by Sherri Hayes
Chris chuckled. “I’m fine, Ma.”
She gave him a look that clearly said she doubted he was telling the truth.
“Really, I picked up some coffee on the way here. I’m good.”
She nodded, closed the refrigerator door, and took a sit next to him. “All right then, tell me what’s wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“Christopher Allen Daniels, do not play stupid with me. We’ve lived in this house for almost ten years now, and I can barely get you to come one Sunday a month. Last night you call, out of the blue, wanting to come for the weekend. Something is up.”
He took a deep breath and ran his hand over his face. Maybe coming here hadn’t been a bright idea. Maybe he should have just gone fishing or something. He grimaced. Fishing. Yeah, right. Just what he needed; endless hours with nothing but his thoughts that seemed to center on the one woman he was trying to not think about.
With a heavy sigh, he met his mother’s concerned eyes, feeling a sense of guilt for putting that look there, but he had no intention of dragging her into this mess. Besides, if she knew about Elizabeth, she’d only encourage him to go after her, which was the last thing he wanted.
Eventually, his mother sighed and stood, wrapping him in another hug. “I’m here if you want to talk and so is your father, but I understand if you feel you need to figure this out on your own. Whatever it is.” And then she left to go wake up his dad.
Chris spent the rest of Saturday working with his dad, Mike, out in the backyard. It was busy work like mowing the lawn and weeding the garden and flowerbeds; just the type of thing he needed to keep his mind busy. He missed the solitude of mind manual labor provided. Trent usually came over to help their parents with the yard work since he lived a little closer, owned his own landscaping business, and had all the right equipment. Their parents just weren’t able to keep up with it anymore on their own.
Dinner was a quiet affair. After working outside all day, the food was more than welcome.
He helped his mom clean up before going upstairs to the guest room where he’d stashed his things. The room was littered with pictures of his family. The newest picture was taken about five years ago and included the whole family. He picked it and studied it. Everyone looked so happy. Gage had just signed with Tennessee. Trent was standing proud, just having finished his first full year as a business owner. Paul stood with his arms wrapped around his wife, Melissa, whose belly was swollen with Chloe, still three months away from entering the world. And even he stood with a smile. He was newly married and happy. Even though Carol hadn’t made it to the family barbecue, times were still good. Everyone was happy. So much had changed in five short years.
Before he could let his mind travel any further down memory lane, he dug through his duffle for a clean pair of boxer shorts and T-shirt. What he needed was a shower and a good night’s sleep. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the water, watching the hard spray hit the tiles. Showers were simple and guaranteed. He wasn’t holding his breath on the sleep.
Somehow he did manage to get a solid eight hours of sleep. The only reasoning he had was all the physical labor he’d done the day before. Even with that, the first thought that crossed his mind as he worked toward consciousness had been Elizabeth laying on the hotel bed sleeping, her face relaxed, her hair feathered out on the white pillow. No matter how much he tried, he didn’t seem to be able to escape her. Not even at his parents.
Even though his mother hadn’t pried anymore the day before, she’d obviously decided to take a more direct approach this morning. Seconds after she set his breakfast in front of him, she said, “Jan told me you have a new assistant.”
He didn’t answer right away, but eventually responded with a quiet, “Yeah.”
“How’s she working out? Is she as efficient as Tara?”
“More,” he answered honestly. Tara had been good at her job, but Elizabeth went above and beyond. Whenever a client had called in, she’d gone out of her way to get all the information he needed, sometimes even thinking of things that would have never crossed his mind until much later in the process. Whenever she’d made a fresh pot of coffee, she’d asked if he’d wanted some even though she didn’t have to. Everything in the office was now organized and labeled so he could locate it quickly. She was clearly over qualified for the job, and he knew he should encourage her to find something more suitable, but if he were honest, he didn’t want to. And what did that say about him?
His mother nodded. She didn’t seem surprised.
“So you like her,” she said matter-of-factly.
He nearly spit out his coffee. “What?”
“Well,” his mother said, wiping off the counter behind her, “good people are hard to find. You just make sure to take care of her, treat her right.”
He didn’t respond. All that work he’d done yesterday to push Elizabeth to the back of his mind went out the window.
The coffee in front of him turned cold and he didn’t care. His mother’s words rang loud and clear. Terry had been right; he’d been a jerk all week. He couldn’t keep doing that and expect people to keep working for him. But more importantly, he’d been avoiding Elizabeth. He’d forced her to tell him her past and then he’d left her, just like everyone else in her life had. No matter his feelings, he couldn’t continue treating Elizabeth as he had this past week.
Suddenly he didn’t feel so good.
He walked over to the sink and dumped the rest of his coffee down the drain before rinsing it out. He wanted to get home and apologize. Elizabeth deserved that from him at least. Without saying a word to his mother, he slipped out of the room to retrieve his duffle bag. Once he had everything, he intended to say good-bye to his parents and be on his way. When he turned the corner, he crashed into his younger brother Trent, nearly bowling him over.
“Hey, there you are,” Trent said, getting his footing again and pulling Chris into a hug. “I thought I’d have to send out a search party or something?”
Chris snorted. “Sure you were,” he said, returning the hug. “Maybe you ought to work on your footwork first. I’m sure Gage can help you with that if you want.”
Right away Trent went to grab Chris’s shoulder, but Chris was quicker and managed to sidestep him easily and wrap his arms around Trent’s waist.
“Now, now, boys. Behave yourselves,” their mother said, shaking her head.
The brothers straightened up and smiled, responding as they always did. “Yes, ma’am.”
Marilyn Daniels didn’t stand more than five feet four, but that didn’t mean she was to be underestimated. Her four boys had learned at a very early age that when their mother spoke, they listened.
She walked over, giving them each a loving pat on the cheek, and left the room. Chris turned back to his brother. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Yeah, well, Mom called me last night to see if I wanted to come for dinner today.” Then he gave Chris a sly look. “Maybe she didn’t want to be alone with you, big brother.”
“Funny,” Chris said, punching Trent in the arm for good measure.
Just then, their father yelled from the back of the house, “Boys come help me move the grill. I’m not gonna fry in this sun today.” They both smiled and went to help him.
“So . . .”
“So, what?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Liz. I mean, Springfield? You used to live in Columbus. I know it’s not New York or anything, but come on—at least there are decent stores,” Stephanie said, her nose wrinkling in disgust as they walked through the local mall. “Why would you pick Springfield of all places?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just felt right, I suppose. Plus, I’m not a big shopper. You know that.”
“Something I’ve never understood,” Stephanie said as she guided Elizabeth into yet another clothing store.
An hour later, they were sitting inside Ruby Tuesday’s waiting for their lunch
to arrive. “Tell me about this man you were with,” Stephanie demanded.
“There’s nothing to tell,” she said, taking a bite of her biscuit. “He’s my boss.”
“Why are you working? I thought Jared had life insurance, and with his job, his bank account couldn’t have been that shabby either.”
“He did. And no, I don’t have to work, but I want to. Sitting at home just isn’t for me. I’d go stir crazy.” Then trying to steer the conversation to something lighter, she said, “And like you pointed out earlier, there isn’t all that much to do in Springfield.” They were both laughing as the waiter brought their lunches.
By the time Elizabeth walked through the door of her apartment, she was exhausted. After lunch, they had picked up right where they’d left off, putting in another two hours of shopping before Stephanie had to drive back home.
She had mixed feelings about the day. It was good to have a friend again, but Stephanie was from her past and only knew the Liz that Jared created to fit into his world. She didn’t know the woman who spent two hours finding the perfect bed sheets with clovers on them. Or the woman who liked to veg out on the couch in front of the television with a huge bowl of double chocolate fudge ice cream.
With a sigh, she took her bags to the bedroom.
It was dark by the time Chris pulled up to the house. Every time he’d tried to leave, his mother or Trent would pull him into a conversation, or his dad would say he needed his help with something.
He loved his family, and no matter how much his mom tried, they never were able to spend a lot of time together. Trent, had just turned thirty, and owned his own landscaping business that kept him busy. They’d worked together many times over the last few years. Most people didn’t want to move into a brand new house surrounded by mud.
Paul, the eldest brother at the ripe old age of thirty-four, was a police detective in Indianapolis. Between his job and his daughter, Chloe, he didn’t make the trip to Cincinnati often.
Twenty-six-year-old Gage was the baby of the family and was lucky to make it to Christmas dinner. He was a professional football player and lived down in Tennessee, so he rarely made it home, even during the off-season.
Needless to say, when his mother got some of her kids home, she tended to hang onto them for as long as she could. Chris was almost willing to bet that his mother had called Trent just to get Chris to stay longer.
It was now nine o’clock, much too late to pay a visit to Elizabeth. He’d just have to wait until tomorrow. His eyes lingered on her door as he passed, and for a brief moment he reconsidered before forcing his feet to keep moving.
His apartment was dark and empty. Nothing looked different, but for some reason it felt that way.
He emptied his duffle and then went into the bathroom to take a shower as he thought about the woman downstairs. He still didn’t know what he was going to do about her. His attraction to her had not diminished, but no matter how difficult it would be for him, he was determined to be her friend. She deserved that much from him.
Feeling a little better now that he was not only clean, but had resolved to set things right with Elizabeth, he slipped into bed. Closing his eyes, he felt his mind begin to float toward the same dream that had been haunting him for the last week, but this time he didn’t fight it. This time he let the feeling of her in his arms override everything else.
“Good morning, Elizabeth.” Chris smiled in greeting as he paused to pour himself a cup of coffee before walking past her into his office Monday morning.
She sat there with her mouth open and stared at his retreating back.
What the . . .
Chris had not spoken more than a handful of words to her since they’d returned from Columbus. He’d been distant, moody, and insisted that they start driving the short fifteen-minute drive to work separately—this after they’d driven to work together for over a month. Now he greeted her as if the last week hadn’t happened.
Before she could put too much thought into it, she jumped up and followed him. Entering Chris’s office had always been a little nerve wracking for her. No matter how many times she done it, the act left her with that nervous fluttering in the pit of her stomach. Over the last week, however, she’d realized that she’d been disappointed every day when he didn’t come in. It was frustrating, and she didn’t understand it. She found she’d missed seeing him every day.
She set his messages on his desk, just to the right as she always did. Before she was able to retract her hand however, he stopped her. The gesture was innocent, just a light touch to halt her movement, but she could feel the heat of it seeping through her skin.
“Thank you, Elizabeth.”
She swallowed nervously. His hand felt warm and comforting while making the anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach explode. “You’re welcome,” she managed to say.
“Do you have a minute?” His hand didn’t leave her wrist.
“Y-yes. Sure.”
Chris stood, releasing her, but her stomach didn’t settle. He still seemed so close, and yet not.
She wasn’t even making sense to herself. Maybe she was going crazy.
“I wanted to apologize. The way I’ve been acting is inexcusable. I hope that you can forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” she said, unable to meet his eyes. No matter how you looked at it, the last five years of her life hadn’t been pretty. She wasn’t surprised by his reaction, just disappointed. He’d been kind and had listened to her talk about her past. She’d opened up to him about things she’d never told anyone but the police. The budding friendship they’d started to build had been ripped away and left her with that feeling of abandonment again . . .
Chris stepped closer. The look on his face suddenly made it hard for her to breath. “You’re wrong,” he whispered back.
The space between them disappeared, and he was so close she could feel his breath on her face. Her head was spinning.
His gaze lowered, and she thought for a moment that he was looking at her lips. Is he going to kiss me? she wondered.
They just stared at each other for a few moments before the phone rang breaking the connection holding them.
“Excuse me,” she said, nearly tripping over her own feet and her mortification on her way out of his office.
Chris was in a daze as he watched her scurry away as fast as her feet could take her.
What just happened?
He honestly had no idea. One minute he’d been trying to apologize, and the next he’d felt this overwhelming desire to kiss her.
Falling unceremoniously back into his chair, he buried his face in his hands. This was not good. He didn’t want a relationship, not with Elizabeth, not with any woman right now, maybe ever. Why, then, was his body betraying him like this?
She’d left the door open in her haste, and her voice floated pleasantly into his office as she greeted the caller. He didn’t know what to do. Staying away from her wasn’t an option. She worked for him and lived in the same building. It was a no-win situation no matter how he played it.
As he contemplated his options, he realized that things had gotten eerily quiet in the other room. He looked down at the phone and saw the light was on; she was still talking to someone. Curiosity got the better of him, and he walked out to see if there was a problem.
When he saw her, he knew something was very wrong. She’d lost all color in her face and her knuckles had turned white as she clutched the phone.
In two long strides he was by her side, that need to protect her rushing through his veins once again, and she locked eyes with him, full of fear.
He knelt down in front of her before reaching for the phone. Putting it up to his ear he said, “Who is this?”
No one answered.
“Hello?”
Still nothing.
She sat motionless, staring off into space.
No longer caring who was on the phone, he placed it back on the receiver and took hold of her arm, forci
ng her to face him. “Are you all right?” he asked, trying to remain calm.
“Yes,” she said. “I just . . . I wasn’t expecting . . .” her voice trailed off.
“Who was on the phone?”
Like a switch had been flipped, she pulled away from him, grabbed her purse and bolted out the door.
She didn’t exactly know where she was going, she just knew she had to leave. Chris and his mood swings were confusing her to no end. She didn’t need that right now, especially after the phone call she’d just received.
What she hadn’t expected was for Chris to follow her. She’d just reached her car when she felt his hand on hers. Fear ripped through her, and she pulled away, spinning around to face him.
“Elizabeth, what’s wrong? Tell me,” Chris asked.
“Why do you care?” she yelled. “Until this morning you barely said two words to me!”
“I told you I was sorry about that.”
“And I said you didn’t need to be.” She could feel the tears building and just wanted to be able to shed them without witnesses.
He took a deep breath. “Whether you believe me or not, I am sorry.”
She didn’t answer, and he seemed to get frustrated with her non-response. “If you don’t tell me who called, I’ll just call the phone company. Whoever it was obviously upset you. I will find out one way or another.” His voice was determined, and as she looked into his face, she knew he meant it.
What does it matter if he knows? she thought, defeated. He already knew about the biggest skeleton in her closet. What was one more thing?
“It was my mother-in-law.” Her chin jutted out in defiance.
“Your mother-in-law?”
“Yes.”
His face was full of confusion, but finally realization dawned along with understanding. For some reason that just made things worse. She didn’t want his pity, his anger, or whatever emotion he decided best fit this new information. She just couldn’t deal with it right now.