Poker Face (19 page)

“It’s too late,” Megan murmured what no one else was willing to
say.

The fight left Drew. He crumbled to his knees, and finally they
released him. Only Megan laid a hand on his rounded back, gasping at the burns
covering his flesh. A half hour ago, they’d been happy, together, in his bed.
Drew’s fingers curled, clawing into the dirt. Megan went down on her knees next
him, and saw them then… the tears making a slow path down his soot covered
cheek.

Flashing red lights and siren’s filled the long dirt drive,
vehicles angled in every direction.

They were too late.

Too late for Tink.

Day Fifteen

“He hasn’t said a word to me since it happened.” Megan pushed the
steaming cup of coffee away, unable to stomach anything. It was nice of her
mother to put forth the effort to make her feel better. But there was only one
person who could do that. Drew. She ached for him so bad she didn’t know what
to do with herself. There was no doubt in her mind. Or heart. She loved him.
Soul deep.

Lillian sighed. “Maybe it’s time you come home. Give him some
space. He’ll come around. Tink meant a lot to him.”

“He meant a lot to all of us.” Megan blew out a breath, willing
the tears to not come. She fanned her face with a hand. She’d cried enough over
the last two days to leave her lips chapped and her eyes red and puffy.

“Yeah but, I think the old man was the closest thing to a father
Drew ever had.” Lillian stared into her coffee.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere until he talks to me.” Megan pushed
her chair away from the table, took five steps toward the hallway leading to
the den, and the couch, the couch Drew had slept on the last two nights.

“Megan…”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Lillian shook her head.

Megan found Drew sitting on the couch, still wearing his black
suit from the funeral earlier that morning. His elbows were on his knees, his
hands clasped as he focused on the floor. At least he’d taken the time to
remove his tie, and undo the top two buttons of his dress shirt. She’d never
seen him wear a suit. He was dazzling. So dazzling it took her breath away.

The floor creaked announcing he had company.

His empty dark eyes met hers briefly, and then they were gone.
Back to staring at the floor. “Not now, Megan.”

A sharp pain shot through her stomach from him using her real
name, instead of the nickname he’d given her that very first day. she refused
to listen. Call it stubbornness, or just plain stupid, she went to him.
Stretched her fingers towards the curls coming to life near his ear. Those were
her favorite. They represented everything… Drew. Her fingers never got there…

“I said, go away!”

“No.”

He stood up, shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his black
slacks. Exhaled a long frustrated breath. “Trust me… you don’t want to do this
now.”

“Yes, I do. Don’t shut me out.” She swallowed hard, took a step
towards him. “I… I love you.”

“Don’t say that!” The cords of muscle along his neck bulged.

“It’s the truth!” She sobbed, taking another step towards him. “I
love you. When you hurt…I hurt. Please…I’m begging you…don’t …”

He looked at her then, really looked at her for the first time
since the accident. What she saw there nearly caused her to vomit right there
on the spot. There was nothing. No emotion. No tenderness. Nothing. The room
suddenly felt colder from the chill he was throwing off. He words came out more
like a hiss, “That’s just like you... making this all about you. This isn’t
about you, Megan,” he paused, “Well, maybe it is. If Stratford and my father
hadn’t made that stupid-ass bet… you would never have been here distracting me
and Tink might still be alive. All you brought with you was bad luck.”

She stumbled.

“What bet?”

His lips took on the resemblance of a smirk, not a grin, or a
smile, something different, in-between smugness, and hatefulness. “Let’s see,
you’re stepfather bet I couldn’t screw you, and mine bet I could. My father won
that one, hands down, wouldn’t you say?”

*****

After he’d said it, he’d realized what he’d done. He was a
bastard. Just like his father. Megan’s face bled, absent of all color, she
turned and took off. Down the hallway. Oh hell no, it wasn’t ending like this.
He followed her, grabbing for her arm, but she stayed just beyond his reach. He
hated his voice held a hint of desperation, “You said you wanted to talk… let’s
talk.”

She darted into the infamous bathroom. The bathroom still only
partially renovated because of her. “Don’t you come anywhere near me. I hate
you!” The door slammed in his face.

“That’s funny… five minutes ago you were saying you love me. Which
is it, honey?” He yelled from the other side, jiggling the doorknob. Ah ha! Not
locked. “You know if you really didn’t want me to come in, you would have
locked….” His words trailed off at the sight of her.

She threw a hand over her mouth, went down on her knees in front
of the toilet. He didn’t utter another word as the sounds of her vomiting
filled the bathroom. It took everything he had not to go to her, gather her
hair, comfort her. But this relationship had been doomed from the start.

He should probably leave. No doubt she would be packing her
things. Gone. Gone from his life, like he had wanted from the start. Hell, he
should go to. Somewhere far, far away from all the bullshit. Nothing was
holding him here anymore. He leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb, hands in
his pockets. He felt like joining her beside the toilet, suddenly sick to his
stomach.

“Be careful you don’t let the shit in.” the last profound thing
the old man had said to him.

Megan stood, gathered her hair in a ponytail, and leaned over the
sink, splashing cold water on her face and neck. Her blue eyes met his in the
mirror. She kept her tone neutral, “You’re a good liar. I fell for it all. The
part about you never having had sex with a woman before…”

No. Believe it or not…that part was true.

She shut off the water, dried her hands on a towel, and went to
step by him in the doorway. Her hand settled on the patch of skin revealed by
his open collar, skin to skin contact. A shudder ran through him, his hands
fisted in his pockets. Dammit, he could smell her. Taste her. All he had to do
was reach out and touch her. Stroke a thumb across her plump bottom lip. What
he wouldn’t give to do that. Wait. That wasn’t exactly true. He wasn’t willing
to give his heart.

Her gaze dropped to her fingers still on his chest. Her fingers
made the slightest movement. Then her eyes found his again. “Seriously Drew, it
was brilliant. Made me believe you actually have a heart.” She leaned in, her
warm breath tickled his ear, “I should have listened to my first instincts
about you. You’re not worth it.”

He exhaled a long breath and watched her walk away.

Coming soon…

Dead Man’s Bluff

Megan had always assumed he would come
after her, when he didn’t, it shattered her heart. It’s been two years. She’s
matured, finished getting her degree in fashion & design, found a good,
honest, successful man and is engaged. In fact, her life couldn’t be better.
Could it? She’s finally stuck to something for longer than a couple of
weeks….avoiding calling Drew Mackenzie, a major achievement.  And now,
finally those urges have subsided. She’s over him. Completely. But life has a
wicked sense of humor, and as soon as she decides to be happy with another man
and she stops thinking about Drew every second of every day…the devil himself
strolls back into her life asking for her help. Her help! He has some nerve.
Yeah, she’d like to help him, right after she knees him in the balls.

Drew Mackenzie’s worst nightmare has
come true. He has ended up exactly like his father. After he lost the only man
he ever admired, and the only woman he ever loved, Drew Mackenzie finds his
life spiraling out of control. Lillian has cut all ties with him, for her
daughter’s sake, and his father is meaner than ever. Drew’s life is filled with
meaningless sex, drugs, and alcohol—memories from his childhood haunt him. He
stumbles through the hours that drag on every day with a drink in one hand, a
cigarette in the other. He feels absolutely nothing. He can’t remember the last
time he’s had a decent night’s sleep…wait, yes he can, the night he’d made love
to Megan for the first time, before the night of the accident. An accident he
can’t shake. He lacks closure, and finds himself going to the one person he
swore he’d never bother again. Will Megan agree to help him put an end to all his
questions? Okay, so she’s moved on, and seems happy…that’s really all he ever
wanted for her, but she owes him this closure, since she was the one that
messed up his life and his heart in the first place.

Dead Man’s Bluff will delve deeper into
Drew’s dark past, and exactly what it was like growing up with a father like
Jonathan Mackenzie.

About the Author

I was born and raised in North Carolina.
I believe it is never too late in life to chase a dream. I believe if you're
meant to do something, you don't necessarily have to go seeking it, it will
eventually find you. My passion for writing found me, even off course and
drifting.

From the Author

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