“No!” She was already too tangled up with Miles.
Patricia studied her face. “Diesel promised me that you weren’t in any physical danger from anyone. I hope that’s still true.”
“It is.” Lori nodded. “The only thing in danger is my reputation—and yours if anyone finds out you allowed me to stay here.”
“Ha,” Patricia laughed. “It seems my family’s reputation is going to be dragged through the mud no matter what—especially with Miles running for Congress. A little more dirt certainly couldn’t hurt too much.”
It was the impact on Miles’ campaign that had Lori worried the most, not that she mentioned that to his mother.
“I might not get the opportunity to say thank you,” Lori said around the tightness in her throat. “You’ve been so kind and generous to me. The only way I know to repay you is to go before anyone finds out I’m here. I wish I could do more. I really do.”
“Oh, honey, you’ve already done so much. I don’t know how I would have gotten through the last two months without your help. It’s almost as if you were born to run an inn like this.”
Lori couldn’t help smiling. “That’s because I was.”
Patricia looked at her questioningly. Lori had trusted this woman for nearly seven months now. She knew she could trust her with a snippet of the truth.
“I grew up in a place very similar to this,” Lori explained as the tightness returned to her throat. “You remind me a lot of my mom.”
“Is she . . .” Patricia didn’t finish her sentence before Lori was shaking her head.
“She’s alive and well.” Lori drew in a harsh breath. “All I can tell you is that I made a rash decision years ago and left, thinking that I wanted more for my life. I was stupid and immature. Unfortunately I looked to the wrong person to help me. And now I’m paying the price. I let my mom down. Twice. I couldn’t let you down, too. Not after all that you’ve done for me.”
The older woman’s eyes were shiny as she pulled Lori into a tight hug. “Mothers can forgive a lot of things, Lori. I’m sure she’d welcome you back.”
“It’s too late for that. I’m protecting her by staying away. Just like I’m protecting you by leaving.”
They stayed locked in an embrace for a few moments longer. “You’ll always have a home here,” Patricia said softly. Her words caused Lori’s body to wilt in sadness. She’d never have a home like this again. The choices she’d made were irrevocable. Now she had to live with the consequences. And she’d likely be living with them alone.
The sound of the screen door slamming startled both women. Bernice stormed into the kitchen, her face flushed. “Is Miles back yet?” she asked breathlessly.
Lori sensed Patricia stiffen beside her. “No. His Rotary lunch was in Wilmington, so he stayed up there to pick up Gavin at the airport. Is something wrong?”
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong.” Bernice slammed her pocketbook down on the counter and began digging through it. She pulled out her phone and checked its screen. “That little snot-nosed Coy won’t answer my calls. He thinks I’m just there to make his coffee.” She let out an indelicate snort. “I’ve known the candidate since he was in diapers.”
Lori watched as Patricia bit back a smile at Bernice calling Miles “the candidate.”
“That she-devil Tanya Sheppard called campaign headquarters looking for confirmation of an outrageous rumor,” Bernice said. “And Coy doesn’t have the decency to call me back.”
“I’m sure Coy’s just in a meeting or something, Bernice.” Patricia tried to placate the woman. “What’s the rumor?”
Bernice blanched and Lori suddenly had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Oh, Patricia, honey.” Bernice’s lip began to quiver. “She said that Miles is engaged to Greer Rossi.”
* * *
“Thanks for the ride.” Gavin reclined in the passenger seat of Miles’ Audi. “Although if I had called Faye Rich, I’d be riding in a souped-up GTO right now.”
Miles shot a glare at his brother before returning his eyes to the road. “I can still drop you off in the taxi line, smart ass.”
Gavin chuckled. “How are things in campaign land?”
Things in campaign land sucked. Miles had spent most of the day schmoozing with local business owners, discussing potential tax incentives that would promote more growth in the economy. The conversations had been stimulating and issue focused—exactly how Miles wanted to interact with potential constituents. Yet he couldn’t stop reliving his conversation with the governor earlier in the day. His gut churned at the way his former boss thought he could manipulate his campaign—not to mention his life.
“That bad, huh?” Gavin asked.
Miles gave his head a little shake to refocus his thoughts. “Sorry. I’m just a little disillusioned right now.”
“Uh-oh. Things are bad when the actual politicians are using words like ‘disillusioned.’ You wanna talk about it?”
He did want to talk about it, but the one person he wanted to bounce ideas off of was no longer around. Sadly his father stood to be hurt the most by his campaign right now. “Despite everything I’ve tried to do, things are going to get nasty.”
“They always do,” Gavin said with a cynical laugh. “You’ve been at this game long enough to expect that.”
“I just didn’t expect I’d have to drag our family through the mud with me.”
“I thought Faye agreed to play nice?”
Miles sighed. “I’m beginning to think that Faye and I are just pawns in something bigger here.” While waiting at the airport for Gavin, he’d checked in with his contacts at various media outlets. It seemed the governor was correct when he said Faye’s campaign was taking the story of his father’s money issues national. They were going so far as to call it a ‘scandal.’ Miles gripped the steering wheel tighter in annoyance. The woman had given him her word, damn it.
Gavin sat up a little straighter in his seat. “Are we talking about something other than the mess with Dad?”
Of course his perceptive brother would sense there was more to the issue. But Miles didn’t want to go into detail about the governor’s machinations. Not when Miles didn’t know how he was going to cut the governor’s puppet strings yet. He sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Gavin about the man’s proposal that Miles marry his daughter. There was no telling how his brother would react to that news. Besides, Miles still hadn’t decided how he was going to handle that situation. It irked him that he might actually need Greer to stay in the race.
“Let’s just say the governor and I disagree on how to respond to Faye’s claims,” was all Miles said.
Gavin paused a long moment before speaking. “Miles, whatever you decide, you know we’re with you.”
Miles blew out a breath as emotion clogged up his throat. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to hear those words. With a brisk nod he navigated the car onto the highway leading south to Chances Inlet. “Let’s talk about something else,” he said. “What’s Ryan up to?”
Gavin talked about their brother’s lavish New York apartment and his crazy antics with the baseball groupies that seemed to follow Ryan everywhere. “Seriously, a woman was hiding in the trash chute of his building just to meet him,” Gavin said. “I almost clocked her on the head with a bag of garbage.” They both shared a laugh.
“For a guy who lost a shitload of money in a Ponzi scheme, he sure has landed on his feet,” Gavin said.
“Yeah, but unfortunately, most of the other people conned in the scheme aren’t professional athletes with a salary that rivals some school districts’ budgets.” Miles tried to keep the disgust from his voice. It wasn’t his brother’s fault he was talented enough to earn outrageous sums of money for playing a game. Or that he’d been duped by his business manager into a bad investment. He hated that there were unscrupulous
individuals out there who would prey on innocent people like that. “Lots of senior citizens lost everything they had in the deal.”
“Trust me, Ryan is aware of that. I know he’s proud that you’re proposing legislation to stop these crimes as part of your platform, but I think a part of him would just like to see the subject die. He’s still carrying around a lot of guilt.”
“Do you think that’s why he doesn’t ever come back to Chances Inlet?”
Gavin shrugged. “Partly. But he’s also living the life in New York as a celebrity, superstar jock.”
“I’m not sure having women crawling out of my garbage is ‘living the life,’ but whatever.”
Gavin laughed. He went on to explain progress in the loft renovation his firm was designing. By the time Miles pulled into the sandy parking lot off to the side of the B and B, he felt a little more relaxed about his predicament. As much as he hated how his campaign for Congress was damaging his father’s reputation, he knew that ultimately his dad would be proud of the men he and his brothers had become. Miles just needed to continue on and not lose sight of that.
“That doesn’t look like a very happy welcoming party,” Gavin murmured as he lifted his bag out of the trunk of Miles’ car. “I know they’d never turn on me. What did you do?”
Miles looked over to the veranda where his mother, Bernice, Cassidy, and Ginger were seated. Gavin’s pesky dog bounded down the steps, followed quickly by Ginger. His brother’s fiancée threw him a bewildered look over her shoulder before flinging her arms around Gavin’s neck. Bernice’s mouth was set in a grim line when Miles climbed the stairs up to the veranda. His mother’s expression pretty much mirrored Bernice’s.
“You got some ’splaining to do, Miles,” Cassidy mumbled.
Panic coursed through his body as he immediately thought of Lori. Had she left? Did his mother blame him for her leaving? He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when—through the kitchen window—he caught a glimpse of her at the sink. As shitty as this day had already been, he wasn’t sure he was ready to say good-bye to Lori yet. Not that she’d give him the chance.
“Mom, is everything okay?”
“That depends. Were you planning on telling your family that you’re getting married?”
Son. Of. A. Bitch.
* * *
Patricia watched as her son slid into one of the gliders on the porch, the expression on his face a mixture of betrayal and rage. She hadn’t for a moment believed Miles was engaged to Greer Rossi. Still, it was a relief to see him just as shocked by the news as she was.
“Where did you hear that?” he demanded to know.
Bernice snapped to attention. “Tanya Sheppard. She called the office for confirmation. I’ve been trying to get ahold of Coy all afternoon to have him refute it.”
Miles waved her off. “Don’t bother. He’s way too deep in the governor’s pocket. Hell, he’s likely the one the governor had leak it.”
Patricia stared at her son. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
He tucked his chin to his chest and dragged his fingers through his hair. “Things are getting complicated, Mom.”
“Is this what you meant before when you said you and the governor weren’t seeing eye to eye?” Gavin asked.
Miles nodded at his brother. “Faye Rich’s campaign is going on the attack against Dad. They’re taking it national, too.”
Patricia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She’d finally come to terms with how and why Donald did what he did. She knew her husband wasn’t guilty of any wrongdoing. The only thing he was guilty of was trying to protect his family—and she would love him forever for that. But it was time to move on. She was getting on with her life with Lamar. Just like Miles needed to move past this and get elected. The opposing party could try to pull apart the McAlisters but her family—Donald’s legacy—was tougher than anyone thought.
“What does any of that have to do with you marrying Greer?” Bernice asked.
Miles was staring at Patricia when she opened her eyes. Ever since he was a baby, he’d been the easiest of her children to read. “The governor wants to hit back,” she said, meeting her eldest son’s stare. “But Miles doesn’t want to. Am I right?”
He nodded once.
“Whoa, so he wants you to marry his daughter instead?” Gavin shook his head in disbelief. “And you made me feel like a jerk for suggesting that you and Greer hook up.”
Ginger elbowed Gavin in the ribs. “Shouldn’t Greer be able to make up her own mind? I mean, what father does that?”
“One who wants to make sure he can keep me under his thumb.” Miles had that dejected look on his face; the same one he’d worn when he found out his favorite teacher had allowed students to cheat on an assignment all those years ago.
“Are you running for Congress so you can be beholden to another man, Miles?”
He contemplated her words for a moment before his eyes grew determined and his mouth turned up at the corners. “No, Mom, I’m not.”
“I didn’t think so.” She reached out and wrapped her fingers around his larger ones. “Don’t compromise who you are for this campaign. If this family is going to take a beating in the media, then at least let it be worth it. Your father wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
Miles leaned across her lap and brushed a kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Mom,” he whispered.
“What do I tell Tanya Sheppard?” Bernice wanted to know.
“Don’t tell her anything yet,” Miles said. “Just let her simmer. We’ll draft up a statement tonight and release it in the morning.”
Bernice snorted in disgust. “Good luck with that. Your boy Coy is AWOL.”
He patted Bernice on the knee. “I think you and I can handle writing this one ourselves, Bernice.”
The older woman’s lips quivered. “Really? Hallelujah!” She jumped up from her chair. “I’ll go get my laptop.”
Gavin cuffed Miles on the shoulder. “I meant what I said earlier. I’ve got your back. The whole family does.”
Patricia’s heart skipped a beat as she watched her sons share a quick embrace. There had been a lot of hard feelings between the two the past several months and she was glad to see them finally resolving things. “Gavin’s right, we’re all here for you, Miles.” Using the back of the chair for leverage, she stood up.
“Good, because I’m going to need you to do a favor for your friend Faye,” Miles said. “I can’t stop the party from going negative. I’d like for you to give her a heads-up.”
“Wait.” Cassidy stood up, too. “Her campaign gets to say what they want about Mr. Mac and you’re going to give her a warning? I don’t get it.”
Ginger wrapped an arm around the teenager. “You’re seeing integrity at its finest, Cass. Watch and learn.”
The teenager shook her head. “I hope I’m not seeing a sucker.”
NINETEEN
The sunlight was fading when Lori finished the turn-down service in the seven occupied suites. Tessa trotted ahead of her as they both climbed the two flights of stairs to her bedroom. She’d have to leave the dog behind. The woman at the bus station was adamant about the no-pets-on-board policy. Her eyes burned at the thought, but she knew Patricia would keep Tessa safe and happy.
Using the money Diesel had sent her, Lori bought a ticket for the 6 a.m. bus to Raleigh. From there, she’d get on another bus to Nashville. In less than twenty-four hours, she’d be starting over. Again. This time without her grandmother’s ring.
But staying until she found it had become too perilous. Lori couldn’t risk being detected here in Chances Inlet. For once in her life, she wasn’t thinking about the implications her discovery would have on her, but rather on those she’d come to love. Both here and elsewhere. From what she’d overheard in the kitchen this afternoon, the McAlisters were gearing
up for another major assault on their reputation. If word got out they’d been harboring her here at the B and B, it would be devastating to the family. Even worse, it would be destructive for Miles’ campaign. She couldn’t do that to them. She couldn’t do that to him.
Lori squeezed back the tears as she pulled out her duffel from under the bed. Of all the stupid things she’d done in her life, falling in love with Miles McAlister had been the dumbest. She’d known up front that any kind of relationship with him would be doomed. Aside from the fact that she wasn’t here for the long haul, he was all that was good in a person and she . . . wasn’t. Miles was the light to her darkness. After everything she’d done, she didn’t deserve a life with a man like him. And yet she’d fallen in love with him anyway. Obviously, her common sense and judgment still needed a good alignment.
The fact that he vowed never to love again should have given her some consolation. Except it didn’t. She wanted Miles to know love one more time. And, silly woman that she was, she wanted him to love her. Disgusted with herself, she tossed her extra shoes into the duffel bag.
“I take it you found your grandmother’s ring?”
Miles’ solemnly asked question made Lori’s chest squeeze. She took a moment to compose herself before turning to face him. He was gripping the frame of the door with both hands as if to keep her from escaping. The long day had left him looking rumpled and tired but there was still that sense of energy about him humming just beneath the surface. Miles was a bit of an adrenaline junkie, whether it was training for a triathlon or running for Congress. She had no doubt he’d survive whatever the opposing camp threw at him. Lori was disappointed that she wouldn’t be around to watch him succeed.
She sat down on the bed in order to keep from embarrassing herself by jumping into his arms. “Still no ring.”
“But you’re leaving anyway?” His fingers were white knuckled against the dark tiger oak doorjamb, almost as though he was holding himself back, too.
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