by Jen Talty
“Well, it’s never happened to me before.”
“If it happened often I would’ve had a vasectomy long ago.” He shivered. Curling the covers in his hands, he wanted to reach for a bottle of good old Southern Comfort. Maybe being with her wasn’t helping after all.
“I think it’s great you know exactly what you want from life. I’m still not sure.”
“Huh?” He turned to look at her.
She lay on her side, elbow digging into the pillow and her head rested in her hand. The covers draped across her curves, but left part of her perfect breast exposed. She looked confident and determined.
“I thought you wanted it all.” He blinked. The pressure of moving and her problems must be getting to him. “The husband with a stable job, two point five kids, and a white picket fence.”
“You left out the dog.” She laughed. “But I’m not sure anymore. I love my job and I’m not willing to give it up for anyone, at least not anyone I’ve met yet.”
“Having it all would include keeping your job.”
“If you had a wife, you wouldn’t want her to work.”
Here we go, he thought. She’s going to bring up him staying anyway. “I won’t ever have a wife again.”
“It was hypothetical.” She adjusted herself higher on the bed. “It seems I know only two types of men: the boring, no fun, mousy guy who asks me how high to jump, or control freaks like you and Pat. I want an equal.”
He chuckled. “Good luck with that.”
“Exactly. Although, I think Penny found a good one in Chuck.”
“He’s a good guy, but he’s of the controlling variety.” Feeling uncomfortable about the topic, he settled down into the softness of the bed, then turned off his light. “I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for someday, babe.” He rolled away, unable to take her in his arms.
“You’re really worried about that condom, aren’t you?”
“It would complicate things.” Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to ignore the comfort her roaming hands offered him. Never in his life had any woman ever made him feel so many conflicting emotions. “But we can’t do anything about it until we know for sure.” He sucked in his breath waiting for her to attack.
“This is true.” She sighed and molded her body against his, wrapping her arm round his middle and shoving her leg between his. “I should get my period by the middle of next week. If I don’t, I guess we’ll have to deal with it.”
Deal with it? Cold perspiration beaded at his brow. Had she implied not having it? And how could she be so calm? Didn’t she care one way or another? A dull ache began to throb at the base of his skull. He couldn’t believe the Ryan he knew would ever consider having an abortion, but he couldn’t consider being a dad, much less the occasional weekend dad.
Unable to push her away, he clamped down on her knee, then covered her hand and pressed his lips against her fingertips. It seemed no matter what he said or did, she just wouldn’t go away.
And right now he didn’t want her to.
* * * *
The following morning, Ryan had successfully put on a forced smile and kept her manner light and carefree in front of Jared. She couldn’t let him know how she really felt about the possibility of being pregnant. Not that she knew how she felt, other than scared shitless.
Now, sitting behind her desk, she closed her eyes, trying to keep the butterflies floating about her stomach from leaping up her throat. With her forefinger, she patted the sensitive, puffy skin under her eyes, annoyed that Jared had been able to fall asleep and snore the night away while she tossed and turned.
Rubbing her temples, she let her head dip forward. She still had a ton of paperwork, and then she needed to check on all the details for the upcoming golf tournament. The buzzer on her phone rang out, making her jump. “Yes, Cheryl.”
“There is a Lisa Stillman here to see you.”
“Ohhh, okay. Send her in.” Ryan swallowed, unable to force a coherent thought. Hearing footsteps, she rose from her desk, then greeted an unsmiling, very mature looking Lisa. Nothing like the Lisa she remembered. “Mrs. Stillman,” she said, deciding formalities were best.
Lisa’s cold fingers slid into her hand, shook once, then pulled away.
Ryan stood still, ignoring the urge to recoil and hide under her desk. “What can I do for you?”
“First.” Lisa stripped off her gloves, finger by finger before stuffing them into her purse and eyed the chair next to Ryan’s desk.
“Please, sit down.” Ryan wedged herself behind her desk and squeezed her shaking knees.
“Thank you.” A very stiff, doll-like Lisa crossed her legs at her ankles and rested her purse and hands on her lap. The woman screamed Stepford wife.
“My husband will be hosting a big horseracing event, and I need to book suites for the guests.”
“How many rooms, and when do you want them?” Without shaking on the outside, Ryan opened her desk drawer and pulled out the scheduling and reservation papers she needed.
“June ninth through the thirteenth. I’ll also need meeting rooms, a dinner, and I’d like to set up several rounds of golf.” Lisa dug into her purse and pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it to Ryan.
Ryan tensed every muscle in her body to keep from looking like she was suffering from some dreadful disease as she took the yellow sheet in her hands.
“I’ll want the best of everything, and money isn’t an issue.”
Ryan pressed the paper down on her desk, skimming over the details. Focusing on the task at hand, she shuffled some forms around, checked the booking schedule on her computer, then turned her head. “I can accommodate you. If you’d like, we can take a tour and I can show you a few different style rooms. I’ve got two meeting rooms to choose from, and we could even go meet the chef. I’ll need a deposit.”
“Just don’t disappoint me,” Lisa said, not looking at Ryan. “Give me the best of everything, and keep the food to my specifications, and we’ll make it through this process like I don’t despise you.” She handed Ryan a credit card.
The credit card fell from Ryan’s fingertips. She snapped her head toward a scowling Lisa, whose eyes were cold and loathing.
“If I could have avoided this meeting, I would have. But this is what my husband wants.” Lisa leaned over, picked up the credit card, and placed it on the desk.
Blood drained from Ryan’s face, fear cutting off her ability to think on her feet. With trembling hands, she ran the credit card through the machine.
“And since I’m here, you’d best tell Jared to call off his bloodhounds. If he wants to know something about my life or my husband’s, he can ask himself.” Lisa stood and smoothed out her bleach blond hair.
A sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through Ryan’s body, replacing the sullen child with an angry woman. “If you want to give Jared a message, call him yourself.” Ryan ripped off the printed credit receipt, grabbed a pen, and handed it to Lisa, glaring at her. “I’m not his personal secretary.”
“Whatever,” Lisa muttered, signing the receipt. “If you do anything to undermine me or ruin this for my husband, I will have your job.”
“If you’d prefer, I can have someone else handle all the details, and we won’t need to have any contact. But if you still want me to handle this, you will treat me with respect or leave my office.” Staring Lisa dead-on, Ryan squared her shoulders.
Lisa took a step forward and leaned in. Her face contorted as if she’d just eaten a lemon. “You’re the reason my son died, and I’ll never forgive you for that.” Her eyes shifted toward the hallway, then back. “I’d like nothing more than to make sure you suffer the same pain, but I guess you’ll get your due when Jared breaks your heart into tiny pieces.”
“Impossible.” Ryan took the credit slip and thrust it toward Lisa. “I feel sorry for you.” She hit the intercom button. “Cheryl, please show Mrs. Stillman around the hotel.” Ryan continued to glare at Lisa. “If you have any other questions, pl
ease either call my assistant or email me.”
“You haven’t changed one bit, you still don’t know your place.” Lisa slipped on her white gloves, then with a tilted chin, met a wide-eyed Cheryl in the hallway.
“Bitch.” Ryan slammed down her fist on her desk, knocking over some papers.
“A little pissed?” Tom said.
She jumped, stubbing her toe on the bottom of her desk. “Damn it, you scared the crap out of me.” She wiggled her nose at the overdone aftershave assaulting her senses.
“Are you okay? You look a little pale.” His slimy hands rubbed up and down her arms.
“I’m fine,” she said, stepping away from him. He was proving to be a roller coaster ride. One minute angry with her because of all the questions, the next minute hitting on her. The guy just couldn’t take a hint. Then again, according to Penny, Ryan was too nice and never made guys understand when she just wasn’t interested.
“Wasn’t that Lance Stillman’s wife?” Tom leaned around the door to look down the hall. “She’s got to be twenty years younger than him.”
“I think she’s twenty-eight or so.” Ryan rubbed her butt, then scooted back behind her desk. “What do you need?” She pulled out a folder, labeled it, then filed all of the paperwork for Lisa, ignoring the prickly feeling Tom gave her.
“I want to apologize for my outburst.”
She lifted her lids like she was peering over reading glasses. “Okay.” The shifting of his weight from one leg to another made her skin crawl, not to mention the way his eyes scanned her body like he was taking a mental picture of her or something. “Apology accepted.”
As he shoved one hand in his pocket, he waved the other one in the air. “So, could I talk you into going out for a drink with the gang? Say, your brother’s place?”
“Not tonight.”
“But that’s not a no, right?” He smiled, looking like a pathetic dog begging for food.
Her brother had always told her persistence was a good thing, but in this case, her brother was wrong. Dead wrong. “It’s still a no, Tom.”
“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” He turned on his heels, then marched proudly out of her office.
“I’m a loser,” she muttered. Why couldn’t she land herself a normal guy? One that was good-looking, interesting, emotionally available, and didn’t try and control her every move? But that would be too easy. Nothing came easy to her.
Chapter Eleven
Jared pushed back his office chair. He rolled his neck and rubbed his aching shoulder. Research hadn’t been his favorite aspect of his job, but the most necessary.
“Excuse me, sir.” Harmon peeked his head in. “Special Agent Randy Garrison is here.”
“Send him in and join us,” Jared instructed.
“Yes, sir!”
Jared chuckled. Harmon might be green and young, but where instincts were concerned, the kid was one of the best. Jared would enjoy signing off on his request to join the scuba squad. Hell, if Jared had stayed in Lake George, with his own swimming abilities, he would have enjoyed going through the training with the kid.
“Good to see you,” Randy said, stretching his hand out.
“Thanks for stopping by.” Jared offered him a seat. “How’s the FBI treating you?”
“Different from being a state trooper, but I’m glad I made the move.”
“So, what do you have for me?” Jared motioned for Harmon to sit. Hopefully, the kid would learn to relax a bit.
“Eddy Houser has cooperated fully, but we’re not going to pursue anything further regarding this ‘Reliever’ thing. We need to find out who’s behind the disappearance of some of these college girls. We believe it’s some kind of black market or human smuggling and these girls are being taken out of the country.” Randy opened up his briefcase and took out some folders. “Honestly, we just stumbled onto Houser. But here’s a complete history of the guy. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
Jared flipped through some of the papers. The information seemed detailed, but as Randy said, Eddy seemed to be relatively normal, as perverts go. “What about Tom Grady?”
“I spoke with the arresting officer from his juvie file. He exposed himself to a bunch of girls.”
“He got arrested for that?” Jared thought back to his streaking days. What teenage moron didn’t flash himself at least once?
“The cop said he was wasted and hit one of the girls. He also resisted arrest. The judge sentenced him to community service and sealed his record.” Randy tossed a few more papers toward Jared. “Rudy’s a nutcase, but then again, I’m sure you knew that.”
Jared wasn’t quite sure what to make of Rudy Martin, but he wasn’t on the up and up, no matter what the guy’s parole officer said. “How about the Stillmans?” Jared pushed back his chair. He’d called in a big favor on this one, since Lisa and her husband didn’t fit into the suspect list yet.
“She spent a few months going from town to town and doing drugs. She got picked up here and there, but nothing huge.” Randy cracked his knuckles, then lifted a folder. “She ended up working for an escort service, where she met her husband.”
“Oh, great,” Jared muttered, swiveling his chair. What he’d ever seen in that woman was totally lost on him now. Then again, he certainly knew how to pick them.
“He had an exclusive contract with her, then married her about three years ago.”
“How long has she been living in Saratoga?” Jared questioned, running a hand across his head.
“About as long as she’s been married.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Jared stood and began to pace behind his desk. Why just show her face now?
“Sir?” Harmon spoke for the first time. “I think the old man owns land in Kentucky, too.”
“Actually, that’s his brother. Lance left the family business and moved here about ten years ago. Had a falling out with his dad, so he started his own farm. Pretty successful, I might add.” Randy remained in his chair, pulling more papers out and settling them on Jared’s desk. “However, I got some credit card info and it seems she travels a lot, alone. And she isn’t here much, just makes appearances.”
“Marriage of convenience.” Jared should’ve known. She’d always wanted money; guess she’d caved on the respect part.
“Probably. Except for her street days and possible prostitution, they’re both clean. Not even an issue with taxes.” Randy stood, collecting his briefcase.
“Doesn’t mean she wouldn’t hold a five-year-old grudge.”
“I’ve held one for a lot longer,” Randy admitted. “So have you.”
Jared focused his gaze out the window, not wanting to admit Randy was right.
“I’ve got to get back to the office.” Randy headed toward the door.
“Nice meeting you.” Randy smacked Harmon on the back as he strolled through the door. “Chuck called and asked me to meet him at the Mason Jug. Did you know he’s dating Penny?”
“Seen it with my own eyes. The guy’s flipped his lid.”
“Yeah, well, if Penny’s there, then so is Ryan. I haven’t seen her in a while, and she sure would be a sight for sore eyes.”
Jared opened his mouth, then clamped it shut. He had no right to say one word about Randy’s comment. He had no claims on Ryan and didn’t want any. Then again… “She’s not your type.”
“According to him, she not anyone’s type,” Harmon added.
“Don’t you have work to do?” Jared said.
“If I didn’t know you better, sir, I’d say you’ve got the hots for her.” Harmon turned on his heel and practically jogged down the hallway.
Randy chuckled.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“Nothing.” Randy cleared his throat. “Hell, you’re so damned protective of her, I think you’re missing out on what’s really right in front of you.”
“And you’re chasing a ghost.”
“Yes, I am. I’ll see you later.” Randy shook Jared’s hand, t
hen pushed back the main door and made his way to his truck.
The only thing Jared had ever missed out on, besides getting to know his son, was this promotion. He’d wanted to work for this unit since he’d joined State. Well, maybe not this particular unit, but something more exciting than what he did now. Nothing was going to stand in his way. Not this time.
* * * *
Ryan glanced in her rearview mirror as she made the turn onto Mason Road, making sure no one followed her. The sun had started its descent behind the mountains, and the red glare forced her to squint, only intensifying her already paranoid feelings.
Damn Jared!
He had her so worked up she didn’t trust a soul. Everyone was suspect in her eyes these days, and that drove her nuts. Tom was just annoying and in need of some attention from someone other than her. Eddy might have an odd fetish, but he was harmless, and Lisa was just a bitch.
George McIntosh, on the other hand, was behind bars for a reason, and he was the only one who had motive to cause Ryan bodily harm. She just had to get Jared, or maybe even Frank, to focus their attention on George and nail his ass. The sooner Jared left, the sooner Ryan would be able to move past him.
She shifted his truck into park, then slammed the steering wheel. Just because his BMW was in the garage, and he was home, shouldn’t make her feel safe.
She stepped from the truck, taking a look around. Jared was probably watching from the kitchen, and she was in no mood for a lecture. How she could’ve ever thought he was some kind of dream man was beyond her. She couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to be with a man like him.
Her body shivered, remembering his gentle kisses and soft caresses. “Oh, God.” She could probably have a spontaneous orgasm just thinking about his lovemaking. Okay, so he had one redeeming quality, but the rest of him was damn annoying.
She flipped open her mailbox. “Jerk.” He’d picked up her mail. Did he think she was completely incapable of taking care of herself? The back porch steps squeaked when her heels clunked against them. Tomorrow she’d be staying with her brother. She sighed. That wouldn’t be much better. Maybe Penny wasn’t staying at Chuck’s place all the time and she’d be able to stay with her.