Hearts Under Caution

by Gina Wilkins

  “Yes. They seem to be happy together.”

  “This is all Dad’s ever wanted,” she said with a slight shrug. “A palatial home, a loving wife, a successful business that lets him have the means to indulge his passion for racing. He would have liked to have had a son, but they weren’t able to have more children, so he settled for being a hands-on, rather paternal owner for you and Digger and Jake and Ronnie and all the other hundreds of people who work for Woodrow Racing.”

  “He’s very proud of you, you know. He thinks you’ve accomplished a great deal.”

  “My father likes to pretend law school was his idea, even though you and I both know he would be perfectly happy for me to come back home and let him take care of me for the rest of his life.”

  “Woody just wants you to be happy. And safe. He doesn’t know why you couldn’t be living closer to home and putting your law degree to work for him. You know he has a whole fleet of attorneys on retainer. I’m sure he would happily turn that part of the business over to you.”

  “Yes, well…” She reached for her door handle. “It’s been an interesting weekend, Wade. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”

  His hand fell on her forearm, detaining her. “What are you going to do now?”

  “Now?”

  He shook his head impatiently. “I don’t mean this minute. I mean now that we’re back from Pennsylvania. Will you be staying close to home here? You aren’t planning to go back to Chicago yet, right?”

  “Not just yet. I still have three weeks left of my leave and my boss thinks I should take all of it, despite the heavy workload I’ve left behind. I think he knows I’ve been considering moving closer to my parents, and he’s giving me a chance to think about that decision. I’m sure he’s looking around for potential replacements while I’m gone.”

  “How does that make you feel?”

  She shrugged. “Kind of funny. I’ve enjoyed working there. I have a lot of friends there. But I can make new friends in a new job. I’d still be doing the same work.”

  “So you’re staying with prosecution, despite everything that’s happened to you.”

  “Nothing has actually happened to me,” she reminded him. “I’m just being cautious.”

  “For good reason. You have a coworker who was shot.”

  “A very rare occurrence.”

  He shook his head. “What does it take to scare you?”

  There were several potential answers to that question. Because all of them had to do with him, she decided she’d better leave it as rhetorical.

  “You’re coming in, aren’t you?” she asked, instead. She motioned toward the security gate through which he had driven only minutes earlier. “They already know we’re here. Dad’s probably expecting you to come in and gloat with him about today’s win.”

  Wade glanced at the house. As usual, there was little expression on his face, but she thought she saw the faintest signs of uncharacteristic nervousness in his eyes. Why would Wade suddenly be uncomfortable about talking to her father? Especially tonight?

  “Yeah, sure,” he said, opening his door. “I’ll walk you in. Just let me get your bags out of the trunk.”

  With a bag in each hand, he followed her up the front steps. They paused simultaneously at the door, Wade waiting for her to reach for the doorknob. Instead, she turned to look up at him.

  It had occurred to her suddenly that when she opened this door, the weekend would be officially over. And for some reason, she was reluctant to turn the knob.

  She believed she recognized that same reluctance in Wade’s eyes. And she thought she saw something else—something that made her hands start to tremble.

  He stood very close to her. So close that it would take only a step to bring her up against him. One very small step, and she would be in his arms. Which was exactly where she wanted most to be at that moment.

  Maybe he saw her thoughts reflected in her face. His eyes darkened in the artificial glow of the porch lights. “Lisa—”

  “Yes?”

  “Open the door.”

  “I will.” But rather than turning, she stood where she was, still gazing up at him.

  Since his hands were full, he couldn’t open the door himself without dropping one of her bags. He frowned. “What are you waiting for? Your parents are probably wondering what’s keeping us out here.”

  “Probably.” She couldn’t resist reaching out, laying a hand on his chest, so temptingly close. She was gratified to feel his heart racing beneath her palm, to know that she wasn’t the only one affected by this moment.

  The rhythm of his breathing changed, becoming a bit ragged and uneven. Still, he was so controlled that she wouldn’t even have known had she not been standing so close to him. Touching him.

  What would it take, she wondered, to make Wade McClellan finally, completely lose control? It had never happened while they’d been together before, not even during moments of passion. He’d certainly held himself in check when she’d broken up with him.

  Even during the race, when things had looked the worse for Jake, Wade had been totally collected. Sure, he’d cheered when Jake won. She’d watched on the TV in the hauler as he and Jake high-fived and celebrated in Victory Lane, being sprayed with champagne and a sponsor’s soft drink. He’d been jubilant, no doubt about that. But he’d shown nothing he didn’t want exhibited to the public.

  Ice.

  And yet…

  She could feel his heart pounding against his ribs, belying the studiedly cool expression on his face. And when she glanced down, she saw that the knuckles of both his hands were bone-white from the tight grip he had on her bags. Not quite as unaffected as he pretended to be.

  Intrigued, she moved a half step closer to him.

  “Lisa—” Her name was almost a groan that time. Wade wasn’t nearly as cool as he wanted her to believe. And that she found almost irresistible.

  “I just want to thank you once more before we go in.”

  “Not necessary.”

  “No. But I want to. Thank you, Wade.” Just because she wanted to feel his reaction, she tiptoed and brushed her lips against his. And she was rewarded when his heart gave another hard thump against his ribs. Against the hand she had pressed over it.

  Her bags hit the porch with a thump. The next thing she knew, his arms were around her and his mouth was on hers. And his wasn’t the only heart pounding frantically.

  He was still in control, she thought dazedly, but his emotions were much closer to the surface than they usually were. Given a little more time, she might just be able to push him over…

  Because she wasn’t sure she was prepared for that, she pulled away from him, breaking the kiss with a little gasp. “I guess we’d better go in,” she whispered.

  His hands on her upper arms, he looked down at her and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her again. She knew if he did, all her caution would be forgotten.

  Then he nodded, released his grip on her and stepped back. “Let’s go in,” he said, picking up her bags, his composure firmly back in place.

  LISA WASN’T PARTICULARLY surprised when her father rushed Wade off to his office almost as soon as they walked in—or as close to rushing as he could get while still using a walker. Visibly pleased with the outcome of the day’s race, Woody couldn’t wait to sit down and rehash the race lap-by-lap with his crew chief, even though Ellen chided him to wait until the next day, after Wade had gotten the chance to rest from the exhausting day.

  “Don’t keep him too late,” she called after the men when she lost the argument. “He’s tired, Woody. He’ll be back tomorrow.”

  She shook her head in resignation when she and her daughter were alone in the den. “I just know he’ll keep the poor boy talking half the night. You wouldn’t believe how excited your daddy was when Jake won that race this afternoon. I watched with him. He was so worried that Jake would crash like poor Ronnie did.”

  “Dad really wants that championship
, doesn’t he?”

  “It’s something he’s been working toward for the past twenty years. Ever since he bought his first race car and started building his teams, he’s wanted a championship. He’s come so close, having drivers finish second in points four times now, but that big trophy has always eluded him. Now, this year, with Jake and Ronnie both doing so well and Mike not far behind…”

  “He has a chance.”

  Her mother nodded. “Exactly.”

  “And if he does get the championship?”

  Laughing, Ellen shook her head. “He’ll start craving a second one.”

  “I understand the fascination with racing—especially after spending a weekend in the middle of the action—but I really don’t get the obsession.” Lisa made a frustrated gesture with one hand. “There are so many other things in life. Family. Travel. Theater.”

  “None of which you’ve had time to indulge in since you started your job in Chicago,” Ellen murmured.

  Lisa cleared her throat. “I’ve been busy. Establishing my career.”

  “Hmm.”

  “But I still plan to take full advantage of everything life has to offer once I’m solidly entrenched somewhere,” she insisted. “I don’t want to be so narrowly focused on my job that I can’t even see anything or anyone else around me.”

  “Are you talking about your father now—or someone else?”

  Feeling her cheeks warm in response to her mother’s perceptive tone, Lisa looked down at her hands. “I’m talking about everyone who’s so obsessed with career that nothing else matters.”

  “I take it your weekend with Wade didn’t go well?”

  “No, it was fine. I had a very nice time.”

  “You didn’t see Wade much?”

  “I saw him quite a bit. He bunked with Jake while I stayed in the motor home, but we had several meals together and were usually within sight of each other.”

  “So he didn’t ignore you?”

  “No, he didn’t ignore me.”

  “Yet he was still able to concentrate on his work enough to help Jake win the race.”

  “Yes.”

  “So the problem was…?”

  Reminding herself that she had to be careful not to reveal too much of her career predicament to her worry-prone mother—not to mention her overreactive father—Lisa smiled and shook her head. “No real problem. As I said, I had a great time. It’s nice that Wade and I are able to be friends again.”

  “Just friends?”

  Trying not to think about that unsettling interlude on the front porch, she shrugged. “For now. Probably for good. I’m not sure we’re any more suited for each other now than we were before. But…” she added, carefully keeping the cover story alive, “there’s always a chance, I guess.”

  Her mom looked at her oddly, and Lisa could tell she wasn’t being entirely successful in selling the story she and Wade had concocted. Maybe she should just come clean and tell the whole truth, somehow figuring out a way to reassure her worried parents that she was taking the necessary precautions to keep herself safe.

  She opened her mouth to do just that, but was interrupted by the impatient thump-thumping of her father’s walker. He came into the room looking quite satisfied. “Wade said to tell y’all good night. He’ll be back tomorrow afternoon for a meeting with all the team leaders. You’ll probably want to ask him to join us for dinner, Lisa.”

  “Oh, I—”

  “Great weekend for you to go to the track, wasn’t it? That was a heck of a win Jake and Wade pulled off. Guess I was wrong about you being a distraction. Looks like you were more of a good-luck charm.”

  “Dad, I—”

  “I can almost taste that championship,” her father gloated, his green eyes glittering beneath his heavy gray brows. “If it weren’t for this stupid hip replacement, everything would be just about perfect right now, wouldn’t it, Ellie?”

  Ellen smiled indulgently and nodded. It was typical of her not to mention her own health problems, just as it was typical of Woody not to acknowledge them. Not because he didn’t care—he did, a great deal. He simply refused to accept the reality that her health was precarious.

  Because Lisa accepted that frightening fact all too well, she bit back the confession she’d been about to make, telling herself there was no harm in waiting until Norris had been recaptured and any possibility of danger was over before giving her parents the facts. Wade was a willing coconspirator for now, so maybe it was just better to leave everything alone until the time was right.

  She pushed herself out of her chair. “I’m really tired. I think I’ll turn in. I’ll see you both at breakfast, okay?”

  Her dad chuckled, still basking in the high of Jake’s win. “Got to get your beauty sleep, eh? Gonna be seeing Wade again tomorrow.”

  Giving him what felt like a somewhat sickly smile in response, Lisa left the room. She felt her mother watching her as she walked out, but she didn’t look back.

  She was more than ready to be alone for a while.

  CHAPTER NINE

  SOMEHOW WADE ENDED UP having dinner with Lisa and her family Monday evening. He wasn’t sure whose idea it had been, but Woody was the one who had extended the invitation. Wade wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Woody had decided he approved of a reunion between Wade and Lisa. The old schemer had done everything but nudge them into each other’s arms that evening.

  Wade wasn’t overly flattered by the implied approval. He had known Woody long enough to understand how the older man’s mind worked. Especially now that Jake’s team was performing so well, Woody had an eye on the future.

  Woody knew Wade had been approached a few times by other owners wanting him to help them rebuild struggling teams or take over for people who had been wooed to other organizations. He knew Wade’s loyalties lay solidly with Woodrow Racing, but he’d probably like to guarantee that loyalty literally by making Wade part of the family.

  Woody wasn’t so much looking for a son-in-law, Wade thought wryly. He had his eye on a lifetime employee.

  Wade couldn’t help wondering if Lisa was as aware as he was of her father’s machinations. Probably. Woody wasn’t all that hard to read.

  He wondered what Lisa thought about the blatant matchmaking. He couldn’t tell from looking at her expression across the dining table.

  There had been a time when he’d thought he read her pretty well. He’d realized how wrong he’d been about that on the night she had broken their engagement. He’d been taken completely unaware that night. He had been pleased about the approaching wedding and he had blindly assumed she felt the same way.

  She had told him she loved him. But then she’d told him she didn’t want to be his wife. And the cozy, comfortable future he had envisioned for them—he building championship race teams, Lisa waiting contentedly at home for him—had all disintegrated around him.

  He should have known better than to think a guy like him could make Lisa happy. Maybe if she was a different kind of woman, one who would be satisfied with the money and fame and excitement that was part of racing…but then she wouldn’t be Lisa. She deserved more. More than he knew how to offer.

  Even if she had kissed him like she still wanted him. A kiss that had kept him awake long into the night, wondering exactly what she’d meant by it, if anything more than the simple gratitude she had implied.

  Two conversations were taking place at the table. Lisa and Ellen chatted about Lisa’s experiences in Pennsylvania, the friends she had made there, the fun she’d had with Katie and the others. Woody, of course, wanted to talk about the race, itself, replaying almost all the calls Wade had made and the pit strategies that had helped Jake get up in front. They had already been over all this, last night and again during the meetings earlier that afternoon, but there was nothing Woody would rather talk about.

  Eventually the two conversations merged, with Lisa telling her parents about her experiences during the race—a topic that interested her father. There was laught
er as she described J.R.’s overeager catering to her needs during the event, and Wade grinned because he was the one who’d asked J.R. to make sure she had everything she needed.

  She brought to life the tension in the pits when Jake had almost been collected in the early crashes and during those final laps when his tires had become an issue. She was a good storyteller, and her parents responded warmly to their only offspring’s chatter.

  It was nice being part of a family dinner for an evening, Wade mused. Despite Woody’s workaholic nature and his tendency to ignore his wife and daughter at times during the past, Wade had no doubt that there had been many lively dinnertime conversations among this little group. They were close, in their own way.

  He couldn’t help thinking back to his own family. He could remember only a handful of times they’d actually sat down together for a meal. His mother hadn’t liked to cook and had rarely been home in the evenings, spending most of her time hanging out with her friends in bars and bingo parlors. His father had also been in bars and casinos, with a different group of buddies.

  From the time they were old enough to fend for themselves—younger than most children were deemed ready for that responsibility—Wade and his brother had been on their own at mealtimes, making do with sandwiches and cereal for the most part. Growing tired of cold food, Wade had finally taught himself to cook. Spaghetti with canned sauce had been his specialty, but he’d also learned to grill meats and boil vegetables. He and Harlan had eaten fairly well through high school, usually on trays in front of the TV.

  One might think they’d have grown close during those years spent pretty much raising themselves. Instead, they had drifted into different crowds, different interests, until the McClellan family was nothing more than four virtual strangers who occasionally crossed paths in the same house.

  He wasn’t sure what had kept his parents together. Convenience, probably. The financial advantages of two incomes. Neither of them having to take full responsibility for the sons they had conceived for no logical reason. The last time he remembered being with both his parents at one time had been his high school graduation, which they had attended in separate vehicles so they could all go off with their own friends afterward.