by Kristi Gold
“Behave yourself, Mother,” Grant cautioned.
“Oh, posh. There’s no fun in that, right, Drew?” Without awaiting a response, Lilly turned to the door. “Come inside, everyone. Dinner is served. Rosie has truly out-done herself this time.”
Lilly held open the door, allowing everyone to pass through except Kristina and Drew. When Kristina tried to enter, Lilly stopped her by laying a hand on her arm. “Wait a moment, young lady. I’d like to have a word with you.”
Drew came up from behind Kristina and gave Lilly a warning look. “Grandmother, Kristina’s tired from the drive. Can’t this wait?”
Lilly’s eyes softened with understanding. “Of course it can wait. Until after we eat. Then we’ll have a nice talk.”
Kristina had no idea what that might entail, but she decided to prepare for anything.
Drew was surrounded by his close-knit family, but he could only concentrate on one member of the dinner party—Kristina.
He’d never before been so intrigued by watching someone eat. Talk. Laugh.
Kristina had done all of that, and by the attentive looks on his family’s faces, they were totally taken with her, just as he’d suspected. He could definitely relate.
“I’m afraid most of the children won’t be here tomorrow, Kristina,” Emma said with a delicate dab of her napkin on her chin. “Maura and Doug will be for certain, but everyone else seems to be busy. Tara won’t be coming. Little Brandon’s under the weather with a summer cold, so she decided to keep him in the city.” She directed her smile at Kristina. “Tara and her son live with us in town.”
“How wonderful for you,” Kristina said enthusiastically.
“It’s fine if they can’t come, Mother,” Drew replied. “Kristina will eventually meet them all.” And as far as Drew was concerned, the lack of relatives made for better odds of getting Kristina alone.
He did question whether Tara’s decision to stay in town had to do with someone following her, or if she simply didn’t want to be around the family. Since the death of her husband, she’d changed, very unlike the girl he’d grown up with, appropriately labeled Tara the Terrible. She’d been fun-loving and gregarious. Now, for the most part, she was moody and withdrawn.
He hadn’t had a chance to speak with Tara yet, and he assumed she hadn’t told the family about her concerns since neither Grant nor Emma seemed worried. At least Tara would be safe at the manor on Lake Shore. Fort Knox couldn’t hold up in comparison.
“Tobias will be joining us tomorrow,” Lilly added. “He was playing in a seniors golf tournament today. Of course, he’ll be worn to a frazzle with a sunburned head.”
“I look forward to seeing him again,” Kristina said.
Emma sat forward. “Again?”
“Yes, we met at Drew’s the first day I—” Color rose high in Kristina’s cheek, and Drew held his breath. “The day I moved my things into the house.”
“The day she came to be my mommy,” Mandy announced.
Drew was really beginning to sweat now. One slip from Mandy and the whole charade would be blown wide open. He didn’t want Kristina to learn everything in front of his family, nor did he want his family to know about the true circumstances behind how they met.
Lilly pushed back her chair and stood. “Come along, Amanda dear. I’ll help you get ready for your bath.”
Obviously Lilly was trying to cover her own role in the farce, Drew thought.
“Let me do it, Lilly,” Emma said, rising like an elegant mist from her chair. “I spend far too little time with Amanda these days.”
“Can’t Kristina come, too?” Mandy asked.
“I need to talk with Kristina, dear heart,” Lilly said. “You run along with your grandmother and get ready for bed.”
Great. That was all Drew needed, his grandmother revealing God only knew what to Kristina. But he knew better than to cross Lilly Connelly. He could only hope that she was judicious in what she said to Kristina, especially when it came to personal details about Drew’s history. Some things were best left buried in the past.
Grant sat forward and pushed back his plate. “If you’re finished now, son, why don’t you join me in the study for a moment?”
“You promised you wouldn’t talk business,” Emma scolded as she headed away with Amanda.
“It’s not exactly business,” Grant called after her then turned his attention to Drew. “But it is important.”
“Sure, Dad. If it’s important.” Drew doubted he could focus on much of anything, important or not, knowing that Lilly had already piloted Kristina away for “the talk.”
Drew reluctantly followed his dad out of the dining room, past the great room and into the first-floor study that held two desks, one for Drew and one for Brett. Just when they’d each settled on one of the leather sofas in the corner, the front doorbell rang.
“That must be them,” Grant said, heading for the door.
Drew stood and said, “Who?” but his father ignored the query. Drew hoped it wasn’t some associate, or some friend’s kid seeking employment at Connelly Corporation. He didn’t have the energy to deal with that at present. The only thing he wanted to deal with was Kristina, and in a manner that would be considered totally inappropriate by his family.
A few moments later, Grant reentered the room with Tom Reynolds and Lucas Starwind, the detectives looking into the attempt on Daniel’s life. Must be serious business, Drew thought. He hoped his brother hadn’t suffered through another threat. But he suspected it was very serious, otherwise they wouldn’t have come all the way to the lake at this time of night.
“Have a seat,” Grant said as he made his way to the wet bar in the corner. “Scotch anyone?”
Drew was tempted to accept but decided against it. Liquor would probably go straight to his head, and Kristina was already doing a good job at keeping him drunk with anticipation. “No, thanks, Dad,” he said as he settled back onto the sofa.
Reynolds hitched up his pants over the slight paunch of his belly then sank into the sofa opposite Drew. “None for me, but thanks.”
“None for me, either,” Starwind said, seating himself on the edge of a lounger chair near the fireplace, sporting his usual all-business expression.
Grant rejoined them holding a half-full glass of Scotch, straight up. He took a long drink then said, “Well?”
“We’ve got some news,” Reynolds began. “Seems Angie Donahue has ties to Jimmy Kelly. He’s her uncle.”
Drew winced over hearing both names. Angie Donahue was a subject no one brought up often in the family. Grant had been involved with Angie when he and Emma were having marital problems a number of years ago, a detail Drew hadn’t known until adulthood.
From that brief affair, Drew’s half brother Seth was born. Angie hadn’t been a good mother and had turned Seth over to Grant to raise when the boy was twelve years old. And now Angie was haunting them again, and on top of that, tied to an infamous crime family.
How was that going to affect Seth once he learned the truth? And how was Emma going to take the news?
Drew had always admired his mother for accepting a child that wasn’t hers, a product of her husband’s extramarital affair. Admired her forgiveness of his father’s indiscretion. Some might think her a fool, but Drew only had to view the glances between his mother and father to realize that unconditional love bound them together, despite the hardships.
He wondered if Kristina would be that forgiving once she learned about his grandmother’s scheming, and his own withholding of the truth. Could he ever hope to have the kind of love that existed between his parents?
“…this is a solid lead?”
Drew snapped back into reality when he realized his father was speaking. He’d probably missed damned near most of the conversation.
“We won’t know until we investigate further,” Luke offered.
“Anything else on Charlotte?” Grant asked.
“Nothing more than what we told you earlier,�
�� Reynolds said. “But we’re still keeping an eye on her. We’ll let you know if anything else comes up.”
This was much too bizarre for Drew’s liking, and made him that much more determined to keep Mandy and Kristina safe. He didn’t exactly believe they were in danger, but he wasn’t going to take that risk. Until this whole thing was resolved, he’d make sure that he maintained tight security at the house.
Grant rose, signaling the meeting was now over. The other men took his cue and stood. Thankful for that, Drew followed all three to the front door.
Reynolds walked out into the night but Starwind hung back. He handed Grant a piece of paper. “Just thought I’d let you know that I’m going to be leaving town on a personal emergency. That’s the number where you can reach me.”
“Reynolds will be around, right?” Grant asked.
Starwind streaked a hand over his jaw. “Yeah, but he has a tendency to go off on his own to chase down leads that might be potentially dangerous. If he tells you anything, call me because I know he won’t.”
As Starwind headed down the front steps, Grant said, “Consider it done,” then closed the door.
Grant turned and patted Drew on the back. “Come have a drink with me, son, and I’ll fill you in on all the investigation details since you seemed to be a bit distracted. And we could talk a little business, as long as your mother is occupied with Amanda.”
Drew didn’t want to talk business. He wanted to know what Kristina was doing now. More accurately, what Lilly was saying to Kristina.
“I really should help clean up,” Kristina said, feeling like a slug sitting in the small garden room situated at the rear of the house, sipping a glass of sherry when she should be doing her part.
“That’s what Rosie’s for,” Lilly said. “She’s the caretaker’s wife. She looks after both Drew’s lake house and the Connelly lake cottage. A nice lady. Almost part of the family.”
Kristina had begun to feel a part of the family, although that might not be wise considering her relationship with Drew was still very tenuous.
Lilly leaned forward in the club chair, both hands braced on the cane. “My grandson can be a tough character,” she began. “He’s been through quite a bit.”
Kristina welcomed the chance to learn more about Drew. “I’m sure losing his wife was quite a blow. I assume she was very young.”
“He hasn’t spoken to you about Talia?”
Kristina shrugged. “Only a little. I know that she died when Amanda was a baby.”
“Then you don’t know why she died?”
“I don’t even know how she died.”
Lilly settled back in the chair. “Very tragic, really. A prescription-drug overdose.”
Kristina stifled a gasp. “Was it a—I mean, did she—”
“Take her own life? In a manner of speaking, but no one believes it was intentional, only an unfortunate lack of judgment on Talia’s part. However, she was depressed after Amanda was born and quite frankly, she was always very frail. Add that to the loss of her career, it’s understandable she would be overwhelmed.”
“What career?”
Lilly sighed. “Talia was a gifted pianist, studied at Juilliard. When she became pregnant, Drew married her and that was the end of that.”
Everything was beginning to become very clear to Kristina. No wonder Drew had reacted so strongly when he’d found her playing his wife’s piano. “He still misses her very much.”
“He’s eaten up by guilt,” Lilly said. “They were both too young. Drew still blames himself for saddling her with a baby when neither of them was ready. He won’t say as much, but grandmothers know these things.”
“He certainly seems to love Amanda.”
Lilly sent her a fond smile. “Oh, heavens, yes. He thinks the sun rises and sets in that child. She’s his touch-stone, I tell you. But she’s also been his excuse not to open himself up to finding real love with a woman. He thinks that loving Amanda is enough for him. Or he did until you came along.”
Kristina suddenly felt like a fraud. If only Lilly knew how this whole engagement came about. Drew might want her, but Kristina feared it had nothing to do with love. She had no choice but to be forthcoming with the truth, even knowing Drew probably wouldn’t approve. But after Lilly had been so open with her, she deserved the whole story.
Kristina inhaled a deep breath. “To be perfectly honest, Drew and I met over the Internet, through e-mails.”
“E-mails?” Lilly’s smile deepened, catching Kristina off guard. “I suppose that’s something along the lines of being a mail-order bride, and in my day, that was a common occurrence. It was also common that a deep abiding love came from that circumstance. Communication is certainly the key to a solid relationship.”
If only Kristina could convince Drew to communicate with her. She was only beginning to understand the scope of his pain. She wanted to know more, perhaps even help him to heal. “Well, this engagement is a trial run, so to speak. I hope that love comes out of it.”
“It already has,” Lilly said, her keen blue eyes leveled on Kristina. “You are in love with him, aren’t you?”
That realization settled on Kristina’s heart like a leaden weight. “I suppose I could be.” More than likely she was.
“And he’s in love with you, too,” Lilly stated. “He just doesn’t know it yet. But he will, in time.”
Kristina sighed. “Oh, Lilly, I wish I could believe that, but he’s still hurting over his wife’s death. I don’t know how to reach him.”
Lilly rested a careworn hand on Kristina’s arm. “I’ll tell you exactly how to do it. Men are different creatures. In order to have the love, they have to have affection first, if you know what I mean.”
Kristina knew exactly what she meant, or at least she thought she did. “Are you referring to sex?”
“Of course. Shocking, I suppose, but true. Women want the emotions in order to have sex. Men can’t have the emotions until they can get their minds off their Johnsons.”
Kristina worried her bottom lip. “Then you’re saying that I should—”
“Explore the possibility, and enjoy the journey. That’s exactly how I caught my Tobias.”
A chuckle bubbled up in Kristina’s throat then came out in a full-fledged laugh.
“What’s so funny, you two?”
Kristina’s laughter halted at the sound of Drew’s voice coming from behind her. She turned to see him propped against the door frame, questions and concerns reflecting in his eyes.
Lilly stood gingerly. “Nothing you should worry about, beloved.”
Without a word, Drew pushed off the frame. “Do you want me to round everyone up so you can head back to the cottage, Grandmother?”
Lilly rested one hand on her cane. “Did Grant not tell you?”
Drew frowned. “Tell me what?”
“We’re staying here tonight. Emma had the master bedroom repainted at the cottage, and she said the fumes give her a headache. Of course, I told her a few fumes didn’t hurt anyone. But she’s determined to wait until tomorrow to return, so I’m afraid we’re your guests for the night.”
Kristina immediately noticed the displeasure in Drew’s expression. “I can sleep on the sofa,” she offered.
“Nonsense,” Lilly said. “There are four bedrooms. Grant and Emma can take Brett’s room, you can take Drew’s. Amanda has her own room and that leaves the daybed in the guest room for me.”
“And where am I supposed to sleep?” Drew asked.
Lilly’s smile appeared slowly. “I suppose you’ll have to figure that out.” She turned to Kristina. “Give me a hug, my dear. I’m taking this old tired body to bed.”
Kristina rose from her chair and accepted the embrace. Before she let Lilly go, she whispered, “Thank you.”
Lilly drew back and said, “No. Thank you. You have a good soul, Kristina Simmons, and a kind heart.” She gave Drew a meaningful look. “A perfect match for my grandson, I do believe.”
She headed away and without turning around said, “Pleasant dreams, you two, or whatever you might find pleasant tonight.”
A slow heat started at Kristina’s throat then traveled all the way to her hairline. As tempting as the thought might be, she couldn’t sleep with Drew in the house with his family on the premises. “Really, Drew, I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.” She snapped her fingers. “Or I could sleep with Mandy.”
“The bed’s a twin,” Drew said. “Besides, I just went to check on her. She’s already out.” He sighed. “I should’ve suspected this when everyone suddenly disappeared. Would’ve been nice if someone had told me.”
Kristina was feeling a bit disappointed that Drew hadn’t even suggested they sleep together. He could have at least offered. “If you’re sure, I guess I’ll head to bed. You’ll have to show me the way.”
Drew’s slow-burn smile suddenly appeared. “I’d like nothing better than to show you the way.”
She backed up when he stalked toward her. “Hold it right there, buster. You have to be good.”
He caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, then pulled her to him. “I plan to be good.”
“I mean it, Drew.” She didn’t sound at all like she meant it, especially since Drew now had his face buried in her neck.
He gave her a brushstroke kiss on her lips. “While you’re all cozy in my king-size bed, just remember me while I’m laid out on the sofa with a king-size h—”
She slapped a palm over his mouth. “Do you want someone to hear you?”
He tugged her hand away then slid the tip of his tongue across her palm. “I was going to say headache. King-size headache.”
Kristina couldn’t keep from smiling. “Oh, I’m so sure.”
Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her around and patted her bottom. “Up the stairs, to the right, at the end of the hall. It has an adjoining bathroom with a whirlpool. Have fun.”
Kristina headed toward the staircase thinking she wouldn’t have any fun without Drew.
When he called her name, she looked back over her shoulder. “Yes?”
He gave her a full-throttle grin. “You look as good in back as you do in front.”
