Heart of Steele (24 page)

The light went on behind the closed door to
the bathroom he shared with the guest bedroom. Where Ryder was
sleeping.

Two quick knocks on the door, and it opened a
few inches. “You got clothes on?”

“Yeah.” He grabbed a pair of nylon shorts and
tugged them on over his briefs.

Ryder came in wearing sweatpants, his hair
sticking up all over. “What’s going on? Sounded like you were
holding a track meet in here?”

Steele plopped down on the bed and gestured
to the leather chair in the corner. “Can’t sleep.”

“Tracy?” Ryder sat and stretched his legs
out, crossing them at the ankles.

“Yeah. I fucked up.” He shook his head. “I
thought she’d fucked up, but she had a damn good reason. Now we’re
both screwed.”

Ryder snorted. “Sounds like you’re writing a
new song there, bro.”

“Damn well might have to if I want to get her
back.”

“You want her back?” Ryder rested his head on
the chair. “How deep are you in?”

A board creaked in the hallway and his door
opened a crack. “Boys only?” Val’s voice was quiet. “Or can girls
come in, too?” She walked in, wearing a pair of penguin
pajamas.

Steele patted the mattress beside him.

Ryder rocked his feet back and forth. “You’re
probably better equipped to help this guy. He’s made a muck of
things.”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to ask you in
front of Dad, but where’s Tracy?”

“I think I might have ended it.”

“You don’t know?” Val’s brows dropped low
over her eyes as she plopped down beside Steele on his bed.

“I think she might have guessed that Ryder is
related.” Steele’s gut churned.

Ryder, sitting in the stuffed chair in the
corner, shrugged one shoulder. “People have been telling us for
years that we look alike.”

“Um.” Val’s face looked like she was sucking
on a lemon.

“We look nothing alike.” Steele frowned,
looking at Ryder but not seeing the resemblance.

“The hell we don’t.” Ryder laughed. “You’re
in denial.”

“Steele?” Val shuffled her feet on the
braided rug.

“You look like Angus.” Steele tipped his
head. “But I can’t—“

“Tracy didn’t have to guess.” Val blurted it
out, and looked like she was about to cry. “I let it slip.”

“Aw, fu...shoot, Val, why the hell didn’t you
tell me?”

“With everything going on with Dad...” Her
hand flailed in the air. “And things between you two boys were not
good.” She dropped her head. “I’m sorry. That was really stupid of
me.”

“No. It’s not your fault.” He rubbed her back
for a few seconds then stood and paced to the window. “I should
have known it would come out. I should have sent her back to LA,
but I wanted her here, in case things went bad with Angus.” He
turned to his siblings. “Selfish, huh?”

Val put a hand on the bed and leaned toward
him. “You’re still thinking you were right to hide this from her?
Steele, you should have told her right away. Don’t you trust
her?”

“I do. I think I do. Shit, I don’t know.”

His brother and Val exchanged glances. Ryder
looked at him. “You need to make up your mind. Either trust her
with the whole thing, or make sure she’s not going to sell the
story to the tabloids.”

Anger surged. “She wouldn’t do that.” His
hand fisted as he watched his brother’s face break into a grin.

“Sounds like you have your trust answer right
there.” Ryder winked at Val. “Was he always this easy to
manipulate?”

She smiled. “Oh, yes. I could tell you
stories all night of the things I got him to do just by using
reverse psychology.”

“You’re not doing it in my room.” He pointed
at each of the doors. “Out.” He was only half-serious.

“Go, Steele.” Ryder sat forward and rested
his forearms on his thighs. “Go to LA and work it out.”

He flattened his hand on the window. “That’s
the other thing. She lied to me. She went home to Montana, told me
she was going to LA.”

“Why would she lie about going to Montana?”
Val lay on her side on the bed, propping her head on her arm.

“I couldn’t get it out of her. Something with
her mom, her brother or some guy getting out of prison, lying and
stealing from her mother.” He stared at the full moon riding low in
the sky. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s something she doesn’t want me
involved in.”

“Steele.” Ryder pressed his hands together.
“You wanted her here when your world was falling apart. You can
imagine how she feels right now, trying to handle that mess all on
her own.”

“Mm.” Val sucked in her lips. “He’s right.
You should go.”

The urge to run out of there and jump on his
plane nearly overpowered him. “I should.” What would her face look
like when he showed up? What if she slapped him a good one and told
him to go to hell?

“I know that look.” Val stood and walked to
him. “You’re letting your brain work too hard.” She poked him in
the clavicle. “Use your heart.”

Ryder just watched.

Steele nodded. He had to go. “It’s too early
to call my assistant, but in the—”

Val grabbed his phone off the nightstand.
“You’re a rich, eccentric billionaire who pays his staff far too
much money for the little bit of work they do.” She shoved the
phone at him. “Call them. Let them earn their keep.”

He pulled her in for a hug. “Love you, sis.
Even though you’re a bossy little momma.”

She drew back, smiling. “Gotta be bossy, or
nothing would ever get done around here.”

“Speaking of bossy.” Steele narrowed his
eyes. “Didn’t you say you found Dad face-down on the living room
floor?”

Val nodded.

“On the rug, or the hardwood?”

She tipped her head. “On the hardwood,
why?”

“If he passed out and landed face first,
wouldn’t he have at least a bruise?”

Ryder stood. “Yeah, I expected to see his
face all effed up.”

Val groaned out a breath. “And the doctor
found nothing whatsoever wrong with him.”

“We’ve been conned.” Ryder shook his
head.

“By a genius.” It wasn’t much consolation to
Steele that his actions hadn’t caused their father to have a heart
attack, but instead had made the old man pull a stunt like
this.

“He scared a year off my life.” Val planted
her hands on her hips, her eyes sparking.

“To me...” Ryder shrugged one shoulder. “He
didn’t seem capable of something so devious.”

Steele nodded. “Oh yeah, he’s crafty.”

Val looked at each of them. “The question is,
how do we handle it? I mean, we don’t want him to do shit like this
every time there’s a problem between us.”

Steele would love to confront Angus, but he’d
find a way of denying it without actually lying to them. “I’m
thinkin’ we just let it go. Act like we don’t know the truth.”

Val huffed out a breath. “And make sure we
don’t do anything to incite the same behavior out of him.”

Ryder laughed. “You mean, we have to be nice
to each other?”

They looked at each other, then smiles broke
on their faces.

Val drew Ryder in for a quick hug. “I hope we
can have more of this.” She gestured in a triangle between the
three of them. “It’s just wonderful.” Her eyes glistened.

Steele reached out a hand and squeezed
Ryder’s shoulder. “Yeah, it’s just
lovely
.” He pulled a
face. “But please get the heck out of here so I can go after my
woman.”

****

Tracy sat at her mother’s kitchen table in
the little apartment in Havre, Montana. Nearly the entire surface
was covered with the paperwork they’d received from her brother’s
parole officer and a social worker that morning. They needed to
finish everything and bring it back to the PO’s office by four.

She jumped when the buzzer went off
announcing that someone was at the locked front entrance door.

“Who is it?” Her mother’s sweet voice nearly
floated through the room as she pressed a button to answer. At
sixty-five, the woman was still slim, and kept her light hair short
and permed curly.

“Mrs. Hartman, my name is Steele McLairn. I’m
here to see—”

“I’ve told you kids to knock it off.” Her
mom’s voice came out shrill.

Tracy’s heart kicked up so fast, she could
barely breathe. His voice, so low and sexy and... “Mom, no.” It was
barely a whisper.

“Ma’am, I’m a friend of Tracy’s.” He sounded
amused.

“Get away from here or I’ll call the
sheriff.” She looked at Tracy and nodded proudly, then frowned.
“Are you okay, dear?”

She reached out her hand and pointed to the
speaker on the wall. “It’s Steele.”

Mona looked at the communication box then
back at her daughter. “No, dear, the neighborhood boys like to play
tricks on us old people.” Her lips tightened. “The little
bastards.”

Tracy coughed out a laugh at her mother’s
language and stood on shaking knees. “It’s really him, Mom.
We’re...friends.” She made it to the door, ready to run downstairs
and find him.

Three knocks sounded on the door. “Ma’am, I’m
not here with any malicious intent. I’m looking for—”

Tracy flung the door open. Her heart raced as
a shiver of delight shimmied through her. “Steele.”

“Holy mackerel!” Her mother laughed. “Let me
get my camera.” She shuffled off toward her bedroom.

“One of the ladies in the lobby let me in the
front door. Can I come in?” He sounded so unsure.

She nodded. “Yes, of course.” She stood back
and he stepped in and looked around. “How did you find me?”

“My brother-in-law did something semi-legal
and found your mother’s address.”

She just stared at him. He’d come all this
way. For her.

Her mother bustled from the bedroom.

“Lovely place you have here, Mrs.
Hartman.”

Lovely
? Tracy had never imagined
hearing that word from Steele’s mouth.

He winked at her with that half-smile that
made her insides melt.

“Oh please, call me Mona.” Her mother held
the camera Tracy had sent her for Christmas. She pressed nearly
every button before she handed it to her. “Dear, would you make
this work, please?”

As she took the camera, Steele moved in and
put his arm around her mother’s shoulders. “May I get my picture
taken with you?”

A giggle burst from her mom as she looked up
at him. “You’re really friends with Tracy?”

“I sure am, Ms. Mona, and I’m here to steal
your daughter away for an hour or so. Would that be okay?”

Tracy nearly dropped the camera.

“Why, of course.” Mona’s smile was so
expectant as she looked at her, Tracy had to get a shot of it.

She took a dozen pictures, her mom took a few
of Steele at different spots in her apartment,
just so people
believe you were actually here
, then she asked Tracy to stand
next to him.

Wandering over, she felt his presence in
every nerve of her body, breathed deeply of his sandalwood scent,
and let hope wash through her like a mountain stream in the
spring.

He pulled her against him, his body touching
her from thigh to chest. “God, I missed you,” he said quietly as he
smiled easily for the camera.

Tracy looked up at him just as the camera
flashed. She was almost too afraid to believe he meant it.

“Uh, dear?” Her mother’s voice cut into her
fantasy. “Smile at me just a few more times. Then you can smile at
him for the rest of the day.”

Tracy laughed and looked at the camera.

“Perfect.” Mona snapped a few more. “Okay, I
think I’m done.”

Steele let her go and walked to her mother.
“Your turn.” He gestured for her mom to get next to Tracy.

She skittered over, happy and giggling, and
pulled Tracy in for a hug before she faced the camera.

Steele caught all of it in a dozen
pictures.

“Now you two kids go and do some fun things.”
Her mother took back her camera. “I’ve got all this paperwork to
finish, then I’ll bring it to that nice man’s office.”

Tracy glanced at the table. Most of the work
was done, and her mother had been to the PO’s office more times
than Tracy wanted to know. When she looked at Steele, his eyebrows
were up, his lips tight. Did he think she’d turn him down?

“I’ll go, but you call me if you need
anything, okay?” Tracy picked up her purse.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, dear.” She opened the
door for them. “I’m not going to interrupt this reunion.”

Steele held out his hand. “It’s great to meet
you, Mona.”

She fluttered her hand before shaking his. “I
hope to see much, much more of you. Steele.” Her meaning came
across loud and clear.

Tracy rolled her eyes, Steele took her arm,
and they stepped out the front door. He slid dark glasses over his
eyes and pulled a baseball cap out of his back pocket and settled
it on his head. “I get the feeling word of my presence here will be
spread around like the flu.”

“I can ask her to—”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He set his hand on
her back and led her to a plain blue sedan.

“The only car you could rent in Great
Falls?”

“Uh huh.” He opened her door and she slid in.
When he crammed himself into the driver’s seat, she turned to
him.

“Why are you here, exactly?”

“Can it wait five minutes until we get to the
place I rented? I’d like to give you my full attention.” He
gestured toward the apartment building. Three ladies stood on the
front stoop pointing their cameras at the car.

“Your adoring public.”

He turned the ignition and drove off. “Your
mother seems nice.”

Seems
was the operative word. “She is.
She’s had a hard life. She’s still working the evening shift at the
grocery store.”

“She probably enjoys the social
interaction.”

Sometimes he was so intuitive, and other
times, thick as...steel. He turned the car toward the newer part of
town, where subdivisions had sprung up.