Second Time's the Charm

by Knight, Vanessa

Hell. He still needed that guidance.

  A longing squeezed his heart. His father. Was gone. If Adam decided to have children, his dad would never know them. His children would never know what a wonderful grandfather they had. All the guilt his mom had piled at Adam’s feet now wrapped around his throat and made it impossible to breathe. He always thought they had more time. He knew he’d lose his dad someday, but that was always some elusive future date. Not now. Not today.

  He watched the detectives make their way to the front door. Crap. Apparently, the meeting was over. What exactly had he missed while he was stumbling down memory lane? Adam quickly walked up behind them and reached around them for the door handle, getting the front door open just ahead of the detectives.

  Detective Washington handed Adam a business card. “We’ll contact you with any new developments. Thank you for your time.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Detective Perretti told Adam. He paused at the end of the walkway to look back. “If you need anything, please give me a call.”

  Chapter Three

  “Where the hell have you been?” Paul Mörder growled into the phone. He didn’t have the patience for incompetence. The Feds were breathing down his neck on trumped-up charges of racketeering and bribery. They claimed they were cracking down on organized crime. Paul liked to call it harassing hard-working Americans.

  “I was at the will reading. What a waste of time.”

  “The old man must not have left you anything good.” Paul laughed. “I hope this isn’t going to interfere with our plans.”

  “No. It’s all under control.”

  “It better be. I’d hate to see what you did to Herb happen to you,” Paul threatened.

  “I know where all of the evidence is. Don’t worry.” “Bring it to me. I’m not going to jail, again.”

  “I will as soon as I can. You’re under a microscope with all of this media attention.”

  Paul’s blood pressure rose. He didn’t have time for know-it-all assholes telling him what to do. “I don’t give a shit about the media. I want that account information in my possession by the end of the week. If I don’t have it, I will have no problem sending you to Hell. But it won’t be pain-free. I will shove my fist so far up your ass I’ll be tickling your tonsils. Don’t put me in this position again.”

  Paul slammed the phone down again, again, and again, while shouting a legion of swear words. He placed his head in his hands and sighed. He could hear his blood pressure booming in his ears as the heat traveled to his balding head. This was not what he needed right now. If the Russian mob found out what happened, he was as good as dead.

  * * *

  After the detectives left, Allison patted Loraine’s hand and gave a small smile. She slowly made her way to the door. She knew it was silly, but she somehow felt betrayed. How could there be all this drama surrounding a simple heart attack? Why hadn’t Loraine told her about it? Granted, Loraine had been overwhelmed the past few days. Then again, why hadn’t Adam said anything about it?

  Adam walked at her side as she headed toward the rental car of the day. She really needed to get her car fixed before someone noticed. She always had the worst luck with cars, which, of course, gave everyone a good laugh.

  “Rental?” Adam asked with a smirk. He noticed everything. Dammit. The rental agency’s name was plastered on the license plate holder. Even if he weren’t a detective, he would have to be a moron not to notice. “So what happened to your car this time?”

  “Flat.”

  “So, did you drive over a pothole? Porcupine? Your sister?”

  “That only happened once, and I didn’t run her over, it was her foot.”

  Any other person joking about the foot-squashing incident would’ve been funny. Any other day, she might have laughed. But this man, on this day? Not going to happen. Her humor was saved for someone who didn’t drive her crazy.

  “Do you need help putting on the spare?” His eyebrows shot up.

  Allison stopped, stared. A warm current slithered through her at the return of concern in his voice. She sometimes forgot how thoughtful and caring the man could be—the times he’d driven her home so she didn’t have to take public transportation late at night, or the food he’d deliver when she was sick at home… Whoa! Allison mentally slapped herself for thinking about the virtuous side of the man before her. Those noble traits were what sucked her in the first time. No more.

  She was repulsed by him. Repulsed. She had to remember that.

  The lying crap back in the house, now, that was the Adam Byrnes she was coming to know and detest. Whenever she saw him behave like a compassionate, helpful human being, she needed to remember that he was an ass and every other word she decided not to use to describe him today. Those damn non-sharable words kept popping up. Thank God, he was leaving soon. Hell, maybe he’d even catch the first flight to Phoenix so she could get back to her life.

  “No. Brook’s boyfriend is taking care of it while I’m here. Apparently he worked as a mechanic to pay for law school.”

  “Multi-talented. Your sister always knew how to pick them.” His smile was forced but the sentiment seemed sincere. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” She scowled. So much for him flying out tonight.

  “I’m sticking around for a while. I want to make sure your transition is easy.

  We need to formally announce your promotion to CEO.”

  So much for him flying out any time soon. “Great, thanks,” she snipped and turned her back on him. He reached out and wrapped a hand around her arm. Although she tried to fight it, an electric current prickled where his hand touched her skin. How could the warmth of his skin feel so good when she felt an overwhelming urge to smack him?

  “Is there a problem?” Adam had the audacity to sound concerned.

  Problem? So many problems—the loss of her parents, and now Herb, Loraine’s grief, moving, an unexpected autopsy. Where would she start, if she even wanted to? The only problem she didn’t have was her job, and now he was going to invade that space. Her life was one big problem. But she refused to let it show. She just needed to make a clean getaway. “Nope.”

  “Allison, talk to me,” he pleaded. She heard the dejection, sadness, exhaustion, and heartbreak in each word. She wanted to feel bad for him. She should feel sorry. She should be consoling him. She should… shit. Despite all the things she should be doing, she couldn’t get past the anger, the hurt, the…betrayal.

  “Why would there be a problem?” she said abruptly and spun toward him. “It’s not like I feel like a fool, or anything. I mean, I stood over his casket thinking it was going to be lowered. Why the charade? Do you enjoy making others feel ridiculous?” She rambled on, not quite sure why she was blathering about the lowering of the casket. In fact, she wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about at all. Ugh! She just needed to take it out on someone, anyone. And Adam Byrnes was the closest anyone around.

  “I’m sorry. We didn’t think it was a big deal. I wanted to do an autopsy because it seemed like a good idea. We decided to keep it quiet because we didn’t want to alarm anyone.”

  “Fine, but why didn’t you tell me?” “Only family knew...”

  “Oh. I understand.” She angled her face away, trying to hide the hurt in her eyes. She knew she wasn’t really part of the family, but she thought she was more than just some—some outsider. Somehow Adam managed to treat her like an outcast every chance he got.

  Herb had always found a way to invite her and her sister to family gatherings. He’d known they had nowhere else to go. He beamed as he talked about his whole family being there to enjoy whatever holiday was upon them. He’d told the men to be nice to “the daughters he never had,” or “the daughters he always wanted.”

  Where Herb had been inviting and accommodating, Adam was disobliging and cold. He’d made sure everyone understood that she wasn’t really his sister. He’d dropped little hints and taunted her incessantly. At first, she thoug
ht Adam harbored feelings for her, stuck on the myth that boys tease the ones they love. Never mind that he’d been far away from the “boy” designation.

  She’d fought the urge to fall for Adam. Fought the good fight for years. Finally, a few years ago, she broke down. Adam had been home for the holidays, in the game room of his parent’s home, while his parents were out at a party.

  Somehow, Adam’s usual teasing hadn’t been there. He’d been charming and sweet. They’d flirted their way through a game of eight ball. Allison had bent down provocatively while Adam’s eyes burned in desire. The night had ended in his room with spine-tingling sex.

  The next day, Allison woke up in Adam’s bed. Alone. She’d quietly slunk to the guest room she’d been using, and changed her clothes. She’d been convinced he’d run out to grab breakfast, or to the gym, or somewhere… anywhere. She knew he wouldn’t just abandon her in his bed.

  She had made her way to the kitchen, and found Loraine and Herb drinking their morning coffee, saddened that Adam had to go back to work so quickly. They had been so concerned about the amount of work their son was doing. After all, what kind of job would call back a person to work over Christmas?

  Allison had clung to unsubstantiated optimism. Maybe he really had wanted to have a relationship, but was truly called back to work. He was a cop, and crime never sleeps. These things happen, right?

  Wrong. She’d called him once and left a message. She then proceeded to wait by the phone for a week. Not one peep. About a year later, Adam had come back for his father’s birthday. He’d behaved as if nothing happened. He’d been back to cold, distant, and aloof.

  After all the time she squandered, mooning over Adam, she finally had to admit he was just a creep. It had broken her heart, but after a few tears and excessive retail and cocktail therapy, she managed to move on. It hadn’t hurt that he lived on the other side of the country. Thank God for small favors.

  However, if he didn’t have deep-down longings of love, why the hell couldn’t he just accept her as an honorary sister? He seemed to accept Brook. He managed to dote on her whenever she had time in her schedule to visit. The whole situation hurt then and still hurt now, but she refused to break down in front of him. She hadn’t cried because of his cruelty in years. She wasn’t about to let him see her cry today. Or ever.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She spun on her heel and ran to her rental car. Adam called after her, but she pretended she couldn’t hear him.

  As she pulled away, tears stung her eyes. Why did she let him get to her? She was a grown woman, for goodness’ sake. She should not be susceptible to assholic men with large egos and little…cars.

  Allison was so close to putting Adam’s favorite body part in that sentence, but she knew it was a lie. And the last thing she needed was to start thinking about all the things he could do with that particular body part.

  She sighed as she pulled up to a traffic light. She placed her head on her hands as they rested on the steering wheel. She was repulsed by him… repulsed. She repeated the mantra over and over. Maybe if she said it enough, she’d actually start to believe it.

  Allison banged her head on the seat back, knocking the images of his body from her mind. She swore she would do better the next time she saw him. No more dwelling on the past. This was a new and improved Allison Southby.

  She drove through the intersection, the green light a beacon to her new mission. She could feel the determination steel her spine. This was good. She could do this.

  Doubt fluttered through her mind. She hoped she could do this, because otherwise tomorrow would be another long day with Adam Byrnes. Either way, she’d rather have her breasts in the vise of a mammogram than deal with him again.

  Chapter Four

  Julie Connolly sat on the plush king-sized bed, her finger twirling around a frayed string on the golden comforter. The television glowed, shadows dancing on the dark walls, while her three-year-old son, Cody, slept peacefully in the playpen. She leaned into the warmth of her boyfriend. It was nice to feel the heat of a man again. She hadn't felt this comfort since Dale.

  She ran a hand through her straight brown hair and mentally shook her head, trying to clean her etch-a-sketch mind. Why did her mind always end up on him? It was a one-time thing that meant nothing to him. At least, she assumed it meant nothing. They shared a wonderful night and then a great morning. He kissed her forehead and whispered his parting words— “I’ll call you.”

  He never did. She wasn't sure if she was all that surprised, though. Dale had always been a playboy, the guy who drifted from woman to woman, never committing. Never satisfied. But deep in her hopeful heart, she always thought they’d end up together. The playboy and the mouse. Almost sounded like a romance novel. Of course, it wasn’t a romance. If it was, they would have ended up happily ever after.

  Despite everything, she always hoped that would happen. But, unfortunately, the world didn’t live by romance novel logic. She knew it was a long shot. She wasn’t awful, but perfect men like Dale wanted women who were models, gorgeous babes with hot bodies. The only thing Julie had in common with a model was that they both had bodies. Her un-perfect size sixteen wasn’t what playboys settled down with. Her stringy brown hair and glasses were just two more ways she lacked the glamour that would hold Dale’s attention.

  Stop! She was not going to start feeling bad about herself. She knew she was a good woman. She was raising her son on her own, working at a good job, and she had friends who truly loved her. She was blessed.

  On top of that, the man sitting next to her seemed interested in the woman that she was. He wasn’t asking her to change, and he hadn’t run out on her, never to call again.

  Who knew? Maybe the reason she and Dale never made it was her fault. If she had tracked him down and just been honest with him, a beautiful romance might have ensued. However, she’d hid away. And considering he’d been attached to that gorgeous woman at the funeral, he’d obviously moved on.

  She’d moved on, too. She had spent many nights with the wonderful, giving man sitting beside her. She wasn’t sure if he was actually her boyfriend. They hadn’t had the talk yet. They just had wild, incredible sex for the past two months. They hadn’t been on any real dates, but that was definitely her fault. If her father saw her out with the big, bad Ben Mooring, he’d kill her. Or Ben. He’d probably kill them both.

  That was the reason they ended up at the hotel. They had been meeting at Ben’s home, but one of his neighbors, a longtime Connolly family friend thought she recognized Cody. Ben was able to convince her that the little boy was actually his nephew, but they decided to stay away from his place after that.

  Her father hated Ben for all the problems he caused Herb Byrnes. He could never get over it. That was her father's nature. Once someone disappointed him, her father could never forgive them. Unfortunately, it was her experience that everyone disappointed someone at one time or another. Edward Connolly never let anyone disappoint him for a second time. It made for a lonely life.

  A relationship with Ben Mooring would definitely disappoint her father, and with everything going on right now, she needed him in her corner. There was too much at stake to alienate him now.

  If it wasn’t for her father, she could see herself falling for this man, hard. His golden blond hair, striking features, and hazel eyes could stop any woman in their tracks. He was one big pile of sexy.

  “I should probably head home. I have an early day tomorrow.” He leaned in for a quick kiss.

  “We have the hotel room all night. I thought we’d stay here.” She frowned in disappointment. The thought of his soothing arms going away left her cold and lonely. Not even the five-star opulence of The Mallord Hotel could take away the hurt if he left.

  “Sorry, babe, but I really need to be on my A-game tomorrow.” His eyes were unnaturally distant, his gaze fixed on the television, where Bering Sea fishermen hoisted crab pots.

  “What’s wrong?” She cradled his stubbled fa
ce as worry shivered down her spine. “I can tell that something’s on your mind.”

  Lightning clapped through her as his lips glided across the palms of her hands. He wrapped his fingers around the hands on his face. After a gentle squeeze, he pulled away and slowly stood up to retrieve his suit coat. “Nothing for you to worry about. It’s work.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Not really.” He sighed and dropped to the couch. His knuckles whitened as he wrung the coat, his eyes fixated on the fabric in his hands. She had never seen him so dejected, so beaten. “We’re having a hard time making ends meet these days. If the golden boys don’t sell me their company soon, I won’t be solvent enough to buy it.”

  She walked to the couch and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Would that be so bad? Isn’t there room for both of you?”

  He jerked away, anger emanating from every move of his body. “Don’t you get it? If I don’t get that company, we’ll have to shut down. We’re hanging on by a thread—a thread that depends on two mindless playboys. I thought it would be easier with the old man gone, but they’re just as pig-headed.”

  Moisture welled in Julie’s eyes as she turned away. Ben hurried back to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He tenderly stroked her hair. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m a little high-strung. We just need to find new customers, and fast.”

  “Can I do anything to help?”

  “No, not unless you have a list of customers that want custom designed jewelry.” Ben smiled and gently kissed her mouth. “This is my problem. I’ll deal with it.” He guided a stray hair behind her ear. His haunted eyes pleaded with hers. “Please don’t cry. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t leave.” Her tear stained eyes implored him to stay.

  “Even if I wanted to leave, I don’t think I could. I’m sorry,” he whispered as he slowly kissed her neck.

  “Me, too.” She sighed.