What Might Have Been: Daniels Brother #4 (Daniels Brothers)

by Sherri Hayes

  ***

  Saying goodbye to Abby wasn’t easy, but they both had work to do. When Trent had promised to see her tonight, her answer of “you don’t have to” made him feel irrationally angry. He’d felt compelled to kiss her within an inch of both their lives right there in her parking lot to prove that yes, he did have to. How could she possibly think, after last night, that he didn’t want to be with her?

  Once he arrived at work, the morning flew by. He barely had time to breathe, let alone ponder the previous night with Abby. There were emergency orders that had to be placed for the supplies that had been stolen. He’d paid extra to have them delivered the same day where he could. They’d had to rent the missing equipment again. Too many more days of that and he’d have to dig into his savings. The insurance would pay him back, but it would take at least a couple of weeks before he got that check.

  The first truck with a load of mulch and gravel pulled up around eleven thirty. Given what had happened, he waved Joss off and went to meet the truck himself. Trinity shot him a look, but let it go.

  He should have known that wouldn’t be the end of it. She found him going over packing slips while munching on a sandwich. Waltzing into his office, she sat down across from him.

  Trent raised an eyebrow when she didn’t say anything right away.

  “Something going on you’re not telling me?”

  “Like?” Trent took another bite of his lunch.

  She huffed and held up a hand, ticking off the reasons. “One: You practically ran out to handle that delivery earlier. I get that you’re on edge because of the break-in, but you can’t do everything yourself. Two: You’ve been cooped up in this office, with the door closed, huddled over paperwork all morning. You never close your door. And three: You’ve barely spoken a word to me or the guys since you got here unless you needed something from us.”

  Trent shrugged, trying to downplay it. “Sorry. A lot on my mind, I guess.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed. It gave him time to formulate an answer that wouldn’t be a lie, yet would skirt around the truth. Unfortunately, until he could eliminate Trinity as a suspect, he had to play things close to the chest. He didn’t want to believe she was capable of something like this, but he couldn’t be sure. And until he was, he was keeping his mouth shut.

  The best way to divert her attention, he decided, was to shift it to the personal. “I’ve been seeing my brother’s ex.”

  Trinity’s eyes widened. “You’re dating Chris’ ex-wife? Have you lost your mind?”

  Trent shook his head. There’s no way in hell he’d ever go anywhere near Carol. No way, no how. “No. Not his ex-wife. An ex-girlfriend. And how did you know it was Chris?”

  She leaned back in the chair, settling in. “My amazing powers of deduction, of course.”

  He snorted.

  “I saw Chris pull in last night as I was leaving. Besides, Paul doesn’t have any ex-wives or girlfriends that I know about. And Gage, well, I doubt he’d care. Before Rebecca, that man went through women like he went through shirts.”

  That was true enough. Paul had married the only two women he’d ever dated: his high school sweetheart, whom he’d lost way too early to a drunk driver, and his current wife, Megan. Trent couldn’t dispute her assessment of Gage’s past relationships either. Then again, Trent doubted his baby brother would consider any of his trysts with women as relationships. Even in high school, he didn’t have any long-term girlfriends.

  “Yes, well, be that as it may, as you can probably guess, things are a bit complicated at the moment.”

  “I bet,” she said. “How long were they together?”

  “Almost two years.”

  Trinity whistled. “So we’re not talking about a spring fling or anything. They were serious.”

  “High school sweethearts.”

  She shook her head as if to clear it. “Wow. And now you’re dating her?”

  “Yes.”

  Trinity thought about that for a moment. “I guess I can understand why you’d be preoccupied today, then.”

  He nodded and expected her to excuse herself.

  She didn’t.

  “Have you heard from Detective Travers? Every one of the guys asked me when they came in this morning if we knew anything yet.”

  “No. Not since he left yesterday after taking our statements.” Trent polished off the last bite of his sandwich. “From what Paul tells me, all the verifying takes time.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “About what?”

  “I know this business is your baby. You have to be upset about the theft. I know I am.”

  He grinned. “I am upset. But I’m also a realist. While I might want to call Detective Travers every hour on the hour to ask for an update, I won’t. He’ll get back to me when he has something.”

  Trinity snorted. “You have more patience than I would.”

  “Maybe it’s because Paul’s a cop. He never talks about the details of his cases, but he’s told me enough that I’m not expecting miracles.”

  Trinity stood with more force than necessary, drawing his attention. She took a step toward the door. “You’ll let me know if I can do anything to help?”

  “Of course.”

  She nodded and let herself out, closing the door behind her.

  Trent breathed a sigh of relief. He hated suspecting her or any of his other employees. While what he’d told Trinity was true, that he wasn’t expecting miracles, it didn’t mean he was planning to sit on his hands and do nothing.

  He picked up his cell phone and scrolled until he found Paul’s number.

  His brother answered on the first ring. “I was wondering if I’d hear from you.”

  Trent sighed. “Let me guess. Either Chris or Ma called you.”

  Paul laughed. “Both, actually.”

  “Do I even want to know?”

  “Ma’s worried. About all three of you. You know she’s always thought of Abby as the daughter she never had.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “As for Chris, he’s about what you would expect. Angry. Confused. Hurt.”

  Trent heard movement in the background and figured his brother was moving to a more private location. He waited.

  “Can’t say as I blame him. I don’t know what I would do if . . .”

  “Neither do I. Abby knows she didn’t do right by him, but the past is the past and she can’t change it.” Trent ran a rough hand over his face. “You know they’re planning a trip to New York this weekend, right?”

  “Yeah. Chris told me. I understand why he wants to go, but I’m not sure his insistence they go alone is the best idea. Ma is having a fit about it. She wants either her or Elizabeth to go, too.” Paul paused. “I think Chris is unsure how he’s going to react and doesn’t want anyone there to witness it.”

  Trent could only imagine his brother’s reaction when he arrived at his daughter’s grave. It was something he didn’t want to think about too closely.

  Paul cleared his throat and Trent knew from experience that meant something big was coming and he probably wasn’t going to like it. “How serious are things between you and Abby?”

  Trent didn’t hesitate. “I’ve loved her since we were kids.”

  “Why didn’t you ever say anything? Back then, I mean.”

  “Chris got there first, so I stepped aside. He was older and wiser when it came to women. I didn’t think I had a chance with her,” Trent said.

  Paul didn’t answer right away. “Just be careful. Both of you. I’m not going to tell you not to go after who you want because that would be like the pot calling the kettle black.”

  Trent chuckled.

  “But Chris and Abby do have history. You can’t change that. And if you two do end up together, you’re going to have to figure out what that means not only for the two of you, but the rest of the family.”

  His brother wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t
already know. “I know that, too. We’re figuring it out.”

  “Good. I like Abby,” Paul said. “And I think she could be good for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.” He could tell Paul was smiling. “Now that we’ve gotten all the mushy stuff out of the way, what did you really call me for?”

  Trent laughed. Leave it to his brother to cut to the chase. “How do you know I didn’t call you to talk about all the mushy stuff?”

  “Because if it weren’t for Ma asking me to talk to you, I wouldn’t even have brought it up,” Paul said.

  “I’m surprised she hasn’t called me herself.” In fact, Trent was downright shocked.

  “Give her time. Chris called her about an hour ago. I’d say you’ll be hearing from her before the end of the day.”

  “Wonderful.”

  Paul snorted. “You did bring it on yourself, little brother.”

  “That I did.” Trent sighed. “That brings me back to the real reason I called, though.”

  “Lay it on me.”

  “Someone broke in and stole some tools, mulch, and some pea gravel from the business. I spent all day yesterday taking inventory and talking to a detective.”

  “What’s he saying?”

  “He thinks it was an inside job.” Trent stood and walked over to the window. He could see the yard off to his right. All his guys were out on jobs at the moment, so it was empty. In a few hours, it would be bustling with activity as everyone returned from their respective jobs. “Everyone’s a suspect at this point and I hate that I feel I can’t trust anyone, not even Trinity.”

  “Do you think she’d do something like this?” Paul asked, completely serious.

  “I don’t know. I wouldn’t think so. But then again, I wouldn’t think any of my employees would.”

  “Don’t you have cameras?”

  “One. But it didn’t get anything. I’ve put up some new ones and I’m the only one who knows they’re there,” Trent said. “A recommendation from Detective Travers.”

  “That’s a good start. I’ll e-mail you a few other things I’d recommend you do. But most importantly, you need to watch and listen. More often than not, the criminal will give themselves away. They’ll do something or say something that doesn’t fit with what they should know or do. It’s their tell. You just have to be looking for it.”

  The brothers talked for another minute or two before Paul had to go. Trent appreciated his brother’s advice, both regarding the theft and Abby.

  Thinking about Abby made Trent want to hear her voice. He didn’t stop to think before dialing her number. Then again, how much had he really stopped to think about in regards to her since he saw her sitting in the sun that morning outside her office?

  “Hey.” Her sweet voice whispered through the phone. His heart skipped a beat. He was beyond hope if all she had to do was say hey and it had him wanting to drop everything and rush home to her.

  Chapter 17

  Abby’s heart started racing when she saw Trent’s number come across her phone. Max was in his office on a call, but he could come out at any moment, so she tried to keep her voice down.

  “I hope I didn’t call at a bad time.”

  “You didn’t, but could you hang on a sec?”

  He hesitated. “Sure.”

  She glanced into Max’s office to confirm he was still engaged in his conversation. He didn’t look as if he’d be finishing up anytime soon. That was good since she’d wanted to talk to Trent all day. The way she missed him when he wasn’t with her should probably concern her.

  With one last look over her shoulder, Abby hightailed it into the conference room where she could have some privacy. She shut the door behind her and released a sigh. As much as she loved Max, he was driving her nuts with his hovering.

  “Abby? Is something wrong?”

  She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her. “No. I just didn’t want to talk out at my desk.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “I am. It’s been a little crazy today with a lot of people coming and going. I didn’t want us to be interrupted.” That wasn’t a lie. There had been a lot of people in and out today, but that wasn’t the real reason she’d wanted to take the call in the conference room. What she was really worried about was Max overhearing something and misinterpreting it.

  “I didn’t mean to bother you, if you’re busy.”

  “It’s fine. Really. If someone comes up to talk to Max, they can wait. He’s supposed to be at lunch anyway, but it got canceled at the last minute.” Abby pulled out one of the big chairs and took a seat. “How’s your day going?”

  “Not bad, so far. Of course, it would be going much better if we both would’ve blown off work and stayed in bed all day.” He’d lowered his voice and it reminded her of the way he’d hummed in her ear as he’d slowly washed her body earlier that morning in the shower.

  Abby felt her cheeks heat as she remembered everything they’d done a few hours earlier.

  “You’re blushing, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Yes. You can’t say things like that to me while I’m at work.” She fanned herself with one hand, trying to get the coloring in her face to go away.

  He laughed. “I love it when you blush, baby.”

  Whenever he called her baby, her belly did a little flip. If he kept up the flirting, she was never going to recover.

  Abby knew she needed to change the direction of their conversation. “What all did you do today?” And before he could answer she added, “And don’t say think of me.”

  Trent chuckled. “You know me too well.”

  Abby grinned. She did know him well. Even though they’d been apart for more than a decade, he was still the same amazing guy he’d always been. “I do. So don’t give me a line, because I’ll know.”

  He sobered. “It’s never just been a line with you, Abby. I hope you know that.”

  “I do.” That was the problem. If he was just giving her a line, she could pretend the feelings she was experiencing regarding him weren’t real.

  “Good,” he said, and she could tell he was smiling again. “And to answer your question, it’s been a fairly boring day up until about a half hour ago.”

  “What happened a half hour ago?”

  He told her about Trinity coming into his office, and then about his phone call with his brother. She knew it would happen. The Daniels family was close like that. Seeing it happen and having her be the one on the opposite side of things, however, was an entirely different matter.

  “Maybe us seeing each other isn’t such a good idea,” she said, even though she felt her heart breaking just thinking about it.

  “Don’t talk like that. Emotions are running high right now. Give everyone a couple of days to digest everything and I’m sure it will figure itself out.”

  “What if it doesn’t?”

  “It will.”

  Abby grinned. “Always so confident.”

  “In this I am.”

  “Why?” she asked. “You can’t tell me that you have a shortage of women knocking down your door, Trent Daniels. I know better.”

  “Jealous?” She could imagine him waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

  Abby rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying that I’m not the only fish in the sea.”

  “You are as far as I’m concerned.” His tone was matter-of-fact.

  How could he be so sure? They’d only spent one night together. Well, two nights if you counted him holding her in his arms the night before as she’d cried herself to sleep.

  “Does that scare you?” he asked.

  “A little.” Not as much as it probably should have. “There are so many things—”

  “We’ll figure them out.”

  There was no use arguing with him. “And your family?”

  “They want me to be happy.”

  Abby knew the rest without him having to say it. She’d seen it in his eyes the night before, felt it in ev
ery touch of his hands, every brush of his lips against her skin. Trent might like to flirt, but he was being dead serious. She was who he wanted and he would move heaven and earth to make it happen.

  Her history with his brother was a huge stumbling block, as was the fact that she didn’t technically live or work in Ohio. Her life, her career, was in New York.

  “Abby?”

  She blinked and cleared her throat. “Sorry.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “Just thinking about all the things I have to do to this afternoon. I should get back. Max is probably off the phone by now.” She hated to lie to him, but there was no reason to beat a dead horse. They’d talked about all this before.

  “Okay. I’ll see you tonight. Did you want to go out, or would you rather stay in?” he asked.

  As tempting as staying locked inside her apartment was, she needed a change of scenery. “I think I’d like to get out of the house, if you don’t mind.”

  “I’ll pick you up at six thirty. Be ready.”

  The way he said it made her laugh. “I will.”

  Almost as soon as she’d disconnected the call, the conference room door swung open and Max barged in. “There you are.”

  She held up her cell.

  A scowl crossed his face. “I guess I don’t need to ask who it was.”

  She stood and made her way toward the door. Instead of answering him, she asked a question of her own. “Were you able to find out anything?”

  He knew she was referring to the call he’d been on for the last hour and a half. “Yes. We’ve narrowed things down to the who. Now all we have to do is figure out the why.”

  “Emily?” Abby asked, referring to Max’s father’s personal assistant. Make that former personal assistant. She had made a mess of everything else. Why not this as well?

  “Yes.” Max ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I’m still trying to understand why Dad gave her so much control when she clearly had no clue what she was doing.”

  Abby shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t think he had a choice.”

  “He could have called me.”

  “Sometimes it’s hard to admit when you need help. Especially to the ones you love.”