Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six (16 page)

Cade opened the French door to the patio to check on the dogs. On summer nights, he let Red sleep outside if he wanted. Red headed for his wooden doghouse, but Gollie clung to him, wagging her tail and begging for pets, so he let her in.

“You’re a sweetie, aren’t you? I bet you like snuggling up with Andie in that big bed of hers.” He took a doggie brush from a basket near the TV and sat on the floor cross-legged.

The dog climbed into his lap and let him brush her. Her fur was silky yet textured, more reddish than a golden retriever, and she had collie markings, with white patches on her nose. She lay relaxed on his legs as he went through her coat, picking out twigs and burrs.

“You’re a pretty girl. You like it here with Red? You two are best friends?” He wished the same could be said about him and Andie.

She’d acted weird when he said they could be like regular roommates. It was exactly what she wanted. Ah, heck, maybe she had a stressful day at work. Ronaldo Silver was not an easy man to work for. The dude was demanding and arrogant. Bet he pictured himself a king like David.

Gollie turned on her back and spread her legs, exposing her belly for a rub. Cade brushed her chest hair and gave her belly a hearty tickle. “Okay, girl. Time for bed. Let me take you to your mistress.”

He stood, patted his leg, and Gollie followed him up the spiral staircase.

Truth? It was the master bedroom, sort of. The upper suite had been an add-on by the previous owner who realized that the best view of the house was over the kitchen and dining room. So he’d cut a hole in the ceiling of the great room and built the suite above. There was a surprise in the black ceiling of the bedroom, but he’d wait to unveil it when and if he ever shared the bed with Andie.

For now, he’d stay in the original bedroom wing of the house and let Andie think she rented the spare room.

The lights were still on under the door, so he knocked loudly. “Gollie’s here. Do you want her?”

The door cracked open, but not enough for Gollie to enter. Andie’s hair was partially obstructing her face and she was breathing fast. “Sure, thanks. Come in, girl.”

Gollie shied away from the small opening, and as Andie reached to grab her collar, Cade pushed the door wider. Andie’s suitcases were open, and her clothes were scattered on the bed.

“You going somewhere?” Cade asked, while Gollie crawled into the room and jumped on the bed.

Andie wiped her palms on her clothes and took a shallow breath. “I’m in your way. I’m sorry I can’t stay.”

“Can’t you wait until the weekend? Where will you go?” Cade brushed his hand over his hair. “Did I say something that offended you?”

Seeing her so jumpy made him want to take her in his arms and calm her. If only he could kiss that distressed look from her face. But she was the one who’d set down the rules. Roommates only.

“No, you didn’t.”

“So, why do you want to move out?”

She took a giant step back and sat on the bed. “Because I don’t want to know what you do at night or think about where you are and who you’re with.”

“I was with my mother this evening. I wasn’t out on a date, Andie.” He clambered to the bed and sat next to her.

“But I was.” She covered her face with both hands. “Someone from work asked me to dinner, and at first I thought it was a welcome to work kind of thing, but halfway through, he leaned over the table and kissed me, and I let him. Afterwards, he wanted me to go to his place, but I told him to bring me back, and when I was getting out of the car, I was scared that you’d be here and see me, and then what?”

Cade’s stomach turned over the steak he’d just eaten. His Andie had gone on a date?

“Who? I’ll kill him.” He pounced from the bed and slapped both sides of his head.

How could she do this? First day at work and she kissed a coworker? It had to be that Leroy Chan guy, the King David expert she worked with.

Her face fell, and she twisted the bedspread and moaned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Of course not. He’d heard it before.
It just happened.
Famous old words. Not that he had a claim over her. She’d made that clear. “Wait, sorry. Nothing. None of my business.”

She hid her face from him, guilty as all sin. Cade felt like his heart was ripped from his body by a giant claw.

“Maybe you’re right,” he finally said. “I’ll stay on my side of the house until you find a place. You can drive one of my cars and get your own groceries. My dog walker can still take care of Gollie during the day, but you should brush her and bring her up to your room. I’ll pretend you’re not here.”

“I’ll be gone as soon as I find a place. I’m sorry.”

“No worries. Bye.” He stormed from her room and ran to the garage. Even though it was a weeknight and he had to be up for training camp the next morning, he wasn’t going to stick around. Ronaldo was right. Women didn’t respect whipped guys.

He jumped in his Porsche and roared down the winding hill.

# # #

The next morning, Andie dragged herself to work without making any progress on finding a new place to live. Everything was too overwhelming, the new job, being in California, and feeling more lonely than she’d ever been without her parents around.

She straightened her back as the elevator arrived at her floor. She couldn’t afford to look like something the dog dragged in.

Cade had stayed out all night and hadn’t returned in the morning. She was the one who changed the water dishes for the dogs.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, she put more energy in her step and waved a cheerful greeting to Sylvia, Ronaldo’s admin. Today, she was dressed in a yin and yang outfit, half black and half white with black inside white and white inside black. Interesting.

“How’d your first day of work go?” Sylvia chirped as she hung up the phone. “The boss wants to see you.”

“Boss? You mean Mr. Silver?”

“Yes, he’s in a meeting right now, but as soon as he’s finished, I’ll message you.”

Why me? Why me? I’m so dead.

Andie nodded and stumbled the rest of the way to her cube. Dang high heels. The shoes hadn’t quite fit at the consignment store, but they had been a great bargain and she’d stuffed cotton at the tips to get them to quit sliding.

Leroy was already at his cubicle when she walked by. She had a lot to do this morning, including a psychological analysis of the obsession between King Saul and David. The man loved and hated him, and was always vacillating between either killing him or embracing him. Leroy was right. It wasn’t simply a thing about a king afraid to lose his throne. The old king was both afraid of David and loved him deeply, even to the point of begging David to return to him and calling him his son when David was hiding in the caves. Although Andie’s theory was more that Saul saw David as a protégé and wanted to take advantage of David’s favor with God, hoping some of it would rub off on him.

“Hey, hey, ready to go over my script of David’s first meeting with Saul?” Leroy cracked his knuckles as he appeared at her cubicle entrance. Today, he was wearing camouflage with a pair of binoculars strapped around his neck and a beret of some sort perched over his nest of teased black hair.

“Sure.” Andie stuffed her purse into a file cabinet and locked it. “I still have some research to do, but let’s see what you have.”

Leroy opened a folder and pulled out some glossies. “Here are some of the actors auditioning for Saul and David. I find it helps to have a mental image.”

“Sounds like a good idea. But these guys are so different.” Andie flipped through the first few headshots before her heart careened to the floor. Her ex, Declan Reed’s grinning face seemingly winked at her from one of the photos, looking like a young, red-headed Kirk Cameron.

“Ah, you like that one too,” Leroy said, tapping the photo. “He wasn’t bulky enough to be Jamie in
Outlander
and didn’t make the
Fifty Shades of Grey
cut either. Supposedly, he wasn’t bad boy enough for that one, but I think he’ll be perfect for King David.”

Andie groaned under her breath. If only Leroy knew just how bad Declan was. Quickly, she flipped through the rest of the photos. Too old. Too rugged. Too baby faced. Too pale. Not muscular enough. Too muscular.

“I-I don’t see anyone perfect for David,” she stuttered. “They’re either too pretty boy or too hulky. You guys haven’t made anyone an offer, have you?”

“Nope. Not yet. It’s not easy dealing with actors. You have to go through their agents, and then there are the schedules. They could be on contract with someone else. My favorite is Declan Reed. You should have seen him as Romeo.”

Ugh, Andie hadn’t paid any attention to that movie when it came out. How many times did they want to remake that tired story?

“David is much more complicated than Romeo who’s basically a one-dimensional character,” she said. “Declan might have made a good Romeo, but he’s too wimpy to be a real warrior. Besides, how are you going to age him? I’d think we would want someone with a more distinctive character.”

“Mr. Silver will want our recommendations, so we should agree.” Leroy collected the headshots. “Let’s look at the ones for Saul.”

Several minutes later, Sylvia’s instant message popped up on Andie’s phone.

Andie excused herself and stopped by the ladies’ room to freshen her makeup. She powdered her nose and dabbed sweat from her forehead, then taking deep breaths, she walked slowly to Ronaldo’s office, despite her heart and nerves rattling with panic.

Ronaldo was standing at his window surveying his domain, so to speak. Andie shied way from the majestic view and concentrated on sitting in one of the two smaller leather chairs in front of Ronaldo’s beefy desk.

Instead of taking his large armchair, Ronaldo came around the desk. “I thought we should talk about last night.”

“Yes, sir. I mean, yes, of course.” Andie swallowed, wondering if she’d crossed a line or not.

He pulled the legs of his trousers up and sat on his desk, facing her, his legs open. Bending down, he crowded into her personal space and folded his hands in front of his crotch.

Andie quailed under his pointed glare. He seemed to be studying her face. The dreaded flush of heat started in her chest and rose to her face. It was a bad time to be a redhead.

“You’re not the right type of girl for my buddy, Cade.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” This wasn’t what she’d expected. Had he set her up? Tested her and she’d failed?

“Cade doesn’t need women like you. You come into town, take advantage of him, live at his place, then you come on to me.”

“I? No. I’m sorry. I didn’t come on to you.” She couldn’t help her knee from jittering with the fear pulsing through her veins. “It wasn’t like that. It just happened and I’m sorry. I promise, it won’t happen again.”

“You’re contradicting me?” His brows darkened as they drew together.

“No, sir. I’m sorry. You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

“That’s not my duty. I’ve been friends with him for a very long time. He’s kind of my little brother. I tutored him as part of my volunteer requirement for high school. You’re a fool to try and come between friends.”

Tears swam in Andie’s eyes, and she pressed her lips to keep them from trembling, to no avail. “I care a lot about Cade. I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Don’t worry,” Ronaldo said, handing her a tissue. “His feelings won’t be hurt. Cade’s never had trouble getting any woman he wants.”

“Can I go now?” Andie dabbed at her eyes.

“Sure, you want the day off?”

“No, sir. No. I’ll go back to work.” She slumped forward and swallowed a sob.

“Go. You answered my question last night. Women aren’t monogamous by nature, either. Most people would cheat if given the opportunity. You included.”

Andie wobbled to the door and dashed from Ronaldo’s office. He’d basically called her a slut, and he was right. If she’d been an actress or a model and had tons of handsome men throwing themselves at her, she wouldn’t have been any different.

Holding onto her tears, she ran to the ladies’ room and shut herself in a stall.

Friday night, Cade found himself perched on a bar stool at Rob Cash’s Malibu mansion. He hadn’t been home at all, other than to pack his stuff while Andie was at work. What kind of man was he to let a two-timing woman drive him out of his own house?

The large screen TV was tuned to a baseball game and several of his teammates and other players were lounging around the living room, eating chips and drinking beer, generally making a mess without any women around.

His buddy, the talented wide receiver Joey Monzon swaggered to the bar and parked himself across from Cade. He grabbed a carton of butter popcorn and stuffed a handful in his mouth, then offered some to Cade.

“I know it’s not my place to bother you, dude, but you can’t let a woman screw up your game. What happened to taking the starting job from Irvin?” Joey snuck a glance at the all Pro quarterback lounging in the living room. “His knee’s still unstable, and I heard Coach Settles say you’ve got a decent shot if you wanted it bad enough.”

Cade took a handful of popcorn. “I’ll do whatever’s best for the team, but I’m not going to lobby for the spot over an injury. I’ll beat him fair and square for the job.”

“He’s in danger if he gets sacked the wrong way. They might let you on the field to minimize his risk, but you seem distracted. Between you and me, I’d rather have you because he holds onto the ball too long.”

“Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Cade crunched on the dry popcorn and took a swig of the beer.

A loud holler erupted from the living room, and the guys broke into an argument over an instant replay call.

“This is jacked, man.” One of the rookies, tight end Jake Burns, flipped off the TV. “I’m out of here.”

“Yeah, this party’s a dud. Let’s get some women.”

“Not here at Rob’s house,” Joey said, jumping off the barstool. “He’s not having any wild parties since his sister got knocked up.”

Cade cringed at the memory. It had been so damn stupid of him, and now he was paying for it. This waiting game was killing him.

The guys glanced at him and whispered to each other. Joey arched an eyebrow and shook his head. Cade stayed at the bar and downed the rest of his beer. He wasn’t going out with them anyway. He might as well retire to the guest room.

He buried his face in his hands and closed his eyes. Andie was still at his house, according to his dog walker. She’d interviewed for apartments within her budget, but none of them allowed pets. He had her where he wanted, but he couldn’t seem to take the next step.

He startled when large hands grabbed him and pulled him from the barstool.

“You’re coming with us,” Joey said. “It’s time you got laid.”

“Yep, we can’t have you moping for a woman,” Jake said. “Get it out of your system.”

“No, really. I’m good,” Cade protested, but not as forcefully as he should. Maybe it was time to give up on Andie. Maybe Ronaldo was right. She was taking advantage of him and staying at his house, just so she could spend all her time with King David wannabe Leroy Chan.

According to Ronaldo, Andie was there from six in the morning until almost midnight debating the love life of King David. At least it didn’t give her much time to reenact any of it. Thankfully, his buddy was keeping an eye on her, and he hadn’t reported any more dinner dates.

The guys refused to let up, pulling him and punching him. “We can’t have a virgin throwing hail Marys.”

“You need to be up for shotgun formation.”

Even Todd Irvin, a married man, cracked his knuckles and said, “You gotta have my back, man. No shooting blanks.”

The guys howled with laughter, and Cade managed to crack a good-natured smile while each of them dropped a wrapped condom on the counter.

“We know you’re gun shy, so wear two of them if you have to,” Joey said, swinging a strip of condoms in his face.

“Okay, I’m game.” Cade shrugged the beefy hands from his arms. “Let’s go get them.”

# # #

“You’re wrong about David only loving Michal.” Leroy propped his feet on Andie’s desk. “I see evidence that he loved all his wives. It’s possible for a man to love more than one woman.”

“But Michal was special. She was his covenanted wife. You can’t make a covenant with more than one person. And he loved her most.” Andie clicked through the ebook she had open. “Matthew Henry conjectures that Eglah here in second Samuel chapter three verse five is actually Michal. Only two women were ever called David’s wife in the Bible, Michal and Eglah. David hid her in his genealogy by using a nickname. Eglah actually means little heifer and was a term of endearment.”

Leroy snorted. “If that’s a term he used for Michal, it’s no wonder she never had any sons or daughters. Come on, face it, he also loved Bathsheba. He made her son Solomon the next king over his older sons like Adonijah.”

Andie’s fingers clenched the mouse, and she felt like tossing it at Leroy’s arrogant smirk. Didn’t he know how much she hated Bathsheba, the home wrecker? Once, long ago, when Andie was reading a fictional account of David’s seduction of Bathsheba, she’d wrecked her mother’s car by backing it into a truck. She’d been so affected by David’s treachery that she was short of breath, her heart was in pain, and tears lurked in her eyes.

It especially hurt since Bathsheba had David’s son and Michal hadn’t. Even if this mythical Eglah were Michal, her son, Ithream, obviously hadn’t amounted to much. Perhaps he died as a child, or David did not favor him, being of the seed of Saul, his enemy.

This was just like Roxanne having Cade’s baby. From the looks of it, he was tickled pink about it and acting every part the excited prospective father.

“You can’t deny David’s actions,” Leroy reminded her. “You always say to look at actions and consequences for the truth. Besides, Michal is never mentioned again after David rebukes her in second Samuel chapter six. The last we hear of her is that she remained childless to the day of her death, which by implication meant she was without love and sexual happiness.”

“Fine, fine. You win.” Andie shut her laptop and shoved it into her messenger bag. Maybe Leroy was right. Andie had built up an entire fantasy for Michal based on a single verse in the Bible. Maybe she too, would never have Cade’s child and die without love and sexual happiness.

“Hey, sorry to upset you.” Leroy touched her shoulder and rubbed it softly. “It’s late. It’s Friday night. How about we go out for a drink or something?”

“Sure. We worked hard enough.” Andie patted his hand. “Let’s just agree to disagree.”

After all, her life paralleled Michal’s. The queen had lost David when she showed her jealousy at him cavorting through the streets while being ogled by all the maidens in Jerusalem.

Men who would be kings or rock stars or pro athletes always had tons of willing women. Why would she expect them not to partake?

Better to be with a scholarly man, one who didn’t have the opportunities and lived in a world of ideas and dreams.

Andie’s breath burned in her chest. There was no place like home in Itasca where scholars roamed and ideas bloomed.

Once she was finished with this gig, she was going home to a simpler life in the stacks of the library—where she belonged.