Lethal Affair (15 page)

“
I see.” No judgmental look,
no shocked intake of breath. “Your mother filled me in somewhat on
your situation and quite frankly,” she winked at her husband, “I
think you're doing the right thing by waiting until you know
whether or not the father will make good husband material. By the
look of things, I can see he's lost points. Big, fatal
ones.”

The ice felt heavenly but she lowered
it now, took a sip of her tea. “So very nice of you to take me in
like this but I don't want to intrude. Could you call me a cab
please?”

Lydia sent her husband a look and they
wordlessly communicated as Frank rose and she tossed him her
keys.

“
I'll be happy to see you
home safely.”

Protests aside, Kylie was ushered down
the driveway and into Lydia's vehicle. She thanked her
profusely.

Lydia leaned into the window before
they took off. “Let me tell you something that might make this
easier for you. I've seen plenty of single mothers over the years
and most of them make a go of it just fine without having a man
involved. Keep that in mind and be strong, because this baby
deserves nothing less than a loving upbringing. You'll get plenty
of support from Rita and Joe.”

Kylie felt the sting of new tears
prick her eyelids and she blinked them back. “Thanks. I'll see you
in a month at the clinic.”

When Frank turned into the street
where Kylie and Jolene shared their apartment, a silver convertible
was parked at the curb out front. Seeing her tense, Frank asked,
“Is that the guy? Want me to have a little heart-to-heart with
him?”

“
It's enough that you've
brought me home. Just give me a minute.” She pulled out her cell
and called Jolene who answered sleepily, and made
arrangements.

“
Go around the back of the
building,” Kylie instructed. Frank pulled into a service alley with
garbage bins where Jolene was lowering a fire escape ladder. With a
wave at Frank, Kylie climbed up to their apartment.

Jolene furiously ranted, “That fucker!
I swear I'll return the favor if he ever comes near you again.” She
stopped suddenly in her tracks. “In fact, I'm going down there
right now and...”

“
Stop,” said Kylie with
quiet intensity. “I've had enough drama for one evening.” She went
to a window and peered through the blind. “Damn, he's still there.
What the hell does he want?”

Jolene examined Kylie's cheek. The
welt would make way for a colorful bruise by morning. “Want some
tea?”

“
God no! What I really want
is a shot of whiskey,” she rubbed her belly, “but the munchkin is
seriously underage. I wonder how long he'll wait.”

“
He can wait from here to
eternity for all I care,” spouted Jolene. She stalked to their
front door and double checked the deadbolt, the slide rod, then
returned to plant a gentle kiss on Kylie's good cheek. “I have a
feeling this isn't going away,” she told her. “You know I'm here to
help, right?”

Her support group abounded. Kylie
realized she was truly blessed in that department. Her sleep
however was fitful that night as anxiety-filled dreams crowded her
subconscious, leaving her feeling no where near as strong as Lydia
Barrymore had suggested or as she herself would have
liked.

*

Will knew he should stay away. But when
the grapevine passed on the news of last night's dinner debacle
that ended in a bruised cheek and probably bruised feelings as
well, he had to go and see her.

What kind of man hits a woman, Will
pondered. A weak, selfish one came the answer, with low self-esteem
that required cutting down a woman who hadn't seen it coming to
prove his dominance. A few less gracious terminologies flitted
through his brain but he shelved them and knocked on Kylie's
apartment door. The address he'd gleaned off of Jolene's job
application after she'd told him Kylie had been sent home from work
by her boss when she'd seen the damage done to her face.

Kylie's eyeball briefly appeared in
the peephole, then he heard the locks disengage.

“
Hey,” he said, priding
himself on keeping a straight face when he saw the purple swelling.
He held up a fistful of cheerful yellow tulips and a bottle of pain
killer with a little red bow on it. “I come in peace.”

She tried to smile but stopped halfway
as pain shot through her cheek. Overnight she'd ballooned out and
had been icing since she'd returned from work. The whack had been
harder than she'd imagined. The relief was in knowing that she no
longer had to mull over the option of marriage, and the lack of
heartache told her it would have been her decision
anyway.

Will strolled into the apartment. It
was small, the furnishings used, scarred and well lived in. Plants,
pottery and artwork were strategically placed to create a
welcoming, cozy atmosphere. He appreciated this, an all-female
den.

Kylie carried the flowers to the sink
in the kitchenette and angle cut the stems. She chose a tall, clear
vase and placed them on the living room table.

Will watched her. The attraction was
there, no denying it. Even with her cheek aflame she got under his
skin. Not that he was going to act on it. But damn it all, that
compact, well toned body was a feast for his eyes and other senses
too. Not to mention those lily-of-the-valley eyes. He realized his
excuse for coming here might fly today, but what was he going to do
when today was over? Remembering his promise, he felt a regretful
ache.

“
So,” she said, sitting next
to him on the couch, “are you the Cavalry? Well you're too late.
And by the way, Jolene shouldn't have told you.”

“
If it's any consolation,
she tried to stop me from coming over when I tried to brow beat
your address out of her.”

“
Bad choice of words. Do
people even say that anymore?”

“
Just an expression.” He
tilted her chin and examined her cheek. “I don't go in for this
sort of thing. Men, now that's another story.”

The contact was light as his fingers
skimmed. Their eyes met and held as he laid his forehead on hers in
a gesture of friendship. When he pulled back, Kylie felt
touched.

Kylie ran her finger over a hairline
scar on his chin. “Is this the aforementioned story?”

“
Best told another time,” he
said, grinning.

“
Is it one that ends with,
you should have seen the other guy?”

“
Fortunately,
yes.”

“
I already got the third
degree from my parents. I was supposed to bring Drew to brunch but
obviously that didn't pan out. You're not going to drill me on what
happened, are you?”

“
The evidence speaks loud
and clear. The schmuck obviously blindsided you.”

She told him anyway, starting with
Stanley Hammond's iron fist attitude and ending with the rescue by
the kindly doctor and her husband. His eyes never left her face as
she narrated, emotions playing tag across her features.

“
Cripes, Stanley Hammond's
firm does our accounting,” said Will. “I wonder if his slap happy
son has a hand in it.”

“
I'm sure your account is
safe enough. Drew hasn't met Jolene and she's the only connection
between us.” She paused, testing the waters. “Does it mean
something, that you and I have met?”

His heart gave a small lurch. “It
means a whole lot. There's something here between us, but I'm
thinking you need a friend right now more than anything so I'll
keep things on that plane unless you say otherwise.
Deal?”

She felt an ease with Will that had
never been present with Drew, and laughed. “Deal.” When she held
out her hand to shake his he took it to his lips instead, and
sealed it with a kiss.

*

“
He runs hot and cold with
her,” Jolene explained to Lyle who was currently giving Dino a bath
in his tub. Using his brute strength to hold the quivering dog
still, he rinsed him off with warm water.

“
Isn't that a song?” He
hummed a few bars of the popular tune about conflicting values in a
rich bass that got cut off when Dino placed a paw on his arm.
“Alright, alright, I'll stop.”

Jolene held out a large towel and
received the quivering terrier. “You're my little taco now,” she
whispered in his ear, and he settled into her gentle
cuddle.

“
Watch it,” said Lyle, “I
might get jealous.”

“
You'd never hit a woman,
would you?”

“
Some guys think it's their
right, but Kylie dumping that dude is what's right.”

Jolene placed Dino on the floor and
gave him a final rub before he dashed out the bathroom door.
“She'll be a single mother, but she's young and gorgeous. The right
guy will come along.”

Lyle squirted tub cleaner and
scrubbed. “Besides the obvious need for occasional male company,
why does she need a man anyway? Plenty of people raising kids on
their own these days. You know that old expression about being
better off alone than in bad company? It applies for Kylie right
now.”

Jolene pouted. “I know sometimes
circumstances call for it, but I want the whole kit and
caboodle.”

“
Sometimes life doesn't go
in the direction you think it will. Sometimes you get a huge
reality slap in the face.”

She frowned. “Are we still talking
about Kylie? 'Cuz I'm reading between the lines here and maybe it's
good we get this out in the open.”

“
What?”

“
Your views on marriage, on
what you want out of life.”

She was perched on the toilet seat
looking impossibly sexy and regal all at once. “You're getting
ahead of yourself,” he said, and pulled her onto the floor with him
as he abandoned the sprayer and settled Jolene onto his lap. “My
folks weren't the best role models. They divorced when I was on the
cusp of teenage-hood, so that whole 'til death do us part thing?
Doesn't hold water for me. I've got a few kinks to work out on what
to me is a very scary subject. Let's not go there yet.”

Her arms around his neck, she planted
small kisses on his chin. “Guess I'm one of those people who take
life head on, without over-analyzing things.”

“
Mm... you mean you rush
into things blind? That can get you into a lot of
trouble.”

“
I'm a firm believer in
making things happen. There's a difference, you know.”

“
I thought a lot about you,
before taking things up a notch.”

She batted her eyelashes. “You did?
Why it only took you, what, six months? If it's taken you that long
just to have your way with me, then how long will it take for you
to...”

He silenced her with a quick kiss.
“I'll get there in my own time. Is that okay?”

With his fingers massaging the tight
muscles of her shoulders she closed her eyes and swooned. “Do I
have a choice?”

“
We all have choices. You
might decide I'm not the guy for you after all. Thought of
that?”

A small wave of panic rippled through.
“Or vice versa.” The massage moved lower to the small of her back.
She sighed deeply. “Can't have a serious conversation with you
doing that.”

He laughed. “Exactly. Ever made love
on a bathroom floor before?”

What he was doing to her now took her
breath away. “No,” she managed, “but if you're willing to take the
bruising, I'm willing to give it a go.”

*

“
Dad, it's a bruise, not
the flu.”

Joe Lambert stood in Kylie's doorway
with a container of his wife's homemade chicken soup and gaped at
his daughter's colorful cheek. Wordlessly he stepped inside, closed
the door behind him.

“
That bastard is gonna hear
from me.”

“
Get in line. Everybody
who's seen me has the same sentiment.”

“
I'm not kidding. I plan to
take this up with Stanley Hammond. I won't have his
son...”

“
Dad, please. This isn't
high school and I'm a big girl. I'll handle this my own way.” She
took the soup and headed to the kitchenette. Remembering how Drew
had remained parked outside her apartment half the night, she
wondered for the millionth time just how she was going to do that.
But the last thing she wanted was to drag her parents into her
domestic nightmare.

Fuming, Joe's face was turning a
purple that might soon rival Kylie's cheek. “This isn't cut and
dry. You're carrying that man's child so it's a whole other ball
game. If he can hit you, then he could just as easily hit the kid.
Have you thought of that, Kylie?”

She'd thought of little else. “His
father thought I was after Drew's money. He practically accused me
of it before dinner was served.”

“
I'll bet you set him
straight on that.” If there was one thing he knew about his
daughter, she wouldn't take that kind of bullshit on the chin. He
shook his head. “Sounds like one happy family.”

“
His mother appears to be
drowning her sorrows.” She recalled what Drew had said about his
parents' marriage and could easily understand that she was hitting
the bottle. The real question was, why? Why not walk away if things
were so nasty?