TOML SW 2015-04-09 (5 page)

He felt a stirring in his blood as he remembered her fiery response to his wild offer, the way she’d looked at him with those big hazel eyes, the connection between them sizzling as surely as the lightning that now danced in the sky.

That was a woman who could keep a man’s attention, make him long for things he never wanted before, like picturesque little villages and a quiet little life.

A happy life.

He shook his head to stop this ludicrous train of thought. The last thing he needed was a relationship, and Tori Henderson was the last woman on earth he would pick. She was after his brother, for goodness sake, which meant she was about to become heartbroken and a little less naive.

Of course, Gabe would probably sleep with her first.

Jealousy and anger percolated through his blood. He could live with not having Tori. But he couldn’t abide by Gabe using her and tossing her aside.

He took a long swig of his beer as thunder cracked loudly overhead.

See? Even God doesn’t want to see those two together.

“Jed.”

He turned to find his father standing before him, tall and trim. Jed sighed. He thought he’d resigned himself to these two weeks, to the inevitable tense conversations and uncomfortable situations this trip would entail. When he first saw Edward at the restaurant, his father had acted like someone on a greeting card commercial. The hearty hug with the manly thump on the back. The sentimental greeting that wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.

“Hey,” said Jed. “Have a seat.”

Something about the way the old man carried himself was startlingly familiar, and Jed realized it was the same stance he saw in the mirror. He couldn’t change genetics, but he didn’t have to like it. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk.” His father settled into a matching chair. “That okay?”

Lightning lit up the darkened sky. “Fine.”

“One hell of a storm. I remember there was a storm like this the summer we stayed up here. Went on for hours, seemed like.”

“I wouldn’t know.” He hated the recalcitrant tone of his own voice, the wounds so clearly visible.

“You were in college,” said Edward.

“It was summer.”

His father turned to him, gray eyes locking with their younger counterparts. “The truth, then.”

“That would be refreshing.”

Edward nodded, again looking out at the lake. “You hated me. You hated me more than I knew what to do with.”

The smallest crack split in Jed’s armor, the most careful opening, too small for so much anger to fit through. “You didn’t want me around. I noticed.”

“I loved you.”

Jed laughed bitterly. “You ignored me, hoping I would go away like my mother did.”

“I loved Jeannie, too. But she never believed it.”

“You left us.”

Edward shook his head. “She left me.”

“You’re lying.”

“It’s true. I would have taken her back anytime she wanted, for years afterwards. She knew that, but she didn’t want me.”

“So you married a few other women to get over it.”

“I’m a weak man, Jed. I don’t like to be alone.”

“Is that why you’re marrying Bonnie? So you won’t be alone?” He hated to even think it, to send this monster of a man into Tori’s family, knowing what would come of it.

“No. I love her. But she’s the first real love in my life since your mama died.”

Jed scoffed.

“It would do you some good to realize not everything in this world is exactly the way you think it is,” Edward said, then stood. “But you’re thick-headed, like your old man. You come by it naturally. Just try to consider the possibility.”

~~~

Chapter 4

“Come on, come on, come on,” Tori yelled to the driver in front of her. The car inched forward and she huffed, her eyes darting to the clock on the dashboard.

7:52.

Gabe’s plane was supposed to land seven minutes ago. She swore as she smacked the top of the steering wheel. She would have been on time if the last shopper of the night hadn’t kept changing her mind about which vase to buy for her sister-in-law’s something-or-other.

Or if I hadn’t kept changing my mind about what to wear.

She’d had it all planned out, a sleeveless shell that matched her eyes and a pair of capris that showed off the curve of her legs. But when she’d stepped outside, an unseasonably cool breeze blew harshly off the lake.

She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard.

So she’d scrambled back inside, hastily pulling out a green cashmere sweater with short sleeves and a wide boat neck. In the forty-five minutes since she left the house, she’d thought of a dozen other outfits she’d rather be wearing.

Tori had spent the better part of the last two days torturing herself with the unknown. What did his girlfriend look like? Was she nice, or nasty? While Tori sincerely hoped the other woman was an ugly shrew, she highly doubted Gabe would date anyone who wasn’t as beautiful and perfect as he.

She pulled into the cell phone lot and threw the car into park. Great. She was sweating.

Stupid freaking sweater.

She put her window down and pulled out her cell phone, checking the flight status with fumbling fingers.

DELAYED, ETA 8:15.

“Son of a pup!” she yelled. In her haste to get out of the house, she hadn’t even checked. Her own fault.

Everything that was happening lately was her own fault. Her business failing. The stupid misprint on the fliers. Dropping the ball on the wedding plans for her mother. Suddenly, it was just too much. Her chin dropped and she began to cry, a small keening sound rising up from her chest.

But what could she have done differently?

She wasn’t a planner by nature, always preferring to fly by the seat of her pants. It had worked well enough for her until recently.

That’s not true, and you know it.

Her shoulders shook with her quiet sobs, her carefully applied makeup no doubt running down her cheeks.

The thought made her even sadder, her own pathetic attempt to get back a man who hadn’t kept in touch with her ten years before. She’d sent several letters, and he’d replied once, but that was it. It had nearly broken her heart back then. How had she forgotten that?

A knock on the passenger window, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Jed stared back at her.

Of all the people to show up in this moment, why did it have to be him? “Go away!” she yelled.

“Let me in.”

“No.”

His stare pierced hers. “Tori, let me in.”

She put down the window. “What do you want?”

He reached in and unlocked the door. “I want to talk to you, obviously.”

The light came on when he opened the door, and she covered her face with her hand.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

He was quiet, and she knew he didn’t believe her. “I think we got our signals crossed,” he said. “I thought I was picking up Gabe, but I’m pretty sure you thought the same thing.”

She turned to him. “My mother asked me to come.”

“Gabe asked me to do it.” He lowered his brow, his hand reaching out to swipe at a stray tear on her cheek.

His touch sent a wave of sensation outward from his fingers, and she held her breath.

“You’ve been crying,” he said.

She lifted her chin and stared out the windshield. The airport lights glowed in the distance, the air beginning to fog. “So, what?”

“Why, Tori?”

“Please leave me alone.”

“Is it Gabe? Are you upset about seeing him?”

She hated that he knew her secret, hated that he could see into a part of her she wanted to shutter and hide. “You don’t know me at all. You know one little piece so you think you’ve got me pegged, but you don’t.”

“Tori’s Treasures?” he asked quietly.

Her mouth opened and she turned to him, her bottom lip quivering.

“I saw the flier,” he said. “I figured if you were this upset it had to be something important.”

Something important.

Her face crumpled and she began to cry again, resting her forehead on the steering wheel.

Jed inched closer. “Hey, it’s okay.”

She cried harder. It wasn’t okay. It was never going to be okay again. What would she do after her business went under? She’d be followed by the debt forever, even while she worked some job she didn’t love just to dig out of the hole left from the one thing she truly cared about.

Not to mention the shame.

Not to mention the failure.

“Come here,” he said.

She shook her head. “No.” She sounded like a petulant child and she didn’t even care. What difference did it make now? Why should it matter to him?

He reached around her shoulders, pulling her against his warm chest. She fought him for a moment, then gave in and rested her head on his shoulder. It felt so good to have his arms around her, so good to be held and comforted as she wept, crying hard into the crook of his neck.

When she had calmed down enough to speak, she said, “I’m going to lose the shop.”

“Money?” he asked.

She nodded. “The building needed all these repairs, a new water line, all new electrical. I just didn’t plan for that. Then it took us longer to get a customer base than I thought it would, and my main supplier went out of business after I’d already paid him for a huge shipment, and I had to use my advertising budget to buy a new computer system…”

“It adds up pretty quick.”

She snuggled into his side. She wanted to tell him all of it. She needed to tell someone all of it. “I just couldn’t keep up anymore. I paid my mortgage on a credit card last month, and it’s due again a week from tomorrow.”

His hand slipped into the hair at the nape of her neck, stroking. It felt so good, she could have purred like a kitten. When was the last time a man had touched her? A long time, and even then it hadn’t felt like this. She turned her head into his chest, taking the scent of his skin deep into her lungs.

Jed ran his hand down her back and up again.

She was in dangerous territory. She could feel it.

“I can give you money for the bills,” he said. “Help you with the treasure hunt…”

“Why would you do that?” her voice was husky, and she hated that it was, but she couldn’t seem to help it anymore than she could pull herself away from his embrace.

He rubbed his cheek on her forehead. “I’m not sure what to say to that, Tori. How honest do you want me to be?”

She raised her head, meeting his smoldering eyes, knowing her own must look very much the same.

She leaned back, taking her own seat again. She grabbed her purse with shaking fingers and dug for a make-up wipe, his words ringing in her mind.
How honest do you want me to be?
 

“Let me help you,” he said.

She shook her head. “It’s my business. It’s my job to save it. But thank you…”

For holding me.

For making my problems feel important.

For offering to help when no one else knows my secret.

“For listening.”

The ring of his cell phone pierced the quiet car, but he made no move to answer it.

“That’s probably Gabe,” she said, but he just stared at her, making her insides turn upside down.

“His timing always sucked,” Jed said. He answered the phone. “Hey, listen, change of plans. Tori’s picking you up. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”

He was letting her pick Gabe up. That was a good thing, so why did she feel put out? She turned to look at the runway, a plane that wasn’t there before now sitting at the gate. Her heart picked up speed, the funny feeling in her chest now all but forgotten.

The light came on and wind blew through the car as Jed got out. “I hope you get everything you want, Tori. And I meant what I said. I’ll help you with your shop, no strings attached, just say the word.” Then he closed the door and walked back to his car.

She sat in the quiet for a moment. Who was Jed Trainor, that he would offer to give her money when he barely knew her? But it didn’t feel like he barely knew her. It felt like he had a window into her soul.

Ridiculous.

Tori pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the terminal.

I hope you get everything you want.

She shook her head. This was what she wanted, what she’d wanted for so long. Gabe Trainor. She couldn’t have been more certain. He was the man who’d made her laugh, made her smile wide enough to stand out in her memory, the only man she had ever loved.

And if she was distracted by Jed, that was only because he rubbed her the wrong way, she reasoned. Because he was always there at the wrong time, saying the wrong thing.