Mallory Rush - [Outlawsand Heroes 02] (19 page)

"Lori, love," Noble said, emphasizing the endearment, "would you mind fetching the cognac? I'd like to indulge in a finer spirit than tea over strawberries and lox. Perhaps you and your, ah, friend here, will join me."

"Fine by me," Ryan agreed, unsmiling.

"Cognac for three coming right up." Lori was almost relieved to leave the room, though she worried about leaving Ryan and Noble alone.

"Okay, she's gone." Ryan shoved aside his untasted tea.

"But not for long, so let's have at it, shall we?"

"Lori's got it bad for you, and that's got me worried."

"As well it should." Noble felt a grudging respect for the man who had minced no words with his rival. "She's obviously very fond of you, which disturbs me as well. Clearly, both of us care deeply for the woman."

"You bet I care. Did she tell you how her husband died?"

"She did. An abysmal, nightmarish thing."

"A nightmare is right. I was with her when Mick was brought in. I was there for the funeral, too, and I've been there for her ever since. I love Lori. I've loved her for years. And I'll be damned before I ever watch her go through hell again."

"Your devotion is admirable. However, you have no further need to 'be there for her.'"

"Because you're here, right?"

"But of course."

Ryan glanced toward the door. "You're sleeping with her, aren't you?" he said in an accusing whisper. "Gotta hand it to you, man, you didn't waste any time. She's been wobbling into work with a glow on her face a blind man couldn't miss in the dark."

Noble came over the table and seized Ryan by his shirt. "No gentleman would ever divulge such matters. And no gentleman would presume to ask such a thing. You, sir, have overstepped your bounds. Do so again and I'll call you out. Lori is my woman now and I will not relinquish her to you or anyone else. Just as I will not tolerate even a hint of disrespect shown toward her, not by word or deed. If you should ever touch her in an unseemly manner, I will break the hand you put on her. Heed my warning and heed it well."

He released Ryan with a jerk and prepared for an attack. With surprise, Noble watched the other man settle back in his chair, the hint of a smile twitching his lips. "So, you'll break my hand if I make a pass at her, huh?"

"Are you so foolish as to take my vow lightly? Lori does care for you, though not the way you apparently care for her. For Lori's sake, please spare me the need to send you to the hospital for reasons other than work."

Ryan reached toward his hip and Noble automatically reached for his. Just as he cursed his missing gun, Ryan laid a lighter and a small pack of cigars on the table.

"Lori said if I wanted to impress you, I should come bearing gifts. I waited for you to impress me first." He took out two cigars and extended one. "I'm impressed."

After a small hesitation, Noble took it. "I do not understand. Explain, please."

"It's like this, Noble. I won't give you any cause to break my bones if you don't give me any to break your neck. If you hurt Lori, I will. As long as you're good to her, we'll get along just fine."

"You mean... you do not want her for yourself?"

"Hell, no! That'd be like marrying my sister." With a hearty burst of laughter, Ryan offered his hand.

Noble gripped it, then flicked the lighter and put the flame to the tip of Ryan's cigar before lighting his own.

Feeling quite pleased with the outcome of their confrontation, Noble blew a smoke ring. Ryan coughed and sputtered then managed to wheeze out, "So, want to join me and the boys for a few rounds of poker? We've got a game lined up for a week from tonight."

Noble flicked his ashes. Hmmm. Perhaps there was more than one way to provide for Lori, even if his mother lode of gold dust was dry. Or if by some miracle he couldn't pass the state bar. Already he had absorbed a volume of ground-breaking cases at the law library. Fortunately, the study of law came as easily to him now as it had when he'd graduated, top honors, at Cambridge. The difference was, he now took a bus, not a carriage, as soon as Lori left for work, and returned in ample time to prepare dinner—in the microwave.

"Poker," he drawled, studying his cigar. "Actually, I'd very much like to play poker with you and 'the boys.' Not that I'm very good at it, but I'd enjoy a respite from watching cartoons and Jerry Springer—though there's little difference between the two that I can perceive."

"Oh jeez," Ryan groaned. "Something tells me to bring along only as much as I can afford to lose." He glanced warily at the door. "If you want to okay this with Lori before we count you in, no problem. I don't want to rock the love boat, if you know what I mean."

Actually, Noble didn't. Ask permission of a woman, even one dearly loved, before placing a wager? Unthinkable.

"Of course you can count me in," Noble blithely replied.

"It still wouldn't be a bad idea to—" He stopped short as Lori returned, holding a regal-looking decanter filled with amber liquid.

"I couldn't find the cognac," she said with a little catch to her voice. "Did you put it somewhere, Noble?"

He had. On the dresser in his room just prior to the tea, anticipating a confrontation with Ryan and stealing time for it as Lori went in search. What he had not anticipated was her retrieving another bottle. "Crown Royal!" Ryan exclaimed. "Tell the truth, Lori. You bought it because it's my most unaffordable vice. Who says men get paid more than women? Hell, you make more than me."

Crown Royal. Lori's anniversary present to Mick. Ryan did not know this, given the way he dumped the leftover contents from three teacups into Lori's sink. "Gimme that," he demanded with a grin, and then broke the bottle's seal.

Before Ryan could pour, Noble gripped his hand and returned the bottle to Lori. Bending close, he whispered to her, "save it if you wish. I'll gladly fetch the cognac and bring Ryan along with me so you might have a few moments alone."

She wrapped an arm around his neck, pressing her anniversary present between them. "Thanks for understanding, Noble," she whispered into his ear, "but I can't keep time in a bottle. I'll do the honors."

She filled their teacups to the brim and lifted hers. "A toast," she proposed, "to new beginnings."

"Here, here," Ryan said, looking from one to the other.

"But let us not stop there." Noble spoke directly to Lori. "Toast with me to happy endings."

Three teacups touched and then Ryan moved away, seeming to realize this was a moment for two, not three.

Noble linked his arm through Lori's. Their gazes locked as the two of them lingered over a thoughtful sip that was more a prayer.

* * *

"You're going
where?"

"As I said, to play poker with Ryan and his friends," Noble said casually, pulling on a second boot. Standing in his room—where they now slept instead of hers—he clicked his heels smartly. "No need to drive me, Ryan should be here shortly. By the way, thank you again for the driving lesson today. Oh, and have I mentioned I've committed to memory the rule book you gave me on highway protocol and regulations?"

"Twice." Great, she thought, just great! Another few lessons and Noble could drive himself to a poker game—minus a license, since he didn't have a birth certificate. "Know when you'll be home?" she asked, trying to sound indifferent.

"When the game is over."

When the game is over, she silently mimicked as he breezed by her, patting her rear as he passed. He lifted a large-framed print from the wall, removed an envelope pushpinned behind it, and withdrew a stack of bills. Twenties. At least ten of them.

"This is where I keep my money should you have need of it, or should I meet with an accident—"

"Don't even say that," she snapped, feeling the whiplash of the past.

He came to her, his gaze full of the understanding she had come to need so desperately, despite her attempts not to. With each passing day she needed him more, and it terrified her. Even if she didn't lose Noble to another woman, she could lose him to a car accident tonight, tomorrow, next year.

"Lori," he said firmly, gently, "you can't live in the shadow of fear, else it will dwarf all that is bright and good. What might be, is just that. What
is,
is all that's certain. And for a certainty, I absolutely adore you and can't wait to awaken you upon my return. Now give me a kiss for luck. The sooner I collect my winnings, the sooner I'll collect your affections in bed."

Fat chance, she wanted to tell him. Instead, she bit her tongue and said, "What makes you so sure you'll win?"

"I'll win.
After
I deliberately lose a few rounds." His smile was smug as he leaned down. "My kiss?"

She gave him a peck on the cheek, then turned away before she said something bitchy.

Noble's hand shot out and he whirled her around. "With a kiss like that, I'll be lucky to break even."

"What's this? You're superstitious?"

"No. But I am perplexed as to your behavior. Could it be that you actually begrudge me an evening away from you when you spend most of your days away from me?"

"That's different." She hated this conversation. The best thing she could do would be to give him a big kiss and send him off with a smile. But no, here she was sounding like a shrew. "I go to work to make a living and you're going out with a bunch of beer-swigging guys to play poker."

"The more they swig, the better, so they might forget to guard their expressions. Bloody hell, Lori, much as I relish a good game of poker, I'd far rather be with you. However, as you've pointed out, you go to work to make a living. I, on the other hand, am currently denied the same privilege. Do not resent me for seeking what earnings I can by what means are available to me."

You've got a gun, so go work for the mob.
Ashamed that she'd even thought such a thing, Lori said, "sorry, Noble. I hope you win big tonight."

"But not just for myself. Please understand, I do this for us. It grieves me greatly when I hear you say, 'I wish I could stay home with you instead of going to work.' You say it each morning, and each morning I long for the day when I shan't hear those words again. That day will come, Lori, I vow to you it will. Be patient. Indulge me tonight. And remember, I keep my vows."

She was considering how to explain that she really liked her job—and even if they got past all their hurdles, got married, and he won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, she'd still want to work—when a horn sounded outside.

Ryan. No big surprise he'd honked instead of knocked. The chicken.

"You'd better get going," Lori said, knuckling his strong, stubbled chin. "Good luck, Noble. Come home with lots more money than you left with, and a few shirts thrown in."

He smiled. Seductively. "Actually, I am a bit superstitious when it comes to cards. Will you grant me luck with a kiss to match what winnings you wish me?"

She laid one on him.

The horn honked again.

At the door Noble patted his pockets. "I'll win," he told her. "And return with a few shirts added to my wardrobe."

Lori didn't doubt it. After all, he'd played each and every card right with her.

He took her heart out the door with him and she knew there was no getting it back.

* * *

Lori glared at the clock Ten o'clock on the p.m. With a disgusted snort, she threw down the cross-stitch sampler her mother had given her two Christmases ago. For therapy.

Therapy was
not
stabbing her finger with a needle while she waited for a man to rack up his winnings and come home. Therapy was shopping. Therapy was eating a box of chocolates and watching old Cary Grant movies. Therapy was doodling on cover models' faces.

But most especially, therapy was unloading on another woman who could provide sympathy as well as shrewd advice.

Besides, she and Jenn needed to have that heart-to-heart she'd been too busy with Noble to have. Jenn, a sharp cookie but not exactly a rocket scientist, had swallowed the excuse that Noble was breathing but wasn't up to company since his brain had yet to completely thaw out.

More than thawed, he continued to blow her mind. Lori didn't doubt at all that even now he was blowing a hole through Warren's and Jacob's pockets. Jennifer deserved the next introduction. Maybe she'd put their meeting off because the next step would be for Noble to meet the rest of her friends, gal pals included. First driving, then poker, the inevitable socializing at her hangouts wasn't far behind.

"Hey, Jenn, wanna hit the Kick and Kaboodle?"

"Say, gal, where've you been? No, don't tell me, you've been having a mad, passionate affair with the hunka-hunka burning ice while I've been painting my nails."

"Yep. If you want the scoop, meet me at the club in an hour."

"Make that fifteen minutes. I'm already out the door."

* * *

"Last call!"

Ignoring the call, just as they had a dozen dance offers, Lori and Jennifer continued to huddle over the small table.

"Okay, Lori, from what you've told me, this guy is to die for."

"If he dies, I'm dead, Jenn. He is so under my skin, it scares the hell out of me. After Mick, I just barely survived. But now I'm living again. Really living, like never before. Only, if I lose Noble, I'll—"