by Nancy Gideon
"So Allen killed him and set up the frame," Tessa concluded wearily.
"And while you were trying to get into the room through the door Allen locked, he went back out the way he came, pulling the window back in behind him. I'm sure he planned to return to fix the seals before someone with an intuitive insight happened to notice. Russ stopped by the other night to confirm my theory. It's a good thing Allen didn't have time to clean up after himself or we might never have figured it out. He was too busy chasing a very stubborn young woman who refused to believe the neat little scenario he arranged for her to find. Must have really ticked him off."
Tessa made no comment. She was busy trying to process all she'd just learned. Allen's plan was brilliant. He never would have been discovered had it not been for Jack. And she never would have uncovered the truth about the lies surrounding her life.
"Martinez was picked up a half hour ago. She's lawyered up and promising to sue everyone. Looks like business will be good for your constituents." He stopped brushing the bits of glass from his hair when he noticed the silence was thickening. He'd missed something. Something that had to do with a letter he'd locked away in his safe at home. Something to do with secrets kept too long and consequences that got too big. He glanced meaningfully at his friend.
"Mrs. D'Angelo, may I take you home?" Russell offered. "You look as though you could use some good strong tea."
"Thank you … Mr. Russell, is it?"
Jack quickly made the introductions.
"I think I'd like to go to the hospital first," Barbara stated. "I'd like to see Stan."
There was silence. Tessa still wouldn't meet her imploring gaze.
"Tessa, we'll talk later?"
"Jack, I'm ready to go," was all she'd say before walking away from her mother's emotional entreaty.
* * *
In the noisy Dodge Ram with Jack's motorcycle loaded into the back, they left the city for the woods. Word had already leaked to the press and Jack had to do some fancy driving to avoid flattening several persistent reporters. They lost interest in following him after his first few hairpin turns. By then, Jack had lost interest in them, too. He was covertly studying his passenger.
He'd been so damn proud of her. She hadn't lost her cool. She'd reacted with an instant, gut-level aggressiveness that had probably saved her mother's life. He couldn't have gotten to Allen in time. His heart had stopped when he'd seen her wrestle the gun away from its intended target, becoming one instead. He'd known right then.
Some said life flashed before one's eyes when confronted with death. The future had panned in glorious full color through Jack's mind in that single second. A future with Tessa sharing his days, his nights, his dreams and disappointments. At his side, to watch Rose grow up and, God forbid, to begin to date boys. There to make him laugh with her acid tongue and to think with her intuitive reflections. There to force him to face the turmoil of his past and to look to the promise of the days to come with something closer to optimism than resignation.
When had he fallen so heart over head in love with her? And how was he going to tell her now that her world was falling apart?
"I've decided to make a career change," he mentioned casually, then waited for her to come back at him. She didn't let him down, even though her response was lower key than usual.
"You've decided to become a priest."
His laugh boomed in the truck's cab. "Not hardly. That's where I've been, not where I'm going." When he didn't elaborate, she couldn't stand it, and was coaxed from her own miseries to consider the tease of his statement.
"What, then?"
"There's not much satisfaction in training a bunch of gung-hos to travel to foreign countries to handle causes you'll never even hear about on the news."
"I could have told you that."
"Mmm. I believe you did. Repeatedly. Anyway, I've decided to walk away from that particularly lucrative venture to try something a bit more rewarding. I got the idea from you. And your mom."
Now he had her hooked. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her self-pity and that's exactly what he'd planned. So far, so good.
"I've got the tools and I've got the talent," he allowed with a smug smile.
"To do what? Come on, Chaney. The suspense is killing me."
Good.
"I'm afraid your do-goodership has infected me and since I can't seem to find a cure, I guess I'll just have to find a way to live with it. When I saw you at Jo's that first time, and your beautiful baby blues were so filled with helplessness and fear because your life was out of control, I started to feel something I hadn't felt in a long time. Outrage. No one should ever be that alone and that afraid with nowhere to turn and no one to help."
"So who you gonna call, Jack?" She'd turned toward him on the seat, her expression engrossed, and that had his emotions engaged.
Damn, he loved her. But he was getting ahead of himself.
"Sometimes people need a guardian angel to watch over them, to keep them safe, to keep trouble from finding them and maybe to get involved, just a little, in making things right again. All legally, of course."
She smiled. "Of course. But you're forgetting one thing."
"What's that?"
"You're no angel, Jack. You're a warrior and a lone wolf at that."
He grinned at her wry observation. "Well, even wolves can run in packs. Or lead them. There are a lot of out-of-work and war-weary wolves out there who might welcome the opportunity to undo some of the things they've done in the past, to rectify some of the choices they've made."
"So you're going to lead a pack of warrior wolves to do what, exactly? Protect mankind against the evils of the world?"
"No. That's your job. Nothing quite so grand as that. Just to protect the innocent from becoming victims until your justice has a chance to work in their favor."
"Bodyguards?"
"Personal protection has a better ring to it. A bit more marketable, too, don't you think?"
"Lone Wolf's Warriors, personal protection professionals." She smiled again. "I like it."
He allowed himself a moment to wallow in her appreciation before continuing. "I figure I've got the setup already to train and hone skills and you've got a network of those in need. Together, we can make that difference you're always going on and on about."
Smooth. He was beginning to pride himself on how slickly he'd slid in that togetherness bit when she finally caught on. Her eyes narrowed slightly. Her gaze grew suspicious.
"We?"
He rushed on, thinking to lessen the impact of that one little word. "I figure I can get things started while you're busy setting up your practice. I can interview and Stan and my dad can do some discreet background checks. By the time we have enough wolves in our pack, you'll be in place to send the worthy and wealthy our way."
"Sounds like you've done a lot of figuring. When were you planning to include my input in this scheme?"
"That's what I'm doing now." He turned his best bad-boy-begging-for-forgiveness look her way. She might pretend to be immune but he could see his killer charm seeping in to coax a reluctant consideration through her initial irritation.
"You'd need office help," she suggested. "Someone to run the phones and do the paperwork."
"I've got some ideas."
"Yeah, you're just full of them, aren't you, Chaney?"
She settled hack in her seat, her expression growing contemplative. That was good, wasn't it? She hadn't said no. She hadn't exactly turned handsprings, either.
"You can stay at my place, if you like. Rose loves having you there and she and your lazy cat have become annoyingly inseparable. It's not like you have other places you have to be."
That was stupid. Rub it in her face that she had no place to go, no home to return to. But she didn't attack that blundering statement. She appeared to mull it over. And he'd just have to be patient while she did.
Patience was his new middle name.
* * *
Like co
ming home.
That's how it felt to Tessa as she climbed out of the truck. She studied the soaring walls of glass that reflected the two of them approaching. She and Jack, together. In a partnership? In more than that? What exactly did "stay here" entail? Office space or that "more" that she had begun to desire? Had he offered out of pity or was he, in some clumsy, commitment-phobic way, trying to tell her he wanted her here for other reasons? And if he did, would she stay?
It wasn't as if her world was overflowing with options at the moment.
She could never go back to her apartment. That broken glass would haunt her forever.
Return to her family home now that she knew her life had been a lie? Pain echoed dully within her chest. Even more unlikely. Her mother was moving on to make her own future. Whether Tessa wanted to be a part of it, to build on the relationship that had begun between them, would depend on whether forgiveness could overcome a lifetime of necessity-driven deception. As an adult, she could empathize with Barbara D'Angelo's decisions. But as a daughter, she felt bruised by the lack of trust and the missed chances to enjoy a mother's love. That ache was going to take a lot of time and tenderness to heal. Time she had. Was Jack going to provide her with the other?
She didn't even have office space. She was technically unemployed. Tomorrow was Monday and she had no place to be. No place to belong.
Except here.
And she wanted to belong here more than anything else. But Jack had to ask her with a bit more clarity before she could say yes to whatever he might propose. She was too beat up inside to settle for second best or charity. She'd spent a lifetime doing that. Time to demand what she wanted from life then be brave enough to take it.
She wanted Jack Chaney on almost whatever terms she could get him. Almost. But she had just enough pride left to insist on hearing words spoken.
And then she would have to say them back.
If he could, she could.
Rose came out to greet them on the porch. Her round face was wreathed in a smile. "Hola, Miss Tessa. I brushed Señor Tinker and fed him his dinner already."
"And he sat still and let you brush him?"
"He was not happy about it at first but when I told him how handsome he was with his fur all shiny and soft, he began to like the idea."
How to handle the difficult male, as taught by an all-too-wise twelve-year-old. Tessa smiled and shook her head. "He must trust you an awful lot. He hid under the bed every time I tried to groom him for the first six months."
For Rose, it was simple logic. "He knows I love him and would never hurt him."
"Cats can sense that," Tessa told her, very aware of how close Jack was standing beside her.
"So can wolves, or so I've heard," he murmured against her ear, leaving her all shivery and hot as he went to scoop Rose up in his arms.
"I saw Mrs. Barbara on the news," Rose chattered away. "She was there with your friend Mr. Russell. He said some bad words and pushed the camera man down."
"Good for him."
"Is Mrs. Barbara coming back here?" She looked to Tessa hopefully and an uncomfortable Tessa didn't know how to answer.
"Not right away," Jack told her. "She's got some things she's got to take care of first." And one of those things had to do with mending a family breach into a fabric of trust. And he meant to do what he could to help that happen. When Tessa was ready. "It's been a long day, little monkey. Have you got a hug for me?"
Her arms whipped tight around his neck for a monumental squeeze. The same squeeze Tessa was feeling around her heart as the girl proclaimed, "I love you, Mr. Jack."
"And I love you, too, Rosebud." He pressed a loud smacking kiss to her temple and set her down. "Now, get your schoolwork all ready for tomorrow because after dinner, we need to sit down together and have that talk I promised you."
"I will," she vowed then bounded away, all high-octane energy.
Jack sighed, his shoulders taking a heavy rise and fall. "It's killing me knowing how much this is going to hurt her."
"You're going to tell her about her mother?"
"I have to."
"It won't be as bad as you think. I promise."
"I'd like to hold you to that. I want to move on, Tess, and I can't do that until I put the past away."
She stepped up beside him and slipped her arm around his waist. His settled in a comfortable drape around her shoulders. She snuggled in close and said, "I will if you will. I love you, too, Mr. Jack."
She hadn't meant to just say it out loud like that. The words hung like a plume of frosty breath on a winter morning. And just as quickly, they dissolved in the heat of his embrace.
"Yeah? Seems like an awful lot of that going around all of a sudden. What goes around, comes around."
"Which means exactly what?" She had to hear the words.
"You are the most aggravating woman I've ever known."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"Yes, it is. You won't be ignored, you won't be dismissed, you won't settle for anything except one hundred and ten percent. And you don't hit like a girl."
"Wow, Mr. Chaney, your smooth talking is overwhelming me."
"I'm just getting started."
She could feel his smile against her hair and her emotions started doing a tango.
"Since you came barging into my world, uninvited I might add, you have frustrated me, fought with me, challenged me and never backed down from what you believed in for a minute. I love that in a woman. And dammit, you made me love that about you. You've made me want to protect you, strangle you and bed you since that first day. You're that song that gets stuck in my head and I can't get it out even though it's driving me crazy. You drive me crazy, Tessa. You push me into being the man I need to be and I want to be that man for you."
His cell phone started to ring.
"Hold on to that thought a minute." He moved hack and pulled out his phone. "Chaney."
Tessa had to hold on to something. Her knees were wobbling like a baby about to take its first steps. Her hands fluttered as nervelessly as her heartbeats. She took a deep breath, willing the shaking to stop but, at the same time, wanting it never to end.
"Hey, Barbara. Yes, she's here and she's fine. We were just having a discussion about the rest of our lives. That's okay. You're not interrupting. I'd just gotten to the good part but a little suspense will make her appreciate me all the more."
He grinned at Tessa, that killer flash of predatory teeth that in tandem with dark bedroom eyes was a one-two punch she couldn't evade. She went down for the emotional count, her senses reeling. He went back to his conversation to give her time to shake it off. As if she could.
"I heard you were on the news. How'd that go? Good girl. Don't let them push you around. Keep your head up but don't drop your guard, either. Barbara, do you know how to type? Never mind. We'll talk about it later. Right now I'm planning to do the decent thing by your daughter so we can indulge in indecent things for the rest of the evening." Jack winked at Tessa.
"Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'm a man of my word. I told you I would take care of her and I plan to, for as long as she'll let me. Patience is my middle name. I'll tell her to expect your call. Late tomorrow would probably be better." His expression went suddenly serious and his reply echoed that sincerity. "Thank you, Mrs. D'Angelo. I'll make sure you don't regret it." He flipped the phone shut and paused a moment before meeting her curious gaze.
"What was that about? The 'no regrets' part."
"She was welcoming me to the family. That's a bit premature though. I think you have to do that first to make it official."
His prompting gaze had her at an abrupt loss for words. Then when she started to talk, she knew she was babbling, her words a froth of bubbles after the pop of a champagne cork.
"You won't be getting the Coshy family, you know. We're not all that functional. We've got this nasty scandal to deal with, some mother-daughter issues to resolve, two brothers who
will probably want to beat you up."
"Those are just the perks. What about what's really important?" His thumb traced down the side of her cheek and he waited.
She realized then that Jack Chaney was the man she'd wanted Robert D'Angelo to be, a man of honor, of conviction and of limitless acceptance. With Jack, she didn't have to be perfect to be loved. She could fail and falter and never lose his respect because he understood what it meant to make and forgive mistakes, with others and now himself. And he trusted her to do the same. If only her father had learned that lesson sooner. If only he hadn't taken for granted what Jack prized the most. Her value, her worth, her love.
"I think you and Rose and Constanza would make everything complete. You make me complete."
"We're going to be good together." And he kissed her thoroughly as a down payment on that promise. When he leaned back, deviltry danced in his black eyes. "Now that we've got the respectable stuff out of the way, what say we go upstairs and get to the indecent things?"
"Jack, it's not even noon." But it was a weak protest belied by the way her hands molded to his backside.
"That's why I've got locks on the doors and bulletproof glass. To protect what's mine by keeping the world out and you inside."
"That's where I want you, Jack Chaney."
"I love pushy women."
And? Say it, Jack.
"And I love you, Tessa D'Angelo."
Enough said. Now, it was time for action.
"Show me."
"Yes, ma'am. For the rest of my life. You'll find I'm a man of my word."
She was counting on it.
* * * * *
