During the day, after Brandon had put in a couple of hours of work via conference calls, fax and e-mail, he would join Sash and Sweet and the rest of his time would be theirs. The three of them would go fishing, boating, hiking and swimming in the ocean, each day exploring the island in some way. Brandon would spend endless hours talking to and playing with Sweet and after he was put to bed the evenings belonged to Sash and him. They would lounge in the stunning living room of the main house, sipping on tasty fruit drinks and talking for hours about everything under the sun, learning more about each other every day. They discovered that they had a lot in common, including having both lived in Africa as students. They entertained each other with endless stories about their various adventures. As the days turned into weeks, their friendship grew and their conversations began to turn more personal.
Brandon told her about his father, Harold Plaine. It was he who had founded the small, community newspaper, The Call, which had eventually launched the Plaine Deal Media empire. Brandon’s father had raised him alone after his mother abandoned them. Brandon had been five years old when his mother left, the same age as Sweet.
As Sash listened attentively to Brandon talk about his father, his adoration of the man was evident. He could hardly mask the pain that he still felt as he related to her how his father had died of a heart attack. Harold Plaine had been fifty-two years old. She could understand his pain.
“I was twelve years old when my father died,” she recalled. “And I was heartbroken. When James Curry married my mother and became my step-father I gave him holy hell.”
“The poor man,” Brandon quipped in empathy having been at the receiving end of Sash’s displeasure.
Sash swatted at him, feigning insult at his teasing before continuing. “But James was so gentle and patient with me that it wasn’t hard for him to win me over. He was a good man and I loved him very much. He was truly my second father. ”
“Why didn’t you get to know your step-sister, Shirley?” Brandon asked with cautious curiosity.
“Well, we were both adults. I was out of the house and on my own the one and only time we met, so we never got the opportunity to get to know each other well, ” Sash replied, as she thought about the tall, willowy beauty that James had introduced to her as his daughter. His pride in the exquisite beauty had been obvious, but his daughter’s contempt for James was equally as obvious. “Shirley and James had been estranged since he and her mother divorced. From what I could gather, Shirley’s mother was bitter and turned her daughter against her ex-husband. James wanted to get close, but Shirley wouldn’t let him. She was a grown woman, her mother was dead and she didn’t have anyone else by the time she came back into James’ life, and that was only briefly. It was sad, because James was a wonderful man.” Sash sighed. “Shirley was a model and fairly successful at it too, I was told. She was a beautiful woman. She seemed to have everything, but for some reason she wasn’t happy. It was a shame.”
In the reflective silence that followed that conversation, Brandon surprised Sash with a revelation of his own. “I had a brother,” he said quietly.
The words were said with such sadness that Sash felt compelled to reach out and touch Brandon’s hand. “You said had. What happened to him?”
Brandon closed his hand over her hand and rubbed his thumb gently over the palm. He seemed lost in thought before he answered her question. “He died.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you close?”
“We were twins, fraternal twins, but we weren’t close. When she left, our mother took my brother with her and I didn’t see him again until after she died. By then we were eighteen years old.”
The picture of an older man with laughing eyes and a brooding young man that looked like Brandon flashed through Sash’s memory. That’s not me. That’s what he had said when she inquired about the picture on his desk.
“Your parents separated twins?” She didn’t try to conceal her disapproval. “So did you get to know him at least?” From Brandon’s reaction talking about his brother didn’t appear to be easy.
He gave a bitter laugh, “No, not as well as I thought.”
Abruptly, Brandon changed the subject and avoided talking about personal subjects after that conversation. But, he did make sure that Sash was kept abreast of the developments surrounding Sweet’s kidnapping.
All three people involved in the kidnapping had been identified. The man who had died in the car was named Louis Carlton, an ex-con with a criminal record that reached back to his teenage years. He had been out of San Quentin less than a year. The man who Sash had attacked was named Willie Dean. He had been in San Quentin with Carlton and had been released at the same time. Authorities had discovered Willie Dean’s body in a shallow grave in the Santa Cruz mountains. He hadn’t died from the injuries Sash had inflicted. He had died from a bullet wound from Carlton’s gun.
Monee Sherman was the name of the woman who Sweet called “the lady.” From all accounts she was a quiet, religious woman who worked as a school nurse. She had formerly lived in Richmond, California and was reportedly a frequent visitor to San Quentin to visit Carlton. She had started writing him as part of a church project to reach out spiritually to inmates. The authorities theorized that Monee was the catalyst for the kidnapping plot. Personnel records at Plaine Deal Media revealed that Monee had worked as a receptionist in one of the company’s television stations while attending nursing school. Further details were unknown, and no one was alive to provide them but Monee who was still in a coma.
As the weeks passed, the interest and excitement about the kidnapping and the subsequent rescue was gradually subsiding. The headlines had turned to other concerns. Sash knew that soon she and Sweet would be returning home. Whether their lives would ever be normal again remained to be seen, but she was sure that returning wouldn’t be easy, especially when they had to leave Brandon. From the day they set foot on the isolated island the man and the boy had been inseparable.
Sweet adored Brandon and it seemed that the feeling was reciprocated. Over the past few weeks Sweet’s entire personality had changed. He balked at being called by the nickname that his parents had given him when he was a baby. Brandon called him “T” which was short for Trent. Sweet insisted that his old nickname was for babies. He talked insistently about what a big boy he was and how when he grew up he was going to be just as tall, just as strong, and just as brave as Brandon. Sash’s fondest wish had been that her brother would have a strong male role model. He had found one, and what a male he had picked as a model.
Sash turned her attention to the man in question as she watched his tall, muscular frame walk toward them. When he made his appearance at the swimming pool earlier, she hadn’t known which part of his anatomy to lust after first. She had allowed herself the luxury of giving him a long, slow perusal of every inch of his masculine frame, from his broad shoulders marked by a cute little birthmark, down his chest sprinkled lightly with hair, to his lean, tight abdomen, which defined the term six pack. Somehow she had managed to keep her eyes from straying lower and lingering; but presently, as he walked toward them wiping the water from that delicious body, Sash found it difficult to keep her eyes above his waist.
While Sash’s attention was riveted on Brandon, Sweet broke free from her and ran to him. Bending, he swept the child into the air, holding him high. Sweet’s delighted squeals filled the air.
“I’m going to get you wet again,” Brandon warned him as he shifted the boy in his arms. Sweet’s arms and legs encircled Brandon’s wet body.
“I don’t care,” Sweet responded, relaxing contentedly in the arms of his hero. He snuggled deeper into Brandon’s body and gave him a quick kiss on the neck before laying his head on Brandon’s shoulder. Brandon blinked rapidly and took a shaky breath.
Sash watched the interaction between the man and boy with a sense of satisfaction. It continued to amaze her how vulnerable this self-made media mogul appeared to be in the presence of this small child. Sh
e admired that about him. It seemed that lately every feeling she had toward Brandon was positive. That could make leaving him as hard on her as it would be on Sweet.
Having reached Sash in the dining area of the pool pavilion, Brandon sat down across from her in one of the rattan chairs, placing Sweet in his lap. If someone had told him a year ago that he could be totally captivated by a child he would have declared that person insane; but he was captivated. He was charmed and delighted by this little boy. The child was so innocent, so open, and so honest. He was completely under Sweet’s spell. Brandon smoothed his hand gently over the boy’s damp hair as the small, warm body rested against his own. The truth was that Trent Curry’s spell wasn’t the only spell under which he had fallen. The boy’s sister was quite a spell weaver herself.
Brandon turned his attention to the woman sitting across the table from him. He had noticed Sash watching him when he emerged from the pool, and inwardly smiled at the thought that she might like what she saw. He knew that he was enjoying his view. The flowered, two piece swimsuit that she was wearing was torture on his body.
The woman had curves where curves were meant to be. How much was a healthy man suppose to take?
Luckily, Sash had taken mercy on his libido before he embarrassed himself and covered her torso with one of the oversized towels placed poolside for guests. He’d have to tell the housekeeper to purchase smaller towels in the future. Meanwhile, he could enjoy the abundance of chest the towel didn’t conceal. Before they had spent time on this island, Brandon knew that he might want to be the man in Sash’s life. Their time together on the island had only intensified his desire for her. However, time was running out for him. She would be leaving soon. He had to make his move, but he was worried that she might reject him based on past resentments. Hopefully, he was wrong.
Brandon glanced at Sash. She appeared preoccupied with her frothy pineapple drink. He wondered if she found him as big of a distraction as he found her to be. He knew she was interested in him. A little birdie had informed him of that fact. “Sash likes you,” the birdie had chirped. “She likes you a lot. She told me so.”
Armed with that information, Brandon’s hopes had soared. He flashed a grateful smile at the birdie in his lap.
“Do you want a pineapple frosty, T?” There was no reply. Brandon looked down to find the boy asleep.
“Give him to me and I’ll put him to bed,” Sash said smiling fondly at her brother. She stood and reached for the boy.
“No.” Brandon stood. “I’ll do it. Just lead the way.”
They worked together to strip Sweet of his wet bathing suit, dress him in fresh underwear and tuck him into bed. After closing the door behind them, they stepped into the living room where they stood face to face for a moment in awkward silence. They could feel the heat rising between them. Brandon’s eyes were like lasers as he looked at Sash. Slowly he lowered his face to hers, but Sash took a step back.
She exhaled shakily. “Uh, I’ve got to take a shower.”
Brandon’s finger caressed her cheek. “We need to talk.”
She wanted to lick his finger so badly that she could taste it. Instead she took another step back. “I thought we already solved all of the world’s problems,” she teased.
Brandon played along. “We have a few things that still need to be settled.”
“Like what?” Sash grinned, feeling more at ease with this innocent flirtation. She was about to give a sigh of relief until Brandon threw her a curve.
“Like us.”
“Us?” The grin on Sash’s face vanished.
“That’s what I said.”
Sash swallowed and took two steps backward. “I hate to tell you this, Brandon, but there is no us.”
“Maybe there should be.” Brandon stepped forward. They were nearly chest to chest.
For a moment Sash felt disembodied. Things had been progressing so well, now all of a sudden there was an us? She studied Brandon intently. His teasing eyes had turned serious. “What are you up to Brandon? What’s this about?”
Brandon gave a sweeping gesture with his hands, encompassing Sweet, Sash and himself. “It’s about the three of us and what we’ve come to mean to each other while we’ve been here on the island.” He pointed to her and then to himself. “It’s about you and me and what I hope we can mean to each other no matter where we are.”
“Brandon, I’m grateful to you...”
“It’s not your gratitude I want.”
“But I don’t like being obligated.”
“Or that you be obligated to me.”
“I’ve always paid my own way...”
“And you can continue to do so. This isn’t about that either.” Brandon moved closer to Sash, challenging her to retreat. She didn’t.
“You know that Sweet has become quite fond of you,” Sash started to babble.
“And I’m crazy about him, but that’s not the topic of this discussion either.”
“Brandon, I…”
“Brandon, I what? Brandon, I’m crazy about you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then do say it, Sash, because I am crazy about you and I’m hoping that I’m not in this alone.” Moving to the sofa Brandon sat down and tugged at her hand until she sat down beside him. He was determined that they were going to get to the bottom of their feelings for each other. “I’m through playing coy, Sash. Like I said, I’m crazy about you and I think that you’re attracted to me too. So tell me why you keep putting distance between us?”
Sash didn’t answer. Instead, she sat contemplating his question.
“I’m waiting.” Brandon informed her, leaning back and placing his ankle across his knee.
Sash started. He looked and sounded so much like Michael when he said that she had to take a cleansing breath to clear her head. All she had ever wanted from Brandon was trust and truth and he was presenting her with both. How could she offer him any less?
“You’re right I am attracted to you, but Lord knows I don’t want to be.”
Brandon met her confession with mixed emotions. “Well I don’t want to read that in a Hallmark card. Can you tell me what you mean by that?”
“I’ve had experience with men like you.”
Brandon was amused by the observation. “What kind of man am I Sash?”
“Rich, powerful, arrogant, a man used to giving orders, not accepting compromise—a man who likes dependent women.”
“Oh really?” He raised a brow.
“Yes. I’ve been involved with one rich and powerful man who tried to erode my self-confidence and disregarded my dreams and ambitions. I’m not about to let that happen again.”
Brandon was taken aback. He assumed that she was talking about Michael and he didn’t like the comparison. “Well, I’m my own person, Sash, so don’t get me confused with someone else.”
Sash rose from the sofa and looked down at him. “You may not be that man, Brandon, but there have been occasions in the past when you’ve shown me the same tendencies.”
Brandon rose, not noticing the wet spots that each of their damp swimsuits had left on the colorful sofa. He was preoccupied with the anger he felt at the thought that Sash would compare him to Michael.
“I’ll tell you what. It’s obvious that we need to discuss this further. So why don’t you go take your shower and meet me at the pool pavilion in, say, thirty minutes.” Brandon exited the room stiffly, not waiting to hear whether she would meet him or not.
Sash continued to stand rooted after the door closed behind him. It appeared that the kisses she had shared with Brandon when they were in pursuit of Sweet’s freedom had held promises that were soon to be claimed.
CHAPTER 15
Sash. He could hear the sound of her name reverberate in the waves that performed their ceremonial dance on shore. As Brandon stood watching the sea’s ancient ritual his mind and body were filled with her. When had this impossible woman with her dreadlocked hair, her Zen like philosophy and h
er eclectic style of life creeped inside his heart? She was nothing like the woman he usually was attracted to. She wasn’t interested in high fashion, or pop art or belonging to the “right” clubs. To Sash the word civic duty meant more than attending a charity ball. The other women he knew all seemed superficial next to her. Money and status weren’t her constant pursuits. No, not Sash. Her career goal was to become an attorney that helped the poor. She actually believed that good could overcome evil. Sash was unique—tough, bold, independent and as opinionated as hell.
How in the world had he fallen so hard for this woman? They were oil and water. Yet, he knew the answer to his question. Sash was a dynamo, to say nothing of her intelligence, creativity and beauty. The woman was lethal to his wellbeing. He had never planned on giving his heart away again to any woman. He had made that mistake before, but Sash was under his skin like an itch that wouldn’t go away. Each day she burrowed a little deeper. He was a mere heartbeat away from falling in love with her, and the thought of what that might mean to his psyche was scaring him to death.
While Brandon’s heart still might be trying to resist Sash’s intrusion, it had surrendered completely to Sweet. He acted like a lunatic trying to please the boy and relished every moment of the time spent with him. Never could Brandon have imagined that someone so small could so thoroughly control his emotions. He wanted that feeling to continue, but with the stance that Sash was taking about him he wasn’t sure what would happen. Yet one thing seemed fairly certain, when John Nathan brought the news that he expected him to bring it could change everything.
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