A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 (3 page)

“Wow.”

Ray took a sip of coffee. He’d missed a lot. His brother remarried. His niece two years older than when he’d left. Somehow he was going to have to pick up the threads of his life, tie them back together and get on with it.

“How are you doing?” Rick asked.

Ray didn’t flinch from the sincerity in Rick’s question. That was the thing about having a twin brother. He never had to question Rick’s loyalty or love. He never had to pretend around him, either.

“I’m better than when I left. I think. That’s about all I can say.”

“You going to open up the shop and go back to woodworking?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Good. You’ve been missed. Nobody around here builds cabinets and furniture the way you do. And I’ve been getting the brunt of the complaints.”

Ray almost smiled. “Sorry about that.”

“Word’ll get out soon enough that you’re back. Roscoe will see to that. They’ll be lined up at the door.”

“We’ll see. How are things with you? You staying busy?”

“It’s been nuts lately. People are hanging onto their cars longer in this economy. Which means more repair business for me.”

They drank their coffee in silence for a minute before Ray asked Rick the question uppermost in his mind. “Have you ever heard of Hayley Christopher?”

Rick tilted his head to one side and squinted as if considering. “Isn’t she the one who was married to Trey Christopher?”

Ray nodded.

“There was a bunch of stuff in the Jacksonville paper about them a year or so ago. They went through a nasty divorce after he got hurt and stopped playing for the Jacks. Why do you ask?”

Ray pointed in the direction of the other half of the duplex. “She’s my tenant.”

“No kidding?”

“No kidding. Do you remember her from high school? She was maybe a couple of years behind us.”

“Can’t say that I do. But her last name wasn’t Christopher then, either.”

“No, I suppose not,” Ray agreed.

“Well, hey, I’ve got to get going.” Rick stood, taking his coffee cup with him.

Ray walked him to the door. “Thanks for the coffee. And tell your wife thanks for the muffins.”

“You can tell her yourself. You’re invited to dinner tonight.”

“Oh. Huh. I don’t know.”

“Bull. You’ve got nothing better to do and you know it. And if you thought the muffins were good, wait ’til you taste her pot roast. I haven’t seen you in almost two years. There’s a lot to talk about. Be there at six or Kaylee’ll be over here finding out why not.”

“Six it is. I’ll try to get my act together by then.”

“And you might want to be careful of your tenant. According to the paper, she’s a gold-digging tramp.”

Ray didn’t know why that remark pissed him off, why he felt protective of Hayley when he barely knew her. “Come on, Rick. You know better than to believe everything you read.”

Ray watched Rick’s tow truck emblazoned with the garage’s logo back out of the driveway onto the street and roll away. Then he went back inside and ate two more muffins.

Hayley took a soft drag on her cigarette and blew the smoke out slowly through her mouth. She twirled the stem of her wineglass between her fingers, letting the warm evening air envelop her before she took another small sip.

The cheap white zin trickled down her throat and she sighed in satisfaction.

All day she waited for this precious time when she was alone, indulging in the small vices she still allowed herself. One glass of wine. One cigarette. The darkness broken only by the glow of a single candle and the bit of light coming from the window behind her.

She even got a sort of twisted pleasure from the dichotomy of an aerobics instructor engaging in such unhealthy habits.

A vehicle came down the street, braked and turned into the gravel drive of the duplex.

Hayley frowned as it slowed and parked in front of the other unit. The driver’s side door of the SUV opened. Ray got out and reached across the seat to retrieve a foil-covered plate.

Slightly mesmerized, Hayley took another drag on her cigarette. As if aware he wasn’t exactly alone, Ray turned and looked in her direction. She steeled herself against his possible intrusion into her quiet time.

He locked the vehicle, which responded with a muffled beep and a flash of lights. He ambled toward her and peered in through the screen door.

Defiantly, she took another sip of wine and another drag on her cigarette, blowing the smoke in his direction, trying to still the rapid beat of her heart.

“Want some company? Or would you rather be alone?”

Hayley shrugged with a nonchalance she was far from feeling. “You can come in if you want.” He did and sat in the lawn chair next to her, setting the plate on the small table. She picked up her glass. “I’d offer you some wine, but this is the last of it.” She took a sip, trying to exude serenity
.

Ray deftly took the cigarette from between her fingers and examined the long, thin cylinder. “Girl cigarettes. How can you smoke those?” He handed it back to her.

She took another greedy puff. The lone cigarette never seemed to last as long as the glass of wine, though she tried each evening to make it so. Life was all about balance, she thought bitterly.
Yeah, right.

That explained why she sat alone in the dark every evening. Why Fletcher’s mother was gone and why he now lived with her. Why her whole life had imploded this past year, thrusting her into a whole different way of life.

Balance. Like walking an unsteady, high-wire tightrope from which she could suddenly fall, or drop any one of the balls she attempted to juggle.

But she wouldn’t drop them. She’d hang on and, one careful step at a time, she’d get to the other end of the tightrope, even if she couldn’t see exactly what awaited her there. A new kind of balance for her life; maybe that’s what she’d find.

She glanced at Ray. Was he alone like her? Okay, technically, she wasn’t alone. She had Fletcher. But Fletcher’s silence isolated him while it added to her guilt.

No. Don’t think about Fletcher right now.
This was the one half hour a day she allowed herself not to be consumed by anxiety over his situation and her future. Think about something else. She slid another glance in Ray’s direction. He’d made himself comfortable by slouching a bit in the chair, long legs spread out before him, arms across his chest. He didn’t seem compelled to make conversation and not bothered by the lack of it.

Could he possibly be single? He wore no wedding band, but so what? A guy like him? No way was he unattached. However, she reminded herself, the last thing she needed in her life was a single man. Any man. Especially one who affected her the way he did.

Men were on her current list of no-nos. The very last thing she needed or wanted. Based on her experience with her ex-husband, she’d discovered men eventually caused nothing but heartbreak and trouble. She had a plan for her future, and she needed to stick to it. Because the other lesson she’d learned recently, and again much too late, was this—every time she deviated from her plan, her life went awry.

“Hot date?” she ventured, her curiosity overcoming her reluctance to get involved.

Ray gave a hard bark of what might have been laughter. “Dinner with my brother and his, um…” He paused, coughed, cleared his throat. “Family.”

“You find” —she mimicked his cough and throat clearing— “
family
gatherings uncomfortable?”

He shot her a look and she grinned.

He shrugged. “Sometimes it’s hard for me to be around people.”

“And yet, here you are.”

Ray grinned. “Let me clarify. It’s hard to be around happy people.”

Hayley was pretty sure she knew exactly what he meant. She didn’t know why that made her smile, but it did. It was good to know she hadn’t forgotten how. “That explains my appeal, doesn’t it? Misery loves company.”

The look Ray gave her sent shivers through her. “I think it might be more than that.”

No way was she going to ask him to clarify that comment.

“Dinner was excellent, however,” he informed her after a moment. He tilted his head toward the covered plate. “Homemade brownies, if you want some.”

Hayley glanced at the plate and her mouth started to water. “Homemade? I didn’t think anybody made homemade brownies. Unless you’re saying, homemade, but out of a box?”

Ray chuckled. “I’m pretty sure these didn’t come out of a box. Kaylee’s a country girl, from what I gather. A great cook, loves to bake, knows how to sew. And in her spare time, she operates a hair salon.”

“I hate her already,” Hayley chimed in.

Ray reached over and patted her knee. “Oh, now, don’t feel bad. Nobody burns frozen pizza the way you do.”

Hayley stared at his hand on her bare knee. His touch soared through every part of her. As if he, too, were aware of the effect touching her had, he drew his hand back. But she could feel him studying her in the dark. She looked away, realizing she’d forgotten to smoke any more of her cigarette. Regretfully she stubbed it out in the tiny ashtray.

Ray’s nearness unsettled her. His touch undid her. This was something she didn’t need while she was trying to create a new life for herself and for Fletcher.

She gulped down the rest of her wine and stood.

Quiet time was over.

Seconds after she closed the door, her cell phone rang. She crossed to the kitchen counter where she had it plugged into the charger and checked the caller ID before answering.

“Paige!” she answered, joy at hearing from her best friend apparent in her voice. “What’s happening, baby?”

“Excuse me, I must have the wrong number. I was trying to reach Hayley Christopher.”

“Ha ha.”

“What’s up with you? I haven’t heard you sound so upbeat in…well, never.”

“Nothing’s up. I’m just glad to hear from you is all.”

“I’m willing to bet it’s more than that,” Paige replied, “but since you’re doing wonders for my ego I’m going to let it go for now.”

Good
, Hayley thought. Because she’d hate to think her recent exposure to Ray Braddock’s company had anything to do with her buoyant mood. And she’d hate to have to try to explain her reaction to him to Paige.

Also a former pro cheerleader, Paige Allen had been her best friend since they’d been on the same squad at North Carolina State. She and Paige had big plans to start a business together once they’d finished college. But Hayley met Trey and dropped out of school with only a year to go. She’d learned a hard lesson about what happened when she followed her heart instead of her head. She couldn’t help but think how different her life would be today if only she’d stuck to her original plan.

Paige finished college and parlayed her cheerleader status into the kind of physical fitness empire she and Hayley had dreamt of building together. Hayley had appeared in one of the company’s early fitness videos and still received small royalty checks from it. Paige married a sports video producer she’d met when he’d needed shots of cheerleading performances for one of his productions. Six months ago, Hayley’d been all set to relocate to L.A. and take a job with Paige’s company. She and Lonny had offered her the use of their guest house for as long as she needed it. Hayley had dreams of finishing her degree, working alongside her best friend and creating a new life for herself. Then Steffie died and she’d postponed those plans. She had to rescue Fletcher and see him settled first. But this temporary bump in the road wouldn’t last forever. As soon as possible, she’d get Fletcher situated and get on with her life. She planned to put as much physical distance as she could from her past with Trey.

“So what’s going on? Anything new with Fletcher?”

Hayley sighed. “No. Not really. He still hasn’t said a word.”

“What about the foster parent thing?”

“I should be hearing from social services in the next week or so.”

“And Carlos is still behind bars, right?”

“Yes, as far as I know.”

“Good. As long as he’s locked up, he can’t get to you. Or Fletcher.”

“I like to think so.” But Hayley was far from certain of that fact. Carlos Mariano seemed to have a rather widespread network of contacts ready to obey his every command. “I don’t want to think about what might happen if he gets out any time soon.”

“You think he’ll come after you?”

“I know he will.”

“Maybe you should bring Fletcher out here. Get as far away from there as possible.”

“I can’t, Paige. Fletcher’s under the jurisdiction of the child protection authorities here. Taking him to California would be tantamount to kidnapping.”

“But getting Fletcher situated could take a while.”

“I’m afraid so. Look, Paige, don’t feel like you have to hold a job for me. I promised to be there—”

“Girl, you stop talking that way right now. As long as I own the company, there’ll be a place for you. You watch out for yourself and do what you have to do for that little boy, and we’ll figure it out when that’s done.”

Hayley’s eyes welled up. She wondered what she’d ever done to be blessed with a friend like Paige. “Okay, thanks.”

Chapter Three

Ray rolled his grocery cart around the corner to the frozen food aisle and came to an abrupt halt. There, about halfway down, was Hayley, studying a frozen food package. Fletcher perched in the kiddie seat of her cart, a beat-up stuffed animal clutched to his chest with one hand and a small race car in the other. Fletcher saw him first. He didn’t smile or wave. His expression changed only subtly. His features softened slightly while his gaze warmed and welcomed.

Hayley turned away. She opened the freezer compartment, replaced the package she’d been looking at and picked up a different one. She wore a blue skirt and a blue-and-white-striped top with low-heeled strappy sandals. The crutches were nowhere in sight even though her ankle was still wrapped. She looked tanned and toned and sexy as hell.

Ray pushed his cart slowly toward them, half of him wishing she didn’t turn him on and the other half looking forward to being in close proximity to her. He hadn’t seen her in days, except in passing or from his window sometimes when she left or came home. He’d been busy, getting his shop, his house, and he hoped, his life back in order.