Humidity Rising (Romantic Suspense) (2 page)

Back at home, Kristi sat on the sofa, staring at the card she‘d been given between her thumb and forefinger. She’d started to dial the cell number four times, and four times she had stopped herself. It wasn't that he wasn’t a handsome man. He was the kind she could easily see herself with. But, they’d only just met that afternoon and knew nothing about each other.

Still, his winning smile, his neatly combed, dark, wavy hair, and those mesmerizing grey eyes had made her feel like a little girl getting the much-desired doll on Christmas morning. The fact that he was tall seared this impression into her heart.

What was she
thinking
? Okay, so he seemed nice, but she didn’t know anything about the guy. What if he turned out to be some crazed axe murderer, or something worse? What if he was some weirdo who just wanted to get to Janie? What if …

Stop it!
she told herself. None of this was solving her current dilemma, namely that she had no idea what to make for supper, and that she wasn’t that great of a cook. She and Janie needed nourishment, and this guy was nice enough to extend the offer of dinner.

Maybe she should accept the invitation, just this once, to see what he was really like. That way, she could get to know more about him and be better able to make up her mind about any further involvement.

She made her decision and picked up her cell phone again. This time, she went through with the call, almost hoping he wouldn’t be available. If he wasn’t, she could take Janie to one of the burger places nearby and let the girl have whatever greasy food she desired. She wouldn’t mind a little indulgence herself.

“Hi. This is Wes.” He answered on the second ring.

“Hello, Wes. This is Kristi Lloyd. We met this afternoon.”

“Yes, I remember. I don’t think I could forget you, no matter how hard I tried.”

She smiled, despite the fact that she knew he couldn’t see it. “I’ve been thinking about your offer for dinner. Are you still free tonight?”

“Sure! Where would you like to go? Whatever you want is fine with me.”

That was a good question. She considered it for a moment. “Have you heard of a place called Mama Leone’s?”

“Yeah, I have. Isn’t that the new Italian restaurant at the Jacksonville Landing that everyone seems to be talking about?”

“That’s the one. But I hear the prices are a little—,”

“Not a problem,” he cut her off. “It’s on me. I’m the one who invited you, so it’s only proper for me to get the tab.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I insist. It’s not every day that I get a chance to take a beautiful woman and her niece out to dinner.”

She chuckled, knowing the heat in her face was turning her cheeks carnation pink, and was glad that he wasn’t able to see it.

“Okay, but let me leave the tip, then.”

“On one condition. I’d also like to pick you up. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”

She bit her lower lip. “I’m not so sure about that.”

Thoughts of him being some kind of maniac resurfaced, and she nearly told him to forget the whole thing. She swallowed the words before they ever saw the light of day. She’d felt something about him from the moment they’d first met at the dentist’s offic
e
He seemed genuine, and even included the kids to make her feel more at ease. She decided to trust him. At least until dinner was over.

“My nephew will be coming along, in case that makes a difference.”

“That would be okay, I suppose.”

She gave him her a
ddress.

“I think I know where that is. How soon can you be ready?”

She glanced at her watch. “Twenty minutes.”

“How about half an hour? I have to stop and pick up Anthony on the way.”

Again, she chuckled. “Okay. That’ll be good. See you then.”

She hung up the phone, tossed it on the coffee table, and stood up to let her niece know they would be going out to dinner.

“Janie? Are you in your room?” she called out as she headed down the hallway.

“Yes, Aunt Kristi.”

As she reached the bedroom door, she peeked in to see the girl lying on the bed, coloring in a book her mother apparently had bought for her. A pang of loss pierced her, but only for a moment.

“We’re going out to dinner tonight,” she told the girl. “Do you like Italian food?”

“Lasagna!” the child cried out, as though she’d just won the spelling bee at school.

Laughing, Kristi responded, “Yes, that’s Italian. Is that what you want?”

“Yes, yes!” she said, sitting up and bouncing as she chanted, “Lasagna! Lasagna! Lasagna!”

Still laughing, she said, “Why don’t you put on your red dress? The one with the pretty lace on the sleeves.”

“Okay, Aunt Kristi.” Janie jumped down from the bed and headed toward the closet.

She turned and headed to her own room, when Janie said something that made her stop in her tracks.

“Is that nice man from the dentist’s office gonna be there, too? I like him. I think he’s perfect for you.”

Now there’s a bright child
, Kristi thought. She’d been thinking something similar only a few minutes earlier.

“Yes. Mr. Chandler will be here to pick us up soon. Go wash up before you put on your dress, okay?”

She stepped into her room as Janie came out and skipped down the hall, chanting, “Lasagna! Lasagna! Lasagna!” on her way to the bathroom. She closed her bedroom door, smiling and shaking her head.

* * * * *

Wes was sure he hadn’t stopped smiling since Kristi called, maybe since they’d met, and he didn’t care. He felt as though he were orbiting the world at the highest altitude possible for a hot-air balloon. It was a sensation he wanted to experience until time ceased to exist.

He looked across the table at Kristi as she twirled spaghetti with her fork, carefully lifted it to those perfect lips, and gingerly closed her mouth over it. Watching a woman eat never made him think or feel the way he did with her. It was almost erotic and he knew that if he watched her for much longer, his pants would suddenly become two sizes too small.

Averting his eyes to the children, to avoid an embarrassing situation, Wes noticed that the girl seemed to be entertaining herself. As she ate, a child version of her aunt, she hummed a tune to herself as she imitated one of those bobble-head dolls he’d seen on miscellaneous dashboards of taxi cabs. Even his nephew was doing something similar, and he had to wonder what was going through their young minds.

He chuckled. Kristi appeared to notice where his attention was directed and peered over at her niece, then joined him in the quiet laughter.

“Does she do that often?” He kept his voice low, not wanting to distract Janie from having a good time.

“Only when she’s happy and enjoying herself.” Kristi smiled. The contentment on her face was like a flame melting the cold, hard wax his heart had become since his last girlfriend. He didn’t want to think of that now, though. He only wanted to enjoy the company of this beautiful, striking woman and the pretty little girl sitting next to her.

“So, is she visiting you for the summer?” The look in her eyes dimmed. “I’m sorry. My curiosity sometimes speaks before I can think.”

She smiled for a second. “It’s okay. I don’t mind answering.” She took a quick breath. “My sister and her husband died in a boating accident, and I’m the only living relative. She was placed in my custody.” She glanced at Janie, then back to Wes. “If they’d tried to place her elsewhere, I’d have brought the wrath of Heaven down on their ignorant heads.”

Caution flags suddenly circled in his brain as if kicked up by a tornado. His recent ex was also a strong-willed woman, and he’d had to forcibly extricate himself from her vice-like grasp. But, just because Kristi was determined didn’t mean she was a control freak like Liza had been.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” What else does one say in this kind of situation? “But it seems like you have an excellent reminder of your sister.” He paused. “Does Janie look like her?”

“Yeah. Almost exactly like Laurie.” The tone of her voice became reflective. “She has her daddy’s nose and round face but other than that, she mostly looks like my sister.”

“I’ll bet she acts like her, too.”

Now she chuckled. “Oh, yes, she does. She’s so much like Laurie that sometimes I think I’m raising my sister all over again.”

“You raised Laurie?”

“Mom died from cancer when I was sixteen and she was thirteen. Dad had left us right after Laurie was born, so I did the best I could.” Her eyes began to fill up and the dam threatened to break at any moment. “Now it seems like I get to do it again.”

* * * * *

She saw them sitting there, acting like the perfect little family, and it made her want to vomit. It also made her want to do things she didn’t dare speak of, but would carry out if necessary.

All she wanted was a nice, quiet dinner alone. However, that was shattered when she sat down and saw them. He had his back to her, making it impossible for him to see that she was there, her eyes on not only him but also on that harlot and her little bitch child. She wasn’t sure who the boy was but that didn’t matter. The cow who
her
man was eating with was her only concern.

She tried to convince herself that she was probably his cousin or something, and was only in town for a few days, but the way he was paying attention to every word she spoke told her this was no relative. This woman was a rival. One to be eliminated at all costs, even if she had to destroy him to get rid of her.

Something in the back of her mind began to form. A plan of some sort, though she couldn’t grab hold of it just yet. She decided to let it work itself out before talking to Andy about it. Once she had a plan, he’d be more than willing to see things her way and they’d work it all out.

Wes couldn’t believe how well they got along. Kristi seemed like the one he’d been waiting for his entire life. Maybe he was moving a bit too fast, but it felt as though she was the missing piece that made his life complete.

The feeling was almost overpowering and he didn’t want to slow down but he knew if he kept up at this pace, he stood the risk of pushing her away. He didn’t want that to happen, and she hadn’t shown any sign of resistance yet. As soon as he noticed anything like that, he’d back off.

What lacked to surprise him was the fact that Anthony and Janie got along well, too. Kids without siblings usually did. He’d have a chat with his sister about letting the boy come along on future dates, if only to put Kristi better at ease.

Here he was now, standing in the doorway of her home, saying goodnight. Janie had already run inside and Anthony was busy with a handheld video game in the back seat of the car. He bent his head and gently kissed her cheek as she turned to face him.

She looked into his eyes and he felt the flames ignite anew. Without warning, her hand was at the nape of his neck and she’d pulled him into a kiss, her lips lingering on his for only a moment or two before she pulled away.

“Good night, Wes,” she was saying as his senses whirled away, then came rushing back. “I had a wonderful time, and I’m sure Janie did, too.”

“Me, too.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. Her kiss was still swirling around in his head. “We’ll have to do this again. Soon.”

She smiled. “You have my number now. Call me.” Then she vanished into the house as if she’d turned into vapor.

He returned to his car, unaware of the ground beneath him.

“Is she your new girlfriend, Uncle Wes?”

The words startled him. He’d almost forgotten he hadn’t taken Anthony home yet.

“Well, let’s not go rushing things. It could turn out that way, though.”

“It sure would be nice if she was.”

“Why do you say that?” He glanced in the rearview mirror to see his nephew’s face.

The boy hesitated, shrugging. “Because if she is, I wanna come with you again. I like Janie. She’s okay, for a girl.”

Wes chuckled. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

“Maybe Mom will let me come with you next time, too.” Anthony sounded optimistic.

“I hope so, little man,” Wes replied. “I hope so.”

* * * * *

She’d followed them from the restaurant and watched them from a safe distance as she sat in her car. The fury burning inside intensified ten-fold as she watched them acting like teenagers at the door. Something had to be done about this and soon. He couldn’t be allowed to just leave her behind like this and take up with some tramp with a kid.

At least now she knew where her rival lived. Tailing them had saved her the trouble of finding out who the bimbo was, then tracking her down. All she had to do now was figure out how to get her to back off and leave
her
man alone. An idea would come to her. She just had to give it some time to develop. Like a new photograph.

She waited quietly in her car, watching him finally leave, and contemplated what she should do about this woman. She couldn’t tolerate this behavior from him much longer. Somehow, she had to take the bimbo out of the picture.

It wasn’t in her nature to commit murder, but this was pushing her to the limit of her sanity. If she didn’t act soon to let out some of her frustration, while inciting fear in the bitch, then she might slip over the edge. She’d be likely to do anything and wouldn’t be responsible for her actions, if she even cared by then to be responsible for them.

As she watched his taillights disappear down the street and around the corner, she couldn’t help thinking he was slipping away. That was not an option. She had to make sure to give this harlot a sign that things weren’t going to work out for her.

That’s when the idea struck. Yes, that’s what she needed to do, and she had everything she needed at home. She started her car and drove toward her apartment as fast as she dared. Before long, she’d have her plan in motion and this woman wouldn’t want anything more to do with
her
man.

* * * * *

“Is Mr. Wes your boyfriend now?”

It was just like Janie, and her mother, to be direct.

“It takes more than one date to call someone your boyfriend.” Kristi didn’t want to give the child the wrong impression about such things.

“I think he’s really nice.” Janie’s smile was like a moonbeam, brightening the room.

“So do I.” She tucked the blankets under the girl’s chin. “But it’s time to go to sleep now, okay?”

Janie nodded enthusiastically and closed her eyes tight.

She could see that raising this child was going to be a challenge, but she was up to it.

As she stood to make her way to her own room, Janie whispered, “I love you, Aunt Kristi.”

“Love you, too, sweetie,” she replied, bending over to kiss her niece on the forehead.

She turned and left the room, closing the door but leaving it slightly ajar. The first night the girl was with her, she’d learned the child didn’t like the door completely closed. Janie almost went into hysterics until Kristi reopened it, leaving a two-inch gap. She wasn’t sure why this was the case but she knew that if she were in Janie’s place, she’d have been a little scared, too.

Entering her room, her thoughts returned to Wes. Maybe Janie was right. He could be the one Kristi had been waiting for. He seemed intent on spending time with her and appeared genuinely interested in her, even going as far as including her niece. Another date or two and she’d know if this was going to be a relationship she’d want to pursue. For now, though, she planned to just see where it was headed and reserve her feelings until she knew what she was getting herself into.

That decision being made, she changed into her favorite pajamas and went to bed. She wasn’t able to keep Wes out of her thoughts, no matter how hard she tried but eventually, she drifted off to sleep. Pleasant dreams of him came to her, and she slept soundly through the night.