“Damn, you really know how to hurt a man,” he said.
She suddenly realized how much fun she was having talking to him. “Tyler—”
“What’s this guy’s name, anyway?”
“What guy?” she asked.
“The boyfriend.”
She chewed on the question, and for the life of her she couldn’t think of one man’s name. Then she recalled the joke she’d told Nikki and LeAnn yesterday. “Bob,” aka her battery-operated boyfriend.
“I already don’t like him,” Rick said.
“Tyler asked me to call you. He wants you to come by if you can today.”
“I’m on duty today, but I have to run out after awhile. I’ll stop by then.”
“Fine. I’ll tell Tyler. Bye.” She started to hang up.
“Ellen?”
She bit down on her lip and put the phone back to her ear. “Yes?”
“I enjoyed talking to you,” he said.
“Yeah. Me, too.” And this time, she hung up faster and felt a tightening low in her belly, the one that usually happened with a certain type of wanting. Time to bring out Bob again.
She sat there, frowning at the phone. How could the man affect her just by talking?
“Everything okay?” A male voice piped up.
She looked over and saw both Dallas and Austin studying her. She’d forgotten they were in the room. She started going through everything she said and hoped it hadn’t been anything too ridiculous.
“It’s fine.” She dropped the pencil. “He’s working but will be out on errands and will stop by then.”
“Good.” Dallas continued to look at her as if they’d read every naughty and private thought that had swirled around her brain. “Did he say anything inappropriate?”
“No,” she said… a little too loud.
“You sure? Because you’re a really nice shade of pink right now.”
She decided to rely on an old shut-a-man-up trick she’d learned in her serious dating years. “Oh, that’s… hormones. Monthly cycle stuff that you don’t want to know about.”
“Okay then,” Dallas said, and both men immediately commenced to working on their computers.
Good to know it still worked.
But still feeling antsy, Ellen popped up from Tyler’s chair, shot to the back of the room, and commenced her filing. She picked up her first file and then mentally reached down, grabbed ahold of the elastic waistband of her big girl panties, and yanked them up to her chin.
By the time Tyler answered his phone, Lola had hung up. He debated not calling her back, then decided there would just be more hell to pay. So he popped into the conference room, sat down, and mentally prepared himself to be interrogated by one of the best.
“Hey, you called.” He settled back in the chair.
“And you didn’t answer.”
He sighed. “I did answer, but you had already hung up.”
“What, you too busy with Zoe to answer your phone?” There was a teasing tone to her voice, but he knew she was serious about pushing for information.
“I’m at work, Lola,” he said, hoping to cut her off.
“Is she married?”
So much for that plan. “No, she’s not married.”
“Are you going to introduce us to her?”
“It’s not like that.”
“So you’re just fucking her?”
He flinched at hearing his sister talk like that, then he flinched because while it had been different words, it was the same thing Zoe had accused him of wanting to do. “Dios mio! When did you start talking like that?”
“Since it seems to be your nephew’s favorite word.”
“Well, wash his mouth out with soap, the way Mom did us.”
“I have,” she said. “Today’s soap must not taste as bad. He just keeps on doing it.”
Lola’s husband Roger was in the Marines and deployed overseas, which didn’t give Roger Junior a strong male influence. “I’ll talk to him,” Tyler said.
“Thanks. But, I didn’t call you to complain about my boy’s potty mouth.”
“I’m not sleeping with her,” he ground out.
“Well, now, I’m curious about why you’re not sleeping with her, but I didn’t call you about your sex life, either.” She sighed. “We got family problems. And I happened to find out you knew about them and didn’t tell the rest of us the secret.”
He knew immediately that she was talking about Sam, her black eye, and her asshole of a husband. “It wasn’t my place to tell. And I took care of it.” He looked down at his fist. It still was a little sore.
“You think just because you break the idiot’s nose he’s going to straighten out? It doesn’t work that way. People don’t always do what they’re supposed to do.”
“I know, which is why Sam should do what she needs to do.”
“She’s not you, Tyler. She listens to her heart, not her head.”
“And her damn heart is getting her hurt over and over again!” Anger filled his chest. He stood up. “Did he lay another hand on her? I talked to her last night and she said everything was okay. I swear to God—”
“No, he hasn’t hit her again. Not yet. But she said he went out drinking last night, and when he got home, he was combative. She’s scared of him, Tyler.”
“Shit! Tell her to leave his ass!”
“I wish it was that easy,” Lola said. “She claims she still loves him. She had his baby, Tyler. And not only that, but the house is his. I told her she could live here, but she says with her, Anna, and the baby, it would be too crowded. She’s right.”
“I’ll get her an apartment,” he said. “Hell, I can call someone and rent one right now.”
“She’s not willing to leave him yet. She agreed to talk to him about therapy. She promised me that if he says no, she’ll leave. So I’m just giving you the heads-up. Unlike what you did with me.”
“Thanks,” he said, and ignored her last dig.
“You’re welcome. And bring Zoe over. We want to meet her. Maybe we can talk her into sleeping with you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t do this.”
“Do what?” she asked.
“Make more out of this than it is. She’s a client.”
“She’s a woman and you’re a man.”
“Nothing is happening,” he ground out.
“Why not?”
Because she doesn’t want it to happen. “Because it doesn’t make sense.”
“Not everything has to make sense.”
“It does to me,” Tyler said.
“Dios!” she muttered. “Sometimes you just have to follow your heart.”
“Like Sam? Because it’s working out so well for her.”
Lola let go of a groan. “Sure, she’s made mistakes. But you’re just as bad off as she is. Not everything is logical, Tyler. You’re so smart, you try to analyze everything. But emotions can’t be analyzed.”
Which is why I try to stay away from them. “Bye, Sis.” He shut off the phone and sat there for a good five minutes, trying to get his fury in check, both at Lola for her judgment of him but mostly at the thought of what Sam was going through. Was his sister destined to repeat their mother’s mistakes over and over again? How could Sam be so blind? Hell, after several bad relationships and then her failed marriage, he’d even shown her the statistical data. Kids who grew up in the type of home they did were pretty much destined to repeat the same mistakes. And when Sam and he had been at the age where they were most impressionable, his parents’ relationship went from bad to worse.
Sure, Tyler had still let himself try it. He handed over his heart on a silver platter to Lisa. She handed it back to him shredded in a hundred pieces.
He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Letting people get too close could end badly. Especially when you were already a statistic waiting to happen. What the hell was it going to take for Sam to pull her head out of the emotional quicksand?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I thought I’d go chat with Zoe,” Ellen said.
Tyler nodded. “Don’t let the cat out. And don’t push her too hard. She’s had a rough few days. Seriously.”
“I won’t.” Ellen remembered LeAnn saying Tyler had feelings for Zoe. The caring look in his eyes told Ellen they’d hit a bull’s-eye on that one.
She knocked on the door and heard Zoe call out for her to come in. Ellen walked in and saw Zoe sitting on the sofa, her legs crossed underneath her with the television remote control in her hands. The TV was on, but she had placed it on mute.
“I thought you could use another cup of coffee,” Ellen said.
“Yes!” Zoe met her halfway across the room and took one of the coffees. “I was about to go try to heat up the cold cup in the microwave.”
“You should have just come in the office and gotten one.”
Zoe shrugged. “After my last entrance, I wasn’t sure I could top it.”
Ellen laughed. She liked Zoe’s honesty and her willingness to see the humor in things instead of getting angry. Ellen motioned to the sofa. “Do you mind? I’ve had just about as much testosterone as I can take for one morning.”
“Please. I could use some company. Judge Judy reruns can only hold my interest for so long.” Zoe joined Ellen on the sofa. “Nikki mentioned that this is your first day on the job?” Zoe said.
“Yeah,” Ellen said. “And I’m wondering what I got myself into.”
“They seem like nice guys,” Zoe said. “Well, I really only know Tyler, but they seemed okay.”
“They are,” Ellen said. “Dallas is great to Nikki. But being in the room with three men at the same time is overkill. Seriously, there are clouds of testosterone floating above their heads.”
“So you’re not married?” Zoe asked with a chuckle.
Her laugh was honest and genuine. Ellen could understand why Tyler was so taken with her.
“Nah,” Ellen answered. “Just me and my daughter. I like it that way, too.” And she did, she told herself. Ultimately, it was her decision to stay single. If she met someone who really tempted her, she might reconsider. The thought hadn’t cleared her head, when a vision of Rick took over. She pushed it away.
“How old is your daughter?” Zoe pulled her cup a little closer.
“Five, going on twenty.” Ellen sipped her coffee. “She constantly amazes me.”
“Oh, I love that age. I teach kindergarten. They are so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at five. Full of energy and a hunger for knowledge.”
“She’s a handful. But I found my true calling when I became a mom. Nothing I’ve ever done in my life felt so right.” Ellen grinned. “You want kids?”
Zoe didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, someday.”
“You’re from Alabama, right?”
“Yeah,” Zoe said.
“Nobody special back home?” Ellen asked, easing into a more personal conversation. Considering she was a bit of a private person, she knew to tread cautiously.
The smile left Zoe’s eyes. “I thought I was on the path to marriage and kids. But he had a change of heart.”
“Cold feet?” Ellen hoped she wasn’t being too pushy. “I mean, if you don’t mind talking about it.”
“No, it’s fine,” Zoe said. “But it wasn’t so much cold feet. More like a stripper named Darlene.” She chuckled, which told Ellen that Zoe was mostly over the pain. Ellen couldn’t help but wonder if there’d be a day she could joke about her troubles with Noel.
“I hate it when that happens.” Ellen grinned.
“Not this time.” Zoe made a face. “I guess Darlene did me a favor. Better now than after we were married and I had a kid.” Zoe’s expression tightened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that there’s anything wrong with being a single parent.”
“Don’t worry,” Ellen said. “Being a single parent wasn’t my first choice, either. And it’s not for the weak of heart. But my daughter’s the light of my life. I wouldn’t change a thing.” And she wouldn’t. Even dealing with Noel was worth having Britney snuggle up with her when they watched a Disney movie.
“You seem like you’re doing well at it. Believe me, I see frazzled moms in my line of duty. They have this wired look in their eyes. You look okay.”
“Thanks.” Ellen decided to just plunge right in. “I heard about what’s going on with you.”
“You think I’m crazy?” Zoe asked.
Ellen could see the angst in Zoe’s eyes and heard it in her voice. “No, I don’t think that at all. I guess being a parent, my heart hurts thinking about a child having bad things happen to her.”
Ellen noted that Zoe gripped her cup tighter. “Did they abuse you?” Ellen asked.
“Who?” She looked genuinely puzzled.
“The Adamses.”
Zoe shook her head. “No.” Her expression tightened. “Did Tyler send you to ask me questions?”
“No.” Then Ellen decided to be honest. “It was Dallas. He said that maybe you might be more open to talking to another woman about these things.” Ellen realized she’d omitted some of the facts. “He said that after I blurted out that sometimes people have a hard time talking about things like abuse.” She met Zoe’s eyes. “No one wants to admit to being a victim.”
It didn’t even matter if they were an adult, Ellen thought. She’d never told anyone but James about how Noel had completely fooled her.
“They didn’t abuse me,” Zoe said. “Not the Adamses.”
Ellen’s gaze locked with Zoe’s. “But someone else did?”
“No. I mean, I don’t remember. I only have short little snippets of early memories. A woman pushing me on a tire swing. Being read to by an older man in a room with books on all the shelves.” She looked down at her cup. “Then there’s the recurring nightmare I had for years. I don’t know if it’s real. Research says that recurring dreams might have bits of the truth in them, but they’re not reliable. And even if they were, I never saw any of the faces of the people in the dream, and they didn’t hurt me that I can remember. I was just scared.”
“Have you told Tyler about the dreams?” Ellen asked.
“No. There’s not much to tell. I’m locked in a closet, and I’m scared. I need to go to the bathroom, but I’m too afraid to ask.”
Ellen bit down on her bottom lip. She could see Zoe’s emotions. “Maybe you should tell him. It could help in some way that we might not think about.”
Zoe nodded. “I will.”
Ellen met Zoe’s gaze. “I hope you’re not upset with me for asking questions.”
“No. I just… I’ve kept most of this to myself for so long, it’s strange talking about it to someone.”
“I know what you mean,” Ellen said. “Some things are hard to share.”
“You got your own demons?” Zoe asked, very observant.
“Don’t we all?” Ellen said, trying to make light of it.
Ellen stood up. “Well, I’d best get back to work.” She got all the way to the door before she looked back. “If Judge Judy really bores you, you can always come help me file.”
Zoe smiled. “Seriously?” When Ellen nodded, Zoe’s smile went wider. “I might just do that.”
Rick had gone to interview a possible witness to a drive-by shooting, but unfortunately he hadn’t been home. So Rick headed to see Tyler instead, when he spotted a sign for a bookstore. It was the same one advertised on the bag Ellen had pulled out of the trunk of her car.
He took a sharp right into the parking lot.
Looking for the kiddy section, he found it by following the sound of kids’ laughing. The shelves were lined with bright, colorful books. But what impressed him was the laughter. As he cut down another aisle, he saw a group of moms and kids, sitting in a circle.
The woman in the middle was reading to the kids. Her voice
came out in high and low pitches. The kids sat mesmerized as she read from the book. Each time she read a different character’s dialogue, she’d change her tone.
Rick tried to remember his mother ever reading to him, but he couldn’t. Maybe moms didn’t read to kids back then. He got a vision of Ellen reading to her little girl. He’d bet she was as good at reading aloud as the woman in the circle.
His gaze landed on a dark-haired little boy who was probably about the same age as Ricky. The boy stared in fascination. Rick’s chest clutched, and he wondered if he’d ever get the chance to read to Ricky. He wanted that chance, damn it.
Moving closer to the group of kids, he listened.
“Can I help you?” a woman asked.
He looked down and saw a short, older woman staring up at him. She wore a T-shirt with the bookstore’s emblem on it.
“No, I’m just watching.” He looked back at the kids.
“Do you have a kid here?” She interrupted the best part of the story.
“No.” He hardly looked at her, but he could feel her looking at him. He finally glanced down. “Is something wrong?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I don’t… if you don’t have a kid here, maybe you should go.”
“Why?”
“It might make the moms uncomfortable,” she said.
His brow wrinkled. “You think… Oh, hell. I’m just looking for a book,” he ground out. Unfortunately, he said it a bit too loud, and several of the moms turned and looked his way with daggers in their eyes.
The salesclerk noticed, too. “If you don’t leave, I’ll call the cops.”
“I am the cops.” He snapped his badge off his belt and flashed it. “I was looking for a book for my kid.”
She stared at his badge and blushed. “Oh, my. I’m… I’m sorry. I just—”
“Forget it. I’m out of here.” He started walking toward the exit, and she followed.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “We don’t get a lot of daddies in here.”
“Probably because you do the same thing to them as you did to me,” he snarled.
“Please.” She touched him on the arm. “Tell me what book you’re looking for, and I’ll find it and I’ll give you a forty percent discount.”
Blame It on Texas Page 19
