by Joan Bramsch
"Can't say when I'll be back,” she countered. “Suppose I call you."
"All right,” he answered tightly. “I'll wait for your call.” He hesitated as if to say more, then changed his mind. His heart began to hammer in his tight chest. A gut feeling told him she was lying. That she never intended to call him tonight or ever again.
He turned to go, giving Mike a stilted farewell that Mike returned, barely covering the venom in his voice. Striding back through the outer office without another word, Shawn slammed the door behind him in his agitation, and Casey collapsed in her brother's arms.
He patted her consolingly, whispering in her ear. “You done good, Sissy. Real good."
Maureen could stand the tension no longer and went in to Casey. “I gather you're upset about something Shawn's done ... or not done. Is that right?"
Mike took Casey by the arm and led her out of her office. “Yes ... to both questions,” he answered, cryptically. He turned to John. “You'll have to handle the job today. Take the warehouse crew with you. Maureen will just have to take messages today.” He was making decisions as if he'd been doing it for years. “We're going out on bids. I don't know when we'll be back so I'm counting on you, okay?"
Before either of them could answer, the phone rang. It was Jessica Lang. “She wants to speak to you, Casey,” said Maureen.
"Yes, Jess. What is it?"
Jessica overlooked Casey's brisk manner, thinking she was late for a job. “I just got the scoop on AEI's Shawn O'Brien. The vote is tied. Fifty per cent think he's honest and ethical; the other half think he's a weasel.” She laughed lightheartedly. “Sorry I couldn't get better odds, Casey."
"Go with the last fifty, Jess. The man wants McDermott's Construction."
"But you're solvent, Casey. He can't touch it."
"He figured he'd marry the boss and work from the inside of the company."
"Oh, honey! I'm so sorry."
"Yes,” she replied, her voice breaking. “So am I. I'll talk to you soon, Jess. ‘Bye.” She replaced the receiver and turned to her family. “So now you know.” Feeling somewhat stronger she said good-bye and walked with Mike to the truck.
They checked four different jobs. Mike assisted Casey in all her figuring, rechecking her numbers unobtrusively. And although Casey had known for some time that Mike was capable of performing all facets of their work, she was proud of him when she realized how strong and resourceful he could be. He really didn't need her anymore, she thought. He could run this business right now, she mused with just a hint of sadness in her heart.
They returned after nine that evening. Mike had insisted Casey stop for something warm to eat. On the kitchen table, Maureen had left a note: “Shawn called five times. I just kept telling him I didn't know where you were, Casey. Try to get some rest and I'll see you in the morning."
Mike got her to drink a big cup of hot chocolate before she pleaded exhaustion and went up to bed. She paused at the phone to remove the receiver, the unspoken agreement evident in Mike's eyes.
"Sleep tight, Sis. If you need me, just give a holler."
She nodded. “Thanks for everything, Mike,” she whispered. “I'm very grateful you're my brother."
"Get some sleep now, honey.” His gentle tone revealed his emotional response to her heartfelt words.
The next morning Casey was surprised that she'd slept and was feeling somewhat better ... at least physically.
"You look like you slept, Sissy.” Mike's bright greeting barely hid his concern.
"I've heard the first twenty-four hours are usually the crisis period.” She tried hard to make her wonderful brother feel better himself. “I'm going to make it, Mike."
"I never had a doubt in my mind, Casey.” They settled down to eat and he told her they'd go directly to the job today. “I also spoke to Maureen.” A wicked smile played at the corners of his mouth. “She's girding herself for the onslaught of Shawn's calls. Claims she's getting a Guinness record-breaking case of amnesia."
Casey couldn't repress a laugh. “Sounds like the old McDermott spirit is in full force today, Michael.” Then a shiver of alarm ran down her spine. “But he's not going to give up easily, you know that, don't you? He can be very ruthless, I think."
"Don't worry about him, Sis,” he argued. “We stick together like glue till this weekend. Tina understands what's happened."
Shame washed over her like a cloak of dishonor. “Tina knows too?"
"She's going to be my wife, Casey,” he answered softly. “Surely, you know I had to tell her."
She nodded.
The day passed quickly. The two went directly to their sister's home for dinner. Katie came running to them when they arrived.
"Uncle Mike,” she squealed, leaping into his outstretched arms. “Hi, Aunt Casey. Did you bring Mr. O'Brien with you?"
"Not this time, Katie, my love.” She sighed when Mike put his free arm around her shoulders and hugged her tight.
"Are you sad, Aunt Casey?” Katie asked softly, patting Casey's cheek with a chubby hand.
"Just a little, sweetheart."
"Then we're just going to have to cheer you up, aren't we?” Katie's unselfish, sweet concern brought smiles from everyone in the room when she led Casey to her room to see her new soccer board game.
At ten o'clock when Mike and Casey returned home, the phone was ringing incessantly. He looked at her and she shook her head vehemently so he broke the connection and then laid the receiver on the table for the night
She slept fitfully, rolling and tossing through one nightmare after another. Remembered snatches of conversations echoed inside her throbbing mind. “We're not playing games, Casey ... straight shooters, right? No secrets ... promise?” Each time she awoke Shawn's image loomed close in her mind. She felt haunted in this room where he'd set her aflame.
The next morning Mike informed her that they would again go right to the job. “Oh, and he called right after we left, looking for you."
She sighed in resignation. “Well, that's one less hideout, huh, Mike?"
His sparkling eyes showed he'd already provided for such a contingency. “We're invited to Tina's tonight anyway so it's no sweat, Sis."
* * * *
That evening the phone rang right after dinner. “I'll get it,” said Doc. “It's probably some kid who's torn up his knee on one of those motorized skateboards again. Damn dangerous things!"
A moment later he was back. “The call is for you, Casey. It's Shawn O'Brien. He seems very insistent on speaking with you."
At first she wanted to run and hide but her courage was coming back to her. “Would you mind very much telling him that I don't wish to speak with him now, Doc?"
His mask of professionalism covered the penetrating examination he gave Casey's strained features. This woman was desperately unhappy and trying to be brave. “Of course not, my dear. I'll give him your message."
The pallor that fell over the room was quickly dissipated on Doc's return when he immediately told a new story about one of the neighborhood children who'd come to him with a mouse whose leg had been broken. “I fixed it ... what else could I do?” He laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. “All those years of training ... for that?"
Casey joined in the laughter but she seriously considered asking him confidentially how he was at fixing broken hearts.
When they returned home Mike told her to come to the living room after she got ready for bed. When she returned, dressed in her warm Kelly green robe, he welcomed her. “Come on in, Sis. We're going to celebrate."
She felt worse now than she had all day. Shawn wasn't going to give up! Didn't he realize she refused to speak to him to save him the humiliation of trying to explain an impossible situation?
"We've got nothing to celebrate, Mike,” she grumbled, suddenly angry at the hide-and-seek game.
Her brother overlooked her sharp reply. “Sure we do,” he countered, winking. “We're over halfway there, my friend, and you're getting stronger e
very minute."
"Yes, I am,” she lied bravely, settling down on the sofa where she and Shawn had first made love. Soon she couldn't have cared less because Mike was plying her with lovely red wine while they laughed uproariously at an old Three Stooges movie on television.
At midnight the doorbell rang and Casey froze. She looked over at her brother with startled dark green eyes. Calmly he took her glass from her trembling fingers and turned off the movie.
"Go up to bed, Casey,” he said firmly. “I'll take care of this."
"He's not going to stop, Mike.” Her voice started to rise hysterically. “He'll tell me he loves me and expect me to believe him."
"Go upstairs, honey,” he repeated, pulling her up from the couch. He watched as she walked woodenly up the stairs.
The doorbell continued to ring and then she heard the loud pounding on the door. The sound was like a hollow wooden clapper at a funeral mass. Out of sight, she listened.
"Casey's already retired,” Mike told Shawn before he had a chance to speak.
"Why in the hell don't you stop putting your phone off the hook?” she heard Shawn ask. His anger was obvious by the tone of his voice.
"When you stop calling,” Mike informed him, and Casey was relieved that he seemed in control.
"Look, Mike,” she heard Shawn's placating voice. He was trying to get past her brother with persuasion. “It's of vital importance that I speak with Casey. Will you please ask her to come down?"
"I'm quite sure she's asleep."
Mike's biting retort rang in Casey's ears. She clung to the doorway, praying fervently that he could hold onto his temper. Dear God! she thought, help them both to hold their tempers.
But Shawn's temper snapped with a fury. “Dammit, Mike!” he yelled. “I've got to talk to Casey. I'm going out of my mind with worry.” He roared in helpless frustration, and Casey could picture him shoving his large tanned hand through his hair. “I've got to make her understand what I was planning."
"Keep your voice down, O'Brien,” Mike ordered, matching his volume to Shawn's. More quietly he added, “This is our home. It doesn't matter what you were planning ... for her or for our company. The fact is, Casey doesn't believe you, and she never wants to see you again.” He bit off each word as if he were spitting bullets.
"I'll believe that when she tells me herself, McDermott.” She heard the challenge of his words as he used the sir name terminology that was usually the last step before a fist fight.
"Bug off, O'Brien! I've just about reached the limit of my Midwest hospitality."
Shawn's voice came to Casey as a dejected beaten echo. “I don't want to fight you, Mike. I'll go. But please, please tell Casey I have to speak with her."
"I'll tell her,” Mike muttered, slamming the door in his face.
Casey flew back down the stairs while he methodically, menacingly, beat his fist against the heavy solid barrier. “Don't, Mike,” she begged, grabbing his fist and holding it tight.
"I never wanted to hit anybody so much in my life.” When he finally controlled his breathing, he looked over at Casey with a quizzical expression on his face. “Are you quite sure about what you found out on Sunday night, Sis?"
"Quite sure,” she answered, tears welling in her wide frightened eyes. “Why?"
"I got the distinct impression that the guy was begging me for a chance to straighten it all out between the two of you,” he explained. He rubbed his big hands down over his pale features. “Lord, Casey, he looked like he'd lost his last friend when he left here. It's the only thing that kept me from smashing his face.” His eyes still questioned her.
"He won't have many friends left if he continues taking over smaller companies,” she said sadly. “But he'll survive. He moves in the fast lane, just as you said.” She patted Mike's cheek. “Come on, let's get some sleep. It's late."
Lying alone in her dark room, she cried softly, telling herself this was the only way she would be able to survive. “I don't have to talk to him,” she whispered. “I can't!” Shawn wanted control of the company. He would have married her to get what he wanted. “A marriage would have been a sham. All of it!"
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Chapter 10
The next day Casey and Mike worked alone. They had another solar installation to do but it was a smaller model so John stayed at the office, scheduling the next job.
"Oh, darn it!” she fumed when she discovered she'd forgotten some vital fittings from the warehouse.
"No problem, Sis. I'll go back and find them.” Mike unbent his long frame and leaned into the wind. His lips curved into a martyr's smile, but his eyes were alert to his sister's reaction. He was hoping to lift her spirits. Somehow he didn't think he was successful. “Ah ... will you be all right while I zip back?"
"What can happen to me, perched on a roof?” She knew the reason for his question. “Go on,” she said, shooing him toward the ladder. “I'll be fine.” She gave Mike an artificially bright smile. “I'll set up everything while you're gone."
"I'll be back before you know it.” Then he scurried down the ladder and tooted the horn when he drove away.
Casey pulled her cap down over her ears. Lord, it was getting cold, she thought. “This wind's about to blow me away!” Bundled up, she worked silently until she heard the metallic rumbling of the ladder. Someone was lowering it; she could tell by the sound.
"What the hell's going on now?” she fumed, glancing to the street below. Shawn's car was parked at the curb. He'd trapped her on the roof! Standing, she sent a troubled look into Shawn's upturned gaze.
"Hi, Casey,” he called quietly. He thought his heart might burst from the gladness of simply looking at her. But he was also scared to death! “How have you been?"
She ignored his question, shouting one of her own into the harsh cold wind. “Why did you take the ladder away?"
He chuckled ruefully and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I suppose it was self-preservation, plain and simple.” He smiled up at her with twinkling eyes. “I figured if I could keep you on the roof, you wouldn't be able to slide down here and beat the hell out of me. You look mad enough!"
Again she refused to comment. She was actually biting the inside of her mouth to keep from speaking. If she talked to him, she'd only open the wounds in her heart. Instead she forced her eyes to shoot emerald sparks. She would mask her sorrow with another emotion.
A look of intense pain shadowed his eyes. “Do you hate me that much, Casey?” His low voice broke with emotion.
She couldn't stand to see him this way. “No, I don't hate you ... and I don't want to hurt you.” I love you, whispered her aching heart.
"You're killing me by not letting me talk to you, honey. Don't you realize that?” He looked as if he were pleading for his life. “You've got to let me explain."
She sighed and looked out over the horizon. “It's no use, Shawn. We don't have anything to say. You wanted more than I was prepared to give, that's all."
She felt hysteria rising in her throat like a fist. “Just go back to Tucson and forget we ever met.” She gulped convulsively. “I don't want you anymore."
Shawn's features mirrored his shock. What was she saying? he asked himself. Her words hit him with the force of a sixteen-wheeler! She promised! She promised she was mine for as long as I wanted her, he ranted silently. Had she lied about that? Didn't she realize he wanted her forever? The pain he was experiencing was very real. How could she break her word ... and his heart with one sentence?
She bit back a cry when she saw Shawn flinch at her harsh statement. The blood drained from his tanned face and his jaw clenched tight. The muscle there jumped with suppressed emotion. When he looked up again, she could see that a decision had been made. His features were cold, stern.
"I'll go, Casey, and I won't bother you again.” He spoke firmly, his tone, distant. “I did however want to tell you that your help was deeply appreciate. Your theory has proven correct. The new syst
em works. Thank you.” His gaze was lifeless when he looked into her eyes. “If you'll have Maureen send me a bill for your time, I'll see that it's paid promptly."
He turned his coat collar up and pulled leather gloves over his numb fingers. “I'll replace your ladder now.” He glanced up one last time before he got into his car. “Goodbye, Ms. McDermott,” he called, and gave her a halfhearted salute.
"Goodbye, my darling,” she whispered beyond his hearing as his car roared out of sight. “Take care, my love."
* * * *
Shawn kept his word not to bother her. For all Casey knew, he'd already left town. The members of her family were careful not to bring up any subject that might remind her of him. She loved them for trying, but it did little good. Shawn was constantly in her thoughts. The pain was almost unbearable.
Thursday evening, when she arrived back home after another grueling day's work, she was surprised to find Connie Tabor waiting for her on her doorstep. It was obvious she'd been crying.
Hurrying to her side, Casey quickly unlocked the front door and brought her inside. “Connie, what in the world...? I thought you were in Tucson."
Sobs choked her when she tried to speak. “I'm ... I'm trying to find Shawn,” she stammered. “I need his help ... right away."
What in the world could be wrong? Casey wondered. Had something happened to Tom? To the plant? “Sit down, Connie,” she said, coaxing the distraught woman to the sofa. She sat down beside her and put her arm around Connie's shoulders. “I haven't seen Shawn since yesterday, honey. I thought perhaps he'd flown back home."
"Oh, no!” she cried. “What am I going to do?"
"Can I help?"
"I flew in this afternoon, and I've been searching for him for hours. His office doesn't know where he's gone. The plant hasn't heard a word from him since Monday."
She lifted her tearstained face to gaze imploringly at Casey. “I thought surely he'd be with you.” She began to cry again. “It was my last hope."
"What is it, Connie. Tell me and perhaps I can do something. You're going to make yourself sick if you keep crying like this.” She knew she was speaking the truth. Hadn't she spent the last few days doing the same thing? “I know Shawn was concerned about you. So was Tom. They'd said you'd been acting differently during the last two weeks.” She placed her hands on the woman's shoulders and turned her. “Connie, you'd better tell me if you can."