Candidate For Love

by Lita Lawson

  Rage filled her voice. “All you had to do was talk to me, Tad. I’m a reasonable person.”

  “I know that now. Hindsight is 20/20.” He sat down next to her on the swing. “I know this sounds lame, but I’m really sorry. And I promise I won’t seek custody of Sammy. I’ll do anything to make it up to you. I can go to the press and tell them how I set JT up to be around you.”

  She stood. “I don’t want any of this to go beyond our family. It’s nobody’s business. Whatever the outcome of the campaign is, that’s what it will be.”

  “But if I make a public statement—”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want you to. I made a statement that JT and I were involved, and if the voters don’t like it, then that’s too bad. I’m not begging anyone to elect me. They’ll elect me based on my position on the issues, not my personal life.”

  “All right.” He stood next to her. “I am sorry, though. And just so you know, JT didn’t know about my scheme.”

  The mention of his name made Christine want to cry. She’d finally found a man who made her feel so alive, so complete, and now this scheme of Tad’s made her doubt it, made her wonder if she could believe it was real. She wanted to believe JT, to believe she could possibly find love again.

  Her trust had already been shattered by Tad. Could she let JT in?

  As her mind whirled, a familiar sound in the distance penetrated the quiet night—the roar of a Harley.

  Could it be JT?

  Chapter 14

  Christine rushed to the porch railing, looking down the road to where a single headlight beam cut through the darkness. “JT,” she whispered out loud. Her heart seemed to have risen to her throat, and hope filled her.

  The motorcycle slowed in front of her house and came to a stop. It was JT, and Sammy was with him!

  She ran down the porch steps and over the lawn as Sammy slid off the bike. He stood there, hesitating, and she ran to him, falling on her knees to wrap her arms around him.

  “Are you okay?” She ran her hands over his head, his face, and his arms, looking for any sign of injury. Satisfied he seemed okay, she hugged him tightly. “You had me so worried.”

  “I’m okay, Mom.”

  She looked into his eyes. “Baby, what happened? One minute you were there, and then you were gone.”

  Sammy turned and looked at JT, who stood towering behind him.

  “Go ahead, Sammy,” JT said gently. “You wouldn’t talk to me about it, but you’ve got to tell your mom what happened.”

  Sammy swallowed. Hard. “Well, I was done eating my cotton candy and bored watching the people and boats and stuff go by. I went to get you to see if we could go on some more rides, but you were talking . . . loud.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Sammy.” She hugged him.

  “You guys sounded—” He stopped, his lip quivering. “You sounded like when you and Dad split up. I didn’t want JT to go away like Dad did.” His little hands balled into fists. “So I left. Mommy, you and JT aren’t breaking up, are you?”

  Startled at that question and the reason why Sammy left, she looked up at JT. In the dark, she couldn’t make out his features or see what emotions played on his face. The three of them had been spending time together, but she hadn’t realized Sammy had accepted them as a family unit.

  Brushing a hand over Sammy’s hair, she said softly, “We were talking about some adult things. I am so, so sorry we upset you. And no matter if we break up or not, we both still care for you. Just like Daddy still cares about you.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t get to see Dad hardly enough. I don’t want the same thing to happen with JT.” Sammy wrapped his arms around her neck and hung his head over her shoulder. “Promise me JT won’t leave us.”

  Placing her hand on his head, she rocked him like he was still a little baby and stroked his hair. Choked up with emotion, she couldn’t say anything right at the moment, and wasn’t sure what to say.

  JT’s voice cut the silence. “I won’t be leaving you, Sammy. You can count on that. And if your mom and I don’t get along and break up like she and your dad did, I’ll still be around.”

  Sammy pulled away from her to face JT. “Promise me you won’t leave me, JT.”

  Christine watched as JT crouched to Sammy’s height and placed his hands on her son’s shoulders. “I promise, Sammy.”

  She could see JT’s eyes then, and what she saw there took her breath away. It was the look of love a blood relative would have, and she knew then he would keep his word. Even though she didn’t think she could be with JT anymore, she knew he wouldn’t abandon Sammy.

  “Come on, little guy, we better get you to bed.” JT picked Sammy up like a sack of potatoes, causing the boy to giggle as JT carried him into the house.

  After Sammy was tucked in and everyone had left, JT remained until he and Christine were alone.

  “I know you don’t want to talk to me right now—” he began.

  She cut him off. “I want to thank you for finding Sammy. I don’t think anyone would have thought to look back at the boat once the whole area had been searched. Thank you.”

  “I don’t need thanks, Christine. I need a chance to talk to you.”

  “JT, it’s been a really rough day. I need time to assimilate all this information.” Christine rubbed her neck and walked to the front door, JT trailing behind her.

  “I swear to you; I never knew about this scheme of Tad’s.”

  “My trust was shattered by Tad, by his indiscretion. I’d known him all my life, and I guess I’m still suffering the aftereffects. I just don’t know what to trust in anymore.”

  “Chris . . .” He stepped closer to her. “Trust in us.”

  She felt his body heat and inhaled that scent of leather she’d always associate with him as she looked up into his eyes. Her heart ached. How she wanted to reach out and touch him, to say it didn’t matter and let him sweep her upstairs to her bedroom. But she’d been burned before, and she didn’t know if she could survive being hurt by JT.

  Touching her fingers to his lips, she whispered, “Shhh. We’ll talk about this some other time. It’s late, and I need to get some sleep.”

  “If you can’t trust me, Chris, we’ve got nothing.” He turned and left without a backward glance.

  Christine locked the door behind him. Turning around, she leaned her back against the door so she couldn’t watch him leave. She heard his boots on the walk grow quieter as he made his way to the street. The bike engine came to life, and with a few shifts of gears, he and the sound of his Harley were gone. She swiped a tear from her eye.

  • • •

  The next morning Christine had a long discussion with Sammy about how when he was upset or angry that he needed to talk to her, not run away.

  JT stopped by and spent a little time with Sammy, and gave him his pager number so that whenever Sammy wanted to talk or needed him, he could reach him that way if he was out of cell phone range.

  Christine’s heart wrenched at the sight of JT, not to mention how understanding and supportive he was being with Sammy.

  • • •

  Sunday was the day of the house tour, and Christine and Sammy needed to vacate the house and turn it over to the volunteers acting as docents. Tad took Sammy boating, and Christine went into headquarters to meet with Brad so they could try to figure out a way to deal with her drop in the polls. The election was approaching rapidly, and Brad was worried.

  They ordered lunch in. While Christine made personal calls to donors to ensure they were still in her corner, a volunteer stuck a phone message on her desk. It was from Duke. The only Duke she knew was the one who had been JT’s foster parent, and she couldn’t imagine why he would be contacting her.

  She dialed the number and waited. After three rings, a booming voice answered, “Duke’s.”

  “Is this Duke?”

  “Yep.”

  “This is Christine Yeager. I had a message you called.”

  “Sure did. H
ey, you know how you helped out with the benefit we had for the little boy in our neighborhood? I was thinking I’d like to do something to return the favor.”

  “Oh, there’s no need to do that. I always like to help out a good cause.”

  “I knew you would say that. I think a lot of the people on my side of town remember those kinds of things. Like I told you earlier, most politicians don’t bother spending much time down here talking to folks. Anyway, I’m arranging a community get-involved type of event at the restaurant this weekend, and I thought you could do some campaigning.”

  Christine was silent for a moment. Statistically, that area of town always voted with the liberal candidates on elections. But what could it hurt?

  “That’s a lovely offer, Duke, and I appreciate it. I’d love to come. Just tell me when and I’ll be there.”

  • • •

  Monday was Halloween, and Christine made sure her schedule was clear so she could take Sammy trick-or-treating. He was excited to dress up like a zombie this year, and she had fun helping him with the gory makeup. She trailed along behind him on the sidewalk as he ran from house to house with his friends, and her thoughts returned to JT more than she wanted.

  The rest of the week flew by. Early Friday evening, Christine kissed Sammy good-bye when she left him at Sadie’s to attend the event at Duke’s restaurant. The current polling status of the mayoral race had her neck and neck with the incumbent. She had done everything she could to promote herself to the voters, and after this weekend, the election was only a few days away.

  She hadn’t thought much about what she would do if she lost. She would probably finish out her city council term, and after that, she wasn’t sure anymore.

  Besides her career and her son, the only other thing on her mind was JT. He had come to Sammy’s football game on Wednesday, and she and JT had awkwardly exchanged greetings. He was wearing his sunglasses, so she couldn’t see his eyes, couldn’t tell what he was thinking. She had felt exposed since he could see hers, and she was afraid of what they might reveal.

  She missed him—a lot—but she was still confused and unsure of whether she could trust him. Despite Tad’s assurances to the contrary, since learning of his scheme, she found herself rethinking every moment with JT, trying to determine if what they’d had together had been real or part of his job.

  His kisses said he cared. And the way they had made love together, how he had been attentive to her, making sure she had been pleased before letting himself reach satisfaction. She couldn’t believe that could be faked.

  As she pulled into Duke’s parking lot, she still hadn’t gotten any closer to figuring out her feelings. A part of her secretly hoped he would be here tonight so she could see him again.

  In the parking lot, she slipped on her navy blazer, slung her leather purse over her shoulder, and smoothed the wrinkles from her khaki trousers. She’d put her hair in a ponytail, not wanting to come across as too formal, wanting to be casual enough to be approachable.

  After years of charity work and political campaigning, she still hated entering an event alone. And walking into Duke’s, she felt doubly uneasy. She’d only been there twice, and both times had been with JT. And when she was with him, she felt comfortable anywhere.

  Sighing, she scanned the crowded tables to find Brad, who was meeting her there. When she spotted him in the far corner near the windows that overlooked the river, she waded through the tables and people who milled about, chatting in small groups.

  “Hi, Brad.” She sat down in a chair across from him that gave her a view of the river and the deck. Even the tables on the deck outside were filled to capacity. “You can tell it’s Friday night, can’t you?”

  “Great turnout, Christine. I would have never thought of campaigning the liberal precincts.”

  “It wasn’t my idea.” She laid her purse on the empty chair next to her. “It was Duke’s.”

  “That was nice of him.” Brad looked puzzled. “Why did he do that?”

  “You always figure somebody has an angle, don’t you?”

  He laughed. “Well, after dealing with politics and real estate for so long, you see that a lot.”

  “He said he was appreciative of the help I did with the fundraiser for the little boy with the terrible burns. I mean, what do I have to lose at this point, right?”

  Brad reached a hand across the table to grasp hers. “Don’t give up, Christine. We’re still in the running.”

  But her mind was on JT, not the campaign. Somehow without him around, the election results didn’t seem to hold the same appeal as they once did.

  “Can I get you something?” a familiar voice asked from behind her.

  “I’ll have a draft beer,” Brad replied.

  “And for you?”

  Christine slid her gaze to the right, and sure enough, the voice belonged to JT. He was wearing a skin-tight bright red T-shirt with the word Duke’s emblazoned across his chest in black letters. The placement of the letters attracted her attention to his chiseled chest.

  Looking into his hooded eyes, she said, “I’ll have an iced tea.”

  He nodded back at her, saying, “Coming right up.”

  Then he was gone. And she felt a loneliness that was almost palpable.

  “Did you need to talk about anything?” Brad asked softly.

  “Like what?” Her voice was brusque, even to her own ears. “I’m sorry, Brad. I’ve been trying to sort my thoughts about JT. I mean, he says he didn’t know about Tad’s crazy plan to discredit me by having JT protect me. Even that angers me that Tad used JT that way.” She shook her head. “And I’m just trying to determine if I can trust any man again.”

  She felt the sting of tears threatening, and knew she had to get a grip. “But right now, I need to concentrate on meeting people tonight. I’ll have to figure out about JT later.”

  “If you need to talk . . .” Brad left the offer hanging in the air.

  “Thanks. Sorry I’ve been such a pain lately, but the election will be over shortly. Either way, things will settle down.”

  JT arrived with their drinks. He placed Christine’s in front of her. “Iced tea for the lady.” He turned and placed Brad’s drink in front of him. “And a draft for you.”

  “Thanks,” Brad replied, but Christine remained silent.

  JT didn’t move. His gaze was fixed on Christine as he asked, “Did Duke tell you how this thing will work tonight?”

  “He told me, but I haven’t filled Christine in yet,” Brad replied.

  His gaze still on her, JT said, “Well, Chris, there’s a table set up on the side wall over there for the social and charity organizations. There’s a place for you.”

  “Aren’t the other candidates going to be here tonight?” she asked.

  “No. You’re the only candidate for us.”

  He held her gaze for a beat, and just when she thought he was going to lean in for a kiss or say something personal, he simply said, “Good luck.” Turning, he walked away.

  “Well, how about that,” Brad said cheerily.

  Surprise that Duke had only invited her changed to feelings of tenderness for JT. Even though she couldn’t yet deal with talking to him or giving him a chance to explain himself, he was still in her corner. She had to admit there was something to be said for that.

  Sighing, she used her straw and toyed with the ice cubes in her glass.

  “Hello, everyone.” Duke appeared at their table with a basket loaded with fried appetizers, and placed it in front of them. “On the house.”

  “Thanks, Duke,” Christine replied, taking one of the hot morsels with her fingertips. She waited a moment for it to cool before placing it in her mouth.

  Duke pulled up a chair next to Christine and sat down. “I’m glad you came. I didn’t think you would if you knew this was all JT’s doing.”

  She swallowed hard, nearly choking on her food. “You mean he planned all this?”

  “Don’t look so surprised,” Du
ke said with a chuckle. “I know you think he’s done you wrong, but he’s got it bad for you. In all these years, I’ve never seen him like this. I know it means a lot to him that you came.”

  “He set this up?” Christine gestured with disbelief at the room filled with people.

  Duke grinned. “He’s a good man; he’d never do you wrong. Just give him a chance to talk to you.” With that, he got up and left.

  During the evening’s events, Christine must have talked to fifty or more people. As the milling crowds shifted, she caught a glimpse every now and then of JT as he helped Duke serve the patrons.

  Several hours later, the noise in the restaurant started to wind down as the dinner patrons left. At the opposite end of the restaurant, the bar was still full and noisy.

  Christine’s face was sore after so much smiling and talking. She rubbed the back of her neck, massaging away the stiffness that came from looking up at people all evening. Perils of a short person.

  Slipping her blazer back on, she stood, ready to call it a night. She rooted in her purse for her car keys and turned around only to run into the wall of JT’s broad chest.

  “Oh, sorry,” she mumbled. The act of pressing against him had her body singing with desire.

  His arm reached out, wrapping around her waist to steady her. “Nothing to be sorry about.” He remained holding her, not budging from where he stood. “Were you going to leave without saying good-bye?”

  Was that disappointment she heard in his voice?

  She shook her head. “No, I was going to find you before I left. I want to thank you for trying to help me out on the election. Under the circumstances, I didn’t expect it. I appreciate it.”

  JT eyed her carefully as he said, “Circumstances can change.”

  She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she simply stood still while he continued to hold her.