Every Step She Takes (Who's Watching Now Book 2) (23 page)

“Why not? I bet your mom understands more than you think.”

“She and my dad just got married. End of problem. Aunt Grace is different. She did some stupid things, too, and she survived a tragedy.”

It took every bit of his willpower not to question her. He couldn’t invade Grace’s privacy that way. If she wanted him to know about her past, she’d tell him.

“It’s great you have someone to talk to. I’m sure it helps.”

“It does. My aunt is—special. Are you two…” She bit her lip. “I want her to be happy, and sometimes I don’t think she is. She’s seems to like you a lot, though.”

“I like her a lot, too. No promises, but I’m doing my best. I want things to work out between us.”

Her hand stroked Wylie’s back. “That’s good.” She hesitated for a long moment. “Is something wrong with Aunt Grace? My mom was being all weird about me going to the city, and then you two acted like there was some deep, dark secret. She’s not sick or anything, is she?”

“No, of course not.” Grace would probably kill him—so would her sister—but wasn’t the truth better than letting this girl think her aunt had some deadly disease? It wasn’t his call to make, but he made it anyway. “There was a little trouble in Alaska.”

“I read her story about the government witness for that trial. What kind of trouble?”

“Let’s just say the drug lord on trial didn’t want the witness to testify against him. He sent someone to eliminate the problem.”

“Wow. Cool.”

“Not so cool.”

“Does this have something to do with that guy, Archer? I thought Aunt Grace was going to have a heart attack when I mentioned him even though she tried to pretend nothing was wrong.”

“She didn’t want to scare you.
I
don’t want to scare you, but if he ever comes near you again, run. He’s dangerous.”

The hand on Wylie’s back shook. “They think I’m going to fall apart at any hint of trouble because that freak who was stalking my mom kidnapped me. I’m not.”

He exited the freeway and slowed as they cruised down the two-lane road leading to Vine Haven. “I don’t imagine you would. I’d guess you have a steel backbone just like your aunt.”

She smiled. “Damn…er, darn right. All the Hanover women are tough, from Grandma right on down to Ivy.”

“Your little sister, the one who looks like a Christmas angel, is tough?”

“I know, right?” The grin spread. “Her looks are deceiving. She’s scary smart and almost as devious as me.”

Travis laughed out loud. “What about Jade?”

“What you see is what you get with Jade. She’s an athlete. She’ll probably be a professional soccer player—or the first woman in major league baseball. None of the boys can hit her fastball.”

“What about you? What do you want to do?”

She shrugged. “I’m not as smart as Ivy or as good at sports as Jade, but you never know. Maybe I’ll surprise everyone someday.”

“Lark?”

“What?”

“I’d bet on it.”

* * * *

Grace covered one ear with her hand and strained to hear in the noisy bar. “Can you hold on for a minute?” She dodged around two twenty-somethings wearing skintight camisoles that made it clear they hadn’t bothered with bras and slipped into the restroom. “Say it again.”

“Where the hell are you?”

“Geez, Travis, don’t get your shorts in a knot. One of my co-workers turned forty today. We’re having a drink to celebrate.”

Deep breathing greeted her response. She hoped he wouldn’t hyperventilate before he got his anger under control.

“I’m fine, perfectly safe, surrounded by a dozen people from the paper. Or I was until I stepped into the bathroom. Still, I’m pretty sure no one is waiting in a stall to slit my throat.”

The toilet flushed, and a woman with short black hair and deep red lipstick emerged. After giving Grace a nervous glance, she hastily washed her hands and exited the room.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t back in time to pick you up, but going out alone is just plain stupid.”

She sighed. “I’m not alone.”

The grating noise was probably Travis grinding his shiny white teeth.

“I meant without me to protect you. Where are you? I’ll be there in…where are you?”

“O’Shaughnessy’s Pub.” She gave him the address. “I was careful, honest, and there was no way I could say no to celebrating Jen’s birthday. Where exactly are you?”

“On the Bay Bridge. I thought I’d never get out of Vine Haven. I agreed to drive Lark over to the winery since your sister was busy at work and didn’t want her left home alone.” A sigh whistled through the phone. “You should have heard them arguing about that. When we got there, your dad started talking about grapes, and the next thing I knew your mom was bringing out a late lunch. Then Kane stopped by to hear the real story of Lark’s big adventure because apparently Rachel wasn’t so sure her daughter’s version was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

His voice ended on a high note. Grace leaned back against the sink and grinned.

“You don’t have to tell me how exasperating my family can be. Uh, you could get a ticket for talking and driving, you know.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass.”

She glanced up when the door opened. A tall blonde drifted in on a wave of perfume and headed into a stall.

“I repeat, I’m
fine
. I’ll see you in a few minutes, twenty tops since you’ll have to find a place to park.”

“Please keep your eyes open. If you feel even a twinge of unease—”

“I’ll dive under a table or hide behind the bar or use my editor as a human shield. Hank pissed me off today.”

At least she’d made him laugh before she hung up. Slipping the phone into her purse, Grace left the bathroom. The work group had spread and thinned while she’d talked to Travis. Her editor, who’d been nagging her about a follow up story on Sutton, and one of the newbie sports reporters had disappeared completely. Sal, a grizzled veteran of the news trenches, was at the bar watching the ballgame. The birthday girl and the society news biddy, who had to be pushing eighty, were at a table guzzling drinks sporting little pink umbrellas, and Dottie, the travel section guru, was talking to a blond man with his back to Grace, wearing a sports jacket that probably cost more than the down payment on her car.

She headed in their direction. Dottie glanced over and waved, and her companion turned. His gray eyes held cool amusement as he met her gaze. With a murmured word to the travel reporter, he strolled toward the door. When he reached it, he turned back and smiled. Raising his voice over the din he called, “Next time.”

The door shut, and Grace grabbed a chair back for support. When a hand touched her arm, she flinched.

“Are you okay?”

She drew in a shaky breath and nodded at Dottie’s question. “Yeah.”

“You don’t look okay. Come sit down.”

Grace followed the redhead to a table and dropped onto the nearest seat.

“What did that man say to you?”

One arched brow shot higher. “The young hottie in the Seville Row jacket? He asked me to give you a message. Said he’d do it himself but he was running late.”

“Oh?”

She frowned. “He acted like he knew you. Is something wrong?”

“I know him. What’s the message?”

“Just that he’s sorry he hasn’t been in touch sooner because it’s long overdue.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

“Grace?”

“Hmm.”

“When he walked away, he muttered something strange. ‘Eighteen years overdue.’ Why would he say that?”

“I don’t have a clue.”

Grace sat at a table with a chubby brunette wearing a little rhinestone crown and a woman who looked like she’d been embalmed. Not dead yet. Bright black eyes blinked in the leathery face. Travis slid onto an empty chair.

A bony hand clamped down on his arm. “I suppose it’s too much to hope I’m the attraction here?” A piercing cackle assaulted his eardrums.

Grace grinned. “Phyllis, Jen, this is my friend, Travis.”

Jen let out a sigh and drained her cocktail glass. A bleary gaze settled on him. “I was hoping you hired me a stripper.”

Her grin broadened, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Maybe next year.”

“Nice meeting you, ladies.” He glanced at Grace. Something was definitely off. “Are you ready to go?”

She nodded and stood. “Happy birthday, Jen. Promise me you’ll call a cab.”

“I may be drunk and
old
, but I’m not stupid.”

“Forty isn’t exactly ancient.”

Phyllis patted her companion’s arm. “If you want to talk ancient…”

Travis ushered Grace from the bar with a hand at the small of her back. When they stepped outside, she glanced around and shivered.

“This fog is colder than Moose Flat in January. Where’s your jacket?”

“I forgot it this morning.” She headed toward the Porsche. “I see you double parked.”

“I didn’t want to waste time.”

He clicked the remote on the key fob to unlock the doors, and she slid inside. Wylie whined and wiggled and licked her face before settling on her lap. When the engine purred to life, he turned up the heat.

“Do you want to go get something to eat? I’m pretty sure the refrigerator was about empty.”

She hugged the dog. “What I’d really like is a take-out pizza with everything on it.”

“No onions.”

“I can probably live with that.” She pulled out her phone and made the call then stuffed it back in her purse. “It should arrive about ten minutes after we get home.”

He cast a glance her way as he pulled up at a stoplight. “What’s wrong?”

A sigh shuddered through her. “
He
showed up at the bar.”

Travis turned and stared. When a horn honked behind him, he shifted into gear. There was no question in his mind who
he
was. Cursing beneath his breath, he whipped into a parking spot and tugged on the emergency brake.

“What happened?”

She touched his arm, fingers cool against his heated skin.

“Nothing happened. Let’s go home, and I’ll give you all the details. If we aren’t there when the delivery guy arrives, we won’t get our pizza, and quite frankly, I want it. I need a little comfort food.”

He unclenched his hands from around the wheel and released the brake. “Since when is pizza comfort food?”

“It is to me.” She leaned back in the seat, and some of the tension seemed to drain out of her. “How was your trip to Vine Haven?”

“Interesting. I really like your dad. We didn’t have a chance to talk much the other night.” He accelerated up a hill then let off the gas as they coasted down. “He certainly has a passion for grapes.”

“The vineyard’s been in our family for a couple of generations. It would have killed him if none of his children wanted to carry on the tradition. Lucky for the rest of us, Will cares about grapes almost as much as Dad does.”

“You don’t like wine?”

A hint of a smile curved her lips. “Oh, I like wine. I just don’t like digging in the dirt.”

“I don’t know. There’s something about living off your own land that appeals to a baser instinct.” He pulled up at the pink house and waited for the garage door to rise then drove through. “You and Wylie hang out for a few minutes. I’ll be right back.”

“I know the drill.” She slammed the car door harder than necessary. “Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to walk home without skulking in the damn garage first.”

He squeezed her arm. “The trial starts in another week. After that, life should return to normal.”

“Because Mason Rogers will have either put a bullet through Casey’s brain or failed and left town with his tail tucked.”

“I’m hoping for option B.” He left the garage and took a quick tour of the neighborhood, nearly drawing his weapon when a cat scurried out from behind a garbage can sitting by the curb. When his heart slowed, he turned back.
Idiot.
His nerves were strung way too tight for safety.

Grace waited just inside the garage door, one hand stroking Wylie’s ears. “No preppy assassins lurking in an alley?”

“Just a cat.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You look spent.”

“Seeing him standing there with that freaking, smug look on his face shook me, I’ll admit. I just want to crash on the couch and eat my pizza.”

“Sounds good.”

He punched in the security code and opened the door. When a delivery van with a restaurant logo pulled up, Grace went upstairs with the dog while he paid the teenage driver and took the oversized box.

Entering the apartment a few moments later, she was nowhere in sight. “Grace?”

“Be out in a minute.”

Travis set the pizza on the counter and toed off his shoes. When Wylie walked over to his bowl and stared at it, he lifted the food bag out of the cupboard and poured out the dog’s dinner.

“That smells heavenly.”

He glanced up—and dropped the bag with a thump. She wore cropped cotton sweatpants and a fitted T-shirt, nothing unusual, but on Grace they looked spectacular. Her face was washed free of makeup, and her hair hung down her back. She could have been the same age as her niece.

“I assume you mean our dinner, not Wylie’s.”

That got a smile, and some of the worry faded from her eyes.

“I may slip him a slice out of sympathy. I ordered a large, so there should be plenty.”

“Sit.” He pushed out one of the bar stools. “Do you want wine or beer or something with a pink umbrella?”

Another smile. He was on a roll.

“Water is fine. I had two cocktails at the bar, but go ahead.”

After filling a glass with water and adding ice, he pulled a beer from the refrigerator and took down a couple of plates. Pushing a basket of napkins closer, he sat beside her and dug into the pizza.

Closing her eyes, she chewed and swallowed. “Tony’s makes the best pizza on the planet.”

“It is pretty damn good. Enjoy your meal. Then we’ll talk.”

“I can do both.” She leaned on one elbow and took another bite. “
He
was there when I came out of the bathroom.”

Travis dropped the slice back onto his plate. “Outside the bathroom door?”

“No, he was talking to Dottie in the seating area. She left before you got there.”