For Everly

by Thomas, Raine

He kissed her goodbye and stayed in the doorway until she drove away. To keep herself from dwelling on how she felt about leaving him, she made a mental list of things she had to get done at home. First and foremost was stocking the fridge and pantry. She had no doubt that her father had eaten whatever he wanted and not bothered to replace it. Thank goodness for the extra income she was earning from Cole and her shifts at Prix Fixe.

  Thinking about going to the restaurant after the attack made her tighten her grip on the steering wheel. Cole had effectively distracted her from thinking about it over the past couple of days, but the fact that she’d been physically assaulted with Rowan only a few feet away haunted her. The police had no leads as of that afternoon, and she hardly expected them to put much effort into it with so much more serious crime happening around the city. With Christmas only days away, they also had to be stretched thin on personnel.

  Although Cole told her about his interaction with Rebecca at the club, she had a hard time believing that his ex-girlfriend had sat out in the cold with a baseball bat to take a swing at her. From what he’d said, Rebecca took a lot of pride in her appearance and was about as girly as they came. On top of that, Everly had the vague impression in her mind that her attacker had been male. Was it possible she had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

  Well, she couldn’t stop living her life in either case, she concluded as she pulled into her grandpa’s driveway. Rowan had hired security guards to man the parking lot through at least the holiday season. She sincerely hoped the police got some kind of lead between now and January.

  Frigid air greeted her as she opened her door. Night was falling, turning the sky deep purple. She shivered and hurried up the couple of steps leading to the house. When she opened the door, she spotted her grandpa in his recliner and her father on the couch.

  “There’s my girl,” her grandpa said with a smile. “So happy you’re home.”

  He did look tired, she thought. Why was that? Her gaze moved briefly to her father, who stared back without speaking.

  “Hi, Pee Paw,” she said, removing her coat, hat, and scarf and putting them in the coat closet. She pulled her phone out of her purse and texted Cole that she was home. “I’m happy to see you, too.” She walked over to him and kissed his cheek. “Have you eaten dinner?”

  “Not yet. How’re you feelin’?”

  A smile rose as she thought about the question. Cole’s image floated into her thoughts. “I feel fine, Pee Paw. It was nice to have a couple of days to just relax.”

  “You deserve ‘em,” he said. “You work too hard.”

  She patted his hand. “It’s for us. Worth every penny.”

  He squeezed her hand and held her gaze for a moment. “So good to have you home,” he said again.

  “I’m going to see what I can put together for dinner, okay?”

  He nodded. She got to her feet and headed to the kitchen without addressing her father. When she went to the fridge, she was unsurprised to find it virtually empty. Rummaging through the veggie drawer, she decided she might be able to make a salad with the unspoiled part of the romaine she found. There was a carrot, green pepper, and tomato she could also incorporate.

  Turning with the ingredients in her hands, she almost ran straight into her father.

  “Hello, Everly,” he said.

  She couldn’t read anything in his gaze. Swallowing her discomfort, she moved over to the sink and placed the vegetables where she could reach them for washing.

  “Hello,” she said.

  It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end to keep her back to him, but she had no choice. She picked up the carrot and ran it under the water.

  “You had a good time with Cole?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “How good a time?”

  She stiffened. “That’s none of your business.”

  “So you’re definitely sleeping with him then. Good.”

  All of her warning bells sounded. Keeping the water running to mask their voices, she turned to look at him.

  “Don’t go thinking that you can use my relationship with Cole to get something out of him,” she said in a low voice.

  “I’m not asking for money or anything like that,” he said, holding his hands up. “All I want is the chance to ump here in the States.”

  His response surprised her. It also made her feel slightly ill. The last thing she wanted was her father moving closer to her. Turning back to the vegetables, she began washing the pepper.

  “It’s not like he has a close connection with the Umpire Administration,” she said. “You know better than most how hard it is to get an umpiring job in the MLB system. There’s very low turnover, and—”

  “I just want you to ask him. That’s all.”

  Resentment burned her throat. She’d known from the moment he first mentioned Cole that this sort of thing was coming. His visit had nothing to do with spending time with her or his father and everything to do with trying to further his career. In his mind, she had more leverage to get what he wanted because she was sleeping with Cole.

  How dare he cheapen something so precious to her?

  She finished rinsing the vegetables and struggled to rein in her temper. Then she turned and grabbed the hand towel to dry her hands

  Facing him at last, she said, “I don’t owe you anything.”

  His expression darkened. Gone was the façade of innocence. Moving closer to her, he made her feel cornered. Her heart thudded into her throat.

  “By God, Everly May Wallace, I’m your father. You owe me your respect. You will do as I ask of you.”

  He was so close she could feel the heat from his body. She dropped the hand towel and clutched the counter behind her to keep her hands from shaking.

  “I’m a grown woman,” she said in a level voice, looking into his eyes and absorbing the hate she read there like a barb to her heart. “You haven’t been a part of my life since you walked out of it eight years ago. I think it’s high time you walked right back out of it.”

  The strike shouldn’t have caught her by surprise, but it did. Her head snapped back. She barely caught herself before she fell to the floor. Pain had her gaze fading in and out of focus.

  “You little bitch,” he hissed.

  “Mason, you stop that,” her grandpa said from the doorway. “You need to leave this house.”

  “Don’t you side with her.”

  Everly feared her father’s anger was about to be directed at her grandpa. “Pee Paw, get—”

  Her father turned back to her. He looked like an enraged bull. His hand reached out and encircled her throat. He gave her a hard shake. When she tried to knee him in the groin, he pushed her back against the counter so that she couldn’t move.

  “Shut up!” he growled. “Now you listen to me. I won’t leave here until you do what I say. I always told you you’d be good for something one day even though you’re a female, didn’t I? Well, this is it. You’re good enough to fuck an All-Star and get me a goddamn job.”

  She couldn’t breathe. In the face of the man who should have loved and cared for her, she forgot all of her self-defense training. She gasped for air and fought back tears.

  The sound of a gun cocking broke her father’s concentration.

  “Mason, get your hands off my granddaughter.”

  Everly used the moment of distraction to wriggle out of her father’s hold and shove him far enough from her to get a few feet away. Her gaze fell on her grandpa standing in the doorway. He held a revolver in his hands, one she had seen him clean a number of times. His gaze and the hold on his gun were iron steady.

  “You know I’m an excellent shot,” he said, not looking away from her father. “Everly, why don’t you get out of here for a while?”

  “No, Pee Paw. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

  “He won’t. Get your phone ‘n get ready to dial nine-one-one.”

  Everly edged around the kitchen to put more distance betwe
en herself and her father. She pulled her cell out of her pocket as she reached her grandfather’s side and called up the keypad. Her faced throbbed where she’d been hit.

  “Damn you both,” her father said, his face an unnatural shade of red. His gaze met hers. “You’ll regret this.”

  “Believe me,” her grandpa said. “We already do.

  “Now get the hell out.”

  Chapter 41

  The fist-sized bruise on her cheek required an extensive amount of cosmetics to cover up for her work over the weekend, but Everly managed. By the time she went to visit Cole on Christmas Eve, it had faded to purplish-green and the swelling was completely gone. She was grateful they had waited until the evening to get together. The lighting better masked the imperfection.

  “Hello, Ms. Wallace,” he greeted her as she walked up to the house from Champ.

  She smiled, ignoring the lingering ache that resulted in her cheek. “Hello, Mr. Parker. Merry Christmas Eve.”

  He looked down at the gifts she carried. “Those aren’t both for me, are they?”

  “No. One is for Wyatt. I’m hoping you’ll bring it with you tomorrow since you’ll be seeing him.” She pulled them from his reach when he started to take them. “Uh-uh. No shaking or otherwise trying to guess ahead of time.”

  His face fell, making her stifle a laugh. “You’re no fun,” he said.

  “I’ll give you a kiss to make up for it if you’ll let me inside.”

  He stepped aside and made a grand flourish with his hand. “Please enter, mademoiselle.”

  She stepped inside and said, “Wait a minute. That almost sounded French.”

  “I’ve been practicing.”

  His mouth came down on hers before she could respond. She forgot about everything else. Pleasure she felt only at his touch unfurled inside her.

  The packages started to slip. She pulled away from Cole to right them. He gave her a wicked grin.

  “Sorry. Did I do that?”

  “Ha ha,” she said. “Why don’t we head upstairs?”

  “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  She laughed over his suggestive tone. Heading for the stairs, she said, “One track mind.”

  “You know it. And I did my exercises over the weekend. I deserve to be rewarded.”

  Her smile faded as she walked up the stairs. Was he being serious, or just kidding with her? Her father’s harsh words about her relationship with Cole ran through her head. She forced them to the side. Their relationship was based on more than just sex.

  Wasn’t it?

  “All good things to those who wait,” she said, deliberately keeping her tone light. “We have hours together, after all.”

  “We sure do. And if the weather guys have their way, it’ll even snow later. Maybe I can convince you to stay if it does.”

  When they reached the family room, she set the gifts on the coffee table. A wrapped box was already sitting there. She didn’t remember wrapping it.

  “Is that for me?” she asked.

  “Yep. I’m not without my shopping wiles,” he said.

  Her smile returned. “Thank you.”

  “Come on. Let’s get you out of that coat.”

  He started to reach for the top button, but she grabbed it first. For some reason, it was increasingly important to her that they not have sex just then. Him undressing her, even just to remove her coat, could easily lead to that.

  “Absolutely,” she said, turning to make it seem as though she hadn’t noticed his movement. “Is that wine I see chilling on the island?”

  “Um, yeah,” he said.

  She winced when she heard the uncertainty in his voice. “I’d love a glass.”

  “Sure.”

  When she had hung her coat and returned to the family room, Cole had a plate of cheese and several varieties of fruit and crackers set on the coffee table along with the glasses of wine. He lifted both glasses as she neared, handing one of them to her.

  “Thanks,” she said. Then she lifted her glass. “To Christmas.”

  “To Christmas.” He touched his glass to hers and sipped, not looking away from her.

  She took his hand and pulled him around to the other side of the sofa. Then she sat on the ground so she could reach the food. He joined her.

  “Tell me about your weekend,” she said.

  “Okay.” He paused. “Everly, is everything okay?”

  She should have known she wasn’t acting naturally enough. Still, she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Her defenses were up.

  “Everything’s great,” she lied, reaching for a slice of pear. Smoothing some brie on it, she looked over at him. “Did you have a good weekend?”

  He studied her before he responded, “Yeah, it was good. Javier’s party was pretty kick-ass. Most of the team was there. The guys asked about you.”

  Smiling, she said, “That was sweet of them.”

  “Rebecca was there, too. Abigail invited her.”

  Everly paused in mid-chew. She looked at him, but couldn’t read his expression. After a moment, she swallowed the bite in her mouth.

  “She was?”

  “Yep.” He reached for a cracker. “Wasn’t too thrilled about being targeted by the police.”

  She considered that. “Do you still think she did it?”

  “I don’t know.” He popped the cracker into his mouth and ate it before continuing. “Her response seemed genuine. But if she didn’t do it, who did?”

  That was quite the question. It actually turned her appetite right off. Setting her wine glass to the side, she lifted herself up so that she sat on the sofa.

  “This isn’t fun Christmas talk,” she said, affecting a cheerful tone. “I don’t know about you, but unopened presents are just an enormous distraction. What do you say about opening them?”

  “I’m cool with that,” he said, rising to sit beside her. “Will you tell me what’s bothering you once we do?”

  Surprised, she caught his gaze. Her shoulders slumped a little when she realized she wasn’t fooling him at all.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I had a rough weekend. I know pretending like it didn’t happen won’t help, but can you indulge me for few minutes?”

  One corner of his mouth lifted. “For you? Sure.”

  “Thanks. Since you’re being so accommodating, you can open your gift first.”

  Now, he grinned. “No, no, no. Ladies first.”

  She didn’t argue when he got up and retrieved the gifts from the kitchen island and placed her gift in her hands. She took her time unwrapping it, wanting to preserve the paper. It was a silly, feminine desire, but there it was. When she opened it and saw what the box contained, she blinked several times.

  “It’s every Marvel movie ever made on DVD,” he said. “I thought it would remind you of our first date.”

  She leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. If it gets me more kisses, I’ll buy you all the movies you want.”

  She smiled to cover up the increasing wariness caused by his words and reached for his present. The smile sat on her face as he tore into the paper and opened the box only to find a second wrapped box inside of it. By the time he got to the fourth box, he was glowering and she was laughing.

  “Just one more, I promise,” she said.

  Finally, he opened the last box and pulled out its contents. When he didn’t react, her humor faded. Why wasn’t he pleased?

  “It’s the original gold version of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out,” he said.

  Biting her lip, she asked, “Isn’t that the one you said you didn’t have?”

  “Yes.” Still, his gaze was unreadable. “How’d you get this?”

  “Rayshawn’s mom works with a guy who collects video games. Well, he hoards all kinds of things, actually. He happened to have it, so we made a deal.”

  He stared at the game for another long minute. She continued to nibble on her lip as she watched his bizarre reaction. She’d pictured
him as much more excited than this.

  “Do you already have it?” she asked at last. “Maybe we could sell it—”

  “No,” he said, reaching out and touching her hand. “I don’t already have it. I’m just…stunned. I don’t know that I’ve ever received a gift that’s so…perfect.”

  Relieved, she smiled. “Oh, thank goodness.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Wallace,” he said.

  He leaned over to kiss her. Since she didn’t want to raise his suspicions even more, she sank into the kiss, savoring it. As far as she was concerned, that kiss could have gone on forever and she wouldn’t have complained.

  Too quickly, it seemed, Cole’s hands began to roam. She stiffened and broke off the kiss.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, getting to her feet. She started pacing beside the sofa, trying to shake off the negative thoughts and feelings rushing through her. “As I said, I had a rough weekend. It’s put me in a strange state of mind.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about it?” he said, sliding back to the floor and picking up his wine.

  Since he appeared unruffled by her behavior, her pacing slowed. She took a deep breath as he drank a sip of wine and reached for a strawberry.

  “Cole, what are your thoughts on our relationship?” she blurted.

  He raised his eyebrows. “What?”

  “I mean, I know you’re attracted to me,” she said, her hands waving as she paced. “But is that all there is to this?”

  He frowned. “That’s a hell of a thing to ask.”

  Her chest tightened over his response. She started wringing her hands. “I didn’t intend to put you on the spot. But this weekend made me think about things. And now you’re acting like the only reason you want me here is for sex.”

  “Now just a minute,” he said, his tone disbelieving. “You think I only want to be with you for sex?”

  Oh, she was making a mess of this. “You’ve made a number of suggestive references and—”

  “How is that any different than usual?”

  Now he was angry. She could hear it in his voice and see it snapping in his eyes.

  “Okay, but what about the gift you bought me?” She couldn’t prevent some irritation of her own from coloring the words. “Don’t you know that I don’t own a DVD player? How serious can this relationship be if you don’t even know that much about me?”