Shamus hauled out a chair and flipped it around. Sitting, he leaned his arms on the chair back as he studied his sister. She looked pale and drawn, as if she hadn’t been sleeping well.
“I guess Burke told you what happened at Jessie’s.”
She nodded, a lone tear slipping down her cheek. “Oh, Shamus, I don’t want this family to split apart.” She swiped at her face with the back of her hand.
“I don’t want that either” “It’s all her fault,” Dani wailed.
“No,” he said calmly, even though he felt anything but calm at the moment. “It’s not. What it comes down to is that none of you trust my judgment and now it’s extended beyond the personal and into my professional life as well. I’ve been running the construction side of the business by myself for more than eight years, Dani. How do you think I felt when Burke told me I couldn’t take a job I wanted to do? That he wouldn’t let the company do work for Cyndi.”
“He said that?”
“Yeah.” And a bit more besides, but there was no need to get into it. “Dani, I’m a grown man who has been a big part of a successful business for years. No one tells me who I can and can’t work for.”
He could tell his sister was torn between supporting her husband and him, and he didn’t want to put her in that kind of untenable position. “Hey.” He reached out and cupped her face. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll work it out. And besides, I was raised right. I know how to take care of myself.”
She gave a weak chuckle as she reached up and grasped his hand in hers, squeezing it tight.
“I just don’t know what to do. What to say.”
This was the first sense of softening he’d felt on Dani’s part and he took advantage of it.
“Why don’t you trust my judgment?” Shamus struggled to find the right words to help Dani understand what he was feeling. “Cyndi isn’t the same person she was fourteen years ago. There are circumstances in her life that people here just don’t know about. But regardless, the past is the past. I know it’s asking a lot, but why don’t you try to get to know her for who she is, not who she was?” He hated the fact that he was hurting his family, but they were hurting him too.
“You have Burke and Patrick has Shannon.” He toyed with the handle of his coffee mug and sighed. His heart ached. He’d always been very close with his family and this temporary separation had been as hard on him as it was on them. He knew it was of his own making, but that didn’t make it any easier. “I want that too, and I think I can have it with Cyndi. I know I’ve never met another woman who makes me feel this way. I’m not making problems for this family just for kicks. This is important to me.”
She released his hand and reached for her coffee, taking a sip. “It’s hard, Shamus. Cyrus James wasn’t a nice man, but beyond that, he couldn’t be trusted. He wouldn’t even look at my proposal all those years ago when I was trying to start my cleaning business, and I know that Burke has had more than one run-in with the man over the years. And Cyndi…” She shrugged.
“You know what happened there. I’m worried about you. There are a lot of people who still hold a grudge against her family. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I know all about Cyrus James and Cyndi’s past. I wasn’t totally oblivious back then.” Dani looked at him sharply, her eyes widening. “Just because I didn’t say anything didn’t mean I wasn’t aware of what was happening. But I trusted you to work it out.” He paused, putting his thoughts in order. “What if I’d come to you back then and asked you not to see Burke again because of how much he’d hurt this family? He did as much damage as Cyndi did, maybe even more because you were in love with him. Would you have done it? Would you have turned your back on him and walked away?”
He knew his brother-in-law was standing just inside the back door. He’d heard his vehicle pull up moments ago as well as the soft sound of the door opening. Shamus turned to face Burke.
The look on his face was priceless. “You see it’s all in the perspective. I could have made a lot of trouble for you both all those years ago if I’d wanted to, but I trusted my sister to know what the hell she was getting herself into. She didn’t disappoint me. Neither of you did.”
Pushing out of his chair, he stood. He wasn’t sure if his welcome was about to be rescinded.
“Burke.” He gazed at the man who’d been part mentor, part friend for the past fourteen years of his life. Burke looked as tired and worn as the rest of them. God, he hated the toll this was taking on his family and on him. He wasn’t sleeping much these days and he felt stretched to the breaking point.
“Shamus.” He nodded as he walked to his wife. Dani leaned into her husband, obviously drawing strength from his nearness.
“I guess I’ll be going.” He hated to leave things like this, but there was nothing more he could do, at least not now.
“No. Stay. Please,” Burke added.
Shamus slowly lowered himself back onto the chair.
Burke sighed and took a moment to gather himself and his thoughts. “I’m sorry.”
It took Shamus a moment to realize what his brother-in-law had said, but Burke wasn’t finished.
“I was way out of line at Jessie’s.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and began to pace restlessly. “It was a gut reaction.”
“I understand.” And he did. He might not like it, but he did understand.
“I wanted to protect Dani and you and the rest of the family.”
“I get that, Burke, but I don’t need protecting.”
His brother-in-law paused and searched Shamus’ face. “No, you don’t, do you?” Burke strode over to the table, pulled out a chair and sat. “I’m still not one hundred percent convinced about Cynthia James.”
“Cyndi Marks,” Shamus corrected.
Burke gave him a wry grin. “Cyndi, then.” He rolled his shoulders as if trying to release tension. “But it’s been brought to my attention that I might not have been acting any better than I was accusing her of being.”
Shamus froze in place. “Who pointed that out to you?” His fears were confirmed as Burke continued.
“I went to see her this morning. Actually, I was hoping to find you there, but she and I had a chat.”
Shamus could feel the tension building inside him. “What exactly did you say to her?”
“That’s for her to tell you if she chooses. Needless to say, she pointed out that we were the ones who were actually being manipulative. She told me that unlike us, she’d never asked you not to see your family. While we’ve demanded you stay away from her, or else.”
Feeling slightly uncomfortable by Burke’s unexpected confession, Shamus nodded. He had felt as if his family had pushed him away, but he’d never quite thought about it in those terms.
“Cynthia…I mean, Cyndi, had a few more things to say. Even her way of speaking is different than it used to be.”
“It’s been fourteen years, Burke,” Shamus pointed out. “We’ve all changed.” He wanted this conversation over so he could go and talk with Cyndi.
“That’s what she said too. She also reminded me that she’d apologized all those years ago for what had happened and she was through paying for those mistakes.”
“Look.” Shamus stood, unable to sit still any longer. “I don’t expect you to like her. I realize that may be asking too much. But I do expect you not to disrespect her.” He looked from Dani to Burke and back to Dani again. “She’s very important to me and if I have my way, this relationship will last.”
“But she’s so much older than you,” Dani said.
Shamus laughed. “Less of an age difference than there is between you and Burke.”
Dani had the good grace to look slightly ashamed. “I never quite thought about that.”
“What about B & O Construction? You’re coming back to work, right?” Burke’s face was sober as he faced Shamus.
Shamus sighed and nodded. “I’ll be back, but right now, I feel like I need this vacation. I pla
n on doing the renovations at Cyndi’s. They’re not big, and a lot of it is purely cosmetic stuff, like paint and maybe some new doors.”
“Whatever you want to do. God knows you haven’t had a holiday in a couple of years. As long as we’re okay, that’s all that matters.” Burke stood and extended his hand. “In the meantime, could you please stop by the job site? Joe Banks is calling me a dozen times a day with questions and quite frankly, I’m not sure what to tell him. I hadn’t realized how far away from this kind of work I’d gotten while I’ve been concentrating on the investment end.”
“I’ll stop by after lunch.” He shook Burke’s hand and released it. “I’ve got a few errands to run first.” It felt good not to be at odds with his family. The tension was still there, but at least they were all willing to try.
“Good enough.”
Dani came to stand beside both of them, wrapping her arms around them and hugging them tight. “I just want us to be a family again.”
“Me too.” Shamus’ throat tightened. He wanted that too, only he wanted Cyndi to be a part of it as well. Only time would tell.
His cell phone rang and he stepped back from his sister. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled it out. “O’Rourke.”
“You need to get to Cyndi’s.” His brother’s words sent chills down his spine.
He strode toward the door, barely aware of Dani and Burke on his heels. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone slashed all four tires of her car.”
“Damn.” He hauled himself into his truck, tucking the phone under his ear as he dug out his keys and jammed them into the ignition. “They were fine this morning.”
“You sure?” His brother’s voice was sharp.
“Yeah, I’ve been checking things around the house each morning before I leave.” He was aware of Dani and Burke listening to every word of the conversation, but Burke was blocking him from closing the door. “Hang on a sec,” he told Patrick as he turned to his sister and brotherin-
law. “I gotta go. It’s Patrick. Someone slashed all Cyndi’s tires.”
Dani gasped. “That’s horrible.”
“Not as bad as shooting out her windows, but bad enough.” His sister paled and he realized then that she hadn’t known. “I’ve got to go.” Burke stepped back and closed the door. Shamus put the truck in gear and headed back to town.
“You still there?” He could hear Patrick’s impatience.
“Yeah, how’s Cyndi?”
Patrick chuckled. “More angry than anything. Not that I blame her.” He paused. “She said that Burke came to see her this morning.”
Shamus tensed. “He did. I just talked to him. But he wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Surprisingly enough, that’s what Cyndi said too. Anyway,” Patrick continued, “Everything is fine here, but I figured you’d want to see for yourself.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“No problem. See you when you get here.” The call ended and Shamus stuffed his phone back into his pocket. Barely keeping beneath the speed limit, he drove back to town, back to Cyndi.
Chapter Twenty
“I’m okay,” Cyndi said for what seemed like the hundredth time as she place the last dish in the dishwasher. They’d just finished a couple of sandwiches for a late lunch, although neither of them had much of an appetite. “It’s more of an inconvenience than anything. I can’t even go into town and check the mail.” Her father had kept a box at the post office rather than have the mail delivered to the house.
“I’ll go and get the mail. That’s the least of our worries.”
Shamus had been a rock since he’d pulled into the driveway an hour ago. The deputies had come and gone, and surprisingly, had been much more courteous than they’d been the last time they were here. Cyndi hadn’t minded dealing with the authorities, but freely admitted she felt much better with Shamus beside her.
Like the last time, there wasn’t much for them to go on. With only a few other houses on James Lane, and none of them close to Cyndi’s, nobody had seen anything. It would have been easy for someone to sneak through the woods, cut the tires, and disappear back into the heavy forest surrounding the house. The trees were still thick with fall foliage, even though it was starting to thin somewhat.
Mike Sampson had driven out from the garage to tow her car. He’d promised to have it back before supper. It was silly, but she hated being without transportation. Made her feel trapped. She needed to stop thinking like that.
When she finished wiping her hands on a thick, linen towel, she hung it back over the rod, straightening it. “I don’t think they’ll find who did it.” There, she said it. Like the shooting, she was being terrorized by some unknown enemy. That was truly frightening. It could be anyone she knew or a complete stranger. There was no way to know.
“Patrick thinks it’s someone with a personal grudge. These types of crimes suggest someone angry with you and your family. Most likely, your father.” Shamus leaned against the kitchen counter, glancing occasionally through the window.
It amused Cyndi how much time they spent in the kitchen. It was her favorite room in the house—probably because she knew her father hadn’t spent any time here.
“What are you grinning about?” Hooking his arm around her waist, he dragged her up against his chest.
She flattened her hand against it, feeling the hard muscle beneath his shirt. “Just that we have a huge house at our disposal, but we spend all our time in the kitchen.”
“The kitchen is the heart of the home.”
He said it so easily that it made her heart ache. “Not in this house. At least it wasn’t, but I think it will be.”
“Burke told me he stopped by to see you.” She could feel his muscles tense as she peered up into his stormy blue-gray eyes.
“Oh?”
Shamus shook his head. “Burke wouldn’t say much about it either. Said it was your decision. But I got a feeling that whatever you said to him made an impact.”
“How were things with your sister?” She hated to think of Shamus at odds with his family.
For his sake, she wanted things to stabilize between them.
“Good.” Leaning down, he nuzzled her temple. “Better than I’d hoped, actually.”
“Good,” she parroted. He was so close that she could smell him, the usual seductive combination of soap and Shamus. Unable to resist, she nestled closer, burying her face against his chest and inhaling deep. The bulge between his legs was growing longer and thicker by the second, pressing against her stomach.
“Maybe we should check out another room of the house?” Shamus nipped at her earlobe before trailing kisses down her neck.
“You have any particular room in mind?” She rolled her hips, pushing his erection tight against her belly.
He groaned. “Yeah. The bedroom is looking mighty good at the moment.” Scooping her into his arms, he carried her down the hall toward the stairs. They were halfway up when the doorbell rang.
“We could ignore it.” Even as she said it, she knew they couldn’t. “Or not.” It could be someone from the sheriff’s office or her lawyer with news about the mess her father had left behind, or who knows.
Shamus slowly lowered her feet until they were touching the stairs. Cyndi hung onto the railing. “Hold that thought,” she told him as she headed to the front door. With his obvious erection, she was in better shape to answer the door.
“Let me.” She hadn’t even heard him following her. “Don’t open it until I see who it is.” It was a stark reminder that someone in this town wanted to hurt her.
Shamus peered out the window and shook his head. “We’re going to have to hold that thought until tonight from the looks of things.” On that cryptic note, he pulled the door open.
Cyndi didn’t recognize the men standing on her porch, but it was obvious that Shamus did.
All three men nodded at her before turning back to Shamus. “Burke called and said to send a small team
out to get started on Ms. Marks’s renovations.” This from a stocky, bearded man who appeared to be somewhere in his forties.
Cyndi could tell that Shamus appeared to be just as surprised as she was, but she could also see that he was pleased. She was too. After this morning’s conversation, it was the last thing she’d expected. It was a peace offering of sorts. Burke’s way of letting her know he wouldn’t oppose her B & B.
“Come in, gentlemen.” They all stepped inside and scraped their boots on the mat.
“Pete Johnson, ma’am.” The older man held out his hand and she shook it. “This here is my nephews, Arthur and Silas.”
“Pleased to meet you all.” She glanced at Shamus for guidance. She hadn’t planned to have to deal with workers today. They hadn’t even finalized all their plans yet.
Shamus scrubbed his hand over his jaw. “Why don’t we start in the dining room? I know you were thinking about putting in French doors that opened to the garden. It should have been done before we painted, but we can do it without too much damage to what we’ve already done. Plus, we can also build that reception desk in the foyer before we paint the foyer, hallway, and stairwell.”
“Sounds like a good a place to start as any. I know I shouldn’t have insisted on doing the dining room until I’d finalized the plans.”
Shamus shrugged. “It’s not a problem. We can leave the French doors for now if you want.”
Cyndi thought long and hard, shaking her head. “No, it’s a good idea. We should just go ahead and do it.”
“No problem.”
“Linda said that the truck would be here later this afternoon to pick up the remainder of the boxes and the furniture,” she reminded him. It would be good to have it all out, so she could really start to work.
“We can help load the truck when it gets here,” Shamus assured her. The men all nodded in agreement.
“I’d better finish clearing out the desk in my father’s office then. That’s one of the pieces that are going.”
Shamus nodded. “I know which door you were looking at for the dining room and if you let me know your final decision on the paint for the foyer, I can pick up supplies when I run to get the mail.”
The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke Page 22
