Smoke and Mirrors: (Fire and Fury Book Two)

by Avery Kingston

  “Thanks, Jack.”

  “Anytime, Harris.”

  “Well, your man sure cleans up nice!” Keith said to Tori as she assumed he eyed Scott walking into the restaurant. “I didn’t know he owned anything other than jeans and snug t-shirts with irreverent phrases on the front. He looks amazing.”

  “You’re such a brat.” Tori smirked as she sipped her water. Keith had a point; in her ten years of knowing Scott she’d rarely ever seen him dressed up. “Well, don’t leave me hanging. At least clue me in a little.”

  “Navy khakis, brown oxfords, matching belt and a cornflower-blue dress shirt rolled at the sleeves,” Keith informed. “He’s pulling off his sunglasses and tucking them into his chest pocket as he saunters over here.”

  Tori’s mouth watered at that mental image.

  “Hey, pretty lady,” Scott said as he planted a kiss on Tori’s cheek. “How was the doctor?” His chair scraped across the floor as he settled in next to her.

  “Not broken, thankfully.” Tori fiddled with her sunglasses and winced. They were killing her nose. She wanted to rip them off her face but she was trying to hide her two black eyes from the world.

  “That’s good.” Scott exhaled in relief.

  The waitress came for their orders and brought their drinks. “So, how was the first day back in the office?” Tori unfolded her silverware.

  “Interesting.” Scott cleared his throat. “I was actually going to talk with you about that.”

  Tori frowned. That tone told her he was about to tell her he was leaving town. “You’re traveling again, aren’t you?” she huffed. “God, I knew it!” She tossed her napkin in her lap. “I knew you wouldn't stay put!”

  “First, before you go getting all hot and bothered, I warned you I’d still have to travel occasionally, but this isn’t what you think it is. No overseas.”

  Tori crossed her arms over her chest. “Continue.”

  “I’m going to Texas. Back home—just outside Austin. I’ll be setting up a training facility for law enforcement and instructing there for a few weeks is all. Nothing dangerous.”

  Her anger dissipated but she still wasn’t thrilled with him leaving. She’d just gotten him back and now he was taking off again. She uncrossed her arms and let out a breath.

  “I want you to come with me.” Scott reached over and squeezed her hand. “I want my family to meet you.”

  Um, come again?

  Tori’s heart pounded in her ears and she swallowed a lump in her throat.

  “That was one of your conditions for marrying me, right? Meet my parents?” Scott reminded her.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  Tori blinked behind her sunglasses, at a loss of anything to say. She figured meeting the parents was far in the future. Scott really wanted to fast track this marriage thing.

  She could hear Keith’s whimpers of mirth as he tried to hold back a laugh. God, she could just imagine his cheeks turning as red as his hair and the stupid, buttery grin plastered on his face.

  “So, what do you think?” Scott asked.

  Butterflies danced around her stomach. “Scott, I have a job here. I can’t take off as I please.”

  “You could go for a weekend, Vic,” Keith chimed in—trying to be ever so helpful.

  “Yeah, you could leave Friday and fly back on Sunday night. Come spend the weekend with me.” Scott rocked her thigh back and forth. “It's great timing. My sister is about to pop her baby out any day now. I’ll get to meet my nephew while I’m there.”

  Oh yay, and a new baby to boot.

  She bit the inside of her cheek. Did he not recall she just lost their child? Had that completely slipped his mind? Yeah, they hadn’t talked about her recent tubal pregnancy; but still, you’d think he’d tread a little lighter.

  “Well, yes, I suppose I could do that,” she croaked. Suddenly, her mouth became dry. Tori nodded, reached for, and gulped her water.

  “Actually, Vic, wasn’t that blind painter from Texas? The one you were trying to recruit for your exhibition? What if you pitched to Natalie to go down there scouting him out? That would give you even more time to spend down there. Make it a work trip.”

  “Well… yes… he’s in San Antonio.” Tori wanted to kick Keith under the table. He wasn’t helping. Or was he? God, it would be fantastic to go down there and experience his studio first-hand and pick his brain for techniques.

  “San Antonio isn’t a far drive from Austin. It would totally be doable to get you down there. If I couldn’t sneak away for it I know my mom would take you,” Scott suggested.

  Scott sounded so excited about that prospect. All Tori could think about was hours of awkwardness in a vehicle with someone that may not even like her. She’d never won over many parents in her lifetime and that was back when she had two working eyes.

  Scott rambled on for several minutes about all the great things to do in Austin—trying to win her over—up until their food arrived. All Tori could hear was the ringing in her ears. Scott’s parents thought highly of him. What would they think about the fatherless girl with a junkie mom, who had a sex scandal with a congressman and was now blind and possibly barren? There was also the looming issue of her sordid past that she hadn’t even divulged to Scott yet. Scott was so far out of her league it was laughable.

  “Austin is a great city, full of artistic culture and great music. Vic, you’re going to love it there. It’s all weird and hippie chic—like you,” Keith said. “They also have great clubs. They even have a countryfied, gay-biker bar. God, how fun would that be?”

  Tori snickered, imagining Keith in such a place. He’d look almost as ridiculous as Marty McFly did pretending to be Clint Eastwood in Back to the Future Three.

  Scott snorted. “They do not.”

  “Yes, they do. I swear it,” Keith said. “Read all about it in OUT magazine.”

  “They have gay clubs and biker bars, but I’m from there and they do not have a gay-cowboy biker bar,” Scott said with conviction.

  Keith and Scott continued to argue about this for several moments while Tori picked at her food.

  “Babe?” Scott rested his hand on her thigh. “You ok?”

  His touch radiated love and warmth. How did she deny that for so long? Why he even loved her was beyond her comprehension. “Yeah, I’m great. Just hungover. Austin sounds fun!” Tori plastered on a phony grin. “I’ll talk to my director and pitch ideas to her and see if I can make this a business trip.”

  “Fantastic.” Scott rubbed her thigh under the table. “Hey, random question. Do you like baseball?”

  “I loathe baseball.” Tori snarled.

  Keith giggled like a kid from across the table.

  “What’s so funny?” Scott asked.

  Tori nodded toward him. “Tell him Keith.”

  “At the end of her O&M training she had to fly out of state and back. She didn’t know where she wanted to go so she let me pick the trip.”

  “He sent me to Atlanta. To a Braves game,” she groaned. “Asshole.”

  Scott snorted. “What did you end up doing?”

  “Went to the Braves game.” She shrugged. “Sat in the bleachers with a bunch of dudes and downed beers while they gave me a play-by-play. I was a delight.”

  “That’s my girl.” Scott chuckled and kissed her on the cheek.

  Still on the phone with his mother, Scott glanced at the clock. She’d been rambling on for the past ten minutes about how everything in the house was ready for them. Tori had gotten the green light from her director the other day to head to Texas for one week—as long as she made it a partial business trip. Scott would be staying longer, but a week with his family would be plenty of time for them to get to know her. “I’ve got clean sheets in both bedrooms…” his mom chimed.

  “Mom, Tori and I are going to sleep in the same room.” He wasn’t sixteen anymore. They were grown adults.

  His mother cleared her throat. “I suppose it would be easier, you know, so you can he
lp her out with things.”

  Whatever lets you sleep at night, Ma. That wasn’t his reasoning at all, but if his conservative mom needed Tori’s blindness as an excuse to clear her conscience, fine by him.

  “Now what else do I need for her? I mean, how long has she been… I mean you never told me how…”

  He groaned inwardly. He didn’t want to get into this over the phone. He’d dodged the question the other day when he first called her and told her she was blind. He hated having to tell people about it—making it seem like Tori came with some kind of warning label. It wasn’t what defined her.

  Their first conversation days ago had brought on a slew of phone calls and texts.

  “I’m coming home for a visit, ma,” Scott had told her the other day.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful!” She’d exclaimed. “You in between jobs right now?”

  “Actually,” Scott had told her, “I’m leaving the field.”

  “You didn’t get injured again, did you?” Her voice had dropped an octave.

  “No, I’ve still got the rest of my body parts.” He’d chuckled. “Actually, I’ve met someone. Well, I’ve known her for some time,” Scott then went into the PG version of how he’d known Tori since college. “I’m bringing her home with me.”

  His mother had actually burst into tears of joy. “Oh my goodness! Wayne!” She shouted to his father in the background and began relaying everything while Scott just sat there and listened to her ramble.

  “Mom… Mom!” Scott had finally hollered through the line.

  “Sorry; I’m just so excited. Oh, I can’t wait to meet her. Oh… what does she look like? I bet she’s gorgeous. What does she do for a living?”

  “She’s stunning, Mom. The most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. She’s got an MA in art and museum studies. Works at the Smithsonian…” Scott rattled on for several minutes about all her achievements and how proud he was of her.

  “Well that’s impressive!” He knew his mom was beaming.

  He took a deep breath. Here goes. “She’s blind, Mom.”

  The line had gone quiet for a beat.

  “Mom? Did you hear me?”

  His mother sucked in a breath loud enough for him to hear. “She’s blind?” Her voice inflected.

  “Yes.”

  “As in, can’t see blind?”

  “Yes.”

  Another long pause, then her throat cleared.

  “Well, if she’s as lovely as you say, I’m sure we’ll love her.” And that’s how his first conversation ended with his mother. Yeah, he’d shocked her. His parents would be fine with it; it just needed to sink in. Now that his mom had wrapped her mind around it she wouldn’t stop texting him questions on how to accommodate her. After a million texts that day, he’d finally called her. He loved his parents to death but his mom could get smothering with her nurturing.

  “Scott… are you listening to me?” His mom’s voice snapped him back to the present phone call.

  “Yeah, I’m still here.” He glanced up as Tori walked into the room.

  “I never thought you left,” Tori said as she headed to the kitchen, obviously unaware he was on the phone with his mom. Again.

  He pulled the phone away and covered the speaker. “I’m on the phone with my mom.” He sighed in relief at the reprieve, then went back to the call. “Hey Mom, I gotta go,” Scott said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll chat more when I get there.” He hung up.

  “Sorry about that.” Tori giggled. “Did you do the dishes again?” The dishwasher hummed in the background. “I should’ve asked you to move in years ago. I could get used to living with Mr. Clean.” She grinned as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Scott had done the dishes every single day for the past week. The household chores were a pain in the ass for her. As much as he loathed dishes, he did them to help her out.

  “And I could get used to watching you prance around in those tight yoga pants.” He followed her into the kitchen and snaked his arms around her waist. “Damn that ass.” He squeezed her butt. “You all packed up for the flight tomorrow?”

  “Yup.” She took a swig of water. She’d taken the day off work to get everything prepared. Packing, it seemed, was also a chore for her. It took her twice as long as it did him, but she refused to let him help. She “had a system,” as she put it.

  “Did you like my present?” he whispered in her ear.

  She chuckled and placed the water on the counter. “Cowboy boots? You’re really trying to win me over to this Texas thing, aren’t you?” She pulled back from his embrace, turned, and patted his chest. “Thank you. They’re lovely. I texted a photo to Keith and he told me they looked like something a bohemian cowgirl would wear, so I’m guessing you nailed my style.”

  He’d actually shown the sales associate in the store photos of Tori so she could understand the type of clothing she wore. The ladies in the store swooned over him being “so sweet” for his girlfriend and at the end of the shopping excursion all the associates were tripping over their own feet trying to help him out. Nice try, ladies, I’m taken.

  “Going to the gym?” Scott asked.

  “Just downstairs for a run on the treadmill, then I need to come back and shower. I promised my sister I’d go over there for dinner tonight to say goodbye before I leave town.”

  He snorted. “Did you ever consider asking me to go?”

  “For the run?”

  “To Jane’s, silly. You know, that sister of yours I’ve never met?”

  Her spine stiffened. “You sure you want to meet my dysfunctional family? Jane just texted me that my mom will even be there. Apparently, she’s thirty days sober so you may not have the amusement of watching one of her drunken binges.” Tori laughed a little too loud.

  “You’re gonna meet mine tomorrow; it’s only fair I meet yours.” Scott stood. “And I’m going to go with you to the gym. If nothing more than to watch your booty shake on the treadmill.” He slapped her ass again.

  It was a thirty-minute car ride out to Jane’s house in Annandale. The address Tori had given the cab driver brought them to a nice two-story, red, brick house that looked like it had been built in the sixties. It lay on a large, wooded lot that backed up to a greenbelt. The house had a small one-car, attached garage, and a few steps leading up to the small covered porch with an American flag hanging overhead.

  “Pretty, isn’t it?” Tori took Scott’s arm. “Jane’s always kept a nice yard. I—on the other hand—kill all my houseplants.”

  “Yeah, it’s nice,” Scott remarked as the taxi pulled out of the driveway behind what he noticed was once Tori’s Mazda. “Did you sell Jane your car?”

  “I gave it to her.” She shrugged. “It was paid for and I don’t need the money.” She explained further, “Insurance paid out my accidental disability and then the auto company offered me a hefty settlement for the faulty airbag.”

  “Hefty huh?” He tried to remain aloof. “And all this time I’ve been paying for cab fare and here you’re loaded.”

  “Yeah. I had a kick-ass lawyer. I’m sure you had no idea though.” She nudged him in the side.

  Ok, so she’d figured out that he sent the lawyer to her, all expenses paid, shortly after she was injured. A guilty smile tugged at his lips.

  “Step up,” Scott instructed her when they reached the porch step. Before he could even ring the bell, the door flew open and a young girl came rushing out. She had to be Tori’s niece, Hannah. Her long, curly, blonde hair flew behind her as she grabbed Tori’s legs.

  “Aunt Tori!” she exclaimed. Hannah was immediately followed by a squealing, pint-sized, sandy-haired boy in a Superman cape, and a golden cocker spaniel jumping up on their legs, yelping at them.

  Tori’s eyes widened and she drew in a breath at the ambush before she pleasantly smiled, returning the embrace. An average looking man in his late twenties with wavy, dark hair appeared at the door. Had to be Darren, Jane’s husband.

  “Lady! Do
wn!” Darren commanded as he glanced up at them. “Evening, Tori.” He raised his voice higher than the commotion of the kids and the dog, “You must be Scott.” He held out his hand and Scott returned the handshake as the dog circled around them still barking. “Sorry for the crazy greeting; welcome to our nutty house.” He opened the door wider, motioning them inside.

  They entered with the kids still running around and squealing uncontrollably. Scott smiled, welcoming the chaos. It felt like a family.

  The small entryway led into a decent sized living room to their left, with light, oak floors and modest but well kept furniture. “Jane is in the kitchen with your mom,” Darren informed.

  Tori’s entire body stiffened.

  Darren cleared his throat. “Scott, would you like something to drink? A beer?”

  “A beer would be great, thanks.”

  “Tori?”

  “No; thank you,” she replied.

  “Aunt Tori! Aunt Tori!” Hannah pulled on Tori’s shirt, demanding her aunt’s attention. “I’ve missed you!”

  “Hey, sweetie.” Tori tilted her head toward Hannah’s voice. “I’ve missed you too!” She shifted her cane to her left hand and knelt to give Hannah a proper hug.

  “I lost three teeth this summer!” Hannah puffed out her chest.

  “Let me see.” Tori grazed her thumb across Hannah’s mouth to feel for the new spaces for the missing teeth as she opened wide. “I feel two gone here…” Tori rubbed her finger across the bottom, “and one more here!”

  “I got five dollars a tooth!” Hannah held up her hand in the number five.

  “Wow, the tooth fairy is paying very well these days.”

  “I’m saving up to buy an American Girl doll.”

  “Don’t you have some of those already?” Tori tugged at Hannah’s chin and grinned wide.

  “I want more.” Hannah gave a sassy shrug as if to say of course. “You want to play with them?”

  “Maybe later.” Tori patted her on the back. “Jacob? You still here, buddy?”

  “He’s here, Tori.” Darren chuckled. Jacob was hiding behind his dad’s legs, peering at Scott’s prosthetic. “He’s a little shy around new people.” Darren gave Scott a wry smile.