Always With You: Part One (6 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Cash

W
hen Olivia
takes a call from her father’s neighbor, I reach into my pocket for my phone.  Two texts from an unknown number, but the first line of the first text tells me who the number belongs to.

Cash, it’s Sophie.

I don’t bother reading the rest of the message or the next one until I’ve angrily tapped out a single question. 

Me:  How did you get this number?

Within seconds, I see the three little bubbles pop up, an indication that she’s typing a response.  I read her other text as I wait.  She’s asking if everything is okay and saying that our things are still there.  Before I can reply, her answer to my question displays on the screen.

Sophie:  The business cards on your desk.  I saw them when I went in to wake Izzy.

Her answer diffuses some of my irritation.  I’d forgotten about those. 

Me:  Oh. Right.

Sophie:  Well?

Me:  Well what?

Sophie:  Is everything okay?

I toy with how to respond.  For some reason, telling Sophie too much feels like a betrayal to Olivia, even though she could find out from any number of other people. It’s not like it’s a big secret.

Me:  Olivia’s father is having surger
y
, I respond vaguely.

Sophie:  I hope he’s okay. If there’s anything I can do, just ask.

Me:  Nothing you can do.

Sophie:  I’m going to fill in at the club tonight. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve tended bar before.

Me:  But not at
my bar
.

Sophie:  No, but I’m a quick learner.  Remember?

She adds a winking smiley face to the end of the sentence. It makes the question seem flirtatious. Suggestive. Unfortunately, I know exactly what she means by that. It’s a reference to a conversation we had many years ago when I took her virginity.  She asked me to show her how to please me.  So I did. Not long after that, during a particularly…heated night at her house when her parents were gone, she teased me after sex, saying that she was a quick learner.  At the time, it was good sex, but I was a kid. What the hell did I know about good sex?

I don’t rise to her bait. If she thinks that there’s a chance for us to get back together, I mean to put an end to that little spark of hope right off the bat.

Me:  No.  But I hope you’re right.  I don’t have time to babysit you.

Sophie:  You won’t have to babysit me.  I’ll be running that bar like a pro in a couple of weeks.

Me:  All you need to do is keep the customers happy.

Sophie:  I’m good at pleasing people.

Another suggestive remark? Or am I making too much of everything she says?  Am I
looking
for something that’s not there?  Am I looking for something to be pissed about?

I scrub a hand over my face.  What a damn nightmare!  Of all the things Olivia and I need in our life right now, none of this comes anywhere close.  The arrival of an ex, a child that could be mine, being uprooted during the holidays, Olivia’s father having surgery—our life and our plans will be taking a back seat for the moment.  Indefinitely.  And that makes me uneasy as hell.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Olivia

I
have
the strangest feeling that Cash is hiding something from me when I walk back into the little waiting room.  His expression is unusually tense.  Even the smile he gives me looks…uneasy.

“Everything okay?” he asks, reaching out to stroke my upper arms when I stop in front of him.

“Yeah.  That was Arnie. Just checking on Dad.  Word spreads fast in small towns.”

“That it does,” he replies noncommittally.  “Hey, you getting hungry?”

I glance at the clock on the wall.  It’s after lunch, but I don’t feel the least bit hungry. Just uptight.  Worried.  Downright afraid, even.

“Not really, but you should go get you something.”

He shakes his head. “Nope. I don’t want to leave you.”

“You can’t stand here and starve just because I’m not hungry.”

“I can and I will.”

As if to speak up in dissent, Cash’s stomach growls loudly.

“I think your body would beg to differ.”

“I only listen to that thing when it’s hungry for
you,
which is all the time. In all other areas, I can control myself.”

I can’t help smiling.  “Lucky for you, that’s the one area I
want you
out of control.”

“Then you should be very happy.  I can just
think
about you without clothes and…
damn!”
he growls, his eyes glistening black.

Although I’m happy that he still reacts to me that way after all this time, I’m too distracted and burdened to feel like doing anything about it.

“Well, since there’s nothing that can be done about
that
hunger, at least go take care of the other one.  You might have to be strong for both of us and you can’t very well do that when you’re starving.”

“I could be strong for you on my deathbed.”

“Let’s not test that for another sixty or seventy years, k?  Now go eat. There’s time while he’s still in surgery.  Besides, I’ve got some calls to make.  Someone is going to have to take care of the farm for a while.”

“Baby, just tell me what to do, who to call and I’ll do it.”

“It’s okay. I know these people. It’s just better for me to do it.  Take care of the things you need to now, before he gets out.”

“Are you sure? I hate leaving you here alone.”

“It’s fine. I promise. You’re just making sure that you can be here for me the rest of the night. That’s all.  Besides, I’ve got things to do.  So do you.  Just be back in a couple of hours.  They said it would take four to six hours, so you’ve got time.”

“I guess I probably need to get our things then.  In case I can’t get back over there tonight.”  He seems hesitant to bring it up.

I swallow hard.  Back to Sophie.  “Okay.  Now’s as good a time as any, I suppose.”

“You know you can always change your mind.  We can figure out something else.”

It’s tempting.  So, so tempting.  The curve of my lips feels tight.  Forced.  Fake.  “No, it’s fine.  It’s not permanent.  And the little girl shouldn’t have to suffer because of her mother’s poor decision making.”

Cash cups my face in his big hands.  “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”

“And don’t you forget it,” I tease.

“I could never forget you.  You’ve got the ass of a sixteen-year-old Russian gymnast.”

“Nice,” I laugh, lightly slapping his arm. “How very…specific.”

“All your body parts are world-class.  Any time you want specifics, I’m happy to share.”

“Maybe later.”

He bends his head to kiss my neck.  “Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Then I’ll hurry back.”

“Please do.”

When he pulls away, digging his car keys out of his pocket, I want to jerk him back to me, to hold on tight and not let him out of my sight.  But I can’t do that.  Healthy adults in a healthy relationship don’t do that to one another.   No matter how much they want to. Or how afraid they are.

“Text me if you need anything. I’ll bring it as I come.”

“Just you.”

“That’s a given,” he says, winking at me before he turns and heads for the door.  “Be back soon.”

“Be careful.”

“I will.  Love you.”  He says the last as he’s disappearing around the corner. 

“Cash!” I call.

He pops his head back into view.  “Babe?”

“I love you, too.”

He eyes me for a second and then walks back to me.  As if he knows exactly what I need, he takes me in his arms and lifts me off the floor.  When my face is level with his, he professes earnestly, “I love you more.”

“Not. Possible.”

“Quite. Possible.”

“Never.”

“Always.”

After a deep yet sweet kiss, he sets me on my feet and makes his way out of the room. I stand watching the doorway long after he’s gone.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Cash

I
know
Gavin’s on top of things, but in this particular instance, I’m not quite comfortable leaving him to deal with Sophie.  At least not yet.  I know what she’s capable of—or at least what she
was
capable of when I knew her a lifetime ago—and I don’t want her left to her own devices, unchecked.  He needs to know what she’s like and what her background is.  He needs to know where I stand on everything so that there’s no misunderstanding.  For anybody.

When I pull back into the garage at the apartment behind Dual, I walk around front and go in the main doors rather than entering through the apartment.  Already it doesn’t feel like my home anymore and I don’t like the feeling.  It’s where Olivia and I have spent countless happy nights and I’m not overly fond of having someone else sleep there.

The bar is empty when I walk in, so I head to the office. Gavin is behind the desk filling out paperwork when I stop in the doorway. 

He raises his head and gives me a nod of acknowledgement before returning his attention to his task.

“How’s Olivia holding up?” he asks in his Australian lilt.

“She’s…holding.”

“And how are
you
holding up?”  Something in his voice is knowing.  He has obviously deduced that my existence is on the verge of being dragged into a shitstorm of drama, and he knows me well enough to know that I hate drama. I think most men do.

“I haven’t broken anything yet, so there’s that.”

He grins, but still doesn’t look up. “I guess that’s something.  What’s up?”

It annoys me that he’s still so engrossed in what he’s doing. I need his full attention right now.  This is important.  “What the hell are you doing?”

“Filling out the bloomin’ ass ton of paperwork you have for your employees.”  He finally raises questioning eyes back to mine.  “Unless you don’t want me to do these for her.”

I don’t have to ask who “her” is.  “No, I want them on file for her, too.”

“Well damn,” he says with a sigh, jotting something at the bottom of the last page and then turning them all back over to tap them into a neat pile.  “That’s not
at all
the answer I was hoping for.”  He says this with a grin as he leans back in the chair and laces his fingers behind his head.

“We need the protection,” I explain.

“So it’s like that.”

“Yeah, it’s like that.”

Gavin leans forward, lowering his voice.  “I don’t trust her either.”

“Why?” I ask, curious as to his answer.

Gavin is not only my friend and the manager of Dual, but he’s the most cautious man I’ve ever met.  No doubt it’s a result of his time spent working as a mercenary.  He’s had to learn to be a good and quick judge of character, to be suspicious as a rule and cautious to a fault.  That came in pretty damn handy during that mess with Olivia.  I got to see his instincts in action.  I had hoped never to need them again, but something about Sophie…I don’t know. It just makes me uneasy.  And now, knowing that Gavin doesn’t trust her either…well, that only makes me
more
skeptical.

I guess I can only hope that whatever it is about her that’s setting off red flags for both of us doesn’t end up being anything that requires Gavin’s particular brand of expertise.

He shrugs. “Nothing concrete yet.  Just a feeling.”

“Your feelings give
me
feelings,” I tell him.

“That’s because you’re smart and I’m a damn good judge of character.”

“That’s just what I was thinking.  But really, what is it that bothers you?”

“I can’t put my finger on it, but I can do a bit of digging if that’s all right with you.”

I wonder for a second if I’m being neurotic in my paranoia, but then I think of my wife and I realize that I’m overprotective for good reason.  I’d rather take the beating of a lifetime than to see her hurt.  And if Sophie can hurt her in any way, even by hurting
me,
then I’m damn sure going to do everything I can to prevent it.  And the only way I can do that is to keep my guard up and find out everything I can in the meantime.

“Fine by me.  More than fine, actually.  I need to know if there’s anything…well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.  In fact, I have an acquaintance I can call. Someone who’s especially talented in the finding people. And in the finding out of things
about
those people.”

“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

“I don’t know as I’d call him a
friend
so much as an asset.”

“Is he dangerous?”

“More than anyone I’ve met in a long time.  But only to a certain…variety of people.”

“And what ‘variety’ is that?”

“The variety that he goes looking for.”

I hold my friend’s blue eyes, reading between the lines and listening to what he’s saying without saying anything at all.  In the end, I trust Gavin.  And if Gavin thinks it’s safe to bring this guy on board, then so be it.  He’s done things for me and for Olivia that go above and beyond the duty of a friend. To say that I trust him with my life would be an understatement.  The thing is, I trust him with Olivia’s.  And
that
is a bigger deal to me than trusting him with my own.

“If you think he can help, bring him in.”

“I’ll make the call.  Might take him a few days anyway. That okay with you?”

I sigh.  “I guess I’ve got nothing but time, man.”

Gavin tips his head toward the closed apartment door behind him, the one from which I can hear cartoons playing loudly.  “You think she’s yours?”

“Hard to say.  She
could
be and I guess that’s enough to keep her around until I know for sure. I mean, if she is…I just can’t turn my back on her.  On either of them.”

“No need to explain.  I get it, mate.  I just hope there’s not more to this.”

Gavin is voicing my concerns, which sort of validates them in my head.  “Me, too, G.  Me, too.”

My gut is telling me—like Gavin’s gut is telling him
—
that Sophie’s up to something.  And, dammit, I’m going to find out what it is.  One way or the other.

“So did you come by just to see my pretty face?  Or was there something else?”

“We left in a hurry, so I’m here to get our things.  Olivia was finishing up packing when she got the call.”

“Well, I don’t think it bothered your new guest.  She and her little girl are still back there, I guess.  She’d mentioned going for something to eat, but I haven’t seen her come out this way. And her car is still parked out front, so…”

I take a deep breath.  “Did we have a Dual shirt for her?  Or have you checked?”

“We had one.  I ordered some extra for Olivia.  Evidently they’re the same size.”

I feel like curling my lip. I don’t know why that pisses me off, but it does.  “Good. Keep an eye on her.”

“Will do, mate.  If she gets out of line, I’d say Ginger will be more than happy to bring her back in.”  His smile says he’d love to see a cat fight involving his feisty redhead.

“So, you’re a thing now?”

His grin speaks volumes.  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“No. Not really.  She’s like a sister.  Just the thought of…”

I shudder and Gavin laughs.

“Your loss, man.  She’s quite…I mean she’s…she’s… damn!”

I hold up my hand to make him stop. “I get the picture. You don’t have to…”

That just seems to make him laugh that much harder.  

“You’d better go get your shit before I start giving you details then.”

He doesn’t have to tell me twice. 

I round the desk and knock on the door at the back of the office, the one that leads into my apartment.  There’s no response at first, but then the door eases open and a pair of sparkling black eyes peek up at me from the crack.

“Can I speak to your mom?” I ask, not knowing whether to ask her if I can come in or…

She nods and opens the door wider.  When I step through, she turns away, calling out to her mother before resuming her place on the bed facing the television.  “Momma!”

Within seconds, the bathroom door swings open and a freshly showered Sophie walks out.  Her eyes round when she sees me and mine round when I see her.  Hers in surprise; mine in anger.

She’s wearing a shirt.  Only a shirt.  And the damn thing is
mine.