Summer Reads Box Set: Volume 1

by Freethy, Barbara

  "I can hear you thinking," Paige whispered. "Your heart started beating a little faster. What are you thinking about?"

  "You," he muttered.

  She raised her head and looked into his eyes. "Really?"

  "You had a hell of a lot of nerve coming here like you did. How did you get in, anyway?"

  "For a security expert, you don't keep your apartment very secure. I came in through the garage. It was wide open."

  "Damn. That's right. The phone was ringing when I got back from my bike ride, and I must have forgotten to close the door. I bet half my stuff is gone by now."

  "Do you want to go look?"

  "Are you kidding? I'm in bed with a beautiful blonde. What's a bike or two?"

  She laughed, her eyes sparkling with pleasure. God, she was pretty. Every time he saw her he thought she looked more appealing than the last time. Maybe it was because he wasn't just seeing her physical beauty now. He was seeing her, all the complicated feelings and emotions and actions that made her Paige.

  Paige Hathaway, a little voice inside reminded him. A woman who'd only the night before chosen her family over him. Sure she'd apologized, but how could he be sure it wouldn't happen again?

  "Now you're stiff, and I don't mean stiff in a good way," Paige said, frowning. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing."

  "Liar. You're thinking about last night again. I was hoping we'd gotten past that."

  "We will," he said, stroking her silky hair with his hand, "but we still have some things to resolve."

  "I know—the dragon for one. My father and I talked last night. We agree that the dragon in the safe is the one you brought in. We think my grandfather has the box, which means there's one dragon missing, and there's only one other person I can think of who might have it."

  "Lee Chen," Riley said. "I think so, too."

  "My father said something else that was interesting. He thinks the dragons are calling us together. They want to be reunited. They're making it happen."

  "They're doing a damn good job of it," he said with a grin.

  "Yes, they are. Now it's up to us, Riley, the third generation, to put those pieces back together and return them to China where they belong. What do you think about making another trip to Chinatown tonight?"

  "It's a good idea."

  "I'm going to call Alyssa. We'll go to her grandparents' house together."

  "It's the Chinese New Year's Eve," he reminded her. "The anniversary of the fire."

  "And the perfect time to figure out just what happened that night."

  "What are we going to do until then?" He was getting hard again, already wanting her, already feeling as if it had been too long since he'd last made love to her although it had only been an hour or so.

  "I can think of a few things," she said with a smile.

  "So can I."

  "Good. But this time you can open your own damn condom." She gave him a wicked smile. "I have a few other things I'd like to do with my mouth."

  He groaned and knew he wasn't just lost; he was hopelessly lost.

  * * *

  "He's late. He's not coming," Alyssa told her mother as she paced restlessly back and forth across the living room. "It's almost five o'clock."

  Jasmine sat on the couch, her hands folded calmly in her lap. "Sit down, Alyssa. You're wearing a hole in the carpet."

  "This is a mistake. I shouldn't have asked you to call him. He doesn't want to see me. He doesn't want to know me."

  "He will come. You will see."

  "Fine. He'll come. I'll see. And then we'll go to my grandparents' house and ask them where the dragon is."

  Jasmine's lips tightened. "I don't think it's a good idea. It's New Year's Eve. It is a special occasion. We cannot do it tonight."

  "We have to do it tonight. I already spoke to Paige and Riley. We're going. And I hope you'll come, too.”

  "I will think about it."

  A knock came at the door just as her mother finished speaking. Alyssa sent her a desperate look. "Maybe you should open it."

  "You are my brave daughter," Jasmine said with a rare smile. "The one who always tells me I must not be so afraid. Now it is your turn."

  Alyssa took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and answered the door.

  "Alyssa." David Hathaway stood in the doorway, a handsome man with dark hair and dark eyes, eyes that looked like hers. Those eyes were pleading now, pleading for understanding. "I'm—I'm your father," he said.

  God. She felt like crying. Why did she feel like crying? He hadn't wanted her. He hadn't taken any time to see her before, and only now because he'd had a near-death experience. That had to be the only reason he'd agreed to come.

  "Can I come in?" he asked tentatively.

  She nodded, her throat still too tight for words. She took a step back as he entered the apartment, dimly aware of him greeting her mother.

  "Alyssa, shut the door," Jasmine instructed.

  She hesitated. This might be her last chance to run. But she forced herself to shut the door, to look at the man who had fathered her. He was tall, almost six feet. He still had a bandage on his forehead, but it was obvious he was almost back to normal.

  "You look like your mother," he said. "As beautiful as she is."

  "I'm afraid I look more like you," she said, speaking for the first time. "Ma has always said I have your nose."

  "And the Hathaway freckle," he said idly. "Paige is the only one who doesn't have it." He paused. "You met Paige, I heard."

  "Yes. She's nicer than I expected:"

  "She chastised me for abandoning you."

  "Is that why you've come now?"

  "No. She only said what I have known for a long time. I want to apologize. I can't make up for what happened. But I want you to know that I do care about you, Alyssa."

  "Why should I believe you?"

  "I guess there's no reason," he said wearily.

  "Why didn't you want to see me before?"

  He sent Jasmine a desperate look, as if hoping she'd throw him a lifeline. Her mother remained stonily silent, letting him answer the question for himself.

  "Ma already gave me the reasons she could think of," Alyssa told him. "I'd like to hear yours."

  "It was never you I didn't want to see, it was myself. Looking at you would have been like looking at a mirror that showed all my flaws, all the bad things I've done in my life—cheating on my wife and hurting your mother. And it was also because of Elizabeth, my oldest daughter. She was my heart. I loved her so much. I wanted to die when she died. It was the end of everything good. For those few years in my life that I had Elizabeth, I was happy." He took a deep breath. "I had lost a mother and a sister when I was a child. For the next twenty years I was searching for something good. Elizabeth gave me back the joyous feeling. And then that was gone, too." He took a breath and continued. "When your mother and I got together, I knew it was wrong, but I did it, anyway. When she became pregnant with you, I felt as if my sin was being held up for the world to see. Everyone would think I was trying to replace Elizabeth with you. It felt like betrayal. I couldn't bear it."

  It hurt to hear how much he had loved her half-sister. And she couldn't help noticing that Paige's name hadn't been mentioned throughout any of it. Hadn't Paige told her that their father had always loved Elizabeth the most? She wondered how Paige had felt growing up in a house with a favorite daughter, and how she'd felt afterward when she was the only one left, but not the child he really wanted.

  "I can't change the past," he added. "I hope you'll give me a chance in the future to get to know you."

  "Do you really want to? Or is this gesture just because you've been found out?"

  "I want to," he said with surprise in his voice.

  "Does your wife feel the same way?"

  "No. In fact, she wants me to offer you a financial settlement to stay out of our lives."

  Another stinging rejection. Alyssa didn't know why she hadn't expected it. The Hathaways weren't go
ing to want her in their family any more than her own family did. "No, thank you," she said. "I don't need anything from you. In fact, I'm going to start repaying the money I owe you for my college education. It might take a while, but I can do it," she said proudly.

  "I don't want your money, Alyssa. And I'm not offering you a payoff. I'm done with hiding. I almost lost my life cutting through a dark alley." He smiled at Jasmine. "And I hope someday you'll forgive me, too, for not supporting you when you needed it the most."

  "I always knew what I was getting," Jasmine said. "You never lied to me, David. Maybe to everyone else, but not to me."

  Alyssa followed the look that passed between them and saw something that resembled love. Maybe she hadn't been the product of a sordid affair. Maybe her parents really did have feelings for each other. The thought made her feel better. "Why did you bring the dragon to show my mother?" she asked, the question still bothering her.

  "I knew how much the dragon meant to her." He smiled again at Jasmine. "When I saw it, I wanted to give it to you, to free you from the dreams that kept you awake night after night. I probably should have left it with you. It would have been safer here. Or perhaps not. It might have brought you even more trouble."

  "It is cursed, David. I believe that now even more.”

  "Yes." He paused. "I do need to ask you both a favor."

  Alyssa's newfound serenity quickly fled. "What do you want?"

  "Paige told me you are all going to your grandparents' house tonight. I want to go with you."

  "Oh, David," Jasmine said. "They would not like it."

  "Who cares if they like it or not?" Alyssa asked. "We know they've been lying to you about the dragon. We have to confront them, and you must come with us."

  "I am afraid," Jasmine replied. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

  David took Jasmine's hand in his "I will be there for you. It's about time I gave you back some of the strength you once gave me."

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The colors were amazing, lighting up the twilight sky with mystery and excitement, Paige thought as she and Riley stopped to look at the parade that was currently blocking their way into Chinatown. There were children in costumes, some playing instruments, some dancing, others just walking and waving amid the colorful floats weaving their way down the street.

  "This is incredible. I've never seen this before," she said loudly as Riley bent down to hear her.

  "Me, either, except on the news."

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, reminding her of just how close they'd spent most of the day. They'd made love several times, each time more passionate and demanding than the last, as if they both were testing the limits of their feelings. Her body felt sore and achy, but wonderfully satisfied, she thought with a smile. Whatever happened tonight, she would never regret this day.

  "Look at that," Riley said, pointing to several enormous lions that were now dancing through the streets. Each lion was operated by two men. The head was carried by one dancer who would rear up, then crouch down, while the other man carried the body, carefully copying his moves. The lion danced to the accompaniment of gongs and drums. As they watched, more characters, including monkeys and clowns, entertained the crowd with acrobatics.

  "Amazing," Paige said. "I never knew until this past week how really isolated I've been. I live in a city of intensely different cultures, and I've hardly experienced any of them."

  "Hard to do that from a mansion on the hill."

  "I'll be spending more time on the street from now on. I like all the excitement, the music, the laughter, the life. Don't laugh at me," she said, seeing amusement on his face. "I can't help how I was raised. It's what I do with the rest of my life that counts, isn't it?"

  "Absolutely," he said. "And I can't wait to see what you do with it."

  "Neither can I."

  "We better go."

  "Wait, there it is, the dragon." But she wasn't talking about the dragon statue, she was talking about the enormous paper dragon coming down the street toward them. A man paraded in front of the dragon, carrying a lantern. The dragon's head was held up by a pole carried by another man. The tail of the dragon followed, as far back as she could see, with thirty, forty, maybe fifty people carrying the tail as it danced down the street.

  Once the dragon had passed by them, Riley took her hand and pulled her down the street, looking for an opportunity to cross to the other side. Most of the crowd was following the dragon, so the streets were thinning out quickly. A few minutes later they were passing in front of the herb shop, which was currently closed. There was a door next to the shop leading into the building itself.

  "I wonder where Alyssa is," she said, checking her watch.

  "Right there," Riley replied.

  She turned to see Alyssa coming down the street, flanked on both sides by her parents, Jasmine and David. Paige supposed she might have felt angry or upset to see her father with another woman, another daughter, but in truth she felt pleased that he'd done the right thing. When he'd told her his intention to accompany Alyssa to the Chens' tonight, she hadn't been sure he'd go through with it. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

  "I'm glad you all came," she said, reassuring them with a warm smile. "There is strength in numbers."

  Riley opened the door to the building. "Shall we go in?"

  Paige stood back, allowing Alyssa and Jasmine to go first. It was their family, after all.

  At the top of the stairs, Alyssa knocked on the door. "They might not be home," she said. "They're probably still at the parade. But everyone will come back here for dinner."

  "Do you have a key?" Riley asked.

  "I do," Jasmine said, holding up a long, silver key. "I haven't used it twenty-two years."

  "Then it's time," Alyssa said.

  They all waited as Jasmine inserted the key into the lock and turned the handle.

  The Chens' apartment was small, crowded with mismatched furniture and knickknacks. The delicious smell of many Chinese dishes wafted from the kitchen. The dining room table was set for a feast. Paige had a terrible feeling they were about to ruin what was supposed to be the happiest day of the year.

  A loud sound from the next room set them all back on their heels.

  "Someone is here," Jasmine whispered in a panic. "We must go."

  But it was too late to leave. A tiny Asian woman came through the door in a rush. Her eyes widened at the sight of them. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. "You go. You all go. Too early for dinner." She tried to shoo them away, but no one was moving.

  "We want to talk to you," Alyssa said. "Before the others come back."

  "No, you come back later."

  The front door opened behind them to reveal a short, elderly man. Lee Chen, Paige realized, the man who had rescued her and Riley's grandfathers so long ago. He appeared taken aback by their presence, and as his gaze went from one to the other, he seemed to grow more alarmed.

  "Jasmine, explain," he said. "Who are these people?"

  Jasmine couldn't seem to get her mouth open. Paige almost felt sorry for her. She looked completely overwhelmed. Her father went to Jasmine's side and took her hand in his. Paige was stunned at how oddly dispassionate she felt. Her father was holding the hand of another woman, a woman not her mother. And while she would never have put Jasmine and her father together before, they seemed almost right for each other.

  Jasmine needed him. And that was something his own wife had never felt—need. Jasmine looked up to him as if he were important, and her mother had always looked down. It suddenly became so clear to Paige what had drawn these two rather eccentric people together. Alyssa was watching them, too. Alyssa, her sister, watching her own parents together for the first time. A rush of emotion threatened to overwhelm her. Paige sought out the hand of the man standing next to her, and his strength filled her with resolve.

  "I'm Paige Hathaway," she said, taking charge. "This is my father, David. And my friend
, Riley McAllister, who is the grandson of a man you might remember, Ned Delaney."

  Lee Chen's face paled at her words. "Why did you come here? Why did you bring him?" he said to Jasmine in anger. "You dishonor us, dishonor the family. You should go."

  "You're a fine one to talk of dishonor," a man said from the doorway.

  Paige was shocked to see her grandfather, Wallace Hathaway, walk into the room like a king visiting the local peasants. He was dressed in an expensive suit, and he looked every inch the successful businessman, a direct contrast to the old, baggy clothes worn by Lee Chen. The room went still at his appearance. She had the distinct impression that this was the first time in many years that these two old men had laid eyes on each other. But they were looking now, staring at each other with an intensity that spoke of a troubled past.

  "What are you doing here, Grandfather?" she asked.

  "I came to get my dragon back. Where is it?"

  "I don't have your dragon. You steal it and keep it for yourself," Lee Chen said.

  "You and Ned conspired against me. If he had one, you must have the other," Wallace replied.

  "I do not," Lee said firmly, waving his hand in the air. "Get out of my house. You are not welcome here."

  "Don't tell me where I'm not welcome. I'm the one who got you to this country, and how did you repay me? By stealing and burning down my store—"

  "I thought you said my grandfather did that," Riley interrupted. "So you really don't know who did it, do you? Maybe you did it yourself. Maybe you wanted to cover something up, take the insurance money, start over."

  "The person who burned down my store is the person who took the dragons out of the basement that night. That would be Ned or Lee," Wallace said. "I've known that all along."

  "Why did you wait until now to come looking?" Riley asked, echoing the question in Paige's mind.

  "Because I thought that the dragons had been destroyed in the fire. The store was a twenty-feet high pile of junk after that blaze. The cleanup wasn't as efficient as it would be today. I lost everything. When I saw your grandfather's dragon, I realized it had escaped the fire, and I suspected the other one had, too."