by Coleen Kwan
“What?” She leaped to her feet and whirled on Gretchen. “Why didn’t you discuss this with me first?”
Gretchen lifted her shoulders. “The poor darling’s so eager I hate to disappoint her.”
Tyler’s heart thudded painfully as fear and anger coursed through her veins. Struggling to keep her voice steady, she said, “Chloe isn’t going anywhere with you.”
“But I wanna see the ponies,” Chloe wailed. “Why can’t I go?”
“Because I’m your mum.”
Chloe opened her mouth, looking set to cry again, but Gretchen forestalled her. “Why don’t you take some of these toys back to your room while I talk to your mother, precious?”
Looking mutinous, Chloe sucked on her lower lip but obeyed and scooped up some toys before marching out of the room. Gretchen glanced suspiciously about before gingerly perching on an armchair.
“Sit down,” she ordered Tyler.
Tyler sat on the couch, and then wanted to kick herself for obeying Gretchen’s command. To make up for it, she scowled heavily at the other woman. “You’re spoiling Chloe. She needs to see that I’m in charge.”
“It certainly doesn’t look like you’re in charge here!” Gretchen cast another critical look around her.
“What’s this about taking her to see ponies?”
“We were reading a book about ponies. I told her I had real ponies on my farm, and puppies and kittens, too. She was very eager to see all the animals, so I said she should come for a visit sometime soon.”
For a few seconds Tyler couldn’t breathe. Eventually she got out, “I know what you’re up to. You’re bribing Chloe with expensive dolls and cute pets because you want to take her away from me.” She breathed in and out furiously, her nostrils flaring. “Well, you won’t succeed. You’ll have to kill me first.”
“Oh please, spare me your cheap theatricals.” Gretchen threw up her hands before gripping the armrests. Her hands were hard and clawlike, with heavy rings crusting her fingers like brass knuckles. “And tell me what would be so wrong if Chloe came to live with me? I have a big house with plenty of space for her to run around and lots of animals. I have a full-time housekeeper and friends with grandchildren her age. My farm is only an hour away. You could come visit her whenever you liked. She’d have the best of both worlds.”
Tyler’s jaw throbbed from clamping her teeth. Black spots danced through her vision. For a second she thought she was going to pass out. “No,” she croaked harshly. “She’s not leaving. She’s my daughter. She stays with me.”
Gretchen made an impatient noise. “It’s obvious you can’t cope on your own. Look at this place. It’s a dump.” Face wrinkled, she gestured at the chaos around them. “And what about Chloe? How often do you let her wander around half-naked and no doubt half-starved as well?”
Tyler gasped. “She’s never starved! And there’s no harm in her taking off her clothes—it’s warm, and she’s just three.”
Gretchen shook her head. “You need help. For yourself. I heard from Chloe that you’d been out late last night. No doubt you stumbled home drunk.” Her bullet eyes chilled Tyler even further. “You can’t hide your hangover from me. I can still smell the alcohol on your breath.”
Gulping, Tyler instinctively covered her mouth. It was true she’d had a few drinks last night. It was also true she’d had more than the two glasses of wine she’d promised Luke. His turning down of her invitation had disappointed her more than she cared to confess, so after the two glasses of wine she’d had one cocktail. But she hadn’t gotten drunk, she didn’t have a hangover, and she was certain her breath was okay. But the censure in Gretchen’s eyes made her shrivel. Made her feel sick with guilt. She shouldn’t have left Chloe last night. She’d been selfish, and this was her punishment.
“You’re making things up. I don’t have a hangover.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “You’d better leave now before I say something I might regret.”
Gretchen’s stony glare scoured her from head to toe. “I’m warning you, Tyler. I won’t give up. My granddaughter would have a much better life with me, and everyone knows it, including you.”
Tyler lifted her head. “Why are you so desperate to get your hands on Chloe? Is it because you want to replace Damien?”
The older woman rose to her feet, her silver hair quivering. “You leave my son out of this,” she hissed. “You were the one who led him astray.”
“He’d already made up his mind to leave home before we met, so don’t try to blame me. You know his reasons better than I do.”
For a split second, Gretchen’s expression wavered. Finally, Tyler thought, I’ve found a chink in the dragon’s armor. But the woman quickly recovered. “Outrageous.” Gretchen made for the front door. “This isn’t the end. You’ll hear from me again.”
The door shuddered as it slammed shut. Numb, Tyler stared at the mess around her. There was so much cleaning up to do, and Chloe needed attention, and she still had to finish all that jewelry work. Competing demands pressed in on her, and the first flashes of panic darted through her.
Another knock at the door. Her heart lurched. Not Gretchen again. But the knock was a gentle tapping, so it had to be someone else. She forced herself to stand on her shaking legs and answer.
Luke stood before her in running shorts and singlet, his expression concerned. “I was just going for a jog when I heard crying and then doors banging,” he said. “Is everything okay?”
Her legs were like jelly, and her skull pounded from the stress. “Um…” She couldn’t stop her voice from shaking.
Before she could continue, Luke stepped inside and cupped her shoulders. “What is it? Is it Chloe?”
“C-Chloe’s fine. It’s…” A strange prickling sensation stung her eyes. Oh no, were they tears? A moment later, she found her face buried in Luke’s shoulder as he curled his arms around her and pressed her head to him. The shock of finding herself in his embrace almost undid her. Suddenly there was a storm of tears inside her clamoring to be released. Here a gorgeous and sensitive man cradled her, and the temptation to give in to her weakness was almost too much. But old habits died hard. She hadn’t cried in a man’s arms since…forever, and she wasn’t about to start now.
She peeled her head away from his shoulder. “It’s that she-devil who just left my house,” she said after a few deep breaths. “Gretchen Stafford, my ex’s mother. She threatened to take Chloe to go live with her.”
“What!” The look of outrage on Luke’s face was gratifying. “She can’t do that.”
His arms were still around her. She enjoyed being held by him, but now she gently disentangled herself. She couldn’t think straight when Luke was that close to her.
“She’s tried it before, when Chloe was a baby. She tried to get social services to take Chloe from my care, said I wasn’t a fit mother.” Tyler fisted her hands once more at the memory. “It failed then, but she doesn’t give up easily.”
“And your ex? Doesn’t he have anything to say?”
“Damien is estranged from his mother, and I haven’t heard from him in ages. Last I heard, he was in rehab overseas. I guess Gretchen wants a replacement for him. She wants Chloe.”
“The hell with that,” Luke growled.
Sighing, Tyler gestured helplessly around her. “As much as I hate her, she has a point. Look how she found me. Most days I cope, but some days, like today, I feel like I’m drowning.”
“What, so you’re just going to quit? Run away from your responsibilities?”
The roughness in his tone brought her up short. She’d thought he’d commiserate with her, not upbraid her. “Run away? Of course not.”
“Okay then. Why are we standing around? Let’s get this place cleaned up.” He grabbed some dirty plates off the coffee table, looking like he was about to drive a bulldozer through the house.
Tyler watched him. “But weren’t you going jogging? I can clean up by myself, you know.”
“I can jog
later, and you just admitted to feeling overwhelmed.”
Why did he have to see her like this, all needy and helpless and chaotic? She’d always coped on her own. “You shouldn’t feel obliged.”
“I don’t.” He ferried the plates to the kitchen and came back holding an empty laundry basket. “But I’m better at cleaning up than you are.”
Reluctant to agree with him, she picked up a handful of plastic farm animals. “You don’t own enough stuff to clean up.”
“You don’t have a system. That’s why it overwhelms you.” He tossed the laundry basket on the floor in front of her. “What were you going to do with those toys you’re holding?”
“These? I was going to put them in Chloe’s room where they belong.”
“No. Dump them in there.” He pointed at the laundry basket. “Put all the stuff that belongs in Chloe’s room in there, and then take that to her room. That way you’re not running back and forth like a headless chicken.”
“Hey, that actually makes sense.” She tossed the toys into the basket. Maybe it wasn’t so bad admitting she needed help, and it was good of Luke to offer assistance. “Thanks,” she said, smiling sheepishly.
“See? I’m not just a pretty face.” He flashed her a grin that melted away the last traces of her glumness.
“You’re not pretty,” she couldn’t help teasing him.
“I’m not!” He pulled a face of mock outrage. “Then what am I?”
Hot, that’s what Luke was, especially in his exercise gear that showed off his muscled legs and hunky shoulders. Hotter than a jalapeño pepper. The words quivered on the tip of her tongue, but she managed to swallow them back. “You’re, uh, nice.”
His smile lingered. “Well, that’s a relief.”
Needing breathing space, Tyler piled more toys into the basket, and a moment later Luke began gathering some scattered crayons.
“How was last night?” he asked after a while. “Did you have fun?”
Not as much as I would have had with you. She lifted her shoulders. “It was good.”
So what if Luke had turned her invitation down? Probably he thought she was too lowbrow for him. She didn’t read his kind of books. Didn’t know what intelligentsia meant. Huh. To her, it sounded like a cologne for wankers.
“Ask me again next time,” Luke said.
The Lego bricks she’d been holding clattered to the floor. “Really?” She couldn’t stop her lips edging up. “You’ll go dancing with me?”
His jet-black eyes crinkled up at the corners. “Be warned. You might regret inviting me once you see my moves on the dance floor.”
Oh, she wanted to see all his moves, both on and off the dance floor. She sucked in air, forced herself not to beam at him. Play it cool, girl. Don’t let Luke see you go all gaga over him. “And you might regret saying yes once you see my moves.”
“Okay, then. We’ve both been warned.” He turned back to the crayons.
When the basket was full, Tyler carried it to her daughter’s bedroom.
“Where’s Grammy?” Chloe asked from her bed where she was playing with the expensive doll Gretchen had given her.
“She had to go home.”
“And the ponies?”
“Another time.” Never, if she had her way. But the disappointment on her child’s face made her hesitate. Gretchen was still Chloe’s grandmother, and Chloe didn’t have many relatives. Maybe Tyler was being as selfish as Gretchen in refusing her more access to her granddaughter. But then the memory of Gretchen’s obsession to take Chloe away returned with caustic clarity. She wouldn’t let that happen. She’d never abandon her child.
She bent over to hug Chloe, squeezing her tight until the girl protested.
Tyler glanced up from the counter as Ally wandered into Java & Joolz with a loopy smile wreathing her face.
“So.” Tyler gave her friend a saucy grin. “Had a nice nooner upstairs?”
Ally turned beet red. “Is it that obvious?”
“I saw you and Nate sneaking up to his office a while ago, and now you come in looking like the cat that got all the cream. It’s not hard to guess what happened in between.”
The dreamy look returned to Ally’s face. “Okay, you got me. Nate is just so darn irresistible.”
At least one of them was getting plenty. Ally was a lucky girl and about to get even luckier. Tyler reached beneath the counter, pulled out a couple of magazines, and dumped them in front of her daydreaming friend.
“Okay, it’s crunch time,” she announced in a no-nonsense voice. “I’ve bought you the latest bridal magazines. Now you’re going to look through them and pick a dress you like.”
Grimacing, Ally pushed away from the counter. “I hate those magazines. The models are all stick thin and the dresses are hideous.”
“Aw, c’mon. At least take a look.”
Ally waved a hand. “Plenty of time for that later. The wedding’s not for ages.”
Wrong. There were less than three weeks before Nate sprang his surprise wedding, and she had to get Ally a wedding gown. She stalked after her friend. “Ally,” she began, but before she could continue the doorbell jingled and two customers came in.
“Hi, Tyler,” the first woman called out. “Mags and I couldn’t resist coming over for a visit.”
Tyler blinked in surprise at Rosie and Mags. She’d assumed Luke’s twin sisters had just been polite in mentioning they’d visit the gallery, but here they were, looking rather pleased with themselves. She introduced them to Ally and invited them to have a look around.
“So they’re the sisters of your good-looking neighbor,” Ally said to her on the quiet.
“How do you know he’s good-looking?”
“Hey, I’ve seen the poster in Fiona’s bookstore. She has to clean that window every day because of all the women drooling over him.”
“That poster isn’t a very good likeness of him,” Tyler said. “He’s much hotter than that.”
“Ah.” Ally’s eyebrows shot up.
“‘Ah’ yourself. I’m just stating a fact.”
Her friend grinned mischievously. “Bet you’ve got him eating out of your hand already.”
Tyler began to tidy up the sugar sachets next to the espresso machine. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Oh?” A puzzled look descended on her friend’s face. Ally, bless her, had this misguided notion that Tyler only had to bat her eyelashes at a guy to make him fall to his knees. It was a flattering idea, but not too accurate in Luke’s case. Oh, the attraction was definitely there, but Luke wasn’t about to keel over in a heap of lust. He was made of sterner stuff.
“He’s only here temporarily,” Tyler added. “He’ll be gone as soon as he finishes his book.” From the other side of the gallery Rosie beckoned her over. “I’d better go see to my customers.”
Rosie and Mags were standing next to the display cabinet housing Tyler’s jewelry. “We love these pendants of yours,” Rosie said. “Can we have a closer look?”
“Sure.” Tyler took out several of her sterling-silver-and-precious-gem pendants for Rosie and Mags to inspect.
“That one.” Mags pointed to a lace-etched teardrop pendant decorated with a sparkling aquamarine gemstone. “She’ll love that.” She turned to Tyler. “We’re buying a gift for Helen. It’s her birthday next week.”
“She’ll be thrilled with this,” Rosie said. “She’s so practical and down-to-earth, she’d never think of buying something as pretty as this for herself. We should buy her a silver chain to match, too.”
Tyler spent several minutes helping the twins choose a chain for the pendant. Then Rosie couldn’t resist a pair of earrings for herself, and Mags spotted a glass vase she had to have. When they’d completed their purchases, they decided to order coffee and cake.
“We were thinking of dropping by Luke’s place,” Rosie said to Tyler as she brought the order to their table, “but we didn’t want to interrupt his writing. I think we wore out our welcome over the
weekend.”
“We can’t help worrying about him.” Mags paused, glanced around the half-empty store, and patted the seat between her and Rosie. “Won’t you sit down for a while?”
Tyler sat, wondering where this conversation was headed.
“You and Luke seem to have quite a, er, rapport,” Mags began. She tore open a sugar sachet and stirred its contents vigorously into her coffee. “Do you know how his writing is going?”
“No, not really. Luke doesn’t talk about his writing with me.”
Mags pulled a face. “He doesn’t talk about his writing with anyone. In fact, he doesn’t talk about himself much at all. He’s an introvert, always has been. Definitely not shy, but being around people tires him out. That’s why he’s perfected this gypsy lifestyle of his. That way, he can’t be pinned down.”
“But since Mum passed away, he hasn’t been the same.” Rosie poured sugar into her coffee, too. “Well, none of us are the same, but it hit Luke harder. Helen, too. They seem constantly at loggerheads over Mum’s house. She left it to Luke, you know, hoping he’d come back and settle there.”
Tyler glanced at both twins. “And you were okay with that? You don’t think she should have left the house equally to all of you?”
“Oh no.” Rosie shrugged. “Luke bought her the house when his book started selling, so even though it’s our childhood home, in all fairness it was his property. Besides, he gave each of us a handsome chunk of money, too. Luke’s always been generous like that.”
“Yeah, the only thing he splurged on for himself was that Range Rover,” her twin concurred.
Typical of Luke. The only possession he’d bought was something he could escape in.
“But he might have no money soon,” Rosie said darkly.
Tyler stared at her. “Why?”
“If he doesn’t finish that book and fast, he might lose his contract and have to repay the advance.”
Tyler sat back, all the breath leaving her body. She knew from personal experience what it was like to skate over the thin ice of financial misfortune. Luke didn’t have any dependents, and if he failed he was still hugely talented and would bounce back, but even so, it must be a worry for him.