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Authors: Carly Phillips

Destiny (18 page)

BOOK: Destiny
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“Promise?” she asked, wriggling her hips against his.

He bit back a groan. “You’re going to make it damned difficult for me to walk back out there, you know.”

She batted her lashes at him, too innocently.

“Just for that I may not let you out of bed this entire weekend.”

Her eyes opened wide. “Promise?” she asked again, shifting her body against him.

His threat and her reaction did nothing to alleviate the ache in his groin, only making it worse.

Finally, she stepped aside and out of his way. “Why don’t I go out first and give you a chance to get yourself under control?” she offered, her sultry stare on the bulge in his pants.

“Good idea.” He kissed her hard once more. “Go. I’ll meet you at Tess’s booth soon.”

She waved at him, a grin on her well-kissed lips, her eyes flashing with pleasure.

Then she was gone, leaving him to think about anything that would dim his arousal—like the people in his life who thought they knew what was best for him, kept secrets, and lied.

In a flash, he was ready to head back into the room. Instead, he decided to take his time. Why deal with Dare before he had to?

Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets and plastered a smile on his face, unwilling to let Tess see he was worried about his whole family. Nash barely tolerated Dare right now and nobody held a grudge like his middle brother. Until Nash and Dare made their peace, Ethan wasn’t just worried about them but about Tess too. So far she was too wrapped up in her art to notice that the brothers who normally got along were ignoring each other, but she was smart.

She’d catch on soon.

Meanwhile, Nash and Kelly had taken a walk, Dare had gone out for air, and Faith was off talking to the headmaster, making sure the situation with Ms. Bernard was under control.

Ethan had stepped away from the easel to let Tess explain her presentation to other parents who stopped by. Ethan turned back to see who Tess was talking to and immediately realized something was wrong. His sister’s body language screamed tension. She rocked on her heels, much the way she used to rock in her black lace-up army boots in the dead of summer, all attitude and anger.

Narrowing his gaze, Ethan strode up to the man who stood by her side. Before Ethan could only see a sport jacket and bald spot. Now, he realized, the guy clearly didn’t look like one of the parents. His jacket was too old and out-of-date.

Ethan stepped into the other man’s personal space. “Ethan Barron, Tess’s brother,” he said, holding out his hand for an introductory shake. “And whose parent are you?”

The stranger’s gaze ran over Ethan and he stepped back. “Roger Grayson.” He slipped his sweaty palm into Ethan’s for a flimsy shake.

Ethan narrowed his gaze. “I didn’t hear you say whose parent you were?” He pushed the other man harder.

Tess nudged Ethan in his side. “That’s ’cause he didn’t. He was asking me about Kelly, like how long did she live with me in your mansion and did she leave me alone at night and stuff like that.”

Now Ethan wasn’t wary—he was pissed. “Who the hell do you think you are, cornering a teenage girl?” Ethan placed a hand on his sister’s shoulder, then turned and caught sight of his wife coming toward them, equal concern in her expression.

“What’s going on?” Faith tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear and looked to all three of them for answers.

“Do me a favor, princess? Take Tess for a walk. Let her go see her other friends’ artwork. I have some business to take care of here.”

“But who is he?” Tess asked. “He was asking me questions. I have a right to know who he is and what he wants!”

“When I know, I’ll tell you.” He nudged her toward Faith.

“Come on. Let’s go,” she said, turning Tess around and practically pushing her down the aisle.

God, he loved that woman.

Ethan focused his attention on Roger Grayson, if that was really his name. “Now spill.”

The other man reached into his pocket and handed Ethan a card, which he gave a cursory glance. “Okay, so you really are Roger Grayson. You’re also a PI. So what the hell do you want with Tess? And why are you so interested in Kelly?”

“I was hired by a woman who—”

“Ethan?” Kelly walked over, pointed concern on her face. “Where’s Tess?” she asked, her gaze darting around for her sister.

“I sent her for a walk with Faith. This man”—Ethan jerked his thumb at Grayson—“was asking Tess questions about the two of you.”

The color drained from Kelly’s face. “Who hired you?” she asked.

“Leah Muldoon.”

“Who?” Ethan and Kelly asked at once.

The beefy man turned to Kelly. “I was hired by your mother.”

Kelly narrowed her gaze. “My mother’s name is Leah… Moss.”

“Her married name is Muldoon.”

Kelly blinked up at the man. “Married,” she said on a groan. “Why am I not surprised? So why did she send you instead of just looking me and Tess up herself?”

The man rubbed a hand over his balding head. “You’ll have to ask her that.”

“I’ve been trying to track her down,” Ethan said, deciding he’d have to fire his investigator.

“I’ll let her know you want to talk.” The PI slowly stepped backward and Ethan realized his hands were balled into fists at his side, scaring the PI.

He wasn’t about to start a fight at Tess’s school but let this guy think whatever he wanted. While Grayson slunk out of the building, Ethan made a mental note to discuss better security with the school board, which he was now on.

Then he turned to Kelly, whose color had slowly started to return. “You okay?”

“I am. But are you thinking what I’m thinking about my mother?” Her voice was tinged with a combination of anger and concern.

Ethan understood both. “Yeah. If Leah bothered to hire a PI to slink around, that can only mean she wants Tess back.”

“Because she knows that without ammunition, she doesn’t stand a chance in court.” Kelly exhaled a hard breath and met Ethan’s gaze.

He studied the woman who’d been a stranger a few short months before. She’d shown up on his doorstep and put blind faith in him when nobody else in his family would give him the time of day. She’d given him a moody, sullen teenager who’d turned out to be his greatest gift.

Kelly, with her brown eyes, her expressions so like his sister’s, and a trusting warmth and generosity, had become part of his inner circle, the people closest to him. And Ethan didn’t have many.

He cleared his throat. “Kelly, I have to know. Are we on the same side in this?”

“Oh my God, yes.” Her eyes filled and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a sisterly hug.

“Good. Good.”

She stepped back and shot him a determined smile and Ethan knew. They weren’t giving Tess up without a fight.

Kelly’s hands shook and she rubbed them together,
trying to calm down. When she’d heard the PI had been asking about her at the coffee shop, she’d assumed he’d been hired by Ryan’s wife. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined her own mother was looking for dirt on her daughter.

Kelly shook her head in disgust and dismay. Of course she was on Ethan’s side. Leah had walked out on her teenage child without looking back. She’d cast Kelly into the role of Tess’s mother, over and over, without thought to what it would cost her or Tess. And then she’d gone and gotten married.

“What else is wrong?” Ethan asked.

She propped her hand on her hip and glared. “Why are you Barron brothers so damned perceptive?”

“Your hands are trembling and you can barely stand. You’ve survived your mother leaving and we’re a team when it comes to keeping Tess. I figure something else has to have you so shaken. Ethan placed a firm hand on her shoulder, offering his support. “What is it?”

She met Ethan’s gaze, surprised he had to ask. “Didn’t Faith tell you about my ex-boyfriend, Ryan Hayward?”

Ethan shook his head, waiting patiently for her to explain. Apparently Faith had kept her secret. Kelly hadn’t specifically asked her to remain silent, but Faith had respected her privacy. The woman was an even better friend than Kelly had given her credit for being.

“I left behind a problem in New York,” Kelly admitted to Ethan. If she trusted him with her sister, she sure as hell could trust him with her secrets.

She quickly explained the situation to Ethan, knowing Tess or Nash could return any second. “So this private investigator could just as easily have been hired by Ryan’s wife to dig up dirt on me before I’m subpoenaed to testify at their divorce hearing.”

She pressed her hands to her flushed cheeks. “And if this hits the newspapers, I’ll be labeled a prostitute and Tess will know how I met Ryan. She’ll be in for horrible embarrassment at school and she’ll think I’m the worst kind of hypocrite, preaching good behavior to her while I…” She trailed off, shaking her head.

Ethan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Tess loves you. She’ll stand by you no matter what. So will I.”

He couldn’t know how much his support meant. “Thank you,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “I didn’t know you when I gave Tess to you, but I trusted Richard. And you turned out to be the miracle she needed.”

He dipped his head in embarrassment. “I just happened to get her because we’re alike. As for your problem with your ex—”

“I have a bigger problem than Ryan and his wife.” Kelly drew a deep breath. “I’ve been hiding this secret, afraid of what you all would think of me.”

“Nash doesn’t know, does he?” Ethan said on a groan.

She shook her head. Her insides cramped and nausea swamped her as she realized how badly she’d screwed up keeping her past a secret. “At first I was hoping it would just go away. And when I heard this guy was asking questions about me at Cuppa Café, I called Ryan and he swore he had things with his wife under control. By the time I decided to tell Nash the truth, his life imploded and it was too late. I couldn’t add to his burdens with mine. I was going to tell him this weekend when we were away from everything.”

But they couldn’t leave town with her mother’s investigator hovering, so she’d have to find another time and place.

“He’s had a lot of shocks. Maybe Nash will take it better than you think,” Ethan said, trying to offer comfort.

“Maybe I’ll take what better?” Nash strode up behind her.

They’d been so caught up in conversation that neither she nor Ethan had seen him approaching.

Kelly closed her eyes and shook her head.
When will life get simpler?
she wondered, and glanced at Ethan once more.

Nash looked from his brother to Kelly. He’d clearly interrupted something. And he’d walked up in time to hear Ethan say his name. “What’s going on?”

Kelly wrapped her arms around herself. “My prodigal mother’s returned and there’s every chance she wants Tess.”

Ethan explained what Nash had missed.

Listening, thinking about how easily the bastard strode into the school and singled out his sister thanks to the alphabetical order of the setup, Nash’s gut tightened in anger.

“He had no right to talk to her at all. How the hell did he get in here?”

“Walked right in among all the other parents,” Ethan muttered.

Nash glanced around him. “Where’s Tess now?”

“Faith took her for a walk,” Kelly said.

Ethan nodded. “Look, before Tess gets back, I need to make something clear. You and I have problems,” he said, gesturing between himself and Nash. “And now you have issues with Dare. I don’t care how legitimate these things are, until we find out what Tess’s mother wants and how far she’ll go to get it, we’re a unit.
All
of us stick together and nobody gives her ammunition to use against us in court. Understood?” He stared at Nash, daring him to disagree.

At one time Nash would have hauled off and hit his brother or told him where to shove his orders. But somehow enough time had passed for Nash to see how Ethan had changed. How committed his brother was to raising Tess and doing it right.

Yeah, part of him hated to admit it. Another part respected him for it. As for Dare, that was Nash’s personal issue and he’d keep it out of the family dynamic. He had to for Tess’s sake.

So Nash met his older brother’s gaze and held out his hand. With a distinct look of relief on his face, Ethan shook it.

“I’m not handing Tess over to your mother,” Ethan promised. “Married, not married, she’s going to have a fight on her hands.”

Nash didn’t doubt it.

But for all Ethan was worried about Tess, Nash had another concern and that was Kelly. Because she’d be siding against her own mother. And no matter how much she believed Tess belonged with them, she had to be hurting inside.

And he wanted to be the one to make her pain go away.

“There are Faith and Tess. I’ll go talk to her,” Ethan said.

“What will you tell her?” Kelly asked.

“That we’re not sure who the man was or what he wants, but I’m looking into it and she shouldn’t worry.” He spread his hands out in front of him. “A white lie, sort of.”

“Works for me,” Nash muttered. No need to upset Tess. Not until they knew for sure if her mother wanted custody or just to say hi.
We should be so lucky,
he thought to himself.

Ethan headed to his wife and Nash turned to Kelly.

He took her hands in his. “You’re cold.” He rubbed her hands between his.

“Cold hands, warm heart,” she tried to joke.

He frowned. “I think that’s feet and quit trying to make light of this. When we get back to your place, we’ll talk about your mom,” he promised her.

She shook her head. “I can’t even think about her without wanting to do bodily harm. Tess isn’t a toy to be passed back and forth.”

He lifted her hands to his lips and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. “Ethan’s taking care of Tess. What about you?”

She wrinkled her nose. “What about me?”

“What about what your mom did to
you
?”

Kelly blinked up at him in surprise. “What do you mean? It’s Tess she wants.”

“But it’s you she’s targeting. Your life she’s digging into. You’re the one she left in charge without asking whether it was a job you wanted or could even handle.” He released one hand and slid his finger down her cheek. “How about for one second you think about yourself?”

BOOK: Destiny
2.86Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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