She did do it to keep herself safe. Jake would leave. That was inevitable. Jake would give her many more orgasms if she’d kept him around until then. Maybe many more laughs too, if she hadn’t ended it early. She knew herself, though. She knew her heart. If she’d kept up their relationship her heart would rip in two when he blithely left Cypress Corners to return to the next spot needing his particular genius for thrill-making.
It was three o’clock in the afternoon. About the time she usually checked in with Cally. She dreaded the call but she had to make it. It was up to her to keep the lines of communication open if she was ever going to sustain her relationship with her father. She still hadn’t forgiven him. How could she? But she lacked the balls to cut him loose and, in her heart, she could never really do that. Not completely.
Grabbing her phone, she sank down onto the couch. Tapping on her father’s name on the screen, she stared at the pretty poppy orange lantern on the fireplace mantel.
“Hello,” came Cally’s chipper voice.
She stilled for a moment. Chipper. Not manic. That was good.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Claire-bear! It’s so good to hear from you.”
Claire bit back the reminder that he heard from her every day now. She wasn’t going to slip back into that lazy trust thing she’d had going when she was busy getting wrapped up in Jake Chapman. That was part of the risk he posed to her sanity if not her heart. No. Never her heart.
“How are you today, Dad?”
“Good, good. There was bingo in the rec center today but I didn’t go.”
Claire pushed aside the guilt that threatened to rise. She’d forbidden him from any activities remotely involving gambling. Call her a bitch, but she didn’t care.
“I’m sorry you had to miss it, but—”
“But I had to, I know,” Cally finished for her. “I miss you, too. I missed you yesterday.”
It was the second Saturday in a row she’d deliberately stayed away from him. Just the thought of him making some excuse or trying to charm his way out of the mess he’d given her turned her stomach. She couldn’t bear to put herself through it. And she couldn’t bear taking the risk that she’d cave like her mother always did. Like she herself always did.
“We’ll get together soon.”
There was a beat of silence, then she heard him sigh. “Do you promise?”
Those three words nearly ripped her heart out of her chest. He sounded so small in that moment.
“Yes, Dad. I promise.”
Another silence, longer this time, stretched between them. Claire finally cleared her throat past the thickness there and smiled even though he couldn’t see it.
“What are you doing tonight, Dad?”
“They’re showing a movie in the rec center. One of the superhero flicks. Should be good.”
“Yeah.” She took a breath. “Should be good.”
She stood and paced, unable to sit any longer. “Okay, then. You have a good time. Don’t forget to set your pills up for this coming week.”
“I will.”
“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, honey. I love you.”
Now those three words were just what she needed to hear at the moment. More tears threatened but she fought those too.
“Love you, too,” she pushed out.
She disconnected the call and closed her eyes. “Damn it, Dad. Why did I let you do this to me again?”
She could never ask him that straight out. He’d have no real answer. It was a part of who he was. Of what he was.
She was the one who’d been stupid enough to forget that and to try to have her own damn life for once.
Chapter 23
Jake breathed hard as he flew over the gravel, his heart pounding with every step. He’d run over eight miles so far and he had no intentions of stopping any time soon. The course was holding up well, though the only other divots in the path were those made by him on his earlier pass. The bridge had been a thrill at mile three and he couldn’t wait to hit it again now that he had completed the 10K course once already and was giving it another go. Twice around would make the equivalent of a half-marathon and he wasn’t so big a pussy that he couldn’t manage that today.
A loud crack of thunder sounded over his head but he didn’t break his pace. An autumn cold front was just what he needed this afternoon. Thanksgiving was next week and the pre-opening would coincide with the Winter Festival in the Town Center the first weekend of December. It was only right that he test it out himself now. It was what he’d worked so hard for the past few weeks, and he wasn’t going to let bad weather get in the way of his good time.
As if mocking his conviction, rain began to fall with a vengeance. Swiping at his eyes, he pressed on into the last curve right before the bridge. His shoes slipped on the gravel as he swiveled to turn and pain shot up his right leg. Cursing, he tamped down the discomfort and kept up, only slowing his pace a bit as he headed for the bridge up ahead.
The rain was driving down in sheets now, the sky billowed with gray clouds and resounding with claps of thunder. A sane man would call it quits. Take the easy way out and limp back home. But he wasn’t a sane man. And he didn’t have a home. He was Jake fucking Chapman, thrill-seeker and daredevil, or so he told himself. He would finish this damn circuit and then take a hot shower and fall into bed.
That’s all he’d been doing since he’d last been with Claire. Working hard and working out and sleeping like the dead. It would almost be a relief to get back to Boston to touch base before ferreting out his next assignment.
Water puddled in front of the bridge as he jumped up to land on the wooden boards. His shoes slipped a little and his right ankle cursed him out. Grabbing on to the rope rigging on the railing on the right-hand side, he pulled himself along as he began to sprint across the bridge.
The wind had kicked up since the rain began, and the bridge swayed under the strain. He was out over the lake now, making quick progress toward the footing on the other side. As he crossed above he ran past the water and was out over the sandy soil at the lake’s edge. Suddenly the bridge gave a lurch and he reached for the nearest rigging. The rope tore through his palm and he hissed out a breath as he pulled his hand away. The next second he started to slip and was soon airborne as the lakeshore rushed up to meet him.
Then the day went black.
***
Claire brooded in her office, staring out the window at the still-green trees getting drenched in the thunderstorm. The wind kicked up too, judging by the dance the leaves were doing across the soaked sidewalk. She was all caught up with her work. Her work at Cypress, anyway. She would have to start taking on private clients but she wouldn’t see much money from that avenue until the first of the year when the tax season began. For now she would help people write up their own budgets and find ways to live within their means. Means. Hers were getting leaner and meaner as the time passed.
The clock inched toward three o’clock and she had to get up and stretch before she let the sound of the rain and wind lull her to sleep. Walking into the break room, she headed for the coffee maker. A stack of ceramic mugs sat nearby, so she grabbed one. As she turned the rack to choose a coffee pod, Mr. Forbes came in.
“Hello, Claire.”
“Hello, Mr. Forbes.” She popped the pod into the coffee maker. “Can I make you a cup?”
“No, thank you.”
She pressed the button and as the machine brewed her coffee he didn’t say anything more.
“I’ll be out of here in a second,” she said, pouring creamer and some sweetener into her the cup.
Mr. Forbes held up a hand. “I’d like to speak with you, if I may.”
Claire came to a stop, holding her steaming coffee cup in her hand. “With me?”
“Yes. Can we go into your office?”
“Sure.” She led the way to her office and set the mug on her desk. “What can I do for you, Mr. Forbes?”
He
closed her door and waved her into her chair. “Sit, Claire.”
She did, her stomach giving a little twirl. “Is this about my taking on other clients?”
“No, no. You’re a CPA and entitled to take private clients.” His brows rose. “As long as there will be no conflict of interest?”
“None, sir.”
“Good. No, I want to talk to you about the pressure you’ve been under.”
“Pressure?” She’d thought she’d managed to stay on an even keel through the mess that was her current life. “I’m not under pressure.”
“You are.” He held up a hand. “I don’t mean to take away from your work, Claire. I have no worries where that’s concerned. This is more about your personal life.”
She bristled even as her cheeks grew hot. “That’s personal, just as you said.”
“I don’t know why you stopped seeing Jake Chapman and that’s not what this is about. You’ve been putting yourself through the ringer and I don’t believe it’s because you’re lovesick.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Then what is it?”
“Nothing.”
He tilted his head and fingered his neat mustache. “Come, now. Something is wrong and I believe it has been for several weeks now.”
Her throat tightened and her eyes burned and she couldn’t hold back a second longer.
“My father lost all our savings three years ago, including our house. We moved here and I’ve been taking care of his expenses and now he’s gone and gambled away my beautiful Thunderbird and I’m doing everything I can to get it back.”
The words had rushed out of her and she felt deflated after her tirade. Mr. Forbes just gazed at her, the expression on his face tender and fatherly.
“I knew it had to be something like that. Don’t get me wrong, Claire. I love how dedicated you are to your job. How diligent. But I’ve always sensed there was something else going on.” He pulled a tissue out of the box set on her bookcase and handed it to her. “And now with the added pressure you’re putting on yourself? It’s no wonder you look so sad.”
“Sad?” She wiped at her eyes, dabbed her nose and thought for a moment, then shrugged. “No. The tiredness I can blame on my work and my father. The sadness? That’s squarely on Jake’s broad shoulders.”
He shifted in his seat, looking a little uncomfortable now. “And that’s my cue. I don’t do the emotional stuff.”
Claire managed a smile and waved the tissue at him. “Don’t worry. I’ll plug up the waterworks. I promise.”
“You know, there’s no shame is asking for help.”
“I’ve always handled everything myself, Mr. Forbes. I can go on doing that.”
“You can. That’s true.” He stood now and opened the door. “I’m just saying you don’t have to. You have friends here. I like to think we have a little family of sorts here, too. My door is open if you need to talk.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled at her and she felt a bit of her strain lift. “Very well. Enough maudlin discussions for the day.” He glanced out the window behind her. “Although it seems to fit the weather.” He squinted. “Is that fire and rescue?”
Claire followed his gaze and watched as the trucks screamed by, their lights blurry through the rain-spattered window. “I wonder what’s going on?”
“Shit!” Rick ran past her door, his phone pressed tight to his ear. “I’m on my way.”
Claire and Mr. Forbes shared a look, then they both went out into the hall and followed Rick into the lobby.
“Rick, what’s going on?” Claire asked.
He stopped, and she saw how ashen his face was. Her heart stopped for a second.
“Is it Nick?” she asked.
He blinked. “No. No, thank God. It’s my idiot brother.”
Tammy came out to stand next to Claire. “What happened?” she asked.
Rick ran a hand over his face. “He fell. Off the damn rope bridge. They’re taking him to the emergency room.”
Claire’s breath left her body and she thanked God Tammy was there to lean against. “Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. He wasn’t conscious when they found him but he woke up and had them call me. I have to go.”
“Go,” Tammy said. “Keep us posted.”
Rick nodded and ran out into the rain as the fire and rescue trucks raced past them on their way out of Cypress.
“I hope he’s okay,” Mr. Forbes said. “What was he doing out on the course in this weather?”
Claire’s breath was shallow as emotions crashed through her. Fear and regret and anger. Oh, yeah. She was so pissed at him right now.
“Because he’s a thrill-seeker, Mr. Forbes.” She went back to her office and grabbed her purse, and then she noticed how bad her hands were shaking.
“I’ll drive you,” Tammy said, touching her shoulder.
“Thank you.” Claire pulled on her jacket and went out into the rain. “He better live long enough for me to tell him how big an asshole he is.”
Tammy smiled but didn’t say anything as she drove toward the hospital. When they arrived Tammy dropped her off in front of the big glass doors and Claire ran inside.
Her eyes darted around the waiting room, which wasn’t too crowded. The nice thing about living near a small city was the small hospital. She hadn’t missed the helipad right outside the emergency room though. She prayed Jake wouldn’t have to be airlifted to Orlando. She ran up to the desk and the gray-haired woman seated behind eyed her.
“Can I help you?”
“Jake Chapman,” Claire rushed out. “I think they just brought him in?”
“Are you a member of the family?”
“No.”
“Then I can’t tell you anything.” The woman’s gaze softened. “Have a seat. I’m sure the family will be out soon.”
“Thank you.”
“Claire!”
Claire turned to see Harmony hurrying in through the sliding doors. “Harmony.”
“Rick called me.” Harmony pressed a hand to her midsection. “I had Lettie run over to watch Nick. Have you heard anything?”
“I’m not family.” God, had any lonelier words every been spoken? “I’m sure they’ll let you in.”
Harmony nodded and walked over to the desk.
Claire grabbed a magazine from the low table in front of her and tried to make sense of the words swimming on the page. It was only when a tear dropped on the paper that she realized she was crying.
“Claire, I’m going in.”
Claire wiped her eyes and looked up at her friend. “Okay.”
Harmony reached out to touch her hand. “I’ll be out soon to let you know what’s going on. I promise.”
Claire nodded. Tammy came in, shaking out her umbrella as she walked over. “Any word?”
“Nope.”
“I’ll sit with you.” Tammy settled next to her on another vinyl chair and stared up at the TV set up in one corner.
“Thanks.”
Claire couldn’t seem to hold onto a thought. She was so nervous and worried and pissed off she could hardly think, really. Time seemed to drag as she waited for Harmony to return. When she checked her phone she saw that twenty minutes had passed, though it felt like twenty hours.
“Hey,” Tammy said softly, giving her a nudge.
Claire looked over and Tammy tilted her head toward the desk. Rick stood there, his hands braced on the counter as he spoke to the receptionist.
“Does he look worried?” Claire asked Tammy.
“A little. Not terrified, though.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Sure.” Tammy crossed her legs and nodded. “Sure, it is.”
Rick smiled at the woman, then walked over to Claire. “Come on.”
Claire gaped up at him. “I’m not family.”
“I am, and the nice lady at the desk says that you can come in with me.”
Rising slowly to her feet, Claire let Tammy take the
magazine from her limp fingers and followed Rick through swinging wood doors and down the wide white hallway to a small room set off to the right.
She heard Harmony’s voice from inside, but couldn’t make out the words. As she stepped into the room, she gasped as she saw how banged up Jake was. He was wearing one of those cotton gowns with the dots or whatever on it and his face and arms were scratched all over. His hair was caked with sand and he looked pale. He never looked better to her.
“Jake!” Her feet flew as she ran toward the bed. She stopped, gripping the side rail. “You’re okay. Are you okay?”
Jake nodded, managing a small smile. “They think I broke my foot but, yeah, I’m okay.”
She saw then that his right leg was elevated and thick bandaging wrapped his foot and ankle.
“They took an X-ray, so we’ll know more soon,” Rick said.
“You were unconscious,” Claire remembered Rick had said. “What happened?”
“I went out for a run on the course.”
“In this weather?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It wasn’t raining when I started out.”
Anger simmered in her belly. “But it was before you finished, wasn’t it?”
He shrugged again and she lost it.
“What the hell is wrong with you? I know you don’t give a shit about yourself but what about your family? What about the people who love you?”
Jake opened his mouth but evidently she wasn’t done.
“You take these risks for, I don’t know, the thrill of it with no thought to the people who would die if they lost you. You just had to go up there and test the course before it’s ready. You just had to go out there to prove something to your frigging father, like he’s ever going to acknowledge what you’re capable of.”
“Claire, wait,” Jake began.
She held up a hand. “I can’t do this. I can’t be with someone with so little regard for his life and the lives of the people who love him. So go! Finish your damn project and go back to Boston. Go to Europe. Go to the four corners of the world, if you want to. Just go, because that’s what you’re good at.”
Cypress Corners Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Page 33