Deceive Her With Desire (12 page)

They were all there.

Her mother stood in the center of the small group, looking tired and frail. Deirdre’s sisters, Julie and Meghan flanked her. It was hard to tell who was emotionally supporting whom. Peter and Damon, her sisters’ fiancés, stood behind them, their arms wrapped around the small group. Tears ran down the women’s cheeks.

She was too late.

“Deirdre, sweetie.”
Her mother whispered the words, but she heard in them a truth she knew she couldn’t face.

The tears that had threatened the entire drive slid down her face. Deirdre stared at the cluster, too dazed to move from where she stood. She wanted time to stop right now and for no one to say a word. She didn’t want them to speak. Deidre knew if they did, the ache in her chest would explode into a pain so intense it would melt her from the inside out.

She hadn’t gotten there in time to say good-bye.

“Daddy?”
The name slipped from her lips in a voice she didn’t recognize.

Her mother broke from the group, reaching out her hand to cradle Deirdre’s cheek.

“Honey, he’s still alive…”

Relief flooded through her and came out in a choked sob that weakened her knees. Deirdre would have fallen if Austin hadn’t caught her from behind and guided her to the chairs by the wall. Her mother settled next to her.

Alice Tilling clasped her satin hands around Deirdre’s. “They’re not sure what happened, honey. He was having a bad night. He finally fell asleep around eleven. He woke up a couple hours later, clutching his chest. I thought it was another heart attack. The EMTs stabilized him on the way in. But they don’t think it’s his heart. There seems to be something wrong with his kidneys. They’re doing more tests. Doc McCarty’s still in there with him.”

“Can I see him?”

“Not until the doctor comes out.”

* * * *

Exhaustion weighed on the Tilling clan. The melancholy procession of six moved through the pre-dawn mist of the street like shadows, their emotional burden bowing their shoulders and pulling at their feet.

Deirdre’s father clung to life by tenuous threads of plastic tubing and beeping machinery. With no change in the last three hours, Alice Tilling had somehow convinced them all to go home and sleep. Unwilling to leave the protective cocoon of their family, she and her sisters conceded only to a cup of coffee at the diner one block down from the hospital’s main entrance.

These waters they were treading were becoming all too familiar to all of them. It had been only three months ago that John
Tilling
had had the first heart attack. A day in ICU and a couple days in the hospital and he’d come home. But things weren’t looking as hopefully this time around.

She had no idea why Austin had bothered to stay through the tense hours of the early morning as Doc McCarty had continued to update them with only bad news. Austin had blended in seamlessly, bringing coffee and crackers from the vending machines. He’d spent time huddled with Peter and Damon, no doubt talking only the way guys can about dating the Tilling sisters.

Deirdre was grateful to have him here now. His hand, strong and warm on the small of her back, guided her through the nearly empty restaurant to the black lacquer tables in the back. As much as she loved her sister’s fiancés, she would have felt like a fifth wheel as the men offered silent comfort to Meghan and Julie with gentle touches and proximity. She was happy to have someone here supporting her heavy heart.

“What can I get you all on this dreary Tuesday morning?” Like the bright red and silver accents of the diner, the waitress was much too cheery for the solemn group.

“Coffee all the way around,” Peter, Meghan’s fiancé said with a wink. “Give us a couple of minutes to look at the menu.”

“Six coffees coming up.”
The waitress tucked away her pad and left.

 
“I don’t really want anything to eat,” Deirdre said, putting down the menu she’d opened. “I’m not even sure why we let Mum talk us into leaving her alone.”

“Your mother’s a strong woman, Dee.” Peter reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “There’s nothing any of us can do sitting in the ICU for hours on end. We’ll all grab a quick bite and Meghan and I’ll head back to sit with Alice while you four go home and get some rest. It’ll be hard to support your mother if we’re all dead on your feet.”

“I’ve already called in to the office,” said Julie. “I don’t need to go home. I’ll join you.”

“Hon, Peter’s right.” Damon brushed a strand of hair from Julie’s face. “There’s no reason for all of us to be there. We have our cell phones if anything changes with your dad. Now how about I order some eggs and toast to share with you?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Peter said. “We’ll order a little bit of everything and have the waitress bring six plates.”

Twenty minutes later the table was filled with breakfast food and hot coffee, the clatter of forks against plates the only sound breaking the heavy silence.

“So Austin, how’d you meet my little sister?” Julie asked.

Deirdre tensed. She wondered when her sisters would get around to the third degree. No one, especially a man, got a free pass at the Tilling dining table. But she really had no desire to explain the events of the last few days.

“A mutual acquaintance hooked us up,” Austin said, threading his fingers through hers and flashing that heart-stopping smile. He might be stretching it a bit, but it was the truth. Jameson had certainly brought them together.

“Been keeping your relationship a secret? Or is this something new?” Meghan pushed food around her plate.

“Meghan, I don’t think that’s any of our business.” Julie chastised her sister then turned back to Austin. “Don’t mind her. She gets surly when she hasn’t had enough sleep.”

Meghan’s fork clattered to her plate. “I am not
surly
. Deirdre brought a
stranger
to the hospital where our father may be dying. I think I get to know what gives him the right to share our pain.”

“
Meggie
, that’s enough.” Peter tried to wrap an arm around the woman, but she shook him off.

“No.
Seriously.
I’m not sure why you aren’t all wondering about him. I mean, I asked
Rach
when she came by the hospital and she had no idea
who
Austin was.” Meghan said.

Now that just pissed Deirdre off. Regardless of how much they wanted to treat her like some kid, Meghan had no right to drag her friends into a petty family dispute. “You talked to Rachel about Austin?” Deirdre set down her coffee cup with slow deliberation. “Any reason you couldn’t ask me?”

A familiar whistle sliced through their growing anger. Julie dropped her hand from her mouth and pinned her sisters with a hot glare. It had stopped Meghan and Deirdre’s bickering since they were teens.
Damon and Peter bit back knowing smiles, their forks continuing the slow glide from plate to mouth.

Yeah, some things with the Tilling clan never changed.

Julie straightened the napkin on her lap. “Meghan, that’s enough. Deirdre’s allowed her privacy. Now can’t we just have a nice—
”

“Secrets?
Really?
Even if it includes drug arrests and police?”
Meghan asked. “Was Austin your arresting officer, Dee?”

“I’m not a cop and she wasn’t arrested,” Austin said evenly.

“You don’t need to explain yourself to them, Austin.” Deirdre stood, her bravery shattering with the tears glistening in her eyes. “And I sure as hell don’t need your shit right now, Meghan. It’s been a long couple of days.”

Peter reached across the table, taking her hand again. “Dee, I’m sure there was a mistake with the Cutler police.
Meggie
spoke out of turn. Sit down. Finish your breakfast.”

Deirdre fell heavily into the chair unable to carry the weight of her friend’s betrayal. “Rachel told you too?”

“Of course she didn’t tell him. I did,” said Meghan.

“Told you what?” Julie asked, her gaze bouncing across the faces of her family. “What the hell are you all talking about? Why am I always the last to know about this stuff?” She put her hands to her cheeks. “And whatever it is,
please
tell me you didn’t tell Mum.”

“Of course I didn’t mention it to Mum. She’s got enough to deal with,” Meghan said defensively. “Why do you think I’m asking now?” She turned back to Deirdre. “So?”

“I was arrested for drug possession yesterday on my way home from a landscaping job in Cutler.” Deirdre’s voice sounded hollow even to her own ears.

“You can’t be serious?

“How the hell?”

Her sister’s questions tumbled out over each other.

A sob escaped as Deirdre put a trembling hand to her mouth. She wanted to be brave, but Meghan’s attack brought the fear slamming right into her heart.
“Heroin.
Five packets under the driver’s seat of the one-ton.”
Ayden wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against the solid weight of him. “Someone tipped off the police. Four cars chased down the one-ton and…” She inhaled a shaky breath. “They don’t know who called it in, but they pulled me over and surrounded me with guns.”

“Oh, honey you must have been so scared.” Julie laid her hand on Deirdre’s thigh.

“Dee, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Meghan’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I thought they’d found some pot.” She shrugged. “I just assumed you were doing some partying like the old days.
Really.
I’m sorry.”

“Do you need to get a lawyer?” Peter asked. “I have a friend.”

Deirdre just shook her head, the hot press of dread clogging her throat and making it impossible to talk.

“The man she works for brought in a lawyer.” Austin replied. “It’s not going to go any further.
Some minor red tape with the Cutler police.
After talking with Mark Pearson and Rachel, Deirdre’s thinking it could have been one of the high school students who work for her.”

“It doesn’t matter how the drugs got there. Everyone in Delmont is going to assume the worst. I’m afraid when it hits the backyard fences, we’ll lose business,” she said.

“Well, we’re just going to have to set them straight, aren’t we?” Meghan said firmly. “And if they don’t believe there was some huge-ass mistake than to hell with them. We don’t want to work with them anyway.”

“We’ll get it straightened out, Dee. Don’t worry,” said Julie.

And just like that the family unit solidified as the Tilling clan circled the wagons.

* * * *

The sun glistening off the windshield of the Jag had finally burned off the early morning fog.

“Turn here. The farmhouse is only a couple more miles.” Deirdre’s voice was weak.

“Do you need me to call anyone? Rachel? Mark?” Ayden asked.

“No, I talked with
Rach
when she was at the hospital. She’s going to call Shawn and let him know about my dad. There are a couple of small jobs I put off, but Rachel will go there with Mark and crew.” A small laugh escaped. “Of course in the middle of all that, the witch forgot to mention she’d told my sister about the drug mess.”

Ayden reached over and squeezed her leg. “You’re pretty lucky to have such a supportive family.” She looked so small, so defenseless, huddled in the leather seat. He didn’t know how to make this better. Ayden had lost his family so long ago he didn’t know the kind of strength that came from sharing grief. He knew for certain, after her tearful confession to Julie and Meghan about the arrest, Deirdre had nothing to do with Jameson’s drug operation. She’d told him the truth.

He owed her the same. But how much worse could the timing be?

After Sunday, after they busted Jameson, he’d tell Deirdre everything, all the sordid details of his life. He just didn’t know if the reality would send her running in the opposite direction.

That would be his luck.

He’d started this relationship looking for a distraction, but Deirdre had quickly become so much more than a casual affair. He’d felt her defenses fall away last night with her clothes. She’d given all of herself to him and allowed him into her family. He looked over at the woman who’d tied his emotions in knots and worried about her reaction to his confession.

Her mother had pulled him aside while Deirdre was sitting with her father. Men hadn’t treated her daughter well, and Alice hoped Ayden’s intentions were honorable. He hoped like hell they were too. He hadn’t had time to sort that one out yet.

But if the night had proven anything to Ayden, it’s that he wanted what the
Tillings
had. Actually, he wanted Deirdre, the rest of the package was just icing.

The familiar burn of doubt heated his gut and he absently reached for the antacids in the glove box.

“You all right?”
Deirdre asked.

“Too much vending machine coffee and not enough sleep.” He popped a couple of tablets.
Yeah, not even close to the truth.
The fact was, when the Jameson deal went down, there was no way he was going to be able to walk away from the sexy redhead who’d crawled into his bed and wrapped herself around his heart.