer he’d driven, the tighter his muscles had gotten. He ached from neck to toe and desperately needed a cold beer.
He hoped like hell Sunny had worked things out with Robby, because the thought of driving another hour didn’t hold a lot of appeal. Crashing in Sunny’s bed, after they took a long, erotic soak in the big-ass tub in her bathroom… that worked for him.
He parked his SUV, levered his stiff body out of the driver’s seat, and crossed the parking lot. Dark clouds covered the full moon, leaving the dunes in total darkness, but he still stopped and scanned the area, searching for stalkers.
He couldn’t believe Callie had been there last night, spying on him and Sunny. Based on the number of calls from Max and the level of pissed-off radiating through the phone, Gavin figured Max knew about Callie’s visit, too. Which meant he also knew Gavin had become intimate with Sunny.
He hadn’t intended to tell Max about his and Sunny’s relationship, tentative as it was. He figured that would only cause Max to yank Gavin out of the equation, leaving him without access to Max’s plans.
But now, since Max was already in the know, Gavin would have to figure out a way to appease him while looking for an alternative solution to the puzzle. Skipping the retirement party probably hadn’t been a wise move, but dammit, Gavin was tired of being yanked around like a puppet on a string. He didn’t want to be in Myrtle Beach. He wanted to be with Sunny.
As he pushed through the doors, a loud and rowdy cheer rose from the bar. A few guys he hadn’t met were sitting near Joe and Ed, and the four of them were laughing and having a great time. Based on the look of things, their fun was at Sunny’s expense.
She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the men, a sucker stick hanging from her mouth. He laughed as he pictured her on an Old West movie set: Sunny, the sharp-shooting cowgirl, preparing for a Wild West showdown—eyes narrowed in concentration, hand ready to draw, a piece of straw hanging from the corner of her mouth.
She said something to the men, then swung her gaze to the door. Catching sight of him, her body stiffened and her facial expression froze. Then, as if forcibly relaxing, she took a deep breath and lowered her shoulders as her arms fell to her sides. It even looked like she shook her arms, as if trying to relax her hands and fingers. She smiled as he approached the bar, but her eyes didn’t sparkle and the smile was tight.
Shit. Her conversation with Robby must not have gone well. Which meant Gavin’s worn-out ass would be hitting the road.
She ran the towel over the bar before dropping the cloth into the soapy bucket. “How was your trip to New Bern?”
There were three empty stools, so he took the middle one, going for as much privacy as one could get in a crowded bar on a Saturday night. “Good. I helped my granddad rip rotted lumber out of the barn. I’ll go back next weekend and put up the replacement boards.”
A blond eyebrow arched suspiciously.
“I didn’t think you’d believe me.” He unclipped his phone from his belt, pulled up the photo gallery, and turned the phone so Sunny could see. “That’s why I had Granddad take pictures. It took him a while to figure out how to work the camera, but once he got the hang of it, he was unstoppable.”
Sunny took the phone from him and flipped through the pictures. Rather than laughing, or at least giving him her trademark million-watt smile, her lips turned downward.
“What’s wrong?”
She snapped her gaze to his and handed him back the phone. “Nothing. Those are great pictures. Looks like you were working hard.”
He leaned over the bar and quietly admitted, “I’m so tired and sore, I can hardly move.”
She reached into the beer cooler and grabbed a bottle of Bud. “Will this help?”
“Tremendously.” He waited while she popped the top, then slid the bottle to him. “How did things go with Robby?”
She wrung out the cloth and swiped at the bar. “It’s all good now.”
Uh-huh. He took a sip of his beer and waited, giving her a chance to come clean. When she stuck with the ridiculous it’s-all-good story, he said, “You’re a terrible liar.”
She smiled sheepishly but didn’t deny the lie. “It’ll be okay. Do you… um…” She glanced around the bar, looking everywhere but at him. “Want to stay tonight?”
He narrowed his eyes and studied her. What the hell was going on? She was trying to appear relaxed, acting as if everything was fine, but she was as bad at acting as she was at lying.
“What’s going on, Sunny?”
She pulled out of her slump and straightened her shoulders. “Nothing. I’m just tired.” She grinned and threw off a sexy little vibe. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
His body heated at the reminder, and his cock, which seemed to be the only un-sore part of his body, came alive. “You’re closed tomorrow, right?”
“Yes.” Her response was a little breathy and a lot sexy.
“So if I kept you up again tonight, you could sleep all day tomorrow?” He lifted his gaze from her lips to her eyes. “At least, stay in bed all day?”
Her lips parted and her eyes liquefied. She glanced toward the kitchen and bit her lip. “Robby said he could stay at his friend’s house again tonight.”
“That’s good. I mean,”—he reached across the bar for her hand—“I take it the talk didn’t go well. But at least he’s trying, if he’s willing to stay at a friend’s house.”
She stared at their linked fingers and took a deep breath. “Yeah. He’s agreed to do whatever I want.”
He pulled her hand to his mouth for a kiss. “Tell me what you want.”
She snatched her fingers back and shifted from foot to foot. He could tell she wanted to glance at Joe and Ed, probably to see if they were watching. Instead of giving in to the urge, she turned her back to them and leaned against the counter. “I want you at my mercy.”
“Kinky.” He leaned toward her, angling his head so their mouths were perfectly aligned for a kiss. “You had me wondering before, but now I know. There is a dominatrix hiding in there.”
Rather than completing the kiss as he’d hoped, she pushed off the bar and took a step back. “Guess you’ll find out later.”
Gavin drank his beer and watched Sunny work. She laughed and joked and seemed at ease with the other customers as she set up shots and poured beers. But with him, she was stiff and stilted and most definitely not at ease.
It was like she had a split personality disorder. Hot one minute, cold the next, then back to hot. She claimed to be tired, but there was more at work than her lack of sleep.
Oh shit. A terrible thought sent a surge of panic through him.
“Sunny.” When she looked up, he made a come-here motion with his head. “When you get a second.”
She mixed a couple of drinks, closed out a tab, then made her way back to him. “What’s up?”
“Callie hasn’t been here, has she?” She seemed shocked by the question, so he added, “I can tell something's wrong, but you won’t level with me about it.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m at the top of Max’s shit list right now because I didn’t go back to Myrtle Beach for a function. I didn’t think he’d come here personally, but I wouldn’t put it past Callie to make a repeat appearance.”
“Why did you miss the function?”
“I’m being a brat.”
She lifted an eyebrow and her lips twitched. “A brat.”
“Yeah. There was a retirement party for Max’s secretary tonight. I’d planned to go earlier in the week, but…” He shrugged. “I wanted to go to New Bern, then come back here instead.” He looked at the screen on his phone. “I have eight missed calls from Max, but none from Callie.” He re-clipped the phone to its holster. “Which had me a little concerned she might have shown up here.”
<
br /> “Does she call you often?”
Does she ever. “Usually. But if she saw us together last night, she might have finally gotten the hint.” He sipped his beer and debated how much he should share with Sunny. He finally decided to go with the truth. She might be worried, as she should be, but he didn’t want to keep anything from her at this point. “Based on the tone of Max’s messages, I’m concerned things are becoming unstable. I got worried for a minute.”
Sunny stared out the window, deep in thought. After several minutes of blank staring, she sighed and turned her attention back to him. “You look beat. Why don’t you go up to the apartment and relax.”
“Are you sure?” He wanted to figure out what had her upset, but he didn’t want to continue pushing. He had to trust her and assume she’d share with him when the time was right.
She nodded and pulled a key from her pocket. “Make yourself at home, and I’ll be up in a couple of hours.”
Chapter Twenty
Sunny had washed, stocked, and straightened everything she could think of, and the bar had never been cleaner. Unable to put off the inevitable any longer, she locked up, then made her way up the stairs to her apartment at a snail’s pace.
She stunk at confrontation. Especially when she wasn’t sure on which side of the friggin’ argument she stood.
She and Robby agreed she’d keep seeing Gavin. She once asked Gavin if their relationship fell under the keep-enemies-closer rule. Looking back, she was pretty sure he hadn’t denied it, only claimed they weren’t enemies.
This afternoon she decided to play the same game. It was better to keep him close, so they could keep an eye on him and possibly get him to slip up and give them information. Plus, keeping Gavin around would have the added benefit of more great sex.
At the time she made the decision, it seemed like a great plan.
But when he walked into the bar, looking lickably delicious in worn-out jeans and work boots, she began to question her ability to pull it off. When she looked at his smiling face on his cellphone, her heart splintered and her doubts doubled.
Last Call (Book #2 - Heat Wave Series) Page 17