by Brenda Novak
Turning around, he stepped outside. He had to get out before he broke down completely. What had happened thirty-three years ago was Randy’s fault. He’d admitted it. If he hadn’t pressed her, flirted with her, cornered her, Chloe would have remained true—just as Gordon had tried to tell himself so many times.
But in his heart he knew Randy had taken more of the blame than he deserved. And as he stood on the stoop, Kristen’s voice from inside the house confirmed the fact.
“That isn’t what you told me, Randy,” she said.
“No,” he replied. “But if it brings him any peace…”
Wincing at this small bit of proof that Randy still cared about him, Gordon let the tears run down his cheeks as he walked to his car.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“HAVE YOU HEARD FROM GORDON?” Isaac asked.
Liz cradled the phone against her shoulder, as she stirred the melted chocolate. Her appliances and the remaining fixtures had been installed at The Chocolaterie the day before. Brent Price from Price Dairy had delivered an order of whole milk, unsweetened butter and heavy cream. All Liz had left to do was stock her display cases and refrigerators with what she hoped to sell this weekend, and that was the fun part. As mixed-up as the week had been, she was moving beyond it, immersing herself in activities she loved. “You can call him Dad, Isaac. He is your dad, you know.”
“Not anymore.”
“That’s not fair,” she protested. “Why should he lose both of us?”
“He’s the one who shoved us away.”
“He shoved me away. But he also tried to hold me close, in his own way. I couldn’t see that before. Now that I know the truth, I…can understand, to a degree.”
“Then, maybe I’m the only one, but I don’t get it. So what if you’re not his biological daughter? You’re his daughter in every other sense of the word. Or you could’ve been, if only he’d been man enough to rise to the challenge.”
Liz rested her arms on the large bowl she was using for dipping strawberries in chocolate. “What if it was Reenie?” she asked. “What if you thought she was giving you a child? And then—” Liz couldn’t say the rest. Her words fell away and Isaac reacted with a long silence.
“It wouldn’t be easy,” he admitted. “But I’d never allow anyone’s child to be hurt. None of it was your fault.”
Liz watched the swirls her large rubber spatula made in the chocolate. “Do you ever wonder about Mom’s role in what happened? How she could’ve gotten pregnant by another man when she was married to Gordon?”
“I don’t want to think about it,” he admitted. “I resent what Gordon did to her, too.”
“He didn’t do it, Isaac. He’s reacting to pain, just like you are.”
“And what are you doing?” he asked. “How’s this affecting you?”
“I’m devoting myself to other pursuits.”
“The kids?”
“And the shop.” She smiled, looking at the large, ripe strawberries she’d already dipped. She was going to drizzle white chocolate over some of them and add coconut or chopped nuts to others. “I open this Saturday. Mary Thornton and I are running a joint ad in the paper.”
“There should be plenty of tourists from the Running Y.”
“I’m hoping it’ll be a success.”
“No more vandalism?”
“No. I’m beginning to think it was just some kids, screwing around.”
“Probably,” Isaac agreed. “Anyway, that was pretty nice of Carter Hudson to get you up and running.”
She thought of the message she’d sent Carter the night before, and wondered if he’d gotten it. “I don’t know where I’d be without him.”
“Do you have any plans for summer?”
“I’ll be working.”
“Jeez, are you going to open every day?”
“Until tourist season is over. Then I’ll close on Mondays and maybe Tuesdays, and see how it goes. If it’s worth it to stay open, I will.”
“Makes sense. What’s your feature for opening day?”
“Chocolate-covered cinnamon bears.”
“Never had them.”
“You’ll have to come in for a free sample.”
“I’ll be there,” he assured her. Reenie said something in the background and Isaac covered the phone. A moment later, he came back on the line. “Reenie’s parents are having a dinner at their place tomorrow night. They wanted us to invite you.”
“I should spend some time with the kids.”
“Don’t they help at the shop every afternoon?”
“Yes, but I’ve been so preoccupied with getting The Chocolaterie up and running, I haven’t been able to give them much attention.”
“The girls were hoping Mica and Christopher could spend the night.”
“They stayed with Keith last weekend.”
“It’s your big day tomorrow. Let us take care of them. Anyway, Jennifer has a new rabbit to show them.”
Liz dipped another strawberry. “Who’ll be babysitting while we have dinner?”
“Monique Harper from down the street.”
“They love Monique,” Liz said, warming to the idea. “What time are you going to the Holbrooks’?”
“Eight.”
Liz felt a fair amount of stress, but she had to eat, didn’t she? “What can I bring?”
“Nothing. Just yourself.”
She supposed she could take a break, go for an hour or so, and then return to the shop if she had to. “Okay.”
“Carter will be coming,” Reenie called out in the background. “So dress sexy.”
“Did you hear that?” Isaac asked.
Liz bit her lip, considering her options. Should she play it safe and back out?
She opened her mouth to do just that, then thought of the Lady of Shalott and changed her mind. Better to face temptation and rise above it.
“I heard,” she said. “I’ll see you soon.”
LIZ SAT ACROSS FROM CARTER at the Holbrooks’ elegant dining table, trying not to let her eyes automatically gravitate to him. The senator was talking to her about See’s Candies and how much that company had grown. He told her there was a lot of money to be made in franchising and asked if she might ever be interested in doing something like that with The Chocolaterie. But she wasn’t ready to think about expanding. Part of the appeal of her shop was the hands-on aspect, the fact that she could change anything at any time, run it her own way, provide a product completely unique to Dundee. If her new enterprise ever grew into a chain, she knew she’d definitely have to sacrifice some of that.
There were worse fates than getting rich, however, and she wasn’t ruling out the possibility. But for now she was more interested in hearing what Carter and Reenie were talking about than in discussing something so far in the future, and so unlikely.
“I don’t understand the compulsion to rape. There are so many nonviolent ways to satisfy sexual urges,” Reenie was saying.
From what Liz could gather, the others were talking about three recent rapes that had occurred in Boise, which had been in the news.
“It’s not about sexual satisfaction,” Carter said. “It’s about domination and control. Many rapists are married and could have all the sex they want.”
“Could you imagine finding out that your husband has done something so horrific?” Reenie asked Liz.
What Keith had done was bad enough. Liz couldn’t imagine what it would be like to deal with something so much worse. But she didn’t have the chance to reply before Isaac jumped in. “I don’t get what drives those men.”
Now that everyone at the table had been served, Celeste took her seat beside the senator. “I saw a show last night about a rapist who abducted little girls from their bedrooms at night. He’d climb through an unlocked window and simply carry them away,” she said. “The police thought they knew who it was. They even talked to the guy and made an appointment for him to come in and give a DNA sample. But then, of course, he skipped town.”
“Why wasn’t someone keeping an eye on him?” Reenie asked. “Isn’t that what surveillance is all about?”
Celeste shook her head. “He was staying in a neighboring trailer, as a guest, so he had access to the little girl. He was the only stranger in the area. But I guess they weren’t sure it was him until he disappeared.”
“Did they ever catch him?” Isaac asked.
“Not until he’d raped another fifteen women, some of whom were just girls, in several more states. He even tried to kill one of his victims, a woman in her twenties. He slit her throat twice.”
“She lived?” Liz said.
Celeste nodded. “She told her own story. I think it was brave of her to be so honest about what happened, don’t you?”
“I do,” Reenie said. “I wonder if she got married since then.”
“I don’t know,” Celeste replied. “But I hope so. I hope she’ll be able to live a normal life.”
Carter was staring off into the distance, at a point on the wall beyond Liz’s shoulder. “It’ll stay with her,” he said. “Every time she locks up her house at night or comes home to an empty place, that sick feeling will crawl up her spine and lodge in her gut. The scars left behind by that kind of violence can run—” he paused “—very deep. Some women never recover.”
“You talk as though you know a lot about violent crime, Carter,” Celeste said. “Have you worked with rape victims or something?”
Carter shifted his gaze to her. “I was married to one.”
The clink of silverware on china abruptly stopped. Like the others, Liz sat completely still. She’d just taken a bite of her dinner, but she couldn’t seem to swallow as she thought about the woman in that wedding photo.
“When Congressman Ripley called to recommend you, he said you’d spent some time in law enforcement,” the senator said. “He didn’t give me any details.”
Carter glanced at Liz. “I worked for the FBI.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your wife,” Reenie said.
Everyone except Liz murmured similar sentiments. She couldn’t speak. The FBI? That was what he wouldn’t tell her? She wondered how he’d met his wife; where she was now.
Carter continued eating. Liz knew that everyone must be curious to hear the whole story, but he volunteered no further information and no one dared to ask.
Reenie exchanged a quick look with Isaac, as though she might pursue the subject. But Isaac warned her against it with a slight shake of his head and, after a strained silence, Celeste tried to smooth over what had become an uncomfortable moment.
“I’m so sorry, Carter. We shouldn’t have been discussing such an upsetting subject at the dinner table.”
She was sincere, as only Celeste could be. And Carter offered her one of his rare smiles. “Don’t be sorry.”
“Some things are beyond tragic,” she said. Then she cleared her throat and turned to Liz. “On a happier note, how is your shop coming along?”
Liz finally managed to wash down her food with a sip of water. “Great. Thanks to Carter.”
She felt his eyes on her but didn’t meet his gaze.
“I can’t wait to see it,” Celeste said.
“I’ll open at ten tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there. I want to be one of your first customers. Then, someday I can say, ‘I knew her when.’”
Liz laughed. “I’m going to be a little nervous,” she admitted. “It’ll be good to see a friendly face.”
“We’ll be there, too,” Reenie said. “With all the kids.”
“Good. I promised Mica and Chris they could come.” Liz focused on Carter. “What about you, Carter?”
“I’ll be there if I can,” he replied, but there was a noncommittal quality to his voice that told her not to count on it.
With a nod, Liz stood. “I hate to leave early, but I have to finish up at the shop. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Of course,” Celeste said.
Liz picked up her plate, but Celeste motioned for her to leave it. “Don’t worry, Liz. I’ll take care of the dishes.”
“I’ll help her,” Reenie said.
Liz smiled. “Thanks for watching the kids.”
“No problem. You’ll see them at the store in the morning.”
“Good luck,” Celeste called, and Liz left, her mind half on the hours to come—during which time she’d make the shop perfect for tomorrow’s big event—and half on the life Carter had left behind.
LIZ HAD JUST FINISHED arranging her window display for the tenth time. She moved away to take a look at it—and heard a sharp knock on her back door. Surprised that she had such a late visitor, she glanced at the large round wall clock that she’d bought at Mary’s shop earlier in the day. One long, ornate hand crept another minute closer to eleven o’clock. Reenie and Isaac had probably decided to stop by and say good-night on their way home, she guessed. But when she opened the door, she saw Carter standing in the dim light of the parking lot, wearing the pullover sweater, jeans and loafers he’d had on at dinner.
“It’s late, and you answered the door without even checking to see who I was,” he said.
Liz blinked in reaction to the confrontational tone in his voice. “I thought you were Reenie and Isaac.”
“Next time, make sure.”
She might have challenged his right to tell her what to do, but she knew he meant well—and that his concern undoubtedly stemmed from the violence that had touched his life. Was his wife one of the women he’d talked about, who couldn’t completely recover? What would it be like to love someone who was a victim of such evil?
“Okay, I will,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her while she waited for him to tell her why he was here.
He leaned against the door frame and watched her steadily.
“Are you just checking up on my safety skills?” she asked when he didn’t state his purpose.
“You asked me to drop by, remember?”
The roof’s shadow made it difficult to see the expression on his face. “I meant tomorrow.”
“Everyone else will be here tomorrow.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s why I figured this was a better opportunity.”
“For what?”
“To offer you a ride home.”
She unclasped her hands and raked her fingers nervously through her hair. “I have my car, and I only live a few blocks away.”
“I’m not talking about your home. I live a lot farther.”
Remembering the close, private atmosphere of his cabin, Liz felt a rush of hormones course through her body. He was asking her to sleep with him again. And they both knew she could if she wanted to. Her kids were at Isaac’s. “We decided that we wouldn’t press our luck.”
“You decided that,” he said. “I’m ready to venture out of the tower again.”
The Lady of Shalott. Had her e-mail provoked him to issue this challenge?
“What about your promise?” she asked, searching for something to support her decision. “When it’s over, it’s over.”
He moved closer. “Does it feel over to you?”
No. It didn’t feel anywhere close to being over. She could barely look at him without melting inside. She’d spent six agonizing days trying not to think of him in anything other than a friendly light—and had ended up dreaming about him every time she closed her eyes.
“Someone has to play the Johnny Depp role,” he said, his breath warm against her cheek.
He was talking about Chocolat? “How do you know what role he played?” she asked. “You’ve never seen the movie.”
“I rented it last night.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “Watched it twice.”
“Did you like it?”
“It made me hungry.”
“For chocolate?”
His hands slipped around her waist, drawing her up against him. “For you.”
Liz could remember all too clearly how well
his body fit with hers. If she let him kiss her now, they’d never make it to the cabin. But his lips were only a hairbreadth away, and she closed the distance.
Pressing her mouth to his, she met his tongue with her own, relishing the taste of him, letting her fingers explore the thickness of his hair and hold him fast.
He groaned and walked her backward, closing the door behind them. She told herself he should be the one to start stripping away their clothing, but he wasn’t. She couldn’t get his shirt off fast enough, couldn’t wait to feel the warmth of his chest against her breasts.
“Not so fast,” he murmured. “I want to take you home and treat you properly.”
But she was too impatient. Now that she’d let her resolve slip, she had to take what she wanted, before her inhibitions could override her desire. “Do you have a condom?” she murmured.
“In my wallet.”
“Then right here,” she said, fumbling with his zipper.
He didn’t argue. Lifting her onto the closest table, he slid her skirt up to her waist, watching as the emotions played across her face.
When he touched her, Liz closed her eyes and let her head fall back, trying to capture each dizzying sensation. There were reasons she shouldn’t be doing this, she knew. But it was no use. She was lost to all coherent thought. And Carter wasn’t helping to remind her.
“Take me,” she whispered.
Freeing himself long enough to don a condom, he gathered her in his arms.
Liz locked her legs around his hips and ran her tongue along his neck, gasping as he pushed inside.
“You’re perfect,” he murmured and kissed her eyelids, her cheeks, her breasts. Then he started to move and the world seemed to spin out of control. Around and around, faster and faster until…
Liz was about to cry out, but Carter found her mouth and plunged his tongue inside, as if he longed to swallow her response, to absorb it along with the shudder of her body.
A moment later, he set her back on the table, bracing himself with one hand as he recovered from bearing their combined weight amid such a frenzy of need.
Reaching out, she smoothed the hair from his forehead. She knew it might give too much away, especially if he looked into her eyes, but what she was feeling was too powerful to dismiss. She was falling in love with him.
