Yearning for Love (11 page)

Nicole staggered slightly holding onto Walker’s arm to keep from falling. “Walker, you scared the life out of me! What are you doing in Columbus?”

“I’m here for you.  I’ve been circling the block waiting for you to leave the building since 4:00 o’clock this afternoon.”

“You’ve been sitting outside my building for hours?  How in heaven’s name did you know where I worked?”

“You told me the day we met.  I had to wreck my brain remembering the name of the place.  I did a search on the internet and here I am.”

“Hmm, technology abets stalkers in more ways than one.  So the mysterious call I got was from you wasn’t it?”

He hunched his shoulders. “I’m pleading the fifth,” he said holding his hand up.

“All this could have been avoided if you’d called me instead of driving all the way from Cleveland.”

“What and miss seeing that priceless look on your face—never.”

“The look of fear on my face is not priceless.  You are lucky I was at work.  I could have called off and been anyplace.  Then what would you have done?”

He shook his head. “That’s not your M.O., Nicole.  Baby, don’t let my fineness fool you; I’m smarter than I look under all this brawniness.”

Nicole grinned. “You forgot to add you're narcissistic.”

Walker brushed at his collar. “I don’t like to brag but you only got a sample of what I am capable of doing.”

 She rolled her eyes. “This could go on forever and it’s cold out here.  Who is your traveling companion?”

“My mother but we’ll get to her later.  So, are you free for dinner tonight?”

Nicole looked past Walker to the older woman sitting in the passenger’s seat of the truck and then back at him.  “How can I say no after the trouble you went through to find me?  Only I’m springing for dinner with no arguments from you.”

Walker closed his mouth stifling the protest sitting on the tip of his tongue.  Taking her laptop case from around her neck, he opened the door to the truck. “Hop in.”

“I have to get my car from the parking garage before it closes.”

“Okay, I’ll drive you to the garage and follow you.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said getting inside the truck.

A short drive later, Walker parked his truck in the space next to Nicole’s at the Rodeo Steakhouse.  He noticed her applying makeup using the rearview mirror like most women did. He smiled.  “Mom, isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is adorable, honey.”

Leslie’s staunch reply threw the flags in his face.  He sighed turning in his seat to face her.  “Okay, Mom; what’s wrong?”

“Walker, are you sure about her?”

He bucked his blue eyes at his mother. “What?”

“Don’t look at me that way.  I’m your mother and have to voice my concerns,” Leslie said sternly.

He banged his hand on the steering wheel. “You told me to go for it and I doing just that.”

“Yes, I did but you didn’t tell me everything about her.”

“Oh yeah, I did omit she was black from the conversation.  However, I don’t care about that. I’ve been missing her for the last three months, and I’m not leaving Columbus without a commitment from her.”

“Walker, I see the hunger in your eyes you have for that woman.  Honey, I’m sorry, but you cannot pursue a relationship with her.”

“Mom, this discussion is going the wrong way and we need to shut it down before it turns ugly.  I love you to death, but you will not dictate whom I bring into my life.”

Her aging hand rested on his thigh. “It’s a part of life, Walker.  People are expected to live a certain way and follow the rules.”

He shook his head not believing his ears.  First his brother and now his mother was exhibiting racist attitudes he’d never seen before.  “I’ve never known you to be prejudice.  If my being with Nicole is upsetting you, then I don’t know what to tell ya. She is the woman I want, and I’m going to get her.”

“Walker, I’m not a prejudice person.  I’m protecting you.  You have a lot to lose by getting involved with her.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do I have to lose?  All I see is finally a chance at happiness.”

“What you have to lose are millions.  If you expect to inherit your share of Mitch Collingsworth’s estate, you will stay far away from that woman.”

Walker’s chest filled with air. “You and Jeremy don’t get it! I don’t want his money. I don’t want squat from him!”

“Walker…”  Leslie’s eye widened, but Walker continued his tirade.

“Stop it!”  His voice vibrated through the cab of the truck. “I didn’t drive 200 miles to get pissed off about what Mitch won’t approve of me doing with my fucking life!  I’m doing what makes me happy—not him.  Nicole makes me happy and I’m getting her.”

“I’m sorry I’ve upset you.  You should have left me home and took this trip alone.”

Walker nodded in agreement.  He rarely argued with his mother, and when they did butt heads, it was usually because of something she did to put herself in harm’s way.  “I think this time you’re right.  I should have come alone.”

Unbuckling his seat belt and exiting the car, he saw Nicole’s car was gone.  He dropped his head swearing. “Damn it!  She heard us arguing and left.  Freaking great!”

Leslie took a tissue from her purse and wiped her teary eyes.  “She was standing at the window.  I tried to get your attention, but you kept shouting at me.”

Slamming the door, he started the engine.  He peeled a layer of rubber from the tires as he sped from the parking lot, bouncing the heavy truck as it hit the street. 

Leslie held onto the roll bar fearing for her life. “Walker, slow down! You’re going to kill us driving this fast. Calm down before we get on the highway.”

“We’re not going home, Mom.  I’m dropping you off at the first hotel I see, then, I’m going after Nicole.”

“You’re acting like a crazy person, Walker.”

Keeping his eyes on the road, he gritted his teeth. “I am crazy and it’s about time people saw just how crazy I am.”

*****

Nicole hurried and locked the garage door assigned to her.  Looking up and down the street as she walked to the front of the cobblestone apartment building, she didn’t see Walker’s truck.  He hadn’t noticed she’d left the restaurant while arguing with his mother.  She didn’t hear the whole argument but enough to know his mother didn’t approve of her.  Unlocking the apartment door, she dropped her purse on the chair with her coat following.

The apartment was small and nothing like the elegant mansion filled with servants.  She was her own servant who cooked and cleaned. There was no pool house, tennis courts, or seven bedrooms and baths.  There was one bathroom, one bedroom and a semi-spacious living area cluttered with racks of clothing from her failed store.

She sat on a stool at the dinette table to take off her boots.
Man, what a day
.  She tossed the suede boots by the door frustrated at what happened but refused to throw a hissy fit.  What good would it do to raise her blood pressure?  His spontaneous actions caused this problem. Driving away to let him deal with his mother, who did not approve of him dating outside his race, was a personal dispute not involving her.

In the kitchen, she turned the dial on the oven to 375 degrees to preheat. Going to the sink, she washed her hands before removing a baking dish from the fridge containing a chicken she’d prepped the night before. Placing the dish in the oven and went to the bedroom to change from her work clothes.

The bedroom was medium sized, but cluttered with more items from the store.  The designing board and sewing machine took a good portion on one side of the room.  Tall rolls of fabric, and storage boxes lined the floor and wall on the other side of the room.  She downsized the bed from queen to twin in order to have a place to sleep.

Nicole squeezed between the clutter to get inside the closet to hang her clothes and grab a sweat shirt and sweat pants.  She unhooked her bra slipping it off before pulling the sweatshirt over her head.  Putting on the sweat pants, she slid her feet into warm bedroom slippers and closed the closet door. 
“Okay, off to finish my reports before I eat, and forget this day happened.”

Returning to the living room, she looked around for her laptop. Smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand, she remembered it was in Walker’s truck.

Idiot!

She paced.  She needed that laptop because it had the programs installed to process the reports.  She picked up the phone and paused.  “I can’t call him! I don’t want him here after what happened or to bring that woman with him,” she mumbled aloud clicking off the phone.

The buzz of the intercom interrupted her rant.
Darn it! I bet that’s him
.  “Who is it,” she asked pressing the button on the intercom.

“Walker—please let me in; I have your laptop.”

“Walker, you can leave it by the door, I’ll get it later.”

“Nicole, please open the door. I want to explain what happened.”

She leaned her head against the cold metal plate of the intercom. “All right but, only for a minute; I don’t want any drama.”

She opened the door to the first floor apartment.  Walker’s face was sullen and his color pale.  His appearance was not as vibrant or full of life as earlier.  Part of her wanted to console him, but she immediately withdrew the idea thinking no one ever hugged her when she was down.

“Come on in,” she said not taking a step from the arch of her doorway.

He gave a weak smile and entered the apartment. “Thank you.”  He briefly looked around the cluttered living room before turning to her. “Nicole, I want to apologize for what you might have heard.”

“You’re not obligated to do that since you said nothing wrong.  I do thank you for dropping off my laptop.”

Nicole remained by the door, opening it slightly as a hint for him to leave since she had the laptop and he’d apologized.  Instead of following her lead and going through the door, he moved to the middle of the living room hell-bent on telling his side of the story.

“Nicole, my plan today wasn’t supposed to blow up in my face.  I had a different vision of how this night would end.  I don’t know what happened.”

She closed the door to shut out the neighbors snooping ears.  “What happened is always what happens in situations like this.  The color of my skin is the first thing your mother saw.  God, she just doesn’t know my skin color is the least of my problems.”

“What do you mean, Nicole?”

“Don’t mind me, I’m rambling.  Walker you’re fighting with your mom over me; which is stupid since we are only friends.”

“She has a different agenda for me and I don’t care what she thinks about the color of your skin, Nicole.  I know what my heart wants.”

“You should care!  Walker, you’re at odds with your biological father and Jeremy.  You don’t want to lose your mom’s respect also.  Especially over me!  I’m not worth it.”

“Would you please stop putting yourself down. I’m working my ass off to get next to you and you raise that damn shield to keep me out.”

“Trust me—you don’t need me to complicate your life any more than it is,” she said pacing in front of the door.

He pinched the bridge of his nose saying, “I admit my life is complicated.  My mother really is a warm woman, but she is not listening to me and what I want.  She wants to make sure I get my fair share when Mitch is six-feet under.”

Nicole ushered him to the couch offering him a seat. “I understand living a complicated life, Walker.  What your mother is doing is offering you advice.  You’re not listening to her side of the story.”

“Yeah, well she refuses to realize Mitch doesn’t acknowledge either one of us, and I’m sure I’m not an heir to his throne.”

“You never know what a person might do.  He might leave you a little money as a way of showing his sorrow for neglecting you.”

“I ain’t holding my breath.  Nonetheless, forget Mitch; this visit is about us,” he said inching closer to her.

Nicole recoiled away from him. “That was my next question.  Why did you decide to do this today?  We haven’t had any contact in weeks.  Didn’t you take that as a clue that maybe I didn’t want to start anything with you?”

“Yes, it crossed my mind. I decided that wouldn’t work for me.  I want you in my life and not as a friend.”

“Oh God,” she groaned.

“Nicole, I want to wake up next to you in the mornings.  Baby, let me provide you those adventures you missed growing up.”

“Walker, stop, please.”  She knew the begging wouldn’t work on him and sat back on the couch listening to him.

“We could have so much fun together if you’d let me inside your heart.  I know you want this.  Remember the kiss we shared—because I sure as hell do,” he said softly.

She made the mistake and looked into the midnight blue of his eyes setting her soul afire.  He wasn’t playing fair and bringing out the sledge hammer to break away at her wall.  Not knowing what to do with her hands, she tucked them under her thighs. “This is silly; you can’t want me.”

“Why is it silly?  I know we’ve only spent a little time together but damn, you are the woman I’ve been waiting for all my life.”

“You have no idea who I am, Walker.  How I present myself to others, and who I really am, would shock the hell out of you.”

He scooted closer to her until there was no room to escape him unless she physically moved off the couch.  “Tell me who you are.  You know about my sordid past and didn’t judge me.  I won’t judge you.”

Her hip was pinned between the arm of the couch and his thick thigh sheathed in dark blue jeans.  The claustrophobia was setting in, suffocating her airway. It would be too bold a move to get up and sit in the nice comfy chair one foot-step across from her.  Plus, he smelled so damn good.

The voices in her head were arguing too loud for her to think.  The positive voice was that of her nanny telling her to take a chance at love.  The other voice was unknown, and warned her to stay away.  Walker would never understand her dysfunctions and end up leaving her.  He would leave just as her male friend with benefits left when she couldn’t commit to him.

Nicole was confused by the voices in her head.  She had to turn them off before they drove her to scream. Walker Albright was hypnotic. His penetrating stare was awakening sexual sensations that lay dormant since her last encounter years ago.  She was sure she’d inherited her father’s warped genes and programmed herself never to fall prey to the human emotion that caused pain and suffering.