Kissed by a Carrington

by Linda Hudson-Smith

  Lynton smiled in a false yet charming way. “Why, Mr. Carrington, good evening. Nice to see you again. Twice in one day, no less.” Lynton extended his hand to Houston.

  Houston totally ignored Lynton’s outstretched hand. As he turned to walk away, Kelly appeared in the marble foyer. Dressed in a green satin robe, she looked beautiful and appeared completely surprised to see him.

  That Lynton had dared to answer her door had Kelly seeing red. She had just come out of the bathroom and hadn’t heard the bell. Still, that didn’t give her friend the right to take liberties in her home. Perhaps the offer she’d made to him had been a mistake.

  “Houston, please wait,” Kelly called out to him. “Where are you going?”

  Houston turned toward her, giving her a look that left no uncertainty about his deep disappointment. It was one thing not to return his phone calls, but to stand him up for a date with another man was downright unforgivable. He was too upset to even address what might be happening between Kelly and the good doctor.

  As though he’d been stabbed with a sharp knife, Houston felt deeply wounded. The gut-wrenching pain was excruciating. He needed to get away from this situation in a hurry. He wasn’t a violent man, but he’d like nothing better than to smash in Lynton’s pretty face. The smug expression he wore was enough to get anyone’s blood boiling.

  With tears threatening, Kelly ran after Houston. She caught up to him just as he was about to get into his car. Her short strides had been no match for his extremely long ones. “Houston, come inside and talk to me. Don’t do this. Please.”

  Houston’s razor-sharp gaze nearly leveled Kelly. “Don’t do what? Disregard your feelings like you’ve done mine? This is insane. If you’re trying to make me jealous, you’ve succeeded. But you’ve also lost out on more than you can possibly imagine. I can’t be involved with someone who has a need to test my emotions. You’ve picked the wrong guy to try this jealousy crap on. I’m not the one, lady.”

  Trying desperately to hold in her emotions, Kelly moved closer to Houston. “You’ve jumped to the wrong conclusions, Houston Carrington. I know how this may look, but your perception is totally off the mark. I can’t believe you’re acting this way. Didn’t you get any of my phone calls? I phoned you several times.”

  Houston narrowed his eyes. “Saying what? That you preferred the good doctor’s company over mine? Save your lies for someone who gives a damn, Kelly. If you dialed my number, maybe it rang at some other location.”

  Kelly’s hands itched to slap Houston across the face. She wasn’t the type to lash out in a physical manner, or she would’ve leveled severe corporal punishment against him by now. Houston was almost as arrogant as he was sweet and charming. Kelly sucked in a deep breath to try and calm her careening nerves.

  Houston was hurt. That much was obvious to her. She’d be in pain, too, under the same set of circumstances. However, she’d at least let the other person be heard. “I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’m not a liar. I resent the charge. Maybe we can discuss this when you calm down. I’d eventually like to be heard.”

  Houston reared up like a bucking bronco. “Don’t hold your breath, Kelly. Turning purple wouldn’t become you.” Houston got inside his car and started the engine.

  Hoping he’d let the window down, Kelly tapped on it.

  Houston finally let down the driver’s-side window. “What do you want from me, Kelly? If you couldn’t make dinner, you could’ve called. I waited and worried, thinking something might’ve happened to you. I guess it just didn’t matter to you.”

  Kelly huffed in frustration. “Why won’t you believe I called?”

  “No calls came in to my house. And why do you care what I believe? Look at how you’re dressed. It appears you were involved in a real cozy evening before I arrived.”

  “I am dressed for bed,” she said, teeth clenched. “I’m tired from a long day at the office and a serious emergency at the hospital. I was in the bathroom when the doorbell rang. My next move was straight to bed.”

  Houston’s eyes widened. “I can believe that,” he answered, revving the engine.

  Kelly watched in utter agony as his car sped backward and out of her driveway.

  What had happened here? Why was he so suspicious? Would she ever see him again? All Kelly could do was wonder since he hadn’t revealed his intent for the future.

  Houston’s behavior was way over the top. Her best guess told her he was wrestling with his feelings for her. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but an unfair assessment of her character wouldn’t bring them closer. If he believed she’d use another man to make him play ball or get off the court, he’d probably run further away. If he actually thought her capable of such a thing, the game was already lost.

  Kelly wasn’t the kind of woman who used a man to make another one jealous. It hurt her to think for a measly second that Houston believed she was capable of doing so. As she turned to go back into the house, she looked back and saw the car disappearing beyond the wrought-iron gates. Refusing to cry, she stifled her emotions.

  Chapter 8

  Feeling more anguished than ever before, Houston wrung his hands together. With his head hung low, he walked away from his brother’s front door, only to turn around and go right back. His emotions had taken a severe pounding. He was a mess and he needed someone to help him make sense of what had just occurred with Kelly.

  The sound of the doorbell caused Dallas to frown, hoping he wouldn’t get hung up with whoever was outside. Since he wasn’t fully dressed, he was worried about being late for his movie date with Lanier. Perusing his game schedule and discussing the cruise plans with the agent at the travel agency had taken longer than he’d anticipated.

  Dallas instantly knew his brother was in trouble. The tortured look on Houston’s face was a dead giveaway. The siblings greeted each other with a warm, manly hug. “Come on in, man. What’s up? You look upset.”

  Houston followed Dallas into the family room, where they took seats on matching leather recliners. Dallas offered his brother something to drink. Houston declined.

  Immediately launching into what had happened with Kelly and him, Houston’s eyes blazed with fury as he told Dallas the entire story. His anger over the situation came across to his brother in spades.

  Houston’s ranting over a woman surprised Dallas, yet he already knew his brother cared about Kelly. He now had a clear indication of how deep his feelings ran. Dallas was amused by Houston’s foreign encounter, but he wouldn’t let it show. It appeared to him that his brother could no longer deny what he felt for Dr. Kelly Charleston.

  Houston had finally fallen off the deep end. Dallas was pretty sure of it.

  Dallas slapped his hand down hard on his thigh. “Man, you should’ve seen this coming. What do you expect from Kelly under the present circumstances? She has no way of knowing if you plan to run in and out of her life at will. With all your so-called rules, the lady is probably worried sick about getting too involved with you.”

  Houston put his face into his hands. “Man, this is not cool. I don’t like what’s happening to me. I’ve never been jealous of another man or envious of any situation in my adult life. Kelly hanging out with Lynton has me insane. I guess it is my fault.”

  Dallas smirked. “You guess? Who else’s fault could it be? You’ve been shadowboxing with this relationship from the start. Are you in love with Kelly?”

  It was a query Houston really didn’t know how to answer; he looked puzzled by it. What he felt for Kelly was deep—deeper than anything he’d ever felt before. If love made folks go as crazy as he felt, he wasn’t sure he wanted any part of it.

  Looking bewildered, Houston scratched his head. “Let me put it like this. I desperately want Kelly and I don’t want anyone else to have her. I hate this Lynton guy being anywhere near her. I can barely stand the thought of her with another man. She occupies way more space in my head than I’m comfortable with. My heart is breaking over what went down between u
s this evening. I can’t believe I’m terrified of losing her. Now please answer this question for me. Am I in love, Dallas?”

  Feeling sorry for Houston, Dallas nodded in the affirmative. “Madly!”

  Houston had to wonder if Dallas was right on the money. He couldn’t admit the truth if he wasn’t totally sure about his feelings. How could things change so drastically? Would he feel so scared of losing Kelly if Lynton hadn’t come back into her life?

  The honest answer was that Lynton really didn’t have anything to do with what Houston felt or didn’t feel for Kelly. He may’ve sped things up, but Houston didn’t want to give him any credit. However, her friend had introduced him to the ugly green monster called jealously. Houston realized he had some serious decisions to make. His inability to commit was the core issue and he knew he had to deal with that first.

  Dallas had just finished looking over his game schedule before Houston had arrived. “Man,” he said, “I have a conflict with the dates for the birthday cruise. I don’t know why I didn’t see it when I first checked my calendar. A home game is slated at the very end of the cruise. I’d have to leave the ship early, just like we did on the Valentine’s Day sailing.” Dallas scanned the schedule again, shaking his head in dismay.

  “It’s a real bummer.” Houston shrugged. “But we’ve already said if all of us can’t make the trip, we’d just send Mom and Dad. We can do a family cruise later on.”

  Dallas suddenly smiled. “Since the home game is late evening, I can fly back to Houston before the ship leaves port. It’s the only solution.” Excited that he could possibly work things out, Dallas pumped his fist in triumph.

  “I hope scheduling works out for you, man. Speaking of out, I’m out of here. I’ve got lots of thinking to do. Never dreamed I’d be in this position. Not ever. I’m still not sure I’m in love. Whatever it is it has turned my world topsy-turvy.”

  Dallas chuckled. “It’s love, all right. You need to stop denying it. It is what it is.”

  Houston palmed both sides of his head. “Whatever, man!”

  Listening to Kelly’s messages, one right after the other, Houston cringed inwardly. The time of the incoming calls indicated she’d called while he’d been at the market with his mother earlier in the day. He hadn’t heard the stutter dial on the house phone, which was the message indicator. He’d only used his cell phone.

  The situation didn’t explain to Houston why Kelly hadn’t bothered to call his mobile number about the hospital emergency. Nor did it explain why Lynton was at her home when he’d arrived or why’d he’d opened the door. Houston still had a hard time with the way she was dressed. He considered a silk robe intimate apparel.

  After listening to the last message, Houston hung up the phone. Silently, he vowed to get rid of the answering device and get one equipped with red flashing lights. Unless he actually picked up the phone to use it, he wouldn’t know he had messages. He had to admit the internal message center hadn’t been a bother until now.

  The device had only caused him to make an absolute fool of himself with Kelly.

  Houston knew for a fact he had to eat crow. Thinking about how horrible Kelly must’ve felt by his accusations, he wouldn’t blame her if she demanded him to eat it raw. That was, if she agreed to see him again. Giving things time to cool off wasn’t in his best interest. Now that he’d finally heard the evidence of her calls, he knew he had to immediately let her know how sorry he was and how deeply he regretted doubting her.

  As Houston dialed Kelly’s home number, his fingers trembled. When he didn’t get an answer, he wasn’t too surprised. But it hurt like hell. Was she busy with the good doctor or just refusing to take his call? The mental queries caused his stomach to tighten.

  It was 9:20. So much for a romantic evening. Eating dinner alone wasn’t appealing to him, but he rarely got upset enough to lose his appetite altogether. He thought of all the uneaten food. Houston was past hungry. Ravenous was more like it. Eager to chow down, he made a beeline for the kitchen.

  Just to bring about a calmer mood within, Houston lit a few candles to dine by, after turning on a CD featuring serenity-inducing music. After fixing his plate, he sat down on a metal-backed stool at the granite breakfast bar. Piled high on a dinner plate was the delicious-smelling food he had warmed in the microwave.

  While Houston consumed his meal, he thought about the things he had planned to discuss with Kelly over dinner. They really hadn’t talked about what each expected from the other if they actually ended up dating exclusively. The topic had been pretty much taboo with him from day one. The way he’d been carrying on throughout the hours of this day, like a jealous lover, a totally directionless maniac, no one would ever guess that he didn’t already think of Kelly as exclusively his.

  Faced with a possible rival in Dr. Lynton Washington, Houston had wisely put himself on notice, just as Dallas had recommended. His brother had spoken to him about it in no uncertain terms. The Carrington men didn’t pull punches with each other, no matter how painful the subject. Dallas had given Houston much food for thought.

  Neither of Houston’s brothers or his father lied to him when he went to them for advice. He’d only gone to Dallas because he hadn’t been able to reach Austin. Dallas was aware that Austin was normally the first one they both sought out during troubling times. He had even mentioned it in a joking manner. Austin dealt fairly with his siblings.

  Houston’s mind turned back to Kelly, who was exactly what he had in mind for the woman he’d one day marry. She was loving, warm and outgoing—in other words, she possessed many qualities he found so endearing in his mother. Austin had married a mirror image of their mother and Dallas had found a lot of Angelica’s characteristics in Lanier.

  Could good fortune strike thrice among three brothers in the same family?

  Kelly could easily fit in to the fast-paced lifestyle of a popular sports personality. She was classy, kind and even-tempered, somewhat laid-back, but not easily intimidated by anyone. Houston had seen what female fans did to the more timid spouses of athletes. Female groupies often ignored sports wives like they weren’t even there, daring to boldly flaunt and throw themselves in the faces of their favorite superstar heroes.

  The often out-of-control groupies were one of the things Houston didn’t want a woman he loved to be faced with. Deciding not to marry until after he’d retired from the world of sports was in part due to the blatant behaviors of some females. The same madness occurred at home games, but it happened more frequently on the road.

  Houston wanted his wife secure in the knowledge that he loved her, only her. He didn’t want her to think he was off cavorting with any woman who offered up her body to him. Road games were especially hard on personal relationships. He’d seen the vast amount of unrestrained cheating and lying that went on in sports arenas and entertainment venues all over the country and around the world. Houston had no desire to be a part of those wild scenes as a single man, let alone as a married one.

  After Houston gave a lot of thought to what marriage might be like for him, he concluded that he first had to commit to an exclusive relationship. Considering anything deeper than that only came after a relationship had grown into something beyond romance. Could he and Kelly have that kind of special liaison?

  If the relationship didn’t blossom, Houston was sure he’d be the one at fault.

  Realizing how arrogant and unfair his thoughts were, Houston laughed nervously. Here he was thinking of possibly committing to an exclusive relationship, but he hadn’t even considered that Kelly might see things differently. Maybe she didn’t want that kind of closeness with him. He certainly hadn’t bothered to ask her what she wanted.

  Houston knew he’d been awfully busy telling Kelly what he didn’t want.

  A relationship involved the feelings of both parties. Discussing Kelly’s take on the situation had to come before he ever attempted to make any sort of commitment to her. Houston finally realized he’d been presumptuous all a
long about a possible relationship with Kelly. That had to change immediately. He wasn’t alone in this.

  As Kelly had stated earlier, she’d like her voice to be heard. He quietly vowed to hear what her needs were, without commenting until after she was through. Until he and Kelly knew what level of interest they had in each other, there wasn’t a fighting chance.

  Ashleigh and Lanier were happy to see Kelly when she’d shown up. Lauren, one of the foster girls, had twisted her ankle at the park. They’d called on Kelly to see if she could check out the injury. Neither was sure if emergency treatment was necessary.

  Kelly gently and carefully wrapped the swollen left ankle in an Ace bandage. “Lauren, you need to stay off this foot. Keep it elevated and rest it on a couple of pillows when you’re seated or lying down.” The young girl nodded and smiled.

  Kelly turned to Ashleigh and Lanier. “I’ll need to see our girl in the office tomorrow for an X-ray. I don’t believe it’s broken, but we need to be sure. I also want to fit you for a pair of crutches to get around on.”

  Ashleigh and Lanier were grateful for Kelly’s help. It was very late in the evening and she had gotten out of her bed to come to Haven House to tend to Lauren’s injury.

  “We appreciate you,” Ashleigh said. “What about a cup of coffee or tea?”

  Kelly nodded. “Coffee might help keep me alert on the drive back home.”

  After Lauren hugged and thanked Kelly, Ashleigh helped her to her room.

  “We just can’t thank you enough. Lauren and her sister, Stephanie, are the only girls we haven’t gotten medical cards for yet,” Lanier explained to Kelly. “We hope they come soon, for this very reason. We never know when an emergency will arise.”

  “Don’t worry. You can call on me for any medical emergency before you get the insurance coverage. If it’s something out of my area of expertise, I have wonderful colleagues I can tap. There are a number of good physicians who’ll help me out if I ask a favor. It’s a pretty common practice among health-care professionals.”