Authors: Lori Leger
“
Man, I can barely get five hours of sleep in at night, much less during a nap.”
“
I can’t either, and I feel so rested.” She stretched lazily.
“
It could be why I can’t feel my right arm,” Red commented.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed to sit up.
Red tried to move his arm and couldn’t get it to budge.
“
Is it completely asleep?”
He winced. “Yep.”
“
Sorry about that. I never moved, which is strange because I usually toss and turn all night.”
He grabbed his temporarily dead appendage with his left hand and moved it down to his chest, cringing as he flexed his fingers. “No need to apologize.”
She kneeled next to him and began to massage his shoulder joint and upper arm. “That’s going to hurt like hell when the feeling starts to come back, you know.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “It was worth it. I need to show you something, though.”
“
Okay,” she said pushing her curls away from her face. “I need to go take a quick shower first, and do something with this hair. It’s a mess, isn’t it?”
He shrugged the one shoulder he could move. “I grew up in a house full of women with curly hair, Tiff. It looks perfectly normal to me. Go take your shower. I’ll be here when you get out. Probably in severe pain, but I’ll be here.”
She grabbed a clean pair of jeans, a long sleeve tee-shirt, and some underclothes before padding into her bathroom.
As soon as she stepped into her running shower, her home phone began to ring. “Can you answer that for me?” she called out.
<>
Red threw his legs over the side of the bed and picked up the telephone.
“
Hello.”
“
Is Tiffany there?”
drawled a deep, familiar voice.
“
Drake?”
“
That you, McAllister?”
“
Yep.”
“
How’s my sister?”
“
Better now, she had a hell of a hangover this morning.”
“
You’ve been there all this time to help her through it?”
“
I came in a little after eleven and made her a remedy then we both fell asleep. We just woke up a little while ago and she’s taking a shower.”
“
Good, I’m glad she’s feeling better. Did you straighten things out with her?”
“
I haven’t had a chance to show the surveillance tape, yet, but she seems to be fine with my explanation.” As he expected, he heard the unmistakable sound of horrified silence from the opposite end of the line.
“
Um...Where do you have this surveillance camera set up?”
“
In the hallway by the restrooms.”
“
Oh…”
Red chuckled, hearing the relief in Drake’s reply. “I have three cameras situated around the club.”
“
Three? Uh, I never saw any cameras. Wh..uh…where are they?”
“
Well, they’re called hidden cameras for a reason, and uh, I imagine you
would
like to know.” He heard Drake release a long, drawn-out sigh, a sound of complete surrender. Not surprisingly, Tiffany’s brother detoured from the subject of hidden cameras and the secrets they might reveal.
“
So, I guess we’re still invited to your place for Christmas dinner?”
“
If I were a betting man, I’d go for it.”
“
Good, I’m looking forward to it,”
Drake admitted.
“
I bet you are,” Red answered smugly, before bursting into laughter as Drake uttered a not so mild oath.
“
Tell Tiff I’m glad she’s feeling better. I’ll be pretty busy for the next month or so.”
“
I’ll tell her...oh, and Drake?”
“
Yes,”
he drawled expectantly, as though waiting for the dig.
“
Good luck, man. You are
so
going to need it.” He ended the call with a hearty laugh and placed the cordless phone on Tiffany’s nightstand.
Almost immediately, he heard the impatient ringing of Doc’s doorbell. He walked to the door and opened it, seeing her ex standing on the opposite side of the screen.
“
Tanner!” He said with and exuberant cry. Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better,” Red gushed.
“
What the hell are you doing here, McAllister?”
Red stepped into the doorway, filling it with his bulk. “Ah, that would be replacing
you
.”
“
She’s been screwing around with you for months, hasn’t she?” Tanner accused.
“
I wish,” Red snorted. “No, she hasn’t. Not that you have a right to ask after what you’ve done to her for five years.”
“
Maybe you need to shut the hell up,” Tanner said angrily.
“
Maybe you shouldn’t have acted like a dog chasing every bitch in town,” Red replied. He jerked open the door, causing Tanner to flinch from the nearness of the screen to his face. “You might want to get the hell out of here before you get your precious nose broken…
again
.”
Tanner didn’t attempt to disguise his glare of seething hatred. “This is far from over, McAllister.”
Red smiled broadly at him. “Oh, I think it is. You’ve had five years to make her happy, Collins. Now back the hell off and I’ll show you how a real man gets it done.”
Red had just closed the door on Tiffany’s past when she joined him. He grinned at her attire: comfy jeans and a long sleeved tee with her freshly shampooed hair wrapped in a towel. “I swear, Doc, I still say without make-up you could pass for a fresh-faced teenager.”
Tiffany shrugged as she curled a leg under her on the sofa. “Some women can’t leave the house without make-up, but I never was like that. Not until I had to for Tanner.”
“
Well, you sure as hell don’t have to anymore.”
“
Was that the doorbell I heard?” Tiffany asked.
“
Yeah, it was your ex. It pays to go to church on Sunday. It made my day to have him find me here.”
She smiled. “It kind of makes my day, too,” she said.
“
I hope you don’t mind, but I sort of threw it in his face. I couldn’t help myself.”
“
I’m sure he said something to deserve it. But, you need to know that his father is a powerful man. He’s always saying that his dad can ‘make things happen’ to ruin people’s lives. I’d hate to see your life in turmoil just because Tanner can’t stand to lose.”
“
Don’t worry about me, Doc. I can take care of myself.”
Tiffany picked up the note from the table and smiled as she read it. She folded it into a neat square and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. “Who was on the phone earlier?”
“
Drake called to see how you were. He said he’d be busy for the next month, but he’d be here for Christmas.”
She nodded and stood up suddenly. “I’m starving and I feel like cooking. How do you feel about spaghetti?”
“
Is that an invitation?”
“
Sure is.”
“
Then I’d love some spaghetti. Tell me what I can do to help.”
Tiffany cooked down a pound of ground sirloin and added a jar of spaghetti sauce and some seasonings, while Red got the water boiling for the pasta.
Once the noodles were cooking and the sauce was simmering on the burners, Red called Tiffany over to her computer. “Come here Doc, I want to show you something.”
He sat in front of her computer and pulled up the video files from the flash drive he’d brought.
Tiffany’s eyes flashed with anger as she saw Angelique’s self satisfied expression upon leaving the ladies room. “She obviously thinks you’re worth it.”
“
I guess,” he said. He reached for the flash drive then paused, giving her a curious glance.
“
What?” she asked him.
“
I’m just debating on whether to show you something else.”
“
Do you use this thing to spy on people?” she accused.
“
This is used to protect people and my clubs. I only check it out when there’s trouble, but I rarely have any trouble.”
“
Well, you have my curiosity peaked. Is it more video of that Angelique woman?”
“
It’s better than that. You know how Drake said he thought he’d seen Annie?”
“
Yes.”
“
He did more than see her, and I’ve got it on video.”
She turned and grabbed his arm sending him a pleading look. “Ooh, I want to see.”
He looked down at her and kissed the tip of her nose. “Now how can I say no to anything when you look at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes?” He turned back to the computer. “You have to promise to keep this to yourself.”
Tiffany held up three fingers. “I swear, scout’s honor.”
“
You were never a Girl Scout,” he snorted.
She looked at him and rolled her eyes then stood at attention, raised her right hand in the three finger salute and repeated the Girl Scout Promise, word for word.
He gave her a crooked grin. “That’s quite impressive.”
“
Yeah, yeah, now show me this mysterious footage you have of my brother and your sister.”
Within seconds Red had the video at the spot where she and Drake entered the club. He watched her reaction as their siblings collided in the hallway.
“
Is that it?” she asked, sounding disappointed.
“
Nope. Keep watching,” he said, satisfied at her next reaction.
“
Oh, he waited for her…and they’re dancing together,” she breathed excitedly as Red fast forwarded to that spot.
He scanned quickly through the first dance and partially through the second one.
She inhaled sharply. “Look at how attracted they are to each other.”
“
You think? Keep watching,” he said, grinning at her expected reaction to the footage.
“
Oh my God! That is
so
not like Drake. I have never seen him lose his composure before.”
“
It’s the same with Annie. She’s said for years that she would never fall for a guy because it would screw up her plans. She’s about to remember that…right…about…
now
,” he said, as the video revealed her swift departure, followed by Drake. Red shut off the video after he skipped to Drake re-entering the club, alone.
“
What do you think happened?” she asked.
“
Just what I said, it scared the hell out of her and she ran.”
Tiffany frowned at him. “But they know each other now, I’m confused.”
“
Well, my guess is you’re only half right. When Drake met the other girls, he must have noticed the resemblance. That’s when he asked what Annie had been wearing, remember? Obviously they didn’t exchange names…or correct names, anyway.”
“
So, you’re saying
he
knows who she is, but she has no idea he’s my brother.”
“
Uh huh,” he said grinning down at her. “You know what that means don’t you?”
Tiffany responded with her own impish grin. “Oh, God, I can’t wait for Christmas.”
<><><>
After a satisfying meal of spaghetti, they cleaned the kitchen and sat on the couch to watch some television. They’d slept through most of the Saints game, but satisfied themselves by watching the Texans instead. He was just thinking he’d never been so relaxed with another person when his cell phone rang. He sat up to answer it.
“
McAllister here.” He felt the color drain from his face as he listened to the call. “Was anyone in it?...So, as far as you know there are no injuries, right?...Okay, I’m on my way.” He ended the call and stood up. “I need to go Doc, my club is on fire.”
“
What?” she asked in shock.
“
It’s on fire, as we speak. I need to go find out what the hell happened. Hopefully they can put it out before it causes too much damage.”
Tiffany placed her hand gently on his arm. “I’ll never forgive myself if Tanner had anything to do with this.”
“
You’d have nothing to blame yourself for, but if he did, I’ll damn sure find out. I have my own ways of tracking down information.” He turned toward the door.
“
Wait, Red. I’m going with you.”
He turned back in time to see her grab her purse and coat. “Don’t you have an early surgery tomorrow morning?”
“
Yes,” she moaned, dropping her purse on the sofa.
“
It’s gonna be a hell of a long night for me, but it means a lot that you offered.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss then turned to leave.
“
Red.”
He pivoted one last time to gaze into eyes filled with concern.
She wrapped her arms around him to give him a tight hug. “Be careful, McAllister.”
“
I will,” he said, hugging her back. Tiffany took a step back then pulled him down to kiss him fully on the lips. The kiss deepened as he responded, wrapping her in a tight embrace. He finally pulled away to rest his forehead on hers. “Damn, Doc. You sure don’t make it easy for a guy to walk away.”