by Curry, Edna
Luke asked, “So tell me about Jolene. Were you two close?”
Candi considered. “Yes, we were when we were young. As a teen, she always had lots of friends and was very popular. We both babysat, often for the same people, taking turns according to whatever else we wanted to do when they wanted a sitter. I was older, so we didn’t hang around with the same kids, of course. But we did stuff as a family then. Before—well, before Daddy started going to Vegas and Mom and Dad split.”
“When was that?”
She frowned, thinking. “I suppose about six years ago now. Mom didn’t like Dad’s gambling trips. She refused to go with him. That’s when they divorced and Mom moved to Florida for a fresh start, as she called it.”
“And you stayed here?”
Candi shook her head. “No, I was in college at the time. Jolene was still in high school, doing her best to get in trouble.”
“And you bailed her out?”
Candi sipped her coffee. “Yeah. She’d always depended on me to fix her problems. Mostly, I could, back then. She did silly stuff, like skipping classes or going to parties or a traffic ticket she didn’t want Mom to know about. After Daddy died, she dropped out of college and ran off with Charles.”
“And now she’s back again. Maybe you’re still trying to fix things for her?”
She frowned at him. Did he think she was helping Jolene do something illegal? No way. “I guess I am. She’s my sister.”
Luke ate some more beef, staring at the wall, apparently thinking. “So did your dad do all right in Vegas?”
Candi shrugged. “I think so. At least he paid for our college without an argument, Mom said.”
“Yeah? College isn’t cheap. What did he do in Vegas?”
“I’m not really sure. I visited him a couple of times there. He drove a limo for a casino, but talked like that was only a sideline for his gambling.”
“Hm. I’ve known very few people who consistently made money at gambling.”
“Me too. But it’s what he told us, so that’s all I know. He was killed in a car accident over two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
She met his gaze and held her breath at the understanding and sympathy in his eyes. Maybe he didn’t think she was so bad after all.
She jumped up. “I’ll get the ice cream cake.” She served it up and stuck a candle in his piece and lit it. She handed it to him and refilled their cups. “Happy birthday, Luke.”
He flushed and blew out the candle.
They ate the ice cream and drank their coffee. Their eyes met and for a long moment, they said nothing.
Then Jessica cried and the moment was gone.
“I’ll get her. Finish eating,” she said.
When she’d changed and fed the baby, she returned to the dining room to find Luke had already cleared the table. He was in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher. His jeans were stretched tight over his very nice butt. She swallowed hard. She shouldn’t be noticing him that way.
“I can do that,” she said. “You’ve been working hard all day, helping the installers.”
He looked up and grinned, his teeth showing white against his tanned skin. “And you haven’t been working?”
“Well, not physically,” she hedged. She didn’t want to tell him she felt mentally exhausted and her shoulders ached from sitting at the computer most of the day.
She took a plate from the counter, slipped it into the dishwasher rack and reached for another.
He was way too close to her. He put the last cup into the rack, closed the door with a snap and stepped toward her, closing the space between them.
Tension crackled between them. Their eyes met and held. He lowered his head, his eyes still on hers, as if waiting to see if she would deny him what they both wanted.
She couldn’t look away or move. His lips covered hers and she sighed softly into his kiss, welcoming him. The fantasy love scene she’d been writing this afternoon played in her mind, made her want to bring it to reality.
She couldn’t help moving closer. His arms closed around her and hers crept up around his neck. Heat simmered between them as their bodies fit together. His warm, male scent mingled with the scents of roast beef and the evergreen soap her grandmother kept in the bathroom where he’d washed up earlier.
She heard a groan and couldn’t be sure which of them had uttered it. Sensation swirled and hummed along her veins until their kisses seemed to consume both of them.
His lips teased and tasted, nibbled and urged response. His hands slid lower and pressed her tighter to him until she felt the bulge in his jeans against her stomach. The evidence that he wanted her sent answering pleasure to her middle. She couldn’t get enough of him.
Their kisses grew more urgent until she melted against him, wanting so much more. She played with the crisp hair on the back of his head. His hand cupped her breast and her nipples pebbled in response. He rolled the tips between his fingers, his kisses growing more urgent. She splayed her fingers against his chest, wanting him naked. Soon, she thought, and started to unbutton his shirt.
But abruptly, he sighed and dropped his arms, stepping back. Her arms fell to her sides, feeling empty.
Disappointed, she opened her eyes and stared at him, unsure of what had just occurred.
“Candi?” he said, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t a good idea. I…I don’t mix business and pleasure. It won’t happen again.”
Sorry? Sorry? What was he saying? He’d kissed the daylights out of her and then was sorry? She couldn’t speak. Her fists clenched until her nails bit into her palms. She wanted to hit him for regretting what she had thought was wonderful.
“I’d better go. I…I need to make some phone calls before I turn in,” he said. “I’ll double-check that the alarms are working so you don’t have to worry.”
She nodded numbly and stalked on wooden legs to her bathroom to prepare for bed. Damn the man! She’d been ready to make love to him and he’d just walked away! Obviously, he hadn’t been as affected as she.
But then she remembered the bulge against her stomach as he’d pressed her hips to his. Oh, yes, he had been affected! Maybe his job demanded caution, but he’d wanted her.
And she’d completely forgotten to mention Jolene’s phone call. But she remembered he’d bugged her phone, so he probably already knew about it.
No way was she going back in there to talk to him now.
Chapter 6
Jolene grew restless in a cheap motel a few miles from her grandmother’s house. The TV didn’t have cable, so only got a few local stations showing little she cared to watch. She’d read the last paperback novel she’d bought and hadn’t remembered to buy more when she was out.
She’d called a nearby pizza place for delivery and when a knock came at her door, she cautiously peeked out the window. A battered jalopy with a Pizza sign on top sat outside, so she opened the door.
Handing the young delivery boy the money she had ready, she thanked him, took the pizza and quickly shut the door and locked it again. The pepperoni pizza box was hot under her hands and the delicious aroma made her mouth water. She carried it to the little table and sat down to eat it.
Hiding here was the pits. She’d grown bored, frustrated and not sure what to do next. As she ate the pizza, she wondered how Candi was making out with Jessie. Dare she call again? Tomorrow she’d find a payphone a ways from here, in case someone bugged Candi’s phone and could find her from the pay phone’s location.
She hated being on the run. This nightmare started when she’d decided she wanted more out of life than sitting in a hotel suite alone with her baby. She’d hocked the diamond necklace George had given her at Jessie’s birth. He’d found out about it.
She shivered, remembering. She’d never heard George rant like he had when he’d called to ask her why she’d hocked it. She’d been so scared she’d decided to run immediately before he returned.
She wasn�
��t sure what George or the other men he seemed to work with thought she knew or what she was supposed to have done that they were so angry about. But whatever it was, they hated her for it. What lengths would they go to punish her?
Only when she’d left the hotel suite, Red, one of George’s friends had seen her. He’d been coming out of a room down the hall from hers and had looked right at her. She’d never forget his evil eyes staring at her as the elevator doors closed and she descended. She’d hurried out the door and hailed a cab.
Had Red followed her? Or had he told George and George was following her? She didn’t know, but somebody was, she was sure of that.
At four a.m. the next morning, she heard a car outside and peeked out again. It was still dark, but the street light cast a yellow glow over the blacktop parking lot.
A woman was filling the newspaper box outside the motel office. No one else seemed to be around. The delivery gal drove away.
Jolene put on her jacket and dark glasses. She tied a scarf over her hair. Then grabbing her room key and some coins, she hurried to the box and bought a newspaper. Back in her room, she locked the door. She made coffee in the tiny pot provided by the hotel and sat down to drink it and read. Having nothing else to do to fill her time, she read every page of the newspaper.
On an inside page, the name of the hotel where she and George had stayed in Las Vegas, The Top Notch Casino, caught her eye. It was only a tiny article about a man who’d been found murdered there the day she’d left. But the mention that robbery had probably been the motive for the killing made her suspicious.
Could it be connected to the people she knew there? Could George and his friends be involved in something as awful as murder?
Her heart pounded as she remembered Red had been wearing thin plastic gloves and was leaving a room on her floor. He’d been upset at seeing her. The room he’d been leaving had not been his, she was sure.
She tried to reassure herself The Top Notch was a huge hotel and this incident could be totally unrelated to anyone she or George knew. But her gut feeling said different.
And if so, maybe she and Jessie were in worse trouble than she’d thought. She should have left George sooner, way before he’d gotten so involved with those men. If she’d had any sense, she’d never have asked him to help her at all.
She should have gone back home to her mother, even if she was ashamed of breaking up with Charles. Yeah, Mom would have said, “I told you so.” But she had told her it wouldn’t work out, hadn’t she? So she deserved her mother’s comment. With an angry swipe of the back of her hand, she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Hurriedly, she called a cab. When it arrived, she left the motel, keeping an eye out for any sign she was being followed. Stopping at twenty-four hour superstore, she bought a cell phone, the kind that you bought prepaid minutes for as you used them. It had no plan or billing and thus wasn’t registered to anyone.
She called Candi on her cell phone, feeling guilty for waking her at such an early hour.
“I have to see you. Can you meet me right away at our favorite coffee shop? You remember which one I mean?”
“You mean the one we used to go to when we visited Grandma?”
“Yes. Try to ditch the FBI guy.”
“I’ll try. I think he’s still asleep on the sofa.”
“Bring Jessie, too. I want to see her and I have to explain some things,” she told Candi.
“I’ll be there in a half hour,” Candi said and hung up.
Jolene walked down the mall hallway to the coffee shop, hoping she’d done the right thing. She needed to see her baby before she left town. Who knew when she’d see her again? What was up with the FBI guy staying with Candi? Did it have something to do with that murder in the Top Notch Casino? Or that necklace she’d hocked? Was the agent investigating her or George and his friends?
Yikes. Maybe the agent would follow Candi today. Or he could even have her bugged. She chewed her lip. She’d better be careful what she said, just in case.
Jolene ordered a pot of coffee and then sat in a back booth and sipped a cupful. It was early enough that only a few men in working clothes were in the coffee shop.
***
Candi listened at her bedroom door, but there was no sound from the living room where Luke slept on the couch. Thank goodness she kept her cell phone on vibrate so Jolene’s call hadn’t woken him.
Quickly she dressed and bundled Jessie into her carrier. Luckily Jessie was a sound sleeper. Candi quietly moved down the hall, deactivated the alarm, and made it back to her bedroom without waking Luke.
She slipped out the side door to her car which was on the opposite side of the house. A cool wind blew her long hair across her face and made her shiver. She couldn’t tell whether it was from nervousness or the chill.
Would Luke hear her start the car? Or sleep through her leaving?
A few minutes later, she drove away with no indication from the house that he had noticed. She kept an eye on her rear view mirror, but didn’t see anyone following her. There was little traffic so early in the morning.
When Candi walked into the coffee shop, Jolene waved at the waitress to bring another cup for Candi.
Jolene hugged her and then picked up Jessie, breathing in her sweet baby scent gratefully. How would she survive without her baby until this was over? But she had to if she wanted to keep her baby safe. No matter how much it hurt. She kissed her and asked, “How’s my sweetie? Are you being good for your Aunt Candi?” She looked at Candi for the answer to her question, and smiled at her sister’s nod of agreement and gave Jessie another kiss. “That’s my good little angel.”
Jolene looked at her sister and whispered, “You weren’t followed here, were you? By your FBI guy, maybe?”
Candi shook her head, recognizing her sister’s worry. “No, I don’t think he heard me leave. He said he was having Grandma’s phone bugged, but I don’t think he can monitor my cell phone. Even if he can, he’ll only know I am meeting you, not where.”
“That’s good.”
“I left him a note saying I went shopping, and I left my car at the end of the mall, down by the market. If he followed me, he’ll probably wait in his car for me to come back out, ’cause he’d know we’d see him if he came in here.”
Candi sat down and took the coffee the waitress poured, eyeing Jolene. Frown lines marred her formerly smooth forehead and around her mouth. Crows feet framed her lovely blue eyes. Jolene had aged ten years from when Candi had seen her two years ago.
What had happened to her sister? Still, irritation ate at her. Jolene always expected her older sister to solve her problems.
Candi couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice. “What’s this all about? I’m in deadline hell and am nowhere close to having my book finished. I don’t have time for babysitting and all this. Besides, you know I’m not cut out to be a mother.” She knew she sounded crabby, but couldn’t help it. Worry made everything more stressful.
Jolene gave her a wan smile, one hand stroking over Jessie’s soft dark curls. “I didn’t think I was, either, but we don’t have a choice sometimes. Motherhood just happens, whether you’re ready or not.”
“Humph. Ever heard of birth control? And where have you been for the last two years? Why didn’t you call us to let us know you were okay? Or that you were having a baby?”
Jolene shrugged. “Sorry. I guess I wasn’t really sure myself if I was okay or not, a lot of the time, Sis.”
Candi’s voice softened. “It might have helped to talk about it.”
“Maybe. But I thought you might be sick of helping me out.”
Candi swallowed. She was sick of doing that, but how could she say so? “You’re my sister. I love you, even when we don’t get along as well as we should.”
Jolene sent her a wan little smile. “I love you too, Candi. I do appreciate the way you always help me out. But I was trying to get along on my own for a change. At least I was, until this week.”
<
br /> “What happened to your Florida boyfriend, Charles, wasn’t it? The guy you took up with when you were visiting mom on spring break the year Daddy died?”
Jolene flushed and looked away. “I dumped Charlie Minell soon after we arrived in Las Vegas. He spent his time either drinking or gambling, while I waited tables in a casino restaurant to support us both,” she admitted. “Yeah, I know, I should have guessed he was a jerk. Mom always said he was, but I didn’t listen. When I finally realized he didn’t ever plan to get a job or marry me, I moved to a tiny apartment on my own.”
“So how’d you meet this George that Mom said you were living with?”
“He’s one of Dad’s friends that I met when I spent weekends with Dad in Las Vegas, remember that?”
“Yeah.” A sharp stab of regret knifed through Candi. Jolene had been closer to their dad than she had. Candi was too staid, too responsible to like the glitter and the gambling. She’d spent a weekend or two in Las Vegas with her dad and then refused to visit him again. But Jolene had continued the visits. She’d liked the fun and bright lights as their dad had before he’d died.
“His name is George Bender. Maybe you met him too, when you visited Dad?”
Candi shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“He’s older, but so debonair and sophisticated, Candi. You’d love the way he looks and dresses—expensive suits and ties, always. He’s got a half-gray beard and partly bald head.”
“So he’s cute and rich?”
“Yeah. He came into the restaurant where I worked and was really nice to me. When I recognized him, he remembered me visiting Dad. He started coming in regularly and sitting in my section so I’d have to wait on him, and always left me a big tip. I knew he liked me, so when I was having financial trouble after I left Charles, I asked him for help. Just as a friend, you know?”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. Rich men always just want to be friends with young, pretty girls.”
