Gloria cut her off. “He told me that you had a cool, untouched innocence about you, like a canvas begging for paint. Derek wanted to color you, to finish you, to make you his.”
The words didn’t make sense to her. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t. With you, Derek could be whoever he wanted to be. You didn’t know his heart, his soul, because you didn’t know him as an artist. That’s where he poured it out. That’s where he was himself.”
“Then why did he stop painting? Because Wyatt told him he was no good? Why didn’t he fight if art was so important to him?” Brianna demanded.
“Derek was consumed by fear. He was scared of success and terrified of failure. So he ran away, and he married a woman who would never pick at that part of his soul, never demand something of him that he didn’t want to give.” There was anger in Gloria’s voice, bitterness burning in her eyes.
“You wanted him to pick someone else,” Brianna said, sure of her words.
“Yes—someone who wouldn’t let him run from his talent.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“I did,” Gloria said, with no apology in her voice. “But I was too late. Derek had already gone to the dark side. He’d chosen a path from which there was no recovery.” She took a breath. “I never thought he would die in prison though. That was never supposed to happen.”
As Gloria left, Brianna’s stomach churned. What was supposed to have happened? Was Derek supposed to get out of jail and do something besides go back to her and Lucas? Had there been another woman in his life? Someone he was supposed to have been with?
The Kanes had told her that Derek had never introduced them to anyone else, but that didn’t mean anything. He’d been living in L.A. for eight years. His parents had known next to nothing about his life there, and neither had she.
“Brianna?”
Startled, she whipped around to see Jason come out of the shadows. He had on his uniform tonight, the moonlight glinting off his badge. She’d wanted to remind herself that he was the cop who’d put Derek behind bars, but now, all she could see was the man who’d made love to her that morning, whose kisses had driven her wild, whose touch had made her scream with pleasure. The man she’d thrown out of her house because she was scared—not of him, but of herself.
He moved closer, quiet and quick as if about to pounce. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked into his eyes and saw that he was remembering, too.
Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe?
“Brianna,” he murmured, her name sounding like a caress. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she said, gazing into his eyes. She cleared her throat, realizing she was getting lost in a glance that was far too intimate for their surroundings. “I just had an interesting conversation with Gloria.”
“I saw. What was that about?”
“I found something out earlier. I didn’t get a chance to tell you before, but I discovered some old letters in one of Derek’s boxes. They were from Victor Delgado to Francine Kane, and vice versa.”
His eyes widened. “There was a connection between Delgado and the Kanes? What did the letters say?”
“Apparently, Victor and Francine had an affair. They’d both lost their lovers when the ship went down, and they turned to each other in grief. But that’s not all. There was a baby. Francine passed it off as the child of her late husband, Marcus Kane.” She waited, letting the words sink in.
A light sparked in his eyes. “So Derek—”
“Was a descendant, and Wyatt, too. I told Gloria. She didn’t deny it, and she didn’t act surprised. What I want to know is why no one ever mentioned this before.”
Jason stared at her for a long moment. “The family connection probably wouldn’t have played in Derek’s favor. It would have give him a stronger motive to want those paintings.”
“It also would have given Wyatt a stronger reason to steal the paintings back from the museum.” She paused. “You and Joe Silveira both told me to come up with something new. I think I have.”
“We’ll talk about it later. I’m on duty now. I’ve got to take a swing through the park.”
“All right,” she said. He didn’t move. “Was there something else you wanted?”
His lips tightened. “I didn’t like the way things ended this morning.”
She stared back at him. “I didn’t, either,” she admitted.
He nodded. “Okay. I know it’s complicated, but shutting me out isn’t the answer.”
“You say that now, but you were having second thoughts this morning, too. I might have acted before you did, but I could feel you tensing up. We both know that the two of us together is a crazy idea. It could never work.”
“Never is a strong word.”
“It’s the only one that makes sense.” She paused as a gust of wind blew her hair across her face. As she pushed the strands away, she saw Jason’s gaze narrow.
“Where’s your wedding ring?” he asked abruptly.
She drew in a deep breath. “I took it off. I did it for me, not for you, and it’s no one’s business whether I wear it or not. I was married to Derek, not the rest of you. It’s my choice. My life.” She wished she’d said the same words to Nancy, but like a coward she’d run.
“I agree,” Jason said. “It is your life, your choice to be with whoever you want to be with.”
She saw the challenge in his eyes. “That doesn’t mean I’ll choose you. As I said before, the two of us together doesn’t make sense, and any friendship between us hurts people I care about. I don’t just have myself to consider, but also Lucas. I can’t put him in the middle of a battle between you and his grandparents. We have to stop this now. It’s the right thing to do.”
“The right thing—or the easy thing? I know you’re a fighter, Brianna. Is Derek the only one you can fight for?”
She didn’t have a chance to answer as a sudden commotion in the beer garden took Jason’s attention away from her.
People were yelling, and two men were shoving each other, knocking over chairs and tables, sending people fleeing for cover.
“Shit! The Harlan boys are at it again.” He took off toward the action.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, running next to him.
“Stop them.”
A siren blared in the distance; help was on the way. She hoped Jason would wait for it. The two men were quite large, very drunk, and completely out of control. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure Lucas was still with the Kanes and out of harm’s way.
Jason’s demands that the men stop fighting went unheeded. Brianna gasped as one of the men picked up a chair and hurled it past his opponent, almost taking out a light stand and a couple of bystanders. Jason jumped into the fray, trying to drag one man off the other, but his face got in the way of the other guy’s fist.
He staggered backward, blood dripping from his nose, but he recovered quickly, grabbing one of the men by the waist and wrestling him to the ground. The other man sank to his knees, either exhausted from the fight or too drunk to continue. Jason got his cuffs on the one guy just as two other officers ran in to help, and a few moments later, the men were being led to a police car.
Jason was rewarded by applause, which he quickly waved off. Brianna wanted to go to him, but she was acutely aware that the Kanes and her son were watching the action. Jason wasn’t left alone for long, as Kara and a big blond guy ran up to him.
“A little late, as always,” Jason told his friend.
“I was on the other side of the park,” the man replied. “I can’t believe you took that sucker punch. Your reflexes have slowed way down, dude.”
“Up yours, Colin.”
Kara handed Jason some napkins to soak up the blood. “Do you need to go to the hospital?” she asked with concern.
“He’s fine. He has a bloody nose,” Colin said.
“He can talk for himself,” Kara argued.
“I’m all right, Kara. I j
ust need to get a towel and some ice.” He glanced away from them, his gaze meeting Brianna’s.
One of the servers from the beer garden brought Jason a bag of ice, and more people gathered around him until he was completely lost to Brianna’s view. Shaking her head, she turned around and walked back to the table where the Kanes sat.
Lucas came running up to her, his eyes lit up with excitement. “Mommy, did you see that? Did you see Jason fight that big guy?”
“I did,” she said.
“He was cool,” Lucas added, swinging his own fists in the air. “I want to learn how to fight like that.”
“Jason was stopping the fight,” she told him. “He’s a police officer. He was trying to prevent anyone else from getting hurt.”
Her reasonable explanation fell on the deaf ears of a four-year-old boy who now thought Jason was a superhero.
She hadn’t wanted to see Jason like this—brave and courageous and willing to put his life on the line to protect others.
“Mommy, Kyle wants me to sleep over at his house tonight. Can I?”
“What?” Brianna asked, refocusing her attention on Lucas.
“Can I do a sleepover, please? Kyle has bunk beds.”
She smiled, as it was Lucas’s greatest wish to sleep in a bunk bed. “I don’t know, honey.”
“Please, please, please,” he begged. “Kyle’s parents are really nice. His mom makes hot chocolate with marshmallows.”
“It’s a good family, in case you’re worried,” Rick interjected. “We’ve known them for ten years.”
“Maybe she’d rather not be alone,” Nancy suggested. “Don’t feel pressured, Brianna.”
She wondered if Nancy was worried about her being on her own or being alone with Jason.
“Say yes,” Lucas begged.
“Yes.” She smiled.
He jumped up and down with excitement. “I’ve never done a sleepover. I’m a big kid now!”
“I guess you are. Let’s go home and get your pajamas.”
After packing up Lucas and spending a half hour with Kyle’s parents before saying good-bye, Brianna returned home. Jason’s car wasn’t in the driveway; he was probably still working. It would be strange when he wasn’t house-sitting anymore. She’d gotten used to thinking about him being next door.
Though it would probably be better to put more distance between them. Then she wouldn’t be so tempted . . .
As she entered the house, Digger came running to greet her, barking with delight. She let him out in the backyard, hoping he’d run off his energy.
Wispy clouds floated around the moon, and the wind blew colder. She felt a shiver run down her spine, not sure where it had come from. There was nothing but peaceful quiet surrounding her, yet she felt on edge.
She called to Digger, took him back into the house, and locked the door. She put him in his crate and headed toward her bedroom. Her sense of uneasiness increased as she entered the room. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but something felt different.
She just needed to get hold of herself. It had been a very long time since she’d been completely alone; she’d always had Lucas with her.
Too restless to sleep, she wandered back into the living room and glanced out the window. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Jason’s car. She debated for a minute, then grabbed her keys and slipped out the front door.
She would just see how he was feeling after the fight, offer some neighborly support. She was still thinking of ways to rationalize her visit when Jason opened the front door.
“Thank God. I thought I was going to have to knock on your door.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house, his mouth coming down on hers before she could say a word.
She sank into his kiss, cupping his face with her hands, her fingers threading through his hair as he angled his mouth one way and then the other, not giving her a chance to breathe or to think.
As her fingers slid down the side of his face, she felt the swelling around his eye, heard his quick intake of breath. She pulled away. “You’re hurt.” His right eye was already turning black and was swollen halfway shut. His nose looked puffy, too.
“Kiss me and make me feel better,” he teased.
“I can’t believe you didn’t wait until the other officers came.”
“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“You got hurt.”
“Roger Harlan can’t usually get off that good of a punch.” He paused. “Is that why you came over here? To see if I was okay?”
“It was one of my reasons.”
“And?”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you, about us,” she whispered. “It’s so wrong.”
“No, it’s not,” he said with a definitive shake of his head.
“I’m going to hurt everyone I care about, the only people who care about me.”
“Don’t you think the Kanes want you to be happy?”
“They don’t want me to be happy with you.” She stepped back, putting her palms against the door. She needed to steady herself and also to stop herself from jumping back into his arms.
“What do you want?” he asked quietly, his gaze meetings hers.
“I don’t know, Jason.”
“You do know—you’re just scared.”
“Scared that I don’t want to mess up my life again—hell, yes. Since I came back here, everything I thought I knew is changing. I’m doubting Derek. I know you’re happy to hear that, but it doesn’t make me feel good. Because if I was wrong about him, what else was I wrong about?” She gave him a worried look. “And are you going to be another bad decision?”
“No, I’m not. I am what you see, Brianna. I had no hidden agenda five years ago, and I have none now. I told you before that the first time I saw you, I knew you were it.”
“But I didn’t think that about you. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“Well, I would have preferred you to dump Derek on the spot and run into my arms, but we can’t change the past. Now we have another chance to get it right. And even though you didn’t dump Derek, I think you liked me, too. You just didn’t have a chance to figure it out.”
She shook her head, his cocky smile way too appealing. “You do know how to put a good spin on things.”
“Is Lucas asleep?” Jason asked, suddenly moving closer.
“No, he’s, uh . . .” She stalled, realizing that taking Lucas out of the equation was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
“He’s what?” Jason prodded. “It’s late for him to be awake.”
“He’s sleeping over at his friend Kyle’s house.”
Jason’s eyes sparked. “Really? So you don’t have to get home?”
“I wouldn’t say that. I left Digger in the crate, but he doesn’t do well alone for long.”
“So we’ll go back to your house. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. We can . . . talk.”
She smiled. “The last thing I want to do with you is talk.” She stepped forward, grabbed his shirt by the hem, and pulled it over his head. “Digger can wait.”
FOURTEEN
Brianna had never been so impatient to have a man. With Jason, there was no slow build-up to romance, no candles or mood music, no soft words of affection. There was no pretense between them, only raw, honest passion. He’d said that when he first saw her, he’d known she was it . . . and she wanted to be his it girl, the woman who could make him crazy.
She stripped off his clothes with eager enthusiasm, enjoying every bare inch of him. He was a gorgeous man, rugged, tan, muscled, a man of earth and fire and the sea. He was all the elements wrapped into one. And when he was kissing her and touching her, she felt like a different person.
Jason pulled her out of her head. There was no thinking, no planning, no rule books. He urged her to explore his body while he did the same with hers, no holding back. It was scary and exhilarating to put so much on the line.
Every nerve ending tingled as their hands
, mouths, and bodies tangled. They made it onto the narrow couch, Jason pulling her on top of him, letting her set the pace, the rhythm, while his eyes burned with pleasure. She felt as if she was flying. Every slide of their bodies, every tense, delicious place of friction, was unbearably good. She wanted to stay up in the clouds forever, but the tension built, fast and furious, until she cried out with release. Jason held on to her until they both floated down to earth.
Long minutes passed before she could breathe, then she lifted her head and met his gaze.
He put his hand on the back of her head and stole another kiss, long and tender. Her emotions threatened to spill over with the sweet caress, because it didn’t feel like sex anymore; it felt like love.
A tiny frisson of fear went through her. She wanted to get up, to run again, but Jason was holding on to her.
“You can go home,” he said, meeting her gaze, “but I’m going with you. I want us to spend the night together—you and me.” He paused, giving her a slow grin. “And Digger.”
She smiled back. “You’ll have competition, then. He likes me.”
“I like you, too.”
She sat back, grabbing an afghan off the back of the couch as she searched for her clothes. “What about the pets here? I thought you were supposed to stay with them at night.”
“The cats pretty much hate me, the bird doesn’t care, and Princess is asleep in the middle of Patty’s bed, which is the most uncomfortable bed I’ve ever slept in. Thank God my father is coming back soon.”
“Did you hear from him? Did he get married?” she asked as she pulled on her bra and panties.
“I don’t know. He texted me that he’d be back tomorrow.” Jason pulled on his jeans and grabbed his shirt off the floor.
“So you might have a new stepmother?”
“It’s possible.”
She gave him a thoughtful look. “You don’t sound quite as upset about it as you did before.”
“I’ve got another woman on my mind,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Are you ready?”
She gave a nod and tossed the blanket back onto the couch. When they got back to her house, all was quiet; Digger had gone to sleep. She went into her bedroom, Jason right behind her. He slipped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck.
In Shelter Cove Page 19
