When he pulled into the driveway, the windows blazed with light. She’s home. Hope bloomed in his heart. He would talk to her. He would fix this. Everything would be okay.
He made his way to the porch and rang the doorbell.
Tina answered. “Carter. What are you doing here?’
He moved forward, but she blocked him, so he stepped back. He didn’t want to pressure her or scare her off. He wanted to fix whatever had gone wrong between them. “I got the papers.”
“Good.” She frowned. “Sign them. We’re done.”
“Done?”
“I’m divorcing you.” She started to shut the door, but he set his palm against the cold wood.
“I don’t understand. Why?”
“Because you screwed that girl. The brunette. I don’t remember her name.”
He searched his memory. “Betty?”
“Yeah. Her.”
He shook his head. “But I didn’t.”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. We’re done.”
“But we can’t be done. I love you.”
She laughed, a harsh hateful sound. “Just sign the damn papers, Carter.”
God, the look in her eyes. So cold. So final. Shit. She’s serious. This is happening. She pushed the door, but he blocked her again.
“Wait.”
Tina rolled her eyes and huffed with frustration. “What?”
“I need to get something.”
“Billy gave you the suitcase with your stuff, right?”
Billy? Is she screwing him, too? Jealousy flared hot in his gut. “Yes.” He clenched his jaw. “I want my mom’s statue.”
“That sappy thing with the mommy holding some baby. Yamo?”
“It’s Lladro, and, yes. My mom bought it when I was born. I’d like to have it.”
She sneered. “I don’t think so.”
What? “Tina, that’s the only thing I have left of my mom.” She’d died when he was eight, and the only way he’d been able to deal with losing her was that statue. He’d talked to it like it was her, telling her about his day at school, his grades, special events in his life, his hopes, his dreams. “You don’t care about it anyway.”
“True. It’s stupid and ugly and dumb.”
God who is this woman? She’s nothing like the girl I married.
“But who knows?” She shrugged. “I might need it.” She slammed the door.
“Tina! Open the damn door!” He banged his fist on the icy barrier.
“Talk to my lawyer!”
Six months later….
“If you’ll just sign here.”
Carter took the digital pad from the UPS guy, checked that he’d received the package then signed his name.
“Have a nice day.” The guy walked away.
Like having a nice day was possible. After closing the door, Carter went to the tiny living area and flopped on the couch. He stared at the box, recognizing the attorney firm neatly typed in the upper left-hand area of the label taped to the top. Tina’s attorney.
After a bit of work, he managed to free the envelope and opened it. He pulled out the papers neatly stuffed inside and scanned the pages. His life with Tina had officially ended.
He felt nothing.
There was nothing left to feel.
The woman he’d loved had left him. Claimed he’d cheated—though she’d had nothing to base it on. He’d suggested counseling, but she’d wanted nothing to do with it. She’d moved on. And she emphatically suggested he do the same.
Done. Over. Two for two.
First his mother left him. And now Tina.
So yeah. He was done.
Picking up the rectangular box, he held it a moment. What could her lawyers have sent him? Why would they send him anything?
At last, he ripped open the top and pulled away the crumpled newspaper. His mouth went dry. His breath jammed like a knife in the back of his throat. No.
He reached inside and carefully withdrew the zippered plastic bag and held it up. Oh God.
Tiny fragments of porcelain. Hundreds. Thousands.
Gone. The Lladro statue. The last memory of mother. His sole connection to her.
How could Tina do this? Sure she’d been upset, cold even. But he’d never have guessed she was capable of doing something this hateful.
He clutched the bag to his chest, an unbearable mix of rage and sorrow consuming his lungs, devouring his heart. Yes, it hadn’t been his mother. But it had been a symbol of her, a memento, a memory. Something she’d taken the time to choose because of him, something she’d held in her hands. His last connection to her.
Tears pricked the back of his eyes, and, for the first time since he was eight, Carter cried.
Chapter Twelve
Present day….
Brigit stared at the man who refilled her coffee cup then his own. After returning the pot to the coffeemaker in the kitchen, he joined her on the couch. “She took everything.”
“Everything?” She sipped the hot coffee, not sure whether the caffeine or his story had sobered her. A bit of both, she supposed.
“In the settlement, she got the house. By the time I got the papers and package, she’d sold the house and everything in it, plus emptied our bank account.” He held up his hand. “I know. I was a fool not to take her name off it. She’d even paid the fee to have the tickets to Maui changed to that same day. From what I understand, she and the guy I found her with flew off together.”
Cold rage burned in Brigit’s gut. How could that bitch do this to him? “I’m so sorry, Carter.”
He drank his coffee. “Lost my job, too.”
“What?”
“I went bankrupt. Everything, down the drain. Gone. Not long after, James M. Volaran Art & Jewelry Insurance gave me a call. Seems, since my job entailed handling items worth a lot of money and my cash flow had recently dried up, they saw me as a potential risk.”
She wanted to touch him, to hold and comfort him, but she held back. He needed to finish. “What did you do?”
“I had two hundred dollars to my name. I’d planned to use it to pay for another week at the motel, but as I headed toward the office, I thought, ‘What the hell am I doing?’” He set his mug on the coffee table. “So I grabbed my keys, hopped on my Harley—the only thing Tina didn’t get—and headed south. Made it all the way to Tampa. Sometime that same week, I found Jessica Parker, Private Investigator. Or she found me. I don’t really remember. But she was just starting her business and needed some help on a case. Later, I managed to get a job at a small insurance company, and Jess threw me side jobs from time to time.” He shrugged. “And here I am.”
“Here you are. In Cedar Valley.” And even with all the misunderstandings that had happened between them, she still wanted him. She’d fallen for him—even knowing he would leave once he finished his job. And that was fine.
Okay, that’s a lie. It’s not fine.
Fine. So I’ll take every second with Carter I can get. “I wish you could’ve told me some of this up front.”
“I didn’t know you. Sure, we’d had sex” His eyes darkened. “Hot, amazing sex. But I didn’t know you. I couldn’t risk compromising the job.”
“So, instead, you used me to get inside the Winters’ house.” Fresh pain squeezed her lungs, compelling her to pick up her coffee—a tiny shield, but at least she could hold the cup between her and Carter. “To steal something.”
“Steal is a pretty harsh word,” he grumbled.
“Carter. You broke into their safe. A little too easily, too, considering what they probably paid for it.” The memory of how he’d kissed her after being discovered filled her mind, and her cheeks heated. She sipped her coffee.
“There were money and jewels in that safe. I didn’t touch any of it.”
She arched a brow.
“I don’t need to steal anything. Jess pays me a more than generous portion of the recovery fee, plus expenses.” He set his mug down.
“Must be, to get you
to come cross-country.” Her answer held more sarcasm than she’d intended.
“Well, my insurance agency job in Tampa pays pretty well, too.”
He has a job, an apartment or house. A life. She drank more coffee. “So what were you after?”
“A necklace.”
She frowned. “You’re saying Mr. Winters stole a necklace from someone, and you’re trying to steal it back? Sorry, but I can’t see him taking anything. He’s not the type,” she scoffed. “Besides, he’s got more money than God. Why would he need to steal something when he could just buy it?”
“Not Mr. Winters. His son.”
“Randall?”
“He was married.”
She nodded. “That ended a little over two years ago. As I recall, he married some woman in Sacramento, worked at a station down there. After the divorce, he came home to Cedar Valley and joined the station here. The breakup wasn’t pretty. The ex was a psycho.”
“I’m sure that’s what he told you.”
“More than just what he told me. I know for a fact after she broke into his house, he took out a restraining order. Then, she just kinda disappeared. I figured she took the hint.” She finished her coffee. “What does that have to do with a necklace?”
As he took her mug, his fingers brushed hers, sending electric tingles dancing up his arm. Fighting the urge to embrace her, he headed to the kitchen and refilled her cup. When he sat next to her again, he set her mug on the coffee table then moved close enough so their thighs touched. “Remember what my ex did?”
“Wait.” Her bright blues widened. “The necklace belongs to Randall’s ex?”
“Yes, the cameo is hers. Randall kept the necklace in the safe, telling Sara he wanted to make sure nothing happened to it. She loved him, so why would she object?”
“But at the party, Randall said the necklace belonged to his family.”
“No. He said his ancestors crossed the Wild West, settling in California. Then he went on to describe the cameo. He never actually said the necklace belonged to his family.” He stole the necklace from his ex-wife. “The tale he told at his engagement as he hung it around his fiancée’s neck is true, but the Winters arrived in California in 1850. Sara’s family crossed the country and settled in California in 1849 and brought the original cameo with them, a wedding gift from her great-great-however many times grandfather to his bride. It was initially set in pewter. The gold it’s set in now wasn’t even panned in Cedar Valley’s Bravo River but farther north.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. But I have no doubt if you asked a dozen people who were at the party that night if the cameo was a Winters’ family heirloom, they’d say yes.”
“I always knew Randall was an overbearing jerk.” She shook her head and twisted toward him, her breasts straining against her shirt. Twin points poked at the fabric, teasing him, enticing him. Testing him. His mouth watered as he remembered how she tasted, the hardness of her nipples as he dragged his tongue over each in turn. “So why didn’t Sara go to the police or get a lawyer?”
“She did get a lawyer, but she had no real proof the cameo belonged to her. No papers. But the necklace had been handed down from generation to generation. She did have a few family pictures.”
She leaned forward. “That’s proof right there.”
“It is. But the lawyer said that even with the photos, if they pursued the son of one of the richest and most respected men in Northern California, the case would be tied up in the courts for years.”
“Soooo, what?” The gears turning in her head registered in her eyes. “That’s when she went to his house.”
He nodded. “She told him to forget the divorce settlement. She didn’t want anything from him, just her family heirloom. She said he laughed. ‘What family heirloom?’ Then he got the restraining order. And the necklace pretty much vanished. Until his birthday party.”
“He stole it, that rat.” Her brow furrowed.
“So, when the attorney couldn’t help, Sara turned to a private investigator.”
“Jessica.”
“Yes. And after Jess researched and confirmed Sara’s story, she called me.”
“I can understand why you were trying to recover the necklace now.” She tilted her head. “But what I don’t understand is why you broke into Mr. Winters’ safe when Randall was the one who stole cameo.”
“I tried Randall’s place first and came up empty.” A self-deprecating chuckle rumbled in his throat. “You might remember that day.”
She stared at him for a moment as she sorted it out then realization claimed her face. “The fire. The day I saw you lying on the ground when I flew over.”
He nodded. “I did get inside Randall’s house, but the housekeeper, who was supposed to be at a teacher-parent meeting but was running late, stumbled across me and yelled for help. Then the gardener chased me. I managed to give him the slip. But then a damn deer darted out into the road….”
“And you wrecked.”
“Yes.”
“And I guess if he even did keep chasing after you, you were so far ahead, he didn’t notice you. You’d slid a good fifteen feet down the slope from the road.”
He moved closer, her sweet intoxicating scent drawing him to her. It would be so easy to strip her naked, lay her back on the couch, and take her over and over until they passed out from sexual pleasure. She wouldn’t stop him. Her dilated pupils and perky nipples indicated she wanted him, too. And when her little pink tongue swiped over her bottom lip? Lord have mercy. His shaft sprang up so hard and fast the whole room spun.
He bit back a groan and dared to reach for her hand. “So you know everything now. Why I’m here in Cedar Valley. That I’m working a case to recover a specific necklace for Jessica Parker and her client. That I’m not a thief.” He slipped his fingers between hers, twining them together. “Jess called and told me about the party. Said it would be an opportune time to finish the job. My only regret was hurting you. You’ll never know how sorry I am.”
She leaned toward him, lifting her chin so her gaze met his. “I understand why you did it. I just wish you’d told me everything up front.”
“You’re right. I should have.” Unable to stop himself, he brushed his lips over hers. “Forgive me?”
“This time.” She caught his bottom lip between her teeth and gave it a gentle tug before letting go. “No more lies.”
“No more lies.” He reached for the hem of her shirt and tugged it up and over her head, revealing her perfect breasts held in white lace. “I want you.” Reaching up, he cupped one, caressed the taut nipple with his thumb.
She arched into his touch. “I want you, too.”
He released her hand then dug his fingers into her dark silky hair, grasping it into his fist and tugging her head back to expose her throat. He pressed kisses there and up the side of her neck where he nipped at her earlobe. Her sexy moan set his body on fire.
“You are so beautiful. Amazing.” He pulled away and met her eyes. Oh how he wanted to trust her. But after how his ex had hurt him, he didn’t think he could ever trust any woman again. And he was in so deep already. The best he could do was take memories with him. Good ones…before it all turned bad—he couldn’t bear to have bad memories of her. “I want you, Brigit. More than you can imagine. But I can’t stay. I still have to leave after the job.”
Her breath caught, and a sweet little vee formed between her eyebrows for a moment then cleared. “We’ll work it out in the morning.” She reached for him, fondling his shaft through his sweats. “Make love to me, Carter.”
He gathered her in his arms and kissed her, pouring all he was into her. Hoping his heart would be safe with her—because this was where he was leaving it. Once and forever. With Brigit.
He took her, over and over, slow and sensual then fast and hard, reveling each time she cried out his name as she climaxed. She teased him and caressed him and tortured him with her body until all that remained was her. T
hey loved one another until satisfied and exhausted, and then he wrapped himself around her, falling asleep.
Beep-beep-beeeeep! Beep-beep-beeeeep!
Carter cracked his eyelids open. The angle of the sunlight streaming through the window had changed, indicating evening was well on its way. He lay tangled in the sheets, Brigit’s delicious warm body curved against his. Heaven.
Beep-beep-beeeeep! Beep-beep-beeeeep!
Brigit sprang up in bed, the sheet falling away to reveal her perky breasts. She jumped up and rushed to the living room then returned with cell phone in hand, pausing in the doorway. “I gotta go.”
“What?”
“There’s a fire.” She grabbed her panties and jeans and started tugging them on.
He sat up. “Where?”
“On the east side of town.” She snatched her lacy bra from the floor.
“Are you okay to fly? You were kind of tipsy yesterday.”
“I had too much wine at lunch yesterday.” She wriggled into her pants. “The rule is twelve hours bottle to throttle. I’m well past that.”
“Do you want me to go, too? I could drive you.” He crawled out of bed to get dressed.
She paused, socks and shoes in hand. “Actually, yes. I’d like that very much.” She strode to him then rose up onto her tiptoes and set her mouth to his. “Our conversation about us will have to wait. Just know this.” He cupped his jaw with her warm hand. “I am not like your ex. No matter how angry I get with you, I would never do anything like she did. Destroying your mother’s Lladro was beyond cruel. I would never hurt you like that.”
He turned his head and kissed her palm. “I know.”
Do you, Carter? Tina promised to never hurt you, too.
“Good.” Brigit picked up her shirt and pulled it over her head. “Let’s go.” She faced him, her dark hair mussed, fire in her eyes. “I gotta fly.”
Chapter Thirteen
Carter stopped his Harley near a row of manicured hedges. After shutting off the engine, he removed his helmet and stared through the wrought iron gates at the luxury mini mansion he’d staked out for days. No gardener or cook to evade this time. The fire, less than a half a mile away now, had caused all the houses in this area to be evacuated. If he hadn’t discovered the trails leading up this way on his runs, he wouldn’t be here either—not with the police barricading the roads for public safety. But the paths had been just wide enough for him to maneuver his bike through, and, if things went according to plan, he’d use them as his exit as well, cameo in hand, and no one would be the wiser.
Dallas Fire & Rescue: Lighting His Fire (Kindle Worlds Novella) (MacKay Destiny Book 5) Page 8
