by Patricia Kay
When Alex reached for her keys, she gave them up without a word. They stood so close, she wondered if he could hear her heart beating. After he unlocked the door and pushed it open, P.J. stepped inside knowing he would follow.
The small hurricane lamp on the credenza in the entryway gave off a soft glow, illuminating the roses in their frosted vase. Their fragrance filled the air. P.J. turned and their eyes met. As the grandfather clock began to chime the hour, he reached for her and pulled her close. When he lowered his head, she raised hers and gave herself up to his kiss.
A long time later, after making love, sleeping for a while, then waking and making love again, they lay together spoon fashion in P.J.’s bed.
“We fit together nicely,” Alex said, lazily cupping a breast and nuzzling the back of her neck.
“Ummm,” P.J. murmured noncommittally, although she’d been thinking the same thing.
“You’re not going to let our work situation make a difference between us, are you?”
“Depends how things go.” But she already knew she wouldn’t. Because if she made their jobs an issue, she’d have to give him up, and she didn’t want to. Of course, if it became a situation where she could no longer do her job or he could no longer do his, she’d have to rethink her decision.
But for now, at least, she intended to enjoy being with Alex…and not worry about tomorrow.
The next few weeks went by swiftly. Alex kept his promise to keep tabs on Julie, but was relieved when Terrence returned home from his business trip and Alex no longer felt quite as responsible for her.
He and P.J. spent a lot of time together. He took her to movies, they went out to dinner, they fell into the habit of running together after work, and one Saturday afternoon and evening they attended a festival at the local Catholic church.
“I love Ferris wheels,” P.J. said as they stood in line waiting their turn to ride.
Alex smiled down at her. She looked like a kid in her jeans and flip-flops with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
“I almost came to this festival last year,” she continued.
“Why didn’t you?”
She shrugged, the smile fading. “No one to go with.”
The way she said it made Alex feel tender toward her. She acted so tough most of the time, but he suspected the toughness was a facade to mask deeper feelings.
Maybe she’s lonely, too.
Most people, he’d discovered, presented a face to the world that was not necessarily their real face. He certainly did. No one who knew him socially or in the world of philanthropy would ever guess at the emotions he kept hidden. Even his half-brothers probably had no idea what he was really like, just as he had little idea what made them tick.
“Well, you’ve got me now,” he said, putting his arm around her.
Their eyes met, and Alex could tell she wanted to say something—was actually on the verge of saying something—but just then the line began to move and the moment was lost.
Later that night, Alex awakened to the sound of rain hitting the roof. P.J. was still sleeping soundly. He smiled as he watched her. She looked delectable. There was no other word for it. Her hair tumbled over the pillow, her sleep shirt—which she’d put back on after they’d made love—had ridden up, and her really gorgeous backside was visible. It was all he could do to keep from caressing it, but he knew if he did, he’d wake her. He resisted the temptation. They had all day tomorrow to enjoy each other. He was just drifting back to sleep when his cell phone rang. Groaning, he picked it up off the bedside table and looked at the caller ID.
Julie.
The digital clock on P.J.’s side of the bed read 4:43 a.m.
“Damn,” he muttered, pressing talk and getting out of bed as quietly as he could. “This had better be important,” he whispered, moving toward the hallway.
“Alex,” Julie cried. “I’ve…I’ve been arrested!”
“What? Why?”
“I didn’t do anything, but they won’t listen to me. They hauled me down here to the police station just like a common criminal!”
“Calm down. Why were you arrested?”
“It was a drug raid. I—I was at Sandpipers and some of the kids were doing coke and stuff.”
“Jesus, Julie.” Alex pushed his hair back from his forehead in frustration.
“Well, I wasn’t part of it. I was just there. They had no right to arrest me! Oh, God, I don’t want Mom and Dad to know. Can you come?”
He sighed. “Yes, I’ll come. Where, exactly, are you?”
After she told him, he said, “It’ll be an hour, hour and a half before I get there.”
“Okay,” she said in a small voice. “Thank you, Alex.”
By the time Alex had dressed and gathered his stuff, P.J. was stirring.
“You leaving already?” she said sleepily, sitting up in bed.
“I have to.” He walked around to her side of the bed, leaned down, and kissed her. “I probably won’t get back before noon.”
Her brow furrowed. “Is something wrong?”
“I just got a call from my sister. I’ve got to drive to Seattle and bail her out of jail.”
P.J.’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“It was a drug bust at a club. Look, I’ve got to get going. I’ll call you later, okay?”
She nodded. “Be careful driving.”
He made it to the precinct where Julie was being held in record time, but even so, it was almost six-thirty before he walked in. It took another thirty minutes before he was allowed to see her.
She sat on a bench in a holding cell, along with a dozen other young people. Alex gritted his teeth when he recognized the infamous Penn, who sat with his head in his hands. He looked up when Alex and the duty cop approached. Alex nodded in the boy’s direction, even as he wished he could pound some sense into him and the others. He did notice that the beautiful Phoebe wasn’t part of the group. So, obviously, she was smarter than Julie.
“Alex,” Julie said, getting up and coming toward him. Her mascara was smudged, her blouse wrinkled and dirty, her face pale and exhausted-looking. A lone tear rolled down her face as her blue eyes met Alex’s.
Alex reached through the bars and took her hand. The duty cop unlocked the cell and let Julie out.
“Fifteen minutes,” he barked after taking them to a small, windowless room with a table and several chairs. “Then she’s gotta go back till bail is set.”
“When will that be?” Alex asked.
The cop made a show of looking up at the large, ugly wall clock. “Lemme see, it’s seven-ten. Judge Winkle won’t be in chambers till nine. So that means at least two hours, prob’ly more.”
“Two more hours!” Julie said.
“Yeah, cutie. It’s no fun here, is it?” With that the cop left them.
“Alex,” she cried, the tears starting in earnest now.
He let her cry for a while. Just held her in his arms and rubbed her back and made comforting sounds. When she finally stopped, he handed her a clean handkerchief. “Sit down, Julie. Tell me what happened.”
“I told you. We were just at Sandpipers and—”
“Who’s we?”
“Me, Bits, Crystal, Logan, Phoebe—”
“Phoebe? I didn’t see her back there,” Alex said, interrupting her again.
Julie rolled her eyes. “She ran. The cops didn’t see her, I guess.”
“Who else was there?”
“Russ, Terri, and Penn. You met some of them at my birthday party.”
“Penn’s the one who was busted before for drugs. The one your dad was worried about. The one I told you to stay away from.”
She hung her head. “Yes.”
Alex sighed. “Hell, Julie, when are you ever going to learn?”
“But I wasn’t doing anything. I was just there. It’s so not fair. Couldn’t they give me some kind of test or something? Did they have to arrest me?”
“Haven’t you ever heard that old saying
that you’re known by the company you keep?”
The tears began again. “Daddy’s going to kill me.”
“He should, but I doubt he will.”
“I don’t want him to know. Please don’t tell him. You won’t, will you?”
“On one condition.”
Her eyes, so big, so blue, so frightened, perpetuated the myth that she really was as naive and sweet as she appeared to be. But Alex knew better. Sure he loved her. And yes, he wanted to protect her, especially from her own bad judgment, but she was already too wise in the ways of the world and far too sophisticated and indulged for her own good. Right then he was torn between feeling sorry for her and wanting to turn her over his knee and give her the spanking she should have had many years ago.
“What’s the condition?” she asked.
“You have to promise me nothing like this will ever happen again.”
“It won’t! I promise.”
“Because if it does…” He paused to let his next words sink in. “I’m not going to come to the rescue.”
She nodded solemnly. “I understand.”
“I hope so.”
A few minutes later, the same duty cop came back. He opened the door without knocking, said, “Time to go, Missy.” His pale eyes met Alex’s gaze. “You can wait out front.”
It was almost ten o’clock before bail was set. By then Alex had drunk half a dozen cups of bad coffee and had a whale of a headache. The only good thing was that because this was a first offense for Julie, it only cost Alex a thousand dollars to get her released.
“Where’s your car?” he said as they claimed her belongings—a leather shoulder bag and a black leather jacket.
“I didn’t drive last night.”
“Okay. I’ll take you home.”
As they walked out the front door into the morning sunshine, a photographer, who had been sitting on the concrete wall bordering the building, jumped up and snapped a couple of photos before Alex could react.
“Oh, God,” Julie said. “Now Dad will find out for sure.”
“Maybe you should just tell him yourself.”
Julie, too miserable to be aware of anything except her own situation, slumped into the passenger seat of Alex’s truck and never even asked why he was driving it instead of his Navigator.
“You want to stop and have some breakfast on the way?” Alex asked.
Julie shook her head. “I’m not hungry. Just pull into the drive through at the first Starbucks you see and get me a giant latte, okay?”
It was eleven-thirty before he finally dropped Julie at the house. She insisted he let her out at the foot of the drive so no one would see him. “They expected me to spend the night at Phoebe’s,” she said.
“Like I said, if I were you, I’d tell them the truth.”
She nodded, leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, bro,” she whispered.
“I’ll call you later.”
“Okay.”
He watched until she disappeared around the bend of the driveway, then took off.
It was only as he was driving back to Jansen that he remembered he hadn’t called P.J. as he’d said he would. He flipped open his cell phone, ready to make the call, then wondered what he was going to say. Could he afford to tell her the whole truth?
Damn, he hated this subterfuge. Above all, he wished they could be completely honest with one another.
Soon, he thought. If things between them continued to go well in the next few weeks, he should be able to tell her the truth about himself by Thanksgiving.
And with luck, they might even be married by Christmas.
Chapter Ten
A fter Alex left, P.J. tried to go back to sleep, but hadn’t been able to. Finally, at five-thirty, she gave up, got up, showered, pulled on clean jeans and a warm sweater, then padded barefoot into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Peering out front, she saw that the Sunday newspaper had been delivered.
She slipped into an old pair of clogs and unlocked the front door. The early-morning air was crisp and cold after the night’s storm, but it was supposed to warm up to the sixties this afternoon. She hoped the weatherman had been right. She and Alex had talked about going bike riding today, and it would be more pleasant if the weather was warmer.
She wondered if Alex would still want to go. She also wondered about his sister. Funny he had never mentioned her before. Of course, he hadn’t talked about his family much at all. When asked, he’d said he had brothers who lived in the Seattle area and once, when she’d pressed a little, he’d said his parents were divorced. Although she’d been intensely curious to know more, she hadn’t wanted to press too hard because he might press back, and she absolutely did not want to talk about her family if she could help it.
Oh, she’d told him she had two sisters and a brother and a total of seven nieces and nephews, but she’d changed the subject as soon as she could. Maybe one day she’d tell him about her family—who and what they were—but it was too soon. And perhaps pointless. Whether or not she came clean with Alex about her background would depend on what developed with their relationship.
Oh? And what happened to “this relationship can go nowhere?”
P.J. purposely ignored the little voice inside her that persisted in reminding her just how naive she’d been. And yet, had she really? Hadn’t she always known, down deep, that a casual relationship with Alex wasn’t possible? From the beginning, she’d been far too attracted to him. In fact, he should have been wearing a sign that said Danger Ahead. Oh, hell, Kincaid. He was wearing the sign. You just pretended not to see it.
As the morning wore on, as P.J. fixed herself some scrambled eggs and toast, as she read the paper, as she tidied her condo, she kept looking at the phone and wondering where Alex was now and what he was doing. She wished he’d call as he’d promised. Didn’t he realize she was concerned? Worried?
A little after one the phone finally rang. Dropping her magazine, she rushed to answer it.
“Still want to take that bike ride?” he asked.
“If you do.”
“Good. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Park in back, by the garage. Easier to load the bikes that way.”
When he arrived, P.J. could see he’d stopped at his apartment to shower and change clothes before coming to her place. “Are you sure you still want to go?” she asked. “You look tired.”
“I am, but I need the fresh air.”
“Have you had any lunch?”
“I grabbed a sandwich at the apartment.”
She was dying to ask about his sister, but something held her back. “Okay, then. Let’s get the bikes.”
Ten minutes later, bikes in the bed of the pickup, they headed out to the park. They’d briefly toyed with the idea of driving to the coast, maybe to Seaside, but decided the Jansen River trail was just as nice and a heckuva lot easier to get to. Plus Seaside on a beautiful Sunday afternoon was almost always crowded. And P.J. had learned early in their relationship that in this she and Alex were alike—neither enjoyed crowds. The carnival yesterday was enough for one weekend.
“This is nice,” Alex said once they were comfortably into their ride along the river. He smiled at her. “Thanks for not asking about the morning.”
“Just because I didn’t ask doesn’t mean I’m not curious.”
“I want to tell you. I just wasn’t in the mood to talk about it until now.” He grimaced. “I hope that’s my last encounter with the criminal justice system.”
He then proceeded to explain what had happened.
“She must have been awfully scared,” P.J. said when he was finished.
“Yes. I only hope it lasts. Julie has a tendency to forget about consequences when she’s out raising hell.” He sighed. “The problem is, she’s never had to take responsibility for anything. Someone always bails her out. Today I did the bailing.”
P.J. knew he was as frustrated with himself as he was with his sister. “How old is Julie
?”
“She just turned twenty-two.”
“Has she been in any serious trouble before?” P.J. couldn’t help but think about her own sister Jillian, who was a model citizen now, but who had been a wild child when she was young. Shoot, P.J. herself hadn’t exactly been a model citizen. And she’d be extremely surprised if Alex had, either.
“Nothing too serious. She got into a few scrapes at her boarding school—the usual stuff—sneaking out at night, that kind of thing.”
“Where did she go to boarding school?”
He seemed to hesitate, then said, “I doubt you’d know it—it’s a private girls’ school in the Bellingham area. St. Camille’s.”
P.J. gave a mental whistle. St. Camille’s was pricey. Very pricey. “On scholarship?”
“No. Her father has money. Nothing but the best for his daughter. He’s spoiled and indulged her all of her life.”
“Sounds like she’s her father’s only child.”
“Yes.”
Realizing this was her opportunity to learn more about Alex, P.J. said, “So…your other brothers…they have a different mother than you do?”
He smiled cynically. “Yes.”
“Are they younger than you are, too?”
“One of them is.”
“One of them? How many brothers do you have?”
At first she thought he wasn’t going to answer. But he finally said, “I have three brothers. My father’s been married four times. My mother three. As you can see, I have an unorthodox family, and if you don’t mind, I really don’t want to talk about them anymore. It’s not a pleasant subject for me.”
He hadn’t needed to tell her. P.J. could see her questions had bothered him. Why? she wondered. Was it just because his family didn’t fit the all-American mold?
Or was it for a darker reason?
All her old uncertainty about him came rushing back. Was Alex hiding something? And if so, what?
Great, Alex thought. Just great. Now I’ve roused her suspicions again.
Well, it couldn’t be helped. He could hardly refuse to answer her questions. If he had, she’d be even more suspicious than she was now. It was just bad luck that he’d been with P.J. when Julie had called. And he hoped nothing like this would happen again.
