Home in Carolina (13 page)

Annie rolled her eyes at the open display of affection. Though she loved that her parents were close again, sometimes their demonstrativeness made her feel very alone. She wanted what they had, what she’d thought she had with Ty.

“Well, then, it’s too bad I’m coming home, too, isn’t it?” she teased. “You two are going to have to behave yourselves.”

Her dad ruffled her hair. “Thank goodness you’re not the boss of us,” he said.

Annie held back, giving them a head start. Walter excused himself to check on the children, leaving Sarah to walk to the door with her.

“I just love your parents,” Sarah said. “Your dad’s talk with Walter really made a difference, I think. Who knows if it’ll last, but I want to try, at least. We owe it to ourselves, and especially to the kids.”

“Earlier tonight I wouldn’t have given you two cents for things turning out this way,” Annie told her.

“Me, neither, to be honest with you. I know it looked real bad the way Walter came busting in here, but when he’s scared, he gets mad. I think when he got those papers and he realized it really could be over with us and that I’d
fight for the kids, it scared the dickens out of him. I’m sure he expected me to just go along with whatever he wanted.”

Annie gave her a fierce hug. “I hope things work out exactly the way you want them to.”

When she would have started out, Sarah held on to her arm. “What about Ty? Did you find him?”

“I did, but we can talk about that another time.”

Sarah frowned. “Didn’t it go well?”

“Actually it was a good conversation. We were more open and honest than we’ve been in a long time, but things are more complicated than ever. I’ll tell you next time I see you, I promise.”

“Then you’d better come by tomorrow,” Sarah said. “Walter’s going back home first thing in the morning.”

“And after that you’ll be at the spa to do your workout, right?” Annie said pointedly.

“Right on time,” Sarah vowed. “But you know we can’t talk there, so dinner tomorrow night. Let’s go to Sullivan’s. I’ll see if Katie can babysit.”

Annie shook her head. “I have to work with Ty tomorrow night. Maybe the day after. I’ll have to see if he’s going to need to work out every day or every other day. Then I’ll let you know about dinner.”

Sarah regarded her with concern. “Can I offer you one piece of advice?”

“Of course.”

“Don’t you dare start building your life around him, Annie, not till you know where things are headed. I don’t want to see you get all caught up with Ty and his problems only to have him take off and leave you behind.”

“Good point,” Annie said. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t worried about the same thing herself. She just hadn’t
wanted to admit that it was a very real possibility that things would go exactly that way. “I’ll be careful.”

Of course, that was her head talking. Her heart seemed to have a will of its own.

Helen was still troubled by her conversation with Sarah on the phone the night before and earlier in the day in person. She seemed to suddenly be wearing rose-colored glasses where her marriage was concerned. Call her cynical, but Helen had never seen a turnaround that fast that actually lasted. She almost had whiplash from the speed of Sarah’s change of heart.

Since Sarah had claimed that Dana Sue and Ronnie had witnessed Walter’s transformation, Helen decided to ask them about it. Fortunately Ronnie could usually be found at Sullivan’s early in the evening on the nights when Dana Sue was working. He’d even been known to pitch in as a waiter when they were short on staff. Mostly, though, he was just there to catch the occasional glimpse of his wife. Helen had to admit, it was kind of sweet.

“Hey, Counselor, how’s it going?” Ronnie asked when Helen found him in his usual booth near the kitchen. “You here to sneak in a visit with your husband?”

“Actually I was looking for you and your wife.” She glanced around the busy restaurant. “Probably not the best time to try to drag Dana Sue out of the kitchen, is it?”

“Let’s just say when I stuck my head in to say hello, I was nearly run down. She, Erik and Karen are operating at top speed tonight. Not only that, some delivery they were expecting didn’t come in, so they had to change specials at the last second. There are some pretty sour moods in there.”

Helen sighed and slid in across from Ronnie. “Then I’ll settle for you.”

“I’m honored.”

“You probably shouldn’t be. I just want to pump you for information. I gather you were around when Sarah’s husband showed up last night.”

Ronnie nodded. “Well, a few minutes after the fact, but I saw enough.”

“What did you think? Bad guy? Good guy? Out-of-control guy?”

“He has quite a mouth on him, I’ll give you that,” Ronnie said. “And he was shouting at top volume when I turned up, but he dropped the belligerent tone pretty quickly when I got him outside. In my opinion, he was scared witless and reacting the only way he knew how to the threat of his marriage ending.”

“Sarah told me both you and Ty showed up, so he must have alarmed Annie for her to call both of you.”

“She only called Ty because she was supposed to be meeting him at the spa. He decided on his own to come over.”

Helen’s brow rose at that. “Interesting.”

Ronnie sighed. “That’s one word to describe it. I’m worried about those two. Or really about Annie, I should say. Ty can take care of himself.”

Helen thought of the looming custody battle. “She needs to watch her step,” she said. “Ty’s life is pretty complicated right now.”

Ronnie studied her intently. “Because?”

“I can’t say any more than that. Lawyer-client confidentiality.”

“Well, damn,” Ronnie said. “Is your taking him on as
a client because of something that’s going to wind up with Annie getting her heart broken?”

“Not necessarily,” Helen hedged. “Just tell her to be cautious, okay? She needs to talk to Ty. Maybe she already has.”

Ronnie’s expression turned thoughtful. “Well, she did go chasing off after him last night, and I do think they had a talk.”

“Then maybe I’m worrying for nothing,” Helen said. “Getting back to Sarah, do you trust Walter?”

“If you mean do I think they can work things out, I have no idea. If you’re asking if he’s violent, I honestly don’t think so.”

“Then giving the situation time and space could be okay,” she said, relieved.

“It could be,” Ronnie concurred.

“Thanks,” Helen said, standing up and dropping a quick kiss on his cheek just in time for Dana Sue to emerge from the kitchen and catch her.

“Hey, keep your hands off my husband,” Dana Sue told her. “The last woman who tried that still worries about what might be in her food when she comes in here.”

“You wouldn’t poison Mary Vaughn,” Helen said.

“Not now that she’s back with Sonny, no, but a couple of years back? Hard to say what I might have done.” She slid in next to Ronnie and leaned her head briefly on his shoulder.

“Tired?” he asked.

“Dead on my feet and it’s still a madhouse in here,” Dana Sue said. “I need to get back.”

“Well, I’m going to risk my husband’s wrath and slip in there long enough to steal a kiss from him,” Helen said.
“And maybe some apple pie for my mother. It’ll be penance for not getting home on time tonight.”

“I’ll go with you and protect you,” Dana Sue offered after giving Ronnie a quick kiss. “How are things with Flo?”

“She’s still impossible,” Helen said, “but I have
almost
learned to let all the complaints roll off my back. I know she’s in pain and that she’s not one bit happier about these circumstances than I am, so that makes it easier.”

Dana Sue grinned at her. “You sounded very mature just then.”

Helen laughed. “I did, didn’t I? Don’t believe it. That woman can reduce me to behaving like a petulant two-year-old in ten seconds flat. Ask Erik.”

“No need,” Dana Sue said. “He’s told me.”

Helen sighed. “The rat fink,” she said, though without animosity. In fact, just the sight of his eyes lighting up when he spotted her walking into the kitchen made every bad thing that had happened all day fade.

“Hey, you,” he said. “You’re late.”

“She’s been out front schmoozing with my husband,” Dana Sue said. “Keep an eye on her.”

“Always,” Erik said. “Dinner’s ready to take home for you and your mom. Since you’re late, I added extra apple pie.”

“You anticipate my every need, don’t you?”

“I certainly try.” He winked at her. “I’d try to fulfill another one, but it’s crazy in here right now.”

“Later, then,” she said, picking up the take-out containers he’d set aside. “Love you.”

“Ditto,” he replied, but he was already distracted, his attention focused on the plates lined up in front of him and the meat and fish cooking on the stove.

Helen watched him for another minute, enjoying the brisk efficiency with which he worked, the little frown of concentration that knit his very handsome brow and his excellent backside in a pair of snug-fitting, well-worn jeans. Yes, indeed, an excellent antidote to a bad day!

W
hen Ty arrived at the spa for his first session with Annie, he was surprised and somewhat dismayed to find his mother still in her office.

“You’re working late,” he said, standing in the doorway. “You can’t do this, Mom. You’re going to wear yourself out. You need to leave here on time, get home and spend time with Jessica Lynn, Cole and your husband.”

Unsaid was the reminder that she wasn’t some young kid. She’d been in her early forties when she’d had Jessica Lynn and Cole. If Trevor could wear him out, there was no telling how exhausting those two must be for his mom. Not that he dared to say any of that. As tactless as he could sometimes be, even he knew that suggesting she was old was not smart.

“You’ve taken up handing out marital advice?” Maddie queried, looking amused.

“Sure,” he said, grinning. “It’s a lot easier when you have no real experience, I think.”

He studied her, genuinely worried by the exhaustion in her eyes. Maybe he needed to have a talk with Cal. Perhaps Cal could get her to ease up. “Why are you here so late, anyway?”

“Going over the books,” she admitted with a sigh. “It’s been a tough couple of months.”

Ty frowned. “Is the spa in financial trouble? I thought it was a roaring success.”

“It has been until recently, but you know how things have been with the economy. For a long time it’s been really tough out there. Women aren’t treating themselves to facials, massages and manicures the way they did when we first opened. The trainers aren’t as booked up, either. I think a lot of businesses are going to be slow to recover.”

“What do Helen and Dana Sue say?”

“That we’ll weather this. It’s not as if we’ve had to lay anyone off yet, but I’m feeling the pressure to be creative with how we allocate our money. And we decided not to expand and open another spa the way we’d been talking about. It’s just not the right time.”

“I could invest, if what you need is an infusion of cash,” he offered. “I’m still making more than I know what to do with.”

“I don’t want an investment, but there is one thing you could consider.” She handed him a computer printout. “Annie says this piece of equipment would be a help to you, but I can’t squeeze it out of our budget, not when we don’t have that many clients who need it.”

Ty barely glanced at the page. If Annie said it would help him, that was all he needed to hear. “Order it,” he told his mother. “Give me the bill when it comes in.”

“You sure? Just like that?”

He grinned at her caution. Ever since she and his dad had divorced, she’d been prudent about money. It was one of the reasons she’d made such an excellent manager for this business venture she’d gone into with Helen and
Dana Sue. His mom could squeeze a dollar till it squealed. It was also why she and Cal did well, despite Cal’s modest salary as a teacher and coach.

“Just like that,” he assured her.

The response didn’t seem to please her. “You need to be investing your money for your future and Trevor’s.”

“I’ve done that,” Ty assured her. “I learned money management from you, didn’t I? And this equipment is an investment in my future, if you think about it.”

“How so?”

“The sooner I’m healthy and pitching again, the brighter my financial future will look. Jay says if I can get the Cy Young Award, maybe get some all-star attention, I’ll be a natural for commercial endorsements.” Of course, an all-out custody battle for his son might cut into his image and value, which was yet another reason to get things settled with Dee-Dee as quickly and amicably as possible.

“Good point,” his mom admitted. “I’ll call about the equipment in the morning.”

“Now, go home,” he ordered. “Put your feet up and let Cal wait on you.”

“My husband knows how to take care of me. He doesn’t need advice from you.” She did shut down her computer, though, and grabbed her purse from a drawer in her desk. “You’re working out with Annie tonight?”

He nodded.

“Good,” she said, and for a minute he thought she was going to leave it at that, but then she turned back. “Be careful with her, Ty. No matter how tough she seems, she’s still fragile.”

“I know that. I was the one who told you she was more vulnerable than she’d ever let on.”

“I guess now that I have what I want, the two of you spending time together, I’m worried about her.”

“Not about me?” he teased. “I’m your son.”

She came back and kissed his forehead. “Nah, no worries about you. I know
you’re
tough.”

Ty let her assessment pass, though the truth was, when it came to Annie, he was every bit as vulnerable as she was.

Annie’s heart climbed into her throat when she saw Maddie leave her office. She knew Ty had been in there chatting with her. Any second now he’d come looking for her.

Am I really ready for this?
she wondered. There was only one way she could think of to find out.

She drew in a deep breath, then crossed the spa toward Maddie’s office and met Ty as he emerged. A slow smile lit his eyes when he saw her. She almost succumbed to the lure of that smile, but then she steeled herself against its power.

“Let’s get to it,” she said, deliberately keeping her tone cool and professional as she’d planned.

Ty’s smile instantly faded, but he gave her a quick nod. “Yes, let’s not waste time.”

His attitude immediately put her on the defensive. “I was just saying—”

“I know what you meant, Annie. It’s late and I’m imposing on your time.”

Guilt stirred. “I’m sorry if that’s how it sounded,” Annie said. “I really didn’t mean it that way.” She dared to meet his gaze. “Are we always going to have to be so careful what we say to each other and how we say it?”

“I hope not.” His gaze locked with hers. “Maybe if we got this out of the way…”

Before she realized what he had in mind, he stepped closer and sealed his mouth over hers. The first tentative touch of lips against lips was a shock, her first reaction dismay. Before she could push him away, though, he deepened the kiss and Annie was lost in a sea of familiar sensations. The scent of Ty—part pure masculinity, part some citrus aftershave. The feel of rock-hard muscles against her soft curves. The faint scrape of lightly stubbled cheeks against her own smooth complexion. The low groan in his throat when his tongue found hers. It was heaven!

No, no, she reminded herself. It was dangerous. It was hell, and she really, really didn’t want to drop into that abyss.

Belatedly, she mustered up the strength to pull away.

“Bad idea,” she told him. “I can’t do this…” She gestured vaguely around the workout room. “Not if you’re going to do
that.
”

His lips curved ever so slightly. “Sorry,” he said unconvincingly. “I can’t swear that I won’t kiss you again.”

“Tyler!” she protested.

“Okay, how about this? I promise I won’t kiss you again in here. At the spa, I’ll be strictly business. Will that do?”

It would as long as this room was the only place the two of them ever crossed paths. She could see to that. She held out her hand. “Deal,” she said, then snatched her hand back before he could take it. “Your word will do.”

He regarded her solemnly. “You have my word.”

Later, after she was home alone in bed and thinking about that bone-melting kiss, she remembered that she had every reason to know that his word wasn’t worth much.

Aching from his workout during which Annie had shown him no mercy, Ty retreated to the hot tub upstairs at the spa and settled in for a good soak. He hoped it would not only ease his muscles, but maybe take away the searing memory of that kiss he was supposed to forget about repeating.

Unfortunately, no sooner had he turned on the jets and eased down into the soothing water, than his cell phone rang. Tempted to ignore it, he decided against it when the ringing abruptly ended, then immediately started up again.

Getting out of the hot tub, he grabbed the phone from the pocket of his shirt. He glanced at the caller ID but didn’t recognize the number.

“Yes, hello,” he said impatiently.

“Ty?”

His heart sank as he recognized the voice. “Hello, Dee-Dee.”

“Jay told me how to get in touch with you. He says you’re back home in South Carolina doing rehab, something about your shoulder. Is it okay?”

To his surprise, she sounded genuinely concerned. “It’s getting there,” he said. He wanted to start ranting and raving at her, but a voice in his head that sounded a lot like Helen’s told him to calm down. “What’s up with you?”

“I’m getting married,” she said happily. “Did Jay tell you?”

“He mentioned it,” Ty said, keeping his own tone neutral. Then, recalling Helen’s need to know how to reach Dee-Dee, he asked, “Where are you living these days, Dee-Dee? Still in Wyoming?”

“No, I moved back home to Cincinnati, but I’m not there now.”

“Oh?”

“I’m in Atlanta, Ty. I knew the team had a series of home games, so I came down to see Trevor. I wanted to do that when you were here, so you wouldn’t think I was sneaking around behind your back.”

Ty bit back the desire to yell that there was no way she was getting within a mile of his son. Instead, he merely said, “I’m sorry you wasted a trip. You should have talked to Jay before you came all that way. He would have told you not to come.”

“Actually, that’s exactly what he did,” Dee-Dee admitted. “But I’m not taking no for an answer, Ty. I want to see my son. Tomorrow I’m going to drive up to Serenity. I’m just giving you a heads-up.”

She sounded so blasted sure of herself, so convinced she had every right to charge into her little boy’s life after an absence of three years. Ty’s annoyance kicked up a notch, but he kept his temper in check.

“Not going to happen,” he said quietly. “Not without a court order. I mean it, Dee-Dee. If you come over here, if you get near Trevor without my permission, I’ll find a way to have you thrown in jail.”

The threat seemed to silence her. “Why are you being so mean about this?” she asked eventually.

“Do you really have to ask? You abandoned him on my hotel-room doorstep, Dee-Dee. You left a defenseless little baby outside, as if he were nothing more than the morning newspaper. Have you forgotten about that?”

“I knew you were inside that room, and I made sure you opened the door and saw him before I left,” she said, trying to defend the indefensible. “I was half out of my mind back then, you know that. I was way too young to
be a good mother. I didn’t think I could take care of him, and I knew you had the money to see he had a good life. Can’t you see that I was trying to do the right thing?”

“Maybe so,” he conceded, trying to see it from her perspective. “But as far as I can tell, nothing about that’s changed. It’s still all about you.”

“
I
have changed,” she insisted. “I’ve got my life together now, Ty. I swear it, and the man I’m marrying, he’s a really good guy. We want kids.”

“Then have all of them you want,” Ty told her, still not relenting. Because she sounded so blasted sincere and reasonable, it scared him worse than if she’d been yelling and making outrageous demands.
That
Dee-Dee, he could have fought with a clear conscience. It was much harder to keep this one at arm’s length and away from Trevor.

“Trevor’s my firstborn,” she argued. “We want him to be a part of our lives. Jim’s being real sweet about it. He’ll be a good stepdaddy.”

Ty lost patience with the rosy picture she seemed to have of her future with Trevor at the heart of her new family. “Over my dead body,” he said flatly. “This is not going to play out that way, Dee-Dee. Don’t come over here. Don’t call me again. Next time you want to talk about Trevor, call my attorney. Her name’s Helen Decatur-Whitney.” He reeled off Helen’s phone number, then added, “She’ll set you straight.”

The flighty young woman Dee-Dee had once been would have taken that seriously and given up. The new, apparently stronger, more mature Dee-Dee merely said, “I’ll be in touch, Ty. Count on it. And tell your attorney to be expecting a call from mine.”

When the call ended, Ty was shaking. It could have been
from the air-conditioning blowing on his damp skin, but he knew that wasn’t it. He’d heard something in Dee-Dee’s voice that terrified him—real, rock-solid determination.

Helen had taken a shower, put on her favorite ratty old robe, which would have shocked those who knew her as the local fashionista, and settled down with a glass of wine and a couple of case files when the doorbell rang. She opened it to find Ty on her porch, looking haggard.

“What’s happened?” she asked at once, standing aside to let him in.

He hesitated, despite the implied invitation. “Are you sure it’s okay to come in? I know it’s late, but I’ve been walking around and I saw your light on.”

“Of course it’s okay. You know you’re always welcome here, no matter what time it is. Can I get you a glass of wine? Something stronger?”

He shook his head. “Not with the painkillers.”

“Of course. I forgot. How about a soda?”

Ty shook his head and Helen gestured toward a chair. “Then have a seat and tell me what’s going on.”

Instead of the comfortable chair she’d indicated, Ty sat on the edge of a dainty antique chair. His tall, loose-limbed body looked so incongruous there that Helen had to hide a smile. He was obviously upset, so she doubted he’d appreciate her amusement.

“Dee-Dee called,” he announced eventually. “She was in Atlanta to see Trevor. Jay told her we were here, and she told me she intends to come here in the morning.”

Helen winced. This was clearly going to come to a head sooner rather than later. “What did you tell her?”

“Not to come and to call you.”

“Do you think she’ll listen?”

“To the part about calling you, probably. As for not coming, I doubt it. She’s hell-bent on seeing Trevor.” He looked everywhere in the room except at her.

“Okay, Ty, what aren’t you telling me?”

He regarded her with surprise. “How’d you figure out I was holding something back?”

“I’ve been at this a long time, and I know you,” Helen said. “So, what is it?”