Falling for a Stranger (16 page)

"I'll bet he took that as a challenge."

Eleanor's eyes twinkled. "He absolutely did. He went out of his way to prove that he was the one and only man for me."

Ria smiled. "I think Drew has a lot of his grandfather in him."

"He definitely has his stubbornness. But Drew is more of a thinker, and he guards his heart like it's made of pure gold."

"Why do you think that is?"

"I've never been sure. Maybe losing his mom when he was a small child made him a little wary of love. Or maybe it was a broken heart somewhere along the way. Like I said, Drew doesn’t confide in me. But there's something about Drew that sneaks up on you. If you're not careful, you'll wake up one day and realize you're in love with him."

Her nerves tingled at Eleanor's words. "I better be careful then."

Eleanor laughed. "I like you, Ria."

"I like you, too," she said.

"You know I may not remember you five minutes from now."

"I know. But I'll remember you."

"That's what keeps me going," she said. "Knowing that my family will remember the woman I used to be."

"I think the woman you are now is pretty great, too," Ria said.

Eleanor met her gaze. "You'd make a fine Callaway."

"I told you—"

"I know what you said, but my grandson is very good at getting what he wants."

Where was her grandson? Ria wondered. Drew's five minutes had now turned into half an hour.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to sell the boat?" Drew asked his grandfather as they sat at the kitchen table together.

"Positive." Patrick took out his reading glasses. He looked at the checks and then nodded. "You boys are going to have a great time with that boat. I know I did."

"You can still come out on it," Drew said.

"Those days are long gone."

"Grandma seems pretty good tonight. She's making sense. At least most of the time."

"Don't worry about what she says, Drew. Random thoughts pop into her head, and she gets things mixed up."

"She told me about some time where Dad got beat up. She implied that it was some form of blackmail. That someone wanted you to do something." As he finished his statement, his grandfather's jaw tightened and anger filled his eyes.

"She has Alzheimer's, Drew. I can't unravel every story she tells you. And I'm damn tired of trying. You and your brothers and sisters need to stop trying to make sense of things that don't make sense."

"Okay, sorry," he said, seeing the weariness in his grandfather's eyes. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No." He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I just want to savor the good moments now, let everything else go. Because one day there won't be any more good moments."

Drew hated to think about that day.

"I'll put these checks in the bank in the morning. But here are the ownership papers and the maintenance log," Patrick said, pushing a binder across the table. "I kept track of everything. A few of my friends have used the boat in the past few months and said everything was in good shape, but you should get it checked out from top to bottom. I probably should have dry-docked the boat, but I kept thinking that I'd get Ellie back out there. She always loved to sail."

"It's not too late. Any time you want to go out, you can."

"I couldn't take the risk that she'd get confused or scared out there and put herself in danger."

"Do you really think that would happen?"

"Anything is possible. Sometimes she gets combative. It's just fear, and I know that, but it's hard to see the woman I love jerking away from me as if I was going to hit her."

"Is there any treatment?"

"The drugs she's on now seem to be working better, but I don't know. Anyway, you don't need to worry about it." Patrick stood up. "We better get back in there. Lord only knows what Ellie has told your friend."

* * *

"What did you and my grandmother talk about?" Drew asked, as he drove Ria back to her apartment.

Ria smiled. "She said you're a charmer like your grandfather. Personally, I had a little trouble seeing your grandfather's charm behind his gruff exterior, but I guess I'll take her word for it."

"These days, I'm not sure you should take her word for anything."

"She seemed focused most of the time, except for those few minutes when she was talking about your father getting beat up. Do you know what that was about?"

"I have no idea. I asked Grandpa, and he just blew me off. My dad has never mentioned anything, and he's big on sharing stories of his life. I can't imagine why he'd leave something like that out."

"Maybe there's a reason he didn't tell you. Your grandmother made it sound like it was some sort of warning or form of retribution."

"She might have made the whole thing up, Ria." His hands tightened on the wheel.

"Or not. Every family has secrets."

"Are we talking about your family or mine?"

"Just saying you may not know everything there is to know about your father or your grandfather."

"I know both of them pretty well," Drew said defensively. But this wasn't the first time that his grandmother had made vague references to some secret event in the past. Emma and Aiden had both come to him with similar stories.

As he turned down Ria's street, he saw a parking spot near her building, so he grabbed it.

"You don't have to park," she said quickly.

"It's almost seven. I was hoping I could bum some food off of you." He gave her a pleading smile.

"I doubt I have much in the fridge."

"I'll have whatever you're having."

"That's a risky statement. I could be having peanut butter and jelly."

"I love peanut butter and jelly," he said, as they got out of the car.

As they walked down the block, he caught Ria taking several glances over her shoulder, and before she inserted her key into the front door of the building, she took another look around.

"We're alone," he said. "No one is following us."

"Not this time," she said. "But I have to be careful."

They walked into the building and Ria pushed the button for the elevator. "Your grandmother told me that she loves to sail. I guess she doesn't know that Patrick is selling her boat to her grandchildren."

"He doesn't want her to know. He doesn't think it's safe for her to be out on it anymore. I really wish I could do something to make things easier."

"You're lucky to have had your grandparents for so long," Ria said as they got on the elevator. "But I know it's never long enough."

"You said your grandfather died and your parents and your sister," Drew said, his gaze narrowing on each word. "That's a lot of death for anyone to handle."

"It is," she said tightly.

"Is there anyone else left in the family?"

"No, it's just me and Megan."

They stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall. Ria opened the door and set down her bag. "I'm going to check on Megan next door. Then I'll see if I can find some food for dinner."

"We can always order take-out. My treat," he said.

"I think I can find something to make if you're not too picky."

As she left the apartment, Drew walked around the living room, noting the contrast to his grandmother's place. There were no personal photographs anywhere. A few fashion magazines were on the coffee table, but he didn't see any books anywhere. No personal or sentimental type items. He doubted there was anything in the apartment that Ria couldn't leave behind at a second's notice, and that thought bothered him.

A cell phone began to ring, and it took him a moment to realize it wasn't his phone. He walked over to Ria's bag and grabbed her cell phone. As he thought about taking it to her, the phone stopped ringing. It was a cheap throwaway phone. He was almost surprised that she had a phone; she was so secretive. Then again, she had a kid to stay in contact with.

The voice mail lit up with a message, and he battled a very strong urge to see who was calling Ria.

It was a total invasion of her privacy. But damn…

His curiosity overrode his conscience, and he played back the message.

A female voice said
, "It's your mother. Call me."

His gut tightened.
Her mother
? She'd told him her mother was dead. Megan had said the same. He was staring at the phone when Ria re-entered the apartment.

She turned white when she saw him holding her phone. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I thought you said you didn't have any family. So do you want to tell me why your mother just left you a message?"

Chapter Twelve

"You had no business answering my phone," Ria said, fury and fear running through her at the same time.

"I didn't answer it. I just listened to the voicemail."

She grabbed the phone out of his hand. "And that's supposed to be better? Get out, Drew."

"No. Not until you tell me why you lied about your mother."

"I don't have to tell you anything. What is wrong with you? Do you really think it's all right to listen to someone's phone messages?"

"You're what's wrong with me, Ria—you and your secrets. I can't stop thinking about you. And now when I think about you, I worry about you. I wonder why you had to change your name, why you let people think you were dead, why you look over your shoulder every three minutes."

"I never asked you to worry about me."

"You didn't have to ask. You and I have been connected since our night together on the island. Maybe if you hadn't
died
so suddenly, what was between us would have run its natural course. But the shock and tragedy of your death hit me hard. You were so alive, so passionate, so vibrant, and then you were gone. What was I supposed to do with that? Did you really think I could just forget you?"

"I told you I didn't know you thought I was dead."

"Well, you know now."

"Yes, I do."

They stared at each other for a long minute.

There was a depth of caring in Drew's words and in his gaze. She felt herself weakening, wanting to let him in to her secrets, but how could she do that?

"You still had no business listening to my messages," she said.

"I know. You should call your mother back. It sounded important."

She could not call her mom back with Drew in the room. "I'll do it later."

"Where is your mother, Ria? Why did you tell me she was dead?" He paused. "Is anyone actually dead? Or do people in your world just start over with new names?"

Before she could answer, the front door opened, and Megan walked in. "Hey, Drew," she said with a welcoming smile. "I didn't know you were coming over."

Drew forced a tight smile on to his face as he gazed at Megan. "How are you feeling? Your face looks better."

"Except for the black eyes that make me look like a raccoon." She paused, looking from Ria to Drew and back again. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Ria said.

"Only the fact that your mom called," Drew said.

Megan gasped. She sent Ria a shocked, questioning look, and Ria knew that Megan was about to give away something, if not everything.

"My mom," she told Megan. "Drew listened to my phone messages."

"That's not cool." Megan gave Drew a wary look. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I'm worried about you and your sister, and no one will tell me anything." He turned to Ria. "Why did you just say
my mom
when you and Megan are sisters? Why don't you have the same mother?"

"Because we don't." She took a breath, glancing over at Megan. "Would you give us a minute?"

"Sure." Megan stopped by her bedroom door. "If you trust him, I trust him," she said.

"Thanks. I'll get dinner going soon," Ria promised.

"Okay."

As Megan disappeared into her bedroom, Ria knew she was facing a pivotal moment. Whatever decision she made now could be the difference between life and death, maybe for all of them. But Drew wasn't going away, and she was out of lies.

"Megan is my niece," she said finally. "Her mother, Kate, was my sister. Kate died two years ago in a car accident."

Drew's gaze was dark, unreadable. "Is that the truth?"

"Yes. My mother is still alive. That's who called me."

"Where does she live?"

"Massachusetts, and no, I can't be more specific. She's remarried, has a second family, and is far removed from anything going on with me and Megan."

"Not that removed if she has the phone number to what I'm sure is a disposable phone."

He had her there. Drew didn't miss a thing. "I update her periodically. Megan is her grandchild."

"What about Megan's father? Your father? Where are the men?"

"They are both dead. My father died of cancer when I was twenty-one, and Megan's father was killed in the same accident that took Kate's life."

Drew paced around the room and then sat down on the couch, kicking up his feet on the coffee table. "Go on."

She sat down in the chair across from him. "What else do you want to know?"

"Why are you and Megan living like you're in the underground?"

"Megan's mother, Kate, was involved with some dangerous people. Before she died, she made me promise to take care of Megan. I'm trying to keep that promise."

Drew blew out a breath that was filled with frustration. "Dammit, Ria. Do we have to play twenty questions? I'm tired of going around in circles. Tell me what's going on."

"I just did, Drew."

"You said before you couldn't go to the police. But nothing you've just told me explains that comment."

She thought for a long moment, debating how best to phrase her answer. "In order to save Megan, I had to break the law. If I tell you what I did, you might feel compelled to turn us in, and I can't take that chance."

He stared back at her with shock in his eyes. Whatever he'd been expecting her to say, it hadn't been that.

"You're a man who's used to defending right against wrong," she continued. "You've spent the last decade living by a code of ethics and honor. I can't believe you would throw all that away for a woman you met in a bar one night."