by Tia Louise
Taking the phone, I give her a knowing grin. “Hi, Court.”
“Hey… um…” Courtney’s voice is tense. “You’d be willing to let us stay at your house? What’s the catch?”
I recognize the fear in her tone, the hopelessness. It touches a part of me I locked away a long time ago, and now, seeing this happening up close, I’m taken aback by the rage it unearths in me.
“No catch.” I force the anger out of my voice in favor of calm reassurance. “I have two bedrooms on the first floor of my house no one is using. It’s basically the same size as your apartment, so it should be sufficient for you, Oliver, and Joselyn. You won’t even notice me upstairs.”
“Ollie has to go to school. It’s all the way back where we live.”
“Would it be possible for him to homeschool the last month? I can call the principal if it helps.”
“Why are you doing this?”
My jaw tightens. The whole truth of why is privileged information, but I can easily say, “I don’t like seeing people I care about with black eyes. I don’t like menacing cowards. Take the help I’m offering and don’t over-think it.”
Her reply is calm. “Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry—I don’t have many people I can count on right now.”
“You have Joselyn, and I hope you trust me to keep you safe.”
“I think I do.”
Her words move something in my chest. Maybe the fucking ice is melting, but it’s not for the reason Heather and Daisy like to tease me about. Or perhaps it is that… fueled by the past.
Replacing the receiver, I place my hand on Joselyn’s. “Let’s skip the massage today. I’ll take you to the Member’s Mark building to file a report, and I’ll drive you to your interview. Allied said they’ll have a man assigned to us by 6 pm. I can keep an eye on you until then.”
Her lips tighten, and I see her struggling with an argument. I’m not going to hear it, so she might as well save her breath. She lets it go, and my reaction is bittersweet. That fucker must have really scared her, which has me seeing red.
No one threatens my girl.
* * *
The security guard at the Member’s Mark high rise is an overweight incompetent with crumbs on his shirt. Joselyn’s hand is in the crook of my arm, and I cut her a look.
“This is the guy you expected to save you if anything went wrong?”
She cuts me a look right back. “The appointment was on the top floor. I wasn’t expecting him to save me. I was expecting him to be a deterrent.”
“He’s only a deterrent to a Twinkie.” I step forward, placing my palm on the dark console in front of him, reading his nametag. “Hello, Doug, is it?”
“Hi!” He stands up fast, smiling broadly. “That’s me. Doug. What can I do you for? Do you need assistance finding a floor?”
“How did a guy like him get a job in security?” I exhale under my breath. Joselyn pinches the inside of my upper arm, and I flinch away. “Stop.” It’s a level command.
“You are so sweet, Doug. I actually need to see Mr. Santiago. Is he in?”
Doug’s light brow furrows, his fleshy face tilts to the side. “Don’t I know you? You were here this weekend… yesterday? That’s a pretty bad shiner you got there. Are you okay?”
He’s overzealous, childish, and I’m ready to call the proprietor when Joselyn cuts me off. “Yes, I was here yesterday, and I need to talk to Mr. Santiago if he’s available.”
“He should be.” Doug looks down at the desk. “Oh… Oh, my bad, he’s not. It says Basil Santiago is in New York until next week. I’m sorry. Say, weren’t you here to see him yesterday?”
“Yeah.” Joselyn’s tone is placating, like she’s about to let Snuffy off the hook.
“She was,” I interject with a bit more force. “She had an appointment in Santiago’s office. When did he leave for New York?”
Stay-Puff looks at his computer screen again. “It says he’s addressing the United Nations…” He looks up at us with wide eyes. “He left on Friday. He stood you up?”
I’m about to rip into him, but Joselyn tugs my arm sharply again.
“Thanks, Doug. I actually found an intruder in Mr. Santiago’s office, so I wanted to file a complaint.”
“Oh!” His blue eyes go wide. “Oh no, Miss…”
“Winthrop. Her last name is Winthrop, and if you think—”
“Doug,” Joselyn interrupts. “Listen to me. A man used Mr. Santiago’s office to schedule a fake appointment with me yesterday. I need you to circulate a memo that the offices need to do a better job locking up on the weekends, and I’m going to send a letter to Mr. Green. The building needs better security.”
Doug’s eyes grow rounder with every word. “I’m sorry… They don’t like it if we ask too many questions or hassle the visitors. They don’t want us to seem unwelcoming—”
I’m ready to say more, but Joselyn grabs my coat. “Do better, Doug. I believe in you.”
She drags me out the door, but I’m not ready to let this go. “You’re going to let him off the hook?”
“He’s right.” She’s walking fast to my car. “A building this size isn’t going to question visitors. I had a name, an office number. It’s normal to assume I had a legitimate appointment.”
“Assume? You could’ve been killed.”
“It’s not a building with only one office like Antiques Today. I don’t want to get Doug fired. It’s not his fault.”
Grabbing her by the shoulders, I turn her back to the car. “It’s not your fault either.”
She blinks rapidly, looking away over my shoulder. “I knew not to come here. My gut told me it was the wrong thing to do, but I ignored it. This is just as much my fault as it is Doug’s.”
My jaw grinds. “I disagree.”
“Either way, I’ve got an interview in thirty minutes. Are you going to drive me there or argue?”
Reaching out, I grip the back of her neck, pulling her to my chest in a hug. I want to pull her mouth to mine. I want to pull her body to mine and hold her tight.
She trembles slightly, and her hand fists in the back of my coat. I hold her until her breathing calms, until she seems to have recovered control.
My hand relaxes and I massage her neck. I turn my face and inhale her hair. The idea of her being hurt or worse is unacceptable to me.
“You okay?” My voice is rough, and she nods. Stepping back, I meet her misty eyes. “Yes, I’m going to drive you to your interview. Now get in the car.”
Chapter 23
Joselyn
“This place is incredible.” Court sounds better than she has in weeks. “Did you see that garden tub in the bathroom? I’m going to take the longest jacuzzi-bath evah! I might not come out. Girl, you’ve seriously got to hang onto this guy. He is a keeper.”
I’m sitting on the foot of her bed as she doctors my eye with Neosporin and a fresh butterfly bandage. “He’s not my guy to hang onto. I told you. He’s been very up front from the beginning. He doesn’t do relationships, and I do. We’re at an impasse.”
“But you said he’s super-hot in bed, right?”
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I blink away from her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not repeating the same mistakes I made with Elliot. I gave up my independence and turned into someone I wasn’t, and look how that ended. He was fucking his secretary, and I was getting screwed.”
“This guy is definitely not Idiot Flick, and I don’t know…” She grins down at me with her huge brown eyes. Her name should be Bambi with those gorgeous peepers. “Can’t you sort of, have a little fun while it lasts?”
“Last time I slept with him, I sneaked out because I wanted to curl up in his arms and hold him forever. That is how I get screwed. He can love it and leave it, but I get attached. I want more.”
She presses her lips together and makes a whatever face. “Say what you want, the way he freaked out over your shiner and moved us all in here in less than twenty-four hours tells me a lot.
Mr. ‘I don’t do relationships’ has it bad.”
Standing, I exhale heavily. “I can’t build my life around wishful thinking. I can only go off of the facts, and the facts are he’s said plainly and repeatedly, Don’t get attached.”
“I can’t hear what he’s saying. His actions are too loud.”
Waving her away, I look down at the incoming text on my phone. It changes everything, and I jump to my feet. “I got it! Look, Court, look! Troy says I’m on the roster. I should start getting calls next week!”
She squeezes my waist. “I knew he’d give you the job. I’d kick his ass if he didn’t.”
The tension of the last two days drains from my body in a rush, and I want to sit down and cry with gratitude.
Oliver peeks into the room. “Mom?”
“Hey, come in here.” She waves him over. “Aunt Sly got a job working with me. Isn’t that cool? We’re so excited.”
His little mouth curls into something like a smile as he climbs onto her bed, but I can tell he’s anxious. I think about our conversation in the car, and I’m worried about how he’s processing all of this, from my black eye to our sudden move to his abruptly leaving school.
Sitting on the bed, I reach for his hand. “I don’t start until next week. What if we go to the zoo tomorrow? I heard one of the koala bears had a baby!”
“They’re not really bears.” He looks down, tracing a fingernail along the leg of his jeans. “Koalas are marsupials… like kangaroos.”
“Have I told you how smart you are lately?” I wrinkle my nose and muss his hair. “Maybe you can graduate high school early and be one of those child geniuses.”
“Right.” He gives me a tight smile. “I’m really not going back to school this year?”
“I’m sorry, hon.” Courtney sits on the bed, putting her arm around his shoulders. “You only have a few weeks left, and we need to stay with Mr. Spencer right now. It’s kind of the best thing. But you’ll still pass your grade.”
She gives him a hopeful smile, and his chin drops.
“Okay, Mom.” He doesn’t even question her, and it breaks my heart a little.
He’ll do anything to make things easier for her, and I’m not sure he’s ever told her the things he said to me in the car. I make a mental note to watch how we talk in front of him, and I’ve got to make time to tell her what he said in private.
She stands, waving us away. “Now you two vamoose. I’m going to take a nice, long bubble bath, and I don’t want any interruptions!”
“Don’t overflow the tub,” I warn. “Once you turn those jets on, it’s bubbles bonanza!”
“I know, I know.” She’s doing her best to make Ollie feel at home.
He lunges forward, giving her one more, big hug. “I love you, Mom,” he whispers.
She kisses his cheek, and when I see the tears in her eyes, I hop forward to grab his hand. “Where the heck is Chartreuse, anyway? Does she like this big, nice house? Show me where you put her cage. I want to see her in it… I want to be sure it’s secure…”
“Come on,” he exhales heavily, taking my hand and dragging me out of the room. “Baby.”
“I am not a baby!” I pretend to be offended, and when I glance back, Courtney mouths a thank you to me.
I give her a wink and follow Ollie down the hall to our shared room. We figured we might as well continue being roomies in this new place. Also, the second bedroom has two twin beds.
Spencer said the interior designer thought a children’s wing would increase the resale value. Since I’ve seen his Master wing, I can believe he has little interest in what happens on these lower floors—other than the kitchen.
He was so insistent about us moving in here, yet at the same time, he’s been very respectful about giving us our space. I won’t let my romantic imagination run wild over this. It’s over-protective, but he hasn’t said anything to indicate his feelings about being in a relationship have changed.
“I hope you’re getting settled okay.” His voice at my back makes me jump, and I turn fast with a little yip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, I’m…” I exhale a little laugh. “I guess I’m still jumpy.”
My confession makes the muscle in his jaw move attractively. Over-protectiveness is a good look on him.
He blinks it away, extending his hand to Ollie. “Oliver, it’s nice to see you again. I hope you’re comfortable in my house.”
“It’s a nice house.” Ollie nods, looking around like a little man.
“Right.” Spencer straightens. “I’d like to introduce you all to Tom. He’s our security guard for the next few days. Tom, this is Oliver and Joselyn.”
Tom steps up, and he’s a tank of a man. I’m guessing he’s six-six, with broad shoulders, a broad chest, and thick legs. The only thing soft about him is a swoosh of blond hair over his left eye. He doesn’t speak, he only nods. He’s like a cartoon superhero.
Spencer seems oblivious to Tom’s appearance. “If you need anything, if anything feels off, if you hear any strange noises. If you see a shadow you don’t like.” Spencer pats him on the shoulder. “Tom’s your man. I’ll text you his number—save it on your phone.”
Ollie and I are still holding hands, and I’m pretty sure both our jaws are on the floor. Tom only gives us a curt nod. We nod back in unison, and Spencer dismisses the boulder assigned to watch us. “Thank you, Tom.”
When he turns to me, everything shifts—even his tone is gentle. “Can I get you anything?”
“No, thanks.” I don’t know why I feel shy all of a sudden. “Dinner was fantastic. I think that’s the best steak I’ve ever had.”
We finally got an order from Rioz, and I completely understand now why he was so pissed I ruined two of his dinners from there—although, I think he forgave me for the first one.
Ollie gives my hand a pull. “We were just going to check on Chartreuse.”
A small grin lifts Spencer’s lips. “I’ve heard about this frog. Would you mind if I said hello as well?”
“I guess.” Ollie shrugs, charging ahead of us towards the bedroom we share.
Spencer catches my arm. “You sure you’re okay? You seem tense.”
He has always been so observant of everything I do. Forcing a smile, I shake my head. “I’m okay… just getting over everything. I think Ollie’s having a little adjustment period.”
His brow furrows, and he looks in the direction the little boy went. “Does he know about what’s happening? About his dad, your eye—?”
“I’m not sure how much he knows, but he knows enough.”
Spencer seems genuinely concerned, and my heart melts a little more. Damn him. How can he be so wonderful and so infuriating at the same time?
“Perhaps we could take him to the zoo tomorrow. If you’re available, of course. I was thinking, he has that frog. He might enjoy seeing the amphibian exhibit, and it’s been all over the news about one of the koalas having a cub.”
Shaking my head, I smile. “You read my mind. I actually suggested it to him just now in Courtney’s room.”
“It’s a date. We can leave after breakfast.”
We start after Ollie, and I pause. “Just… if you were wondering, I got the job. I’m on the roster, so I’ll have to work my way into the schedule. They said I should start getting calls next week.”
“Congratulations. I’m not surprised. You’re excellent at your work, although I do wonder what this means for me.”
Pressing my lips together, I wonder what will happen if I say he has to find a new massage therapist.
I don’t.
“I’m here for you as long as you need me.”
His expression shifts ever so slightly. He’s not the only one in this duet… dual? Tracking the other’s every facial quirk.
“It’s possible I won’t require your professional services much longer.”
“Just let me know.”
“I will.”
The temperature�
��s rising in the hall, but like a good little cock-blocker, Ollie tosses cold water all over it. “Are you guys coming or what?”
Chapter 24
Spencer
“Turtles can live to be 150 years old!” Oliver shouts, bouncing on his toes as he looks over the wooden fence surrounding the ancient tortoise exhibit.
“Heaven help them,” I tease.
Joselyn leans into me and whispers. “You know he’s happy when he’s talking too loud and jumping around. It’s his tell.”
“I think it’s every little boy’s tell.”
Before we left the house for the Riverbanks Zoo and Aquarium, I had Julien my personal chef, create an entirely new, little-boy-friendly menu for the duration. Apparently, when it comes to breakfast, it includes build-your-own pancakes, whipped cream, and chocolate milk.
I’d be concerned for the health of my little guest, but after last night, I think we’re all focused on making him feel like this is a fun holiday and not a refugee situation.
Joselyn told me what he has said to her about his parent’s situation. In my experience, children always know more than we think they do, and even more than they share.
His mother left for her job, smiling and behaving as if everything were fine, and watching him do his best to help her feel like he believed it, struck a chord inside me. It’s a desire I remember well, albeit in my case, it was ultimately a failed one.
Joselyn is right there with the encouragement. “What do you want to see first? We’ve got all afternoon.”
“Zebras!” He bounces on his toes, running back to catch her hand.
“Hang on, let me see if I can find them.” She drags out the map, and I admire her devotion to helping them.
I sent Tom the Tank with Courtney this morning. He’ll make sure she arrives and returns safely, and while she’s working, he’s on break. I’ve got these two covered.
“Looks like we need to go this way.” Joselyn points towards the giraffe exhibit, and Ollie takes off running.
My throat tightens when he rounds a curve up ahead and we temporarily lose sight of him. “He needs to stay with us, Joselyn. Can you tell him without frightening him?”
