Cross My Heart (12 page)

She touched his shoulder. “I love you, Ty. Everything I've ever done has been in your best interest.”

“I love you, too, Mom and I'll bring Lilly by soon. She's been asking about you, as well.” But until they'd seen Dumont's reaction, they'd kept her arrival quiet.

He took off at a slow pace so as not to alarm his mother but as soon as he was in the car, he hit the gas and practically flew home to Lilly.

 

L
ONG AFTER
Ty left, Flo couldn't stop reliving the past. She sat in the kitchen nursing a hot cup of tea, thinking about all the things she'd done, right and wrong.

Her son still didn't understand why she'd taken money from Marc Dumont in exchange for Lilly coming to live with them. He couldn't fathom why she'd claimed Lilly was a foster child when she wasn't. But he also hadn't had to live his life without that extra cash. The money had done more than make life bearable. The little luxuries they had enjoyed, like the new kitchen, had come later. At the time the money had allowed Flo to have health insurance which covered the basics like strep throat, Ty's broken arm and ear infections. And later on the money had been a blessing when she'd had bypass surgery. Of course, the same money had allowed her to stay home and raise Ty instead of letting him turn into a latchkey child who would have been out at all hours getting into trouble.

Yet agreeing to Dumont's proposal hadn't been an easy decision, at least not until she'd stopped by the Dumont mansion and taken a look at the sad girl with big brown eyes who wandered the grounds lost and alone. Marc Dumont had claimed she was a difficult child who needed to be taught a lesson that his firm hand and guidance hadn't been able to accomplish. One look at Lilly and Flo knew the old bastard had been lying.

The girl needed love. Flo needed money to raise her son better. As far as she'd been concerned, it was a win-win situation. Dumont suggested she take a real foster child into her home to make Lilly's move appear legit. The state had been hesitant to give her a child when she'd been working so many hours but they'd finally agreed, and deep down Flo believed it'd been Dumont who'd pulled strings to make it happen.

Flo hadn't cared. The kids, Hunter and Lilly, needed her and in her heart, Flo knew she'd be making their lives better by taking them in. No matter that Lilly's situation wasn't on the books so to speak, her life had been happier with the Bensons than when she'd lived with her uncle. Taking the money didn't seem like such an evil thing.

Until Lilly had disappeared. Then Flo lived with guilt over not having watched the kids carefully enough that night. Over not having protected Lilly. Still, the money had changed hands and because Dumont was afraid Flo would reveal his scheme, he hadn't demanded she pay him back. But he had had Hunter taken away. Afraid that if she reported him to the authorities he'd do the same with her own son, Flo had learned to live with what she'd done.

She'd used the money on Ty after that, for better clothes, a better education. When Ty had discovered her secret, his anger had been a scary thing. He'd sold the car she'd bought him and dropped out of college. For a while, Flo had been afraid of losing her only child, but Ty had come around because they were family and they loved and supported each other. They always had and always would.

Still, Flo knew her son had been punishing himself all these years for his mother's choices. With Lilly's return, Flo hoped that would change and he'd find the happiness he'd been denying himself. The happiness he deserved.

L
acey needed a warm bath to soothe the body parts she'd hit on her dive to the ground. Still shaken, she drove slowly back to Ty's place after the mall security guard, who'd arrived shortly after the incident, had taken their statement. She dropped Ty's extra set of keys into a dish on the hall shelf, propped her shopping bags against the wall and headed straight for the bathroom. Not five minutes later, the tub was filled with soapy bubbles she'd picked up in the mall.

She climbed into the warm tub, eased into the bubbles, and laid her head against the back of the cold porcelain, letting the tension ease away. No sooner had she shut her eyes than she heard the slam of the front door and Ty's voice call out to her.

“In here!” she yelled back. She assumed he'd talk from outside the door but just in case, she glanced down, satisfied the bubbles covered her, barely but enough.

Without a knock or warning, Ty flung the bathroom door open wide. “I heard what happened at the mall,” he said, talking fast.

“It was one of those freak accidents.” She remained motionless, knowing if she lifted an arm to cover herself, she'd risk shifting the bubbles even more.

“But you're okay?”

She nodded. “I appreciate your concern but I'm fine. Exhausted and maybe a little sore, but fine.”

He stood in the doorway and stared, his gaze drifting up her body, his eyes darkening as if just realizing that he'd walked in on her in the tub. Nude.

Of course she was very aware of their situation. Her body might be barely covered but she felt completely bared to his gaze just the same. Her breasts grew heavy, her nipples tightening into hardened peaks and between her thighs, a delicious tingling began and grew the longer his heated gaze lingered.

She swallowed hard. “Ty?”

“Yeah?” he asked in a roughened voice.

“Now that you know I'm okay…”

“Yeah. I'm out of here.” He took a step back. Then another, slamming the door shut behind him.

Her heart racing in her chest, awareness and desire awakened, Lacey drew a deep breath and dunked her entire head beneath the bubbled water.

 

T
Y LEANED
against the bathroom door and breathed in deeply but nothing calmed his racing heart. Lilly was naked on the other side of that door, with nothing but bubbles covering her body. He'd caught teasing glimpses of bare flesh, enough to make his mouth water and his groin tighten with need. He didn't know how much more temptation he could take, with them both living under the same roof.

His cell phone rang and he gratefully snapped it open. “Yeah.”

“It's Hunter.”

“What's up?” Ty asked.

“There's a case that I've been working on that suddenly had the court date moved up. Which means I'm going to be busy round the clock for the next few weeks. I hate to tell Lilly I can't figure out her situation right now, but there's no way I can do it myself.”

Ty ran a hand through his hair. “Is the fact that your case was suddenly moved up on the calendar legit?” Or had Dumont decided to somehow pull strings and get Hunter too busy to work on Lilly's behalf.

“There are date changes all the time. It's part of the process. But the changes are usually adjournments or postponements,” Hunter muttered. “Still I'm one step ahead of you. I've already asked Anna Marie about it and she said the information came into her office today via routine channels.”

Ty scowled. He wasn't so sure. Could old Anna Marie be bought, he wondered. With her family credentials in town, he doubted it. Still it couldn't hurt to dig a little and digging was what he did best.

Legitimately moved up or not, Hunter had his hands full with this case, so Ty opted not to aggravate him more by questioning Anna Marie's reliability.

“Don't sweat it,” Ty said. “I'll let Lilly know, but I'm sure she'll say there's no rush anyway.”

“Well, I can give you a heads-up on something you can take care of without me. Lilly's parents filed the original trust fund and will documents with the law firm of Dunne and Dunne in Albany. Paul Dunne is the trustee.”

Ty frowned. “Isn't he Anna Marie's brother?”

“Yeah. Are you thinking there's a connection?”

“I don't know what I'm thinking,” Ty muttered.

“You sound like hell. What's going on over there?” Hunter asked.

Ty walked out of Lilly's earshot and into his bedroom, shutting the door. “I can't take it.” He lowered himself onto the bed. “I can't live under the same roof with her another minute or I'm going to do something I'll regret.”

Hunter burst out laughing. “That's what's bothering you?”

“Glad you find sexual frustration amusing.”

“Before Lilly's return, you were getting a steady diet from Gloria, so I'd say there's more going on than frustration. Maybe you need to explore the possibilities,” Hunter suggested.

And set himself up for guaranteed heartache when Lilly returned to her life? “No thank you. I've gotta get going,” he said.

“You can avoid me, but you can't avoid Lilly,” Hunter said helpfully. “Speaking of which, don't forget to give her my message and let me know if she wants me to hook her up with a trust and estates lawyer.”

“Will do. One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“You might want to check in with your friend Molly.” Ty had been so preoccupied with his own frustrations he'd forgotten to fill Hunter in on the incident at the mall, and did so now. “The cops have no leads except Molly and Lilly's quick glimpse of a dark car with out-of-state plates.”

“Were they hurt?”

“They're both fine, but—”

A click sounded in Ty's ear and he found himself holding a dead phone in his hand. He laughed, knowing Hunter was already dialing Molly Gifford, a woman who, for whatever reason, wouldn't give him the time of day.

When it came to women, Hunter and Ty had a lot in common these days and as the old expression said, misery loved company.

But Hunter had given Ty no time to explain details, including the fact that Ty had an uneasy feeling about the so-called accident. He'd called Derek on his way home from his mother's. Derek, who'd been watching Dumont, said he'd been at home the entire time Lilly and Molly had been at the mall. The only thing Derek's information provided was an alibi. It didn't mean Dumont hadn't hired someone to do his dirty work.

 

F
OR THE SECOND TIME
in one week, Hunter found himself banging on Molly's front door, only this time he had a damn good reason to be here. He wanted to see for himself that she was okay.

What kind of idiot nearly ran down two women in a parking lot, he wondered. When she didn't answer, he banged again, harder this time.

“You could be a little more considerate of the neighbors,” Anna Marie said, poking her head out her front door. “What's with the racket?”

Hunter groaned. “I hope I didn't disturb your dinner.”

“You woke me from my prebedtime nap. I like to sleep so I can stay up and watch
The Tonight Show.
I love that Johnny Carson.”

“It's Jay Leno now,” he reminded her.

“Well, I preferred Johnny.”

“Is Molly home?” he asked.

The older woman shook her head. “Not anymore. She came home earlier and was all shook up from nearly being run down at the mall. I'm sure that's why you're here.”

“It is.” And he wasn't surprised the town's main source of gossip had heard, as well.

“About twenty minutes later, she left the house again and hasn't been back since. You're out of luck unless you'd like to bide some time with me until Molly comes home?”

“Thanks anyway.” He turned and started back down the porch.

“Don't you want to know where she went?” Anna Marie called to him, speaking without waiting for him to answer. “I heard Molly on the phone and she mentioned going to have dinner with her mother.”

He paused on the front lawn. He had to refrain from asking the older woman whether she'd obtained the information by holding a glass to the wall. “I'll just call Molly later.”

“You could always stop by The Palace in Saratoga. That's where Molly went. With her mother and Marc Dumont,” Anna Marie added. “I heard Molly say it's their new favorite
it
restaurant.”

Anna Marie had heard right. The Palace was owned by a chef who'd relocated from Manhattan, opening an upscale establishment in the heart of downtown Saratoga.

It was a place a kid of Hunter's background didn't frequent easily. Just like Molly's family gathering was one Hunter had no business intruding upon. “I think I'll catch up with Molly tomorrow,” Hunter said, ending Anna Marie's hope for more gossip to pass around today.

“Suit yourself.” She stepped back.

“Anna Marie, wait,” Hunter called to her before she could go inside.

“Yes?”

“The Barber case,” he asked of the pro bono case moved up by the court. The one that would conveniently keep him from helping Lilly.

“What about it? I already told you Judge Mercer requested the change himself.”

“Is it possible someone pushed the judge to move it up on the docket?”

Anna Marie shrugged. “I wouldn't think so since the original date is the start of his vacation.”

“A sudden vacation.”

“Have you ever met Mrs. Mercer? If she told me to jump, even I'd ask how high.” She gave an exaggerated shiver. “The woman's one of the bossiest people I've ever met. She wanted a vacation and the judge agreed to the week she asked for. No questions asked.”

Well, Hunter had plenty of questions. Unfortunately he also had a case to prepare for, which meant Ty would have to do the digging on this one.

“You should go inside. It's cold out here.”

“I'm warm-blooded.” The older woman grinned.

Laughing, Hunter headed back to his car. He'd call Ty from his cell phone in a few minutes, but right now, his thoughts were on Molly. If she had felt well enough to go to The Palace, she couldn't be anything more than shaken up from today's incident, he thought, relieved.

He called Ty and filled him in and then started the car. As he drove home, he found himself wondering if Molly enjoyed that kind of swanky new restaurant or if she'd merely gone along with her mother's choice. As for Dumont, Hunter wasn't surprised the older man accommodated his new wife-to-be. The Palace was the kind of place slime like Dumont would want to see and be seen. Whether he could afford it or not.

 

L
ACEY HEARD
Ty pacing the floor throughout the early part of the night. She heard him on the phone with Derek who was apparently still conducting surveillance on her uncle, although to what end, Lacey didn't know. She didn't buy his nice guy act, either, but the near miss at the mall had been an accident. Her uncle was vicious but to run her down? She shook her head, unwilling to buy into that particular theory.

Although she wasn't tired enough to sleep, she'd decided to stay in her room until the heated feelings between her and Ty cooled off. She couldn't stop her body's reaction to him but she truly needed to turn off her mind. The problem was, she just couldn't.

When she was around Ty, she was reminded of the girl who'd gotten on a bus to New York City with no idea what awaited her there. She felt more bold and adventurous. More willing to admit that her steady, dependable relation ship with Alex bored her sometimes. She shivered at the truth she didn't want to face. She might not be engaged to Alex, but she was involved with him on many levels. Enough to be considering marriage. Which meant she should not be thinking about making love to Ty.

But she was thinking about it. Often. Enough that she tingled between her thighs even now. There were reasons besides Alex to avoid her desires. Her business meant everything to her. It was her reason for getting up in the morning and what helped put her to sleep at night, exhausted and looking forward to the next day. And her business was in New York City, not Hawken's Cove.

But her business didn't fill the empty spaces inside of her. Only a home, a family and the security she'd lacked for most of her life would take care of those needs. Along with the right man.

Lacey had no idea if Ty was that man. And she certainly didn't know how Ty felt about her now. He kept himself closed off to her in a way Alex did not, and she had no idea if Ty was even capable of giving her all she needed. Even if he did desire her, he might not want the kind of life and future she envisioned for herself.

She punched her pillow and eased herself onto her back. But none of that stopped her from wanting him. And she had no doubt that with Ty, it wouldn't be just sex. He reached inside her, he always had. She realized now that she'd never gotten him out of her heart. Of course she'd been seventeen when she'd fallen for him and ten years later, she didn't know him at all. But she wanted to.