Unchained Hearts (Baxter Family Saga) (9 page)

Virgilia hugged him tighter. “I told her about you, her daddy.”

Cass hugged her even tighter. “I want to meet her. I want her to know me and her siblings. We need to be a family, Lila. Marry me.”

“What?”

Seeing the surprise on Virgilia’s face, he decided to seal the deal. He let go of her and went into the other room. Cass presented her with an opened box. It was a ring. A beautifully cut diamond surrounded by sapphires and rubies.

“I had this made not even a month after we met. I put it away because I was a little afraid of your answer. I even put it in my luggage for the cruise and Gray found it. He said he kept it safe for me because something inside him knew I’d be back.” He took the ring out of the box and gently slipped it on her finger. “Marry me, Lila. No more waiting, no more timing, just marry me.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Yes?”

“YES!”

***

“Your mother and I were married the next day.”

Kyle sat there with tears streaming down her face. “But I never knew.”

“You were probably too young to remember, but we met and I used to sing you to sleep. Your favorite song was—”

“You Are My Sunshine.” She closed her eyes and forced herself to remember. “You used to take me to this beach and we made sand sculptures and I buried you. But then one day, I never saw you again.”

“My mother somehow got away. The police suspected she was working with someone. We took it in stride but one day we saw a strange man outside a school we were looking to enroll you in. Your mother and I got threatening mail more than once. We made a decision to...” Cass tried to clear away the hard lump in his throat.”...to keep you away from me. I would be the target, but you and your mother couldn’t be seen with me or Joan would know for sure you existed. She would come after you.”

“My God, who was she?”

“She was a trained nurse before she met your grandfather. There’s still a lot we’re trying to sort out, but the more we learn, the more we realize she wasn’t who we thought she was.”

Kyle got up and Cass followed. 

“In the beginning, your mother and I saw each other a few times. She would fill me in what was going on. I even went to your recitals and your graduations. I was so proud of your valedictorian speech.”

“My mother never mentioned you again. I thought you were just a dream.”

“We hoped you would. If you thought I was a dream, you wouldn’t tell others about me...being away from you was the hardest thing I had to do, but we had to keep you safe. We used our contacts in the media to keep our pictures out of the press, especially yours. We had security cameras, staff, your mother was an expert at covering her tracks when she needed to. Your grandmother took so much away from us and we were not going to let her take you.”

Kyle took it all in and couldn’t believe it.

“My mother’s funeral...”

“When I got the news about the accident, I lost it. When you got older, Virgilia and I finally got to spend more time together. We were even planning a cruise to the Mediterranean to make up for the one we never took so many years ago. At first I thought it was Joan, but my investigators found no evidence of it. Then a week ago we got proof positive that she’d died some years ago. Your mother and I planned how we were going to tell you everything, but...she’s the love of my life, Kyle. I will love her until the day I die.”

Kyle was in tears. “I’m sorry, I...this is all so much.”

Cass nodded. “I know. One of the things your mother wanted you to have was this.”

He handed her the blue velvet box. When she opened it, she had to choke back tears.

“This was the ring I had specially made for your mother. She said she wanted you to have it and you would know why.”

Kyle’s feet were about to give way when she felt his arms around her. Cass held her while she cried.

He had relived this story for years and despite his heartbreak, he counted himself a lucky man to have loved and been loved by the love of his life for nearly forty years. 

“Dad, I found the—” Brandon stopped in his tracks and took in the scene before him. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I have the quarterly projections and—” Brandon froze. “KC?” he asked, looking straight at Kyle. She looked up and shook. “My God,” she cried. “I can’t do this. I have to get out of here.”

“Kyle?” Cass called after her, but she bolted down the stairs. He looked at his eldest son and saw his pale stunned look. Cass went after her. “Kyle, what’s wrong? Kyle, please. Talk to me.”

She turned and looked at Brandon, and then at her father. “Please, I’ve got to go. Let me go, please.”

She ran out the door and into the car. The driver dutifully closed the car door and drove off.

Brandon had come down the stairs and looked at his father. 

“What just happened?” Cass bellowed at his son.

“KC and I knew each other in college. I thought she…oh my God, what’s she doing here?”

“That’s Cassandra Kyle Avery, my daughter.”

“Oh my God!” Brandon nearly doubled over. He thought he was going to be sick. 

“We need to talk,” Brandon said to his father.

***

All the way home she sobbed, overwhelmed by everything she’d heard, She hurt for her mother and Cass and all that they’d been through. But that wasn’t enough, was it? It was her turn now. God had to slap her in the face one more time with the man who’d left her more than five years ago. 

PART 2

“Holy shit!” Jo exclaimed. “So your biological father is head mogul of Baxter Chemicals, your mother was secretly married to your father, but kept you hidden from most of the family because of your crazy bigoted, mentally unstable grandmother and Randy, your ex from college, is also your adopted brother. Am I missing anything?”

“Yeah,” Kyle exhaled. “The part where I’m about to become an alcoholic.”

“Girl, please, you are queen of the lightweights. You barely drink, don’t have an ounce of wine at home, much to my dismay, and you aren’t the addictive type.”

Kyle smiled grudgingly. She couldn’t get over the look on Randy’s face. He’d gone pale. She guessed he’d hoped to never see her again, but life had other plans. Of all her friends, Jo was the one she trusted with everything. She had known Jo since college, but they had lost touch. When they reconnected, it was like no time had passed. Jo was going for her PhD in Psychology, which was a perfect fit since she always seemed to have this sixth sense when it came to people.

“So,” Jo declared flatly as she sat back on the couch. “Are you going to tell me the whole story or am I going to have to beat it out of you?”

Kyle sighed.

***

Randy stood in the back with Josh and Kirk. Josh had just ended it with his girlfriend, Kirk was determined to get him back in the game immediately, and he was the designated third wheel. He’d just gotten back the dismal results from his last math exam and wanted to sit home and sulk. His professor had steered him to the campus tutoring service and he’d made an appointment with someone named KC Avery. 

“Seriously, you look like someone died,” said Kirk. “It’ll be fine, man.”

“I know,” Randy agreed, nodding.

“In any case, I just zeroed in on a couple of hotties and Josh is doing his thing.”

“You guys go ahead. I’ll grab a soda at the bar.”

“You sure?”

Randy nodded. Josh and Kirk were like brothers. They were both from upstate New York and had the accents to prove it. He’d met them in freshman year when they all pledged the same fraternity. After seeing what the hazing requirements were, they all agreed to stay independent. Since then, they’d been friends and classmates. Kirk was a business major while Josh was a Chemistry major just like Randy...that is if he ever passed Calculus.

As he slowly made his way to the bar, he saw her from behind. She wore a pair of apple bottom jeans which hugged her lean legs. Her long black curly hair was shiny and thick and as he walked up next to her, he caught the scent of coconut and lime. She stared intently at the soccer match on the TV, muttering to it and tightly gripping her glass. 

“So tell me,” Randy inquired as he got closer, “Manchester United or Chelsea?”

She turned to him and chuckled. The smell of lime and coconut was stronger now.

“I’m a Chelsea girl, personally. Man U is too full of themselves.”

“Hmmm,” he said, looking into her hazel green eyes. “Looks like this friendship is off to a rough start already.”

She looked at him with fascination. Usually, she got the standard bar lines and she waved them off. But this guy, he was different. His smile was friendly, unassuming, and he had the most intense green eyes she’d ever seen. Just then, the bar erupted in cheers, with a few wayward scoffs of disapproval. She turned to look at the score and saw the replay of the goal.

“Well it looks like your Man U guys have it locked.” She sighed.

“Me? Man U?” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Brazil all the way.”

“There’s hope for you yet.” She grinned as she finished her soda.

He ordered a soda for himself and another for her and they sat down and talked about sports for what seemed like only minutes, but turned out to be over an hour. He loved the way her face lit up when she recounted some of her favorite moments. She was so easy to talk to and had such a dry sense of humor which had him chuckling.

She found herself drawn to him in a way she’d never known. He listened and laughed with her instead of the usual shallow leers she was used to getting from other men. Against her will, her friends Mel and Jo had dragged her out on a girl’s night. The last place she expected to be was at a bar near campus. Mel and Jo were chatting with a couple of guys and she wanted nothing more than to salvage her night with a soccer match. 

Their conversation was interrupted by his cellphone. He looked and sighed before picking up with a “Hey, baby.”

She pushed aside her disappointment. It wasn’t like they were dating. It was just a good conversation. Nothing more. Just then, Mel and Jo signaled her that they wanted to leave and she got up. She saw the look on his face as she paid for her drink and mouthed “Goodbye.”

Randy tried to get off the phone, but was unsuccessful. He never even got her name, he thought as he heard his girlfriend, Soraya, ask him if he was listening to her. Disappointed, he mumbled something to the tune of “yes”, but his eyes just watched as she walked away.

As the girls headed out to the car, it was Jo who broached the subject.

“So,” she inquired, “who was that cute guy you were talking to at the bar?”

“Oh, we were just discussing the game.”

Mel chimed in, “You don’t know how long we were trying to get your attention. Jo was about to do cartwheels.”

“It was nothing,” she admitted. “We were just chatting for a few minutes.”

“So, what’s his name and when are you guys going to meet up again?” Jo teased.

She chuckled. “His name? I don’t know. We just started talking. As far as us going out? That phone call he took was from his girlfriend.”

Mel and Jo looked at their friend KC. She was one of the smartest, most gorgeous girls on campus and had the worst luck with men they’d ever seen. They were either intimidated by her or flat-out bored her silly. This was the first time either of them saw her even remotely interested in a guy since they’d known her. One day her luck would change, they each thought.

“Well, that sucks,” Mel said. “But like my mother said, ‘you never know.’”

With that, Jo and Mel shared their bar tales. Both of them had met a couple of cute guys, but one was on the rebound. KC listened and nodded, but all she could think of was Brazil.

***

Kyle looked at her next appointment. Ever since she decided to volunteer as a math tutor, her schedule had been packed. She was a couple of semesters shy of graduation, and would finish her degree in just three years. This tutoring gig fulfilled her volunteer requirement. She could have gone to any university, but the minute she checked out this small school just outside of Atlanta, she’d loved it. She wanted to pursue her business degree, maybe even get a minor in finance at a good school away from home. Despite its small size, Georgia Metropolitan was ranked one of the best in the nation. 

She looked at her watch. Fifteen minutes after the hour. If he didn’t show up in the next five, she was scratching him. Just as she was about to get up, the door opened suddenly. She saw that familiar mass of dark blond hair and that wide smile.

“Well hello, Chelsea girl.”

He picked up the paper and looked at his tutor.

She looked at her sheet. “Randy Hall?” 

He nodded. 

“You’re late.”

That was a splash of cold water.

“I...um...lost track of time.”

He saw her focusing on his neck and gave her a look.

“Royal Pink Pucker,” Kyle concluded.

“I’m sorry?”

“Well, apparently, your reason for losing track of time wears Royal Pink Pucker.”

Randy could feel his cheeks warm as he rubbed his neck. “How did you—”

“We have a few students who make some extra money selling cosmetics. One of them conned me into trying that. Not my color.”

“You don’t need any of that stuff anyway,” he blurted. Randy could see a blush of red under his new tutor’s cafe au lait skin.  

Clearing her throat, Kyle shuffled a few papers around her desk and focused on her student. “We have about forty minutes, so let’s get started.”

Randy was slightly intimidated by his tutor at first, but he had to admit she was good. She put him through his paces and helped him see the numbers in a different way. He needed to take a couple of calculus classes for this chemistry major and he was really shaky on the concepts.

“Wow! Thanks. Are you free for the entire semester?” Randy was surprised at the dreamy tone in his question then quickly added, “I need to make sure I ace this class.” 

“You can book me with the desk and we can work it out. Just make sure you keep better track of time.”

Walking to the door, she could feel his eyes on her. KC had long noticed the look some men gave her when they thought she wasn’t paying attention. As one of her exes put it, she tended to saunter and sway. The difference was this time her body tingled with awareness at the very thought Randy was in the same room with her. KC’s nipples hardened and when they brushed against the fabric on her shirt, it gave her a start. 

She opened the door to let Randy out and was assaulted by a fragrance so heavy it nearly knocked the breath from her. She looked outside and saw a mass of golden red hair and a big smile.

“Royal Pink Pucker, I presume,” she pronounced as she gave Randy a wry smile. He grinned sheepishly and stepped out, running his fingers through his hair.

Soraya Monroe was a southern charmer from tip to tail. Her eyes conveyed what she wanted and nothing more. After saying hello, she immediately sized up KC before giving her man a sweet smile and a possessive kiss. Randy was taken aback, as he’d had no idea she was on the other side of the door. He was a little uncomfortable at her obvious play in front of KC, when he would have thought it cute otherwise.

KC was more than amused by the exchange and kept her smile to herself. Randy was claimed and she was not about to get in between the lioness and her prey. Despite her obvious attraction to Randy, their relationship would have to be strictly platonic, even business-like. She was not one to open another woman’s present.

***

“So that was KC, your tutor?” she asked with her saccharine drawl. 

“Yep. She is pretty good. We got through everything despite me being late.” He smiled at her suggestively. 

“What can I say?” she said, feigning a pout. “I was hungry.”

Soraya had a big smile on her face as she hooked her arm in Randy’s, but in the back of her mind, she was trained on KC. 

Kyle gathered her stuff and her mind turned to Randy and Soraya. Those two were quite the pair. The look Soraya gave her made her smile. That girl thought she was a threat, no doubt. The truth was, despite her feelings, Kyle was over the male species and remained too happy to believe otherwise. Her mother had taught her to survive and she should know. Virgilia Avery had known love, loss, solitude and success. She had told Kyle stories about how she and her father were in love, but it didn’t work out; her mother was never clear and she didn’t push. Virgilia learned to cope, endure and succeed in two careers, in spite of everything. Her mother was her hero and if she could accomplish so much without a man in her life, so could Kyle. 

Soraya had nothing to fear from her; Randy was all hers.

***

For the better part of two weeks, Randy and KC worked together. She drilled him relentlessly, but it worked. His professor even commented on his improved assignments and class participation. There were times during their sessions that he could sense her hesitation when he tried to get more personal. He suspected she wanted to keep their relationship professional, but he found himself wanting to know more about her. He was able to get a few pieces of information, like how she loved Chinese food and most sports, but other than that, she was tighter than a drum. 

On a lark, he decided to invite her to a tailgating party. He’d scored some tickets to a Falcons football game and was looking forward to just hanging with friends. 

“Thanks, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Look, you can invite a few friends, bring some food. Soraya’s making some brownies, I’m bringing some burgers, Kirk and Josh want wings. It’ll be fun.”

He could tell she wanted to go, but was fighting herself. 

KC was running out of excuses not to go. Since she could bring her friends along, there was really no reason to refuse. Jo and Mel loved a good party and had been bugging her about her pathetic social life for too long. It would be good to just hang out with people. Besides, Randy’s girlfriend was going so that would give them enough distance.

“Okay, what time?”

Randy’s heart leapt at the thought of just having her there with him. He gave her the details and grabbed his gear. On his way to class he found himself whistling. He didn’t even realize he knew how.

***

Game day saw the heavy presence of face paint and foam fingers. Josh and Kirk unloaded the grill and supplies from the truck and got to work. Kirk’s mother was Caribbean, so his wings were hot and spicy, just the way Randy liked them. Soraya placed her brownies in the back and returned to the truck to flip on the fan. It was too hot and sticky for this, but she’d decided to go when she found out Randy was planning on inviting his tutor. His attraction to the girl didn’t bother Soraya as much now as it did before. She had made sure that Randy’s mind was too occupied on her bedroom acrobatics to even contemplate another woman, but she still wanted to keep an eye. It wasn’t that KC was pretty or anything. To her, she was a bit plain. It was that she was unattached and had a certain air about her that could be a problem for her and Randy.

Randy Hall was a catch in many ways. The minute she’d laid eyes on him, she knew he had the kind of potential that could give her the life she’d always wanted. 

Soraya had always known she was born to have that life. The houses, the maids—it was all within reach if she was willing to work for it. If there was anything her mother had taught her it was this, it’s just as easy to marry a rich man as a poor man. The difference is how much you’re willing to work for it. Married twice, Maggie Boyd Cabot Hutchens was no stranger to hardship until she focused her efforts. She taught Soraya how to spot, lock and snag and after more than a few misses, she knew it in her bones that Randy was a winner. And there was no way some homely mutt was going to get in her way.

***

Speak of the devil, she thought.