Uncovered Desires_A Single Mom Alpha Male Protector Romance

by Kelli Walker

  Like something was threatening her.

  “Hey, Tee! What’s up?” Jackson asked.

  “Can you do something for me?” I asked.

  “Uh oh. I know that voice. That gut of yours churning?”

  “There’s a woman that lives across the street from me. Isabelle Carpenter.”

  “You want to know if she’s single or something?”

  “No. I want to know if she’s in any sort of danger.”

  “Uh… why the hell would you think she’s in danger?”

  “We were having lemonade together and she got a phone call that panicked her,” I said. “Any chance you could figure out who called her?”

  “You got her number?”

  “I don’t,” I said. “But she does have a website for her business. Maybe there’s some contact information there?”

  “Does the run the business from her house?”

  “Yep.”

  “Then that contact information is good. If there’s a phone number on her website…”

  I heard him tapping on his keyboard as I stepped back out onto my porch. My eyes panned around, looking for anything that might’ve been out of place. My gut was screaming at me. Stealing my rational mind away and forcing it back into a world I hadn’t partaken in for months.

  “Got it. So, bypassing all the technological mumbo jumbo you hate to listen to, it looks like the number that called her was from a David Culpepper. That name ring a bell?”

  “No names in this town ring a bell,” I said.

  “Well, a quick internet search brings up a very terrible website for a law firm in Georgetown. He’s one of their lawyers.”

  “What’s his specialty?” I asked.

  “It’s says… um… uh oh.”

  “Uh oh?” I asked. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “It says that his specialization is Criminal Defense.”

  “A Criminal Defense lawyer called her?” I asked.

  “That’s what it looks like. I’m only the messenger. I could dig deeper if you wanted me to. See if I could get into their files to find anything specific.”

  “Don’t do that,” I said. “I don’t want to breach privacy or anything.”

  “Because you haven’t already done that.”

  “Jackson.”

  “What? You’ve already gotten the train going. And now I’m obviously hooked into this juicy story. Maybe she’s on the run. Witness protection. Oh! Maybe she’s a drug runner!”

  “She’s not a drug runner,” I said. “She’s a woodworker.”

  “And judging by her website, she does a bang-up job. Have you seen this fucking bed frame? I wonder if she hand carves that.”

  “She does.”

  “Does she ship.”

  “Don’t know. Email her and ask.”

  “Oh, that’s actually a good idea. Don’t mind if I do,” he said.

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Just kidding,” he said. “Anything else you need? Background information on David Culpepper? Back up? Your badge?”

  “Thanks for your help,” I said.

  Then I hung up the phone before Jackson could get another word in edgewise. Maybe he was right. Maybe I’d already breached her privacy in a way I shouldn’t have. But a criminal defense lawyer calling her was a serious thing. Especially if she took off after her sons. I looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. I had a late shift on one of the sites trying to fix up a broken down bulldozer. And I was running behind. I slid my phone into my back pocket and went into the bathroom, then splashed some water in my face.

  I needed to focus on work.

  Work, making friends, and building a reputation. The three things any person did to try and assimilate into a new area. I had to strip my world of the CIA. That wasn’t my life any longer. I wasn’t an officer, or a government official. I didn’t chase down criminals any longer or put them behind bars. I didn’t wield guns or take on personas or infiltrate cartels with different identities.

  That wasn’t me anymore. That wasn’t my life anymore. Which meant I had to strip back the layers of that life and dig down into the mire of who I used to be.

  Which sucked.

  Because I didn’t know how to do that without Lisa.

  She had always been the best at digging me out from underneath the layers I coated myself with. And for the first time in my life, I was having to do it alone.

  “Work,” I said underneath my breath. “I need to get ready for work.”

  Isabelle

  “He’s what?” Bella asked.

  “My lawyer called. DeShawn’s father is out of jail on parole. For good fucking behavior,” I said.

  “How the hell’s that even possible?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now, Bella. I’m freaking the hell out.”

  “Where are ya now? Where are the boys?”

  “I went to get them discharged from school. I’m following behind their car now. We’re headed home.”

  “When did ya find all this out?” she asked.

  “I got the call, like, an hour ago? Maybe?”

  “Okay. Listen to me. I’m comin’ over,” she said. “Y’all stay there and don’t open the doors until you hear me, okay?”

  “See, I thought I’d call you and you’d tell me this wasn’t an issue. But you’re acting like this is an issue.”

  “That man beat DeShawn to a bloody pulp. Yes, I think it’s an issue,” she said. “I’m comin’ over. All you gotta do is get those boys home and get that door locked.”

  “Okay. I can do that. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Yes you will,” she said.

  I hung up the call and gripped the steering wheel of my car as the boys turned into the driveway. Good behavior. The term made me sick. No man who beat his son into oblivion had anything near good behavior in his bones. I pulled up behind the boys and shuffled them into the house as quickly as I could, looking around to make sure no one was watching. But I felt like I was being watched.

  I felt like the entire world was watching me.

  “Ma, what’s going on?” DeShawn asked.

  “Mom, stop it,” Dom said. “Talk to us.”

  I slammed the door shut behind me and locked it before I placed my hands against the door.

  What in the world was I supposed to tell my son?

  “Ma, you’re scaring me.”

  Hearing his voice tremble broke my heart.

  “Dee, could you sit down at the table?” I asked.

  “No. I’m standing right here until you turn around and talk to me,” he said.

  “Mom, what’s going on?” Dom asked.

  “It’s my dad, isn’t it?” DeShawn asked.

  “That man is not your father,” I said as I turned around.

  “I don’t need that lecture you always give us, Ma. I need you to tell me what’s going on. Why’d you pull us out of school?” DeShawn asked.

  I walked over to my big boy and took his hands within mine. His beautiful ebony hands that contrasted my pale skin strongly. I looked up into his eyes and watched him put up the bravest front I’d seen in any sixteen-year old. But watching it broke my heart.

  No sixteen-year old should’ve been putting up any type of front.

  Not with something like this.

  “Your father’s been released from prison,” I said.

  “What?” Dom asked. “How’s that possible?”

  “The parole board took a look at the ten years he’s done plus all of the volunteer work he did during his time, and they decided to release him,” I said. “Our lawyer called me about an hour ago.”

  “And there’s nothing we can do about that?” Dom asked.

  “My father doesn’t scare me. Not anymore,” DeShawn said.

  “I know he doesn’t, baby. I know. But this puts us in a delicate position because I don’t know if he’s aware of anything that happened after he was arrested,” I said. “I don’t know if he knows I ad
opted you. Or if you live with me.”

  “Or if we changed my last name.” DeShawn said.

  “Or that,” I said.

  “Do you think he’ll come after us?” Dom asked.

  I saw panic rush behind DeShawn’s eyes as I wrapped my arm around him. I held my other arm out for Dom and was quickly smashed between my massive boys. I hugged them close and felt DeShawn trembling against me.

  His facade was failing him, and so was mine.

  I could feel tears welling in my eyes.

  “Listen to me. You are my boys. My sons. And so long as you’re under this roof, nothing is happening to either of you. I’m going to be keeping in constant contact with our lawyer and I’ll be getting the information of Darnell’s parole officer so I can keep as many tabs on him as I can,” I said.

  Darnell.

  A man I never thought I’d have to worry about again.

  A knock came at the door and my boys jumped. My heart raced in my chest as the knocking continued. I shooed the boys into the living room before I reached for a knife, taking it in my hand and holding it at my side.

  “It’s me,” Bella said. “I’ve got food.”

  I sighed with relief and opened the door before I pulled her into the house.

  “Aunt Bella!” Dom exclaimed.

  “Hey there, guys,” she said as she opened her arms to them. “Come here and give your aunt a hug.”

  She wrapped them up tight and squeezed them as I set the pizza she’d bought for us on the kitchen table. She kissed them and doted on them while I grabbed some paper plates and sodas from the fridge. Anything to distract myself from the insanity swirling around us. We all sat down and grabbed slice after slice of the decadent, greasy food, and none of us talked until DeShawn spoke up.

  “What if he does come after me?” he asked.

  My eyes fluttered over to Bella before I cleared my throat.

  “Then I’ll kill him,” I said plainly.

  “That’s not funny Mom,” Dom said.

  “No, it’s not. DeShawn, when I adopted you, I took you on as my own. You were more than just Dom’s best friend in elementary school, you lived at my place. Got off the bus with him. I fed you. Bought you new clothes. Shoes that didn’t have holes in them. You were mine before you were ever mine, and no man is going to come into this house and take what’s mine from me.”

  “Wait, you’d really kill him?” Dom asked.

  “Why don’t we all go and find a movie to watch, huh? I checked the T.V. guide, and there’s a Rush Hour marathon on. Yeah? We stay up late, stuff ourselves with pizza. Maybe I’ll run out and get some ice cream?” Bella asked.

  My eyes locked my DeShawn’s before he nodded his head.

  “I love you, Ma,” he said.

  “I love you too, son. Now, what was this about a Chris Rock marathon?” I asked.

  All of us piled onto the couch and turned on the television. DeShawn threw his leg up over my lap and I leaned into his tall form. He’d always been so much bigger than the rest of the kids. Everyone always mistook him for being older than he was. Dom leaned against Bella and she leaned against me, all of us sinking into the other as we sought comfort during one of the hardest times my family had ever experienced.

  Though we were used to it, that didn’t make it any easier to deal with.

  I kept reassuring DeShawn things were going to be okay. He’d grip my wrist or I’d feel his body beginning to shake. I’d turn around and smile up at him, then tell him things would be okay. That I’d protect him. That we would all protect him. But in the back of my mind, I wasn’t so sure. Darnell had issues that spawned from years and years ago. He blamed DeShawn for the death of his wife after she bled out from a uterine rupture in the hospital in town. That was his excuse for neglecting his son the way he had. And once I’d taken DeShawn into my house as my own child, I refused to have contact with anyone. I shut us off completely and let the lawyer I’d hired deal with everything else regarding custody and putting Darnell away for good.

  So I didn’t know how much his father did and did not know about his son’s new life.

  “All right. The second movie’s about to start. Who wants ice cream?” Bell asked.

  “Me!” Dom exclaimed.

  “Double fudge with brownie bites?” DeShawn asked.

  “Anything for you, Isabelle?” she asked.

  “Whatever you get me is fine,” I said.

  The two of us slid off the couch and I went to go get my wallet. But before I could pull out some money, she placed her hand on my forearm.

  “You’re not paying for this. You brought pizza,” I said.

  “Let me take care of you guys for tonight, okay?” Bella asked. “I’ll go get us some ice cream, we’ll finish our movie marathon, and we’ll-”

  A knock came at the door and the two of us froze. The television immediately turned off and I heard the boys stand to their feet. My eyes panned over to the door before looking back at Bella, and my heart fluttered wildly in my chest.

  “Isabelle? Boys? You guys home?”

  “Well who’s that lovely voice belong to?” Bella asked.

  And again, relief rushed through my veins as I reached for the door to open it. I threw it open and there stood Tristan, smelling of spring flowers and carrying a plate of chocolate chip cookies. I looked over at Bella and she gawked at me before her finger came up and pointed.

  “The guy from the restaurant.”

  “Yep,” I said.

  “You stayed!” she exclaimed.

  “Live across the road,” Tristan said.

  “No shit!”

  “Bella,” I said.

  I nodded into the living room before she rolled her lips between her teeth.

  “Sorry,” she said.

  “Those cookies?” DeShawn asked.

  “Double chocolate chip. You guys want some?” Tristan asked.

  “Mom?” Dom asked.

  “If you have the cookies, you can’t have the ice cream,” I said.

  Then, like a herd of elephant, they stampeded through the kitchen and swiped cookies off the plate. He held the plate up to me and I took one, passing it to Bella before I took one for myself. I stepped off to the side and ushered him in as Bella rose her eyebrows up at me. I knew what she was thinking. All sorts of rude and crude jokes. Chastising me for not informing her that the man from the restaurant had decided to take her advice and stay.

  “Well, I’ll leave you guys be,” Bella said. “But you need to do a better job of keeping in touch.”

  Her eyes widened with excitement before she drew me into a hug.

  “It’s gonna be okay, okay?” she asked with a whisper. “I’ll keep dropping in on y’all to see how you’re doing.”

  “Thanks,” I said with a smile. “I appreciate it.”

  “And you,” she said as she pointed to Tristan.”

  “Yep?” he asked.

  “Take care of them while you’re here,” she said.

  “Bella,” I said.

  “Trust me. Anyone around me is,” he said.

  There was something in his voice that made me turn my head to him. The door shut behind me as Bella left the house, and something in my gut began to cramp. Something odd and unexpected. Something that trickled a warmth down my legs and made my fingers flex as my arms grew weak.

  Had he meant what he said?

  Tristan

  “You guys familiar with an Isabelle Carpenter?” I asked.

  My co-workers looked at me before grins popped up on their faces.

  “Why you askin’?”

  “I ordered some stuff from her a couple weeks ago. I was wondering if you guys had ordered anything from her,” I said.

  “Oh, we thought ya were talking about something else. Yeah. She’s good at what she does. My wife ordered a dining room table from her. Thing’s as sturdy as they come.”

  “We got a picture frame made for our canvas wedding photo. My wife loves that damn thing. Now our house
is littered with ‘em.”

  “Why did you think I was talking about something else?” I asked.

  My co-workers all looked around at one another as snickers left their lips. I didn’t feel right digging anymore into Isabelle and her history, but I could ask people around town about her. She said she was born and raised here, so I figured they’d know a bit about her. Maybe it would give me some inclination as to what was going on with her. Give me some sort of ‘in’ I could work with in order to make sure her and those sons of hers were all right.

  Because my gut kept churning and it wouldn’t leave me alone.

  “I mean, we thought you were askin’ ‘cause you were, ya know, interested in her.”

  “What would you have told me if I was?” I asked.

  “Are you? Because you probably don’t wanna do that if you are.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Look, the girl’s smart, right? And she’s obviously got skills women around here don’t really have. Which is cool and thrilling and could be appealing to, you know, a guy like yourself.”

  “Like myself,” I said.

  “Yeah. Ya know. An out-of-towner lookin’ for a fun time with a country girl.”

  “But don’t go for her. That woman loves bad boys. She’s got a rebel streak about her. Got knocked up in high school and it stuck her in this town for good.”

  “Yep. Her daddy kicked her out for it, too. Damn shame. He really wasn’t any good anyway, to tell you the truth. He made it no secret that he wished she was a boy.”

  “Trust me, you ain’t her type if you’re interested.”

  “Bad boys, huh? Well, those kinds of guys need love, too. There isn’t anything wrong with a woman who enjoys a man with a past,” I said.

  “A past and a present,” my co-worker said with a snicker.

  “That’s fine if you feel that way, but Isabelle’s the heartbreakin’ kind. I mean, she’s got two boys and no man in the house. No disrespect to her or nothin’, but a woman needs a man in the house.”