The Man Behind the Pinstripes

by Melissa McClone

  “What’s your week like?” he asked.

  “Busy. There’s a local dog show on Saturday and Sunday. I’m going to be driving back and forth each day. We’re too busy producing products in the lab for me to be away.”

  “It’s going to be a busy week for me, too.”

  Bummer, but she wasn’t about to complain after spending today with him. “Maybe we can see each other online.”

  “We’ll figure something out.”

  The perfect end to a perfect day. Well that, and Caleb’s toe-curling good-night kiss.

  After he left, Becca brought the dogs to the guest cottage. “I’m in such a good mood you guys can sleep with me tonight.”

  She changed into a pair of flannel shorts and T-shirt and closed the blinds.

  With two dogs on the bed with her, another three on the floor and a laptop in front of her, she answered emails about the products, a result of the samples she’d been handing out at dog shows and word of mouth. The lab had been turned into a mini-manufacturing plant, but Gertie’s research assistants were taking the temporary change in job responsibilities in stride.

  Becca’s cellphone rang.

  She glanced at the clock on the nightstand— 11:28 p.m. Late for a call. Unless it was Caleb.

  Adrenaline surged. She grabbed the phone. The name on the screen read Courtney Fairchild.

  Becca hit answer. “Courtney?”

  “Sorry to call so late.” Courtney sniffled. “I’m in a bit of a jam.”

  The words came out stilted. Something was wrong. “What’s going on?”

  “My, um, car’s in the Boise River.”

  Concern ricocheted through Becca. “Are you hurt?”

  Her sharp voice woke the dogs. Maurice tried to climb on her lap. Hunter jumped off the bed.

  “I’m...I think I’m okay.” Courtney’s voice quivered. “My car is ruined. Caleb’s going to kill me. That’s why I called you and not him or Grams. You won’t be mad at me.”

  “Of course I’m not mad.” Becca changed out of her pajamas and into clothes. “Where are you?”

  Courtney gave her the crossroads. “Just follow the flashing lights. I’m going to need a ride home. If I don’t end up going to the hospital. There’s a cute firefighter who thinks I should go.”

  “Listen to him.”

  “Okay. I’ll do whatever he says.” Courtney sounded strange, mixed up, in shock. “I can’t believe I ruined another car. Caleb’s going to...”

  “Don’t worry about your brother.” Becca slipped on her sandals. “I’m going to put the dogs in the kennel, then drive over. If you’re not at the river, I’ll drive to the nearest hospital, okay?”

  “Thanks. I appreciate this.”

  Becca hoped Caleb wouldn’t be upset for not calling him immediately. But she’d been in a similar spot. Calling anyone was difficult. She was happy to be there for Courtney, and as soon as Becca knew more she’d contact Caleb. “See you soon.”

  Hours later, Becca dozed in the waiting room of the hospital. She’d been sitting with Courtney until they took her for more tests due to the nasty bump on her head.

  “What are you doing here?”

  She opened her eyes to see a not-so-happy-looking Caleb standing in front of her. His gaze was narrowed. His mouth set in a firm, thin line. No wonder Courtney didn’t want to call him.

  “Courtney called me. She was hurting,” Becca said. “Scared.”

  “My sister should be terrified.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Texting while driving. She could have been killed or killed somebody else.”

  “Thankfully, she wasn’t, and she didn’t.”

  “Her car is ruined.”

  “The airbag saved her life.”

  Caleb looked tense like a spring ready to pop open. His jaw was as rigid as a steel girder.

  Becca touched his arm. His muscles bunched beneath her palm. “Courtney’s going to be okay.”

  “This time. Like the last time.” He exhaled slowly. “One of these times she won’t be. That will kill Grams.”

  And him.

  Becca could tell this was tearing Caleb up inside. She put her arm around him.

  His body stiffened tightly—she might as well be hugging a tree. He backed out of her embrace. “You shouldn’t butt into my family’s business.”

  Where had that come from? He was upset. She realized that, but his words were like a slap to her cheek. She took a breath. And another. “I’m not butting in. I told you Courtney called me.”

  Suspicion filled his gaze. Something she hadn’t seen since they first met. “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “Courtney wasn’t ready to see you.”

  “And you didn’t think I should know what happened to my sister.”

  Becca tried not to take his anger personal. “It was late. If her injuries had been more serious—”

  “The police thought it was serious enough to call me.”

  “The police?”

  “I’m co-owner of the car. But that’s the last time I do that.” He brushed his hand through his hair. “Courtney needs to deal with the consequences of her actions. Clean up her messes. Not have others do it for her.”

  “She’s still young.”

  “Only a year younger than you.”

  That surprised Becca. “She seems younger.”

  “That’s because Courtney still acts like a spoiled little girl. She’s too much like our father. My grandmother bailed him out of so many jams he never learned from his mistakes. Courtney’s the same way.”

  “Learning from mistakes isn’t always easy,” Becca said. “Sometimes the lessons are so in your face it’s hard to miss them. But other times it’s not as clear.”

  He studied her for a moment, the anger clearing from his eyes. “You learned.”

  “I had three years to think about what I did.”

  But right now she wondered if she’d learned anything during that time. One thing was clear tonight. Caleb didn’t want her here. He wanted to keep family stuff private. She ignored the sting in her heart. She needed to focus on Courtney right now.

  Becca took a deep breath. “The point is everyone makes mistakes.”

  Including Caleb.

  “Courtney makes more mistakes than most.”

  “You’re her big brother.” Becca softened her tone. If only he could see that he was making a big mistake with his younger sister. “Help Courtney figure out what she should be doing instead of getting into so much trouble.”

  “I’ve tried.”

  The anguish in his voice hurt Becca’s heart. She touched his back. This time he didn’t tense. “Try harder. You have a lot on your plate, but Courtney is your sister. I just met her, but it’s clear she’s bored out of her mind. She hates her job at Fair Face.”

  “She’s never in the office.”

  “Why not?”

  “She’s off shopping or sleeping in late.”

  “So Gertie isn’t the only one who lets Courtney get away with stuff.”

  “My sister is a handful.”

  “Yes, but threatening to kill her or cut her off from her trust fund if she messes up isn’t helping matters.”

  “I don’t want her to end up like our dad.”

  “No one does, but she’s not happy. You can’t force her to work at a job she doesn’t want. She might be better off working in a different department or even another company,” Becca said. “Getting Courtney pointed in the right direction isn’t enabling her. It’s supporting her. Helping her. That’s what family does for one another.”

  “I’m being a jerk.”

  “Courtney will understand.”

  “I meant with you.” He touched Becca’s face. His gaze softened.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here. It caught me off-guard.”

  “I understand.”

  And Becca did. She might want to let Caleb into her life and heart, but he wasn’t there yet. For all she knew, he might never be there.

  And that realization sucked.

  * * *

  The week dragged for Caleb. He hadn’t seen Becca since the night at the hospital. He’d been a jerk to her. But he couldn’t help himself.

  Grams adored Becca. Courtney turned to Becca in her time of need. Caleb wanted to spend all his free time with Becca.

  She’d become a pivotal person in his family. Something no one, not even Cassandra, had managed to do.

  That bothered him. Immensely.

  She’d gotten under his skin, but he couldn’t allow her into his heart. He wasn’t ready to get into something too deep. Not that she was pushing him into a relationship. Or had mentioned the word.

  Maybe all he needed was distance.

  So he didn’t call her the rest of the week. Didn’t text her.

  But that didn’t stop him from thinking about her.

  He’d tried focusing on work, but thinking about her interfered with him accomplishing much. Sitting through one boring meeting after another hadn’t taken his mind off her.

  And here he was again in another meeting on a Friday afternoon.

  To make matters worse, there was a weird vibe in the conference room. He looked around the table, pen between his fingers.

  Glen, the vice president of Sales and Marketing, checked his watch for the twelfth time in the past fifteen minutes. Ed, the usually messy director of advertising, played housekeeper—wiping off the table, pushing in unused chairs and straightening papers. Julie, the new head of PR, kept sneaking peeks at the door as if HGTV were about to burst in and award her a dream house.

  People were ready to kick off their weekends, but that didn’t explain why the three of them were acting so strange.

  Caleb tapped his pen against the table. “Anything else we need to discuss?”

  Glances passed between them. Glen to Ed. Ed to Julie. Julie to Glen. All over Caleb’s head. They might as well have been tossing a ball back and forth for their lack of subtlety.

  “What’s going on?” Caleb asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nada.”

  “Not a thing.”

  The three spoke at the same time, their words falling on top of each other.

  Something was definitely going on. He might be the CEO, the closest thing to a puppet master Fair Face had, but right now he felt as if someone else was manipulating the strings. He didn’t like it.

  “Talk to me,” he said, using his hard-as-nails-don’t-mess-with-me CEO voice he’d perfected for use in conference calls with suppliers.

  Another shared glance passed among the three.

  Glen cleared his throat. “Just a little anxious.”

  Caleb understood wanting to go home. He hadn’t made plans to see Becca tonight, but maybe it wasn’t too late. “Let’s call it, then.”

  Julie jumped to her feet, her brown eyes widening and her gaze darting to the door. “Wait!”

  Both Glen and Ed nodded furiously like Buster Bronco–the Boise State mascot—bobble-head dolls.

  “I thought you wanted to get out of here,” Caleb said.

  “There’s one more thing.” Julie practically skipped away from the table, her shoulder-length red hair swinging behind her. She opened the door.

  A bright light shone into the conference room.

  Caleb dropped his pen. “What’s—”

  An attractive woman dressed in a maroon suit burst into the room. She held a microphone in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other. Her straight, bleached teeth were as blinding as the camera light behind her.

  “I’m Savannah Martin with Good Day Boise.” The woman pronounced each word with precision. “Congratulations, Caleb Fairchild, you’ve been named Boise’s Bachelor of the Year.”

  What the...

  With lightning-quick moves that would make a ninja in high heels proud, Savannah thrust the champagne into his hands and shoved the microphone into his face. “Exciting news, isn’t it?”

  Caleb’s gut churned, as if the gyro he’d eaten for lunch was waging war on his internal organs. He had no idea what being Bachelor of the Year entailed, but he doubted any of the hoopla would include Becca.

  A predatory gleam filled the reporter’s eyes, making him think she’d eat her young to get a story.

  Not having a clue what to say, he stood. After all, that was the polite thing to do. Sweat dampened the back of his neck under his lightly starched collar. “Thank you.”

  The words rushed out faster than he’d intended. But he hadn’t planned on being ambushed by the media and his own people.

  Where was Ty when Caleb needed him? No one had his six here.

  He glanced at the champagne and composed himself with a breath. “This is quite...an honor.”

  “Indeed.” Savannah batted her eyelashes. Predator or flirt? “You had several nominations.”

  Who would have nominated him for Bachelor of the Year?

  Not Grams’s style, but Caleb wouldn’t put it past Courtney with her odd sense of humor.

  Caleb now knew why his coworkers had been acting so strangely during the meeting. The three stood together grinning like fools, as if year-end bonuses were going to arrive five months early. No doubt they’d had a hand in a few of the nominations. But...why?

  “This is unexpected.” He wished they had picked some other bachelor in town, someone who cared about this sort of thing. “I’m...stunned.”

  “I’m not.” Savannah gave him a look that would make Jack Frost blush. “Trust me, ladies, this is one bachelor you most definitely want to get to know better. He’s a hot one.”

  Hot, yes. Because of the damn light in his face.

  Caleb didn’t know how to respond, so he kept smiling instead, a tight smile that hurt the muscles all the way to his toes.

  The reporter failed to sense his discomfort or his plastic smile. She seemed more interested in the camera than in him. “This is Savannah Martin with Fair Face CEO, Caleb Fairchild, Boise’s Bachelor of the Year.”

  The light went off. The camera lowered.

  He could see again. And breathe. But that didn’t loosen the bunched muscles in his shoulders or the fist-sized knot in his stomach.

  A twentysomething man with a goatee and wearing faded jeans with a green T-shirt walked out of the meeting room carrying the camera.

  Savannah’s smile dimmed, as if her on switch connected to the camera’s power button. “See you on Tuesday.”

  “Tuesday?” Caleb asked. Did he look as dazed as he felt?

  “At the studio.” The reporter’s gaze ran the length of him—slow, methodical, appreciative.

  She needed to stop looking at him like that. Becca wouldn’t like it.

  Whoa. Shock reverberated through him. He’d never worried about other women sizing him up when he was engaged to Cassandra. He shouldn’t care now. Becca didn’t own him. They weren’t serious or exclusive. Had he gotten in deeper than he realized?

  Julie skipped forward still looking as if she was in a hazy, dreamy mode. “You’re being interviewed by Good Day Boise. I have all the details.”

  This was totally insane. There’d better be a good reason for the insanity, or three people would be looking for new jobs come Monday.

  “See you on Tuesday, then.” Caleb tried to keep his voice pleasant. Savannah left the room, closing the door behind her. “Sit.”

  His three employees took their places. Caleb sat, placed the champagne bottle on the table and let his smile drop. “What the hell was that all about?”

 
; Ed and Julie looked at Glen, who twirled his pen like a baton. The pen rotated faster and faster.

  Caleb’s annoyance increased at the same rate of spin. He shot his vice president a tell-me-now-if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you look. “Glen.”

  “My wife told me about the contest,” he said. “I thought it would be good publicity for Fair Face.”

  “I agreed,” Ed said.

  “Me, too,” Julie added. “It’s a fantastic opportunity.”

  “Boise’s Bachelor of the Year?” The words tasted bitter in Caleb’s mouth. He picked up his pen and tapped it against the table. “Sure about this?”

  Because he wasn’t.

  Two months ago, he would have popped open the champagne to celebrate. Two months ago, he would have phoned his grandmother to share the news. Two months ago, he would have texted Ty to rub it in.

  Two months ago, Caleb hadn’t known Becca Taylor.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about her melodic laughter and her hot kisses and when he could see her.

  Even if seeing her again didn’t make sense.

  He didn’t know what to think. Do. Say.

  “This is a no brainer,” Ed said. “Rave reviews about the baby line products are pouring in. Mothers are calling asking for samples. This is perfect timing.”

  “You can’t buy this kind of PR,” Glen said. “That’s why we nominated you.”

  “The three of you?” Caleb asked.

  “Our staffs,” Glen admitted.

  “And a few other employees.” Ed made it sound like no big deal, but for all Caleb knew the entire company had nominated him. “This is a win-win situation for everyone involved.”

  It was lose-lose for him. Someone—okay, Becca—would be upset. That would make him unhappy.

  Ed rested his elbows on the table. “We need you to play this right to maximize our exposure.”

  It sounded so calculated. Business often was, especially with advertising, and Caleb’s job was to be the perfect CEO and present the correct image to the public. His grandfather had instilled that into him. “Tell me the slant.”

  Julie opened a manila folder. “Play up being single, but how you’re looking to settle down.”

  Caleb drew back. “Whoa. Settle down?”