“As much as I would like to play around some more, I’m leaving,” she said.
He kissed her neck, her cheek, her lips. But Kelsey stood her ground. She couldn’t believe that she was suddenly going to fall back into romantic euphoria with Jarred. That was too dangerous, too soon.
Reading her stoicism, Jarred sighed. “Oh, Kelsey,” he said with real suffering. “You’re going to kill me.”
“Later,” she told him.
“I’ll be here
“This is Jarred Bryant,” he said crisply into the phone. “Tell Neil I’d like to talk to him. I’m sure he’s heard all about the accident, but I’m getting back to work and I’d like to straighten some things out that were unfinished.”
The female voice on the other end of the phone assured him that Neil Brunswick would call him soon.
“Let me give you my home phone number.” Jarred recited the numbers, then hung up the receiver. Rain pounded the windows behind him. Miserable day.
He’d spent a few hours under Joanna’s careful ministrations, working muscles and making plans. Time to get back to work. Watching Kelsey leave while he was forced to stay behind was more than he could bear.
After Joanna left and he still found himself with time on his hands, he’d gone through copies of the papers Will and Sarah and Nola had brought by and asked him to sign. He’d done so with hardly a second glance. They all thought that he couldn’t remember and that he was their puppet, but he’d known about each and every unfinished deal. And he’d known why they’d remained unfinished until now.
The Brunswick property, for instance. Trevor Taggart’s “coup.”
There was a lot more going on there than anyone knew, and he liked keeping it that way for now.
The rest of the day passed excruciatingly slowly. He thought he might go crazy if he actually had to spend one more day here with only himself and a cat and a dog for company. Even Joanna’s boot camp physical therapy was preferable to twiddling his thumbs. He would have to get back to work soon, or he would go quietly out of his mind.
Kelsey came home promptly at seven. The garage door hummed upward and Mr. Dog barked and raced down the stairs. Thank God! Jarred stood at the top of the stairs and tested his ankle. He could make it down if he tried. He wasn’t as weak as yesterday, not by a long shot.
Because you slept with your wife.
It was the most ridiculous thought, and the most true.
Listening to her footsteps crossing the kitchen floor, he limped and hopped his way back inside his room, stripped off every stitch of clothing, grabbed a fresh rose from the flowers in the vase on the gallery table, stuck the stem in his teeth, limped back out to the upper landing without the benefit of the crutches, and struck a pose like Michelangelo’s David at the top of the stairs.
Moments later Mary Hennessy walked into view and stared up at her employer.
Kelsey doubled over with laughter. Tears filled her eyes and she couldn’t speak. Jarred, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, sat on the sofa in his bedroom suite and blandly ignored her fit of hysteria. “She said, ‘I thought I forgot to turn the oven on. I’ll be on my way now.’”
This cracked Kelsey up all the more. “Oh, my God!” she said, swiping tears of hilarity from the corners of her eyes.
“Yes, well…”
“I wish I could have been a fly on the wall. Are you sure she’s going to come back?”
“Not completely,” he admitted, sending Kelsey into new fits of laughter.
With more love than she’d thought possible, she crossed the room and slipped down next to him on the couch. “I forgot what you could be like,” she said softly. “I never realized until the accident how much I’ve missed you.”
Her admission touched him. He pulled her close, not wanting even the smallest space between them. “I’ve been giving the accident a lot of thought. Turning it over in my mind. The crux of it is, I don’t know why I was with Chance. It doesn’t make sense.”
“You still don’t remember anything about the accident?”
Jarred shook his head in frustration. “I had a dream about him. I’ve been trying to remember, but it’s not there. He looked like hell, though. Scared and upset. We were in my office,” Jarred suddenly recalled.
“In your office? In the dream?”
He nodded. “But it seemed more like reality.”
“Chance looked terrible the night he came to see me,” Kelsey said.
“Skinny. Jittery. Unclean…?”
“Well, yes,” she said, hating to talk badly about Chance. “He broke down and cried.”
“Do you think he was on something?”
“He was always on something,” Kelsey admitted with a sigh.
Jarred drew her close and talked into her hair. “Why would I invite him on the plane? I never even liked him. I always thought he was your lover.”
“I told you he was a family friend.”
“I know… now ” Jarred struggled to make her believe something that he was just beginning to believe himself. “But for a long time I thought you were sleeping with him.”
“Do you mean during our marriage?” Kelsey was affronted. “You thought I was sleeping with someone else?”
“You thought I was sleeping with someone else,” Jarred pointed out reasonably.
“Well, yes, but that was different. Sarah was always with you. I hardly saw Chance.”
Jarred inhaled deeply, weighing his words, wondering if this was the right time to bring up something he now wished he’d never believed. “I know the truth now.”
“But you didn’t then?”
“No.”
“Why did you mistrust me?” Kelsey had never done anything the least bit suspicious or nefarious during the length of their marriage, and it bothered her that he thought she had.
Inhaling a deep breath, Jarred took the plunge. “Sarah told me she saw you coming out of his apartment the morning of our wedding. She said you’d slept with him.”
Kelsey’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious.”
“And then I confronted Chance with it, and he said it was true.”
“What? No. Chance wouldn’t lie like that!”
“I’m just telling you what he said. I believed him.”
“Oh, Jarred.” Kelsey melted against the cushions, shocked and unhappy and recognizing things for what they really were in a new and awful way. “He didn’t want me to marry you,” she realized, “even though he wished me well. He didn’t want me to marry you. I did go see him that morning—the morning of the wedding— but it was just to say good-bye. He wished me the best. He did.” Moments later, she muttered, “Sarah! She pretended she was Chance’s friend, but she was always stirring up trouble. And she ran right back to you with that information, just hoping you’d call off the wedding!” Kelsey could scarcely credit it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I believed her.”
With a bolt of realization, Kelsey saw those first years of her marriage for what they were. “That’s why you became so distant.”
“I remember you pulling away from me,” Jarred said, “and that was when things started to go bad.”
“No.” She stopped him. “You’ve got that backward. I pulled away from you because you were cold and uncaring.”
“Only because I believed—I was told!—that you loved Chance.”
“No, that’s not it. That’s not it.”
“Kelsey…”
“You didn’t want the baby!” she burst out, the words popping past her lips without her brain’s consent.
A huge silence settled between them. Kelsey tensed. It was shocking, how easily these truths were coming out when for years—for years!—she’d held them all behind a wall of hurt.
In a voice full of reluctance, for he knew this was going to hurt, Jarred corrected softly, “I didn’t want Chance’s baby.”
Kelsey flinched as if he’d struck her. The message drove into her heart like a dagger. How co
uld he have believed it of her? Even now, she couldn’t reconcile it. She tried to pull away but he held her close.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered against her hair. “And for these reasons, I’m almost glad the accident happened. It gave us a second chance.”
A second chance. Kelsey could scarcely grasp the meaning. A second chance. She wanted it desperately. But was it really possible? “The accident wasn’t an accident,” she said, drawing the conversation away from these painful embers of truth. “Someone tampered with the plane. I’m scared that this is all coming too late. What if something else happens?”
“It won’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because we’re on the same side now,” he said urgently. “We won’t let it. Whatever happened, it involved Chance Rowden. I’m sorry he’s dead. But maybe whatever set up that plane crash died with him. The only issues we’ve got left are within Bryant Industries, and as soon as I’m able, I’m going to get to the bottom of everything.”
She almost believed him. Touching her cheek, Jarred turned her head so she could look directly into his serious blue eyes. Kelsey gazed at him long and hard, loving him, wanting back what they’d so very nearly lost for all time.
“You’re certain?” she asked, needing to hear the words even if they were a lie.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” he assured her. “Nothing, and no one, can hurt us now.”
The last ferry to Vancouver Island ran at midnight. It was his ticket out. His way to safety. His means of escape.
He rubbed his face. He’d been going strong for three days and three nights, running on empty, a wild meth trip that would end in about the same amount of time in a near coma of complete exhaustion. The price one paid… the price one paid. But he’d been fooled by them once and he wasn’t going to let it happen again. They didn’t give up. They kept coming.
He’d have to leave his car behind. It wasn’t his anyway. It was Chance’s. But he couldn’t take it to Canada. Theywould trace him.
Chewing on his thumbnail, he dug in one pocket and came up with forty-two dollars and some change. Enough to get to Canada. But then what?
She should have been there when he called. She could help. She would help. Chance had said so.
A catch in this throat. A sob. Chance was gone forever and it was his fault.
A whistle shrilled loudly into the cold air. He shivered, started, scurried toward the ticket booth. No problem going over without a car. Get on board. A long, long line. Anger surged through him, heating his blood, pushing out remorse. Damn them. Damn the world. It wasn’t his fault. The bastards.
He shuffled forward, one foot in front of the other. Gritted teeth. Hot, hot anger and a beating pulse at his temple. Would his head explode? He pressed the heels of his palms against the sides of his head, holding in a wail of repressed fury and hopelessness.
A cold hand on his shoulder.
He whipped around, and his fists came up like a boxer’s. He blinked. A woman.
“Whadre you doin’ here?” he slurred. Running a tongue over his dry lips, he tried again. “Good God. You lookin’ for me?”
She was as cold as an arctic front. “I know what you did.”
“Whad I do? Whad I do?” he screamed.
“You killed Chance Rowden and you damn near killed Jarred Bryant.”
“Chance was a mistake! A mistake!” He started crying in earnest now. People turned, stared, felt revulsion. The woman drew him to one side.
“Where do you think you’re going to go?” she hissed in his ear. “Canada? Not far enough, you stupid ass.”
“It’s not fair. He shoulda died. It was his plane. Chance wasn’t supposed to be on that plane. What was Chance doin’ on that plane? It was Bryant’s plane!” He choked and sobbed and struck out at the crisp night air with flailing fists.
“So you were trying to kill Jarred Bryant.”
“He’s a fucking bastard. Everybody knows it. Chance wanted him gone.” He swiped an arm across his runny nose.
“Why?”
“‘Cause of his wife. Chance loved Bryant’s wife.”
“No! Why were you trying to kill Jarred? Pay attention!” She shook him for all he was worth till his teeth and head rattled as if filled with loose change.
“He saw us, okay? He confronted us at the house, right in the middle of it and saw all the stuff all over the place. He knows.”
“When did he see this?” she demanded. “When?”
He gazed at her through narrowed lids. She was better off than he was, but she was using, all right. He’d known about her. She was crafty, but he was smarter. For a moment he felt smug. “Before the accident. Sometime.”
“When?” She shook him again and his knees buckled. Clutching her arm, he thought of shoving his fist into her face until it caved inward. His head whirled. It hurt to think. “How much time did he have?” she was shrieking at him. “Did he tell anyone? Did he?”
“You’re afraid of him.”
“You should have killed him! You killed your best friend, and Jarred Bryant survived!”
“But he can’t remember! He can’t!”
“Shut up! I have to think!” For a moment, she crumpled, pressing her fingers to her eyes, shuddering all over. “You’ve turned a radiation leak into a nuclear explosion. You’re lucky to be alive.”
The black car. They were in the black car. She’d sent for them!
Nearly choking with fear, he stumbled away from her. Away from the line. Away from everything. He ran and ran until sweat poured off his back and spittle flew from a mouth that hung open and gasped for air.
She watched him tear away, zigzagging like a drunken sailor. She was really messed up. She could feel it. Paranoia fueled her. She’d been scared straight for weeks, but tonight she’d lost control and fed her addiction. She’d gone to see him and found him backing Chance’s car out of his dilapidated garage, so she’d followed him. Fear kept her mind in focus all the way to the ferry terminal in Anacortes.
The fool thought he’d be safe in Canada, but if Jarred Bryant started remembering there would be nowhere on earth safe enough for their sorry souls.
Nothing had gone right. Nothing. Not from the very beginning, and it just wasn’t fair!
She had to think. If Jarred knew about Chance, he would eventually learn about her. Maybe he already knew and was either unable to remember or was keeping his mouth shut until the time was right, She knew Jarred. He wouldn’t stop until he got to the truth. The police didn’t worry her. Maybe they could catch that fleeing moron but they wouldn’t link her to anything.
Could they?
Her teeth chattered as-her mind skipped and jumped and reversed. Painful. But it was Jarred Bryant who would do the most damage. He would want to know everything. Everything!
She was going to have to stop him.
And she knew just the kind of people to help her.
Chapter Nine
“Could I talk to you?”
Looking up from her desk, Kelsey was surprised to see Will entering “their” office. His grim expression did not bode well, and for a wild moment, she wondered if he knew what Gwen had said about him. “What is it?” she asked.
“Nola’s on line one for you.”
“Oh!” She half laughed, then grimaced involuntarily. Of all the things she could have done to endear herself to Will, this, apparently, was the best. His lips twitched in shared understanding. “We’re going there tonight,” Kelsey told him. “Apparently she talked to Jarred into it even though he’s barely mobile. He let me know a while ago.”
“I know. It’s a command performance for all of us.”
“Really.” Kelsey was surprised.
“Jarred conned her into asking me, I’m sure. He wouldn’t go unless I was invited.”
Not knowing quite what to say, Kelsey murmured, “I see,” as she punched the button for line one. Will mouthed, “Good luck,” and disappeared out the door. Kelsey’s smile almo
st returned at this small gesture on Will’s part, but she also hadn’t forgotten Gwen’s fears about him.
“This is Kelsey,” she answered a tad briskly. Dealing with Nola was never easy.
“Hello, Kelsey. It’s Nola. How are you?”
“Fine. Just fine.”
“Did Jarred tell you I’m expecting you both by seven? I wanted to reconfirm.”
“Yes.” She hesitated. “Is Jarred certain he’s up for this? He’s not exactly in prime condition yet.”
“He said he’d be glad to get out of the house.”
It had only been three days since their first night in bed together. It was almost as if the three-year gap in their marriage hadn’t occured. Sometimes she asked herself if she was really ready for all of this. Was she? What if Jarred turned around and again became the suspicious, coldhearted autocrat whom she’d sworn to divorce?
But no. That was just her own fear talking. Jarred trusted her and loved her. He’d even said as much that one time. And if she wanted to hear it more and reassure herself— well, she was going to have to whisper those three little words right back to him, which she’d found herself unable to do just yet.
“Then we’ll see you at seven,” she told Nola lightly.
“Good. Oh, Will is going to be there, too.” Her voice grew noticeably chillier.
“And Danielle?”
“He didn’t mention her name. I got the feeling he was coming solo.”
Kelsey murmured a good-bye, hung up the phone, and stared into space. Unwillingly, she felt Gwen’s fears about Will reenter her head, and wondered if Jarred would be so ready to visit his family if he knew Gwen’s concerns over his brother. She would have liked to talk to Gwen some more, but the secretary’s migraines had been troubling her and she’d been out of the office since Tuesday.
Sarah had also missed a few days, but she’d been back with a vengeance today, lurking like an evil spirit. Anytime Kelsey had run into her she seemed to be orbiting around Will. With Jarred out of commission, she’d apparently gone to the next best thing.
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