Gotta Get Next To You (34 page)

“It’s plain to see, cher.”

Andrea stood on unsteady legs and walked over
to the small table between them. She poured herself a glass of
lemonade from the pitcher. “What is so plain, Gran?” “You two had a
fight. You’re both being stubborn, trying to teach each other a
lesson.” Gran gave a tolerant chuckle. “Young folks.”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Andrea went back to the
swing and dropped down onto the cushion again. She pushed it into a
lazy sway.

“Okay, might as well tell you now. Then you
can get over being mad by the time he gets here.” Gran’s voice was
mild. “I told Jamal to come over.”

Andrea squeezed her eyes shut. “Not again!
Gran, you’re unbelievable.”

Gran did not flinch in the face of Andrea’s
wrath. “Don’t try to make this about me. You two were made for each
other.”

Andrea crossed her arms defensively. “No,
we’re not. Trust me; he’s not the prince you think he is.”

“You find out he’s married with seven kids?”
Gran cut in sharply.

“No, but—”

“On the run from the police? Broke outta
prison maybe?”

“Of course not,” Andrea replied. “But—•”

“He’s been tipping with another woman in
town?” Gran’s dark eyebrows went up to her hairline.

“No—” Andrea tried to retort, but Gran beat
her to the punch.

“Then it makes no sense to keep up this
silliness. Bet y’all fussed about something that means nothing when
you really look at it.” Gran clicked the needles together as she
stitched with a smile. “Good thing you got me to point it out.”

Andrea floundered for some plausible way to
explain. “He’s not the man I thought he was. We’re so
different.”

“Sure. He jumps into life with both feet. You
like to sit down and plan, then stick one toe in to see if it’s
okay.” Gran laughed.

“I’m not that timid,” Andrea replied with
irritation.

“ ‘Cautious’ is the word I’d use,” Gran
said.

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, long as you don’t take it too far.
But when it comes to love, sometimes you oughta close your eyes and
jump.”

Andrea grimaced. “I did that once. I landed
flat on my face in the dirt. I’ll keep my feet on the ground from
now on.”

“Let go of the past, cher.” Gran shook her
head. “Jamal isn’t Ellis.”

“Yes, but who is he?” Andrea murmured low.
She imagined him, tall and smiling as though he’d played a joke on
the world.

Gran didn’t hear her. “Stop making him pay
for what some other man did,” she said.

Andrea swung her legs to the floor. “I’m
leaving. You two have a fine time sipping lemonade.” Her sandals
slapped angrily against the porch’s wooden floor. She went through
the side door to the living room.

Gran was undisturbed by her anger. “Sure,
baby.” She smiled and started another row in the pattern.

“Where are my car keys? I put my purse right
here and now it’s gone.”

“Check in the back bedroom,” Gran called out
with good humor.

Andrea huffed in frustration. “I haven’t been
in there, Gran—” She came back to the porch and stood with both
hands on her hips. “Okay, you’ve had your fun.”

“What, cher?” Gran affected an innocent
expression.

“You’ve gone one step too far this time,
Mavis Louise Ricard.”

“Brush your hair a little bit. Here he
comes.” Gran nodded toward the road.

Andrea followed her gaze in time to see Lee’s
sporty dark green Integra turn in to the driveway. “I’ll deal with
you later, missy,” she hissed with a scowl.

Lee parked and got out of the car.
“Afternoon.” He smiled at Gran.

“You gonna thank me one day,” Gran mumbled
low to Andrea. Then she beamed at Lee. “Hi, baby. I got a glass of
lemonade waiting for you.”

Lee climbed the porch steps in his
long-legged stride. “Thank you, ma’am. Hello, Andrea,” he said. His
smile was tense when he glanced at her.

“Hello.” Andrea clipped off the word.

“I’m going in,” Gran announced without
ceremony. She was gone before Andrea could say anything.

“Moves pretty fast for a woman her age,”
Andrea

muttered under her breath. She turned to face
Lee. “You should have known better than to come here.”

He gazed at her for a few seconds. “I guess
you’re right.”

“What did you expect, a warm welcome? Did you
think I’d fall into your arms?” Andrea glared at him in
defiance.

“No.” Lee took a deep breath and let it out.
“Look, maybe the way we started complicates our future.”

“You’re good at something else,
understatement!” Andrea blurted out. She walked away from him to
the edge of the porch.

“So it’s hopeless,” Lee said in a flat
voice.

“You’re just like my so-called father. But
then I’m stupid. I should have figured out he was somehow hooked up
with the clinic. Not that my mother would ever tell me the truth!”
Andrea spoke with bitterness.

He walked close to her. “You didn’t know
about his connection to the clinic or the contract?”

“How dare you judge me! I don’t have to prove
anything to you.” Andrea put distance between them again by moving
away.

“I’m sorry, Andrea. I know it’s inadequate,
but it’s the truth. I’m so sorry,” he said quietly, his voice deep
and intense.

The emotion implied in his words tugged at
her heart. Andrea fought the urge to look into his eyes. She would
yield if she did. Wasn’t that how she’d let Ellis make a fool of
her? The men in her life were like evil magicians. They were
masters of illusion capable of pulling sincere declarations out of
thin air. This time she would not cooperate with the sleight of
hand. Andrea faced him with her chin up. They studied each other
for a time. She sensed he was looking for a vulnerable spot. Well,
she wouldn’t show him one.

“Okay, so you’re sorry. Fine, but nothing
changes,” she said in an even tone.

Lee nodded once. “All right. Let’s go for a
walk.”

“I said—”

“We need to talk about something else. I
can’t risk Gran overhearing,” Lee whispered. He glanced toward a
window.

Andrea followed his gaze and saw the curtain
twitch. “Let’s go.”

They left the porch and walked around the
house to the backyard. The summer sun was a bright white light.
Heat waves shimmered above the blacktop road that ran in front of
the house. Andrea led him to the backyard and toward the oaks
trees. Here shade and a breeze that carried the scent of the bayou
made being outside more bearable. She led him to one of the benches
her grandfather had made. They sat down.

“Things are moving with Denny. Ty’Rance gave
us a list of drugs he wants. Pills for pain, muscle relaxants, the
works.” Lee took a piece of notepaper from his pants pocket and
showed it to her.

Andrea read the list. “Some of these are
addictive. Most are mild. But they can be mixed with other
drugs.”

“Exactly. Ty’Rance is putting together his
own drug lab. They didn’t sell all of the equipment Denny stole
from the clinic.”

“You need a Drug Enforcement Administration
number to order this stuff.” Andrea forgot her anger. She looked at
Lee.

“He’s going to forge your pharmacist’s
signature.

Bill’s been pretty sloppy about leaving his
authorization number lying around,” Lee said.

Her eyes narrowed. “I can’t believe Denny
thought up such a scheme on his own. You were a cop.”

“Andrea, get serious. These are drug dealers.
They know as much about DEA numbers and the chemical properties of
certain drugs as any medical professional. Probably more.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Andrea said as she waved
a hand. She hated to admit that he was right.

“And what Denny didn’t know, I’m sure
Ty’Rance or some other gang member taught him.” Lee leaned against
the back of the bench. “They didn’t need me to coach them, that’s
for sure.”

“Now what?”

“We bring Denny in and tell him what we
know,” Lee said.

Andrea’s heart rate sped up until it thumped
like a drum. The danger of their situation rushed in on her with
greater force than before. It seemed only yesterday that she’d
found out about Lee, Denny, and the investigation.

“Oh God,” she murmured. “It’s happening so
fast.”

“That’s the way these investigations go
sometimes. You have to be ready in case things speed up. The bad
guys set the timetable.” Lee sat forward, elbows on both knees.

“You’ve done this many times before?” Andrea
glanced at him in curiosity.

“A few back in L.A. I did backup and went
under-cover.” Lee clasped his large hands together.

Andrea stared at him for a long time. He
seemed to be thinking back to his past. She tried to imagine him as
a police officer. “I think of you as having a big problem with
authority. It’s weird to think you became a cop. Or were you ever
the bad boy you told me about?”

“Yeah, that was the truth. I got into a few
scrapes. Nothing serious, though. I got to know a couple of black
cops in this basketball league. Real good men, ya know?”

“They took an interest in you,” Andrea
said.

“Sure did.” Lee smiled with affection. “They
weren’t as tough as this old preacher that lived down the street.
Reverend Rooney was a character. Between them they helped keep me
straight.”

“But you left the force. Why?”

Lee’s smile vanished. He stood and walked
away, looking into the woods. “I thought being a cop meant making
the world a better place. After a while, I just got sick of seeing
the ugliest side of humanity. Some cops weren’t much different from
the punks we arrested. Then my little brother got killed.” He
seemed to bite off the last sentence. “I lost those idealistic
dreams.”

“So that was the rough time you mentioned,”
she said.

Lee shook his head. “I’m not going to stand
by and let Denny die,” he said forcefully, his baritone voice a
low, dangerous rumble. “I’m going to save him.” Andrea stared at
him. He seemed to have grown even taller. The look of resolve
stamped on his face left no doubt that he meant it. She began to
believe that Ty’Rance had more to worry about than Denny. Yet she
still felt a kernel of fear. Andrea stood and walked to him.

“Remember what you told me? Ty’Rance Wilson
is smart and vicious. That’s a deadly combination.” Andrea put her
hand on his powerful forearm without thinking. “Be careful,
Lee.”

He looked down at her hand. Andrea savored
the solid feel of him. Heat seemed to flow up her arm and spread
through her entire body. He looked into her eyes and she wanted to
hold him close. A bone-deep hunger almost took hold. Her nipples
hardened and rubbed against the satin fabric of her bra. Andrea
wanted him to hold and caress her. She was only inches away before
she knew it. Lee’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Right,” he growled, his voice hoarse. This
time it was he who moved away. “I managed to convince the sheriff
and state police to make the arrests away from the clinic.”

Andrea stood with her arms down, hands balled
into fists. She couldn’t believe she had almost kissed him! Lee
rubbed his eyes and sat down again.

“Damn! I’m losing it,” he grumbled.

“Am I still a suspect?” Andrea asked.

“No, not anymore.” Lee stood. “Look, let’s
try to put aside personal feelings for the next few days. We can’t
afford to let it distract us. It could lead to dangerous
mistakes.”

Andrea wrestled with her fury toward him. He
was right again. They had to concentrate on the investigation.
Denny’s life could depend on it. So did Lee’s life.

“Of course.” Andrea’s tone was short and
businesslike. “What do I do?”

“Nothing,” he answered quickly. “I want you
as far out of this as possible.”

“Fine time to consider that after you ...”
Andrea’s voice trailed off when he frowned at her. “Sorry. Go
on.”

“Denny is going to make excuses to work late.
He’s been practicing Bill’s signature and making false entries on
patient records,” Lee said.

“The invoices are preprinted with the DEA
numbers. We keep those locked up.”

“Like I said, Bill’s been careless. He’s left
them around where Denny could take several.”

“I’m going to fire that moron,” Andrea burst
out. She paced in front of him.

“Yeah, but wait until this is over,” Lee
said. “Then you can hang him up by his thumbs if you want.”

“Not a bad idea,” Andrea retorted. “But I was
thinking of another body part.”

“You’ve got quite a temper, Nurse Noble.”
Lee’s mouth twitched as though he was trying not to smile.

“Guess I’ve got a touch of drama queen from
Charlene after all,” Andrea said with a shrug.

They gazed at each other for a second, and
then both looked away. Lee cleared his throat. Andrea closed her
eyes for a moment, then opened them again. Her head reeled; she was
dizzy from the wild swing between desire and animosity. Lee
Matthews introduced more drama into her life than Charlene ever
had. He’d shaken up her ordered existence. Andrea could deal with
Charlene. She could even handle Mandeville sticking his nose into
her clinic, albeit behind the scenes. But she’d spent long hours
pondering how to handle Lee. More to the point, she had to handle
her fierce appetite for Mr. Wrong.

“I better go,” he said.

“Yes,” Andrea replied weakly. Leave before I
do something stupid like rip your clothes off! She took a deep
breath to steady herself, and then took two more.

“I won’t tell you much from now on. Can’t
risk it. ’Bye.” Lee hurried off as though he needed to escape.
“Good-bye.”

She watched him stride across the grass until
he disappeared around the house. Gran must have returned to the
front porch. They spoke briefly. Seconds later his car engine
roared to life and she heard the crunch of tires on gravel. He
turned onto the paved road and Andrea watched his car head off
toward town. She walked slowly toward the house, deep in thought.
When she got to the front porch, Gran was in the rocker working on
the shawl again.