Authors: Lori Leger
She finally choked out a tortured sob.
“No.”
Red waited only a moment before making a decision. “Pack a bag. Whatever you need to hold you over until tomorrow. I’m picking you up.”
He grabbed the keys to his Camaro and his cell phone on his way out the door. Thanks to Giselle, he knew exactly where Tiffany lived, and floored it until he stood in front of the condo she shared with Tanner.
His breath caught in his throat as Tiffany opened the door. He took in the puffy, tearstained face, her faded jeans and tee shirt, and longed to hold her close. She covered her face, sobbing quietly into her hands. He suspected that by tomorrow she’d be embarrassed over breaking down in front of him, but right now she seemed too upset to care.
He shouldered the strapped overnight bag at her feet, got her purse and keys then put his arm around her. “Come on, Doc, I’m taking you away from here.”
She nodded and stepped out into the frosty nighttime air. As Red leaned in to shut the door, she put a hand out to stop him. He watched with a strange mixture of sadness and delight, as she slipped the two carat emerald cut diamond from her left hand to hang it on a key hook next to the door. As soon as she stepped outside he pulled it shut and placed his arm around her shoulder to walk her to his car.
Enveloped by the decked out Camaro’s warm interior, and heated leather seats, Red watched Tiffany’s head loll back on the headrest. As her eyes closed and silent tears streamed down her face, he reached over to place a sympathetic hand over hers. She promptly pulled it close throughout a fresh round of heart-wrenching sobs. He drove home with her clutching his hand tightly, and suddenly developed a new appreciation for automatic transmission packages.
Red pulled into his garage and helped a shivering Tiffany out of the car and inside his home. He dropped her bags on the floor and led her to the still blazing fireplace, positioning her back to it and rubbed her arms briskly for a minute.
“
What’s going on, Doc?” he asked, stopping to gently tilt her chin up as her tears continued to flow.
She shook her head. “I d..don’t know. I c..can’t s..stop.”
He clenched his jaw, angry at the people in her life who’d brought her to this state of sadness...her parents and Tanner. He pulled her into his arms, allowing her to cry out her misery and sorrow onto his chest. He held her tightly, rubbing his hands over her back, occasionally placing his hand on the back of her head to massage her scalp. After a full ten minutes, the tears slowed, and eventually stopped.
“
Better now?”
She nodded.
“
Want something to drink? Water or a glass of wine, maybe?”
“
B..beer?”
He smiled and walked around to his bar area. “This okay?” he asked as opened a bottle of beer and handed it to her.
She nodded and took a sip. “Thanks.”
“
Now, tell me what happened.”
She closed her eyes, bit her bottom lip to keep from crying, and shook her head.
“
Don’t cry again,” he groaned. “I can’t take it when you cry. Just take a big breath and try to tell me what happened,” he said, as he placed his hands gently on her face.
She turned her sad eyes toward him. “You happened, Red; you and your family.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“
Seeing you and your family together—the way you interact with each other—it made me realize how empty my life is. I know after seeing how other people live that I can’t live in a loveless marriage.” She squeezed her eyes as a sob escaped.
Red reached out to place his hands on her shoulders. “You shouldn’t have to. Nobody should have to live like that.”
“
I know,” she said miserably.
“
...With a man who refuses to be faithful to you.”
“
I know.”
“
No one should ask that of you, not even your parents. Hell,
especially
not your parents.”
“
I know that,” she sobbed loudly.
“
Then why
are you crying?” he asked.
She hugged her waist as she turned toward the fireplace. “I realize now that in thirty-six years, I’ve never had one single person in my life, other than my little brother and our nanny, who’s ever truly loved me. Not my parents, not my grandparent, and not the man I just wasted five years of my life with.” She turned back to face Red. “That’s pretty damned sad, don’t you think?”
Red patted a tissue gently over her cheeks to remove her tears. “Please don’t cry anymore.”
“
Even after I told my mother what Tanner had done, she still wants me to marry him. It’s all about money—she doesn’t care about me. She never has,” she moaned.
Red spent the next half hour listening intently about the years she and Drake spent in that loveless house, watching their parents grow colder to each other and their children. He shook his head in amazement as she told him how she was able to attend college only through a full scholarship when her parents paid to send Drake to Harvard two years later. She told him everything she could about her life in that cold, forbidding place she’d never considered a home. She ended by telling him the last thing her mother had told her.
“
I know it’s just a ploy to try to make me feel guilty, but it’s having the opposite effect on me. I almost wish I never had to see her again, and that’s what’s so sad, Red. Other than my brother, she and my father are the only family I have.”
Red watched as a tear trailed down her face to fall from her chin. He didn’t know how he managed to remain silent through it all, but he did. He longed to pull her into his arms and tell her there was someone who loved her very much, but he knew the timing wasn’t right. He wanted to tell her that all she had to do was say the word and she could be a part of his family.
Like that wouldn’t scare the hell out of her right now.
But there was one person in her family who gave a damn about her. “Maybe it’s time to call your brother.”
“
I tried calling him after mother hung up on me, but he wasn’t home.” She wiped her nose and sniffed softly.
“
Did you leave a message?”
She shook her head. “I c…couldn’t.”
“
I want you to call him again, and if he’s not home, leave him a message. Make sure he knows it’s urgent you speak to him.”
Tiffany nodded, making a quick search of her purse before she realized she didn’t have her phone.
Red handed her his cordless phone. “Here, use this,” he said, before walking into the kitchen to give her some privacy.
<>
Tiffany took a deep breath and punched in Drake’s number. His machine picked up and her brother’s baritone, familiar and soothing, asked her to leave a message. “Hey, little brother, I just broke off my engagement and had it out with mother on the phone. I really need to talk to you, Drake. I’m spending the night at a friend’s house, and I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a call. Love you,” she finished quietly, before ending the call. She stood alone in the living room and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Red approached her and took the phone. “Why don’t you go rinse your face in cold water; it’ll make you feel better.”
“
I believe I will,” she said, nodding. “Where’s my bag?”
He picked it up and held out to her.
“
I feel bad for imposing on you like this, Red. I could have stayed at the condo. For that matter, I could have gone back to my own house.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t need to be behind the wheel in that shape, and you sure as hell didn’t need to be alone. This house is big enough for the two of us, believe me. Come here, I’ll show you your room for the night.” He walked her down the hall and opened the guest room door for her.
“
This is very nice,” she said, admiring the room.
“
You have your own private bath through that door.”
“
Thanks again for all of this, Red.”
“
Anytime.” The silence between them was suddenly broken by the sound of Tiffany’s stomach growling in hunger. He grinned at her. “I’m guessing you didn’t have a chance to eat.”
“
No. Remind me to take that pizza out of the microwave tomorrow,” she said, sheepishly.
“
I can heat up some leftover turkey for you.”
“
Thanks. This is really nice of you, Red.”
“
That’s what friends are for.” He turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Tiffany stepped into the bathroom to admire the huge whirlpool tub, walk in shower with multiple showerheads, and the deep granite sink. She cringed at the red puffiness of her reflection, and splashed it with ice cold water from the faucet. As she patted her face dry, she stared at the stranger in the mirror, running her fingers through the silky, straightened, blonde locks.
No more.
She was done changing herself for Tanner or anyone else.
Chapter 6
Red placed some leftovers in the oven to reheat for Tiffany, and reached for his ringing home phone. “Hello.”
“
McAllister...”
Red’s brow furrowed at the deep, gravelly growl, muffled, as though the caller were trying to disguise it.
“
It is. Who am I speaking to?” he asked, as an immediate sense of unease flooded through his system.
Tanner?
Something told him no.
“
All in good time. You have it all, don’t you?”
Red straightened to his full height. “Whatever I have, I’ve busted my ass to get, and I’ve come by it honestly.”
“
The holier than thou attitude is still intact...we’ll see how long that last when you’re rotting in prison.”
“
What the hell do you want?” Red asked, checking to see ANONYMOUS flashing on the small screen of his caller ID.
<>
The man on the other end of the phone flipped his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.
What I want is this self-righteous bastard’s head on a platter.
Too bad the time wasn’t right to let McAllister know what he had planned for him. Tonight was a start, though. He smiled evilly, stewing in his own silence, knowing he’d planted the seed of unrest in Red McAllister’s safe, secure world. His work done for the day, he hung up without another word.
<>
Red placed the phone on the counter. “What the hell was that all about?” he murmured. He checked on Tiffany’s food reheating in the Viking oven, and the phone rang again. The caller ID showed a mobile number from Texas and he remembered Tiffany’s brother was supposed to call back. He answered somewhat cautiously.
“
Excuse me,”
drawled a deep voice with an east Texas accent.
“I received a call from this number earlier. Is there a Tiffany LeBlanc there?”
“
She’s here, but let me see if she’s available.” Red carried the phone down the hall and knocked on the guest room door. When he didn’t get an answer, he put the phone to his ear and addressed the caller. “She’s not available right now, but is this her brother?”
“
Yes, I’m Drake LeBlanc. Who am I speaking to?”
“
Scott McAllister, I’m a friend of hers.”
“
So what exactly is going on over there? Is Tiffany alright?”
Red took his time walking back into the kitchen. “She’s better now, but when I called her apartment earlier, she was crying so hard she couldn’t speak, so I picked her up and brought her to my place. I didn’t think she needed to be alone tonight.”
“
Where’s Golden Boy?”
“
Who?”
“
Tanner Collins, her ex,”
Drake growled, with clear disdain.
“
Off with another woman, I imagine. He was supposed to be at his parents, and he wasn’t.”
“
So, she finally gave him the old heave ho? It’s about damn time,”
Drake drawled.
“I don’t know if you know him or not, but he’s not exactly husband material.”
Red paced a slow path in front of his fireplace, the same spot he’d occupied while comforting Tiffany a short while ago. “I’ve known him for twenty years and he may be someone’s husband material, but he’s definitely not for Doc...er..Tiffany.” The following prolonged phone silence told him Drake LeBlanc was analyzing every word he told him. Maybe it was the attorney in him, but he sensed that Tiff’s brother was sharp at judging people.
“
So...Scott McAllister...where do you fit in?”
“
I’m just a friend of hers.”
“
But you’d like to be more,”
Drake said, sounding blunt and to the point.
Red raised his eyebrows, impressed with the man’s astute grasp of the situation. “Yes I would,” he answered.
“
And just maybe you’re a little in love with her already?”
Red decided it wouldn’t do to hedge with this man. “Yes I am, actually.”