TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES) (2 page)

A short while later she was reading over a document she needed to finalize for the advertising department when Lila beeped her again. “Yes, Lila?”

“There is someone here to see you, a Mr. Rick Blair.”

Barbara suddenly had a funny feeling settle in her stomach and took a full moment to catch her breath. Detective Blair had been the one to handle her husband’s shooting incident. He had believed her innocent, although his partner originally thought she might be guilty. She had appreciated Detective Blair for coming to her defense and believing that although Ron’s misdeeds had been despicable, she hadn’t been the one to do him bodily harm.

She couldn’t help but wonder at the nature of the detective’s visit since the case had been closed months ago, and the woman who’d shot Ron had been found not guilty by reason of insanity. Ron had survived, although he would be walking with a limp for the rest of his life.

“Please send him in, Lila,” she said, standing on her feet to move around her desk while gaining her composure. Although at the time Ron’s well being had been her major concern, she couldn’t help but recall just how good looking Detective Blair was. She swallowed tightly when her office door opened and Detective Rick Blair filled her doorway; all six-foot-two inches of him, with dark blackberry eyes, black hair cut low on his head with light brushes of grey at the temple; and a physically fit body. She would put his age at about fifty-five or fifty-six. Barbara automatically returned his smile while at the same time she fought against the racing of her heart.

“Detective Blair, this is a surprise. What brings you here?” she asked, moving to meet him in the middle of the room and extending her hand and tilting her head up to look at him.

The moment their hands touched she fought against the way her pulse took a gigantic leap. His handshake was firm, strong and gave her the sense that he was a man who was assured, confident yet not cocky or conceited. A surge of awareness trickled through her veins and her inner mind told her she should not be reacting to him this way after all she was . . .

She pulled in a deep breath upon remembering that she was no longer married. She had stopped being Ronald Andrews’ wife when their divorce had become final six months ago. In truth, she had stopped being his wife when she’d found out he had taken another woman – his lover – on vacation with them to Hawaii and had been sleeping with the both of them. It was a trip to rebuild their marriage but instead Ron’s actions had destroyed it.

“I’m no longer a detective, Ms. Andrews. I retired again a few months ago.”

She lifted her brow. “Again? You had retired before?” she asked offering him the chair in front of her desk.

She noted that he waited until she returned to the swivel chair behind her desk and sat down before taking a seat. His actions were that of a true gentleman, she thought.

“Yes, I retired after twenty-five years with the FBI. My wife and I escaped the harsh winters of Denver to move here to sunny Florida around ten years ago.”

Wife? She didn’t know why she hadn’t ever thought in terms of him being married. There was really no reason why he wouldn’t be. “I’m sure you and your wife have enjoyed our weather.”

“My wife was killed in a car-jacking within months of us moving here.”

His words sent feelings of sorrow and regret racing through her. “I’m sorry,” she said in all sincerity. She couldn’t imagine something so tragic. And for some reason, without even really knowing the depth of his character, she believed he had been a good husband, a man who had loved his wife and had appreciated her place in his life. He would have respected and cherished her.

“Thanks. It took me a while but I finally moved on with my life the way Gail would have wanted me to do. But not before I found the people responsible for her death,” he said. “I joined the Orlando Police Department for that purpose. Once I accomplished that, I was talked into remaining with the force.”

Her mind took mental note of what he’d said. “You became a detective here in Orlando just to capture the people responsible for your wife’s death?”

“Yes. The police were coming up with loose ends, and I knew my background could help them bring the men to justice. It took less than a month and they were behind bars.”

She nodded. He had loved his wife so much that he hadn’t been able to find peace until those responsible for taking her from him were brought to justice. For him to go that far was simply remarkable. “You’ve been a widower for ten years. You never considered remarrying?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“No. I threw myself in my work and became involved in solving other cases. I met families along the way who’d lost their loved ones in one criminal act or another. My goal was to make sure whoever disrupted their lives in such tragic manners were put behind bars.”

“Did you and your wife have any children?”

He nodded. “Yes, we have a thirty-year-old son who’s a private investigator living in Atlanta. He’s single so there aren’t any grandkids. I’m hoping that one day he’ll settle down and find a good woman to marry.”

He paused thoughtfully before asking. “Your daughter Courtney. She was engaged. I recall meeting her fiancé at the hospital. Did they ever marry?”

Barbara shook her head. “No, not yet, although the wedding is set for Christmas Day. She wanted to wait until her father recuperated sufficiently so he could walk her down the aisle. The shooting left him with a permanent limp and there’s still a bullet inside of him that the doctors couldn’t remove. Other than that, he’s okay.”

She nibbled on her lips for a moment before getting up the nerve to ask him the one question she had wanted to ask him months ago. “How did you know I was innocent of shooting Ron when your partner was convinced I was guilty?”

He met her gaze and the look she saw in his eyes almost captivated her. “I knew the moment Hollis began talking and telling you that your husband had taken another woman on vacation with you. There was a shocked look on your face that I knew wasn’t phony. And then there was the pained look that had suddenly appeared in your eyes. I could see that not only had you not known, but finding out had hurt you deeply. I was actually able to feel part of your pain.”

He paused a moment and then said, “And although my partner believed you were guilty, I knew that you weren’t. I reacted on gut instincts.”

Barbara lowered her gaze from him as she thought about what he said, and then she lifted her eyes to meet his gaze once more. Tears stung behind her eyes but she fought to keep them at bay. She had made a promise to herself on the day her divorce became final that she would not shed another single tear for Ron.

But she knew that the man sitting across from her, the man who had been quick to believe in her, needed to know something. “I’m not sure what I would have done to him had I found out another way,” she said honestly. “My mind might have snapped and I could have hurt him.”

Rick shrugged. “Yes, you could have. A person who feels betrayed can be pushed into doing a lot of things, which is why Melissa Langley was found not guilty in shooting your husband. A court of law was convinced losing her child and having him treat her the way he had was reason enough for her actions. Of course it helped that she had a jury of nine women and three men. I’m sure the females sympathized with her; especially with how your husband was portrayed by the defense.”

Barbara nodded. “Yes, I’m sure that’s true.”

She hadn’t attended any parts of the two-month trial, but Courtney and her sister Peggy had. Luckily for Melissa’s defense team, a few of Ron’s phone calls to her had been recorded by voicemail and had been replayed in the courtroom. Everyone – judge, jury and all present– had heard first hand some of the things Ron had said to Melissa. They had been mean and ugly statements while the woman was still mourning over the loss of the child she and Ron had made together. Proof had also been presented that the child Melissa had lost had been Ron’s, although he denied such fact. In the end the jury had decided, based on Ron’s behavior and Melissa’s state of mind, they could see how her mind had snapped.

Although Ron had been upset with the not guilty verdict, Barbara had not begrudged the woman in any way. She of all people knew what Ron was capable of doing. Barbara had put up with all his affairs and betrayals because she loved him and was convinced he loved her and would do better. In the end she’d discovered Ron only loved himself. Melissa hadn’t been the first nor had she been the last.

“I understand your husband is no longer with the university.”

“That’s right,” she said. The university where he’d worked hadn’t had a choice in the matter when it came out during the trial just how many of his female students he’d impregnated.

Deciding at that moment she needed to get her mind and thoughts off the subject of Ron and his issues, she leaned back in her chair and said, “I’m sure you came here for some reason other than to rehash an old case you worked months ago, Mr. Blair.” Although she hadn’t a clue what could have brought him to her office that wasn’t business related.

“Yes, my visit has nothing to do with the case I handled regarding your ex-husband. The reason I’m here is strictly personal so I hope we can proceed on a first name basis.”

She lifted a brow. “Personal?”

“Yes. I’m here to ask you out on a date.”

Rick thought the shocked look on Barbara’s face was priceless. He had caught her off guard and to him that was a good thing. She hadn’t expected him to ask her out and a part of him couldn’t understand why. She was definitely an attractive woman and she had gotten a divorce from a man who had not appreciated her value as a wife, and as a woman.

“You want to take me out on a date?”

“Yes.”

“A date?”

He chuckled. Such a thing seemed to be hard for her to grasp. “Yes, you know, take you to places like to dinner and the movies.”

He watched as she nervously pushed her hair behind her ear. “Why?”

His lips lifted into a smile. He would think his reason was obvious. But since she asked, he would give her several. “I’m attracted to you. I think you’re a nice person and I want to get to know you better.”

He figured this was not the time to add that she was the first woman to draw his interest since losing his wife and that he’d thought of her often over the past few months.

“You’re attracted to me?” she said as if to verify what he’d said…as if such a thing was next to impossible.

“Yes, very.” And before she could ask, he said, “From the first, but I had to take care of business and put my personal interest aside. Besides, at the time you were a married woman.”

What he didn’t have to say was that he now knew she was single. He had kept up with her since the investigation. He’d known when she’d filed for a divorce and when that divorce had become final. He had been tempted to call her as soon as she had become a free woman but had held back, knowing she needed time to adjust to the idea of being single again. During his investigation he’d discovered she had married Ronald Andrews while in college after becoming pregnant. Since then she had dedicated her life and given her love to a man who hadn’t been worthy of it for over thirty years. Putting the past behind her and moving on wouldn’t be easy. He of all people knew that. Gail had been so much a part of his life he could start a sentence and she could finish it for him. They’d shared a close relationship and when he’d lost her he thought his life had ended. The only reason he’d had to go on was to put the men responsible behind bars.

After that it was his work that drove him from day to day. Working became an obsession. His son had worried about him. But it was either him working or him dying because each and every time he slowed down, the memories of Gail and how they were to spend their retirement years together nearly destroyed him.

“I married Ron young and have never dated another man since,” she finally managed to get out.

He held tight to her gaze. “But you’re no longer married to Ronald Andrews.” He hadn’t wanted to remind her but she’d given him no choice. “You are free to date.”

“Yes,” she said, nibbling on her lips again as if such a thing hadn’t crossed her mind. “I don’t know what to say.”

His mouth tilted into a smile. “If you can’t give me a yes, what you can say is that you will think about it. There’s a new Tyler Perry movie hitting the theaters this weekend. I prefer going the first night and would love for you to join me. We can do dinner first.”

No matter how he tried, he couldn’t fight the sliver of desire he felt for her at that moment. He had dated other women since Gail’s death. Most had been blind dates his coworkers had fixed up or single ladies he’d met at church. But none had attracted him this intensely and a part of him knew it wasn’t just sexual. Barbara Andrews was a woman worthy of a man’s love and devotion. For some reason she had gotten short-changed.

“Thanks for asking me out but I do need to think about it,” she said interrupting his thoughts.

He nodded as he stood to his feet. At least she hadn’t turned him down flat. “All right. These are the numbers where I can be reached,” he said, and then waited while she grabbed a pen and paper before rattling off several numbers to her.

“Once in a while I fly to Virginia to teach a class or two at the FBI Academy.”