Full Disclosure (Homefront: The Sheridans Book 2) (20 page)

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RYAN -

She let me hold her hand in public.

I find it completely bewildering that
this simple fact has got me over the moon right now.

My father and Logan join me alongside the
podium as the mayor of our small town speaks. I was surprised that Dylan didn’t
join us today, instead muttering something about obligations elsewhere and how
JLS runs just fine without him.

I love my younger brother, but I don’t
understand why he doesn’t feel the weight of the Sheridan legacy like I do. I
might never understand him.

As the mayor prattles on, I watch Hannah fidgeting
in the front row alongside Allie and Kim and Connor. I’ve made speeches at so
many of these types of festivals, and watched my father do the same when he was
heading the company. But until today, I’ve never really felt like a part of the
festivities. I never ate a fried Oreo (who knew there were such things?) or participated
in the annual buckeye throwing contest, coming second only to Logan who claims
he’s been practicing for the past ten years with live grenades.

And I’ve certainly never do-si-doed in my
life till that brief moment this afternoon when Kim pulled me onto the dance
floor and I was just desperate enough to feel her hand in mine again that I was
willing to do it.

Until today, my participation was always
limited to a behind-the-podium speech. Even when I was a child, my father would
have my family standing behind him on the stage rather than in the crowd where
I choose to let Hannah sit. I want her to feel a part of this community, not
set aside from it like my brothers and I were. My mom made sure that we were
raised to understand that we were no better than anyone else in this community
just because we had more money. But my dad never let us really be like the
other kids, always making sure we remembered that we employed most of my
friends’ parents, and as such, held ourselves to a separate standard.

I don’t fault my father with bringing us
up that way. I just want to try to do things a little differently. There’s so
much support in this small town. It’s one of those places where people look out
for each other. Where kids can roam over to their neighbor’s house to see
what’s going on. Where people still say hello if they pass you in the street,
even if they’ve never seen you before in their lives.

That’s why I want to develop this
riverfront community, make it into a gathering space, a place to enjoy
regardless of whether someone can afford one of the new homes there.

I envision a place where families can all
put down their smartphones and enjoy a slice of small town America—riding
their bikes, climbing a jungle gym, or tossing a fishing line into Newton’s
Creek.

It’s pretty much what I say in my speech
when I take the podium. I was careful with this one, especially with the
watchful eye of my father behind me. It’s different from our usual developments.
More thoughtful. More forward-thinking. But I don’t want to insinuate that in
my speech.

The crowd rises to their feet when I pull
the cloth away from the giant three-dimensional rendering of the development,
so that everyone can see just how much of an asset to our community it will be.
I can see the excitement in their faces as I point out the walking paths, the
nature preserve, and the playground. There’s not a face in the crowd that isn’t
smiling.

When I finish, I soak up the joy I see in
Kim’s eyes as she approaches.

“That was an incredible speech, Ryan,” she
says.

I grin, not even realizing till this
moment how much her approval would boost my ego. Since when did I deliver a
speech and actually care what the woman in my life thought about it?

“Thanks.” I want to kiss her right now,
in front of everyone. But I’m still mildly stunned that she let me hold her
hand for part of the afternoon and I don’t want to press my luck. So I touch
her hand instead, hoping she won’t pull it away.

She doesn’t, and my entire soul is lifted
twenty feet in the air.

“That was a good speech, Son.”

I turn to face my father, and am certain
the surprise on my face is apparent.

“Thanks, Dad,” I respond before being
pulled into a hug from my mom.

“Your grandfather would be so proud of a
community like you’re going to build here.” She kisses me on the cheek. “So
proud.”

I see Kim and Connor back away, but I
extend my arm toward her and lightly grasp her elbow. “Mom, Dad, I’d like you
to meet Kim Marshall and her son, Connor. Hannah and Connor go to the same
school.” I pause momentarily. I’m certain my mother can see the look I have in
my eyes when I look at Kim, but my father might as well.

My mom hugs her and her son. “It’s so good
to finally meet you, Kim. We’ve heard so much about you. I keep telling Ryan
you need to let me babysit Connor sometime so the two of you can get out more.”

When she releases Kim, I nearly pass out
cold from the sight of my dad pulling Kim into an embrace.

As Logan approaches, he and I share a
stunned look. Hell, Dad doesn’t even hug us.

 “Thanks for joining us today, Kim. We’re
glad you’re here.” Dad then darts a look down to Connor. “Young man, when can I
expect to see your application to JLS? We need younger people. Fresh ideas.”

Kim laughs. “Don’t get him excited about
the idea. He made a few dollars doing a lemonade stand last summer and I think
he’s gotten a little addicted to capitalism.”

“Never a bad thing.”

Their voices fade to me as I see my dad
take Kim by the elbow toward the 3-D rendering of the community. The crowd
parts for my father, as it always does, and he disappears into the swarm of
people with one hand resting on Connor’s shoulder.

My mom stays with me watching them.

“What the hell just happened there?”

“Hmm?” Mom asks.

Logan shakes his head, bewildered. “Dad
hugged Kim. An employee. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Well, she’s not an employee to your
father. She’s the woman Ryan is dating.”

“I know that. Ryan knows that. But I
never thought
he’d
really make that distinction. You know how he
is—drawing a line in the sand between the Sheridans and the people we
employ. It’s his mantra.”

My mother laughs. “You really should talk
to your father more,” she admonishes Logan.

“I talk to him plenty.”

“No, I mean really
talk
to him. Not
about JLS.”

“I didn’t know he could talk about
anything else.”

“He can.” She shares a look with me, and
I know Logan must still be in the dark regarding a certain story about an
employee who got fired decades ago.

~ KIM ~

I pull another chunk of my sugar-laden
elephant ear as I watch Connor attempt to do-si-do with Hannah during the
square dance demonstrations. It’s the first moment I’ve had alone with Ryan
since lunch. Alone, save for the hundreds of pairs of eyes I feel watching us, most
of which are employed by JLS.

He touches my waistline and I shiver
slightly from the sensation of possession.

“You’re letting me hold your hand today,”
he says. “You know, holding hands is dangerous. It leads to all sorts of other
things.”

“I think we’re already doing those other
things,” I remind him.

“Does this mean you might actually let me
take you out on a normal date next week? You know, in public?”

I sigh, feeling the heat from his hand
seep past my cotton dress and soak into my skin. “I guess I’ll have to endure
the taunts and the teases.”

“Good,” he says, and his hand then rests
comfortably on my hip.

I nibble on my bottom lip nervously,
realizing that one tender touch like that in this crowd will lead to a complete
change in my work day. Not to mention in the car pool line.

A thought occurs to me. “What do I tell
Connor?”

 “You just tell him the same thing
I’ll tell Hannah. Tell him you really like me and you want to spend some time
with me.”

I nod at the simplicity of it. At four
years old, Connor won’t ask much past that. And my son has definitely taken to
Ryan and Hannah, not to mention their pool. He’d only see it as a good thing…
until we break up.

“But what do I say when—”

“Stop it,” he interrupts, raising a
finger to my lips. “Don’t shoot the horse before it makes it out of the
starting gate, Kim.”

Bugles sound in the distance and I crack
a smile. “I think the Buckeye Princess is about to arrive,” I tell him, picking
up my pace to get Connor. We grab the kids and make our way to the parade
route, where Princess Buckeye will wave to us mere villagers one final time. I
smell the horses pulling her open coach before I even see them. And then they
come around the bend, two gorgeous white steeds driven by a coachman dressed in
a velvet frock that must be just as hot as Cass’s forty-pound gown in this
unseasonably warm weather.

Waving to the hoards of cheering children,
she glows—not because she’s an enchanted princess, but because she’s headed
home to New York tomorrow, where her agent has already lined up an audition for
a commercial next week.

Not ten minutes after the parade has
ended does Cass emerge at my side in cut-off shorts and a t-shirt. Her face is
pink from scrubbing off the thick princess makeup, and her blonde hair is
pulled back in a tight ponytail.

“I’m free,” she proclaims. “Free at
last!”

I pull my eyes momentarily from watching Connor
readying himself for the potato sack race. I have one eye on him and the other
is firmly affixed to Ryan who stands at the opposite side of the field.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving tomorrow,
Cass,” I mutter glumly.

“And I can’t believe you’ve finally made
your relationship with Ryan public,” she retorts back. “Holding hands at the
festival. That’s big news.”

My eyes pop, shocked. Cass has been
sequestered in her princess gown all day. How would she know that?

She rolls her eyes in response. “Oh,
please. This is a small town. I heard about it in the make-up room. Ryan is
Newton’s Creek’s most eligible bachelor. Or he was, till you snagged him.”

“Oh, God, what have I done?”

“You’ve just bagged a billionaire, baby. That’s
what you’ve done,” she says, holding her hand up waiting for a high-five that I
just can’t seem to give her. She drops her hand to her side with a sigh.

“Stop moping about it. For God’s sake,
Kim, the guy looks like he belongs on a Jockey billboard, and you’ve got a
frown on your face. I’m going to punch you if you keep that up.”

I let a smile creep in, if only for her
benefit. “Okay, okay. I just don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Following your heart. Or your hormones. Or
both.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s it.” A loud bang
from a starter’s pistol has my son bouncing along the grass in his potato sack.
“Go, Connor,” I urge him, my voice growing louder as he falls behind, even though
his smile only gets bigger.

“Go, Connor!” Cass is screaming at my
side, about fifty decibels louder than me—must come from all that practice
hailing cabs in Manhattan. As Connor crosses the finish line, about three sacks
from last, I raise my hands in victory and we start heading toward him.

“You should stick around Newton’s Creek,
Cass,” I say, resuming our prior conversation as we slice through the crowd. “There’s
a third Sheridan in town, you know.”

“Dylan’s in town?”

A look passes over Cass’s face. I’m not
sure how to describe it. Hope? Expectation? Complete and utter arousal? As she
gives the crowd a quick perusal, her eyes are wide with anticipation.

“I don’t think Dylan came today, though.”
I watch as the hope dwindles from her face. Strange. “Do you know Dylan or
something?”

Her eyes dart away. “No. Why do you ask?”

She glances my way briefly and I shrug in
response. “No reason,” I answer.

“Connor, over here!” I call as we finally
reach earshot of him.

“Did you see me, Mom? I got a ribbon!” He
holds his “participant” ribbon up so proudly you’d think it was a gold medal at
the Olympics.

“Wow, honey, that’s incredible! You were
so fast out there.”

Cass pulls him into a hug after I finally
release him from my embrace. “Connor, I could barely even see you. You were
like a big blur. A streak of lightning.”

“Really? I was that fast?”

“That fast, buddy.” Cass gazes down at
him. “Geez, I’m gonna miss this little squirt.”

“You’ll come back though, right?”

“Well, I’m going to have to for Allie’s wedding,
aren’t I?” she replies, giving a nod in Allie’s direction as she and Logan join
us. “I get to be a bridesmaid.”

I feel the tiny goose bumps that always seem
to pop up when Ryan is close by, and turn to see him and Hannah behind me.

“Cool!” Hannah says, having overheard
Cass. “Maybe you can wear your princess costume!”

“Oh, I think Allie will pick out
something even prettier for me.” Cass responds quickly and when the kids aren’t
looking I see her mouth to Allie, “And sexier, please.”

I suppress a laugh.

“I’m headed home with Hannah now,” Ryan
announces, letting his eyes rest on mine for a little longer than he should. “Hannah,
better say good-bye to Princess Buckeye.”

Cass bats her hand through the air. “When
I’m not in my crown, I’ve told you to call me Cass.”

“Bye, Cass.” Hannah hugs Cass and I swear
I see some unshed tears in her eyes.

“Oh, don’t be sad, little
princess-in-training,” Cass says, bending at the knee to reach her eye-level. “When
I get back here, we’re both going to be in a wedding together. How fun will
that be?” She gives her a kiss on the cheek before moving to Ryan and giving
him a hug. It seems a friendly gesture till I hear her whisper in his ear, “You
watch your step with my friend, buddy. Got it?”

God, I love Cass.

Ryan steps toward me, taking my hand so
lightly I wonder if he might drop it instantly. But he doesn’t, instead,
bending near my ear and saying, “I’ll call you later.” His face lingers so
close to mine that I think he might actually kiss me, even with the watchful
eyes of our kids close by.

But he doesn’t. He pulls his face away
from mine and his eyes linger on me, the look penetrating me, devastating me
just as much as any kiss ever could.

I’m still reeling from that look five
minutes later as I’m walking across the field after picking up Miley and Cyrus from
the other volunteers at Allie’s rescue’s booth—as well as my box holding
my treasured flag. Connor’s holding the leashes of the two tiny dogs, asserting
his four-year old independence fifteen paces ahead of us.

“Damn, I’m going to miss you,
girlfriend,” Cass says, her language a little more colorful whenever Connor is
out of earshot. “Especially now that you’re starting to loosen up a bit. We
could raise some hell together if you ever come visit me in the Big Apple.”

I scoff, trying to imagine myself raising
hell anywhere. No, just can’t do it. “I’m just glad you’re coming back for the
wedding. I’m too tired today for a forever-good-bye.”

“I can’t imagine why you’re so tired,
darlin’,” she says in a fake Southern accent that is just good enough that I
consider telling her to give up modeling in favor of acting. “You keep having
fun with Ryan, okay? Don’t fall back into your no-fun-for-Kim slump. You
deserve some fun. Besides, if you get married to him, then I’ll have another
reason to come down here and visit you guys.”

My shoulders droop. “Don’t be counting on
that happening.”

“Why not? It happened to Allie. And I saw
that look he was giving you during the potato sack race. He couldn’t take his
eyes off you. It’s like he was mentally tattooing ‘Property of Ryan Sheridan’
on your forehead.”

I laugh. “No. This won’t last much longer
than a week, I’m betting. Maybe two.”

“Why?”

I sigh. “Because relationships take
sharing, Cass. And I—”

“I know,” she cuts me off, draping her
arm over my shoulder and giving a squeeze. “Sharing is an acquired skill. It’s
hard sometimes. But any guy who would buy you a freaking United Federation of
the Universe flag—”

“United Federation of Planets,” I correct
so automatically it’s almost embarrassing.

“Whatever it is. He’s really into you. All
of you. Even your freaky geek side that I never understand. Hell, if he’d have bought
you a diamond necklace, I’d have shrugged my shoulders at it. But this is so
adorable.”

“It is, isn’t it?” I say dreamily.

“Not that I’d turn away a diamond
necklace, of course, but—” she turns to me and stops momentarily,
staring. “Oh, shit. That look. You’re totally in love with him, aren’t you?”

I look away from her, focusing on my son,
focusing on my son like I always do when things get crazy. If I can just focus
on my son, my son’s needs, then I won’t let things get out of hand.

But it’s too late for that. “Yes,” I admit
quietly, too lost to Ryan to even be able to hide the truth.

“Oh, God. So soon, too. What is it about
these Sheridan boys?” She snorts. “What am I saying? They’re hot, sweet, and
loaded. Who wouldn’t fall in love with them?” She’s silent a moment as we walk
along. Then she nods suddenly. “You need to tell him, Kim.”

“Tell him I love him?”

“No! Oh, God, no. No, no, never, no.” She
grabs my hand. “You know that, right? Rule number one:
Don’t
say the L
word before he does. He’ll bolt. They always do. Never do that. Promise me
you’ll never do that.”

I can’t help laughing at her adamancy.
“Gee, Cass, tell me how you
really
feel about it.”

She raises her hands slightly. “Okay,
okay. Just wanted to make sure we were clear on that.”

“Clear as glass. Connor, don’t let Miley eat
the grass,” I call out to him.

“’Kay, Mom!” he calls back.

“So what is it that I’m supposed to tell
him?” I ask Cass, even though I know the answer.

“About what happened. If you care that
much about him, then you should do it. You can trust him. And if he can’t
handle the truth, which by the way, I don’t think is going to be the
case—you need to know it now before you lose any more of yourself in this
thing. And if you don’t tell him, you’ll sabotage it. I know you. And you’ll
sabotage it just to avoid taking the risk.”

“Things are good the way they are right
now, Cass. I’m so scared I’ll ruin it.”

She stops a moment, letting Connor move a
couple paces further from us, and I know I’m about to get an earful. “Bullshit,”
she says. “It has nothing to do with you ruining what you’ve got going now. It
has
everything
to do with the fact that you’re still punishing
yourself.”

“What?”

“It’s so obvious, Kim. You blame yourself
for what happened so long ago. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t you. He raped
you,” she barely says the last three words, mostly mouthing them as she takes
my hand and gives it a firm squeeze. “Him. His fault. His crime. Not yours. But
you’re so caught up in this life of just getting by. Always thinking that you
should be happy for any scraps sent your way. Why else wouldn’t you take a
little risk and work at the rescue with Allie? That’s a no-brainer to me. But
no. You’re Kim. You tell yourself you should just be content with your HR job
that gives you so little satisfaction.”

“It gives me a good paycheck. It gives me
stability.”