by Peggy Jaeger
“You’re sure you want to go right now? Unannounced?”
“Yes. I don’t want to call and give him a chance to avoid us. It’s better if he doesn’t know we’re coming.”
“Okay. I’m ready whenever you are,” he told her, rolling down his sleeves.
Kandy watched the slow, determined way his fingers folded the cloth back into place. Small tufts of hair peeked out from just below the line of his sleeve and her insides jumped as he fastened each button with steady, controlled movements.
She swallowed, shook her head side to side a few times to try and clear it, and said, “I’ll get my car keys.”
Chapter Ten
Minutes later they were speeding through the post–rush hour traffic.
“Daniel lives in Queens,” Kandy told him, checking the side mirror and easing into the left lane. “But you already know that from your background check.”
Josh was thankful he’d secured his seat belt when the Corvette accelerated. Kandy had a habit of shifting around cars and into alternate lanes, gaining speed as she did.
Stacy’s portrayal of her cousin’s driving skills came back to him: “Like a NASCAR pro.”
Dead-on description.
“You might want to stick to the speed limit,” he told her.
“I am. I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket in my life.”
The seat belt jerked against his chest when she whipped the car around a tight turn.
“Never mind a ticket, it’s a wonder you haven’t been killed.”
He said a silent prayer they’d live to make it to Queens. To divert his nerves, he played the scene in her kitchen over in his head.
He wasn’t certain whether he pulled her to him first, or if she eased into his embrace. Either way, he’d wound his arms around her back and tugged her close, her head falling onto his shoulder. The movement felt natural and oddly familiar. When her arms wrapped around his waist and he felt her shaking, his grip tightened.
Josh’s hands continued their journey up and down her back, kneading the flesh beneath her top as they traipsed from neck to waist. Her sweet breath touched his neck as her head stayed cradled on his shoulder, the cloth on his shirt wet from her tears. She was usually so strong that having her fall into his arms needing him, needing his strength, needing his reassurance, made him feel ten feet tall. He knew if he bent his head just a whisper, he could kiss her forehead, the tender skin at her temple, the line of her jaw. He could lift her so effortlessly in his arms and carry her wherever she wanted and take them both away from what was tormenting her.
Kandy Laine was the most puzzling, driven, and desirable woman he’d ever met, but she was a client first. Someone who needed protection, not temptation, security not seduction. No matter how good, how sweet, how just plain right she felt in his arms.
He needed to remember that.
* * *
When they arrived at the house, Josh said, “I’m driving us back,” as he stepped from the car. “No arguments.”
“Bossy,” she mumbled and walked up the steps of the old brownstone.
“Nice house.”
“It’s the one he grew up in,” Kandy said. “Aunt Lucy and Uncle Max moved into a smaller one three years ago. They gave the house to Daniel and Betsy, although I think they still own it.”
She pressed the doorbell. “The lights are on so he should be home,” Kandy said, scraping her hands down her face.
“You sure you’re up to this?”
“I’m fine.”
The sound of the locks being thrown sounded a moment later.
Josh’s first opinion of Daniel Peters was he looked and smelled like a man on a bender. His hair was a mess, the black curls flat on one side, sticking up on the other. He had raccoon circles under his eyes making him look a great deal older than his thirty years. He was unshaven, by Josh’s estimate, at least three days’ worth. The rank odor of stale beer wafted through the open door.
When he saw his cousin, though, his expression quickly turned to irritation. “What’a’you want?”
“Daniel,” she said, staring him down, “let me in. I need to talk about something with you.”
“You’re not wanted here, Kandy. You or your friend,” he added, motioning to Josh with the thrust of his chin.
When it looked like he was going to close the door in their faces, Josh was ready to force his way in.
Kandy beat him to it.
“Please?” she said simply, her eyes trained on her cousin’s face.
Josh watched the indecision play across Daniel’s weary, strained features. After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled the door fully open, turned, and walked away from them. “Suit yourself.”
Kandy threw Josh a quick nod and followed Daniel in.
The house was anything but tidy.
Abandoned clothing hung from the staircase’s newel post, the receiving table laden with unopened envelopes and an empty McDonald’s bag.
Josh strode behind Kandy as she went deeper into the interior. A brief glance at the living room showed the room in disarray. The couch cushions were thrown to the carpeted floor. Empty beer bottles lined the numerous tables in the room and the fireplace was filled with discarded newspapers. The hallway had a dank, musty, closed-in smell.
Kandy marched straight to the back of the house and into the kitchen, where Daniel leaned a shoulder against the refrigerator, a half-empty beer bottle in his hand.
“Gonna cook something for me, cuz?” A fine trickle of beer dribbled from the corner of his mouth down his chin and he swiped at it with the back of his hand. “Sorry, but I didn’t get to the store today. I’m pretty low on food.”
Kandy ignored the biting jibes. Instead, she moved one of the kitchen chairs from the table.
“Sit down, Daniel. I want to talk.”
“I’ll stand in my own home.”
“Technically, it belongs to your parents.”
He pulled the beer bottle from his lips and snarled at her.
“But,” she said, putting up a hand, “stand if you want. I’ve been on my feet all day. Josh?”
He pulled out a chair and joined her.
“What’s this all about?” Daniel asked, his gaze Ping-Ponging between them. “What’s going on?”
She took a moment, considering him, before she said, “I know about the gambling. And about Betsy.”
His face contorted into a mask of pure, raw pain.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” she asked. “I would have helped.”
“Yeah, right.” He snorted. “The great and powerful Kandace Laine can make all bad things disappear.”
He downed the remainder of the bottle and pulled another from the refrigerator.
“Daniel, stop it. We’re family.”
“As if that means anything.” He yanked the top off the bottle.
“It means everything.”
He started to take a swig, stopped, and stood, just staring at the bottle. Finally, he put it down, full, into the sink.
“I couldn’t ask for help, Kan,” he said, avoiding her eyes. “Especially from you.”
“Why not?” She stood and crossed to him, placed a hand on his shoulder.
They were the same height, and, standing side by side, Josh could see the physical similarities in their hair color and texture and the curve of their jaws.
“You’ve helped everyone in the family. Everyone’s got a job, a good lifestyle, because of you. Hell, my parents even moved into a swanky new place because of you.”
“So? Your mom works hard. As does your dad. You worked hard, too. Always on time, always ready when you were needed. What changed?”
Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and hung his head.
He exhaled deeply and then lifted his gaze to hers. “Betsy wanted kids.” He stopped for a moment and rubbed a hand over his heart. “A year went by and nothing was happening. She went to her doctor, who sent
her to a specialist.”
“A fertility expert?”
“Yeah. Said her tubes were scarred from an infection she had a while back. She could have kids, but it would be hard. And expensive. She went through a bunch of shots for six months. Implantation, everything. Nothing took. We went through all our savings with the first round. The doctor told her to take a few months off before trying again. The hormones were expensive. So were the harvesting and implantation procedures.”
“How come I never knew you guys were going through this?”
Daniel shook his head. “No one knew. Betsy didn’t want to tell anyone. She was embarrassed she couldn’t get pregnant the normal way. Wanted to surprise everyone when it was finally official.”
“What happened?” She moved back to her seat, Daniel following suit and pulled out a third chair. Turning it backward, he straddled it and sat.
“We didn’t have a lot of money left and she wanted to start the treatments again. I got the idea to bet on the Jets during a home game. They were favored, so I figured I couldn’t lose. And I didn’t. Made over three grand. That paid for a month’s treatments. But they didn’t take. I had nothing in savings. I sold my new truck. More treatments. No luck. I kept selling stuff, trying to get ahead. At one point, Betsy gave me her engagement ring. Instead of leaving it at the pawn shop and taking the money to pay for another treatment, I took the cash and bet it all on a Knicks game. I covered the spread and figured if I won, we’d be okay for a few months.”
“They lost, didn’t they?” Josh asked.
Daniel’s laugh had a hollow, bitter bite to it. “Big time. After that, things got pretty bad. I was betting my paycheck before it was even cashed, just trying to get back ahead. Betsy gave up on the treatments because we couldn’t pay the regular bills, never mind the doctor fees.”
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell me this when I confronted you at the studio. I accused you of slacking off, drinking, being irresponsible. Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
Daniel dropped his head into his hands. “I was drunk, that much was true. But I couldn’t tell you why, Kan. I felt horrible about disappointing you. You gave me a great job, a great opportunity. I didn’t want you to know what a loser I was.”
“I would never have thought that, Daniel.” She reached across the table and grabbed one of his hands. “We’re family. You and I grew up together. We spent almost every day of our childhood together. I’d do anything I could for you. Anything.”
Moisture grew in the corners of his eyes.
Swiping at his face, he said, “I was stupid and arrogant, I know. Grandma always said a man’s greatest sin was a sin—”
“Of false pride,” Kandy said with him. “She was right then and she’s right now. I want to help. Let me, please.”
She squeezed his hand.
“Why did you come here tonight?” he asked, his brows pulling in. “How’d you find out about all this?”
Kandy glanced over at Josh and then told her cousin who he was, and why they’d come.
“Jesus, Kandy. You could have been killed when the light fell. You and Mason.”
“I know. And believe me, I never considered you were behind any of this.” She tossed a quick glance at Josh.
Daniel shook his head from side to side several times. “I’d never hurt you, Kandy. Or anyone else. Never. Self-destruction seems to be my strong suit.”
“Stop that kind of talk,” she said, frowning. “I feel better knowing what’s happened. It explains your crazy behavior. Now, let’s figure out how to get your life back in order, and get your wife back where she belongs.”
* * *
“You really think he’ll do everything he said he would?” Josh asked an hour later, when they got back in her car.
He’d lost the driving battle, and Kandy was at the wheel again with a promise to keep her pace to less than the speed of sound.
“I do. He loves and misses his wife. You can see what he’s been going through since she left.”
“And you really think paying off his gambling debts is the way to go?”
She shrugged and shifted lanes. “Of course. With that worry gone and my offer to return to work, he should be back on firm financial footing within a month or so. Betsy can come home and not have to be concerned about money. Now I just have to find someone good who specializes in in vitro.”
“You paying for that, too?”
“Initially.”
“What?”
“I’ll pay for all the expenses and they can pay me back by naming their firstborn daughter after me. Kandace Sophia Peters. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” She took her eyes off the road and grinned at him.
What felt like a fist slammed into Josh’s midsection, knocking all breath and sense out of him. For the first time since getting into the car he was glad he wasn’t driving. If he had been, an accident would have been guaranteed.
“And the fact that you’re interfering in their lives doesn’t bother you just a little?” he asked when he could trust his voice not to betray his thoughts.
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
Josh’s eyes narrowed. “What do you call it, then? Paying off debts, providing jobs, even going so far as getting medical treatment? That’s not interfering?”
“No, it’s not,” she replied in a regal, haughty tone that made his insides vibrate. “It’s giving a hand up to a family member when they’re down. I’m simply providing them with the means to fulfill their plans and wishes. Daniel does have to come back to work, you know. It’s not easy work by any sense. And start going to Gamblers Anonymous meetings. That was one of the conditions. I have faith in him.”
“What’s changed in the past hour to make you so certain he’ll do as he claims?” Josh asked. “His behavior lately hasn’t been exemplary.”
“He’s family, Josh. That’s enough for me.”
He stared at her in the darkness of the car.
Daniel might be family, but Josh had seen the man as something more. Gamblers and drinkers, in his experience, didn’t change their behaviors overnight, no matter who asked them to. Cousin Daniel may be at rock bottom or close to it, but Josh doubted Kandy’s edict and intervention was enough to get him back on track. And despite her protestations to the contrary, Josh wasn’t ruling him out as a suspect. He’d noted the spiteful glint in the man’s eyes when he’d opened the door to his cousin. And he’d heard a voice laced with jealously and scorn of Kandy’s success and influence on their family.
Daniel had been in the perfect position to rig the studio light. It might have been a stupid idea if he did do it because suspicion would turn to him almost immediately, but if he’d been drunk when he thought of the plan it would make sense.
The one thing Josh couldn’t figure out was why Daniel would want to harm or harass his cousin. Jealousy and destructive behaviors aside, he had no obvious motive. Josh made a mental note to dig a little deeper into Daniel Peters’s past.
They traveled along in silence until they arrived back at the condo.
“I have to prepare a few things for tomorrow’s interview,” Kandy told him, tossing her keys on the foyer reception table. “There’s nothing like a well-fed interviewer to ensure a good book review,” she added, making her way to the kitchen.
“Can I help?”
She stopped short and turned.
Josh laughed at the surprise on her face. “What? I can’t?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. Sure you can. I’m just surprised you’d want to.”
“Let me check your machine first,” he said.
He crossed into her bedroom. No blinking message light met his gaze, a fact he was grateful for. The previous malicious communication had been enough for one day for both of them.
Back in the kitchen, he found her taking out items from the pantry.
“Nothing,” he told her.
She nodd
ed.
“What can I do?”
For the next half hour, Josh helped sift, fold, and beat ingredients into what smelled like heaven laced with delicious sin.
Kandy was a good teacher, explaining and clarifying when he needed guidance, without any of the rancor or sarcasm he might have expected from a world-class chef.
And watching her cute butt sashay around the kitchen, bending, bowing, reaching, and stooping wasn’t a bad way to pass some time.
They mapped out an easy rhythm between them, coordinating all the effort it took to make the bread and the muffins Stacy had suggested to go along with the interview. When the kitchen began to fill with the incredible aroma of their efforts, Josh sighed.
With a laugh, Kandy said, “I know. That’s the best part of this. I could live on just the scent of Grandma’s muffins if I had to.”
“I have to admit,” Josh said, taking a sip of the coffee she’d brewed while the bread rose, “this is more fun than I ever thought it would be.”
Kandy’s left eyebrow slanted upward and Josh’s stomach felt like it was dancing the hula when she looked at him.
“Never helped Mom in the kitchen?”
“God forbid. None of us—my brothers, father, or me—were allowed in it. It was strictly Mom’s domain. We were banned for life.”
“Why?” she asked, taking a seat at the breakfast bar across from him, her own brew in front of her. She rested her head in her hand, one elbow bent, supporting it, and stared right into his eyes.
For a moment Josh forgot what they were discussing. All he could think about was tugging on her arm and sitting her in his lap, covering that beautiful face with his mouth, caressing the flawless skin, and nibbling at the dimples nipping in her cheeks.
“Josh?”
He saw the concern flit across her creased brow and gave himself a mental shake.
“I think it had something to do with the kitchen fire my younger brother Ian started,” he managed to say at last.
“What?”
“He was about five at the time,” Josh said, with a twist of his lips. “Mom was making something for dinner, I can’t remember what, and Ian wanted to help. She let him put a pot on the unlit stove and turned away to get something. Without asking, Ian lit a match to the stovetop. It was one of those old-fashioned ranges where you had to fire-light the individual coils, you know?”
