by Nan Dixon
“I knew it was you.” Josh frowned.
“You can’t just open the door. It’s not safe.” Kaden moved the chair back to the table, finally noticing Courtney. “Oh.”
Oh? That’s all she got? She started to flip back her hair, let him see what he kept ignoring, but when they’d started to work on the flowers, she’d pulled it back into a messy bun. Not a good look for her. She tugged the binder out of her hair, hoping it didn’t look like a rat’s nest.
Kaden asked, “Is Nathan here?”
“He’s at a meeting,” she said.
Issy sidled up to Courtney’s legs and wrapped her arms around them.
She patted the little girl’s head. “Is there something you needed?” she asked Kaden.
“Nathan wanted my opinion on...something.” His eyes slid sideways.
The man just lied to her. “Ahhh. Something. Well, he’ll be back after nine.”
Josh tugged on Kaden’s hand. “Let’s play Quarto.”
“I...”
“Come on,” Josh said. “You promised that the next time you came over, you’d play with me.”
“But Courtney’s here.” Kaden backed up.
“We’ll play her and Issy.” Josh tugged harder. “We’ll win this time. Men against the girls.”
“Women,” Courtney amended. Picking up Issy, she whispered, “Maybe Mr. Kaden’s afraid he’ll lose to smart women.”
A smile flashed across Kaden’s face. “And maybe the guys will win.”
Josh ran to his room and came back with the battered game box. He’d set out half the pieces by the time Issy and Courtney sat on the living room floor.
“We’ll start.” Josh grabbed a piece.
“No. We’ll make this fair. Like when my granddad and I play chess.” Kaden took a dark piece and a light piece and mixed them behind his back. Then he thrust his closed hands toward Issy. “Choose.”
Issy pointed at his right hand.
“Light. Ladies will hand us a piece first.”
“Fine.” Josh slouched onto the sofa.
Courtney let Issy pick the first piece. Strategy didn’t matter at the start.
How she wished she’d worn her blue sundress. It made her eyes pop. She hated Kaden seeing her in shorts and a T-shirt. She’d just thought these clothes would be easier with the kids.
She’d showered before coming here, and hadn’t bothered reapplying her makeup. Now she wanted to grab her purse and head to the bathroom to put on her armor. A little makeup would give her the boost she needed to deal with Kaden.
She touched her forehead. Oh, Lord. Furrows. She was creating furrows!
Josh set their first piece on the board and then he and Kaden selected the next one for them. Issy held it above the board, hovering over each spot until they both agreed on the placement.
As they played, Kaden studied the board, chatted with Josh, talked to Issy, but didn’t talk to or even look Courtney in the eyes.
Was this part of her seven years of bad luck? Her attractiveness was gone?
Issy stared at her, concern filling her mocha-coffee eyes. “Okay?”
“I’m good.” Issy was so sensitive. Courtney squeezed the little girl in a hug. “Don’t worry.”
Kaden finally locked his icy blue gaze on her. It was like falling into a Swiss mountain lake.
“Miss Courtney, we need a piece.” Josh’s impatience dragged her up from drowning in Kaden’s stare.
“Umm, sure.” She surveyed the board and found the path to another win.
Issy picked up the correct piece. Wonderful. She flashed a grin at Josh and Kaden. With the pieces remaining, she and Issy were assured a victory.
Kaden frowned, studying the board. His mouth dropped open. “Not again.”
Standing and twirling Issy, Courtney sang, “We are the champions. We are the champions.”
“Champion, champion.” Issy sang with her.
“No.” Josh knocked the board.
“Don’t be a sore loser.” Kaden grimaced.
“I want to play again.” A pout filled Josh’s voice.
Courtney checked the time. “You’ll have to play with Mr. Kaden. Issy needs her bath.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Maybe I’ll finally win.”
Kaden pulled the pieces off the board. “Not if I can help it. I need to figure out why we keep losing.”
“Because we’re smarter,” Courtney whispered to Issy as they headed to the bathroom.
She relaxed while helping Issy. Then she helped Josh start his shower while Kaden read to Issy. It was nice to hear his deep voice as she picked up dirty clothes and turned down their bunk beds, but why was he still here? They certainly weren’t friends.
Her heart ached a little. Sometimes even when she’d been with her friends in Boston, she’d felt so alone. In Savannah, she was even more isolated. Her best friends were six and four.
Josh finished his shower and she supervised his teeth brushing.
“Bedtime,” she said.
“I want to play another game,” Josh whined.
“Sorry. Another time.” Courtney called, “Issy. Bedtime.”
Kaden carried Issy into the bedroom. “Which one is yours?”
Issy pointed at the lower bunk. It had a bright pink comforter. He settled her onto the pillow like she was a priceless vase.
“Night, kids,” Kaden said as he left the room.
“Story?” Issy asked.
“Story, please.” Josh scrambled up the built-in stairs to his bunk. “My papa makes them up, ’cuz he has trouble reading. You can, too.”
Trouble reading? Right. Cheryl had said Nathan was going to a dyslexia meeting.
“Okay.” Courtney shut off the lamp next to the bed and the soft glow of the night-light filled the room. She sat on Issy’s bed. What could she tell them?
“Once upon a time there was a beautiful young girl named—Becca. Everyone thought her life was perfect, but it wasn’t. Her friends were jealous of her beauty and the fact that she lived in a mansion. They only pretended to like her so they could play with her toys.”
“Yuck.” Josh blew a raspberry. “I want a story with boys in it.”
“Just wait.” Courtney brushed back Issy’s hair. “There was a...a lake on the mansion’s property that Becca liked to look at, even though she wasn’t supposed to get dirty.”
“Does she fall in the water and a boy saves her?” Josh asked.
“Becca knows how to swim and can save herself.” Courtney tried to shape a story that would blow away the stereotypes that had hurt her growing up. “One day, she was lonely and sad. Her best friend told another friend that Becca was stuck up. That she only played with Becca because she had all the American Girl dolls.”
“Dolls are stupid,” Josh snorted.
“No, they’re not,” Courtney said. “Dolls are toys just like your Star Wars figurines.”
Josh didn’t come back with another comment.
Courtney took a breath. “The words hurt Becca. She told her mother, but her mother was planning a party. Her brother was playing baseball, so of course her father watched him. And they didn’t invite her to come to the game. Girls in her family didn’t go to baseball games.” She swallowed. “Becca didn’t want to watch a bunch of boys play baseball, anyway.”
“I like baseball. My papa plays with me and Issy.”
“You’re lucky.” Why couldn’t her father have been more like Nathan?
“No one in the house wanted to talk or play with Becca. None of her friends could come over. Becca decided to sit under the willow tree next to the lake. It was her quiet spot. She liked to read books there, but she was feeling so sad, she didn’t bring a book.”
“I love stories.” Issy
stroked Courtney’s hand.
“I do, too.” Courtney held Issy’s hand. “But Becca wasn’t alone. There was a boy fishing from her favorite thinking spot. And he had a dog with him. She wasn’t allowed to have a pet.”
“I like to fish,” Josh mumbled. “And Issy and I get a puppy.”
“Puppy.” Issy nodded.
Courtney tucked the sheet up to Issy’s chin. “Becca told the boy he couldn’t be on the property.”
“She’s mean.” Josh rolled over and looked down to the bottom bunk.
“It’s all she knows,” Courtney said. “The boy, James, introduced Becca to the puppy. The dog’s name was...Theo.”
“Weird name,” Josh mumbled.
“It’s short for Theodore.” What should happen next? “Becca knew no one was supposed to be on the grounds, but the boy asked her to fish with him. She wasn’t supposed to get dirty, but James was having fun. And the dog licked her face.”
“Fishing’s fun.” Josh’s voice grew softer. “I catch big fish.”
“James showed Becca how to thread a worm on the hook. She didn’t like doing it, but if she wanted to fish, she had to bait her own hook.”
“Worms,” Issy sang, her eyes shut.
Courtney lowered her voice. “They spent the morning fishing and Becca caught her first fish. James showed her how to reel the fish in, but she pulled the fish out of the water on her own. She was very proud of herself.”
“Do they eat it?” Josh yawned. “I ate the first fish I caught.”
So did her brother after Father showed him how to fish from the small lake on the estate. She’d sat alone on the grass, watching Father and Gray laugh.
Courtney stood. Stretching to the top bunk, she touched Josh’s cheek. “No, they threw it back.”
“Too bad.” His words slurred as his eyes closed.
“Night,” she whispered.
“Tell us more tomorrow,” Josh muttered.
“Sure.” She backed away from the bed. What kind of adventures could her two make-believe children get into?
Turning, she jolted. Kaden leaned against the wall.
She’d forgotten about him. Her exhale was a little shaky. She should have read a book and not made up such a silly story.
Kaden walked down the hall ahead of her.
“I thought you left,” she whispered.
“I wanted to make sure you locked up behind me.” He headed into the kitchen.
Her eyes dropped down to his butt. Nice. She’d never really admired a man’s butt before. But there was something about Kaden. And it wasn’t just that she wanted him to notice her.
He turned and caught her staring. He raised an eyebrow. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Great.
“Will you be taking care of the kids often?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I volunteered to help tonight.”
He nodded, but lines deepened around his mouth.
“Why?” She clenched her fingers to keep from reaching out and smoothing away his worry lines.
“Nathan’s planning on installing a new security door, but right now, anyone could break into the carriage house through the side door.”
“Okay.” What was with Kaden and locked doors? His face was so serious. His concern was over-the-top.
He tapped the wooden door. “Make sure this is locked.”
“Got it.” She crossed her arms and waited for him to leave.
Kaden stared into her eyes and the room shrank. She caught a whiff of a clean pine scent and inhaled. Aftershave? He didn’t strike her as a man who wore cologne.
“Were you the little girl?” His voice was a deep caress.
“What?”
He swept a wisp of hair off her face. “Were you that unhappy girl?”
She didn’t want to talk. Didn’t want to move. She wanted him to touch her. “I—I was making up a story for the kids.”
“Right.” He tucked a curl back behind her ear, and a single finger stroked her cheek. His blue eyes locked on hers as he brushed her lower lip with his thumb. “I’m so sorry.”
Her breath stuck in her chest. Tingles zipped from her lip straight to her core. Finally, Kaden was going to kiss her. She’d prove she hadn’t lost everything.
His eyes weren’t glacial anymore. But there wasn’t only heat in his eyes. They were filled with pity.
Pity. Not lust. No way.
She was Courtney Smythe of the Boston Smythes. Her father and brother wielded power like gods. This handyman, with no real power, acted just like them. Like if he spoke, minions would scurry to do his bidding.
Courtney had held the same kind of power in Boston, but here? Here, she was nothing.
He cupped her cheek. Was he going to give her a pity kiss? No way.
She pulled away from the attraction tugging her closer. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I had a wonderful childhood,” she lied.
“Right.” He took a step backward and tapped the door with his knuckles. “Lock this.”
He was through the door before she could insist her childhood was happy. She’d had everything. Well, not a pet. Or her father’s attention. Or her mother’s support.
But everyone wanted to be her. Everyone.
Just not her.
CHAPTER SIX
KADEN SHOULDN’T HAVE touched Courtney last night. Shouldn’t have stroked her soft skin. Hell, if she hadn’t stepped away, he’d have kissed her.
He wiped the end table he’d sanded, and then spread on some stain. A table Courtney had ruined. Shouldn’t that thought dull this...lust building inside him?
Not happening. Last night while Courtney had told her story to the kids, she hadn’t worn her entitled-heiress facade. Her words had oozed with loneliness and pain. Who was she? The lonely girl or the woman who expected men to worship at her feet?
The desolate tone in her voice had cracked his heart. But he was still here to do a job, not Courtney Smythe.
He’d known her kind of loneliness. As good as Granddad had been, when Kaden had first arrived in Tybee, he’d mourned his brother and parents and the only life he’d known. And he’d blamed himself for his brother’s death. The guilt had driven him to avoid other kids, fearing he might hurt them, too.
Granddad had forced him to play sports, and participate in school activities. But Kaden had always kept himself just a little separate. That way he wouldn’t fail another kid like he’d failed Kaleb.
After finishing the staining, he called Roger and caught up.
“There weren’t any hits on the pictures you sent,” Roger said. “And the meth supply chain is back up and running.”
“That’s not good. Any word on Bole?” Kaden asked.
“Marty from the task force was over in Vidalia, checking out a lead. He swears he caught sight of her in a bar. When he tried to get to her, she vanished.”
Vidalia. Around eighty miles from Savannah. “She’s close. It’s like they’re circling the area.”
“We’re hearing rumblings that Bole is consolidating her power. Now that things are calming down, she might take her daughter back.”
“I’m ready for her.”
“Any sightings?” Roger asked.
“No. But the cameras are all operational.” He needed to delete the Courtney alerts, but whenever he started to...he stopped. He liked knowing where she was. “If Bole shows up, I’ll catch her.”
“Any concerns?” Roger asked.
“Issy’s day care security isn’t as tight as I would like it.”
“Then figure out how to tighten it up,” Roger barked. “If we lose Issy, we lose Bole.”
“I’ll try.” But he didn’t have any idea how to keep Issy safe at the day care center.
Roge
r said, “Stay vigilant.”
That was a good reminder. It was easy to be lulled by Fitzgerald hospitality. He was losing his edge. Abby or Cheryl kept him fed. His bed was almost too comfortable. He’d caught up on sleep down here. And Granddad was healing. He’d even started to feel sorry for the poor little rich girl, Courtney. He headed up the stairs to the main floor. Time to see what else was on the to-do list.
People were talking in the kitchen. He stopped to ID the voices. Abby and Marion. Then he pushed through the swinging door.
“Hey, Kaden.” Marion smiled at him, but she looked weary. “How’s it going?”
“Not bad. The end table should be ready in another day.”
“Good. Good.” Marion looked at Abby. “I added more repairs to your list.”
“I’ll get to it.” He decided to pour a cup of coffee before grabbing the work slips that seemed to have multiplied in his granddad’s box.
“That girl is not cut out for this work,” Marion said to Abby. “She knocked a heavy picture frame off the wall. Broke the glass and frame. Picture’s fine.”
They had to be talking about Courtney. Every day, he had to repair, fix or touch up something that Courtney seemed to be responsible for ruining.
Abby rubbed her temple. “Gray wants her to work.”
“She’s eatin’ up your profit.”
“Maybe she’s good at something else.” Abby sighed.
“Gift shop?” Marion suggested.
“There isn’t enough traffic to warrant paying a person to sit in the shop.” Abby tapped the table.
“And I wouldn’t put her in charge of money,” Marion said. “She might know how to spend it, but I don’t think she has a clue what all her mishaps and thoughtlessness are doing to you.”
Kaden shouldn’t eavesdrop. He grabbed the pile of slips. Sure enough, the top slip said he was to grab a picture out of the second-floor maid’s closet for repair.
“I don’t know where I can put her.” Abby held her head.
Was Kaden the only person who recognized Courtney should be working with kids? Hadn’t Abby noticed the way she was with Issy and Josh at the meals they’d shared?
He inhaled. That was the answer. Have Josh and Isabella stay on site with Courtney. Then he’d be able to keep his eye on everyone. His security would alert him if Heather or her new partner showed up.