Blue Roses (Reunited Series)

by Sharon C. Cooper

  Tyler grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the brick building. “Man, I don’t know where you get your information, but I’m about to beat your ruthless a—”

  “Ty,” Craig yelled from behind him. “You got a call.”

  “Take a message.” Tyler glared at Mark, knowing that Craig was just trying to get him away from Mark.

  The barber walked to Tyler’s side and put a hand on his shoulder. “Ty, whatever he’s done, it’s not worth it. Let him go and come on back inside.”

  Tyler jerked Mark’s shoulder and released him. “If I catch you anywhere near her, there won’t be anyone who’ll be able to pull me off of you.”

  Mark stumbled back. “I thought if I came to you like a man, we could talk about this, but apparently I was wrong. I’ll leave it up to Dallas to decide who she wants.”

  Tyler lunged at him, but Craig grabbed him by the arm, and they watched Mark walk quickly to his car.

  “Man, we’ve been friends for a long time, and I’ve never seen you like this. What’s goin’ on?”

  Tyler jerked out of Craig’s grasp. “Give me a minute.” He trudged to the back of the building, feeling like a volcano on the brink of eruption. He had never fought over a woman before, but for Dallas he’d consider it.

  The knot in his throat demanded release, but cleansing breaths didn’t dissolve it. He stomped back and forth between the buildings until he could get his breathing and temper under control. Somehow he knew he hadn’t heard the last of Mark Darley.

  ****

  Chicago, Illinois

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Dave Weisman said and shook Mark’s hand.

  “Same here. Sorry I had to postpone our meeting. I had to leave town for a few days.”

  “No problem.”

  “I’m curious to hear more about this irresistible opportunity Ray told me very little about. I also understand you and I know someone in common.”

  “Oh, yeah, who?” David motioned for Mark to have a seat in the small conference section of his office.

  “My wife, Dallas. Well, my ex-wife, but I’m sure that’s going to change soon.”

  Of all the people Ray could have sent David, he sent Dallas’s ex-husband? All these years and he had no idea she’d ever been married. Even if Mark did have money, there was no way in hell he could do business with him. David wasn’t sure how much, if anything, Dallas knew about his dealings. And until he did, it was important he tread lightly.

  As casually as he could, he asked, “What do you mean by that’s going to change soon?’ Are you guys planning to reunite?”

  “It means I messed up, but I plan to get her back. That’s why Ray Gardner thought it important we meet. If I invest with your firm, it’ll make me look good in her eyes.”

  “I see.” Ray has some serious explaining to do, David thought of his silent partner. “Can I get you some coffee or maybe something stronger?” David stood and walked to the bar. Whether Mark wanted a drink or not, David needed a stiff drink to calm his nerves. He needed this money, and Ray assured him Mark could deliver, but at what cost?

  ****

  Dallas hobbled around her kitchen preparing dinner, thinking about work. She hadn’t seen David since the other day in her office, and her research into his documents kept coming up empty. At first she’d thought it was a list of potential stocks or businesses he’d planned to invest in. But with further checking, she realized they didn’t exist. Tomorrow she’d call Paige, her friend from grad school who now lived in Chicago. Paige was a corporate lawyer, but minored in finance, and loved to uncover mysteries.

  Dallas moved the brown rice to the back burner and seasoned the grilled vegetables. She glanced at the oven timer. The salmon would be ready in five minutes. The only thing missing from this perfect meal was a glass of wine…and Tyler.

  Just call him. The thought had played in her head for the past few days. It was time to surrender to her feelings for him and make things right. If nothing else, he deserved an apology. What would she do if she told him everything, and he couldn’t handle it? She’d have to take that risk. She wanted another chance with Tyler, and this time she wasn’t going to blow it.

  She turned off the burners on the stove and grabbed her cell phone. While she waited for him to pick up, she wiped her palms on her apron and turned off the oven timer. Hearing his voicemail, she tapped her fingers on the counter and wondered again if calling him was a good idea.

  “Tyler.” She pinned the telephone between her neck and shoulder as she opened the oven. This is Dall…ouch!” Her arm brushed the hot pan and her cell phone tumbled to the floor. “Ugh.” She practically threw the baking pan at the cooling rack on the counter, as she scurried for her phone. She swore under her breath, seeing it on the floor in pieces.

  “Well so much for that idea.” She picked up what was left of the telephone and laid the parts on the table.

  Her arm hurt, but the door bell rang before she could grab some ice. Removing her apron, she tossed it on the counter and shuffled out of the kitchen. The person on the other side of the door started banging on it before she could get to it.

  “I’m coming.” Seconds later she peeped through the peephole and swung the door open.

  “Harmony! Oh my God.” She grabbed her sister’s hand, and pulled her inside, and then looked out to see if anyone was with her. When she was sure Harmony was alone, she closed and locked the door. “Come in here. What happened?”

  Her sister’s face was swollen. Her eyes were red and mascara streaked her honey brown cheeks. Dallas grabbed her arm to escort her further into the house, but released it when Harmony winced. She waved a hand at the sofa for Harmony to sit down and then hobbled into the half-bath, off of the kitchen, for a hand towel.

  When she walked back into the room she asked, “What happened? Who did this to you?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter. Maybe I should call the police or get you to emergency,” Dallas said as she dabbed at the mascara stains on Harmony’s face.

  “No. Don’t.”

  “Then tell me who did this.”

  “Jerome,” she whispered.

  “Jerome? The guy you brought over to Tyler’s house?”

  Her sister nodded, and fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. “I’m so stupid.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, no matter what you did or said no one deserves to be beaten.” Her sister’s anguish brought back Dallas’s humiliation from when Mark treated her like crap. Maybe the therapist Dallas had seen after grad school was right. Maybe their poor judgment in men had something to do with the fact they didn’t grow up with a positive male role model in their lives.

  Harmony sat further back on the sofa. She looked as if she was going to say something, but her withdrawn eyes were soon covered when she pressed her hands over her face and wept. Deep sobs flowed from her sister as Dallas gathered her into her arms, and allowed her own tears to fall freely.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Morning sunlight through the window played with the shadows on the tray ceiling over Tyler’s bed. He wanted to bang his head against a wall for letting Quinn talk him into double dating last night, a blind date at that. At least Michelle, Tyler’s date, hadn’t taken his funky attitude personally. He hadn’t said a word about Dallas, but when he walked Michelle to her car, she had kissed him on the cheek and surprised him when she said, “You must love her very much. I hope she knows how lucky she is.”

  Tyler sat up and dragged his legs over the side of the bed. He had enough work and other commitments to keep him busy for a lifetime, yet, it wasn’t enough to keep him from thinking about Dallas. The woman had a hold on him and no matter what he tried he couldn’t seem to shake it. Quinn’s words from the night before came back to him. You either do something about Dallas or get over her. This is crazy. You’re a brotha’ who has it going on, but for the past couple of weeks you’ve been acting like a punk. If Dallas means that much to you, go get her!
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  Tyler ran a hand down his face and then looked over at the night stand. Seeing his cell phone reminded him that he hadn’t checked his voice messages the night before. He grabbed the phone and punched in his access code.

  The first message was from Desiree, apologizing again for her behavior weeks ago and asking if she could make it up to him. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” he said and deleted the message. But his heart leaped in his chest at the next message.

  “Tyler, it’s Dall…ouch.” He heard a lot of racket, and then the call went dead. What the heck? He glanced at the clock. Seven forty-five, maybe she hasn’t left for work. Before he could call Dallas, his phone rang.

  “Hello,” he answered on the first ring. He heard a person breathing on the other end. ”Hello?” Again there was no response, and the hairs stood on the back of his neck. “Who is this?”

  “Someone who is looking forward to getting to know your woman.”

  Tyler rose slowly from the bed. Mark entered his mind first, but the guttural tone didn’t match Mark’s tenor. Besides, he was too cocky to stoop to this level. He was more of the type to handle things face to face.

  Weeks had gone by with no threatening calls. Why now? If only he could wrap his hands around the person’s neck and shake information out of them.

  “Oh, so what, you don’t have anything to say?” The caller taunted.

  “Who is this?”

  “Like I’m going to tell you. All you need to know is that your woman has been warned.”

  Tyler cursed under his breath. “Warned about what? What do you want from her?”

  “I have a feeling I’ll be getting what I want very soon.”

  Tyler gripped the phone as if it were a lifeline. “If you do anything to hurt her, I will hunt you down like the worthless piece of shit you are!”

  A ruthless laugh boomed through the phone line before the caller disconnected.

  Damn. Tyler hung up the phone and used speed dial on his cell to call Dallas’s home number. The number you have dialed is being checked for trouble. Please try your call again later. He disconnected and tried her cell only to have the call go directly to voicemail.

  “Dallas, what the hell is going on?” he said to the empty room.

  He searched through his telephone contacts for her work number. Again he got her voicemail. This time he left a message for her to call him the moment she got into the office.

  He grabbed his travel bag from his closet while he dialed Quinn’s number. He pulled his pre-packed toiletry carrier from the top shelf and shoved it into the bag while Quinn’s phone rung several times.

  “Yeah,” Quinn finally answered.

  “Q, I’m heading to Chicago.”

  “Well it’s about time. I guess my little talk last night helped.”

  Tyler tossed a few more items into his bag and zipped it. “Your talk helped, but that’s not why I’m going. I think Dallas is in trouble.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I just received another threatening call.”

  “Shit. I thought that was over. What did they say?” Tyler filled him in on the call and they both agreed that it would be good to let Detective Davenport know.

  “Well, this is probably as good a time as any to tell you I have someone watching Dallas,” Quinn said.

  “What?”

  “Yeah. I put Hank on her the day after she left. I thought you would’ve hooked back up with her by now, but since you haven’t, I figured I’d give it a month before I pulled my guy off her.”

  For the first time since hearing Dallas’s message, Tyler felt like he could breathe.

  “Man, you claim you’re done with her, but I know you’re crazy about that woman. If something happened to her you’d never forgive yourself.”

  Tyler shook his head. Whether he and Dallas were together or not, he wanted her safe. “Yeah, you’re right. So what’s going on?”

  “Not too much. From what I understand, she puts in crazy long hours at work, and then goes home. There’s been no sign of the ex-husband. Everything seems normal, although, last night she did get a visitor – some woman. Hank hasn’t checked in this morning yet. So that’s all I have right now.”

  “Okay,” Tyler said pacing the length of his bedroom. Since Dallas didn’t know that Hank was watching her, he wasn’t sure he wanted her to know at this point. “Tell you what. Keep Hank on her until I get to town. Once I arrive at her office, I’ll relieve him of his duties and take over from there. But have him to call me if he notices anything suspicious.”

  ****

  Dallas leaned against the doorjamb of the guest bedroom where Harmony was staying. She had no doubt that her sister knew she was standing there, but Harmony ignored her by sifting through a fashion magazine.

  “Don’t you have to go to work or something?” Harmony asked, still not looking at her.

  “Nope. Not until later.” Dallas walked in and sat at the foot of the bed. “Oh, and before I forget, the phone still isn’t working, so hopefully you don’t have to call anyone.”

  “Who am I going to call?”

  Dallas wasn’t sure how to reach out to her sister. They’d been close growing up, but they’d drifted apart as adults. Lately, their conversations had evolved into Dallas berating her for her poor choices. Now Harmony needed compassion - not one of Dallas’s strengths.

  “If you don’t want to talk, we don’t have to,” Dallas said. “But you might feel better if you tell me about last night.”

  “It’s hard admitting you’re stupid.”

  Dallas’s brows knitted. “You’re being a little hard on yourself, don’t you think?”

  “No, not really. You’ve been right all these years. I attract scum, like flies attract shi—”

  “Hey! Stop that. We all make bad choices. God knows I’ve made my share. But it doesn’t help to beat yourself up.”

  Looking at Harmony’s bruised face was like looking into a mirror for Dallas. Her life with Mark flashed before her eyes. She couldn’t relate to the swollen face and busted lip, because Mark never hit her. A wife with bruises on her face would have messed up his “family first” image. Yet, that didn’t stop him from yanking on her arms or pushing her into things. Like Harmony, her spirit had been crushed, which hurt more than the physical pain.

  “Oh, don’t tell me Little Miss Perfect has made bad choices. Say it isn’t so!” Harmony mocked her. “What do you know about making mistakes when your life is perfect? You have a gorgeous house, the perfect job, more money than you probably know what to do with, and a fine boyfriend who worships the ground you walk on. So don’t try to play like you know how I feel!” She screamed and threw the magazine across the room.

  Dallas’ brows drew together and her lips parted in surprise. “Is that what you think? That I have this perfect life with no problems?”

  Harmony didn’t say anything. Instead she sat on the bed, with her back against the headboard, arms folded, and her eyes closed. Her hair was swept up in a ponytail on top of her head, giving Dallas a better view of the side of her face that didn’t seem as swollen as it had the night before.

  For the first time, Dallas saw how fragile her sister looked. She was way too thin and appeared older than her twenty-five years. Dallas thought about herself at that age. She’d already been married and divorced and had experienced more grief than a person should be allowed to endure. She studied her sister. Even with a nine-year difference between them, they looked so much alike.

  “All right, Harmony. Let me enlighten you on a few things.”

  Dallas started with stories about their love starved mother, things Harmony never knew. And then Dallas went on to share things about her own life - details about her years in Louisiana, away from family, and how she struggled to work two jobs to put herself through college. When Dallas mentioned her ex-husband, Harmony’s eyes grew to the size of saucers.

  “You were married?” Harmony moved closer, folding her legs Indian style. “
When? Don’t tell me it was to Daddy Warbucks.”

  For the first time Dallas noticed Harmony seemed more interested in what she had to say. A smile tipped the corners of Dallas’ mouth. She couldn’t help but chuckle at Harmony’s reaction to her news as well as the nickname she’d given Tyler.

  “Yes, I was married, and no, it wasn’t to Tyler. I didn’t know him back then.”

  Harmony’s brows furrowed, and she moved to sit back against the headboard, her arms refolded across her chest. “Am I the only one in the family who didn’t know?”

  Dallas shook her head. “Simone found out years later, but I never told anyone else. We were married shortly after I finished graduate school. It didn’t last a year. It was the worse year of my life.” Dallas told her about the marriage and the abuse, intentionally leaving some things out. No one would hear her complete story until she could share it with Tyler; that is, if he’d listen.

  Moments passed before Harmony spoke. With eyes laced with tears, she finally said, “All this time I thought you were hard on me because you thought you were better than me.”

  Dallas reached for her sister’s hand. “I never meant for my words to hurt you. You’re such a beautiful woman with so much potential. I didn’t want to see you go through the stuff I’d gone through.” Dallas hugged her, and they stayed that way until Harmony pulled away.

  “So where does Daddy Warbucks come in at?”

  Dallas shook her head and laughed. “Girl, his name is Tyler.”

  “Okay, where does Tyler come in at?”

  On a sigh, Dallas said, “He’s a whole different story.”

  “I got nothin’ but time right now.”

  “Fine. I’ll give you the short version.” Dallas ran her fingers through her hair. “We met about a year-and-a-half ago and dated for a while. When he started talking marriage, I wasn’t ready, so we broke up. After my car accident, he was the first person I saw in the hospital.” She paused, smiling at the thought. “When it was time for me to be released, he insisted I stay with him until I got better.”

  “I should be that lucky. That was some house,” Harmony mumbled.