Hiding Away (Anchored Hearts #1.5) (3 page)

C
hapter Four

~ CALVIN ~

The next day we went to the townhouse and we were both floored.  The place had been completely overhauled and was big enough for both of us.  Cass was in shock and convinced she couldn’t afford the place.  I persuaded her to just call Mrs. Whitford to find out what they wanted for rent before she lost all hope.  After the phone call, Cass and I discussed it on the way to the tattoo shop.

“I can’t believe they don’t want more for rent.”

“She’s probably doing you a favor Cass.  Can you afford it?”

“Well, I mean yeah.  I’ve never had my own place, but I think I can manage it.  Holly and I split everything before.  It’ll be just me this time.”

I turned and smiled at her as I drove down the highway.  She had tears welling in her eyes.  “Cass, you deserve this, you can do this.”  She nodded and tried to stop the tears.  I knew this was a hard day for her.  It was Holly’s birthday and instead Cassidy was getting a tattoo in honor of her dead best friend.  Life just wasn’t fair.

~<>~<>~<>~

“Fucking hell!”  Stix pulled back and looked at Cass questioningly as I tried to suppress my laughter.  “Don’t stop.  I know I’m not the first girl on your table to cuss.”

“No, not the first, but you cuss like a fucking sailor!”  We all laughed.

“Well it fucking hurts!”  Stix got to work finishing Cassidy’s phoenix as she cursed him.  I averted my eyes when necessary.  She decided to do the outline today and come back for the color at Stix’s recommendation.

~<>~<>~<>~

October

Cass had been moved out for two weeks now.  Her big event with Mrs.
Whitford was tonight with another one next Friday.  I had my workout room back and it felt good to lift weights in my own place again.  It was quiet with her gone, but I was happy knowing she was in a safe neighborhood and close by.

~ JANE ~

Mom convinced me to attend the masquerade with some persuasion from James.  Dad wouldn’t be there since he was always traveling.  I missed him, but I grew up with him traveling a lot and it worked well for my parents. 

We walked into the ballroom and it was exquisite.  Cassidy had done a marvelous job.  Mom was over the moon and headed right for Cassidy once she spotted her.

“Well done, my girl.  Everything looks fabulous.  And you look stunning.  I almost didn’t recognize you with the mask.  Why are you still single?  I have a feeling that you won’t be for long.  I just love Halloween.  It’s my favorite time of year.”  I chuckled at Moms enthusiasm and so did Cassidy.  “You remember my daughter Jane.” 

“Yes, of course.” 

I shook Cassidy’s hand and wondered if she had any idea how much James was pining for her.  I hoped that she was worth it and felt confident that she was.  The night went off flawlessly, though I was bored out of my mind, except when I was watching things develop between Cassidy and James.  They couldn’t keep their eyes off one another.

Later in the night, when Cassidy was busy with a flurry of tasks, I managed to talk to James.  “So?”  They had just finished dancing and had caused quite the spectacle whether they realized it or not. 

James grinned from ear to ear.  “She’s hesitant, but I have faith.”  He wouldn’t elaborate more.

“Mom said you found a tenant.”

“Sure did.”  Sometimes he was so vague it made me crazy.

As the evening ended I spotted Cassidy, who looked slightly frazzled.  I grabbed a glass of champagne and headed her way.  She took the glass eagerly and downed it in one long gulp. 

“James isn’t your date is he?”  I was briefly amused by her assumption.

I smiled at her and said, “No, Cassidy, he’s yours.”

“What is
wrong
with you people?!”  She removed her mask and placed it in her clutch.

“He knows what he wants and that’s you!”  Cassidy simply rolled her eyes at me before I congratulated her.  I kissed her on the cheek and decided to get the hell out of
there.  I’d be doing this again in a week whether I liked it or not. 
This
being wearing a dress, heels, and the works, which I hated doing. 

~<>~<>~<>~

The next afternoon I was lounging on the couch searching the wanted ads again.  I had a second interview at Children’s Hospital coming up, but nothing was guaranteed.  Mom came walking up and poked her head over my shoulder.

“
Whatcha doing, Janey?”

“I think it’s quite clear Mom.  I’m looking for work.”

“I’m sure you’ll get the job at Children’s.”  She patted my shoulder, “I got Cassidy a gift and I was wondering if you could do me a favor and take it to her.”  I groaned as I looked back at her.  “Please.  She’s living at James’s townhouse.”

I spun around, “WHAT?”  Mom just smiled and brought her finger to her lips indicating it was a secret.

“She doesn’t know?  Ugh!  He’s an idiot.”  We shared a laugh before I went upstairs to get dressed.  I called a cab since I still hadn’t replaced my car and didn’t feel like asking mom for her driver or to borrow a car.  I over valued my independence, to a degree.

When the cab pulled up to the townhouse I noted the Ford pickup in the driveway.  Maybe Cassidy wasn’t single like James thought.  I asked the cab to hang on and run the meter before I stepped out of the car.  Taking a deep breath, I walked up the steps and knocked on the door. 

“Jane!  What are you doing here?”  She was clearly surprised to see me.

“Sorry, Cassidy.
  I hope I’m not intruding.  Mom and I wanted to give you this.”  I handed her the wrapped box.  “It’s a thank you for the hard work with the masquerade.”

“Oh wow, thank you.  You didn’t have to go to all that trouble.”  She spotted the gift bag in my other hand and invited me in.  “Please, come in.  The place is a wreck.  I’m unpacking, but my brother is here with food.”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company…”  The truck must belong to her brother.  I was slightly relieved for James.

“Nonsense.
  I insist.”  She softly guided my through the door waving at the cab. 

“Ok, one second, I need to pay the cabby.”  I ran back down the stairs to the cab to pay him.

I closed the door once I made it inside and headed toward the kitchen.  Her brother was a tall guy, standing with his back to me by the kitchen island.  Just from behind I could tell he was built, maybe even more so than James, but not quite as tall.  I stood there hesitantly before Cassidy introduced us.

“Jane, this is my brother Calvin.” 

Calvin turned around to face me with a big smile on his face.  His eyes immediately dropped to my toes and scanned up my body.  I shifted on my feet nervously fighting the foreign feelings happening inside me.  He wore blue jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt that stretched across his chiseled torso, and was tucked into his jeans.  He was clean cut, with short dirty blonde hair spiked up on top and a five o’clock shadow that I guessed was his usual look. He had hooded blue eyes that lit up when he smiled.  And dimples, dear god, he had killer dimples. 

Cassidy walked up behind him and nudged him.  “Stop being rude, Cal.” 

I swear he stuttered, “Sorry.  Jane is it?  You can call me Cal.”  He thrust his hand in mine before asking, “You like Chinese?” 

I pulled my hand away abruptly as the tingles moved up my arm.  “Love it!  Oh, here, this is for you, too.”  I handed Cassidy the heavy gift bag in my other hand as the contents rattled about.

“Jane, really, it’s too much.”  Cassidy opened the bag and pulled out three bottles of the champagne from the masquerade. 

“Mother said that you really liked it.”  She was speechless.  “Open the box!”

“Yeah, Cass, open the box.”  Cal was eyeing the large box suspiciously.

She gasped, “Holy sh... crap…Jane!  It’s amazing.”

I just shrugged my shoulders.  “Please, mom can afford it.  It’s nothing.  Get good use out of it!”

“What the hell is it?”  Cal looked at it mystified.  I couldn’t suppress the laugh that came out of my mouth and Cassidy joined me.  She explained to him that it was
Keurig coffee maker.  “That’s too fancy for me.  I’ll stick with my black coffee, 3 sugars.”

Cassidy ran over to me and surprised me with a hug and thanked me again.  We served ourselves some Chinese and decided to pop one of the bottles of champagne.  Cassidy poured each of us a glass before we headed to the living room.  We chatted, ate and drank a little too much, except for Cal who only indulged in one glass.  I was
surprised by how comfortable I was around them both and I was immediately rooting for James and Cassidy.  She would be so good for him, and the change of pace he needed.

“Jane you’ll be at the auction on Friday, right?”  I wasn’t sure what she was getting at, but Cal’s head immediately turned to mine waiting for my response.

“Oh yeah, can’t get out of that one.  What about you, Cal?”

“Yup, I’ll be there; looking forward to it.”  Cassidy snickered and Cal threw her a dirty look. 

“Oh, how quickly we change our stripes!”  Cassidy was laughing good and hard when he tossed a pillow at her.  I felt myself blush.  It’d been so long since I’d been affected by a man flirting with me, and he was a good looking one at that.  Alarms were blaring in my head as I tried to ignore them.  His dimples alone were swoon worthy.

I was about to tell Cassidy I needed to head home
when her cell started ringing. 
Crash into Me
by DMB
started playing.  Cassidy asked us both, “Is that your phone?”  Cal and I both shook our heads.  We all began looking to see where the music was coming from.

“Found it.”  Cal pulled a phone off the kitchen counter asking, “Who’s James?”  He was holding the phone out of Cassidy’s reach and waggling his eyebrows at her.  I smiled, knowing that if James was calling her, things must’ve gone well for them last night.

“Knock it off, Cal.  Give me the phone.”  She was urgently trying to get the phone from him as he held the phone even higher.  Cassidy pinched his nipple and twisted, which immediately caused him to drop his arm as she snatched the phone out of his hand. 

“Dammit, Cass, that hurt.”  I couldn’t help but laugh at them. 

“Good!”  Cassidy rushed out the front door leaving Cal and I alone.

He was still rubbing his chest from where Cassidy pinched him.  I smiled nervously while wringing my hands. 
Why was I so nervous?
  This was ridiculous!  I started cleaning up some of the mess we made and he followed suit.  He remained silent but continued smiling brightly at me as we put dishes in the sink, leftovers in the fridge and threw away the garbage.  I felt like a girl again and I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. 

He was standing next to me, closer than necessary when Cassidy came bursting through the door and looked completely flustered.  “Somebody’s blushing.”  I stated the obvious as she shrugged her shoulders and then hiccupped. 

“You’re supposed to be on
my
side!” 

“I should get going.  It’s getting late,” I winked at her knowingly.

“How are you going to get home?” 

“Oh, yeah.”
  Pulling out my cell, “I’ll just call a cab.  No biggie.”

“I can take you.”  Cal’s words completely surprised me.  My stomach did a flip and my mouth went dry.

“
Now
who’s blushing?”  Cassidy was clearly in a great mood and possibly tipsy.  She stuck her tongue out at Cal and I. 

“Who’s James?” he asked her again.  I averted my eyes since I agreed to stay hush about it.  Though I didn’t like that Cassidy didn’t know I was related to James.

“Ask Jane.  I have a feeling she knows him better than I do.”  Cal looked to me and I just said he was a friend.  Cassidy faked a yawn and ushered us out the door as fast as she could.  Cal walked me to his truck and opened the door for me.

C
hapter Five

~ CALVIN ~

“Where to Jane?”  I buckled up and pulled onto the street.

“I’m staying with my parents over on Belmont Street, north side.”

“Ok.”  Good Lord, she was from money.  I didn’t stand a chance in hell being a cop, making a cops wage.  I was
way
out of my league here.

“So you’re a cop?” 

“Yup.  I work the midnight shift.  What about you?”

“I’m a Neonatal Intensive Care RN.”  I looked at her like she was speaking in tongues and she laughed.  “That look on your face tells me you don’t understand?”  I nodded in agreement.  “I help take care of babies after they’re born, but my passion is the premature babies.”

“Wow.  That must be scary.”

“It can be, but it’s very rewarding too.  I’m still looking for a job here.  I actually have a second interview on Thursday with Children’s Hospital.”

“That’s great.  Good luck.”  I nervously tugged at the collar on my t-shirt.

“Cal, you can relax.  I know you know I come from money.  Sensed it from you the second I told you where I lived.  I know that it can be intimidating.  But that’s not
what’s important to me.  It has its perks, but please don’t let it cloud your judgment when it comes to me.”  She placed her hand on my forearm.

“You really just throw it out there don’t you?  I like that!”  I placed my other hand on top of hers.  We drove along for a few more minutes and the conversation flowed easily between us.  “I forgot to ask.  What do you know about this James guy?”

“Don’t worry about James, Calvin.  He cares about her and I’ve known him my whole life.  He’s a good man.” 

“He better be.”  I let out a deep sigh as I pulled up her drive.  Jesus, the place was huge.

“So you’ll be at the auction then?  I’ll look forward to seeing you in a suit.”  She leaned in and kissed my cheek, completely catching me off guard.  She was already opening the truck door before I had a chance to throw it in park.

“I’ll be looking forward to getting it off.”  She turned to me and her eyes got big for a moment and she started laughing.  Realizing what I’d just said, “That’s not what I meant.”

“Maybe that can be arranged.”  She winked at me, hopped out and slammed the door shut.  I watched her as she ran up the drive and waved before she disappeared inside.  Hot damn!  The auction just turned into an event I was looking forward to attending.

~ JANE ~

Whizzing in the door I ran up to my room.  I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and knew if I ran into mom it would turn into the grand inquisition.  Walking into my bathroom I looked at myself in the mirror.  What the hell was I doing?  I was openly flirting with him.  The smile on my face looked foreign, but felt so good.  I was scared to death about the thought of a relationship, but nobody said I couldn’t have some fun.  And Cal, he looked like fun,
lots
of fun!

~<>~<>~<>~

The week had crawled by.  My interview on Thursday at the hospital went really well, but they said they wouldn’t have an answer for me until next week.  Now all my thoughts were focused on the auction and seeing Calvin again tonight.  I did another once over in the mirror before grabbing my purse and heading down the stairs.

“There you are.  Marcus is waiting.”  Mom couldn’t get me out the door, and into the limo, fast enough.  Marcus, mom’s driver, winked at me before shutting the door and making his way to the driver’s seat.

When we got to The Benedict Hotel, James’s newest real estate venture, there were photographers everywhere.  I did my best to hide my face, hating the publicity.  It’s not like I was famous.  It was my name that was famous, and we were just famous in a small town. 

Relieved once inside the ballroom; I looked around and took in the majesty of the space.  It was bright and shiny as opposed to last week for the masquerade when it was dark and elegant.  Mom and I spotted Cassidy as she made her way over to us.  We were making small talk when I noticed Calvin walking into the ballroom.  His eyes locked with mine and he brought his finger to his lips and I knew he wanted to surprise Cassidy, who had her back to him. 

He looked edible in that tuxedo.  It couldn’t have been a rental, it fit him too well.  He was in all black except for the blue tie that matched his eyes.  As he made his way up behind Cassidy, his grin grew bigger and bigger.  She squealed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up off the floor.

“Kudos, Cass, this looks great!”

“Calvin!  Put me down.”  Mom and I couldn’t help but chuckle at them.  “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”  Cassidy punched him in the shoulder while admiring him, “You look great.  I’m so glad you could make it!”  I seconded her observation but didn’t vocalize it.

“Well, don’t keep us waiting in suspense, Cassidy, introduce us!”  My mom was devouring Cal with her eyes.  I didn’t know how my dad put up with her flirtatious ways.  Cassidy seemed amused at my mother’s reaction to her brother and made introductions.

“Are you single, Calvin?  Janey here could use a hunk like you in her life.”

Calvin laughed nervously and responded ‘yes’ as I scolded mother and apologized to Calvin.  He just winked at me as Cassidy was pulled away by a young girl who I assumed must work with her. 

We stood there for a few moments.  I was paralyzed with nerves and couldn’t get myself to say two words to him. 
What is wrong with me?
  After a moment Cal excused himself and headed toward Cassidy and the young woman.  The other woman raked her eyes all up and down his body and I suddenly felt jealous. 
I need a drink. 

The night flew by.  We all sat at the same table together, though Cassidy wasn’t able to sit with us for more than five minutes at a time.  My mom wouldn’t stop talking Calvin’s ear off, so I wasn’t able to get two words in edgewise.  At one point James elbowed me asking if I was ok.

“Me?  Yea, I’m good.”

“He’s a good guy.”

I balked at James.  Was I being that obvious?  I couldn’t believe I was even remotely interested in a man at all, let alone this soon.

“Don’t sweat it,
cuz.  Your secret is safe with me!”  He winked at me and left the table as the MC announced that the Bachelor portion of the night would begin soon. 

I ran to the bathroom and when I made my way back into the ballroom all the men were gone.  I spotted mom and joined her just before Cassidy came over to us.

“Cassidy; just who I was looking for.  Please join me and Jane so we can enjoy the bachelors.” 

Before Cassidy even had a chance to respond, mom was dragging us both toward the stage.  Cassidy looked to me with a question in her eyes and I just smiled back at her.  We were in the second row of tables, center stage.  A friend of mothers sat down next to me and kept poking and prodding me for information on my life and Derek.  I put on my best smile and responded sweetly to her questions without giving away details I didn’t want her, or the whole city, to know.  She was a terrible gossip and I didn’t need any of that right now.  I decided the auction would be a great distraction
and just what I needed.  Hopefully there was some good man candy, though I didn’t plan on bidding on anyone.