Summer Reads Box Set: Volume 1

by Freethy, Barbara

  She realized now that taking over Hathaway's would not happen by chance, that she would have to make it happen. She couldn't keep moaning about unimportant duties; she needed to find her own work, her own role at the store. Maybe it wouldn't be as CEO or CFO, since those jobs were already taken, but surely there was something she could do to leave her mark on the company. She just had to find it and then do it—tomorrow or the next day. She didn't have to find herself a job right this second. In fact, she could think of lots of other things she could be doing right now, including finishing that kiss she'd started with Riley in the middle of an intersection in San Francisco.

  She was tempted to get him out of his chair and into the messed-up bed she could see through the half-open door to his bedroom. Sheets and blankets were tossed in abandon, making her want to jump into the middle of them and roll around with Riley. A shot of heat swept through her body at the thought. She couldn't do what she was thinking, could she?

  She had to get a grip. Sex with Riley would only complicate things. They'd never work out as a couple. Would they?

  Even if they could get past the differences in the way they'd grown up, what about the way they lived now? She might rail against Hathaway standards, but there was no denying the fact that she liked some of the culture she'd grown up with—the ballet, the symphony, the art museums. And she wanted commitment, a husband, children, the happily-ever-after she'd read about in so many books.

  Did Riley want any of that? He loved his grandparents, but he couldn't seem to let himself get close to anyone else. She knew his mother had hurt him deeply. Too deeply for him to be able to trust, to love another woman?

  "Paige. Yoo-hoo, Paige."

  She started, realizing the object of her thoughts was now staring at her. "What?"

  "I've been talking to you for three minutes."

  "That's funny. I asked you a question awhile ago, and you didn't even answer."

  "I found something," he said, ignoring her comment.

  "About the dragon?"

  "About my grandfather."

  She looked at the screen. "Where are you?"

  "Social Security. My grandfather worked at Hathaway's from 1946 to 1952, when the store burned to the ground."

  "That makes sense, because the store was closed down while it was rebuilt. I'm sure a lot of employees were let go."

  "I'm sure they were." He closed one screen and went to the next. He brought up an old newspaper article. "Did you know that the fire occurred during the Chinese New Year's Parade?"

  Another bell went off in her head. "I remember hearing that. They thought it might have been started by some errant fireworks."

  "Actually, the article claims there were traces of gasoline in the basement and suspicion of arson."

  "Really? I never heard that, but it happened a long time before I was born."

  "Do you know who was the first man on the scene?"

  "Your grandfather?" she ventured.

  "Guess again."

  "My grandfather?"

  "You've got one more choice."

  She frowned. "I don't see what it is."

  "Lee Chen."

  "Lee Chen?" she echoed, seeing the excited light in Riley's eyes.

  "Alyssa's grandfather," he said. "We're connected, Paige, all three of us. It says in the article that Lee Chen, an employee at the store, was the first one on the scene. He tried to put the fire out but it was too hot, and he suffered burns on his hands before he was pulled out of the store."

  "What a strange coincidence," she said, still trying to make sense of all the connections.

  "Is it a coincidence? What do you bet that Lee Chen was never rehired after the fire?"

  "Why wouldn't he have been—if he tried to save the store?"

  "Did he try to save it? Or did he start the fire? The first one on the scene could have also been the person who started it."

  "That's quite a leap. You got angry at me for making that same jump to your grandfather. We should be careful who we accuse."

  "Agreed. But at least we're narrowing down the suspects."

  "The suspects to what, Riley? Are we trying to figure out who set fire to the store fifty years ago? Or are we trying to figure out what happened to a dragon that disappeared last week?"

  "That depends on whether that dragon ties the two events together."

  "Which would take us back to the idea that the dragon might have been owned by the store at one point. You didn't like that scenario, remember?"

  He tipped his head. "I still don't think my grandfather stole it. But I'm willing to keep an open mind on where it's been in the last hundred years."

  "That's big of you."

  "I also think that the fact that these three men knew each other at one point is somehow very important. They all worked at Hathaway's in some capacity."

  "I agree," Paige said. "Maybe Alyssa or Jasmine could tell us about Lee."

  Paige's cell phone rang as she finished speaking, and Paige had the eerie sensation that someone had been reading her mind. Her suspicion was confirmed when Alyssa's voice came over the phone.

  "Alyssa," she said. "Riley and I were just talking about you. We found an odd connection between not just you and me, but Riley, too. Your grandfather's name is Lee Chen, right?" It suddenly occurred to her that Lee Chen was a fairly common name.

  "Yes," Alyssa said. "Why do you ask?"

  "We discovered that he worked at Hathaway's a long time ago."

  "I just learned that as well."

  "Riley's grandfather worked there, too. And, of course, my grandfather. They must have all known one another. I don't know what it means. It could be a small world, a really big coincidence, or a great lead. That doesn't narrow it down much, does it?"

  "No, but perhaps we can narrow it down further," Alyssa said. "I spoke to Benjamin Fong again. He says his uncle has some information for us about the dragon. I'm meeting them in a half hour—that's why I'm calling."

  She was thrilled that Alyssa had thought to let her know. "I'd love to come with you. Riley would, too."

  Alyssa hesitated. "I've been thinking about everything. I don't completely trust you, Paige. You might be trying to frame my mother for some sort of theft."

  Paige's heart sank. Another distrusting soul. She seemed to be surrounded by them. She looked at Riley and caught him watching her with a thoughtful expression on his face. He didn't completely trust her, either. She would just have to prove herself to both of them. "I don't want to hurt your mother in any way," she said firmly, returning her attention to the phone call. "What's between my father and your mother is separate from all this. I want to know who attacked my father, and you want to protect your mother. We're on the same side. And we want to make sure no one else gets hurt. The only way we can do that is to find out what happened to the dragon, if we can."

  "All right. Meet me at 3712 Stockton Street, Jimmy Lee's martial arts studio."

  Paige ended the call and explained the situation to Riley. "We can go if we want," she told him.

  "Of course we're going."

  "You're loving this, aren't you?" She could see the sparkle in his eyes, hear the energy in his voice.

  "I've always liked a puzzle, and this one is finally starting to come together." He stretched his arms up over his head, then got to his feet. "So, thirty minutes, huh?"

  "Yes." She stiffened as Riley took a predatory step in her direction. "What are you doing?"

  "I'm walking over to you."

  "I can see that, but why are you—Oh," she gasped as his mouth pressed against hers in a crushing, passionate kiss. "You're never going to ask me first, are you?" she muttered when he let her catch her breath.

  "Are you complaining?"

  "Yes, I'm complaining. I've been here for almost an hour, and this is the first move you've made."

  He laughed. "You never say what I think you're going to say." He swooped in and stole another kiss.

  "We only have thirty minutes," she reminded
him.

  "There are a lot of things we can do in that amount of time, princess," he said, a husky note in his voice.

  "Like what?" she asked breathlessly.

  "Use your imagination."

  * * *

  David felt himself sliding into sleep. The familiar dream welcomed him home.

  He was walking through the long dark alley, hearing footsteps coming closer. There were eyes following him, watching him, or maybe it was the dragon's eyes. They glowed in the night, two jade points of light from thousands of years ago. Jasmine's dragon. He had to get back to her. She was the only one who understood. Why couldn't he get to her? Why didn't the alley end? Was it always this long, this narrow? He heard voices hushed, then growing louder, one especially cold and shrill—Victoria? She stepped in front of him, and something flashed in her hand. A knife? A gun?

  "I know what you did, David. You betrayed me. You ruined our name. You hurt your daughter. You must pay."

  The gun was pointed straight at his heart. It exploded. He jerked, feeling the shock, the pain, the knowledge that he had really screwed up this time.

  "Mr. Hathaway. Mr. Hathaway?"

  He blinked as a bright light blinded him. Was this it? The light that would lead him straight to heaven? No, he probably wasn't headed there. Not after the way he'd lived.

  "Mr. Hathaway. Wake up. You're dreaming." The hand on his shoulder was firm.

  He opened his eyes, looking into the concerned face of the nurse who'd been hired by Victoria to babysit him

  "Are you all right?" she asked him. "You screamed bloody murder a minute ago."

  "I'm fine." He put a hand on his chest, feeling as if Victoria really had shot him. But there was no bullet hole, no blood, no pain. It was just a nightmare. She didn't know. She couldn't know. He'd never said a word, and Jasmine certainly wouldn't have told her.

  Jasmine. She'd been on his mind since he'd woken up. She must have heard the news of his attack. She was probably worried.

  "Can I get you anything, Mr. Hathaway?" the nurse asked.

  "Yes," he said huskily. "Could you get me a soda from the cafeteria downstairs?"

  "There's water right here."

  "I'm tired of water. I want a Coke." And he wanted her to leave him alone for a few minutes so he could call Jasmine. Maybe Jasmine could tell him why he'd gone to Chinatown. He didn't know why he couldn't remember anything since Christmas, which according to Paige was a month earlier. Why had his brain cut off the last few weeks? What was his mind hiding?

  "All right. I'll get it for you. Shall I have the security guard stand inside the door?"

  "No, you shall not," he said grumpily. "I'm fine. Go. And take your time."

  She did as he asked, and he was blessedly alone. Thank goodness. He wasn't used to having anyone around twenty-four hours a day, and even though it hadn't been that long, he was already tired of the constant attendance of nurses. He wanted to go home, to his own room, where he could sort things out.

  Reaching for the phone, he dialed Jasmine's number, hoping she was home. She always told him not to call or come by, but he needed to talk to her.

  The phone rang three times, then her voice came over the line. "Hello?"

  "It's me," he said, relieved that she was there.

  "David?" she asked in wonder. "Are you all right?”

  "They told me I was assaulted in an alley near your apartment, that I was in a coma for a few days.”

  "You don't remember?"

  "I wish I could." Silence followed his words. "Why did I come to see you?"

  "You showed me the dragon."

  "The dragon I bought for Elizabeth's birthday?"

  "No, David, it was the dragon from my dreams. Someone brought it to your store to have it appraised. You showed it to me. I held it in my hands." Her voice wavered. "I believe now that it was part of that set, the one we read about, the one with the curse on first daughters. And I touched it. I released the curse on my own daughter, on our child."

  His brain was still too foggy to follow her reasoning. He knew about the dragon, of course. It was important to Jasmine. "Are you sure the dragon was the same one?"

  "Exactly the same. You saw it, too, David. I am so afraid of what will happen next. First, you are almost killed. Now I worry about Alyssa, and what the curse will do to her. You must remember, David. You must remember where you went when you left me. You didn't go back to the store. If you had found the dragon, where would you have gone?"

  "I don't know," he said slowly. "I wish I did." He strained to remember, but the effect only brought a throbbing pain to his head.

  "There is something else. I told Alyssa that you're her father."

  "Why? Why would you do that?" he asked, shocked to the core. They had kept the secret for so many years. It was difficult to believe it was out.

  "Your daughter found out about Alyssa."

  "Paige? That's not possible."

  "It's the truth. I don't know how she did, but she did. I couldn't let Alyssa be blindsided. I had to tell her first."

  Paige knew about Alyssa and Jasmine? His heart sank to the bottom of his toes. She must hate him. She hadn't said anything yet, probably because he'd been so badly hurt. But when things were back to normal, she would remember that he'd betrayed her and her mother. And she wouldn't understand. He couldn't bear it if Paige turned on him. She was the only daughter he had. Except Alyssa, of course, but he didn't know her. She didn't know him. It was a choice he'd made a long time ago. There was no turning back now. Unless...

  "Does Alyssa want to see me?"

  "She isn't sure. But you know she will not make trouble for you, and neither will I."

  No, the trouble would come from Victoria. No doubt about that.

  "I have to go," he said, hearing the nurse outside his room. "I'll call you when I get home." He hung up the phone, almost wishing he could return to the unconscious state he had just left. His daughter and most likely his wife knew about his mistress and his illegitimate child. Maybe he would have been better off dead. The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

  Someone had wanted him dead.

  Who? Did he know? Was that why he couldn't remember? Maybe he didn't want to remember. Maybe he didn't want to know who had attacked him.

  Or worse, maybe the person who had attacked him was someone he knew. He wasn't the only one with secrets.

  Chapter Nineteen

  "You're awfully quiet," Paige said as Riley drove them across town.

  "Just thinking about everything."

  "It makes my mind spin. There seem to be so many secrets."

  "Yeah," he said. But he wasn't thinking about secrets; he was thinking about Paige, about the kisses they'd shared before she'd reminded him that they had to leave, that they didn't have time to take those kisses into the bedroom, which was the only place at that moment he wanted to go.

  He needed to stop kissing her, stop torturing himself with possibilities that could never be. Paige was a long-term girl; he was a short-term guy. He could have women in his life without making a commitment. In fact, he'd probably get more sex if he stayed single; at least that's what most of his married friends told him.

  If Paige wanted a fling, he was her man, but anything longer, forget about it. He didn't carry the commitment gene. He knew that without a doubt. Neither his mother nor his father had been able to handle a relationship or a family. Although... his grandparents had had a good marriage.

  Sure, they'd fought over the years. He'd heard them yelling at each other and driving each other crazy about not filling up the car with' gas or forgetting to buy toilet paper. But they'd also hugged and kissed and laughed together. They'd been best friends as well as lovers. They'd had a special connection, something rare, something most people didn't have. What was the likelihood of him finding such a connection? A million to one.

  And the truth was—he didn't have the stomach for those odds. He didn't want to put his heart on the line, make himself vulnerable. He'd l
ived his childhood like that. The pain was still with him years later. He'd loved his mother and she'd abandoned him. She'd lied so many times, broken so many promises. He sighed, wondering why the memories were coming back now. It was because of Paige. She was breaching the emotional wall he'd built. He would have to be careful, or she'd sneak in when he least expected it. And he couldn't let that happen.

  It would all be over soon. They might not find the dragon, but he was confident they would get closer to the truth. The pieces were falling into place. He just had to concentrate on the task at hand and forget about the woman sitting next to him. If only she didn't smell so good. Did she wash her hair with perfume? The scent of sweet wildflowers seemed to fill the car. He pushed the automatic button for the window to let the breeze in, anything to break the intimacy growing between them.

  Paige shot him a curious look. "Are you all right?"

  "Fine," he said gruffly.

  "You're not acting fine. You seem tense. You're angry because we didn't get to finish what we started."

  "We were finished," he said shortly.

  "Really? I wasn't."

  "Well, you don't get everything you want, Paige. I know that's probably a foreign concept for you, but it's the truth. Some things, some people you just can't have, and it doesn't matter what your last name is."

  She sent him a curious look. "Jeez, what brought that on?"

  He shrugged. "It's just the way it is."

  "Are you under the impression that I think I can get anything or anyone I want? Because believe me, that's not the case. In fact, very few people in my life ever do what I want them to do. I've often thought I have absolutely no impact on anyone's choices."

  "That's not true."

  "Oh, it's true. For example, my mother let me get a cat when I was a little girl. She thought it would keep me company after my sister died. It was a small black-and-white kitten and I adored it, but it refused to sleep on my bed. When I tried to pick it up, it hissed at me."

  "You should have gotten a dog."