A Sense of Security: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 6)

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  When the next song started, Marcus rolled his eyes. Shania Twain’s From This Moment On could be waltzed to, but it definitely took a bit more concentration because the rhythm wasn’t as clearly defined and didn’t really work well with the basic steps they’d been doing. He had to assume that Meredith was leading because there was no way Derek could pull that off.

  As the song finally came to a close, Marcus released Alicia and headed for the speakers and Meredith’s phone.

  “What are you doing?” she asked as she came up beside him.

  “Changing the music. If you really want Alicia and Derek to enjoy this and want to learn more, you need to give them music that helps them feel confident with the basic steps.” Marcus looked up from the search he was doing on her phone to find more appropriate music. “You’re using this for something more than teaching them music, Meri, and that’s not right. It’s just going to frustrate them. Let’s play the music that we learned to dance to. The songs that help the steps to come more naturally.”

  Meredith frowned but then nodded. “Okay. I guess you’re right.”

  “I am right. There’s no guess about it. If you want Derek to do this with you again, don’t frustrate him with music that’s not only difficult to dance to but downright awkward. How do you think it is for Alicia and me to dance to the songs you’ve picked?”

  Meredith glanced over her shoulder to where Derek and Alicia stood talking. “I thought maybe they would convey a message for you too.”

  Marcus shot Meredith a sharp glance. “What do you mean?”

  “She’s so nice and sweet. I think she’d be good for you.”

  “She’s my assistant, Meri.” Marcus kept his voice low. “That would make things even more awkward. Let’s just focus on the dance for tonight.”

  “Fine. But you know that I’m right in this particular instance.”

  Marcus didn’t dignify her statement with a response. He focused on finding some music that would work for the simple steps that they’d taught Derek and Alicia. After queuing up a list of songs with a straight forward beat to them that would work for waltzing, he returned to where Alicia and Derek stood.

  “Okay, let’s try this again,” Meredith said with a smile at Derek. She held out her arms and waited until Derek took her hand in his and put his hand on her upper back.

  Marcus turned to Alicia and said, “Up for a little more dancing? Or would you prefer to just sit this out with Bond?”

  He saw her gaze go to the chairs against the far wall where Bond had taken up residence, his head resting on his paws. He could tell she was seriously considering it, but in the end, even though the music had already started, she lifted her arms. Marcus quickly moved into position with her and waited for the right beat to begin the dance. As the first song ended and moved into the second, Marcus began to move her more widely around the room.

  He could feel her begin to relax as she gained confidence in her ability to perform the steps. His greatest sense of accomplishment of the evening so far came when she actually lifted her head during a song. He gave her a quick smile of encouragement as they made their way around the room. Her answering smile was fleeting, but it did funny things to his chest.

  Then he felt her foot land on his. Her eyes widened, and immediately, her head dipped down again, presumably so that she could watch her feet.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, just loud enough to be heard over the music.

  “That’s quite alright,” Marcus assured her. “I still have nine other toes.”

  Her head shot up, a look of consternation on her face. “Did it hurt that badly? I’m so sorry.”

  He couldn’t help the grin from forming on his face. “It really is fine. I’m just joking with you.”

  Though she didn’t look entirely convinced, he felt her shoulders lower a bit as she settled back into the steps of the dance. Sadly, she kept her gaze on her feet for the remainder of the dance, glancing up only occasionally.

  About thirty minutes later, the song list ended, and neither Marcus or Meredith took the time to queue up a new one. Instead, they stood around chatting for a bit before Gerard came in with his partner Julia behind him. They praised the efforts they had seen through the glass wall while working with the other group of people in the main room.

  “You have to come back,” Gerard announced. “You both have natural talent to move. You picked up the steps easily. Next time we will throw in a few new steps. You’ll enjoy it. You’ll see.”

  Marcus noticed that neither Alicia or Derek committed themselves to returning, but he had a feeling that Meredith was going to work on them. He wouldn’t pressure them either way, but he couldn’t help hoping that Alicia would want to return, especially if Derek agreed. He’d enjoyed the evening even more than he’d thought he might, and he wouldn’t mind repeating it.

  Once out in the car, Meredith was determined to debrief Alicia and Derek and to point out all the positives of the evening.

  “So you’ll come back again, right, Alicia?” Meredith asked. “You had fun, didn’t you?”

  “I did. Once I got the hang of the steps and figured out that I wasn’t going to be walking all over Marcus’s toes. Well, except for that one time.”

  “You did a great job, actually. My toes thank you. Even with the one incident.” He heard both Alicia and Meredith laugh at his comment. “But like I said earlier, they would have survived being tromped on a few times. Goodness knows that Meredith did it often enough at the start. So the fact that you did it only once is quite remarkable.”

  “Well, I was a little surprised when Meredith stepped on my toes,” Derek remarked.

  “I did not!” Meredith exclaimed from the back seat. “Or rather, I did it because you hadn’t quite figured out where to put your feet yet. I promise that it won’t happen again.”

  Marcus fought the urge to laugh at his sister’s desperate attempt to make sure that Derek knew his toes were safe from her in the future. When Meredith asked to swing by a Starbucks on the way home, he decided to be nice and grant her request. It seemed to be a good way to end a nice evening.

  As he pulled through the gates a short time later, Marcus was disappointed that the evening was coming to an end. He found himself really hoping that Meredith would be successful in persuading both Alicia and Derek to return the next week.

  ~*~

  Alicia wasn’t at all sure what to think about the evening. After they had gotten back to the house, she lingered for a bit in the kitchen with the other three before excusing herself to go upstairs to her room. After a long day at work and then the dancing, she was ready for a little time to herself to unwind.

  Up in her room, she decided to take advantage of the luxurious bathroom that was attached to her bedroom. She’d purchased some bubble bath on her last trip to the store, and after starting the water in the tub, she let a little bit of the bubble bath pour from the container. After the tub was filled, she switched on the jets and got undressed. She lowered herself into the warm water and, with a low groan, tipped her head back and stretched her arms out along the edges of the tub.

  She had no doubt that there were muscles that would be making themselves known the next day. Ones that she hadn’t used in quite some time—if ever. But on top of that, she had felt tension in her back and shoulders as she’d tried to perform the steps, all the while ignoring her close proximity with Marcus. She’d done pretty good until she’d gained confidence in her steps and had looked up from her feet. Then she’d stepped on his toes.

  Thankfully, he’d taken it all in stride, and seeing Marcus’s grin had filled Alicia with a whole different type of tension.

  With her eyes closed, Alicia fought and lost the battle to not think about how it had felt to dance with Marcus that way. He’d held her so gently even as he’d guided her around the floor of that beautiful room. Had there been any chance of a romance between them, it would have been such a perfect setting. Instead, she knew that there were any number of reason
s why things would never work between them. But at that moment, she decided to just let her dreams take hold.

  As they danced, Alicia couldn’t help but be impressed by how good Marcus actually was. It spoke to how devoted Marcus was to his sister. Not every man would go dancing with his little sister. And not just every once in awhile if their abilities were to be believed. From how good they both were, it appeared that Marcus had gone with her regularly for a good length of time.

  That kind of devotion just drew Alicia in even more.

  Alicia walked toward the entrance to the restaurant where she was meeting Tori the following evening. They were going to have a quick dinner together before they made their way to the church for their Bible study. It had been a long day, and for a bit there at the end of it, she hadn’t been sure that Marcus would be letting her go in time to make it to dinner. The previous week she’d made it to the study but had had to cancel out on dinner. Thankfully, nothing further had come up earlier that required her attention, so she was able to leave in time to meet Tori.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” Tori asked when Alicia slid into the booth across from her. “Job going well?”

  Alicia shrugged out of her suit jacket, wishing she’d done so in the car, then leaned back in her seat. “It is, but it sure is intense. I never realized how laid back my previous employers have been. Working for BlackThorpe is definitely a step up. I do enjoy the challenge, but sometimes having to be on all day is tiring.”

  “On?” Tori asked as she picked up her glass of water.

  “Yeah. I feel like I need to be able to anticipate what Marcus needs and to be able to immediately find what he needs. I don’t want to make any mistakes, so I’m constantly trying to think ahead.”

  Tori frowned. “You’re going to burn yourself out striving for perfection like that. I mean, I doubt he’s going to fire you if you take an extra five or ten minutes to get him what he needs.”

  Alicia rubbed her temple where a headache was lurking then dug the bottle of pills from her purse and took a couple in hopes of staving it off so she could get through the Bible study. “I know you’re right, but until I’m more comfortable in the job and confident in what I’m doing, I don’t want to give Marcus any reason to question my abilities. Maybe once we’ve been working together longer, I’ll be able to relax a bit.” She paused. “But have you met Marcus? He’s not exactly a laid-back sort of person. His presence at the office is…intense.”

  “Yes, I have met the man, and as far as I’m concerned, he needs to take a chill pill.” Tori looked up as the waitress appeared at the end of their table. They both ordered quickly then returned to their conversation.

  “A chill pill?” Alicia asked with a laugh. “Really?”

  “Like you said, he’s intense. Maybe taking a chill pill would help him to relax a little.”

  “He’s not quite as intense at home…” Alicia let her words trail off as she realized what she’d said. She hadn’t told any of the McKinleys about her temporary change of address.

  Tori leaned forward, her brows drawn together. “At home? How would you know what he’s like at home?”

  With a sigh, Alicia shared the events that had led to her taking up temporary residence at the Black mansion.

  “Well, that’s certainly a surprise, but if your safety might be at risk, I’m all for it.” Tori paused then said, “And while we’re addressing touchy subjects, care to explain your face to me?”

  Alicia had known that she wouldn’t get through the evening without having to do that. After all, she still had some swelling that she couldn’t hide even though makeup did a great job of hiding the bruise. And even if she could have hidden it completely, she had no doubt that Eric would have shared what he’d seen when he’d stopped by her desk on Monday.

  “I didn’t duck when I should have,” Alicia said, sticking with the story she’d already put out there. She lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip of water. “It really wasn’t as serious as it appears.”

  “Not sure I believe you. I mean, getting hit in the face is serious regardless of who does it. Where were you that people were throwing punches?”

  Alicia stared at Tori, wishing she could just spill everything. Of any of them, Tori would probably care the least that Alicia’s mother was still alive. She’d been the least impacted by the affair her father had had with Alicia’s mother. Tori had been born after their return to the States when their mission had told them they couldn’t remain in Africa as missionaries. It was hard to look at Doug now and imagine what he could possibly have seen in her mother. But then Alicia had only ever known her mother as the bitter woman she’d become.

  “I had just walked up behind them on the sidewalk. I guess they were drunk.” The lies spilled too easily from her lips, and Alicia hated herself for it. The constant battle between wanting to take the risk of revealing everything and the fear of losing all she’d come to treasure was exhausting.

  Tori’s brow furrowed. “Drunk? Why were you out at a time people were drunk?”

  The temptation to share it all was stronger than it had ever been before. Thankfully, the waitress returned to check on them and ask how their meals were. When she left, Alicia scrambled for another topic before Tori could return to the previous one.

  “So I went dancing last night.”

  Alicia felt a rush of relief as Tori took the bait and moved on to the new subject.

  “We saw Marcus and Meredith dance at Than and Linsday’s wedding. They were quite something. Looked very professional. Did you have fun?”

  “Well, I was horribly nervous about stepping on Marcus’s toes, so I can’t say that it was exactly fun, but the more we practiced, the more comfortable I got. I only stepped on his foot once.”

  “And how did he take that?” Tori asked.

  “He teased me about it,” Alicia said, smiling at the memory. “He was really the perfect partner.”

  Tori’s eyebrows rose. “The perfect partner? Is there more here than you’re telling me? First, you’ve moved into his home, and now you’ve gone dancing with him.”

  Alicia shrugged. “I…like him. Not just as a boss. Yes, he intimidates me sometimes, but that’s mainly at the office, and it’s getting better now that I know more about the job and can do it without having to ask him a lot of questions. At home, he’s different. When I see him with Meredith, he’s like a different man.”

  “And which one do you like the best?” Tori asked as she lifted her glass then took a sip.

  “I like them both. At work, he’s focused and in charge when he needs to be, but at home, he’s more relaxed and at ease. He’s so protective of Meredith, but it doesn’t appear to be in a smothering way.”

  “I couldn’t handle such an intense man,” Tori said with a shake of her head.

  Thinking of Trent, Alicia nodded. “Yeah, he’s pretty much the opposite of Trent, but I do like that intensity. Like when he’s focused on me…on something…he gives it his total attention.”

  “Do you think he might have feelings for you?” Tori asked the question as if it was an actual possibility.

  Alicia laughed and shook her head. “First of all, we work together. Second, I just don’t see myself as being his type of woman.”

  Her thoughts went to Celine Dupree who was much more the type of woman she could see Marcus ending up with.

  “Well, you never know. Make sure you pray about it. If it’s God’s will, things will work out.”

  Suddenly eager to move on from that subject as well, Alicia turned her phone over and looked at the time. “We should probably finish up here, or we’re going to be late.”

  15

  Thankfully, Alicia made it to her bedroom a few hours later without running into anyone except Derek, who hadn't engaged her in conversation. After the Bible study earlier, she was mentally and emotionally exhausted. It had been as if the person leading the study had been given a sneak peak into her life and found out about all the things she struggled
with. She’d spent the whole time trying to keep from having a melt down.

  So now all she wanted to do was drop down onto her bed and go to sleep, but she made herself go through her nighttime routine. Once she had done that and changed into her sleep T-shirt, she crawled under the covers and let out a long sigh. After a moment, she reached into the drawer of the bedside table and carefully withdrew the picture she had placed there when she’d arrived.

  Running her fingers along the smooth edge of the wooden heart-shaped frame, she stared at the painting contained within it. One year, she had set aside a small amount of money each month so that when December came around, she could buy herself a Christmas present. There had never been a guarantee that her mother would buy her one and with no other family around, it meant that Christmas was often a bleak time of year.

  But that year, Alicia knew what she wanted. Some people would likely laugh at her attraction to this painter’s work, but to her, it represented so much more than just what was on the canvas. It was peace. Tranquility. Hope. Joy. A place to belong. All the things that had been so lacking in her life during that time.

  Even now, that painting of a homey cottage with glowing windows by Thomas Kinkade titled A Light is Always Burning was her favorite. Scripted in the upper arch of the heart were the words:

  It’s never too distant

  Though far or though near

  A light’s always burning

  To welcome you here.

  She had wanted that more than anything. A light to let her know that she was welcome there. In a home filled with peace and joy. Secure and tranquil. She was getting a taste of that living with Marcus and Meredith, but it wasn’t meant to last forever. This wasn’t the place where a light was burning as a welcome for her. But each time she looked at the picture, she prayed that there was someone…somewhere who would care enough to have a light burning to welcome her home.