Truth and Humility (13 page)

“You’re seriously questioning
my
judgment?”

“Well...yeah!”

“Who’s cohabitating with the enemy, Danny?”

Sputtering, Danny tried to find an answer to that.  Instead, she asked, “Who told you that?”  If it was Austin, she could deny it.

“You told me.  Last night right before you got
wildly active
with Derek’s biggest adversary.”

More humiliation.  Great.  Never in her life had Danny felt so out of her element.  It wasn’t pleasant and it made her edgy.  “That...right there...should have told you I was under the influence of something a lot more powerful than one margarita.”

“Well, it wasn’t because of Brett.  You should give him a chance, he’s a really great guy and you need someone to take the edge off.  Especially now, before you get edgy again with Austin Cahill.”

Oh, please!  Make it stop!  “Not interested,” she said through her teeth.  “In
any
of it.  And you shouldn’t be, either.”

Some background noise over the phone instantly put her back up.  Was that Brett’s voice?

“Let me talk to her.”

Yes.  Definitely Brett.  Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.  “What are you doing, Melanie, running interference?”

“He just wants to talk to you, hold on.”

Before she could protest, Brett was crooning in her ear.  “Sweetheart, you don’t know how relieved I am that you’re okay.”

Danny made a disgusted noise.  “Sweetheart?  Wow.”  There went her appetite.  “Look, Brett.  I don’t know you very well and you
certainly
don’t know me.  So, I’ll give you a little heads-up on how I feel about men who have to drug women in order to get laid.”

“Come on, Danny,” he purred, his voice dripping with superiority.  “You can’t blame your low tolerance for alcohol on me.”

Something slithered down her spine, but annoyance put posture in her tone.  “Oooh, such a smooth-talker you are.  Here, let’s try this one.  And after I say it once, you can repeat it with me.  Date...rape...drug.”

“Don’t condescend me.”  Danny heard him collect himself.  “And if you accuse me of that, I guarantee you won’t get very far.” 

“I have a feeling I’ll be able to sniff out a few of your other victims. Compare stories.”

“You’ll do no such thing.  Believe me, it is not in your best interest.”  His voice was too soft, belying the underlying message.  For Melanie’s benefit, no doubt.  “So give me a chance to clear the air.  Tonight.  I would really like to see you in a pretty little dress like the one Melanie wore last night.  I’ll take you to a party.  We’ll have fun and I’ll prove to you that you don’t need drugs to want me to fuck you.”

Everything in Danny’s brain scrambled with fury.  S cfurt>

“Now, tell me where I can pick you up.”

Oh, so he was one of those who wouldn’t take no for an answer.  A wicked tingle put a smile on her lips.  “Okay,” she said skillfully, but hesitant capitulation was not what she had in mind.  “As long as you let me handle the drinks this time.”

“Absolutely.”

“Just you and me?”  She had to know that Melanie wouldn’t be involved.

“Just the two of us.”

A sigh.  “421 East Fairview Drive.  End of the cul-de-sac, blue house.”

“Be ready by eight thirty.  And remember, dress...”

Ooh, a test to see if she’d been paying attention.  “Yes, don’t worry, I’ll wear something oober sexy.”

“Very good.  See you then, love.”

She hung up and stared at the phone for a second then dialed another number.

“Y-ello.”

Danny pictured the shaggy sun-bleached hair and adorably crooked teeth of her brother’s close friend.  “Hi Baker, it’s Danny.  Derek’s sister.”

“Sure, darlin’ I know who you are.  What can I do you for?”

“Is the gang going to be at your place tonight?”

“Can’t keep ‘em away on a Saturday night, not when ole’ Bertha’s yodeling ‘High on a Mountain Peak’.  What about you, you feeling the need to test your limits, little sister?”

She hated when any of the gang called her that.  It was a reminder that their respect for Derek kept her off limits in the dating circuit.  Which was bad for her because the only men she was interested in dating were in their niche little group of rock climbers.  “I’d love nothing better, but unfortunately I’ll be off the grid for a few weeks.”

“Bummer.”

“But I’m sending a playmate for Bertha, someone she can have fun with.”

“A sacrifice?  Sweet.”

“His name is Brett.  Fancies himself a real trad master, but he needs to find out what it’s like to downclimb like the rest of us.”  Descending a rock cliff without weighting a rope, without protective equipment.  It’s what they all did in Baker’s back yard since the man bought a piece of prime real-estate on the top of a decent-sized cliff.  “The less Brett knows about your playground, the better.”

“You want us to sandbag him?” said with distaste.

“No, I wouldn’t ask you to lie about the terrain, but if he asks for beta, be vague.  Let him figure it out for himself.”  The less Brett knew of the cliff’s terrain, the better her plan would go.

“So, by vague...?”

He was wondering if she wanted Brett to know about the safety net below.  “It’s important that he thinks he’s going to crater if he lets go.  I guess y’all can spotlight him from the ground, place bets to see how long he can crush a hold before he poops his pants.”

“Harsh.  What’d this guy do to you?”

She ground her teeth together.  “He slipped me some pharmaceuticals last night.  Of course, he won’t man-up and admit it and now he won’t take no for an answer.”

“No shit?  You okay, Danny?”

“Yeah.  It was an epic fail on his part, but now he won’t back off until I put out.”

“Nuff said, little sister.  You leave the nut-sack to us, we’ll have him gripped for the better half of the night as long as we can coax him onto the crag.”

“Yay!  Thanks, Baker.  Just tell him I’m wearing a sexy little dress and waiting for him at the bottom.  He’ll be eager to impress.  And if Derek happens to show, don’t spoil the fun by telling him.  He’ll just beat the guy up and ruin it for everyone else.”

“Gotcha.  What time can we expect the gentleman?”

“Eight thirty.  And, Baker...you’re sure you’re okay with this?”

“Girl, I’m stoked.  Can’t wait.”

Danny hung up and smiled with a deep sated satisfaction.  It burned that she wouldn’t be there to watch Brett cling to Baker’s backyard cliff-side in sheer terror.  Bertha was a bitch in the daytime...and impossible at night.  Which was what made night-climbing her so much fun.

The room erupted in a slow clap and she spun around on a gasp.  Her eyes narrowed on the man leaning against the doorway.  Was he following her?  Then again, Austin looked entirely too good, his pecks jumping beneath the T-shirt every time his hands came together.  His eyes and mouth were lacking the coldness she had been subjected to that morning.  It made it incredibly hard to focus on his agenda...and the reality that they would forever be at odds.

“What’s that for?” she sneered, sensing he’d been there a while.  Not that she meant to be nasty, but Brett had put her in a mood.

Austin quit clapping and shoved his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans.  “Such a grandioso performance, Bennett.  I almost believed you were actually going to go out with the guy again.”

She gaped.  “You’ve been standing there the
whole time?”

He shrugged.  “I gotta say I’m getting more entertainment out of eavesdropping on you than I’ve had in ages.  Very interesting lifestyle you lead, Danny.”

“What would you know about it?”

“I can decipher enough of your funky language to figure out that Brett’s about to develop a hell of a fear of heights.”

Yes
, she thought with sinful pleasure. 
He will
.  And the last thing she wanted to do was supply entertainment for the man who’d shown her her own special brand of fear that very morning.  “Don’t you have more interesting things to do on a Saturday than pester me?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether I have to guard your door in case your boyfriend comes to kick your ass for setting him up.”

She shrugged, undaunted.  “If I can survive you, I can survive him.”

That one stung.  “There are some men you don’t want to push,” he said slowly, with reserve.

Her eyes wrinkled in a humorless smile.  “I can take care of myself, thanks.”  Danny scooped her goodies into her arms and blew past him.  “And don’t pretend to care.  It falls flat no matter how you ice it.”

He let her pass without pursuing her.  Now that he’d had time to calm down, there were many things he regretted about their heated exchange...starting with how much he’d scared her.  She was a strong woman.  She could handle his fight with Derek and all it entailed, and she could probably even handle Brett Lockton.  But she couldn’t handle the threat of his physical rage.  It made him feel no better than that scum he’d rescued her from.

Whatever it took to keep things in perspective, he would do it from now on so that he would never cause that fear in her again.

____________

For years, the Cahills had met one Sunday a month for gourmet pizza at the old house.  This Sunday afternoon was no different.  The usual crowd was there: Austin’s mother, Patricia, his sister, Ruth, her husband Winston and their ten-year-old daughter Laney.  The smell of melted cheese and sausage permeated the rooms.  But for the first time, the pizza was served from cardboard boxes.

Laney squealed with delight.  It had been so long since she’d been able to indulge in the basic kind of pizza kids preferred.

The girl threw her arms around her uncle’s waist, causing him to bobble his slice in the middle of a bite.  “I
love
you, Uncle Austin!  Thank you for tossing that awful pizza oven out the back door!”

“Ehem!”

Austin met his mother’s glare and stopped chewing long enough to say, “What?  It wouldn’t fit through the front door.”

Laney giggled below.

Ruth tossed glossy black hair over one shoulder, licked grease from her fingers.  “Laney, that oven has been in our family for many years.  Your grandmother isn’t too happy with Uncle Austin at the moment.”

“It’s okay, Mother,” Austin interjected, not the least bit fazed by the matriarch’s negative vibes.  Patricia was way too uptight.  “It can still be fixed, I just put a few minor dents in it.”

He remembered how good it felt each time the heel of his boot made contact with the broken stainless before he’d unmercifully pushed the hulking beast through the sliding glassed doors.  Those, too, would need to be replaced, but at least he’d effectively released some of his anger.

Patricia Cahill closed her eyes for a moment then reluctantly chose a slice of veggie supreme.  “You aren’t doing a very good job of taking care of this house, Austin.  Remember, we get a twenty percent investment tax credit for the
rehabilitation
, not the
destruction
of it.”

“Oh, Mother, it’s not so bad,” Ruth interjected, winking at her brother from across the island.  “You can barely see the marks on the floor.”

Patricia drew up, matched her daughter’s statuesque height.  The two women were much alike in physical appearance, though one was stately, the other laid-back.  Much too casual for a well-bred lady, according to Patricia.  “They are
ruts
, Ruth Anne,
ruts!”

Ruth smiled when Austin flinched in a comic display of drama every time their mother said the word “ruts!”  Despite their eight-year age difference, they shared the same opinion about many things, including the fact their mother tended to over-dramatize.  Still, she thought his treatment of the beloved pizza oven had been a bit harsh.