by Anne Rainey
Brad started to talk, but the phone rang, interrupting whatever he was about to say. He leaned toward
the other end of the couch, picked up the phone and bellowed, “Hello!” His face went from angry disgust
to cold fear. Jay sat straighter in his seat, ready. Anything that could put that look of terror on his
brother’s face was a matter of serious concern. Brad didn’t shake easily.
“Lisa, baby, stop crying I can’t understand you,” Brad said, and Jay was stunned when his brother’s
usual calm voice fell flat. “Tell me what hospital.” Brad held himself still as a statue. “I can be there in ten
minutes, just hang tough, baby.”
“That was Lisa,” Brad mumbled, staring at the phone in his hand as if it were about to bite him.
Jay quirked a brow at him. “Yeah, I gathered that much. What’s up?”
“She’s been in a car accident. She’s at Mount Carmel West.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and muttered, “Fuck, I have to get there and fast. I
don’t want her dealing with all this alone.”
Lisa Quick was Brad’s… Hell, he didn’t really know how to describe Lisa and Brad’s relationship. She
was younger than Brad and Jay both. She was also the only woman Brad had ever referred to as Lisa
baby . Or baby, for that matter.
He’d met Lisa some years back when she came to work for him at his office. She’d taken the job as file
clerk temporarily, but somehow Lisa and Brad had bonded. By the time Lisa quit working for him,
they’d already established a regular weekend ritual. Every Saturday was their day. They’d spend it
together doing silly things. Lisa’s idea, no doubt. Brad wasn’t much of a silly sort of guy. But for Lisa
he’d do just about anything.
Then a thought occurred. Women came in and out of Brad’s life, but Lisa Quick was always there. And
seeing the devastated look on his brother’s face now, Jay didn’t think what Brad felt for Lisa was mere
companionship. There was something more going on in that genius head of his, but Jay was pretty damn
sure his brother was clueless about it.
“So, what about Mara?”
Brad frowned at him, pausing in his mad scramble around the living room as he searched for his
discarded shirt and socks. “Who?”
Yep, just what he thought. Lisa calls and Brad forgets all about Miss. Pom-poms. So, he didn’t think
he’d ever fall for a woman, huh? In a way he was right. He hadn’t fallen, he’d slowly descended. So
slowly in fact, that even he didn’t realize it was a done deal.
Typical of the two of them.
Where Jay had done a free fall into the love pool, Brad had done a slow slide. Damn, for a pair of
brothers who resembled each other so closely on the outside—similar height, same hair color and even
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the same stocky build—they couldn’t be any more different on the inside. Must be why he loved the big
lug so much. If Jay had had a brother exactly like himself, he would have ended up killing him by now.
“Want me to go with you?” He wanted—needed—to get to Haley, but Brad might need his support and
that was more important right now, or so he kept reminding himself.
“No. Lisa will be fine,” he said. More stubbornly, Brad snarled, “I’ll see to it.” He slipped into his shoes
and stood. “You need to go to Haley. Settle things with her. Tell her how you feel. You only get one shot
at real love.” He rattled off her address and was out the door.
Jeremy turned to the bedroom and groaned. Clearly, Brad had forgotten about his cheerleader and it
was up to him to see her home. He muttered a few choice curse words and strode down the hall. Miss
Pom-poms better not be a slow dresser, because he had a date with destiny, and nothing was going to
stand in his way. Not even a red-head in a nighty.
Chapter Ten
Haley was beginning to wish she hadn’t agreed to meet with her coworker friends for a drink after work.
All day on Monday, they’d pumped her about her weekend. She’d been very good at keeping them at
bay, too. Now it was Tuesday and she was surrounded. There was no escape.
“Okay, spill the goods, sister,” Janice prodded. “Just what happened this weekend to give you that rosy
glow?”
Haley choked on her light beer and laughed. “Rosy glow?”
“We know you got laid, but we still want details,” Gretchen said, a saucy grin lighting up her usually stern
face.
Haley had worked with this particular group of women since she first started at Berlitz and Kent. Two
things were obvious. First, the candid discussion didn’t even bring out the hint of a blush of
embarrassment. With anyone else, she would have been mortified. Second, she wasn’t getting out of the
bar without telling them what happened on her little weekend away. Haley knew they would never give
up their inquisition. Not until she gave them something to gnaw on.
She took a long drink of her ice-cold beer and said, “Well, I went to the cabin for the weekend.”
“The cabin you won from the dickhead?” Gretchen asked.
Haley smiled, remembering how angry Gretchen had gotten when she’d shown them the video of Eric
cheating on her. Gretchen had wanted to put a serious hurt on him at the time. Haley had talked her out
of it by explaining that if any of them interfered, it could cause her serious problems with the divorce.
Gretchen hadn’t been happy, but she’d relented.
“Yep, same one. Anyway, I met someone. A neighbor.”
“Oooh, sounds yummy already,” Janice said with a gleam of delight.
“His name is Jay, or Jeremy rather, and he’s absolutely the hottest, sexiest, nicest, most caring man I’ve
ever met. He’s a police detective. I swear, you guys, he’s everything I ever wanted in a man. I’m
hopelessly in love.”
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Everyone went quiet for a moment, then Candace spoke.
“He sounds pretty great, hun. Why the long face?”
This was the hard part. The part where she had to explain that Jay had sent her away. She felt like some
silly schoolgirl shooed away by the older, popular guy. It was humiliating and it hurt that he wouldn’t
admit what they’d had was more than a weekend romp.
“I told him I loved him. He sent me packing. End of story.”
“Jerk,” Gretchen said, her hands fisting on the table as if she imagined strangling Jay herself.
“No, it wasn’t like that.” She paused, thinking back to when she’d gotten her divorce. “You know, once
Eric was out of the picture for good, you guys all seemed pretty intent on fixing me up with Mr. Right. At
the time, I wasn’t ready. I’d just gotten away from one mess and I wasn’t in the mood for another
emotional rollercoaster ride. I was too wired and unstable for anything other than a little mattress
bouncing. But with Jay…” Haley hesitated, attempting to put into words how she felt about a man she’d
known only a few days. “I don’t know. He’s different. Other men pale in comparison.” Haley
strengthened her spine and her resolve. “Still, I knew what I was doing. I’m a big girl and he made no
promises. It was a casual weekend fling. It’s just my dumb luck to go and fall in love.”
“What exactly did he say?” Janice asked, looking serious and concerned all at once.
“He said he wanted me to think about my feelings. He didn’t want
me rushing myself. Then he gave me
two days to think it over before he comes knocking. Today is supposed to be that day.”
Candace reached across the table and patted the back of Haley’s hand. “You need to have a little faith.
The day’s not over yet. He could still show up at your front door.”
“Thanks for saying so, but I doubt it. He doesn’t even know where I live.”
“He just may surprise you. After all, they aren’t all like Eric, sweetie,” Candace said gently.
Gretchen was silent. Finally Janice turned to Haley, and said, “Candace is right. Don’t give up on finding
Mr. Right. Sometimes it’s necessary to run across a few Mr. Wrongs, just so you’ll know the
difference.”
“I know. Really I do. But what if Jay is just another Mr. Wrong?”
“Then you move on,” Gretchen said. “You keep searching for that one man who makes you
feel…whole. That’s what life is.”
They were right. Haley had been in the dumps since leaving Jay. But one thing was true. Jay was not like
Eric. She had to have a little faith.
Jeremy sat and stared at the ranch-style, cream-colored house. He clenched and unclenched his fists
around the steering wheel a dozen times, partly in fear, partly in an attempt to keep himself from running
up the drive, grabbing Haley and heading for the hills.
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Whether she wanted to go or not.
He’d gotten Mara home and had called Brad on his cell to find out how Lisa was doing. She’d be fine.
A fractured ankle, a broken arm, two cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. But she would mend. Thankful
of that, Jeremy went to Haley’s.
He drove past her house countless times just to torture the hell out of himself. He liked her house; it was
small but cozy looking. His apartment was a place to park his hat and that was about it. Two days away
from her had solidified two very distinctive things for Jeremy.
He’d come to realize he could no more live without Haley than he could his gun and badge. The second
thought was that he actually shook every time he considered she might not want him anymore. Jeremy
had managed to bring down some of the nastiest criminals Columbus, Ohio had to offer, yet a little bit of
a woman with mesmerizing green eyes made his hands shake like a wet pup.
It was true, love really did stink.
Even with all that, being in love with Haley Thorne was also the most exhilarating feeling he’d ever
experienced. Before he’d met her, he’d been a cynical, brooding ass. A few hours around her and his
world felt whole and clean again. How was a man supposed to live without something so sweet?
The house was dark, but he could see a single light on and there was a big white SUV in the driveway.
Haley drove a Jeep, so who the hell owned the SUV?
She’d mentioned a friend.
Jane, Joyce, no Janice, that was it. Maybe the SUV was hers. It’d better be or there’d be hell to pay.
Jeremy stared at the vehicle a moment longer before he grabbed his keys and left the truck. As he
walked to the front porch, he took a moment to remember how shitty the last two days had been. He
hadn’t made it clear to her on Saturday, but he hoped she counted Sunday as day one. Maybe she
wasn’t expecting him until tomorrow. Maybe she thought Sunday was a free day since it’d technically
been part of the weekend and therefore part of their time together.
“Fuck it,” Jeremy grumbled. It was Tuesday evening and he wasn’t waiting a minute longer. He’d bitten
the head off every person unfortunate enough to cross his path on Monday. He’d been an asshole to his
brother Saturday after Haley had left and then for good measure he’d called Brad on Sunday to bitch him
out some more.
The truth was, Jeremy had nearly made himself sick with worry. Worry that once Haley had had a few
days to herself, she’d realize what a mistake it was to become involved with a man she barely knew.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to kidnap her sexy ass and bring her back to the cabin where he could
convince her, in his own way, what an awesome couple they made.
Then again, that thought wasn’t so bad either.
He knocked on the door and waited. He looked down at his clothes and could have kicked himself. A
ratty old blue T-shirt and jeans. He could have at least dressed nice when he declared his love for the
woman. After a few minutes, he spotted the doorbell so he rang that instead. Finally, the door opened
and a man answered. A wet man. Wearing a towel. Fuck that.
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Jeremy swung the glass storm door open and punched the half-naked man square in the nose. The
bastard landed on his ass and cursed.
“Son of a bitch! What the hell was that for?”
Then he heard a female voice shout, “Oh my God!” When Haley ran into the room and saw the bloody
nose, she started to scream. “Oh my God! Are you okay?”
Oh, gee, now isn’t this sweet. She’s worried about her bleeding lover. Jeremy felt a lump form in his
throat over the concern in her eyes.
Readying himself for battle, he braced his legs apart, hooked his thumbs in his pants and accused, “I see
you had no trouble moving on, baby.”
Haley peeked out the door and frowned. “Jay? What on earth is the matter with you?”
The asshole in the towel was getting up off the floor, which wasn’t the brightest idea in the world,
considering the mood Jeremy was in. He wiped the blood off his face and glared at Jeremy as if he was
the one in the wrong. Ha! Jeremy smirked at him, never once taking his eyes off the interloper as he
spoke to Haley.
“It’s been two days and you’ve already got a man in your bed.” He growled, then his gaze moved from
the man and onto Haley. He looked at her from head to toe and his heart beat faster at the sexy picture
she presented.
She wore a tight pink v-neck T-shirt and a pair of tiny white shorts. No bra. She looked good enough to
eat. “Guess it wasn’t true love, after all. Huh, sweetheart?”
Haley placed one hand on her hip and the other on the half-naked man’s shoulder. Jeremy stiffened as
he glared at her hand. “Jay Pickett, I’d like you to meet my brother , Rick Thorne.”
He looked at the guy —really looked—and much to his dismay he could see a striking family
resemblance. The man was like a bigger, harder version of Haley. Same dark hair, same penetrating
green eyes and they sported identical scowls.
“Shit,” Jeremy mumbled, then he raked a hand through his hair. Oh sure, he was thrilled Haley hadn’t
indeed moved on, but he’d just managed to decrease his chances of having Haley—heart, body and
soul—to pretty much nil.
“You could say that,” she chastised, “or you could apologize.”
She scowled, but she wasn’t shutting the door in his face. That had to be a good sign.
She said a little louder, “Now would be a good time, Jay.”
Jesus, it was no damn wonder he’d steered a wide path around relationships. He was a friggin’ disaster
with them.
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Jeremy apologized to Rick, then Haley somehow weaseled an apology out of him for herself as
well—seemed he’d gotten some of Rick’s blood on her carpet. Now Jeremy not only felt like a fool, but
also an unruly little boy. It wasn’t until she’d gotten her apology that she’d allowed him into her house.
Her place was prett
y. Feminine, like Haley. Large, beige couches and hardwood floors in the living
room. She also had a beige and burgundy area rug in front of the fireplace. Jeremy could easily picture
the two of them lying on it, twined together and making love in the winter months. He balled his fists at his
sides to hold himself in check.
Her living room was spacious and uncluttered. As she led him to the kitchen, which was to the back of
the house, he was pleased to see it was just as roomy. A large island sat in the center with stools around
two sides. He liked her house, feminine accents and all. It fit her perfectly.
Rick—much to Jeremy’s dismay—followed them into the kitchen. Evidently he’d decided not to leave
his baby sister alone with a lunatic.
“So, what business do you have with Haley?”
Jeremy had to give the guy credit. In nothing but a towel, Rick stood firm in his brotherly role.
Admirable, even if he was a nuisance.
“I mean no disrespect, but this is a private matter,” Jeremy shot right back.
He should have just told him his intent—that he was here to pronounce his undying love. But he wanted
to be alone with Haley when he laid open his heart. The last thing he needed was an audience if she was
going to reject him.
Rick started forward, but Haley stopped him, putting her hand against his chest. “Please, Rick, go out on
your date. Jay and I have a lot to talk about.” Rick looked down at her and scowled. Haley patted him
as if he were a loyal puppy. “I’ll be fine, really.”
He didn’t seem to believe that, though, as he flatly stated, “Her ex-husband was an abusive bastard. She
went through hell once already. I won’t see it happen again.”
Jeremy didn’t like being put in the same class as Eric. “I’m not her ex-husband, so don’t go making the
mistake of thinking I’m anything like him.”
“If you hurt my sister in any way, I’ll come after you and I’ll make you very, very sorry. Got me?”
He wanted to laugh, but he knew he shouldn’t. Rick couldn’t have known he’d just threatened a
member of the Columbus police. Still, Jeremy sucked it up and gave her brother his due.
“I got you, Rick. Just so we’re clear here, Haley is a big girl and she can handle herself. It seems to me
