One Chance (The One Series: Novella #4) (4 page)

William’s eyes softened and crinkled at the corners when he smiled. “Just when I think it isn’t possible, I fall even more in love with you.”

“I am pretty amazing,” I agreed, kissing the tip of his nose. “Let’s go rescue Bob. You can prove your own amazingness to me later.”

The best thing about William was that he was amazing in so many ways. Amazing in bed, yes, but even more amazing doing something simple like washing the dishes at his brother’s house.

When we arrived at Bob’s house, it was in a state of disarray. William’s niece and nephew, Callie and Carter, were jumping on the couch in the living room and the floor was littered with toys. A closer look revealed that Carter’s shirt had stains all over it and Callie’s pants were on backward. Bob was in the kitchen, cleaning up a puddle of fruit punch. He looked up at us with wide, uncomprehending eyes.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he said, shaking his head. His eyes were bloodshot and the amount of stubble on his face suggested that he hadn’t shaved in days. “I love my kids. I really do. But right now I can’t stand to be around them.”

“We’re here to help, Bob.
Whatever you need.” William stooped next to his brother and took the stack of red-stained paper towels from his hand. “I can get this. Go take a shower.”

“I can’t. I need to make the kids their dinner.” Bob looked around the kitchen helplessly. “I don’t even know if we have any food in the fridge.”

“I’ve got this.” Finally, I saw a way I could help. “You go shower, William will wrangle the kids and I’ll take care of dinner.”

Bob opened his mouth to protest again but changed his mind. “A shower would be good. You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” I was already rummaging in the fridge.

“The kids… they can be a handful.” Bob was unconvinced that William was up for the challenge of entertaining twin 3-year-olds.

William shoved Bob toward the stairs. “Please. I’m bigger than them. And also, if they are really bad I’ll just tie them up.”

Bob chuckled but then his face turned serious. “You’re kidding, right?”

William slapped him on the back. “Go shower.”

Bob Connor’s kitchen was just about as
bleak as it can get barring an apocalypse. I found some frozen veggies in the back of the freezer and a box of macaroni and cheese. It was a less than inspired meal, but Carter and Callie cleaned their plates so I considered it a success. After dinner, William turned on the television for them and helped me clean up the kitchen. Bob was using the rare moment of calm to contact some of Courtney’s friends.

“I don’t get how she could just take off like that. What about her kids?” I took the dish William handed me and began drying it with the only clean kitchen towel I had been able to find.

“Courtney isn’t a typical mom. She’s not very good at putting her kids first.” William stuck his hands in the dishwater and came up with a dirty bowl. He had rolled up the sleeves of his blue dress shirt and his brow furrowed as he scrubbed away the dried cheese. It took all of my will-power not to lunge at him.

“Well
, I still don’t get it.” The kids had done nothing wrong. It was horribly irresponsible to punish them in such a selfish way.

“Go ahead and tell her, Will.” Bob had reentered the room. He was wearing clean clothes and his face was freshly shaved, but he still looked tired and lost. “He’s being polite, but it’s not necessary. Courtney is a selfish bitch. Always has been, always will be.”

I didn’t know what to say so I looked at William but he was concentrating on cleaning a fork. Bob continued, “She never wanted the kids. They were an accident. I suppose it wasn’t fair to expect her to magically change and become a parent overnight once they were born.”

“Why is that unfair?
You
did.” William slammed a coffee mug onto the counter a little too hard and we all jumped. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Bob sighed. “I’m mad at her, too, Will.
Pissed, even. But she’s still my wife and the mother of my kids. So I’ve got to do whatever I can to get her back.”

“Just let us know how to help.” Now that I didn’t have an official task to complete, I was back to feeling helpless.

“Will, can you help me check out a couple of places where she might have gone? She took the car when she left, so I could use a driver.” Bob seemed a little embarrassed to ask.

“Sure.” William wiped his hands dry on the towel and turned to me. “Are you good with watching the kids while we’re out?”

I nodded. “We’ll be fine. Go.”

William dropped a kiss on my forehead on his way out of the room. I heard
Bob say goodbye to the kids while I finished putting the dishes away. With the kitchen cleaned, I moved through the other rooms of the house, picking up dirty laundry from the floors and putting away toys. The kids were more than happy watching television, so I washed a few loads of laundry before joining them in the living room.

Callie immediately joined me on the couch, curling up in my lap. “Where’s my mom?” she asked.

Bob hadn’t mentioned what he had told the kids. I wasn’t sure if I should tell the truth, or go with a lie so I did a combination. “She’s out right now.”

“When is she coming back?” Callie’s big, blue eyes tortured me.
They were the same shade as William’s. A couple more questions while looking at me like that and I would spill everything.

“What are we watching?” I asked, attempting to change the subject.

Carter turned away from the television and said, “My mom is mean. She yells all the time. I hope she doesn’t come back ever.”

Callie started to cry and I hugged her tight, whispering that everything would be okay. I wasn’t even sure if I was lying to her. Losing a parent is the hardest thing imaginable. I would know- I lost both of mine when I was fourteen
. But my parents had been taken from me. They didn’t want to go. Courtney had voluntarily left her kids, and they might grow up never knowing why. I had never met Courtney, but right then I hated her.

I managed to distract the kids by forcing them to take a bath. After a lot of screaming and one overflowing tub, they were clean, dry and dressed in pajamas. Trying to get them into bed was a whole other battle and I wasn’t up for the challenge. Instead, the three of us cuddled on the couch while watching Sponge Bob. It had been a long day for all of us and it didn’t take long for the kids to drift to sleep. I must have fallen asleep as well, because the next thing I knew, William was stroking my cheek, gently prodding me to wake up.

“Hey,” I said, a sleepy smile spreading over my face. “How’d it go?”

William shook his head, gesturing to the sleeping children lying on top of me. “We’ll talk after I put the kids in bed.”

He scooped Callie off my lap and she woke up just long enough to wrap her tiny arms around his neck. Bob came into the room looking even wearier than he had earlier and he didn’t say anything as he picked up Carter. The look in his eyes was haunting.

I stood and folded Callie’s pink blanket, hugging it against my chest as I looked around the room. Pictures of a happy family covered the walls, blatant lies in such a trouble
d home.

As William wrapped his arms around me from behind, I leaned back and closed my eyes. His lips were a whisper against my neck.
“Did you find Courtney?”

“No. She doesn’t want to be found.” William sounded very tired. “We talked to her sister and she doesn’t think Courtney will be back anytime soon.”

“What’s Bob going to do?” We had helped him get through today, but what about tomorrow, and the next day? What if Bob wasn’t up to the challenge of being a single dad?

William squeezed me and let go. “He’ll figure it out. He doesn’t have a choice.”

I dropped Callie’s blanket on the couch. “Now what?”

“Now we go home.” He held out his hand and as I slipped mine inside, I felt very lucky to have William Connor in my life. Not only did he treat me better than I
sometimes deserved, he also made me want to be better.

Bob met us by the front door and hugged me fiercely as he said his thanks. I hugged him back wishing I could relieve him of some of weight that was on his shoulders.

“Take these.” William handed his car keys to Bob, who hesitated. “I mean it, Bob. You have two kids, you need a car.”

“What about you?” Bob looked at both of us.

William pointed outside. “I already called a cab. I’ve got another car at home. This one is yours. Indefinitely.”

“Will-” Bob started to resist but William cut him off with a punch on the arm.

“Let me do this for you. For the kids.” William put his arm around my shoulders. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow.”

“Thanks again, brother,” Bob said as we stepped outside. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“I bet you’re really regretting all those times you beat me up when we were kids,” William joked.

“Nope.
I was shaping you into the man you are today.” Bob jingled the car keys and nodded to me. “Take care of him, yeah?”

“Always.”
I waved to Bob as William tugged me toward the waiting cab. He held open the door for me and I looked back at the house. “Do you really think they’ll be okay?”

“Sure. They’re Connors. We find a way to survive.”
William kissed me on the lips. “Now get in the cab. I’m ready to go home.”

“My home or yours?”
I asked when he had climbed in next to me.

“Ours,” he replied, then got more specific.
“My place. More beds.”

I grinned up at him. “I like the way you think, Connor.”

As William leaned in to kiss me, I didn’t think we were going to make it a bed at all. The back of that taxi cab would do just fine.

CHAPTER FOUR

As was always the case, now that my personal life was finally on track, everything else was bound to be royally fucked up. My Monday started off normally enough. William and I had spent our entire Sunday in his bed, alternative between making love and sleepi
ng. I went back to my place late Sunday night, hoping to get some sleep and be somewhat presentable at work the next day.

We had a meeting bright and early to discuss the drug scandal. After a lot of debate, I convinced William to take the case. I didn’t want to deal with Paul, and I didn’t want William to kill him, but Gravity could use the paycheck and the prestige that would come from representing a handful of famous baseball players. He put Dan in charge of the whole thing, selling it as a great learning opportunity but really I knew that he wanted no part of making Paul look good.

I stayed behind after the meeting to talk to William about Bob, and when I finally left the conference room a few minutes after everyone else, I ran right into Dan who had been lingering in the hall.

“So it’s true then?” he asked with a smirk.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dan. More information please.” I kept walking because I had to be in another meeting in less than five minutes. Dan was more than willing to hurry along behind me.

“You and Connor.
Bumpin’ uglies.” Dan smacked into me when I pulled up short.

“What did you say?” I sputtered.

Dan enunciated very slowly. “You are screwing the boss. Everyone knows.”

My mouth dropped open. I knew that Tara had l
earned the truth before she was fired, and I knew that if she went forward with her lawsuit there was a good chance the truth would get out. But I hadn’t been expecting it to happen so soon. I wasn’t ready to face the music.

“I’m late.” I said, hastily adding, “For a meeting. I’m late for a meeting.”

I knew that my face was a brilliant shade of red as I stepped into the meeting room. Several of my colleagues were already gathered around the table and they all stopped talking abruptly when I entered. It only took one guess to figure out what they had been discussing.

After the meeting, one of the female attorneys on the legal team cornered me in the ladies’ room. “Nice work,” she said with a wink.

“Sorry?” I kept my head down as I lathered soap on my hands, hoping she would take a hint and go away.

“Connor.
He’s damn fine. And rich. You played that well.” She smiled at me when I glanced up at the mirror. “People are talking but don’t listen to them. They’re just jealous.”

I got several judgmental looks on the way to my office and even heard someone mutter
slut
. The moment I had been dreading had officially arrived. I had two choices- I could hide in my office all day and avoid my phone and email, or I could suck it up and act like it didn’t bother me. I remembered what William had said about his family being survivors and I decided I didn’t want to be a victim. I had made my own bed, so to speak, and now I had to lay in it.

The day only got worse. Everywhere I turned, I interrupted hastily whispered conversations that ended abruptly upon my appearance. By the end of the day, I went home without even checking to see what William wanted to do for the evening. Hiding in my apartment for a couple of years seemed like the best idea.