“What?” She glanced down at the roses. “This was all a set-up?”
“No.” He spun back to her. “When I hung up with her, I knew as much as I wanted to use myself as bait to get this asshole to come after me, I realized it wasn’t the only reason. I was jealous. I wanted this bastard out of the picture so I could make my desire known.”
“Turner, I’ve always cared about you and I won’t see you put yourself in danger because of me.”
“But we have another problem.” He dropped down on the sofa next to the discarded roses.
“What?” Not knowing what else to do, she shoved her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.
“It’s best to be upfront about everything.” He ran a hand over his face but continued to avoid her gaze. “I should step aside and let you live your life.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You deserve so much better than me.”
She didn’t know what he was getting at, but she squatted down next to him and took his hands into hers. “I remember you telling me something like that once before. Leena, don’t waste yourself on a cancer ridden patient. I’m dying. But you’re alive and I wasn’t wrong or wasting my time back then.”
“But you want something I can’t give you.” He tried to slide his hand from hers, but she held on. “Children…I can’t give you children.”
“What?” She wasn’t sure how children came into the mix.
“You said you wanted a spouse and children. I can’t give you children. The treatments left…they left me sterile.”
She pushed the roses aside and sat down next to him. “There’s adoption. So many children out there who need a home.” Images of Brandy sitting alone in her hospital bed filled her thoughts. That sweet little girl with the big blue eyes needed a home. “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
“I don’t think so.” He ran his hands down the legs of his jeans. “I learned long ago that you have to think long-term in order to keep moving ahead. If we’re going to get rid of your stalker and I’m going to prove that I deserve another chance with you, then you need to know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“Well, I know of one little girl who needs a good family and I’m sure there are dozens more. Besides adoption, there are other ways. It doesn’t stop whatever could happen between us.”
“On to the next obstacle.”
“And that would be?” She was scared to ask, but wanted to know the answer.
“Your mother.”
She leaned back against the sofa. Her eyes fell shut, and she twirled the ring on her finger again. “Now, that might be a fight none of us are prepared for.”
“We’re not teenagers who need her approval.” He twisted toward her and took her hand in his. “There might have been a time when she could keep us apart but that time is over and we have to trust in each other. We’re not going to let her or anyone else drive us apart.”
“I’ll have to deal with her, but not today.” She tugged her hand free of his, not because she didn’t want his touch but because she needed to twirl her ring. Round and round, she twisted it in circles.
“Why do you keep twirling the ring on your finger?” He didn’t lay his hand over hers again. Instead, he placed it on her leg.
“It reminds me of my sister.” She glanced down at the ring. “Mom had similar ones made for all of us. Dad and my brother, Lee, don’t wear jewelry but they wear this. It has all of our birthstones in it, with Meredith’s being the center and biggest. Inside, it says: Always in our hearts.”
“A symbol that connects the family and one that gives you a piece of your sister to carry with you always.”
“A symbol of my family, of love.” She dropped her hands into her lap. “It’s more of a habit that I twirl it.”
She sat there in silence, staring down at her ring before she let out a deep sigh and tipped her head to the side to look at him. “Since we’re being honest, there’s something you should know.”
“What’s that?” he pressed when she quieted.
“After I left the hospital this morning I couldn’t stop thinking of that little girl, Brandy. She broke something inside of me. So young and she reminds me of everything you and Meredith went through. She’s all alone and…” She let her words trail off for the moment and tried to keep herself from getting emotional. “I put in a call to her social worker.”
“Why?”
She twisted the ring again before forcing herself to look at him. “To express my interest in adopting her.” She stretched her legs out and rose from the sofa but there was nowhere to go. Never before had her tour bus seemed as small as it did then. “It’s stupid and I’ll never get approved, not with the career I have, but I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. She wiggled her way into my heart and I can’t see them keeping her locked up in the hospital because they can’t find a home that will keep her. She’s sick and maybe even dying, which is all the more reason she deserves a home and a family.”
“It’s a heartbreaking situation.”
“I’m not sure heartbreaking covers it. She doesn’t even know how old she is. She remembers her mother dropping her off at the police station with a note. Since then, she’s been tossed around from foster home to foster home and when she wasn’t there, she’s been here.”
“I know.” He stood and closed the distance between them. “But she already has someone interested in adopting her.”
“Then where are they?” she snapped, no longer able to control her temper. “She’s alone in that hospital bed and this adoptive family is where?”
“Right here.” He laid his hand on her shoulder. “I put in the request to adopt her. I’ve gone through the steps, and I’m waiting on the final decision. I’m a single man, a lawyer for the hospital who works crazy hours, but they’re considering it. I’ve answered their questions reasonably and while I don’t have a wife or family I do have a strong support system within the hospital, so they are considering it.”
“You?” She spun back toward him, her hip hitting against the small built in table. “You didn’t mention it when I said anything about her.”
“What was I supposed to say? Oh, you were visiting the girl I hope to adopt? Or maybe, how’s my hopefully adoptive daughter doing?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ve been visiting with her for the last few months but she doesn’t know.”
“Why not?”
“Why get her hopes up when I didn’t think they’d approve me? There was no need to disappoint her again. Like you said, she’s been through enough already.” He slid his hand down her arm until he reached her hip and tugged her close to him. “You were willing to give up your career to rescue her.”
“I didn’t realize until I came here just how much I was missing in my life. I knew I wanted a life outside of music, but I didn’t realize how much I needed it. The way my heart broke for her, I knew I had to do something.”
He leaned in until his breath caressed her face. “My sweet Leena, you’ve always had a big heart. It’s the reason I fell in love with you and I’m so glad that the brutal music industry didn’t steal it from you.” He lowered his head until his mouth covered hers and kissed her deeply.
A knock from the door behind them interrupted them as she met his desire with her own. Damn it. She wanted to see where this was going but every time they got close something interrupted them.
“Trina’s out here.” Kendrick opened the door a crack, letting a stream of sunlight in.
“I’m busy.” She didn’t step back from Turner. Instead, she looped her fingers through the front belt loops of his jeans, keeping him close. She’d get rid of Trina and they could pick up where they left off.
“She says it’s important,” Kendrick said.
“It’s always important.” She wasn’t convinced, and she’d had enough of her assistant’s distain for what they were doing here.
“There’s been another letter.” Trina’s voice was low enough that Leena cou
ld hear it but not so low that the wind carried it away.
“Fuck.” Defeated, she sighed. “Let her in.”
“It’s going to be okay.” Turner kept his arms tight around her.
“I hope so.” Even as she said it, she wasn’t sure. This stalker was starting to work his way under her skin, unnerving her. Too much of this and she’d lose her balance. She needed to keep a cool head and get through tomorrow’s concert without any problems. Once that was done, she’d take on this bastard herself if she had to. This needed to end.
9
Chapter Nine
Leena stood near the French glass doors that led out onto the patio, watching the sun sink in the distance. Her stalker was somewhere out there. He might not have followed them to Turner’s log home, but there was no longer any doubt that he was in Cedar Grove. The last message her manager received had been traced back to the hospital’s café. He was there and he’d soon make himself known. It remained unclear how far he would go to claim what he thought belonged to him.
Detective Mason Hazelwood had gone over the communications that her manager had forwarded and he felt strongly that her attacker only posed a threat if he felt rejected by her. If he caught wind of the connection between her and Turner, he could become violent, yet instead of putting more distance between them she found herself seeking Turner’s comfort more.
She’d had a stalker before, crazy fan letters, anonymous phone calls, and packages. But never before had it gone to this extent. With each communication, the unease rose and even that had been nothing compared to knowing that he was in the same town as her, ready to fulfill his promise to make her his.
She had come to Cedar Grove to do something good, to give back to a hospital and a charity that did so much for others. Instead she had brought danger to them and anyone who was around her. If this bastard went after someone close to her as revenge, she’d never forgive herself.
“Stressing won’t help.” Turner stepped up behind her, caressing the small of her back.
“What will, then?”
“Come on.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her away from the doors. “We’ve got some of the best people working on this. We’re going to catch him.”
She didn’t say anything; her confidence had diminished. He had been sending her letters for months and the police had yet to determine his identity. In her mind, that meant it was all too likely he could sneak in under the radar and steal her away before anyone would notice. She needed to pull herself together and make sure her guard stayed up.
“We’ve got a plan for the concert tomorrow afternoon. Mason and his men will keep their eyes open. There will be a strong security presence and you’re not going anywhere without Kendrick and Matt.” He reminded her of what they had put into action only a short time ago. “This is going to be over soon and you can give up the fear that you’ve been carrying around.”
“Then what?” She let out a deep breath and stared down at her hands. “I got wrapped up in my emotions. Seeing you again…it threw me for a loop and had everything rushing back. But I’m leaving in a few days.”
“We can make it work.”
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” She gave a lighthearted chuckle. “I work insane hours and when I’m on the road I’m gone for months at a time.”
“Then our time together will be more special.” He took her hand into his and held it tightly. “I’m not letting you give up on us just because your career is demanding. We’ll make it work. When you’re not on the road, you can come here and when you are I’ll travel to wherever you are.”
“What about Brandy? That much travel won’t look good for your proposal to adopt her.” She tried to run through all the possibilities, to prepare them for the likely outcome of this relationship.
“If the adoption is approved we will still make this work. We deserve this chance. Can you honestly tell me that you don’t want it?”
“No.” She leaned into his body and let her head rest against his shoulder. “I wonder what would have happened if we could have stayed in touch. Would I have still pursued music? Would we be married? Maybe we’d have ended up divorced and hating each other.”
“I doubt that.” He leaned back against the sofa, taking her with him, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to keep her close. “I’d like to think we’d be happily married. Maybe instead of being a hospital attorney, I’d have studied law more closely related to the music industry and we could have had similar careers.”
“This career is hard on relationships, especially marriages.” She had witnessed many relationships not only fall apart but get very bitter because of the constant demands on entertainers. Was she willing to risk things ending terribly?
“Stay with me tonight.” He brought his lips to the curve of her neck.
“I can’t…oh, how I wish…” Her words died off as he kissed along the curve of her neck.
“You know you want to.”
His breath was hot against her skin, sending goosebumps rising along her neck. “If he’s watching my bus…” She shook her head. “No, I can’t. I won’t put you at risk by doing that. Once this is all over, if you still want me to stay, then I will.” I’ll stay forever if you only ask.
She knew in that moment that he had been what she was waiting for. She didn’t just want a family, she wanted him. Ever since they were teenagers it had always been him in her thoughts and her fantasies. She had always compared every man in her life to him and none of them ever stood up to the standard he’d set.
Her music career meant everything to her, at least she thought it did, and now she was considering giving it up. If she closed her eyes she could see herself as his wife and always by his side. For him, it’s all worth it.
Her cell phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts, and she snatched it off the coffee table where she had dropped it earlier. Mom. She slid her finger over the button to deny the call and send it to voicemail. “I’m not ready to deal with that just yet.”
“I doubt she’s going to give up that easy.”
She put the phone back where it had been. “No, but for tonight she’ll think I’m getting ready for the concert. When this is over, I’m going to take a trip to see her.”
“Fighting with her won’t change the past,” he reminded her.
“She has to know how I feel. Maybe it’s more about me getting it off my chest. Either way, it has to come out. She was there while I grieved for my first love. She comforted me, baked me chocolate chip cookies, and all the while she was responsible.”
“It’s the past.”
“Our past, our lives, and she had no right to interfere.” She leaned back into his embrace and tried to get past what her mother had done even as it continued to eat at her. “I can give her a little room. She had just lost her daughter, but there’s not much to give there. I lost my sister and you at the same time, and the second one was her fault.”
“We found each other again. That’s what matters.” He brushed a kiss along her temple. “I’m not planning on letting you go this time.”
10
Chapter Ten
The concert had been a success, leaving Leena both exhausted and restless. There had been no incidents during the performance which was a relief not only to her, but to everyone involved. Turner didn’t have to worry about the hospital being liable and Mason didn’t have to explain anything to the Chief of Police. In some ways, it was a weight off her shoulders and in other ways it only added to the stress. He’d have to make his move soon.
“The band is packing up and will head out in about an hour,” Trina announced as she climbed aboard the bus.
“Very well.” She knew what the band was doing but she wasn’t quite sure what her assistant was going to do. Would she do her job, or would she leave? Instead of inquiring, she pulled her boots off. “I’m going to rest for an hour or so before going to the hospital. Then I have dinner plans, so take the night off and we’ll
start fresh tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Trina turned toward the door and strolled out without another word.
“The attitude is getting tiresome,” she mumbled to the quiet bus before heading to the bedroom suite to change. She tugged the glistening silver material of her shirt over her head, and as the material lifted past her eyes, she spotted movement in her peripheral vision.
“I’ve waited so long for this moment.” His voice was deep and rich, with something familiar about it, but she couldn’t place it.
Her body froze and her legs turned to mush while her feet refused to move. She wanted to scream, to call for Kendrick. Instead she forced herself to breathe and face the man who had terrorized her for months. “How did you get in here?”
“It wasn’t hard.” He lifted his hand and moved it out of the shadows so she could see the key he dangled from his fingers. “The key gave me easy access, and while I know you have your hounds outside, they won’t be any problem either. I’m going to drive this bus away before they even have a chance to react.”
Uneasy about wearing only her bra, she pulled the shirt back over her head. “What do you want?”
“That’s obvious, isn’t it? I still want you even if you’re a whore who allows yourself to be taken by that bastard who isn’t good enough for you. He’s the one who kept us apart, isn’t he?” He stepped out of the shadows, a gun in his hand and pointed directly at her, but it was his identity that startled her. The realization hit her between the eyes and her stomach churned.
His tanned skin came from his Greek heritage, not hours in the sun, and his green eyes held barely contained rage. His spiky black hair was the same as it had been a year before when she fired him. “Gene.” He’d been one of the security guards while she was on tour, mostly handling crowd control to make sure no one snuck backstage, but when he got a little too friendly she had let him go.
“It’s about time you remembered me.” He closed the distance between them and took hold of her arm. “Go ahead and scream. We both know you had extra sound proofing installed so that you could rest without being disturbed. I could torture and kill you and they wouldn’t hear you.”
Leena’s Dream Page 6
