“I’ll definitely make you sorry for this. I’ll sue you and I’ll own this stupid company. You just wait and see. I’m going to turn your world upside down.”
Before she could say another word, he stormed out of the office and slammed the door so hard the glass walls shuddered. “Well, that went well,” she muttered aloud.
She wasn’t really worried about his threats. She suspected Chad was nothing more than a blowhard who would console himself with a bottle or two of booze and would eventually find another job. At least he didn’t have a wife or a family depending on his paycheck.
The rest of the day passed fairly uneventfully. George checked in with her to let her know a police report had been made on the damaged wood. He agreed with her it was a good idea that any supplies brought to the site in the future would now be stored inside of the house rather than outside. Hopefully that would solve the problem of any further damage.
At three o’clock she left work to head home. One of the advantages of being boss was that she could knock off early and be there for her son when he came home from school.
She hadn’t wanted Cody to be a latchkey kid, and everyone who worked for her knew that she left the office early each afternoon, but was available by cell or home phone if anything important came up.
It took her only ten minutes to get home. When she’d bought the house less than two years ago, it had needed a lot of work to update and make it into the place of her dreams.
She’d left the major updates to her team of men, but she had personally spent hours sanding down the oak woodwork and floors. The end result had been worth all the hard work.
She loved so many things about the house...the bay window in the living room, the large wraparound porch and, most important, the large fenced yard that included several mature trees that were perfect for climbing.
If they had any slow months this summer, she intended to pay the men to build Cody a tree house. She’d thought about having it done last year, but had never accomplished it. One of the trees was perfectly formed to hold such a structure and she knew Cody would love it.
Instead of sitting at the kitchen table to wait for Cody to come home, she moved outside to sit on the porch swing. It was a gorgeous afternoon, but she was grateful for the weight of her sweater against a faint cool March breeze.
She moved the swing back and forth and her head once again filled with thoughts of Knox. The night before she’d ached with his pain as he’d told her about his forced sabbatical because of his mother’s escape from prison.
When she and Knox had begun dating in high school, Livia had pretended to approve of the match, although Allison had suspected she didn’t approve of Allison’s blue-collar background.
Nobody had been more surprised than Allison when she’d been awarded a scholarship to Boston University. The opportunity was too good to dismiss. It wasn’t until she had to pull out of school to nurse her father that she’d discovered her scholarship had been made available to her thanks to the charity of Livia Colton. A friend of hers who worked part-time in the bursar’s office had told Allison.
Livia had gotten her wish to break Allison and Knox apart through distance, but the minute she had returned to Shadow Creek, they had resumed their romance...until he’d left her.
All thoughts of Knox fled her mind as she saw Cody in the distance heading toward home. He walked with his best friend, Josh Inman, who lived on the next block.
This was the first year Allison had allowed her son to walk the three blocks from the school bus stop to their home. He’d begged her to be allowed to walk home instead of her picking him up, and she’d finally relented.
Josh veered off the sidewalk for his house and Cody hurried forward. He spotted her on the swing and waved and her heart swelled with overwhelming love. He was such a good boy and only very rarely pushed boundaries.
When he reached her he pulled his fire-engine-red backpack off his back and tossed it onto the porch, then sat next to her on the swing.
“Good day?” she asked. She took a deep breath, loving the scent of sunshine and all things young boy that filled her nose.
“Great day,” he replied. “Tony Mantelli brought his hamster for pet day and it got loose. All the girls jumped up in their chairs and screamed and Stacy Burrwell’s cat was going crazy in the cage and Danny’s dog was barking. It was totally awesome.”
Allison laughed. “Did Tony ever get his hamster back?”
He nodded. “Mrs. Jackson finally caught it and got it back in the cage.” He kicked his feet to move the swing a little faster. “I wish I had a pet.” He slid her a sly glance.
“And I’ll bet I know what kind of a pet you’d like to have. It’s bigger than a dog and smaller than an elephant.”
Cody grinned at her. “And it has a mane and hooves.”
“Cody, having a horse is a huge responsibility.”
“I know, but I’m ready for it, Mom. I always do my chores on time and I get good grades. I’m responsible and Miss Jade will tell you I’m great with the horses. Just please tell me you’ll think about it.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it,” she replied. “And what I’m also thinking about is walking to the Cozy Diner for dinner this evening. It’s a beautiful day.”
“Hmm, spaghetti Monday.” Cody rubbed his stomach.
Allison got up from the swing. “Homework?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“Let’s get to it so that you don’t have to worry about it when we get home from eating.”
It was just after eight that evening when she and Cody left the diner for the six-block walk back home. Clouds had moved in, making the darkness of night come faster than usual.
“I’m so full,” Cody moaned as they began the trek home.
“Me, too, and I didn’t have a big piece of chocolate pie like you did,” she replied.
“No, but you totally pigged out on the garlic toast. Besides, the chocolate pie was worth it. It was delicious.”
Dinner had been pleasant. They’d visited with friends and neighbors and enjoyed the good food the diner always provided. “You know what the best thing about eating out is?” she said.
“No dishes,” Cody replied.
“That’s right,” she agreed with a laugh.
The neighborhood sidewalk was darkly shadowed as the clouds hid the moon. Their footsteps rang out in unison in the otherwise still of the night.
She was definitely feeling the lack of sleep from the night before and all she wanted now was the comfort of her bed and a night with no dreams.
Her body tensed as she thought she heard the scuff of a footfall behind them. She whirled around, heart pounding, to see nobody sharing the sidewalk with them.
Had she only imagined it? They had only gone a couple more steps when a rustle sounded. Once again she turned around, her heartbeat accelerating even faster.
She saw nobody. However, there were bushes and trees right next to the sidewalk where somebody could hide, and her intuitive senses were screaming that somebody was following them.
“I’ll race you to the house,” she said to Cody. She couldn’t explain the fear that suddenly torched through her, she could only respond.
Her heart still banged an unsteady rhythm as Cody shot just ahead of her. “Winner gets a cookie before bedtime,” he exclaimed.
She ran, making sure Cody stayed just ahead of her. He could win the race and have his cookie, but she intended to see that nobody sneaked up on her son.
The house had never seemed so far away and she’d never felt the kind of abject fear that coursed through her as they raced to safety.
“Ha, I win,” Cody said as he reached their front porch two steps ahead of her.
Allison fumbled her keys out of her purse and quickly unlocked the door. She pushed h
im through the doorway. “Get upstairs and get your pajamas on and then you get your cookie reward.”
As he headed for the stairs, Allison remained at the front door. She looked down the sidewalk from where they had come. Had somebody been following them or had it only been a trick of her imagination?
A dog barked in the distance and a chill walked up her spine. She quickly closed the door and locked it, then leaned with her back against it as she waited for her heart to resume a more normal pace.
If there had been somebody out there, it was possible it was Chad being drunk and stupid and hopefully no harm had been really intended. Still, that thought somehow didn’t chase away the simmering fear that remained with her long into the night.
Chapter 4
Knox arrived at Allison’s house at three forty for his visit with Cody. The plans he’d had for them for the afternoon and evening were a washout due to the rain that had pelted the area since before dawn.
Thank God it had tapered down to just a fine mist as he left his car and raced for Allison’s front porch. She met him at the door and let him inside, where awkward greetings were exchanged.
“Cody should be here in just a few minutes,” she said.
He looked out the door. “Since it’s raining, maybe I should take the car and go pick him up.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
He turned to look at her.
She smiled. It was the first real smile he’d received from her since he’d accosted her at Jade’s stables and it warmed him from the chill of the rain.
“I’ve been told by Cody that nine-year-old boys don’t mind walking in the rain,” she said. “He’s also told me quite firmly that he isn’t a baby anymore.”
“Then I’m glad you stopped me from doing something to insult his budding manhood,” Knox replied.
Before he could say anything else to her Cody ran through the door, bringing with him muddy shoes and boyish laughter. “Hi, Knox,” he said as he kicked off his shoes. “Sorry about the mud, Mom.”
“Hi, Cody,” Knox replied. “I had some plans for us outside this afternoon but the rain has changed everything.”
“That’s okay. Maybe we should just stay here and play some games. I’ve got some awesome video games and Mom mostly stinks at all of them.” Cody flashed his mother an apologetic grin. “You know it’s the truth, Mom.”
“Okay, I’ll admit I’m fairly lame at video games,” she replied with a grin.
“And maybe we could order pizza for dinner,” Cody said. “It could be a really fun night.”
Knox looked at Allison. He wasn’t sure she would consider his presence there all evening a really fun night. She gazed at her son and smiled. “Of course you two can hang out here, and pizza for dinner sounds great, but before you start any video games you need to go upstairs and change out of those damp clothes.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Cody headed up the stairs and Allison’s smile disappeared as she turned to face Knox once again.
“If this is inconvenient for you I can always take him to Thorne’s or Mac’s,” Knox said.
“Cody being here is never an inconvenience to me.”
“I wasn’t talking about him being here, I was talking about me,” he replied wryly.
“You’re a necessary evil,” she said.
“Said the kettle to the pot,” he replied. “Why am I the only bad guy here?”
A dusting of color filled her cheeks. “I guess you’re not...yet.”
He released a sigh. “At some point you’re going to have to trust me, Allison.”
“It’s going to take time.” She reached up as if to grab a strand of her hair, but it was in that charming, slightly untidy knot at the nape of her neck and she dropped her hand back to her side. “Cody can get the video games set up and whatever else you might need. I’ll be upstairs until dinnertime.”
As she began to climb the stairs, Cody came back down, and within minutes he and Knox were in the living room with game paddles in their hands as an earnest rain began to pelt the windows.
With a gun Knox could outdraw most men, but he quickly discovered that he was no match for a nine-year-old’s nimble fingers on game paddles. The first two football games they played, his team lost to Cody’s by a landslide. Cody’s triumphant cries of victory didn’t last when he put in a gun range challenge and they exchanged paddles for plastic weapons.
A wooden fence appeared on the television with bottles lined up. Knox cleared them before Cody got off his first shot. “Wow,” Cody said, his eyes glittering brightly as he high-fived Knox. “That was awesome. You shoot like a superhero.”
Cody set his gun in his lap and gazed at Knox. “My dad is a superhero.”
Knox froze. “A superhero?” he finally said.
Cody nodded. “That’s why he can’t be here with me. He’s doing important work keeping the world safe and catching bad guys. There are a lot of bad guys.” He stared down at the gun in his lap. “I just wish for one day he could forget about the bad guys for a little while and come here and say hello to me.”
What in the hell had Allison done? He’d wondered what she had told Cody about his father and now he wished he’d asked her before. Why on earth would she have told Cody that outrageous story?
“Let’s play another game,” Knox said as a new anger toward Allison burned in his belly. What had she been thinking?
They played video games until six when he called the local pizzeria and made their order to be delivered. While they waited for the pizza, he and Cody set the kitchen table with paper plates and napkins.
When the meal arrived, Cody shouted up the stairs to his mother and she came down to join them. Knox swallowed his anger, not wanting a hint of it to show while the three of them ate together. But there was no way he was leaving this house tonight before he spoke his mind to her.
He’d ordered a large meat-lovers for them to share. He waited until Cody and Allison took their first pieces and then he served himself. Automatically he picked off the pepperoni on his slice and placed them on Allison’s plate. It was a habit deeply ingrained from when they’d been a couple.
“How did you know Mom loves pepperoni?” Cody asked.
“I know a lot of things about your mother,” Knox replied. “We went to high school together.”
“You did? Tell me some other stuff you know about her,” Cody asked as Allison handed him his napkin to wipe off a string of mozzarella cheese that clung to his chin.
“I know her favorite color is purple and when she laughs too hard she gets the hiccups.” His gaze locked with hers and for the moment his anger was gone, replaced by haunting memories.
“She likes pizza, but she loves cheeseburgers with lots of dill pickles and mayo,” he continued. What he couldn’t say was how soft and inviting her lips were when she kissed or how her hazel eyes changed colors when she was fired up with desire. “She also isn’t much of a chocolate eater, but give her a bag of chips or a loaf of French bread and she’ll tear them up.”
Cody laughed in delight and then looked at his mother. “That’s all true! Now, Mom, tell me some stuff you know about Knox.”
She finally broke eye contact with Knox and instead smiled at her son. “He was the star of the high school football team. He had great moves on the field, but he doesn’t dance very well.”
Cody shot a glance at him and giggled.
“He’s very loyal to his brothers and sisters and when he laughs too hard all the dogs in the area howl.” Her eyes twinkled with a teasing light. “And don’t ever ask him to sing to you because he can’t carry a tune worth a darn.”
Knox found himself laughing and for a moment it felt good to be there with her and his son and sharing some humor. The rest of the meal passed with easy conversation and wa
s filled with more laughter. At one point Allison laughed hard enough that she got the hiccups, to the utter delight of her son.
Knox had forgotten how much he enjoyed her sense of humor and how delightful he’d always found the way her mind worked. And just that quickly he closed off to her as he remembered what she’d told Cody about his father. What on earth had she been thinking then?
The meal finished and cleanup was done and then Cody and Knox returned to the living room to play some more games. Rain still bounced off the windows and it felt as if in no time Allison came back downstairs to tell Cody it was bedtime.
“Would you like for me to come up and tuck you in?” Knox asked before the boy went up the stairs.
He held his breath, surprised by how much he wanted to tuck the sheet around his son’s neck and tell him to have sweet, wonderful dreams.
Cody’s eyes brightened. “Sure, I’d like that a lot. I’ll call you when I’m ready.” He bounced up the stairs and disappeared from Knox’s view.
He turned to face Allison who had come downstairs to get Cody for bed. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, it’s fine,” she replied.
“And after he’s in bed you and I need to have a talk.”
“About what?” Her eyes filled with an instant wariness.
“You can come on up, Knox,” Cody’s voice drifted down the stairs.
“I’ll tell you when I finish tucking in my son.” He turned from her and headed up the stairs.
* * *
Great, what now? Allison wondered as she watched Knox climb the stairs and disappear at the top. Whatever he wanted to discuss with her had put that cold chill back in his eyes.
As days went, this one had already been pretty crummy. Not only had George reported that three windows on the Wilkenson home had been broken overnight, but she’d also received a flurry of unpleasant text messages from Chad.
He’d threatened to turn her into OSHA, the IRS and any other number of government authorities. Although the business was in compliance with every one of those agencies, she couldn’t afford a ton of legal costs incurred by frivolous lawsuits or government inquiries.
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