Small Town Scandal

by Kay Lyons

  “Because I asked her. She knows your situation with the car and the storm, and she wants to help.”

  “She doesn’t even know me. You don’t know me, not really.”

  Garret grabbed her hands from where they rubbed her stomach in fast strokes. “I know enough. Now calm down or the contractions will start again. What’s the problem?”

  He was right so she tried to calm her nerves. His grandmother was probably a lovely woman, but she couldn’t imagine staying with a stranger. This wasn’t a snowstorm emergency. “I don’t want to be any more trouble and—Do you not remember what I said about not accepting charity? A motel is fine.”

  “Nonsense, dear.” Rosetta appeared behind them, a tray in her hands. “A woman so late in her pregnancy shouldn’t be alone, especially if she’s having problems. And it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to continue staying with my bachelor grandsons,” she told her pointedly. “This is a perfect solution until your car is repaired. You must think of the future. You’ll need to provide for the baby, not spend your money on overpriced lodging. You’ll be much more comfortable here, too.”

  Darcy realized Garret had stood there the entire time holding her hands in his, and she yanked them away, praying his grandmother hadn’t noticed.

  “I’m quite excited about your staying here. I lived at home when I went to college and I imagine this will be like having a roommate in one of those—Oh, what are they called?”

  “A dorm, Gram. They’re called dormitories.”

  “Yes, that.” She set the tray on the coffee table, smoothing the ends of her silver wrap back into place when she settled herself on the couch. “Please don’t be angry with my grandson, Darcy. I really do want to help. Things get a bit lonely here this time of year when so many of the residents go south to warmer areas. I have a spare bedroom to offer and insist you think about your little one. Perhaps you would consider your room and board payment for being my companion? I’d love the company.”

  Darcy glanced at Garret again, and found him awaiting her response. “Well…”

  “Come sit down, dear. Let’s get to know one another. Garret, you go to work and stop by again this evening. Darcy will have made her decision by then, and if she still wants to go to a motel you can take her. How does that sound for a compromise?”

  Darcy knew there was little choice to be made. Garret had disrupted his schedule enough for her, and Rosetta had a point. Her options were to stay here with someone who seemed like a very nice woman, or a hotel she couldn’t afford. She took in the homey interior of the condo, then studied Garret’s and Rosetta’s expressions. “That sounds good. Thank you.”

  Garret squeezed her shoulder on the way out the door, standing close and smelling heavenly. “Have fun,” he murmured, his breath sending a shiver over her. “Just remember to rest. Gram can be a party animal.”

  PAIN STABBED through Jocelyn as quickly as the box cutter had sliced into her hand. She gasped and swore, dropping the utility knife and then jumping back when it clattered onto the floor at her feet.

  “Careful, you don’t want Daddy to hear you.”

  Pressing on the cut to try to dull the pain, she turned and saw Tobias weaving his way through the boxes and crates that had arrived today. Pottery and glassware carefully packed, a sculpture from Spain. All she was missing were the pieces by a Montana metal artist she desperately wanted to showcase. Why wouldn’t Marcus Whitefeather call her back?

  Tobias’s gaze dropped to her hand. “What the—” He hurried around the last of the obstacles and grabbed a towel she’d been using to dust the pieces after she removed them from their packing. “Give me your hand.”

  “That’s dirty.”

  “It’s better than letting that bleed.” He took the decision away from her and wrapped the towel around it, pressing firmly.

  “What are you doing here?”

  His jaw locked. “I came to look at some office space that’s available and thought I’d drop by and see if your help arrived. Looks like I’m just in time.”

  “Office space? Why are you—”

  “It’s a long story.”

  Joss lifted her hand and placed it over his. “What happened?”

  His scowl deepened. “I turned in my notice.”

  “What? You’ve been with Wellington, Wellington and Deere for years. How could you quit when you’re up for a…? Oh, Tobias.”

  His hair hung over his forehead as he stared down at their tangled hands. “They gave the partnership to someone else.” He smirked, but she could tell it was for show. One glance revealed his hurt, the anger rolling off him. He had every right to be angry, too.

  Mr. Wellington was one of her father’s friends, but she knew him well enough to know he played favorites and often made promises he had no intention of ever keeping, all in the name of business. “Are you looking for office space to open your own practice?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I’m going to check into things and I thought I might contact a headhunter.”

  She stiffened. “You can’t leave town.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because…your family would be upset. Garret, too. You had a bad day, Tobias, but you don’t want to leave.”

  “What about you?”

  Jocelyn swallowed, the sound audible in the otherwise quiet building. “What do you mean?”

  “Would you care if I left?”

  Chapter 14

  OF COURSE.” She tried, oh, how she tried, but his lion eyes wouldn’t let her look away. “I know you’re angry but—”

  “Why?” he insisted.

  “Garret—”

  “I’m not talking about Garret. Would you care if I left?”

  What did he expect her to say? “You’re a good friend, Tobias. If you hadn’t helped me with the permit, I wouldn’t be able to open.”

  “In other words, I’m the go-to boy when Garret is busy.”

  “Of course not! I meant—What do you want me to say?” The words came out sharper than she’d intended.

  “Nothing. I don’t expect you to say anything. I was just wondering if you’d actually have an opinion of your own.”

  The cut on her hand hurt like crazy but Tobias’s comment caused more pain. She had plenty of opinions, plenty of brains and—“I’d care. What kind of space are you looking for? There’s an empty office above the gallery here.”

  Joss turned away and stooped to pick up the box cutter. Her father would be furious. Garret wouldn’t care, of course, but her father—

  “You want to rent me the space upstairs?” He sounded surprised. No wonder. She wasn’t sure why she’d offered.

  “I merely mentioned it’s available,” she corrected, trying to backpedal and not doing a good job of it. “It’s sitting there and the rent would help meet my payment. Never mind. You obviously aren’t interested.”

  “I’m interested.”

  She closed her eyes. “I should probably mention it to Garret before—”

  “Can I see it?”

  “Now?”

  “Why mention me renting it if I don’t like it? Show it to me, and then I’ll help you unpack all of this and put it wherever it needs to go. I don’t have anything else to do at the moment. Wellington told me to get out so I packed up my stuff and left.”

  “You said you gave notice.”

  “I lied.” He shoved his big hands into his pockets. “It sounded better than saying I told him where he could stick his partnership and got fired.”

  “Good for you.” She swallowed, her heart beating a little too fast. Why should she care that Tobias told Wellington off? Why should she feel proud of him? But she did. Because she wanted to do the same with her father. Wanted to stand up to him and people like Mr. Wellington, prove their meanness and hatefulness would come back to haunt them because the people they disregarded would rise above their sad behavior. “Let me get the keys and a Band-Aid.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Too aware of Tobias
following her, she entered the office and grabbed the first-aid kit. While she sprayed the cut with antiseptic, he opened a Band-Aid. Did his hands tremble, just a little? Or was that hers? Finally the protective strip was in place and they were on their way upstairs in the old-fashioned elevator.

  “So…have you talked to Garret today?”

  “Earlier, yes.” Why hadn’t she noticed how slow the elevator was before? “Briefly.” Finally the elevator settled into place. “Here we are.” The third floor spread out in front of them. “The area is only about two thousand square feet. I doubt it’s what you’re looking for but—”

  “It’s perfect.”

  “Oh.” She watched Tobias look around the area, his big body moving with surprising masculine grace. Strong lines, the proud tilt of his head. He’d be a hard man to sketch but she’d love to tackle the challenge. A bronze nude would—

  She blinked, her heart beating out of rhythm. She had no business, no business at all, looking at Tobias like that. Why had she? She loved Garret. But the last few times they’d been together she’d left the encounters feeling frustrated and uneasy. It was silly, nothing more than stress. She loved Garret, and how many couples didn’t share one iota of love between them? They could be happy, would be happy if he ever proposed. It was silly to let absurd, inconsequential things irritate her the way they seemed to be doing of late.

  But she couldn’t help it. She hated the way Garret rubbed his chin anytime he was sitting still, and his awful taste in movies that lacked even the most basic plot. More guns and action did not a blockbuster make. And art? How could anyone not appreciate art on some level?

  “Are you planning on doing anything with it soon?” Tobias’s gaze narrowed on her. “What’s wrong? What were you thinking about?”

  Her mind scrambled for an appropriate topic. “Rosetta’s birthday party. It’s coming up.”

  “Not for a month.” Tobias moved close. “Jocelyn…” He ran a hand over his face, and she knew he didn’t want to say whatever was on his mind. “You and Garret are bound to have some rough spots. You just have to stick it out and be strong.”

  Stick it out? Be strong? Why did she always have to be the one to give in? Conform? What about Garret? Realizing Tobias knew nothing of her thoughts, and the topic probably had more to do with Garret’s actions over the weekend, she sighed. “If this is about the pregnant woman he rescued, I’m not worried.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Sure about that? You looked worried.”

  “Tobias, he’s Garret. He’s just doing what he does best, what he’s always done. One of the ladies from The Village stopped by this morning to congratulate me on snagging such a hero, and then proceeded to grill me on what I knew about the woman staying with Rosetta. Think he’d take a mistress there? I’m not worried.”

  As she spoke she felt, saw, his attention shift lower. To her mouth? A low throb unfurled in her stomach. “Garret and I are fine. We’re both busy. Besides, I couldn’t plan a wedding now, anyway.”

  “Some people think that’s what wedding planners are for. And your mother and his would handle everything if you’d let them.”

  “I’d want to plan my own wedding.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to turn Garret down if he asks?”

  “No! Of course not. How could I after all this time?”

  “You just said you didn’t have time to get married. Surely you wouldn’t do it simply because your father wants it to happen?”

  She released a hollow laugh. Where was he going with this? “I’d make time. And I’m sure everyone in town has heard Daddy’s views on when and where and how Garret and I should get married, but I wouldn’t do it unless I wanted to.”

  “Do you?”

  “Any woman would be nuts not to want to marry Garret.” That wasn’t an answer and they both knew it. He watched her too closely, made her afraid to blink, to move, because if she did, he’d see the truth. The doubts. “Really, Tobias, why all the questions? Do you doubt my sincerity?”

  “I’ve known you long enough to know you generally do what your father says.”

  “Not always. He didn’t want me opening this gallery and I’m still doing it. And that’s the second time you’ve indicated you think you know me better than you do. How is that possible when you’ve always disliked me and kept your distance as if you’re afraid to be near me?”

  Her comment spurred him to action. Jaw rigid as though he ground his teeth into nubs, Tobias took slow, deliberate steps toward her. Joss backed up, the trembling inside her growing.

  “I’m not afraid to be near you. Why would you think that?”

  “You always seem…uncomfortable around me.”

  He took in her quivering stance with a sweep of his gaze. “The same is true of you.”

  “Only because you glare at me all the time.”

  “With good reason. Maybe I’m uncomfortable because I don’t like thinking of you as a sacrificial lamb willing to sell herself for a ring and a bank account to make Daddy happy.”

  “How dare you!”

  “Admit it. Harry wants a toehold in the Tulane family, and you’re his ticket. Am I wrong?”

  Her back hit the wall. She swallowed at the abrupt end of her retreat and hated the expression of superiority on his face. “Is that why you’re friends with Garret? Because you’re using him?”

  She knew in an instant she’d said the wrong thing, but it was too late to take the words back. Tobias closed the remaining distance between them, not stopping until he stood so close she could see the gold flecks in the burnt sienna in his eyes, such a beautiful amber. Garret was more handsome by far, but Tobias—

  He braced a hand on the wall beside her head, his body blocking her escape. “He’s going to ask you to marry him soon, and it kills me to think that you might say yes just to make your father happy.”

  The words came out an angry growl, and a sizzle of excitement raced down her spine. This was the man she’d seen in the teenager she’d known. Angry, driven to right injustices, determined to protect those he loved and valued as friends. Passionate. What would it be like to be the object of that passion?

  Scalding heat rushed into her cheeks.

  “You want to know what I think? I think you’ve avoided Garret for months because it’s starting to dawn on you that there’s more to life than always doing what your daddy says and being Garret’s eye candy. First it was charity work and finishing your art degree. You even used Garret’s work schedule as an excuse. Now it’s the gallery.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Garret and I are both busy and my life is none of your business. Why do you care?”

  “Because he’s my friend. Because he never treated me like I was second best and I’d hate to see him wind up in a second-rate marriage.”

  Staring at Tobias, she lost the ability to breathe.

  Was it true? Heaven knew her father would overlook a lot of things, but he’d never forgive her if she ruined her future with Garret and the running of his precious hospital.

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said again. “Garret is…He’s wonderful. He’s smart and kind and giving. So handsome.” She held eye contact with him, pleading with him to understand. “But sometimes he drives me crazy,” she admitted, her voice shaking. “He sings these awful ditties that don’t make sense, and he always has a pen in his hand that he won’t stop clicking. And when he kisses me, it’s like he’s afraid I’m going to break. I won’t break. I’m not some kind of china doll too expensive to play with and I want—I want more!”

  She stared up at him, horrified at what she’d said. And to Garret’s best friend? But Tobias listened to her every word. As if he heard her, really heard her.

  Breathing hard, she dropped her gaze to his mouth and she didn’t stop to think of the consequences. Desire singed her veins, the same desire reflected in his eyes.
In the flaring of his nostrils when he realized her intent. But he didn’t move away. No, as she flung herself against him and pressed her mouth over his, he groaned, but he didn’t back away.

  A second, that’s all he gave her before he took control. Not a soft gentle kiss but one that rocked her head back with the force of it. She moaned when his tongue swept inside to stroke. It was rough and fast and just what she needed. She was bombarded from every direction. The taste and feel of him as he flattened her to the wall with his body.

  This kiss… His kiss… used teeth and tongue and created too much need, whip-fast pleasure that made her want to forget everything else. Her father and Garret and the ring she knew would be beautiful.

  Lost, wanting to be taken wherever this led, wanting to feel one last time before having to face the numbness of regular, everyday life, she kissed him back, seeking, finding a white-hot passion guaranteed to send her soaring. But at what cost?

  The thought brought painful clarity, instantaneous regret. The raw wound inside her opened up as though split by a bolt of lightning. She jerked out of Tobias’s arms and slid sideways along the wall, watching as comprehension dawned on his face.

  What had she done? Not only to herself but to Tobias? He was Garret’s best friend. And Garret—Oh, Garret.

  Glaring at her, Tobias’ expression revealed his disgust with her and the situation she’d created, the boundary they’d crossed. She flinched and closed her eyes, didn’t open them again until she heard him slam into the stairwell.

  Her hand over her mouth, she leaned against the wall, rubbing to remove the feel of him, but only managing to taste him more. Stupid was messing up a good thing, kissing her boyfriend’s best friend.

  What goes on in that soft little head of yours, Jocelyn? Sometimes I think you’re either too smart for your own good or too stupid to live.

  Stupid was proving her father right.

  TOBY BURST out of the gallery via the back door. Where all the bottom feeders come and go in Debutante World.