by Woods, Karen
“I planned on it,” he replied too quietly, in a tone that Geri had long ago recognized as vocal signal of an impending explosion of his world class temper.
Brad laughed. “It looks like the man has got your number.”
“He’s had that for a long time,” she said on a sigh.
* * *
She sat beside him in the back of the Lincoln. They were on their way to the golf course. Until a couple of minutes ago, they had been plotting how to handle the Tyler people.
She knew he had great hopes for pulling off this acquisition. Frankly, Geri wasn’t so sure. Her reading of the Tyler people was they were holding out for more money than the business was reasonably worth. They had a good deal of themselves invested in the company. That made it difficult for them to see the value of the enterprise objectively.
She looked at him. He seemed distracted. “What else is on your mind?”
“Delgado.”
She felt herself stiffen. “I really don’t like talking about this. It’s been over and done with a long time ago.”
“I wish I could take the pain from you,” Josh said.
She shook her head negatively, trying to get her breath back after the compassion in his voice had taken that from her. “It was a long time ago.”
“It still hurts you. It’s colored how you have behaved towards men since that time, causing you to down play your beauty.”
She looked at him for a long moment. “I’m hardly beautiful.”
“You need to look in the mirror more often. You are incredibly beautiful,” he told her. “Both inside and out. I’ve never known a more beautiful woman than you.”
“Delgado’s attack on me was more a case of his wanting revenge on Brad, than anything else. Hurting me was a means to an end because he knew Brad would torture himself over it. The attack was simply a matter of expediency for Delgado—a matter of striking in the least defended, most tender, spot in order to scar Brad for life. Unfortunately, it worked.”
* * *
Josh heard the old rage under the surface of the calm logic of her voice. “I’m just surprised you and Bennet have hung together after that. This sort of thing tends to break up friendships as no one wants to be reminded of painful times.”
“It wasn’t Brad’s fault. Delgado decided to hurt him by going after me. I’ve never blamed him for any of it.”
“But, he blames himself, to this day.”
“Yeah. He does. I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” she replied. He heard the sorrow in her voice. “If there is any justice, Delgado’s burning in the eternal Hell he so richly deserves. But that’s God’s decision, not mine.”
“Geri, why haven’t you married Bennet?” he asked.
Chapter Five
Geri looked at him, disbelief written all over her face, for a long moment. “Marry Bradford? Oh, merciful heavens!” she replied with a small smile and a chuckle. “That’s beyond ludicrous.”
“I’m obviously missing something here.”
“So’s Brad. Allie is the love of Brad’s life. She’s been in a vegetative state for years.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“Brad and I both visit her a couple of times a week in her nursing home, so that she gets at least one visitor every few days. Father Small goes in and gives her anointing for healing once a month. He usually says mass for her, and either Brad or I, or both of us, try to be there at that time.”
“She doesn’t know you are even there, does she?”
“I don’t know what she knows and what she doesn’t. She could well be totally aware of us and unable to respond. But the staff know she has people who care about her. Because of that, she gets better care.”
“Why hasn’t he had the life support turned off, if there’s no hope?”
“The ventilator was shut off eight years ago. But, Allie continues to hang on. She’s just not opened her eyes or responded in any way to auditory or tactile stimulus in years. They feed and water her through tubes. Still, Brad refuses to give up hope.”
“And you go to see her, regularly.”
“I sit with her and I read her the Sherlock Holmes stories she has always loved so much, ever since we were both children. I read her the newspapers and I tell her about what’s going on in my life. There’s really little reasonable hope she’ll ever come back.”
None of this made any sense to him. “You’ve known her a long time, then.”
“As long as I’ve known anyone. Allie is a first cousin of mine on my father’s side of the family, my father’s sister’s daughter.”
“I see,” Josh said, trying to make sense of this.
She continued, “Brad’s also my first cousin, my mother’s brother’s son. He’s like a big brother to me, always has been, always will be. The three of us were only children, cousins but more like siblings. Brad’s almost six years older than I am. Allie’s three years older. But we were always close. At least, we were close until they fell deeply in love with one another, then they were closer and there was a little distance between us. But that’s normal. I stood up with them at their wedding, the week after Brad graduated from Annapolis and took his commission. I was godmother to their son, Charlie. They had as close to a perfect marriage as any I’ve ever seen.” He watched her blink back tears. “You know, life really isn’t fair.”
“No. It isn’t. How did she get into that condition?”
“A drunk driver ran headlong into her car. Killed both the other driver and Charlie immediately. She’s never regained consciousness. Brad needed someone of his own here for him. I owed him that much, and more. Besides, Texas was as good of a place as any to make a fresh start after I finished my doctorate.”
Josh sighed. There was so much pain in this family. But even so, he was intensely relieved Bennet was no rival for Geri’s affections.
“You really thought Brad and I were lovers?” Geri asked in disbelief. “Why in the world would you have thought that?”
“Several reasons. He’s been your escort to a number of functions. The pair of you do tend to hang out together. You’ve done quite a bit of travelling together; Paris a few years ago, ski trips every Christmas, etc. There’s clear affection between you two. Neither of you have ever told me you were related to one another. Need I continue?”
“No,” she said on a sigh.
He wished he knew what she was thinking.
She continued, “I don’t suppose so. I just never thought about how that looked to outsiders. I understand how you may have made assumptions. It’s just that Brad takes his wedding vows seriously. He loves Allie, as he always has. There’s no room in his life for any other woman, as long as she’s alive. There’s not exactly an overabundance of gentlemen callers in my life. So, Brad and I keep each other company.”
“Why are you such a solitary soul?”
She looked at him. “I’ve always been a loner, Josh.”
“By choice or by chance?”
“I honestly don’t know,” she told him. “I was always odd; way ahead of my age level companions in school and intensely behind my academic achievement companions in social graces and maturity. It’s hard to grow up as the ‘smart kid’, particularly on a Marine base. I graduated from high school in Germany at fourteen, started college in the US at fifteen. Took my BS at eighteen.”
“Summa cum laude, no less,” Josh interjected.
She shrugged. “Schoolwork was always something I did well. I had my Masters’ at twenty-one and my Ph.D. at twenty-three. I didn’t have much time during those years to do anything except go to class, study, and work.”
“Speaking of not having time, we need to get out to the golf course.”
* * *
“Do you think Pedersen would be a good person to head Tyler?” Josh asked after lunch, a few hours later. They’d just acquired Tyler Avionics and the former owners had left the clubhouse, checks in hand for their respective share of the business. Frankly, Josh was grateful it had gone this w
ell.
He watched Geri sip her coffee. “He’d jump at the chance. It’s just the type of challenge he could sink his teeth into.”
“Would you jump at the chance?”
“No. I prefer to be just where I am, heading up R&D and helping to manage the day to day operations,” Geri told him, firmly. “I enjoy working with you.”
He smiled at her. “And I like having you at my right hand. One of the best things I ever did was to hire you.”
“Was it?”
“It definitely was. What else is on your agenda for today?”
“I need to do some shopping. And I want to run by my apartment building to see in the daylight how bad it really was.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“No. I don’t really want to do that. But, I need to,” she said, her voice pained.
“Why?”
“Because I need to know for myself, Josh. I have to see. I must make it real in my own mind. It’s all very unreal right now.”
Josh nodded. “I suppose that you would feel that way, at that.”
“So, will you take me?”
“If you really want to do it, I’ll take you after you’ve finished your shopping.”
An hour later, Josh stood watching her go through the piles of jeans at the discount store. He hadn’t been in one of these places in years. Her cart was already half full. They weren’t in the store for more than twenty-five minutes, before she walked out with her cart full to overflowing with casual clothing and a variety of personal care items.
“You’re efficient,” he stated, ten minutes later, as she stowed the purchases in the trunk of the car.
“And this comes as a surprise to you, how?”
He lightly touched her arm. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen any woman buy so much in such a short period of time and without trying everything on.”
“They’re just casual clothes. They’ll fit, or I’ll bring them back. Besides, I’ve got three more stops to make in this strip mall,” she dismissed.
“Lay on, McDuff.”
She walked over to the Christian book store. She bought a new bible and a Book of Common Prayer. Frankly, the bible surprised him. He thought she’d be a King James Version girl, given the traditional language used in services at her church. But, instead, she picked up a modern language Catholic bible.
Then she went two doors down to a discount shoe store. Fifteen minutes later, she was out of there with a pair of cross training shoes, four pairs of leather dress pumps in various colors, as well as a pair of steel toed work boots. Then she went to a vitamin specialty store three doors down and bought a variety of vitamins and other supplements.
“You really take all those pills?” he asked as she picked items off of the shelf.
“Everyday. And it’s not that much.”
“Not that much? You’ve got twenty bottles of pills in the basket.”
“At your age, you probably ought to take some things, yourself. Like this, and this,” she said as she put five bottles of various supplements in her basket.
“What are those?”
“A good multivitamin supplement balanced for the needs of an active man, a similarly balanced mineral supplement, saw pimento, ginko biloba, and glucosamine.”
“Sounds awful. What do they do?”
“The vitamin and minerals are a supplement to your diet. Saw pimento is used to promote healthy prostate function. Ginko is for mental sharpness. Glucosamine/chondroitin supports healthy joints.”
He smiled. “So, you think I’m falling apart, eh?”
Geri rolled her eyes. “Hardly.”
Josh smiled. “Trying to remake me?”
“No, just minor suggestions to keep you around and healthy longer. I rather like you the way that you are.”
“And what way is it that you think I am?”
“Kind, gentle, and strong.”
“Are you done with your shopping?” he asked as he digested her opinion of him. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. But, he didn’t.
She nodded. “Yes, I think I am finished here. As soon as I pay for these, that is.”
He handed the clerk his credit card, when they reached the register.
“Josh! I won’t have you buying my supplements.”
“You were going to buy mine,” he countered.
“That’s different.”
“How so?” he demanded.
She sighed. “Because they were one small thing I could do for you.”
Josh lightly touched her face. “I don’t think you realize just how much you’ve done for me in the last few months,” he said, his voice quiet. “You saved both my life and sanity after Mandy died. Let me do a little something for you.”
“I didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t have done.”
“No one else did anything for me.”
“I know that’s not true. Carol and I talked often.”
“Are you absolutely sure you want to go by the apartment?” he asked carefully as they left the store.
“I have to see it in the daylight. I don’t want to. But, I need to.”
“Okay. I guess that I understand that.”
The street in front of the building was closed off to vehicular traffic. No one except the emergency personnel were still being allowed near the building.
Josh looked at her face as they were driving away. He could see the tears in her eyes.
“Geri?”
She forced a smile. “I’m okay, Josh.”
“Your cousin is right, Geri. You can’t be trusted to give a fair statement of your own condition.”
“Maybe not,” she replied as she blinked back the tears. “But, this is much harder than I thought it would be.”
Josh let her talk.
“I’m frightened. Scared to death. I can’t afford to let that show publicly.”
“I know that. For what it’s worth, you are doing a good job of carrying on.”
She shrugged. “The only other option would be to fall apart. I’m not about to do that. It would play into the hands of the stalker.”
Josh smiled at her and patted her hand.
* * *
To Geri’s mind, he might as well have patted her on the head and given her a cookie. What she would have given to have him pull her into his arms and kiss her breathless!
When they returned to his house, both the FBI and ATF were there waiting for them. After that interview completed, and the feds and Brad had all left, Geri excused herself, saying that she had correspondence to take care of. She went and hid in her bedroom. Being alone with Josh was too much of a temptation. Several times today, she had wanted to throw herself into his arms. But, since he clearly didn’t see her as a desirable woman, she couldn’t afford to make a fool of herself.
* * *
Josh, alone in bed that night, was unable to stop thinking. He looked at the clock. It was two a.m. on Sunday morning. His awareness of Geri being in the next room was painful. Just twenty-four hours ago, she had challenged him as to his excuses for not seducing her. Granted, she had been drunk. But he wasn’t sure what he would have done, if her phone hadn’t rang just then. No, he dismissed with ruthless honesty, he knew what he would have done. He would have taken her to bed, drunk or not, and left the future to deal with itself. They both would have regretted that. It would have hardly been the only regret in his life. Still, the strong temptation to make love with her was not helping him sleep.
Today, she had functioned well in the business transactions, as always. She had functioned in the discussions with the FBI and ATF agents who’d come to interview her, although she had asked for her attorney to be present during those discussions. No one looking at her would have had any indication of just what kind of strain she was under. She wasn’t the type to wear her emotions on her face. He knew the strain of the last few weeks was wearing on her. He wished he knew what to do.
All he could think of was to take her to bed and kee
p her there. At least, that would give her something else to think about, if she would be able to think at all.
Yet, he knew that he wouldn’t do that, in spite of his need for her. She deserved some young man who would be with her until they were both old, someone who might still be relatively young when their children were grown. Even that knowledge, couldn’t stop him from wanting her more than he had ever wanted another woman, other than Mandy, in his life.
Feeling decidedly in need of a long relaxing soak in the hot tub, he pulled on his trunks, because Betty insisted the tub stayed cleaner, longer, if he wore them. He thought it was stupid to wear clothes of any kind in a bath tub. But, his life was easier when he kept Betty happy. Then, carrying his terry bathrobe, he went into the bathroom, flipping on the light as he went.
“Turn the light off, please?” Geri asked in a panicked tone from where she sat, in the hot tub. At least she was wearing that black bathing suit.
Josh switched off the light. There was no need in embarrassing her further. “What are you doing sitting here in the dark?”
“You said I could use the tub. Give me two minutes and I’ll be out of here, Josh. I’m sorry I woke you.”
Josh walked over to the hot tub. He hung up his robe as he came towards her. “I was just coming in to use the tub. Do you mind sharing?” he asked, not giving her time to object, as he slid into the water on the other side of the tub from her.
“Josh?” she asked with a slight breathless catch to her voice.
He had listened closely to her. He didn’t hear any panic, or fear in her voice. There was surprise, even excitement. But there wasn’t fear or utter panic. That made him feel better about this invasion of her privacy.
“The tub works much better if you turn on the jets,” he said, flicking the switch.
“I didn’t want to wake you.”
“I wasn’t asleep.”
“Why not? It’s late.”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I don’t know. Restless, I guess.”
He moved closer to her. He heard her breath grow shallow. Was that from fear or desire? Or maybe just from surprise or embarrassment. “How long have you been in the tub?”