Today, Tomorrow, Always

by Peggy Jaeger

  “So the fact you’ve never invited a man out to dinner before—let me finish.” She aimed the pastry bag at me—tip first—when I opened my mouth to argue.

  I clamped it shut.

  “Or shown any interest, professional or personal, in any guy other than your husband, whom you’d known since the dawn of time, and I’m not supposed to think you’re feeling a little something other than gratitude for him? Especially a guy who looks like he does?”

  “What do you mean, looks like he does?”

  She waved the pastry bag in the air. “All haunted and Byronesque and…buff.”

  “How do you know he’s buff?”

  “Duh. He uses my gym every day. Pounds miles on the treadmill and lifts weights like nobody’s business. I’ve seen him in nothing but running shorts.” She fanned herself with her free hand and smiled. “Toned abs, hard thighs, and a tight ass. The very definition of buff.”

  “Who’s buff?”

  The smile on my sister’s face disappeared at the sound of Lucas Alexander’s voice as he walked into the kitchen.

  “Why are you here?” she asked him over her shoulder.

  “I was driving by and saw Cathy’s car.” He turned his attention to me. “Saved me a call. A buddy of mine up at the prison notified me that Cameron Compton was shanked in the dining hall this afternoon. It hasn’t been made public yet. Injuries are life threatening. He’s not expected to live through the night.”

  “Oh, sweet Jesus. Seldrine—”

  “I was on my way over to Angelica Arms to notify her, and when I saw your car, I figured you might want to come with me, maybe ease the blow a bit.”

  “Yes, definitely.” I stood and grabbed my bag at the same moment Frayne walked into the kitchen.

  He was dressed now, the ends of his hair still a bit damp. His tattered bomber jacket covered another pullover, and he’d forgone his jeans for a pair of black trousers fitting what Mo had described as hard thighs well. His glasses were tucked in the V of the pullover. “Cathy? Is everything okay?”

  I quickly explained about Cameron.

  “We don’t have to go,” he said.

  “Yes, we do, ” I said. A quick look at Lucas, then my sister, and I added, “One stop at the nursing home for the notification. You can visit with Nanny while Lucas and I deal with this. I’m sure she’d love the company.”

  “Especially if it’s male company,” Maureen told him with a smile. “Bring her these.” She handed him the bakery box. “She’ll be your best friend for life.”

  With bemusement crossing his face, he accepted it.

  “You can ride with me,” I told him. “Lucas, we’ll follow you.”

  “Here.” Maureen handed Lucas a paper bag she’d pulled from the refrigerator. “I’m assuming you haven’t had dinner yet. This is some leftover soup from lunch, and herb bread for you and your dad.”

  “You make the bread?” he asked.

  She answered him by merely lifting an eyebrow.

  I kissed her cheek. “Bye.”

  “Hey,” she whispered before I could pull away. “A little buffness in your life wouldn’t hurt.”

  “I’m pretending I didn’t hear that,” I whispered back. “Love you,” I said in a normal voice.

  “Love you more.”

  In the car, I jacked the heat up to high while I pulled out behind Lucas’s truck. “I’m sorry we have to make this stop.”

  “You don’t need to apologize.”

  “Still.”

  “What’s in here? The aroma is making my mouth water,” he said, holding up the box.

  “A supply of Maureen’s breakfast scones. Nanny is addicted to them. As are her nursing home cohorts. Maureen bakes her a bunch once a week to share with her cronies.”

  “I thought that’s what it was. I think I’m getting addicted to them, too. I’ve been eating more than I should every morning. Way more.”

  “Good thing you’ve got Maureen’s gym to work off all those carbs.”

  The minute the words came out of my mouth I wanted nothing more than to pull them back in. Just mentioning the gym had me thinking about Mo’s description of him in running shorts—toned abs, hard thighs, and a tight ass. I’d seen the proof of his abdominal muscles for myself. The thought of what it would feel like to be squeezed between those thighs made me press my own together to stop me from squirming in my seat. It did nothing to counteract my desire.

  “She’s got a great facility,” he said. “I usually run outside, but with all the snow here and the frigid temps, I’d rather not.”

  I said a silent prayer of thanks he hadn’t known what I’d been thinking.

  Lucas turned into the nursing home entrance, parked his car directly outside, and I pulled up behind him. I figured I wouldn’t be ticketed because I was with him, and since he was the one who would ticket me—well, I wasn’t worried.

  The three of us went straight to the dining hall, where I knew dinner was being served.

  “It’s never good news when people show up at suppertime,” Nanny announced when she spotted us, “especially when one of them’s a law man. Number One, what in blazes are ya doing here?”

  Lucas answered for me.

  “Seldrine’s tidyin’ up me room,” Nanny told us, eyeing the box in Frayne’s hand.

  I tilted my head to him, and he got the hint. We left him with Nanny and her friends while we went in search of Seldrine.

  “I have to admit,” Lucas said as we walked up the stairs to the second story, “I won’t shed a tear if Cam dies.”

  “I don’t think his wife will either.”

  Twenty minutes later, after leaving a shocked Seldrine with Lucas, I made my way back down to the dining hall. Nanny and Frayne were nowhere to be found.

  “That lovely man took Fiona to the solarium,” one of the residents told me.

  I found them huddled together on a sofa in the sunroom. They were both laughing, and Nanny had a hand flirtatiously placed over Frayne’s forearm. His laughter, rich, deep, and husky, was a sound I could have listened to all day long. Hell, all year long. A tingling sensation tripped up my spine when his eyes narrowed, practically disappearing from his face as he smiled. He threw back his head and howled at whatever my grandmother was saying.

  It was delightful to see him relaxed and happy, and I have to admit, my heart stuttered a bit when he brought Nanny’s gnarled hand to his lips and pressed a sweet kiss against her knuckles.

  “Number One, all done, are ya?” Nanny asked.

  I came into the room, a grin tugging on my lips. “Nanny, what tall tales have you been telling Mr. Frayne? I could hear the both of you laughing from the hallway.”

  “Ah, lass, nothing bad, to be sure. Merely sharin’ a few simple stories about me time touring.”

  “Oh, good Lord.” I knew exactly what she’d told him. Nanny’s days as a concert pianist were legendary in our family. Legendary and naughty. She’d had affairs with at least two dukes, one baron, and a smattering of lesser-titled men throughout the royal houses of Europe before coming back to Heaven and marrying her second husband. And then her third. And fourth, who was, thankfully, the last.

  “Your grandmother has led an extraordinary life,” Frayne said, the light in his eyes bright and clear. “Tales of her touring life would make for a terrific book.”

  “Salacious, more than anything,” I said.

  “Don’t be gettin’ any notions to write about me escapades, young man.” She swatted his arm with a grandmotherly thwack. “If I ever decide to write about me life, I’ll be doing the tellin’, not someone else.”

  “I’d be thrilled and honored to be your scribe,” Frayne said. “Anytime. Simply say the word.”

  “Ah, go on with ya.” She swatted his arm again. “I expect the two of ya will be off to dinner now. Seldrine okay?” she asked me.

  “She’s fine. Lucas is with her, taking her through everything she needs to be prepared for.”

  “She’s a strong lass.
Well…” She sighed deep and, because this was Nanny, theatrically. “Off with ya both now. Go enjoy a good meal and you”—she pointed at Frayne—“don’t be forgetting I want a full report on Robert when you’re all done with your research.”

  “That’s a promise,” he told her.

  “Good. Now, give us a kiss and run along.”

  I wasn’t surprised when Frayne bent and bussed her cheek.

  “And you,” she said when I bent to do the same. “I want to hear all about this event Olivia told me you’re signed up for. I want all the deets, as the kids say.”

  I nodded, my cheeks scorching.

  “Your grandmother is a remarkable woman,” Frayne said once we were back in my car.

  “That’s one word for her,” I said, slanting him a side eye. The grin on his face was equal parts heart stopping, sexy, and adorable. “Pathetic.” I shook my head.

  “What is?”

  “You and your whole gender.”

  He turned in his seat to look at me. “What have I and my entire gender done to be labeled pathetic?”

  I cocked my head his way, then turned my attention back to the road. “A little wink, a few arm taps, and a girlish giggle and you fall like a ton of bricks.”

  “What?”

  The sigh I exhaled was almost Nanny-worthy in its theatricality. “You have a crush on my ninety-three-year-old grandmother.”

  Complete bafflement filled his face. A half second later, his eyes widened, and he tossed out another of those deep, throaty laughs. The lower half of my body turned molten-lava hot.

  “Tell me I’m wrong.” I turned the car onto Glory Road and spotted a parking spot on the street right outside the place where I wanted to eat. This was another one of those reasons I loved living in a small town: you never had to search for parking.

  “You’re not. God. You’re not.” His head shook back and forth while his smile turned into a wicked grin.

  I put the car in park and got out. Over the hood, I said, “See? Pathetic. Every man I’ve ever known falls for her the moment she shines those twinkling blue eyes at him. I swear she casts a spell with a glance.” I shook my head. “I hope you like pizza because I’ve been craving it for days.”

  I walked toward the front door of Paradise Pizza, but Frayne stopped me in my tracks. With his hand circling my arm, he turned me around to face him. Gone was the playful expression, the laugh a mere memory. “Cathy.”

  Talk about casting a spell. I’d never really liked my name, thinking my parents had chosen one plain and common and not exotic or fancy because they wanted it to be easy to remember. It was way better than being called Number One any day of the week, though.

  But still.

  “Y-yes?”

  He moved in closer, his hand still gripping my arm. Through my coat, and even the suit jacket underneath it, the heat from his hand singed my flesh. The back of my throat suddenly clogged and my tongue turned the consistency of sandpaper when I rubbed it against the roof of my mouth.

  “What…what were you going to say?”

  His pale eyes did that little tilting thing down to my lips again before coming back up to settle on my own. The hint of a grin kicked up one side of his gorgeous mouth. “I love…pizza.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, good.” I reached to push the door open, but he beat me to it. “Then you’re gonna love this place. Best pizza in the state.”

  The pungent aromas of fresh garlic, basil, oregano, and a dozen other mouthwatering spices filled our senses when we walked into the establishment.

  “Hey, Counselor,” Sal, the owner of Paradise Pizza called out from behind the counter. “How you doin’?”

  “Good, Sal.”

  “Grab a seat. Gina’ll be right with ya.”

  We shucked off our outerwear and slid into a booth, facing one another as we had at the diner.

  Frayne opened the menu on the table and slid his glasses on.

  Was there ever going to be a time I didn’t get a little hot and bothered when he wore them?

  “Anything you order is going to be delicious. Don’t feel you need to get pizza simply because I am.”

  He peered at me over the top of the menu. His eyes were huge from the magnification.

  My toes started to tingle.

  “I told you I love pizza. Why don’t we split one? As long as you don’t like crazy toppings.”

  “What do you consider crazy?”

  His tugged the glasses down a bit so he didn’t have to look at me through the lenses.

  I had to press my knees together to keep my feet from tapping up and down.

  “Vegetables,” he said. “Vegetables on pizza are crazy. And just plain wrong.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Meat is good,” he said, considering. “Pepperoni or ham. Sausage. Extra cheese is even better.”

  “But no vegetables.”

  That corner of his mouth ticked upward again. “No vegetables.”

  “Got something against them in general, or just not feeling them as a pizza topping?”

  “In general.”

  I couldn’t stop the smile from blooming across my face. “Good to know I’m not the only adult who doesn’t like them. Despite the persistent efforts of my mother and grandmother when I was kid, I’m still not a fan.”

  “Hey, Counselor. Good to see you.” Gina, Sal’s wife, set two tall glasses of water down in front us, along with cutlery. She pulled her order pad from her apron pocket and asked, “Know what you want? Sal’s got his veal parmigiana on special tonight.”

  “As mouthwatering as I know that is,” I told her, “I think we’re going to split a pie.” I looked across the table at Frayne. “Extra cheese over meatballs sound okay?”

  He nodded.

  “You want salads or something other than water to drink?”

  “No on the salad, and I’ll take a large ginger ale.”

  “What about you, hon?” she asked Frayne. “You want a beer? A glass o’ wine maybe?”

  The tops of his cheeks turned pink, probably because she’d called him hon. Aww. Really, this guy was a walking advertisement for endearing and sexy. If he’d been a dog, he’d be a sexydoodle.

  I mentally blanched. Okay, I really needed some food in my system if I was starting to concoct new dog breeds.

  “Water’s fine, thanks,” he told her.

  “Okay. Be about ten, twelve minutes.”

  When she left us, Frayne tucked his glasses back into the collar of his sweater.

  “Can I—”

  “Listen, Cathy—”

  We both stopped.

  “Sorry,” Frayne said. “You first.”

  In the car, I’d debated how I could ask him what I wanted to know without making him defensive or angry. What I’d discovered about his family was horrible and went a long way in explaining why he wore his emotional pain like a full body jacket. The few minutes he’d spent with Nanny had erased those mournful shadows, and I was reluctant to ask something that could bring them back. In a perfect world, he would be the one to open up and tell me about their deaths without prompting. The likelihood of it happening, though, was dim.

  I tried a different tack. “I want to thank you for allowing me to buy you dinner. I felt bad you didn’t stay the other night after…well, after everything with George.”

  He folded his hands together and leaned his elbows on the table. “I didn’t stay because I thought it would be better if you were with your family. I didn’t feel right about horning in.”

  “You wouldn’t have. Goodness, you helped me through one of the worst days of my life. George was the child I’ve never had, and even though I knew I was going to lose him, I still wasn’t prepared.”

  Frayne gazed dropped down to his hands. “I don’t think we’re ever prepared to lose the ones we love.”

  As an opening toward asking him about his family, this was a pretty good one. Still, I didn’t know how’d he react if I pressed.

  The decision was t
orn from me when he added, “I know I wasn’t.”

  Lawyers employed many varied skills when eliciting information from witnesses, clients, whomever. One of those skills was the open-ended response. “Oh?”

  He lifted his gaze back to me and cocked his head. The shadows were back. “I…lost…my wife and daughter a few years ago.”

  I reached across the table and placed my hands over his folded ones. “I know it sounds trite to say it and offers no comfort at all, but I truly am sorry.”

  “Thank you. ”

  Gina returned then with our drinks and a plate of cheese sticks.

  “Sal says these are on the house, Cath. He appreciates everything you’ve done for Seldrine, says he’s happy she’s got you in her corner for the legal stuff.”

  Frayne pulled his hands back and rested them under the table in his lap at her words.

  “Thanks, Gina. Tell him I’ve got his niece’s back.”

  “He knows that. Hell, everyone in this town knows that. You’re the best lawyer we know, better than your old man even, which is saying a whole lot.”

  Frayne’s breath hitched as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  Gina squeezed my shoulder and left to check on her other customers.

  When I turned my attention back to him, those painful shadows were gone and a muscle in his jaw twitched.

  Nanny’s voice filled my head with gird your loins, lass. I took a mental breath before I said, “Can I ask you a question?”

  His nod was curt.

  “The reason you dislike lawyers and the legal system is because of what happened to your family, isn’t it?” I held my breath as I waited for his answer.

  “You know what happened?”

  “Yes.” Before he could ask me how, I offered the truth. “I did a Google search.”

  “On me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  It took everything in me not to confess the agony in his eyes touched my heart and I wanted to eradicate the pain. “It’s been my experience when someone has such an intense response to something, there’s usually a real, legitimate, and unsettling reason for it.”

  He stayed silent.

  “You were denied justice for what happened to your family. In your shoes, I’d feel the same way.”

  “I find that hard to believe since you work for the judicial system. Justice means nothing to lawyers. It’s all about winning at any cost. No matter who gets hurt or left in the wake.”