The Backup Plan (8 page)

Her mother looked vaguely disappointed. “I'm al most certain that Bobby is in Atlanta. They're finishing up a rather large restoration project there and bidding on something else, I believe.”

“Can you get a number for me?”

“Well, of course, but why? I wasn't aware that you and Bobby had been in touch recently. I thought you two ended your relationship years ago.”

“We did,” Dinah admitted, then added with what she hoped was just the right casual note, “But seeing him is one of the reasons I decided to come home. I thought we could catch up, as long as I'm in town.”

Dinah was not about to go into detail on that subject. Her mother would be horrified by the thought that her daughter actually had some sort of coolly calculated backup plan for getting married and having babies. She might want Dinah settled, but she was romantic enough to want it to be a love match or at least some mutually agreeable social arrangement.

“Why didn't you just ask Cordell?” her mother asked. “He mentioned that you two had run into each other recently. I was rather hoping… Well, never mind. You've always insisted on doing things your own way.”

“I have asked Cord to give a message to Bobby. Apparently he hasn't seen fit to do it. I decided to track Bobby down myself.”

“Don't lay the blame on Cordell. Perhaps Bobby's been too busy to get back to you,” her mother said gently. “He works very hard and he does have a fiancée, after
all. She might not want him spending time with an old flame.”

Dinah felt as if all the wind had been sucked right out of her. “Bobby's engaged?” She could hardly get the words past the boulder in her throat.

“Why yes, to a lovely girl,” her mother replied, as if it were common knowledge. She clearly had no idea that her casual remark was shocking to Dinah. “He brought her to the house for dinner when we were finalizing the deal for this restoration. She's absolutely crazy about him. I think they're about to set a wedding date.”

“But they haven't yet?” Dinah asked with one last crazy hope of salvaging her own plan despite the very clear evidence that it was too late.

“Only because he's been away on this business trip,” her mother assured her.

Thankfully, she was oblivious to the fact that she was quietly turning Dinah's world completely upside down. What the hell sort of backup plan was Dinah supposed to come up with now?

 

To Cord's disappointment, Dinah had never come looking for him. But when he finally quit for the day and walked outside, he found her sitting on the front steps looking like a kid whose puppy had just run off. He dropped down beside her, then gave her a curious look.

“When you never came looking for me for that tour, I thought you must be long gone,” he said. “Have you been waiting out here for me?”

“Not really.”

“I see,” he said, trying to hide his reaction to yet another blow to his ego. “Car break down?”

“No.” She gave him a bleak look. “Bobby's engaged.”

Ah, so that was it. Her mother had spilled the beans. He studied Dinah's face and concluded she looked more dejected than brokenhearted. That was encouraging.

“Yes,” he agreed.

She poked an elbow in his ribs. “Why didn't you tell me? I asked if he was involved with anyone and you told me to ask him. You could have saved me the trouble. Or did you want me to feel like a total idiot? Were you looking forward to that?”

“Making you feel like an idiot definitely didn't enter into it. I figured it was his news to share.” He shrugged. “Or not. I've said all along this was between the two of you. I did enough damage last time I got involved.”

She gave him an odd look. “You think if he finds out I'm back it will make a difference?”

Cord didn't like the sudden glint of hope in her eyes. “No,” he said flatly, determined to discourage her from rocking that particular boat. He didn't care to analyze his reasons for that, either. He was keeping his head in the sand on a lot of his own motivations lately, especially where Dinah was concerned.

“Then you think this woman is better for Bobby than I am?”

Cord sighed. Obviously she wasn't going to be satisfied until she'd analyzed this whole thing to death. Going out with a woman just to listen to her mope around about the man who'd gotten away wasn't his idea of a good time, but in this case he decided to make an exception.

He met her gaze. “Have dinner with me.”

She stared at him as if he'd suggested they run naked along Charleston harbor. “Why?”

He grinned at her baffled reaction. “Because it's been a long day, I'm starved, and you look as if you could use a good meal. You're too skinny.”

“I am not skinny,” she said, immediately rising to the bait.

“Matter of opinion,” he said easily. “Come on. I know a place where we can get shrimp and the best onion rings in the South.”

She regarded him with a faint glimmer of interest. The meal seemed to intrigue her far more than spending time with him. He could live with that, at least for now.

“Murrells Inlet?” she asked.

“Maybe. You'll have to come with me to find out.”

“That's a long way to go for dinner.”

“A couple of hours at most. You have someplace else you need to be? Or is it all that time alone with me in a car that has you turning skittish?”

She rose to her feet in a fluid motion, then gave him one of those cool, considering looks that oddly made him want to kiss her senseless. “For a meal like that, I'll even spend an evening with you.”

“What a gracious acceptance,” he said, lips twitching. “I'm surely honored.”

She gave him a grin that made his heart skip a beat.

“You should be,” she said. “And then once you've fed me, you can tell me everything you know about Bobby's fiancée.”

“So you can plot a strategy to break them up?” he asked, feeling vaguely uncomfortable about getting any further involved in her whole scheme than he already was. “I don't think so, Dinah.”

“If they're in love, there won't be a thing I can do, will there?”

“You can cause trouble, the same way I did between you and Bobby,” he said direly. “Bobby's my brother. I don't want to see him hurt.”

She gave him a weary look. “Neither do I, Cordell. I just need to figure out where the hell I belong these days.”

Cord could understand that kind of need. He'd struggled with it for a long time himself. He just didn't know why a woman who'd made an international reputation for herself would sound so sad and desperate.

“That's a mighty tall order for one evening,” he told her lightly. “But with enough shrimp and beer under our belts, I'm sure we can tackle it.”

She gave him another one of her wistful looks that made his insides twist.

“I surely do hope you're right,” she murmured.

He tucked a finger under her chin and met her gaze, keeping his expression serious. “I'm warning you, though. It sounds like we might have to save devising a plan for world peace for another night.”

Her lips curved slightly into the beginnings of a smile. “Is that what you want to talk about?”

“Indeed, I do. I want to hear some solutions from a woman who's been in the thick of the trouble spots.”

“Then maybe you ought to try Madeleine Albright or Margaret Thatcher. I'm sure they have a much better grasp of the issues than I do.”

“But you're prettier,” he said, then winked. “Nothing turns me on more than listening to a beautiful woman with a clever mind talk about war and peace.”

She laughed finally. “You're demented, you know that, don't you?”

“Quite likely. Now why don't you run along home and freshen up. I'll be by to pick you up in an hour, unless
you think you ought to sneak out of the house be cause your mama and daddy won't approve of you running around with the likes of me.”

“Don't pull that with me,” she said. “I saw you with my mother not two hours ago, Cordell. It's plain she adores you.”

“She admires my skill with a hammer,” he corrected. “And there are some days when she's not too certain of that.”

“I don't believe that for a second. I know my mother. You wouldn't be doing this project if she didn't trust you completely.”

“Does that mean you might consider trusting me, too?”

“Enough to let you take me to dinner,” she retorted. “We'll see after that. There's a lot of history between the two of us that makes the whole trust thing tricky.”

“I only did what I did because I was worried about Bobby,” he said in his own defense.

“You told him I was sleeping with another man. You lied to him to break us up.”

He gave her an unflinching look. “It was the wrong tactic to use,” he admitted. “But I was desperate.”

“Why?”

“Because you and Bobby were all wrong for each other back then. You still are.”

“I don't see how you can say that. It's not as if you know me that well.”

“Sure I do, darlin'. And you proved me right in the end, didn't you? You went off and broke his heart.”

“We agreed—” she began.

Cord cut her off. “Only because you gave him no choice. He had too much pride to fight you.”

Dinah sighed. “I never meant to hurt him.”

“You wouldn't mean to hurt him now, either, but you would. I can see the train wreck coming.”

“So you're going to jump on the tracks?” she asked a little too hopefully.

Cord chuckled. “You wish. No, I'm sitting this one out,” he said, considering it only a small fib. “You do what you have to do.”

“Maybe you can give me some ideas over dinner,” she suggested.

Fat chance in hell, Cord thought, but he nodded solemnly nonetheless.

“Maybe,” he agreed.

Of course, if he had his way, they'd get off the subject of Bobby and onto more fascinating topics before they finished the first round of beer.

S
till shaken by the news of Bobby's engagement, Dinah decided to make a call to Afghanistan to speak to Ray before Cord came to pick her up for dinner. Maybe it wasn't too late to rethink this whole career change thing. It was possible that this unexpected news about Bobby was a sign that she shouldn't have given up so easily, that she needed to get back to work, if only to prove to herself that she was strong enough to do it.

Being at home had not proven to be the panacea she thought it might be. Perhaps it was time to get back into action, back to what she knew and loved.

Marriage and babies? What had she been thinking? That wasn't who she was. She was a journalist and a damn good one, despite everything that had happened. She was beginning to think her backup plan never would have worked—even if Bobby had gone along with it— be cause of who she was and all she had seen.

When Ray answered the phone he sounded harried. Dinah belatedly realized she'd caught him just as he was preparing for the live satellite feed for the cable outlet's primetime broadcasts.

“I'm so sorry, Ray,” she apologized at once. “I wasn't
thinking. This is a terrible time for me to be calling. I'll call you tomorrow.”

“Don't be crazy. I can always spare five minutes for you,” Ray said. “Talk to me. How's it going at home?”

The gruff concern in his voice filled her with a longing to see him again, to be back in the thick of things polishing a news segment about to be aired.

“Good,” she lied, though without much conviction. “It's been great to see my family.” That much, at least, was true, though it was getting increasingly uncomfortable knowing she wasn't disclosing the whole reason for her lengthy visit.

“And that man you left behind?” Ray asked. “How's that working out? Should I be expecting a wedding invitation one of these days?”

“Afraid not. It seems he's engaged.”

Ray fell silent.

Dinah sighed. “Sort of throws a new wrinkle into things, doesn't it?”

“There are other men, Dinah. You don't have to settle down tomorrow, just open yourself up to the possibility.”

She knew Ray was right, but she'd wanted to kick-start the plan so she wouldn't feel quite so lost. She'd always been the kind of woman who set goals for herself then worked like crazy to achieve them. Now that she had no real sense of direction or purpose, she was scared without quite knowing what it was that terrified her. Maybe it was the possibility that she
would
grab the first man or job that came along.

“Talk to me, Dinah,” Ray commanded. “This hasn't given you some crazy idea about coming back over here, has it?”

She heard the dismay in his voice and knew he would
fight her, at least until she could demonstrate complete conviction about her choice.

“No,” she said at last, fighting to keep the resignation out of her voice. “I suppose not.” When the time came to go back—
if
that time came—she needed to be emotionally strong and ready to fight for the right she'd earned to be there. Right now she couldn't think of a single argument in her own favor except her desperate need to do
something.

“Going home was a sound decision, Dinah,” Ray assured her. “You still having nightmares?”

“Once in a while,” she admitted.

“And the panic attacks?”

“Better.” The last one had been that humiliating scene at Cord's.

“But not gone?”

“No.”

“Have you talked to anyone?”

“No. I'll be fine. I'm sure it's just going to take a little more time.”

“That's exactly right,” he said encouragingly. “Give yourself all the time you need, okay? Don't be too hard on yourself. I know you hate sitting around, twiddling your thumbs, but healing takes time, kiddo. Be patient.”

“Sure, Ray,” she said, trying to keep a defeated note from her voice. The last thing she wanted was his pity.

“You hang in there, kid. I've got to run. Five crises have landed on my desk while I've been on the phone with you. We'll talk again soon.”

“Take care, Ray. Stay safe.”

She hung up feeling more depressed than ever. Almost before she realized what was happening, she
felt her palms turn damp. Her breath snagged in her throat.

“Breathe, dammit!” she murmured, gasping as the all-too-familiar sense of panic swept over her. All she had to do was talk herself down. She just needed to remind herself that everything was going to be okay and take nice even breaths.

Think about Cord,
she thought. There was a man who epitomized laid-back relaxation. Maybe he could teach her his technique for sprawling out in a hammock and letting the world and his troubles slip away.

Or maybe he was trying to figure out a solution for world peace, after all, she thought, and suddenly there was a smile on her lips. Her pulse eventually slowed and the tension that had seized her eased.

If she couldn't have Bobby and she couldn't go back to an overseas assignment, at least not in a war zone, she would figure out what she could do. Cord could probably help with that. He certainly wouldn't hesitate to give her an honest opinion. The man didn't know the meaning of sugarcoating the truth. Right now she'd welcome any impartial sounding board around.

If it just so happened to be a man who was easy on the eyes, so much the better.

 

When Cord arrived he was surprised to find Dinah waiting on the front steps, looking even more distressed than she had when he'd left her earlier. She was still wearing the exact same clothes and it didn't appear to him that she'd so much as run a comb through her hair.

Not that he gave a darn about appearance. She'd look incredible after a two-day hike through a sandstorm in the desert. He knew because he'd seen her looking just
like that during a news report one night. She'd still made his pulse race.

He just found it worrisome that her apparent dejection had made her oblivious to what he knew she expected of herself. Looking presentable, even stylish, was as ingrained in a Southern-bred socialite like Dinah as saying please and thank you. Ten years in war zones couldn't strip her entirely of that sensibility.

“Everything okay?” he asked cautiously.

She forced a blatantly phony smile as she crossed the yard to meet him. “Of course. Let's go. I'm starved.”

“Anything you say,” he said, watching appreciatively as she hauled herself up into the front seat of his truck. She might be too skinny, but she still had the most attractive derriere he'd seen in a long time.

He closed her door, then went around to get in on the driver's side. Noting that she was staring straight ahead, looking miserable, he quietly said her name.

When she turned toward him, Cord leaned over impulsively and touched his lips to hers. It could hardly even be counted as a kiss, but it was enough to put some color in her cheeks and some fire in her eyes. He nodded with satisfaction.

“That's better,” he said.

She scowled at him. “Why the hell did you do that, Cordell?”

“Because you were looking mighty pale,” he said, then grinned. “And now you don't. Worked like a charm.”

“Kiss me again and I'll demonstrate what I learned in all those self-defense lessons I took before I went on assignment overseas,” she said sourly.

He laughed. “Oh, sugar, now you've gone and made it interesting.”

“Don't even think about turning that into some sort of a dare,” she retorted.

“Hard to think of it as anything else,” he said as he pulled away from the curb. “But I surely will try, at least till I get someplace a whole lot more convenient. Wish now I'd brought my convertible. That backseat's a whole lot more comfortable than tussling around a gear shift.”

Her frown deepened. “Forget tussling with me. This is not a date, if that's what you're thinking.”

“Of course not,” he agreed readily. “Just two old friends going out for dinner.”

“We're not old friends.”

Amused by her stubborn insistence on labeling the evening, their relationship and most likely everything else that occurred between the two of them, he gave her an alternative. “Acquaintances, then. Surely you can agree to that.”

“Whatever.” Her gaze narrowed. “As long as you understand the ground rules.”

“There are rules?” he asked innocently. “Maybe you'd better run through those for me. I don't seem to have gotten my copy. Must have been in with all those memos your mama tosses at me on a regular basis.”

Exasperation flashed in her eyes. “Why am I even going to dinner with you?” she muttered. “You are impossible.”

“Now that's where you're wrong,” he chided. “I am very possible, though I think in your case I'll play hard to get a little longer. Seems to me your feminine wiles could use a good workout. You're clearly out of practice, darlin', or you'd be chasing over to Atlanta right this second, instead of sitting here beside me.”

Her stern expression wavered, then dissolved entirely
as she chuckled. “I must have been crazy to think I could spend an entire evening with you. You're still the same exasperating man you always were. And I'm not going to Atlanta because I don't chase after men who are committed to other women.”

“You would if you truly thought the two of you were in love,” he suggested.

“Are you telling me I should go?” she asked.

“Absolutely not. I'm just telling you my interpretation of why you're not. You don't want my brother bad enough to fight for him. You're content just to mope around. You'll probably do it for a few days, then move on to someone else.” He winked at her. “I'm available.”

“As if I'd ever get involved with a man I can't trust from here to that SUV in front of us. For all your new-found professional respectability, Cordell, something tells me you're the same sneaky, conniving man you were ten years ago.”

He laughed. “Most people like knowing that some things never change. It gives them comfort.”

“Believe me, I would take a lot more comfort in knowing that your brother was still available and still in love with me.”

Trying not to feel wounded by that, he turned to her. “Why is that exactly? When it comes to love, isn't it usually the first instinct that's right? You walked away from Bobby ten years ago because you knew in your heart he wasn't the right man for you.”

“No, I knew it wasn't the right time for us,” she corrected. “That's entirely different.”

“I'm no romantic, but I'm pretty sure timing isn't supposed to come into play when you're talking about true love. Aren't you supposed to get swept away by passion?”

“And leave common sense aside? You don't know what you're talking about,” Dinah said. “How many times have you been in love, anyway?”

“Never,” Cord said immediately, then thought about it. “I take that back. Once.”

Unfortunately, it had been with Dinah Davis and she hadn't been any more enamored of him then than she was now. A wise man would have gotten the message.

Then again, none of the other lessons in his life had come easily, either. Looked as if this was just one more he was going to have to wrestle with and see if he couldn't make things come right in the end.

 

Over dinner Dinah spent a lot of time reassessing her opinion of Cord. He was surprisingly good company, smarter than she'd ever imagined and more insightful. Of course, there also seemed to be very little he took seriously, so she was stunned when over dessert he finally got around to calling her on her decision to come home.

He took a long, slow swallow of his beer, tipping up the longneck bottle, his gaze locked on her face. She was prepared for another impudent question, but definitely not for the topic he chose.

“You gonna get around to telling me what you're doing here?” he inquired in the lazy tone that teased her nerves.

“You mean here with you tonight?” she asked, deliberately misreading the question. “I've been trying to figure that one out since I climbed into that truck of yours.”

He gave her an impatient look. “Come on, sugar, you know what I'm asking. It's one thing for you to breeze back into Charleston like the prodigal daughter, say hi
to your folks and then breeze right out again. It's another thing entirely for you to stick around for weeks. You don't even seem that restless, not even now that you know Bobby's not available.”

“Believe me, I'm restless,” she replied.

“You made any plane reservations to go back yet?”

“No.”

“How come?”

“I just haven't, okay? Could we drop this, please?”

“I don't think so,” he said, his gaze unrelenting. “Something tells me we're finally getting to the good stuff.”

“Good stuff?”

“You know, the intimate little secrets about what makes Dinah Davis tick.”

She shuddered at the thought of this man poking into her psyche. “I didn't come with you tonight so you could analyze me or the decisions I'm making. You're hardly qualified.”

“I thought we established the other night that I do have some qualifications for this particular conversation,” he told her. “Come on, Dinah. Talk to me. I'm not asking you what happened over there to make you so skittish, because I can imagine.” He studied her intently. “But are you gonna let it change the course of your life?”

“That's not what I'm doing,” she said defensively. At his blatantly skeptical look, she sighed. “Okay, maybe that is what I'm doing, but it's my choice, Cordell. It has nothing whatsoever to do with you.”

“It does if you still intend to use my brother to soothe whatever itch you're suddenly feeling.”

“It's not like that,” she said emphatically. “Besides, that's a nonissue now that I know he's engaged. I get it. You can stop worrying.”