by Ronna Gage
Hope and anger toiled with one another through the emptiness of his heart. “I can’t do this anymore. Five days of pacing and waiting with no word is driving me crazy. Someone, somewhere, has to talk to me, dammit.” He reached for his cell phone and called the one other person Kellie was sure she could trust—her brother. The great Officer Joshua Godfrey.
On the first ring, a male voice answered the call. “Godfrey!”
Carter’s stomach rolled, dread and curiosity flooded his inner peace. What if he didn’t give him any help? “Officer Godfrey? This is Carter Banks.”
A small chuckle sounded from the man on the phone. “I wondered when you’d call.” His voice didn’t sound the least bit surprised.
“I know I’m the last person you want to speak with, but I need to know. Is Kelli all right?” Silence, except for the steady breathing over the phone line.
“Yes. She’s fine as far as I know. Which right now isn’t much, considering she’s out of town.”
Panic replaced the earlier confusion. She’s out of town. Who’s taking care of her? “When did she leave?” Carter had to take a deep breath to control the shrill from escaping from inside to interfere with his voice.
“The day after you broke up.”
The hurt in his heart almost doubled him over. He sat on the windowsill, gained composure to get more details. “When do you expect her to come home?”
“Well, Carter, that’s the thing. Now, this is her own words, mind you. She won’t be home until she’s ready to come back. Until then, we all sit and wait.”
Despair assaulted him. His fear almost choked him. “She actually left without saying a word,” he murmured softly.
“Well, you know she doesn’t…”
“—have any obligation to tell me of her whereabouts,” Carter finished for him. He tried to reconcile that very fact, but it offered little solace. “Thank you, Josh. If you hear from her, will you tell her I asked about her?”
“I will. Carter, sometimes it’s best to let her come to her senses.”
“Yeah, I’m learning that the hard way.”
He took a proactive approach to the situation. He called her cell phone, only to hear that at the customer’s request, the number was changed and unlisted. Agitated, he set out in a random direction, searching for her in all the places she’d normally hang out. Six days of waiting around, his patience grew thin. Having no results forced him to make a decision he hoped wouldn’t come.
“It’s time to call in the professionals.”
Chapter Sixteen
The one o’clock meeting scheduled with the private investigator wracked his nerves almost as much as having Kelli missing. Carter handed the information he had about her and half of the agreed upon fee to the detective. A few days later, when his anxiety level peaked beyond his realm of survival, the PI called.
“Mr. Banks, I have an update for you. When is the best time to deliver the information?”
His enthusiasm soared quietly in response to the news. He didn’t want to get his hopes up too high and face disappointment. “I’m available in one hour.”
“I will see you then.”
The phone line went silent. Carter had no idea if it was good news or bad. The detective gave no indication one way or the other. “Great, more drama.”
An hour later, Detective Walker walked through the door. Carter met him at the room’s middle and extended his hand. “So, what do you have for me?”
Detective Walker handed him a single file folder. “I believe this is what you are looking for.”
Carter opened the file folder and looked down at a piece of folded white paper. “What is it?”
“Miss Godfrey’s new phone number.”
Carter opened it. Ten digits splayed across the middle in a single row. Her supposed new number. He shoved it into his pocket. Having the information should have made him overjoyed, but he wasn’t. Things between him and Kelli were still unsettled. “Anything else?” he asked, almost choked up on the new sense of emotions.
“She’s back in town.” Carter almost did air flips in the middle of his office. “She is about to start a new job at the middle school on the west side of town in the Westgate housing development.”
“The what? The Westgate? That middle school is a few blocks down the street from my house.”
“I believe I have obtained all the goals of this case.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The investigator stood up. “If that is all, Mr. Banks.”
“Yes, hold on. I have the last half of the fee.” Carter gave him an envelope from his desk. “You did an outstanding job and kept it discreet.” He shook the man’s hand and watched him leave the office area. He then fell back into the chair, wondering what steps to take next to win at this seemingly hopeless circumstance. He stood up from the seat, and then walked to the bank of windows that overlooked the city. The rush of people below looked small, almost unbelievable. They were the everyday people coming and going about their lives while everything stood still within his. He wondered if Kelli was down below in the throng of people. Even knowing Kelli was back in town, he couldn’t contact her, not yet. He had to fix the problem he’d caused and mend the path between them first. How? He couldn’t change the fact that he lied to her. Actually, he kept the truth about his wealth from her. Still, in her eyes, he’d lied by omission. Every reason she had to be angry with him, he earned. Had he known she had other resources other than Tonya to investigate his background, he’d have made every effort to bring out the truth earlier. In addition to her brother, Josh, she had a father, an uncle, and two more brothers in law enforcement. She was bound to find out about him eventually.
He heard a sound behind him and assumed his assistant came in to leave some papers for him to sign. “Leave the papers on my desk, Kathy.” He felt her presence within the room, but she didn’t say anything to him. He looked over his shoulder. Shock coursed through his body. He turned fully around to see Kelli standing in the doorway. “Are you really here?” he softly mumbled. She didn’t say a word, but it didn’t matter. His soul rejoiced. She’s here…in my office…my beautiful Kelli. He stared at her, prayed she wasn’t a mirage, and filled his gaze with her existence. She looked thin, tanned, and tired. His heart jumped for joy.
* * * *
Kelli’s heart raced at the sight of Carter’s handsome face. She didn’t know what to say to him, but seeing him triggered emotions she didn’t want to feel. Her palms sweated, and she became lightheaded. Memories of his touch flooded her mind, her body almost begged for his tenderness on every inch. Straightening her shoulders, she pushed them away. She was on a mission. A clearing of the air, and by God, she would say what was on her mind.
“Is this a bad time?” The nervous pitch of her voice caught in her throat.
Carter shook his head and stepped around the desk. “N–no, come on in,” he stuttered. “How have you been?” he asked. With no time given for an answer, he escorted her into the small receiving area. “It’s great to see you.”
He pulled her close for a quick hug and let her go before she had a chance to object. His arms wrapped around her were like a balm to an open wound. “I’m doing well.” She braced her hands against his chest to keep him at arm’s length.
Carter stepped back and looked around the small setting of chairs and sofa. He moved aside some old, discarded newspapers on the sofa. “Please sit down.”
Once she sat on the offered seat, he cleared the take-out trays on the table. “I’m sorry about the mess, but I’ve been busy.” He took the Styrofoam trays to the trash bin. “Is there anything I can get you? Soda, coffee, tea?”
She smiled. It appeared that she wasn’t the only one nervous. “Thanks, soda is good.” She watched him round the corner of a small wet bar between the office receiving area and his desk. While he got her the drink, she looked around.
Touches of Milan came to mind when she saw the gold-trimmed mirrors, red drapes over a wooden tabl
e, and the Italian leather sofa with matching chairs. Sounds of ice clanging into a glass brought her attention back to Carter. Seconds later, he came back with an iced soda. He set the glass on the table in front of her. She picked it up, took a sip, and sighed with satisfaction at the refreshing taste. Carter sat across from her on the wingback chair. She didn’t dare look at him or say a word. She concentrated on her soda glass, trying to find the words.
“Are you all right?” he asked softly, breaking into her resolve.
Kelli’s eyes connected with his. She nodded slowly. “Yes. I was on vacation. I had to get away for a while and think.”
“Really? I stayed away, giving you and Tonya some space. She told me you hadn’t talked to her since you moved out. So, in an effort to keep peace, I transferred her to the downtown office.”
“Yeah, she told me yesterday.” She looked back at her soda glass. The change in conversation eased her mind a little, but so much still needed settling. “She and I can’t stay mad at each other for long. She is…”
“Family,” Carter finished for her.
Kelli’s eyes locked with his in a silent embrace. In that moment, they conveyed so much without speaking one word.
Carter, why didn’t you trust me? Or believe in us? She willed him to read the silent question in her eyes.
“Kelli?” He leaned forward. “Why did you leave? Why didn’t you lean on me? I will always be here to face things with you. What makes me so like Larry to make you run?”
“Carter.” Kelli set the glass on the end table next to her. “I wanted you to know that I’m not mad anymore.”
He stood up from the chair, walked to the sofa, knelt on the floor before her. “I only wanted you to like me for me, not for my money.” He cradled Kelli’s hand in his.
Lightly, she squeezed it.
“I do like you for you, Carter.” Kelli stumbled to tell him she loved him. It was too painful to say the word out loud. “To be honest, I don’t give a damn about your wealth. What I care about is that you kept the truth from me even after you knew how I felt about you. How can I trust you?” Carter rolled his eyes. The gesture set off the spark Kelli had tried to keep extinguished. She stood up. Frustration vibrated through her whole body. “Don’t you get it? So what if you have money? Having honesty between us is all that matters to me.”
Carter stood up with her. “I can fix this, Kelli. Tell me how. I will do anything.”
Looking into his face, the tears in his eyes, along with the pain in his gaze melted the last bit of resolve to hold her anger. Suddenly, forgiveness replaced her frustration. “Be my friend. I would hate to lose your friendship.”
His anger and pain changed. His voice softened. “That’s a good place to start. I’m willing to try there. At least it’s something we can build on.”
Kelli let out a soft sigh of relief. “I think we blew it in our relationship when we became lovers before we became friends.”
Disappointment etched on his features. He took a step toward her. Her nipples puckered to his closeness. Tattlers.
“How can you say that?” Carter whispered. “Making love wasn’t a mistake. It was an expression of something real in our hearts.” He took another step closer, and she almost lost her nerve to stand strong.
“Can we trust one another? Be open with one another? Can you live without shrouding yourself in secrecy?”
“Don’t you understand why I kept this secret?” Carter’s heated expression caught her off guard.
Kelli nodded slowly. “Yes. Joshua told me about Deborah, the little socialite that wanted to marry you for your money and family social circles. I’m sorry you didn’t feel you could trust me to be different.”
Carter narrowed his eyes in anger. “I could say the same to you. Couldn’t you have given me what you ask?”
The festering wound of Kelli’s broken heart bled. She and Carter would never find a way back. From the beginning, they held so much back. Is the damage too immense to mend? Tears blurred her vision. She already knew the answer to the question. Finally, she replied, defeated. “Touché.” She picked up her bag, and then walked out of the office, taking her broken heart with her.
Chapter Seventeen
Carter rounded the corner of his private office suite and almost ran into Tonya. “Hey, Tonya! How are you doing these days?” he asked.
She stopped and actually smiled at him with the same deer-in-the- headlights look she gave him when they happen to see one another. This time she did not try to tiptoe around the hallway to avoid him. “I’m good. Thank you for asking.”
Her relaxed posture increased his assurance that moving her here to the downtown office was a great choice. He nodded. One aching question befell him. “How’s Kelli?”
Tonya gave him an expression of pity. He hated that look, but she did offer a good piece of advice. “Carter, let Kelli come to you.”
“I’m trying, but I can’t get her to talk to me, to see me, nothing.” He sighed in frustration. “So much for starting a friendship.”
“Try this. I’ll call her tonight and invite her to accompany me to the awards banquet for the team.” He started to hesitate, but Tonya raised a hand to stop his protests. “I will call her brother, Josh, to come along. In a crowd, with her family, she won’t feel pressured.”
“Pressured for what? I’m not going to get corporate secrets from her.”
“Men!” Tonya rolled her eyes. “Pressured to be alone with you. Keep her off the defensive. A date setup would further add tension to the betrayal.”
“She will immediately decline because I’ll be there. I own the team, remember?”
“Yeah, I thought of that, too, but what if she thinks you are too busy to mingle with the guests? You know, Public Relations agenda interviews, press conferences, team announcements.”
Carter let the idea roam in his mind. If he could have the chance to see her, surely she’d want to spend more time with him. “I’ll give it a shot.” He gave in to the idea.
“I will make the call right now.”
Tonya’s eyes brightened. Her stance looked ecstatic. “How long have you been planning this?”
The wicked smile on her face floored him. What was she planning?
“For a little while. I had to work out all the details before I could put this into motion.”
Carter watched her saunter down the hall. She turned to look back at him.
“You coming?”
His heart soared higher than before. A large smile formed on his lips. He took long strides to catch up with her. “This better work,” he warned.
She giggled but revealed nothing.
* * * *
“Kelli? Is this a bad time?”
“Hey, Tonya. No, it’s not a bad time.” Kelli looked through a stack of papers on her desk. “Just organizing the stack of papers I have to grade tonight.”
“That’s right, you started teaching today. Yes, so how is it?” Tonya’s voice coaxed gently to give details.
“More work than I thought, but I love it. Enough about me. What’s up with you?”
“I’m inviting you and Josh to a dinner banquet this Friday night. Now, before you say no, I think you should consider it. A lot of the players and the cheerleaders have been asking about you. This is a great way to let them know you are all right.”
The knot in Kelli’s stomach grew to unimaginable lengths. Well, at least it felt that way. “How? What are they asking?”
“Nothing bad. Everyone knows that Carter owns the team and that you and he have stopped dating.”
Kelli bowed her head in disbelief. “Is this a joke? I am still the gossip topic?”
“No. Besides, you should come out for your brother, too. He’s all excited about it.”
Kelli looked up at the ceiling. How could she say no to family? “You talked to Josh?”
“Yes.”
“You know I’m not happy about this. You going behind my back to secure Josh first.”
“Kelli, I have an allowance to invite some people to dinner. I thought of you and Josh because I’m close to you guys.”
“Okay! Sorry!” Kelli felt like she put Tonya on the defensive and for what? Carter! “Is Carter going to be there?”
“Yes, he is the owner. But, don’t worry. Public Relations have him jumping through hoops these days. He’ll be too busy to speak with guests.”
“Why?”
“Well, since it broke that he signs the Rebels’ paychecks, he’s been bogged down with interviews, press conferences, parties of the social elite, and of course, every wannabe socialite hooker in the room.”
Kelli’s gut twisted with anger. She imagined rich, beautiful women pawing him like a piece of merchandise. They didn’t know how shy he could be or how loving. His last relationship proved how horrendous it was to date within his circle of friends. She imagined the sickly sweet comments they’d give to him to gain his favor, and then turn on him when the man-eating whore got her hands on him.
“Kelli? Kelli?”
“What?” she asked when Tonya’s voice registered in her thoughts.
“Can I put you down at mine and Dex’s table?”
She sighed, “God help me, but go ahead.”
“Great! I will see you and Josh Friday night.”
Kelli ended the line. She thought of Carter and the night to come. He would be in his world with people like him and women more of his caliber. Her eyes misted with tears. “Carter! I can’t see you with another woman.”