“I’m talking about Eric. How could you agree to spy on the man?” Cara’s outrage on Eric’s behalf had her sputtering.
Katie wasn’t sure when her sister’s loyalty switched to Eric, but it had. “I didn’t know him then.”
“He was still a human being. He had a life and a reputation and a family. You walked in there, willing to ruin all that. Explain that to me.”
Cara was saying all the words running through Katie’s head. “My role seemed innocent at the time. It sounded like someone close to Eric was watching over him. I don’t know anything about politics.”
“That’s not an excuse.”
“If I had known Eric or how I would feel about him.” She shook her head. “I never expected him. He hit me out of nowhere.”
Cara’s rage deflated like a balloon. “You met him and everything changed.”
“Yes.”
Cara leaned over with her elbows on the counter. “I know what it’s like to have a man turn your life upside down.”
“I never expected it.”
“It’s exhilarating and scary as hell. When it goes wrong, damn, it’s a mess.”
Katie felt the need to defend Eric. “He’s not Bill.”
“Not even a little bit. Can you imagine what Bill would have done if I’d had something to do with endangering his reputation?” Cara dragged a tray of butterball cookies toward her and popped one into her mouth. “Awful.”
“That is the right word for Bill.”
Cara’s face squished up. “Stop fixating on him. He’s out of our lives.”
“Good riddance.”
“I just find Eric’s reaction interesting. It’s refreshing to see a man control his emotions. No yelling or hitting.”
Not for the first time, Katie wondered about her sister’s marriage. Cara insisted abuse was not an issue. When she moved back to Oahu, Katie didn’t see any physical scars but Cara’s skittishness was tough to miss. It took months, a new daughter and a divorce to rebuild her confidence. Even now, Cara isolated herself, not letting any man close enough to hurt her.
Katie reached out and covered her sister’s hand with her own. “I’m sorry.”
Cara stopped chewing. “For what?”
“Not coming back sooner. For abandoning you in the first place.”
“You were eighteen. Your job was to figure out who you were, not rescue me.”
Katie wasn’t sure she agreed.
“You must be doing something right. You found a guy who doesn’t ruffle. He takes the rough stuff and handles it.” Cara shoved the plate away from her but not before stealing one last cookie.
All those doubts came bubbling to the surface. “I guess.”
Cara’s hand stopped halfway to her mouth. “Being dependable is a good thing.”
“Is it?”
“What’s wrong with you?”
Katie started to jump up and sit on the counter but Cara’s evil eye stopped her. She settled for leaning against it. “Don’t you think he was a little too calm?”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“No.”
“You’d rather he stomp around and call you names?”
“Of course not, but you have to wonder if anything can get to him.” That’s what it boiled down to. She wanted him to feel enough passion for her that he’d be furious if he thought he was losing her or being betrayed by her. Staying even all the time led to the inevitable conclusion that he didn’t care that much.
That thought stabbed at her. In a short time, she’d come to think of Eric as hers. She’d started spinning a vision of a future together. It was silly and too soon, but she was falling for him at a rate that almost promised heartache.
“Do not do this,” Cara said.
“What?”
“You are finally finding your footing. You’re focused and here for me and Ashleigh. I know I can count on you. That’s a huge change from where we were just a few years ago.”
The comment stopped Katie’s heart. Usually, Cara judged and got frustrated. She didn’t give credit. Here, with a few throwaway words, she’d said exactly what Katie needed to hear. Through all the struggles and wrong turns, Katie had learned something and found her way back home. “You’re family. I’d do anything for you.”
“I know.” Cara handed Katie a cookie. “And Eric could be something to you, too, but you’re thinking about pushing him away.”
“You think I want to lose him?
“Then don’t blow it.”
Katie bit back the comment she wanted to say. With her background and baggage, Cara believed Katie should be grateful a man like Eric would even look her way for more than sex. She never said it but didn’t have to. The thought bounced around in Katie’s head, too.
“I’m trying not to, but I also want to be realistic.”
“There’s a term for it: self-destructive.” Cara pressed a cookie between her fingers. “You think you’re not good enough for him and that’s not true.”
The surprises just kept coming. Just when Katie thought she knew what Cara was trying to say, how she felt about the situation, she said something different. “Thank you.”
“It’s time you cut yourself a break.”
Katie knew she had to atone first. “I’m not sure I’ve earned it yet.”
“Admittedly, the wedding fiasco wasn’t a great start to your relationship with Eric.”
“Which is why I’m confused. I don’t understand why he’s so cool with this.”
“My guess? He’s not. He’s trying to solve a problem.”
“He should be furious. He should be questioning me. Hell, he should still be angry about the last admission I made. But he’s over all of it.” Her list of sins sounded so long when she spelled them out.
“That makes him a good man.”
“I’m not debating that.”
Cara stood up, her exasperation showing in every line of her body. “You are looking for trouble where none exists.”
Katie gave up because she knew Cara would never understand. “You’re probably right.”
“Listen to your big sister. Grab on to that guy and don’t let go. He’s a keeper.”
But could he ever love her? That was Katie’s real question.
Chapter 20
Three hours of behind-the-scenes phone calls yesterday afternoon and no success. The paper ran with the story. Rather than push people around and risk an even worse situation, Eric went with a public “no comment” and let Kevin do the dirty work. Not that any of it worked.
The paper sat outside his front door. Eric looked up from his seat at the breakfast bar and contemplated ending the pain right now by grabbing the thing and reading the article. Sure, he could deal with the allegations once he knew exactly what they were, but until then he could spend another five minutes pretending the problem didn’t exist.
In another hour the television stations would start calling. The only thing worse than anticipating the avalanche ahead was recalling his parents’ reactions the night before. His father’s walk around the block had taken about an hour. That was about something more than clearing his head. The disappointment in his mother’s tone hadn’t been much better.
Getting away from it all today would be impossible. He thought taking a few minutes to be alone in the quiet of his house might help. He’d wanted to call Katie last night and beg her to come over, but he’d refrained. She had enough to worry about. She didn’t need to take on his issues.
His only hope was that he’d be able to keep her identity secret for a few more days. Kevin had orders to make sure any talk of her being a prostitute was stopped. Eric threatened to sue over that one. It was the one step too far.
When the doorbell rang, his first thought was of her. She’d come. The idea made him smile.
Wearing a pair of lounge pants and a T-shirt, he went to the door. A look through the peephole sucked the life right out of him. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding.”
“Open up.” Josh spoke loud eno
ugh to be heard through the door.
Eric was grateful he’d bothered to put on pants before coming downstairs that morning. After unlocking, he stared at his unwanted guests. “Owning the building doesn’t mean you can show up whenever you want.”
Josh laughed. “Sure it does.”
“I was talking to Deana.”
Josh’s smile grew even bigger “I know.”
Eric gave up that battle because he knew he’d never win it. “What are you doing here?”
“I told Josh we should call first,” Deana said.
“You should listen to your wife.”
Josh scooped up the newspaper lying in front of the door and tapped it against his open hand. “Invite us in.”
“As if I could stop you.” Eric could think of a thousand things he’d rather do, but he stepped aside and motioned for them to come inside. The sooner they said whatever they wanted to say, the sooner they’d leave. That was his theory anyway.
“This is yours.” Josh smacked the paper against Eric’s chest with a thwack.
“Thanks.”
Eric grabbed it before it fell to the floor. He fought the urge to look at the headline. He was pretty sure he could guess what it said.
And why read when he could watch Josh and Deana stare at him? Her gaze was one of concern. Josh looked like he could laugh his ass off at any second.
“Yes?” Eric asked even though he didn’t want to.
“The good news is that no one thinks you’re fooling around with Deana.” Josh draped his arm around her waist in a gesture that carried a hint of possessiveness.
She must have thought so because she rolled her eyes. “That was never an issue.”
Josh shrugged. “Some folks thought so.”
Eric watched the byplay and decided Josh and Deana were perfect for each other. They might bicker but the underlying beat of respect and love thumped loudly. Eric tried to remember whether he’d ever felt such an obvious level of comfort with Deana. He had loved her and wanted to build a life with her. Despite that, he’d never lost himself in her.
To be fair, the bit of reserve ran both ways. Deana had held a piece of her life back from him. He’d discovered some damaging incidents in her past but not from her. She never shared. He had to find them on his own.
They were wrong for each other. Too much alike. Too settled. He never saw it before. He recognized it now.
“This isn’t about me,” Deana said. “It’s about Eric.”
“And Katie.” Josh pretended to cough into his fist. “I’m assuming that’s the mystery woman with the nice—”
“Josh,” Deana warned, emphasizing her feelings on the matter with an elbow to her husband’s stomach.
He cleared his throat. “Hair.”
Deana performed an impressive eyeroll that topped the first one. “Oh, please.”
Eric thought about letting them go back and forth. They didn’t seem to need him for this conversation. But since he wanted them to leave sometime this morning, he dove in. “Why are you here again?”
Deana smiled. “To help.”
“Nice of you to come over, but—” Eric turned toward the front door but he seemed to be the only one moving in that direction. “I’m fine. You can leave.”
“We’re not going anywhere.” To prove his point, Josh walked into the family room and slumped down on the couch. With an arm over the top of the cushions, he looked at home.
Eric seriously considered walking out the door even if it meant going to work in his T-shirt. “And why is that?”
Deana shifted. She might not have meant to block Eric’s path to the door, but she did. “Tell us what we can do.”
Josh raised his hand. “And making us leave is not one of the options.”
Eric gave up. He followed Josh’s lead and sat on the edge of the coffee table. From this position he could watch both of them and stand up fast if he had to. “This is a private matter between me and Katie.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Deana actually snorted. Since she was wearing probably a thousand dollars’ worth of clothes, the sound seemed out of place.
Eric had never thought of her as animated. Then he watched her sit on the armrest of his couch and dangle her fingers just low enough to touch Josh’s knee. Eric hadn’t considered her overly affectionate either but that no longer seemed to be the case. “You think it’s something else?”
“All of Oahu knows.”
She had him there. “Unfortunately, that’s true.”
“Your immediate issue is going to be money.” And the one thing Deana knew was money. She was born into it and used it to support issues close to her. “Some donors might get jittery.”
“I’m not worried about the election,” Eric said.
“I am.” Josh shifted forward. “Look, I’m not comfortable throwing money at problems, but I can’t work with that idiot Gunnery. I need you in the prosecutor position.”
“That’s comforting in an odd sort of way.”
Deana frowned at her husband. “We aren’t buying the election. We’re making sure Eric has what he needs.”
Eric wasn’t in the mood to get sucked into a debate about Deana’s privileged background. He waved a hand. “I’m sitting right here.”
“Good, because we need to mobilize.” This was classic Deana. She decided something needed to be done and went speeding along the track to do it.
“I have no idea what’s going on here,” Eric said.
Josh took over. “Kevin called us.”
The likelihood of his needing a new campaign manager was growing exponentially. Eric didn’t know how much more covert bullshit he could take. “He’s a pain in the ass.”
“Absolutely, but he’s smart enough to know you need to get ahead of this,” Josh said.
Anger flooded through Eric. He now had a new target. Before he talked to the press, he needed to yell at Kevin. Bringing in other people and running for help before coming to him made Eric furious.
He hated to ask but he did anyway. “What is ‘this” exactly?”
Deana looked at Josh before answering. “The scandal.”
“I’m dating someone, not robbing banks.”
“You think dating is the problem here?” Josh blew out a long breath. Actually looked like he felt sorry for Eric. “You poor bastard.”
“Josh, stop.” She pushed her hand harder against her husband’s leg. “Eric, this is about your judgment.”
The one thing no one ever questioned had become the main topic of discussion. Of all the things guaranteed to make Eric’s temper spike that was the worst. “Excuse me?”
“The news story will stir things up and get people questioning everything you’ve done,” Josh said.
Eric didn’t like the way that sounded. “You’re overstating this a bit, aren’t you?”
“There have been enough government scandals. My ex-boss went down fighting and pointing fingers.” Josh had been one of the targets of those claims. “He raised all sorts of questions in cases where we got legitimate drug convictions. I’ll be sorting that shit out for months.”
“What does that have to do with me other than how it impacts my office and potential appeals?” Though that was bad enough, in Eric’s view.
“Fair or not, the taint will spread to you,” Deana said.
The desire to see Katie revved up with a suddenness that stunned Eric. Maybe it was seeing Josh sit there, unable to keep his hands off his wife even if it meant just touching a finger to hers. Maybe it was all the turmoil spinning around him. Whatever the reason, Eric needed to talk this through with Katie.
“Are you two always this negative in the morning?” he asked.
Josh nodded. “Yes.”
Deana folded her hands together and sat up straighter, as if preparing for a fight. “We want to throw you a benefit.”
Eric couldn’t think of a worse idea. “No.”
“We’ll have donors there and let them see you and talk with you,” she sai
d, warming up to her subject.
“No.”
“The rumors will stop, to the extent the video doesn’t stop them, because no one will buy that Josh would be in the same room with us if we were having an affair.”
“True, but no.” Eric figured he could say anything at this point because Deana clearly wasn’t listening.
“We’ll send the message that we believe in you and plan to financially back your campaign.” She practically vibrated with excitement.
“Still no.”
“I agree it’s all bullshit. Honey, it is.” Josh balanced the line between making his point and placating Deana. “People with money like to impress other people with money. Deana has it, so let’s use it.”
Hell, no. “Should I try using another word for no?”
Deana reached a hand out toward Eric. “Let us help you.”
“No offense, but I don’t need you to rush in and rescue me.”
She let her hand drop. “You did it for me.”
“Is that what this is about?” Eric got up then. The restlessness inside him finally burst. He had to move. Had to set the record straight and get out of the saintly role Deana and Josh had made up for him. “Look, you deserved to know the truth about Ryan. That is part of why I agreed to the deal. The other reason had nothing to do with you.”
“Meaning?” Josh asked.
“People need to know how the criminal system works. I wanted to show them the final piece that proved a young, rich kid committed an awful crime.” Eric hesitated when he saw Deana flinch at his words. “Convincing people we’d convicted the right person stopped everyone but the craziest criminal fans out there from talking about conspiracies.”
The resulting silence was almost as painful as the strained look on Deana’s face. “I get it.”
“I’m sorry.” Eric said it and meant it.
She waved the sympathy off. “We’re still going to help.”
Eric realized with a punch of frustration that he wasn’t one step closer to winning this fight. “Would you consider doing it from your own house and let me finish my breakfast?”
A sudden light came into Deana’s eyes. “Is Katie here?”
“No.”
Just that fast Deana started frowning. “Why not?”
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