Safe With You (20 page)

Blake was just storming off the elevator when we came out, his tie loosened and his top button undone.  He threw his briefcase down on the table in the foyer and pointed his finger in my face for a split second, before Wyatt shoved me behind him and got in Blake’s face.  “
Watch it, Wellington,” he said in his low dangerous voice that never failed to turn me on.  But I had other things to do right now besides drool over my sexy fiancé.

“Wyatt,” I said quietly with my hand on his arm.  He understood I wanted to handle this, so he backed up, but only slightly. 
Blake kept his hands to himself but the anger still flared in his eyes.  “Taryn.  I swear to God.  What the fuck were you thinking?  I told you last night you were not allowed to see him.”

Dominic muttered, “Oh, shit,” to Lindsay, who had come out from her room, and Wyatt stepped back to my side with his arms across his chest and an amused smirk on his face.  I guess they knew Blake’s comment would not go over well
with me.  I took a deep breath and then stuck my finger in Blake’s face.

“You do not
allow
me to do anything, Blake.  You are not my father or my fiancé or anyone even remotely important to me.  Does my father even know about Lincoln?  I’m guessing not.  I bet you didn’t tell him in hopes you could keep this under wraps.  You knew he would feel obligated to tell me.  So, you came to Wyatt thinking you could win him over with the whole ‘we can’t let Taryn around a dangerous criminal’ angle.”  I kept poking my finger into his chest and he kept taking steps back until he ran into the wall.  “This was not your business, Blake.  You had no right to try to keep this from me!” I shouted at him.

Wyatt rested his hands gently on my shoulders and squeezed.  “Take it easy, baby.  I think you’re scaring him.”  I laughed and Blake glared at Wyatt before opening his mouth to speak.  But I threw my
hand up in front of his face.

“No.  Here’s what’s going to happen.  You are going to call my father and tell him you were contacted by my brother.  Then you may tell him that you helped facilitate a visit for me.  You can give him whatever bullshit you want to make up about why you didn’t tell him first – he was busy, blah
blah blah, whatever.  But…if you ever attempt to fuck with my personal life or come between me and my family again, I will end you.  Don’t doubt for a second that my father would throw you out on your ass if I asked him to.”

I took a deep breath and turned around to see Wyatt and Dominic smirking, and Lindsay clapping her hands for my performance.  Blake made the mistake of muttering “spoiled bitch”
under his breath.  Wyatt’s eyes flashed to mine, asking permission, and I stepped aside allowing him to slam Blake up against the wall with his forearm on his throat in the same maneuver he had used on Ryan.

“Don’t you ever speak to her that way
again.  Do you understand me?”  Blake nodded and Wyatt released him.  He took a minute to catch his breath and then rebuttoned his shirt and tightened his tie.

“
Fine.  I will call your father.  Expect him to be in touch shortly.  You’re definitely making me earn every cent of my salary, Taryn.”  I rolled my eyes as he got back on the elevator.

“Oh my God,
Taryn!  That was awesome!  You totally put Blake the Snake in his place,” Lindsay squealed.  I giggled at her very fitting nickname for Blake, while Dominic gave me a quick hug.  I looked up at him and apologized, “I’m sorry I made you my partner in crime today.”

“It’s okay.  What did your brother call you? 
Tar-Bear?  I like that.  That’s your new nickname,” he said rubbing his knuckles on the top of my head.

I squirmed away from him and over to the protection of Wyatt’s arms.  He brushed my hair aside and leaned down to whisper in my ear, “I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourself.  That was incredibly sexy,
Taryn.”  I tilted my head so he could kiss my neck.

“Get a room!” Do
minic yelled from the kitchen.

“That reminds me.  I need to talk to him.” 
Uh oh.  The low dangerous voice was back, and I knew Dominic was about to get an earful about taking me to see Lincoln.

Blake had only been gone five minutes when my phone rang, and I knew he had held up his
end of the bargain.  “Hi Dad!”

“
Taryn, I have your mother with me on speakerphone.”

“Hi Mom!”
  My mom didn’t get a chance to respond before my dad went on.  “I just got off the phone with Blake.  He said you have a brother and you have already met with him.  In prison.”  I cringed, hearing the disapproval in my dad’s voice.  I knew his thinking was more along the line of Wyatt’s – just wanting to keep me safe – than Blake’s.  My dad never worried about his image where I was concerned.

“Yeah, I guess he contacted your office, and Blake let me know right away.  I begged him to set up a visit as soon as possible.  I didn’t want to worry you when you’re working.”  There was a long pause, and my mom spoke first, “Well…tell us how the visit went.  Tell us about your brother.”  I curled up on the sofa and told them everything about Lincoln - what I had learned about my mother, what he had saved me from by leaving me at the h
ospital, why he was in prison.

When I finished there was another long pause, and then my dad said, “I’m glad you found him,
Taryn.  Your mother and I would like to meet him next time we are home.”  I didn’t know what to say.  I was blown away by the love my parents had for me.  My father was running for President, a race run or lost on image, and he wanted to go to a prison and meet the long lost convicted felon brother of his adopted daughter.

“Really?
  That would be great.  I know I only just met him, but he’s such a great guy, even though he is in prison.”  My mother’s voice was full of emotion, “You didn’t just meet him, Taryn.  He’s your brother.  You’ve known him your whole life.  You only just remembered him.”  I was crying by the time we hung up a few minutes later.  Wyatt was still reaming Dominic in the kitchen, so Lindsay offered me a tissue and sat next to me.

“So, where have I been the last 24 hours?  I had no idea you have a brother.  And you went to a prison? 
Is he hot?  Was it scary?  Did the prisoners look at you like you were a piece of meat?”  I rolled my eyes and settled in for another recap of my day.

Road Trip

Lindsay and I spent all day yesterday in her room packing for her move to Penn Yan, New York.  I kept calling it a visit, because my intention was not for her to leave forever, but she insisted it was a move.  She said it helped get her in the right frame of mind to ‘find herself’.  Okay, whatever.

Our plan was for the four of us to drive Lindsay’s new car to Penn Yan, stay over tonight and Dominic, Wyatt and I would fly home tomorrow. 
I took one last look around the guest room Lindsay had been staying in and walked out to join everyone else in the living room.  Rosa had packed us plenty of snacks and drinks for our road trip, and the doorman was making multiple trips down in the elevator to get all of Lindsay’s bags.  She was shipping most of her clothes, because not everything would fit in the car.  I had asked her last night if she had told her parents she was leaving, and she had just waved her hand dismissively like she does when the subject is closed.

Once we were all situated in the car, girls in the back and guys in the front, Lindsay plugged in my iPod and cranked up the country music.  “I don’t know when I’ll hear your crazy music again,
Taryn.  And I have to admit, I’m going to miss it.”  We were a blubbering mess before we left the city limits, reminiscing about our lives together and all the fun we’d had over the years.  After about an hour of this, Dominic finally shut off the music and turned around in his seat to face us.

“Will you two cut this shit out?  You’re only going to be a few hours apart, and half the time you text each other from five feet away anyway. 
If you’re going to do this the whole way there, I’m strapping one of you to the roof.”  He turned around with a huff and muttered to Wyatt, “I don’t know how the hell you put up with this shit, man.”  That sent Lindsay and me into a fit of giggles that Dominic said, while still annoying, was much better than the tears.

Thanks to Rosa’s snack packs we only had to stop for quick bathroom breaks, and we made it there by mid afternoon. 
Lindsay seemed increasingly fidgety as we drove through town, and I was surprised she would be so nervous to see her aunt.  She was great with strangers, let alone family members.  As we drove through the small historic downtown, Lindsay was biting her lip neurotically as her eyes scanned the sidewalks and storefronts.  She gave Wyatt directions to her aunt’s house and leapt out of the car and ran up to the door almost before Wyatt had turned off the engine.  We all looked at each other and shrugged, getting out to follow Lindsay onto the large front porch.

The house was an old Victorian, painted pale yellow with white trim.  It reminded me of Wyatt’s parents’ house, and I loved it immediately.  Lindsay, however, seemed like she couldn’t wait to get inside as she knocked impatiently on the door, glancing over repeatedly at the more run
-down house next door.  Just when I was going to ask her what was wrong, the front door swung open and a woman who looked like an older version of Lindsay scooped her into a giant hug.  I guess the sunny personality ran in the family along with the ice blonde hair and huge blue eyes.

Lana pulled Lindsay inside and motioned for the rest of us to follow. 
“Taryn!  It’s so wonderful to finally meet you.  I’ve heard only good things about you from Lindsay, and your interview last month was spectacular.”  She gave me a hug and moved on to Wyatt.  “You must be the gorgeous fiancé.”  Wyatt held out his hand, “Yes, maam.  Wyatt Hunter.”  Lana ignored his hand and hugged him instead, before greeting Dominic as well.  “I’ll show you to your rooms and you can get settled before we have dinner.”

I looked around as she led us upstairs.  The house was light and airy and inviting.  Framed family photos lined the wall along the stairs, and I was able to pick out Lindsay in quite a few of them.  There was one picture that caught my eye of a teenage Lindsay locked in a tight embrace with a very cute blonde guy.  They were smiling at each other seemingly unaware of the camera.  I would have to
ask her about that one later.

Lindsay had the largest guest room with an attached bath, and Wyatt and I and Dominic had the two smaller rooms at the other end of the hall.  The guys brought our bags in and I helped Lindsay unpack what she had been able to fit in the car.  There was a large bay window in her room with a window seat that looked out over the front yard and the neighbor’s hou
se.

Wyatt se
t the last of Lindsay’s bags on the floor inside the door.  “Did you get my purse?” I asked him.  “Oh.  No, I’ll get it.”  I gave him a quick peck on the cheek, “Don’t worry about it.  I’ll grab it.”

On my way back up the walk to the house with my Vera Bradley bag over my shoulder, I heard and then saw a loud motorcycle pull up in front of the house next door. 
A tall rangy guy with chin length blonde hair tucked behind his ears got off the bike and looked over at me.  I was used to being recognized now, so I wasn’t bothered when he stared at me.  I just gave a friendly wave and kept walking.

“Hey,
aren’t you the Senator’s daughter, Taryn Ross?”

“Yes.”

“Are you here visiting Lana?”  He asked tilting his head in the direction of the house.

“Just for a night.
  My cousin, Lindsay, is Lana’s niece and we’re dropping her off for a visit.”  His eyebrows shot up in surprise and emotion flashed across his eyes.

“Lindsay’s here?”  H
e asked now staring at the front door as if he was mentally willing her to come out onto the porch.

“Um, yeah.
  Do you know her?”  He snorted, “Yeah.  You could say that.  I’m Grady.  Grady Hawke.”  He looked at me expectantly like the mere mention of his name should explain everything.

“Oh, okay. 
It’s nice to meet you, Grady.  I’d better help Lindsay finish unpacking,” I said stepping onto the porch.  His hopeful expression turned to one of anger when he realized I had no idea who he was, and he turned on his heel and stalked inside his house.

I was still puzzling over the strange conversation when I walked back upstairs, stopping to look at the picture I had noticed earlier.  Hmmm, the guy in the picture was not as muscular and had much shorter hair and no tattoos on his arms like the guy outside, but I was pretty sure this was a younger version of Grady Hawke.

I took the rest of the stairs two at a time and breathlessly entered Lindsay’s room.  It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her who is Grady Hawke and why was he so surprised and pissed that she was here.  But the look on her face stopped me from saying anything and had me quietly backing out of the room.  She had been standing by the window gazing out at Grady as he stormed back out his front door and sped away on his motorcycle.  Lindsay’s eyes followed him all the way down the street until he was out of sight, and tears were silently running down her cheeks.

Whoever he was, she knew him well, and now wasn’t the time for me to pry.  Wyatt and I squeezed in a quick nap in our room before we all helped Lana make dinner.  Lindsay was cheerful again like nothing had happened earlier, and I didn’t say anything about Grady.  I would
let her tell me about him when she was ready.  We all stayed up late drinking and trading stories, and I was exhausted by the time we finally went up to bed.