Deadly Valentine (16 page)

"Me?"

"If our parents had their way, we'd be married and you'd be putting up a front while I played both sides of the field. But you wouldn't have it. You suffered a great deal from my family and probably from your family too by walking away. But you ended up freeing us both."

Tess didn't buy it. For one thing, free isn't what she felt when she walked away. She felt humiliated and beat down. The last three years were spent trying to put herself back together.

He nodded. "I saw what you did and I decided to live by my own convictions as well. No pretending anymore. And Jack gave me the chance I needed when my parents disowned me. But I don't know if I'd be able to do it if I hadn't watched you do it first or if you'd taken the job."

"What job?"

"This job. My job. You were Jack's first choice. You could have stayed up here. Rubbed it in my parents' faces. Mine too."

"He didn't call me about a job."

"He did, but apparently you didn't return his calls."

Tess had difficulty processing what Brad was saying. Jack wanted to hire her to run things when his mother became ill?

Brad's body shook as if he had a chill. "Way too much feely feely. But it had to be said."

Ah, there was the Brad she knew. She had to concede, it was a lot of touchy feely for him. He never said he was sorry, at least not in those words. But she knew that's what he meant. And he was expressing gratitude, which Tess would have never believed if she hadn't heard it from him directly.

"I'm impressed," she said.

He grinned, pleased that she would appreciate his effort. "If you tell anyone I did this, I'll deny it."

"Your secret is safe," she said.

The elevator reached the garage level. Brad walked with her to her car.

"What is the deal with Jack and you anyway?" he asked as she unlocked the car.

"I'm his lawyer." It was the truth and if her willpower held out it would be the only relationship they would have at least while he was a murder suspect.

"It seems like more," Brad said.

"I have to go."

"I guess you're right. You and Jack…." His tone was doubtful making Tess wonder what he thought was wrong with her.

"What about Jack and me?"

"Well, I can see Jack falling for you, but I'm not sure he's your type."

"How do you know my type?"

"He believes in all the true love and romance stuff. But you and I know that's all a gimmick to sell flowers and jewelry."

Tess felt a stab of pain in her heart. What he said was true. She'd long ago given up on the idea of love. She'd spent the last three years making sure she wouldn't succumb to the temptation of love. But to hear Brad say it was painful. Like she'd given up a portion of herself by denying the human need to be loved.

"Our parents sure did a job on us, didn't they?" he asked.

"Yes, they did."

As Tess drove towards Key Bridge that would take her over the river to Rosslyn, Virginia where Jack lived, she pushed Brad's comments from her mind. She couldn't afford to entertain thoughts of love and ever after. She'd designed her life just the way she wanted it. She didn't need the angst and risk that came with allowing oneself to be vulnerable to another.

~~~~

Jack's smug expression when he opened that door and found her standing there told her that he wasn't surprised she showed up. But just because she showed up, didn't mean that all was forgiven.

"I'm here on business. I wanted to let you know what I found out regarding the information on Asa's computer."

"Of course," he said, his features looking amused even when he was going for serious. He held the door open for her. "I hope you don't mind if I eat dinner while you're here. I'd offer to share, but you might construe it as something personal."

She hadn't known he could be snarky. "Would you rather I came back another time."

"It's up to you."

She realized he was putting her through another one of those tests in which she had to make the next move.

"I don't mind watching you eat."

She followed him to the kitchen. She took a moment to check out the view of Georgetown from the living area window. Tess left home and gave up her trust without a second thought, but when she saw views like Jack's she sometimes wished she was a more successful lawyer.

 In the kitchen, Jack pulled items from his stainless steel refrigerator and set them on the marble countertops.

"I forgot that you like to cook," she said taking a seat on the bar stool on the other side of the counter from where he worked.

"I haven't mastered chocolate yet," he said. Opening the wine cooler, he pulled out a bottle. "How about a glass of wine?"

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" She meant it as the cliché joke it was, but realized the  minute the words were out of her mouth that it sounded like she was challenging the business versus personal boundary she'd established between them.

 "No worries, Tess. When I get you into bed, you'll have all your wits about you."

She hoped she succeeded at keeping her face impassive despite the rush of heat in her cheeks. "Half a glass. I have to drive back to Jefferson Tavern tonight."

After he poured the glass and handed it to her, he put a skillet on the stove. "Do you like fish?"

"You're going to feed me after all?"

"As long as you don't see it as making a pass at you. This is a business meeting, after all." His face showed amusement, but the undertone of irritation couldn’t be missed.

"Fish is fine." She pulled files from her briefcase.

Jack's eyes narrowed in disapproval. “Do you ever really relax?”

"Sure," Tess said. "But this is a business meeting."

"I mean really relax. You know hang out in an old pair of jeans?"

Tess took inventory of her dark skirt and jacket and felt self-conscious. “I was working today. To help you stay in charge of your company I might add.”

“I know.” He took a sip of his wine.

"And I just spent two days in my pajamas."

"But you were sick then. I mean other times. Almost every time I see you, you look like a lawyer.”

“Most times I see you, you needed a lawyer.”

Jack laughed. “True. Do you own a pair of jeans?”

“Yes, I own a pair of jeans,” she snapped.

“Do you ever wear them?” His eyes had that amused look again.

“No I don’t.” Tess felt the heat of annoyance. “Now, can we get to work?”

“Why not.”

“Why not what?”

“Why don’t you wear jeans? Let your hair down?”

“I don’t look good in jeans.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Tess could feel his eyes on her as they took a thorough inventory of her body. Worse yet, the sizzle in her blood told her that her body liked it. “I don’t have the build that is accentuated by jeans.”

“Are you one of those women who always worry about their weight and what they eat?”

Geez! That was as bad as asking age or political affiliation. “I try to pay attention to what I eat.”

“Like the ice cream the other night.”

Okay, so now he knew she worried about her weight, but had no will power. “What's all this about?”

“Because you're wrong about your body. Women have the impression that men like skinny woman, but the truth is we like curves.”

“Well, I’ve got plenty of those.” Tess took the last gulp of her wine.

“Yes, you do.”

When she looked up, his eyes had that predatory look that often preceded his move to kiss her. She prepared to move away and give him her 'this is business' speech. His lips twitched slightly before he broke eye contact and went back to preparing dinner. Tess' first feeling was irritation that he didn't follow through. Then anger at herself for being irritated that he didn't try to seduce her. He was like the perfect bar of chocolate. Smooth and tasty, but bad for her, and yet too good to resist.

To distract herself, Tess left her barstool to look over Jack's apartment. It hadn't changed much in the three years since she'd last visited. It was still warm and inviting in a manly kind of way. The leather couch and chair looked soft as butter, and books and magazines mostly about environmental issues and business were strewn about. It wasn't messy. It was lived in. A home.

Tess wandered to the bookcase that held more pictures and knickknacks than books. His entire life was laid out in the pictures on display; from a chubby drooling baby, to Little League champ. From Young Entrepreneur of the Year to more recently an award from an environmental group for his efforts to re-build crumbling neighborhoods with environmentally safe building materials.

There was a picture of him with her and Brad. She remembered Jack's then girlfriend, Barbie or Candy, took the picture during a boating trip on the Potomac. It was one of the few truly happy memories she held from her old life.

Another picture showed Jack with a woman who reminded Tess of the granny on the Tweetie Bird cartoons. She had gray hair pulled back into a tiny bun, dark round glasses, and a small wrinkled face.
This must be Cora
, Tess thought. Tess had never met Cora, but from the stories Jack told about her, Tess wasn't sure she was ready to meet Cora. The next picture looked about thirty years old. It was a young woman with a beautiful smile highlighted with dimples.

"See something you like?" Jack asked from behind her.

"Just checking out the doo dads."

He laughed. "I told you they make a house a home."

"Who's this woman?" Tess asked pointing to the pretty woman she'd just been viewing.

"She's Cora's daughter. I don't really know anything about her except that she died a long time ago. Ever since I had to move Cora next door, her stuff is slowly showing up in here."

"I guess it's good she has you," Tess said.

"It's good I have her too."

Tess' heart went out to him. He'd lost his father as a boy and then his mother. Cora was all he had. And even though she wasn't a blood relative, it was enough for Jack. Hadn't she done that too? Created a family from people who were not related to her.

"So what did you bring me?"

Tess grabbed her file off the counter. "I don't think I have much more than what we started with. I pulled the obit of Delia Jackson and I was able to get a picture of her. Because she worked for the Senator, she had photo ID." As Tess handed the materials to Jack, she had a sense of déjà vu, as if she'd seen the woman before. She gave herself a shake. She wasn't even born when Delia Jackson died. It was impossible to have seen her.

"I still don't know her," Jack said looking over the picture.

"Well, you were barely born when she died." Tess handed him another paper. "I dug a little about the fire that killed her as well. The official cause is a kerosene heater."

Jack nodded. "Unfortunately that happens a lot in rural areas during the winter."

"Here's the interesting bit. Delia's body was found, but not the baby's. Officially they think it was burned so bad that they hadn't been able to find it. But they do know it wasn't in the crib."

"How can they tell that?"

Tess shrugged. "I guess there was no sign of whatever they look for. Since no one came forward saying they had the baby, they figured he was there, but was missed somehow."

"There's something really sad about that," he said, his brilliant blue-green eyes showing concern for a lost, nearly forgotten baby that died practically before Jack was born. It was one of those things that made Jack so endearing.

He handed the picture back to her.  "You're staring at me."

"I am not." She said embarrassed that she'd been caught. She took the picture from him. As she glanced at it again, she had another niggling feeling that she'd seen Delia before. "There's something about this picture."

"That's not what you were looking at." He moved to her and she could see in his eyes that his intentions had nothing to do with business.

She took a step back. "No, but it's what I'm thinking about now."

He continued his pursuit until she found herself backed into the bookcase.

"I think we should take a break from business." He took another step, close enough to pin her in.

She held her hands up, one of which still held Delia's picture.

Jack laughed. "Going to fight me off with the threat of a paper cut? I just want a kiss, Tess. That's all. One little kiss."

The problem was that nothing was little with Jack. "Isn't your dinner going to burn?"

"It's not cooking yet."

"We've got work to do."

"Come on Tess." He leaned towards her, his lips hovering, teasing her. Tess closed her eyes, willed herself to be strong. The problem was, when he was this close, it was impossible to be strong. 
Just do it
, she willed Jack to follow through.

"I'll be damned." Jack pulled away taking the picture from Tess' hand.

Chapter Twenty-One

It took Tess a moment to register the change in Jack. "What?"

"This picture of Delia looks a lot like Cora's daughter."

Tess studied the two pictures. "You're right." No wonder she thought she'd seen the woman before. "Is Delia Cora's daughter's name?"

"I don't know. She doesn't talk about her. And Cora's last name is Peterson, not Jackson. Although the way Cora tells it, she's been married more times than Liz Taylor."

They studied the pictures a moment longer, then Jack stepped way, his brows knitted in thought.

"What's the matter?" Tess asked.

He turned to her. "I've known Cora my whole life. She was my babysitter when my parents went out. She helped me care for my mom when she was ill. We take care of each other now. I don't understand why she didn't tell me."

"Maybe she doesn't know."

"I've told her all about this file and Delia Jackson. She had to know. Either that, or these are two different women who look like twins."

"Why don't you ask her?"

Jack pondered it a moment longer, then he headed up the hallway and knocked on a door.

Tess sat in one of the leather chairs and waited. It looked like she was going to meet the infamous Cora after all.