Pulling Home (That Second Chance)

by Campisi, Mary

  As for August Richot, Audra could destroy the pillar of Holly Springs with one statement. Would she show the same lack of mercy August had when he’d shunned Corrine Valentine’s pregnancy? Jack wouldn’t blame her if she did. Bringing forth such knowledge would gain her respect in a community that had condemned her most of her life.

  He rummaged through several more papers, wondering if Dr. Perfection’s surgeries on Hollywood’s darlings had affected his ability to judge a truly life altering situation. It took a bourbon and forty more minutes to discover the letter, neatly tucked in the side pocket of the briefcase.

  My days and nights are long and lonely without you. I dream of holding you in my arms, waking to the warmth of your touch, the headiness of your scent, the pleasure of your smile—filling me, completing me.

  Do you know how much joy you’ve brought me? How much pleasure? Yes, you must know the latter, my love. Our feelings transcend the physical. They belong to the spiritual— that level which can only be imagined by some, achieved by few.

  I detest that we must pretend we are nothing more than friends. I wish we could shout our love to the world, but I know it would hurt too many people and so, I remain silent but my heart beats for you alone.

  Always,

  Peter

  Jack re-read the letter five times, his heart shriveling more with each word until nothing remained but a dried-out shell. His brain refused to register what the words so clearly indicated but by the fourth time, tiny synapses sparked and burst out the truth. Audra and Peter Andellieu were lovers. She’d betrayed Christian. Duped Jack once again. Slowly, he picked up his cell and dialed her number. When she answered, he said, “I know the truth about you and Andellieu. Bring him to my house. You’ve got twenty minutes.”

  The pair arrived in the allotted time, another testament to their closeness. Andellieu appeared uneasy and tense, if not a little white around his tanned edges, but it only added to his good looks. Jack barely glanced at Audra. What would be the point? To look into those eyes and once again, be misled? To see love and affection where it so obviously was not? When would he learn?

  “Audra said you wanted to see us?”

  It surprised him when Andellieu spoke. Apparently the man didn’t trust his lover to formulate her own thoughts or maybe there were less lies if one person did the talking. Jack sat across from them, with Audra and Andellieu on the couch—how interesting—and Jack in the leather recliner. “I was going through Christian’s briefcase tonight and found this.” He held up the folded letter. “After hours of reading Christian’s financials, this was actually the only piece that interested me.” He pulled a smile across his face. “My brother treated you as a friend, and this is how you repay that friendship?”

  Dr. Perfection with his manners and poise stared straight at him and said, “Actually, I had hoped you would find it.”

  Andellieu wanted him to know about his affair with Audra? Why? So he could lay claim before Jack started to think he and Audra had a chance together? Had she said something? Started to have doubts about Dr. Perfection? “So this letter is what, some kind of message to tell me you’d been screwing her when my brother was alive and planned to continue now that he’s dead? How noble of you.”

  The right side of Andellieu’s jaw twitched. Twice. Good, he’d pissed him off. Audra kept her eyes on the letter in Jack’s hand. He tossed it at her. “Here. Maybe you want to refresh your memory. Christian wasn’t stupid. Did he find the letter and confront you or did he remain quiet, hoping like a fool you’d end the affair? He was better than all of us and this is how you treated him?” Rage burned through him. “You both deserve to rot in hell.”

  “Perhaps I do, but certainly not Audra.” Peter Andellieu covered her hand with long, piano-playing fingers.

  “Peter—”

  “Hush. I’m the one who put the letter there. I wanted you to find it.”

  “So I’d stop following Audra around like a sick puppy? Don’t worry, my eyes are wide open. I wouldn’t have her if she stripped naked and gyrated on my lap.”

  Dr. Perfection’s voice held an edge of anger as he said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Really?” Jack wanted to punch the guy and break his pretty nose, or at least smash a few teeth but it would only give the plastic surgeon guru another opportunity to play with his face. Jack unclenched his fists and settled in the recliner. “Enlighten me.”

  “No.” Audra stood and snatched the letter from the coffee table, shifting her gaze everywhere but on Jack. “There’s no sense pretending anymore. Everything you said is right. So, now you know. Peter, I want to leave.”

  “Audra.” Andellieu stroked her bare arm.

  Christ, the way he touched her made Jack want to break the guy’s fingers. And hand. And jaw.

  “He has a right to know.”

  “Damn right I do. If you’re going to play house with my daughter around, I have a right to know.” He enjoyed watching the color drain from her face when he referred to Kara. “I’m sure he knows about our past relationship and that I’m Kara’s real father. You do know that, don’t you? I mean if you’re sharing a bed, you’re sharing other secrets, too.” Andellieu’s perfect lips flattened. Ah, he didn’t like that. Well, too damn bad.

  “In some ways I see your brother in you. In others, you’re polar opposites. Christian would have harmed himself before humiliating another person.”

  “Don’t talk about my brother as though you really knew him.”

  “I did,” Andellieu said quietly.

  “Right, as your lover’s husband and the family uncle. How convenient.”

  “Peter, I want to leave.” Audra started walking toward the door. “Please. Now.”

  Andellieu didn’t jump up but laid his hands on his knees and met Jack’s gaze. “I didn’t write that letter to Audra.”

  “I’m not stupid.”

  “Peter, please.”

  “I wrote it to Christian.”

  “You wrote it to Christian? That’s crazy. Why would you do…” Jack’s brain shut down before it formulated the final thought.

  Andellieu’s voice dipped with raw pain. “We loved each other. We’d been together five years.”

  “But…” Jack’s brain refused to process the words.

  “Audra knew. She’s always known. Whose idea do you think it was to move to California?”

  “Are you saying it was Christian’s?” He pinned his gaze on Audra, who stood on the fringe of the room, tears streaming down her face.

  “It was easier for Christian to be who he was without fear of disappointing his family. He gave Audra a respectable way out and she gave him the perfect cover. And then there was Kara.” He paused and smiled across the room at Audra. “We all love her. Christian loved Audra too, just not in a romantic way.”

  “Are you saying they were never man and wife in the traditional sense?” It was too much to comprehend.

  “If you mean did they have carnal knowledge of one another, no. They had separate bedrooms as well. I know it sounds absurd, but it worked for us. We were all very happy.”

  “Maybe you were, but what about Audra? What about her needs?” He shot a glance at her. “Or while you and my brother were together did she go on the prowl for her own diversions?” The thought sickened him.

  “That doesn’t deserve an answer. You’re the only man she’s ever been with and if you can’t figure out why, then you don’t deserve her.” He stood and made his way to Audra who slung her arm around his waist and moved with him toward the door.

  And just like that Jack’s world shifted once again, landing flat on top of him. He could let her walk out of his life now and eventually the pain would scab over. Or he could stop her and open his heart. There were no guarantees. The front door opened. He shot out of the chair and cleared the room in eight steps. “Stay.” And then, “Please?”

  She swiped at her eyes, smearing mascara along her right cheek. Her eyes and nose were
puffed with various shades of red but she’d never looked more beautiful. All these years, she’d let others blame her for stealing Christian and tearing him from his family. They’d called her names and compared her to the no-good mother who slept with half the town. None of it had been true. If he had a lifetime, it wouldn’t be long enough to love her. “Audra?” Please tell me I haven’t gone too far. Please give me one more chance.

  She reached up and trailed her fingers along his jaw. “I’ll stay,” she whispered.

  Jack heard Peter’s footsteps on the stairs but he couldn’t take his eyes off Audra. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured, clasping her hands. “So very sorry.” He pulled her into the foyer and closed the front door.

  “I had to protect Christian. He was such a good person and I didn’t want people judging him.”

  “So you let them judge you instead?”

  She shrugged. “I could take it. He couldn’t.”

  Jack kissed her mouth softly, slowly, his tongue tracing her lips. “I’ve never stopped loving you.”

  “I ran two thousand miles to get away from you, but I couldn’t. You’ve been buried in my heart all this time.”

  “Then you love me, too. Right?” The vulnerability was killing him.

  She clutched his shoulders with both hands and reached up on tiptoe to return his kiss. “Of course I love you. No matter how hard I’ve tried not to, I’ve always failed.”

  “Good, then we’re in this for keeps.”

  “Forever.”

  “And even after that.” He grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom. When they reached the bed, he sat on the end and pulled her to him. “I’m going to ask you a question I should have asked nine years ago.”

  She began unbuttoning his shirt. “What might that be?”

  “Audra Valentine, will you marry me?”

  Her eyes shimmered with fresh tears. She kissed his forehead, his cheek, his mouth. “It’s about time,” she murmured. “Yes, Jack Wheyton, love of my life, I’ll marry you.”

  “How soon is too soon?” God, she knew how to drive him crazy with those hands, sliding down his chest toward his belt buckle. “Next week?”

  She eased the buckle open and moved to the button of his jeans. “We’ll figure it out.” She slid the zipper down. “Right now, we’ve got nine years to make up.”

  He jerked against her hand as she slipped her fingers inside his boxers. “Ahhh, I like the sound of that.” She inched his jeans and boxers down and rimmed her tongue between his leg and thigh. “I’m the only man you’ve ever been with?” he croaked.

  “Hmmm.”

  “If you were any better at this, I’d be a dead man.”

  Her laughter rained over him, exciting him even more. Leslie knew technique and staying power but Audra operated on passion and intuition, an intoxicating aphrodisiac. “I want you,” he groaned as she planted tiny kisses along his belly. With each movement, her silken hair tormented his cock until he knew he’d burst if he didn’t stop her now. Jack grabbed her shoulders and breathed, “I need to be inside you.”

  She lifted her head and flung back her hair, a slow smile creeping over her face. With sensual grace, she stood and toyed with the top button of her shirt. “I like the sound of that.” She flipped open one button, then another, and another. He sucked in tiny breaths, fighting the need to yank her skirt up and bury himself so deep inside her he’d never find his way out.

  “Audra”—he reached for her—“I’m only a man.”

  “Oh, I’m well aware of that.” She stepped back, just out of reach as the pink shirt slipped off her shoulders. Jack zeroed in on the golden flesh stuffed in a pink bra rimmed with black lace.

  Better than Christmas morning. He liked pink and black, he thought, as she trailed her fingers along the rim of black lace. They were his new favorite colors. Audra reached behind her back and unfastened the bra. There was no breathing after that. Firm and full, and waiting to be tasted. He blinked hard. Since she’d returned to Holly Springs their couplings had been fast and desperate. He wanted this one to be slow and titillating, but when she unzipped her skirt and stood before him in a pink and black thong, he knew ten seconds of waiting would be too long.

  Jack hauled her on top of him until she straddled his belly. “Baby, you’re driving me crazy. We’ll go slow later, maybe in a year or two, or ten.” He eased the thong to one side and impaled her moist heat with a low, satisfied groan.

  Audra let out a moan and road him, eyes fluttering closed, hands gripping his shoulders so hard there would be marks in the morning. “Jack. Oh. Jack.” The rhythm increased, the force intensified as he joined in, half bucking her off with his need. He knew the instant she split apart but half the city might have also. She screamed her pleasure, a shrill delight of obvious fulfillment which only enhanced his excitement. Three seconds and two pumps later, he spilled hot, wet need into her with an equally loud, equally satisfied yell.

  Later, after they’d slept, she lifted her head from his chest and murmured, “Jack, do you think anyone heard us? The windows are open and you’re close to the street and—”

  He hushed her with a kiss. “I don’t care if the whole city heard us,” he said, stroking her back. “They’ll all just be jealous anyway.”

  “But I didn’t mean to...”

  He smiled. “Experience pleasure so intense you temporarily lost your sanity? Sweetheart, you haven’t seen anything yet. I’ll have you pleasured so well you’ll be crazy with lust and loving every minute of it.”

  And then he spent the rest of the night showing her exactly what he meant.

  Chapter 32

  “Who would have ever thought things would turn out like this?”—Joyce Kirkshorn

  Jack and Audra had a plan. They talked about it the next morning after showering—together, of course. The plan involved Jack’s parents and a combination of exposure, confession, and withholding. The degrees of each were what plagued them.

  “Audra, I do hope your stomach has settled itself,” Alice Wheyton said, concern shadowing her gray eyes. “The twenty-four hour bug is just horrible. Joe had it this past spring and it wiped him out.”

  “I’m feeling much better now.”

  “Jack give you some magic potion?” Joe asked, eyeing his son. “Jack D and Coke?”

  Jack cleared his throat and said, “I didn’t pound her with whiskey, Dad.”

  Alice darted a quick glance at Audra. “What did you want to see us about, Jack? We figured it had to do with Leslie.”

  “Partly.”

  “Pills,” Joe harrumphed. “Sissy’s way out. I say if you’re gonna do yourself in, do it the right way. Get a gun and stick it—”

  “Joe! The girl needs our prayers, not critiques on how to do yourself in, for heaven’s sake.” Alice handed Audra a cup of hot tea and sighed. “Never mind him. Sometimes he acts like this is the Wild West and he’s the town sheriff.”

  “All’s I’m saying is my way gets the job done.”

  “Unless that’s not the real goal.” Jack leaned forward and said, “I broke up with Leslie yesterday and I think she took pills to try to make me change my mind.”

  “You broke up with her?” his mother repeated, her gaze narrowing slightly in confusion and dismay.

  “What the hell for?”

  “I didn’t love her, Dad. At least not enough to want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

  There. He’d said it. Audra sat very still, waiting for his parents’ response. “Well.” Alice cleared her throat and plunged her hands in her apron pockets.

  “I’ll be damned.” Joe smacked his knee and let out a belly laugh. “We got ourselves our own little Eden Street right here in Holly Springs.”

  “Joe Wheyton, you stop that right now,” Alice warned. “This is our son’s life we’re talking about, not a soap opera.”

  “I know, I know, but it sure makes things interesting. Too bad Leslie’s in the loony bin. Nice girl. Real proper young lady.”

/>   “What do you expect? She was a minister’s daughter. Of course she’d be proper.” Alice pulled out her rosary and made the sign of the cross. Then she cast a sideways glance at Jack and frowned. “You should never have led her on. If you had no intention of marrying Leslie, you should have said so from the beginning.”

  “Leslie has issues that have nothing to do with me. She needs time and a good psychiatrist to help her sort them out.”

  Alice sighed. “My, how that family’s fallen apart in the span of a month. Poor Grant. I know you never cared for him, but that boy’s had his share of grief these last few years. I always wished he’d find a nice girl and settle down.”

  “Actually, he had his eye on Audra,” Jack said.

  Jack. What are you doing?

  “Oh?” Alice leaned in, trying not to appear too interested.

  “What the hell,” Joe said, slapping both knees. “Doesn’t the horny little bastard know you just lost a husband?”

  “Dad, it’s okay. He only expressed an interest. He never acted on it.” Jack looked at Audra and a smile crept over his lips. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  “Even if he had, Audra would have rejected him,” Alice affirmed, “being a new widow and all.”

  Why did the statement sound like she’d slipped a question in the middle?

  “True,” Jack conceded. “But there’s another reason too.”

  “There is?” This from Alice.