When Darkness Falls

by Jennifer Youngblood

  A ping of jealousy went through her as she nodded and looked away.

  He put an arm around her. “But if you’re asking if I care about her the way I care about you, the answer is no.” He gave her a searching look. “I’m assuming from the way you kissed me earlier that you feel the same way?” His voice had a teasing edge.

  Her face flamed.

  He laughed. “I love it when you blush.”

  “Stop! You’re embarrassing me,” she protested.

  “Well,” he persisted. “How do you feel about me?” He leaned in.

  “Let’s just say that I have very strong feelings for you.”

  His eyes danced with delight. “I can live with that.” He began brushing his finger along her collarbone, causing tingles to cascade over her. “Now that you know all of the dirt on me, you have to tell me something incriminating about you.” His voice went husky. “It’s only fair.”

  It was hard to concentrate when his close proximity was driving her crazy! “Something about me. Hmm, let’s see … I’m a sucker for chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. Can’t stay away from them … no matter how hard I try.”

  His finger moved to her chin and then up the curve of her cheek. “You’ll have to do better than that.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

  “I’m a clean freak.”

  “Already knew that.”

  She made a face. “How?”

  “Your office. It’s pristine—not a sheet of paper out of place. You’ve gotta give me something here.”

  The playful lilt in his voice was infectious making her a little reckless. “Okay, every once in a while, I see my dead ex-fiancé.” The words came out before she could call them back.

  Time seemed to stand still as his eyes went wide, making her think she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life. Then, he burst out laughing. He laughed until tears came to his eyes. “You really are too much.” He shook his head, a look of admiration on his face. “Thanks, I needed that, especially after today.”

  She laughed along with him, but inside she was horrified that she’d actually told him that. Luckily, he thought it was a joke.

  A few minutes later, he grew serious. He caught hold of her hands. “I meant what I said earlier—I’m falling for you, Chloe.”

  “I’m falling for you too,” she whispered as he drew her into his arms, his lips capturing hers. She got lost in the moment until a condemning voice interrupted them.

  “Well, what do we have here?”

  She jerked back and looked up to see Garrett. “Hey,” was the only sound that gurgled up out of her throat.

  “You lousy double-crosser! I can’t believe you would do this to me!”

  She tried to articulate a defense but then realized the words were aimed at Hank.

  Hank’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t do anything to you. Chloe’s a grown woman and can make her own decisions. She’s been trying to tell you for weeks that it’s over between the two of you, but you won’t listen. Sit down, and let’s talk about this rationally.”

  Chloe managed to find her voice. “I have been trying to tell you over and over.”

  A crazed look came into Garrett’s eyes as he let out a harsh laugh. He ran both hands through his hair. “Rationally?” He swept his hand across the mantle, sending the glass vase and picture frame crashing to the floor where they shattered.

  Chloe let out a gasp as Hank jumped to his feet. “Stop it!” he ordered. “Get control of yourself!”

  Garrett spun around. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do! I came to you for help, only to find out that you’ve been running around with that tramp behind my back!” He shot her a venomous look. “I trusted you!”

  Chloe rocked back, stunned.

  Hank punched Garrett in the jaw with a loud pop, sending him spiraling to the floor.

  “Chloe’s no tramp!” he said savagely. “You have no right to barge into my home and act like this.”

  Garrett stumbled to his feet, holding his jaw. There were tears of rage in his eyes. “You’re a lousy excuse for a brother!”

  They both stood, glaring, until Hank blew out a breath. He put a hand on Garrett’s shoulder. “Why don’t you sit down, so we can talk about this?”

  Garrett’s face went a deep scarlet, and he jerked out of Hank’s grasp. He began swearing at the top of his lungs, calling Hank every name in the book.

  “Enough!” Hank yelled, but Garrett continued to rant and rave.

  Finally, Hank got up in his face. “GET OUT!”

  Garrett’s eyes bulged like he was strangling on his own tongue. “Oh, so now you’re throwing me out?” He laughed. “Figures!”

  “We’ll talk about this when you’ve had time to calm down. You’re not thinking clearly.”

  “Always the voice of reason,” Garrett sneered. “Big brother comes to the rescue. Big brother gets the girl. It’s always about you, isn’t it, Hank?”

  Hank frowned. “I don’t know where this is coming from. What’s going on with you?”

  Garrett threw his hands into the air. “Nothing! Nothing that requires any help from you!” He pointed at Chloe. “And in case you’re wondering—we’re over when I say it’s over!” He turned on his heel and stomped out, slamming the door behind him.

  Chloe sat, staring into the fire as Garrett’s words kept running through her head. “We’re over when I say it’s over!” An ominous shiver ran down her spine, and she hugged her arms to ward it off. She looked at the jagged pieces of broken glass, scattered across the floor. Never before had she witnessed such unbridled wrath. Garrett’s outburst bordered on madness, and then he’d threatened her. A feeling of utter helplessness came over her, and for a split second, she felt like she’d been thrust back to square one—back to when she learned of Dan’s death. An unreasonable fear seized her, and she had the impression that if she looked at the large window at that very moment, she would see Dan, watching her. Her heart began to pound, and she could feel a sickly sweat oozing over her forehead. Then, she had the eerie feeling of being separated from the scene and watching it from a distance. Thankfully, her phone buzzed, jerking her out of the stupor. She looked over to the nearby chair where she’d left her purse. She got up to retrieve it. When she realized it was her mom calling, tears gathered in her eyes. She didn’t answer it, but it helped give her the reality check she needed to make some hard decisions.

  Hank returned from the kitchen, holding a broom and garbage bag. “I’m sorry about Garrett,” he began. “I don’t know where that came from.”

  She nodded and began methodically helping him clean up the mess. They worked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. When they were finished, Chloe reached for her purse. “Would you mind taking me home?”

  Hank gave her a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not okay.” She couldn’t hide the tremor in her voice. “You heard him, he threatened me.”

  “Garrett’s a hot head. He doesn’t mean half of what he says. He’ll cool down.”

  She began winding the strap of the purse around her hand, trying to figure out the best way to express her feelings. She looked up at him, silently pleading for him to understand. “Hank, I can’t do this.”

  He went tense. “What do you mean?”

  “I can’t get involved with you. Not with all of this stuff happening.” She cringed when she saw his jaw tighten. “I’m sorry,” she offered, turning away before he could see the tears that were forming in her eyes.

  He caught her arm and turned her around to face him. “Don’t let Garrett get to you. He’s harmless.”

  A surge of anger went through her. “That’s easy for you to say! I’m the one he threatened!”

  “Well, he didn’t outright threaten you.”

  “I heard what he said!” she shot back, glaring at him. “It certainly felt like a threat to me!”

  “Are you really going to let my spoiled brother come between us? I thought you were stronger than that.�
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  His words were the final spark that ignited the fire that had been smoldering in her from the moment she found out about Hank’s history. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. “It’s not just Garrett,” she cried. “It’s everything! I can’t deal with your past or your demons! I’ve got too much crap in my own life to take on someone else’s! I need a normal life! And that includes a normal guy that simply gets up and goes to work everyday! Furthermore, I refuse to get caught in the middle of you and Garrett!” She shuddered. “He’s crazy.” She could almost see the chasm between them getting wider and wider with every word she flung out, but she had to tell him the truth. When she was finished, they stood there, eyeing one another until finally Hank spoke.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

  The hurt in his voice evoked fresh tears, and a part of her longed to run her hand over the lines of his face to smooth out the tension, but she merely nodded.

  “Let’s get you home,” he finally said.

  19

  Chapter 19

  Even though Hank had initially assured her that her job would remain secure regardless of what happened between them personally, Chloe was worried that everything would come crashing down. She soon learned that her fears were groundless because Hank was the picture of professionalism. So much so that it was irritating the heck out of her! She was still torn up about everything that had happened and missed him terribly, but he didn’t seemed phased in the slightest. Either he was a superb actor or his feelings for her weren’t genuine.

  Over the past week, they’d settled into the stiff routine of speaking to one another only when necessary. She noticed that Hank did his best to avoid having a one-on-one conversation with her. For some reason, she kept having the perverse desire to storm into his office and demand that he talk to her. Then she had to remind herself that she was the one that ended things.

  She’d been so shocked over Garrett’s outburst that night and so afraid of what he might do that it had clouded her judgment. Now that a few days had passed without incident, she was thinking that she might’ve overreacted. She longed to sit down and talk to Hank about it, but he was acting so unapproachable that she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  Garrett had not shown his face at the office, and she wondered if Hank had seen him. Also, she’d had no news of how Glory was doing. She’d tried calling a few times, but there was no answer. She was scheduled to meet with Glory the first of next week to go over the final plans for the study; hopefully, they could connect then.

  Her phone buzzed. It was a Utah number, maybe a prospective client. “Chloe Kensley,” she said, adopting her professional tone.

  “Chloe, this is Lila.”

  “Oh, Lila. Hi, how are you?”

  “I’m fine.” There was a slight hesitation. “I’m just wondering if you might have a little time this afternoon. We need to talk.”

  “Okay,” she said slowly, wondering what this was about. There was a clutch of urgency in Lila’s tone. “Is this about the window treatments you’re wanting?”

  “Window treatments?”

  “Yeah, we’d talked about me taking some measurements and designing something for you a while ago. I just assumed that’s why you’re calling.”

  Lila let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, yeah. Sure, you can do that while you’re here.”

  Silence came over the phone.

  “Lila, are you okay?”

  “Of course. I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Can you come at four?”

  Chloe did a mental review of her schedule. She would have to move a few things around, but she could make it work. “Sure, I’ll do that.”

  “Good. See you then.”

  Before Chloe could say bye, Lila ended the call. She sighed and put down the phone. What in the world was that all about? With Lila, there was no telling. She was a strange duck. Likeable … but strange.

  She forced her mind away from Hank and back to the projects she was working on. A half hour later, she was standing in front of Yvette’s desk. “Do you have the pantone color deck? The painter wants to start the Matthew’s job tomorrow. Before he buys the paint, I need to double-check the colors on the rugs we ordered.”

  Yvette cocked an eyebrow. “You can go onto the supplier website and get a list of the pantone colors, and then you can check them against the online pantone guide. That’s the easiest way to do it.”

  The haughty tone in her voice caused the hair on the back of Chloe’s neck to rise. She straightened her shoulders and looked straight at Yvette. The last thing she needed was a lesson on how to do her job. “Yes, I suppose that’s one way to do it—if you trust that your computer screen is giving you an accurate rendering of the color. I, however, prefer to use the fool proof method.” She held out her hand. “The deck, please.”

  Yvette scowled and pulled out the bottom drawer of her desk. She reached for the deck and held it out to Chloe. When Chloe went to grab it, Yvette wouldn’t let go. Chloe gave her a questioning look. Yvette leaned forward. “I notice that things aren’t going so well with you and the boss. That’s a real shame.”

  “My personal affairs are none of your business!” Her eyes turned to tiny slits, and she wanted to wipe that snarky smile off Yvette’s face.

  “I suppose that’s what you get for dating brothers. Did Hank break your heart? Dump you on your rear end. I guess he’s not that much different from Garrett after all.” The look of triumph on her face disgusted Chloe. Yvette was one of those people who enjoyed kicking people when they were down. There was only one way to face a person like her—head on!

  She jerked the pantone deck out of Yvette’s hand. “You know what—I pity you, Yvette. You’re a small person who gets her jollies out of other people’s misery.” Yvette’s face fell as Chloe continued. “Contrary to what you think, Hank did not dump me on my rear end! Furthermore, he is nothing like Garrett! NOTHING!” Her voice rose, but she was beyond the point of caring. She was on a roll, and it felt good to put Yvette in her place. “Hank’s a kind, warm, generous person! Any girl would be lucky to have him!” There was so much more she could’ve said, but she stopped, remembering where she was. “Anyway, I don’t know why I even wasted my time trying to explain anything to you. You’re so blinded by your resentment of Garrett that you can’t see straight.”

  Yvette’s face had turned the color of chalk, and she just sat there like a mute, her eyes as big as saucers. The first thing that ran through Chloe’s mind was that she must’ve gotten Yvette good because the horrid woman was at a loss for words, but then she realized that Yvette was more worried about what was going on behind Chloe than she was about anything she’d said. She slowly turned and there stood Hank. There was the slightest hint of amusement on his handsome face, letting her know that he’d heard every word.

  She gathered herself up and gave him a scathing look before walking back to her office.

  How could she have been so stupid! Humiliation burned through her veins as she sat at her desk, trying to figure out a way to dig herself out of this one. She’d not meant to say those things about Hank. She’d not even consciously realized she’d been thinking them until she voiced it out loud. The past few days without Hank had been absolute misery. She knew for certain now that she was over Dan because all she could think about was Hank and how she’d blown it.

  “Knock, knock.”

  She looked up to see the object of her thoughts, leaning against the doorframe. He flashed a confident smile. “Hey.”

  Her face started flaming. “Hey,” she muttered under her breath, leaving it at that. If Hank wanted to have a conversation with her, then it was up to him to initiate it.

  “I need to go to Lily Riddle’s home to pick out a color for her living room.”

  She was both relieved and disappointed that he’d come to discuss a work-related topic. “I thought Kate was handling that project.”

  “Yeah, she is, but she can’t come in today—something about taking her daughter to t
he doctor. Anyway, Lily’s eager to get something picked out because she’s hosting another party next week. You know how she is. I figured it would be easier to just go over and pick something out—to keep her happy. She’s one of our best clients, after all.”

  She couldn’t help but notice how good he looked in his black shirt and matching dress pants. It was unfair for any man to look that good. “Do I have a choice?”

  “I really could use your help on this one. Oh, and would you mind bringing the Benjamin Moore fan deck? The classic collection?”

  She sighed heavily even though she was secretly pleased that he wanted her to accompany him on a job. “Fine.”

  “Okay,” he said briskly. “Let’s leave in five minutes.”

  * * *

  It had taken all of fifteen minutes to pick out a color for Lily’s living room. And it was no surprise that Hank was the one who selected it. In fact, Chloe was pretty sure he knew which color he wanted before they even set foot in the client’s home. Her suspicion was confirmed when he missed the turn that would’ve take them back to the office.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I thought we’d take a little detour.”

  “What detour?” she asked suspiciously.

  He just shook his head and smiled. She covertly studied his profile, liking the stubborn set of his chin. Hank Singleton was accustomed to taking on the world, and it showed.

  A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking garage below his condo. “You’re taking me to your place?”

  He chuckled. “Don’t look so horrified. I thought we’d take a stroll around Temple Square. It’s a beautiful fall day, and we have lots to discuss.”

  Before she could argue, he got out of the car, came around, and opened her door. They walked in silence past the Assembly Hall and Tabernacle. When they approached the Temple, Hank steered her over to a bench where they sat down. Chloe’s eyes rested on the yellow, purple, and orange mums that dotted the landscape.

  “Whenever I feel like my life is spinning out of control, I come here. I love the peaceful feeling that this place has.”