Rumor Has It

by Leela Lou Dahlin

  He walked her to her door. “Do you need me to make sure your house is secure?”

  “Do you do that a lot?”

  “It could be part of my job description.”

  “Really?”

  “It could be. I’ve done stranger things.”

  “If you’d like to check my house for security reasons, be my guest.”

  He opened her door and looked around the kitchen, then continued into the living room. “This is a very nice home you have here…very cozy.”

  “Thanks.” She hoped that didn’t mean boring or old-people-like. She had wanted a family for as long as she could remember, and she’d decorated her home the way she’d want it if she’d had one. It made her think one was on the way.

  He was looking around the room, and she could feel he really enjoyed being in there.

  “Would you like to have a seat?”

  “No, I just wanted to make sure you got home safe. It was nice to meet you, Raina,” he said in a voice that made her wish he would take her up on her offer to have a seat, a cup of coffee, or sex.

  She walked him to the door and watched him wave as he drove away.

  It’s great that he was a Good Samaritan, but she’d rather he brought her home because he was interested in her. Oh well, it was nice to have in her memory bank. The muscled fireman who gallantly warmed her and brought her home.

  She was warm and lying in bed reading when she got a text.

  What are you doing?

  Who is this?

  It’s your local fireman.

  Is this another one of your duties, to check on lonely women before bed?

  I don’t know… Are you lonely?

  Matters who’s asking. She felt bold texting the sexy fireman, but when her phone rang, she almost dropped it.

  “I’m asking.”

  “Sometimes, I guess.”

  “We should do something about that.”

  “What do you think we should do?”

  “How about I bring over dinner and you get a movie, and we can hang out at your place?”

  “You want to hang out here?” She’d thought they’d be heading out for a night on the town.

  “Yes. I heard you were a ‘stay at home’ type of girl.”

  “Man, my words coming back to haunt me.”

  His laugh was deep and husky. “Sometimes that happens.”

  “I’d be honored to share my living room with you.”

  “All right. I’ll be there around…what, eight p.m.?”

  “That would be great.”

  * * * *

  And that had been the beginning of a beautiful friendship. She would have asked for more, but they had seemed to settle into a routine, and she could tell that, for the most part, he wasn’t interested in her. Even when she’d met Theo while she was making a holiday dinner for the squad, Liam hadn’t shown anything to suggest that it mattered if she dated him or not. It was fun talking with the guys and helping Liam when it was his turn to cook. Then she’d seen the types of women he went out with, and she’d known why it hadn’t mattered—she wasn’t his type. Hanging out with her had to be like hanging out with his guy friends, only quieter. She tried to think of all the fun they’d had over the years, but that only made her sadder.

  The more she thought about it, the more she was sure things weren’t going to be better in the morning, but she could always hope.

  * * * *

  Liam couldn’t sleep, and he was restless. He’d stayed up all night thinking about everything. His mother, Raina, his life, and his life without Raina.

  He remembered the first time he’d met her. She was so quiet. Calm in a bar of loud and rowdy patrons. His attempts not to be drawn to the pale beauty hadn’t been working—even her enthusiastic friend, who would usually be a deterrent from any effort he might have wanted to put toward her. She wasn’t his usual type—he typically would have gone for the robust instead of the woman who was trying to hide herself from everyone in plain sight.

  Her sexy voice made him think of warm woman and soft sheets, but her friend had come by, and she’d clammed up and left. He took a few minutes to gather himself. This was when he could usually talk himself out of trying to find the woman, but he knew if he didn’t talk to her now, he’d never see her again.

  And he had found her. She stood shivering in the cold, waiting for someone. That was when he made his move. If any of his crew had seen this, they would have given him grief for days. He never went out of his way for women. They just fell into his lap like fruit off the sexy tree. He offered to take her home, and the warier she was of him, the more he liked her. It was odd, but it was true. He had all the intentions of taking her home and enjoying her sweet, svelte body if she offered it. If nothing happened, he was fine with that too. He made her call her phone with his to leave his information for her to be able to find him again…and for him to have her phone number.

  When he saw her comfortable and welcoming home, he knew this was a woman he wanted to know. He always felt if he let the woman in too much, he’d get too attached, and he wasn’t sure he could handle the pain of watching another woman walk away like he was nothing, so he walked first. He wanted to make sure that didn’t happen with this one. He wanted her to be around for a while, so he’d keep what they had at a friendship level, and then there would be no risk.

  The problem was he hadn’t known what to do when she asked him to show her the joys her body could experience with another person. He would do almost anything for her, not that he wanted her to know that. He’d known they’d be explosive. The chemistry was fairly combustible at times, but he ignored it as best as he could. When she was hot and heavy with his boss, Theo, he’d wondered if Theo would grow uncomfortable with their friendship.

  No man in their right mind would let a guy with his reputation keep the kind of hours they kept together. He’d had no idea Theo would expect her not to see Liam again. It had all been platonic until recently. Raina was a loyal woman; he loved that about her.

  Here it was, six a.m., and he was more exhausted than he was when he got into bed five hours ago. Maybe a run would do him some good.

  He’d started off at a slow trot, not really going any place in particular, but somewhere between the first mile and the eighth, he’d picked up speed and probably looked to the world like he had the devil at his heels. When he finally was tired enough that he needed a drink and maybe a seat, he noticed where he’d run. Right to the hotel where his mother had said she’d be until the end of today.

  Well, maybe he’d just go in and see what she wanted to say, and maybe he could get a glass of water.

  There were times when Liam was appreciative of whatever drew women to him in droves. The lady at the front desk offered him some water and a towel. She looked like she was going to offer a lot more, but he held her off with the question about Carol Prescott’s room number.

  He drank his water and tried to tell himself all kinds of things as the attendant called his mother and informed her of a visitor. His mother must have told her to send him up, because soon he was on his way up to room 419, and he could feel the little boy that was still alive and well in his core wanting answers.

  He knocked on the door and waited for the woman who had cradled him in her womb, raised him with love and care until he was six, and then walked out without notice.

  “Liam, I can’t believe you’ve come. Please come in,” she said.

  His mother clearly wanted to hug him but could see he wasn’t ready for that.

  “Have a seat.”

  The room was nice; it had a table and chairs in a separate place from the bed and a kitchenette that made the room look more like a small apartment.

  “I know this is a lot to take in, Liam, and I never meant to come between you and your girlfriend.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend. She was just a friend.”

  His mother looked like she was going to dispute that but probably figured she had bigger fish to fry. Smart wom
an.

  “Well, she seems to be very into you, and she was so excited to be a part of something you’d remember forever.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “The truth—that I’d not seen you in a while.

  “She asked me why, and I told her. She has a way of making you feel like she’s interested and a face that makes you want to confide in. She sung your praises like she was a publicist, and the people at your job told me you would probably be at her house. I just assumed that there was something between you. But I’m one who shouldn’t go with assumptions.”

  “All right, cut to the chase. What do you want?”

  “I wanted to talk to you and tell you why I left you all those years ago.”

  That got his attention.

  “I was on the run from the police for a crime I’d committed when I was younger, but I’d stayed ahead of them for years. I’d married your father, and he was helping me with you and your sister. When you turned six and wanted to be a police officer or a fireman, it made me start thinking and then made me afraid.”

  “Of what?”

  “Afraid that one day you’d find out I was a wanted woman and that I wasn’t the perfect mom you always thought I was. I did something for my children the day I left. I became an honest woman.”

  “You’ve been gone a long time. Did you just get out of jail?”

  “I got out of jail right before you graduated from the fire academy. I was so upset I’d missed so much of your lives. I wanted to talk to you and I wanted to know you, but when I saw you at your graduation, you didn’t even know who I was. I was already into drugs at that time, but that day was my lowest, and I stayed there for a few years. I’ve followed your career since you joined the fire department. The day I saw you in the paper for saving the woman in the burning car, I decided to clean myself up. It’s been a long time coming. I had to work on my pride and my guilt, but I’m willing to put in the time and effort if you are willing to give me a chance.”

  He took in the weathered face that didn’t appear quite the same as the softly rounded woman he remembered. She was much thinner and looked like she’d had a rough go of it. She sat quietly and waited for his decision.

  “I’d be willing to try,” he finally said and felt a burden lift from his chest. The smile of the woman who always used to smell like cinnamon and vanilla was wobbly.

  “I wasn’t sure you were going to give me another chance. Please thank Raina for me. That woman has a sweet heart, and I know she put whatever you two had on the line for a chance for us to find a relationship.”

  “I don’t want to talk about her right now. I’d rather hear more about you.”

  They talked for a few hours and looked over old pictures, and he promised to make time to call. He wanted to give her a brief hug when he left, but he ended up holding her while she cried.

  Armed with his mother’s phone number and address, Liam decided to grab a bite to eat and then go home and catch a nap before the auction that night.

  * * * *

  Western omelet without the onion or green pepper and home fries. He smiled as he thought about the breakfast Raina always made for him. She liked to joke about him only eating ham-and-cheese omelets, and she tried to call the same omelet he ate different things “to shake things up.”

  “Can I sit here?”

  He looked up to find Theo standing by his booth. Damn it, he just couldn’t catch a break.

  “Sure.”

  His supervisor sat down across the table from him. He put his order in for a cup of coffee and an order of toast. He looked across the table like he didn’t know what to say but then took a deep breath and started. “I haven’t always been the nicest to you, Prescott.”

  “I don’t need you to be nice. I get paid to do the job I do. That’s enough.”

  The man across from him stared for a second, as if trying to figure him out. “I know you don’t need it,” he chuckled, “but I feel bad about it anyway.”

  Liam just wanted to eat breakfast and then rest up before the Fire Ball tonight. He didn’t have time or inclination to listen to this man spill his guts about something he really couldn’t care less about. So he just stared at him and hoped the message “please shut up” was clear.

  “I heard you and Raina started hanging out a lot right after we broke up, and it upset me.”

  “Then why didn’t you take back your ultimatum?”

  “You heard about that, huh?”

  “Very recently. I thought you’d deny it.”

  “No. I own up to my mistakes. I wanted her to leave you alone. She’s had it bad for you for quite a while. I saw it…hell, everyone saw it, but she’s so sweet. I thought I could give her the life of her dreams and she’d be able to leave the fantasy behind, but it didn’t work like that.”

  “Maybe you didn’t give her enough time.”

  “Truth is…I did take the ultimatum back, and I asked for forgiveness. Even tried to include you and a date for an outing.”

  He told himself he didn’t want to hear this, but he kept asking questions. “What happened?”

  “When I tried to turn it all around, she decided she didn’t think it was a good idea. Left and turned to you. I’d run her off, and there was nothing I could do.”

  “Hmmm…”

  “Oh well. We weren’t meant to be, I guess.”

  Liam could only shrug to that.

  “I kept wondering what she was going to do to make me remember her.”

  “What?”

  “She once told me when she really cares for someone, she tries to do something for them so they will always remember her. I kept waiting for her to do something for me, but it never happened.”

  That couldn’t have been what she was doing.

  “She wants so badly to nurture someone. I wanted to be the one she gave it all to. She’s got the biggest heart, so again, I’m glad it’s you. I know you’ll take good care of her and she’ll return the favor.”

  “We’re not together. We’re just friends.” His voice could have been a bit stronger with that one, but he felt like the man was hitting him when he was down.

  “I’ve heard that.” Theo just looked at him. “You can say whatever you want, but your actions tell the truth. You are different with her. You smile more, and you are much less intense.”

  “When have you ever seen us together?”

  “Just when she comes to the bar…never with you, of course, but you find your way to her and possessively guard her. Come on, we all know she’s mentally taken. Some of us just think we can make changes.”

  They were both quiet while they finished their food.

  Liam was glad Theo didn’t have anything else to say. “You are coming to the auction tonight, right?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it. There will be a lot of us there, especially since a date with Raina is going to be up for auction.”

  “Really. Last I heard she was terrified no one was going to pick her and didn’t want to participate.”

  “Rumor has it…Ethan talked her into it.”

  He had no right to be upset about that, but he was. He grabbed his check. “See you tonight,” he said over his shoulder.

  He could have sworn he heard Theo laughing as he walked away.

  Liam caught a cab home and realized a few things. He really wanted to call Raina and share the craziness that had become his life within the last twenty-four hours, but he knew he’d closed the door on that, and for good reason. His heart was heavy, and his thoughts were racing. He just needed some sleep to get his thoughts back in order.

  Chapter Twelve

  Raina had been working ever since she got up. If she could keep her hands busy, her mind would have to follow.

  There was no way she could avoid seeing Liam tonight, but after that, she might be able to swing some time off. Maybe go to a spa or find another house. Memories of Liam were all throughout her home, making her crazy. She remembered the way he loved to talk smack about her da
ybed, but he also loved to lounge on it, looking like sex on a platter. Of course, she couldn’t forget how he loved her body so thoroughly on said daybed… No, this wasn’t the way her thoughts were supposed to stray. Maybe she could just get rid of the daybed…and the bed…the shower…her kitchen. No, she was going to move.

  “Are you ready to be auctioned off?” Ethan asked from behind her.

  “Not really.” Another mistake. She’d figured the anxiety of that would displace the anxiety of totally screwing up her relationship with such a good friend and, more recently, lover. “I hope I don’t hear crickets when it’s time for me to be auctioned.”

  He looked at her like she’d lost all her marbles. “Are you serious?”

  She was putting the final touches on the tables and making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. “Pretty much, yes.”

  “You are going to bring in the biggest pledge of the night.”

  “With all the buff firemen and all the women who bought tickets to this event, that’s pushing it a bit, don’t you think?”

  “Ha…no, Raina. Gossip spreads like wildfire around here. Everyone thinks you’re not with Liam anymore, and they are going to want to date you themselves. At least get on your radar.”

  He must have started drinking early.

  “I can see from your face you don’t believe that.”

  “No, Ethan, I don’t.”

  “You are an incredible woman. Everyone can see that. Just like everyone could see that you and Liam were attracted to each other. Now that there seems to be a rift—and no offense, but Liam isn’t known for changing his mind midstream—there will be many guys looking to comfort you.”

  “If you say so.” That little speech was supposed to make her happy, and she knew he meant well, but he’d just broken her heart again. She must have been hoping against all she knew about Liam that he would change his mind about her. But she’d made her bed, and now she had to roll around uncomfortably as she tossed and turned and couldn’t get a good night’s sleep in it.