Second Chance (22 page)

Elizabeth jerked slightly and arched a pencil-thin arrogant brow. “We didn’t socialize in the same circles, as you can well imagine.”

Keeley opened her mouth to growl that her mother was far too superior to socialize with the likes of Elizabeth Fairchild. A quick warning glance from Cole stopped her.

She pressed her lips together. Her mother didn’t need to be defended. She’d had more grace and integrity in her little finger than Elizabeth had in the entirety of her too-skinny body.

“But the Fairchilds know everyone, do they not?”

“Well, of course I knew
of
her. She was—” Elizabeth’s eyes skittered to Keeley and for once she saw hesitation in them. Something had kept the woman from her normal nasty comment. What?

“She was …?” Cole asked.

“She was known for her sewing.”

“Ah yes, Keeley told me. But what I’m hearing from the townspeople involved your late husband. Did he know Kathleen very well?”

Elizabeth’s mouth formed an ugly, mutinous sneer. For the first time, the woman actually looked close to her age. Though Keeley could already see the denial and prepared herself for the anger she would probably feel,
she also saw the raging jealousy. Stephen’s father had definitely had some kind of relationship with her mother. Elizabeth’s reaction had been too telling.

A regal wave of her bony hand. “There was nothing to those rumors. She no doubt started them herself.”

At those ridiculous words, a growl started inside Keeley; before it could grow into a full-sized bark, she heard a familiar buzzing noise.

Cole pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, looked at the screen and then at Keeley. “Looks like Hannah’s up from her nap and wants her mommy. Jordan’s outside waiting on you. I’ll stay here and have lunch with Elizabeth.”

Since Hannah had woken from her nap before they had left the house, Keeley knew it was a ruse. She shot a glance over at Elizabeth, who looked a bit disconcerted that a conversation was taking place in her own home that she had no part of. If this was part of keeping Elizabeth off-kilter, Keeley liked it.

Before she could reply, Elizabeth stood. “I’ll call Patrick to see you out.”

No doubt to make sure Keeley didn’t steal the silver. Before she could assure Elizabeth that there wasn’t a damn thing in this mausoleum she wanted, Cole said, “No worries, I’ll see Keeley out and be right back.”

Looking even more rattled, Elizabeth nodded and watched as Keeley left the room, with Cole right behind her.

Keeley walked out onto the large veranda and waved at Jordan, who stood beside his car, waiting for her. She looked up at Cole. “Is this part of the plan?”

“Yep,” he answered in an overexaggerated Texas drawl.

“Was that your version of good cop, bad cop?”

“Give or take a cop or two. She sees you as an
adversary.” He grinned. “I’m the good-looking stranger who’s paying her some attention.”

Keeley definitely couldn’t argue with the “good-looking” part.

“I’m sorry you had to hear her comments about your mother again. I would tell you not to let her bother you, but I have a feeling you’ve been telling yourself that for years.”

“Stupid, I know. I can handle her antipathy toward me, but when it comes to my mom or my girls, it’s almost more than I can bear.”

“Elizabeth is a woman to be pitied. She’ll never have a tenth of the happiness you’ll have.”

“Happiness?”

“Not right now, but you will have happiness again, Keeley. I swear.”

The conviction in his expression stunned her. Something told her he would do everything he could to make sure she felt that happiness again.

They broke eye contact and the moment passed. “I’ll see you back at your house in a few hours. Now it’s time to dig deep and find that charm I was once told I had.”

He stalked back toward the house before Keeley could respond.

Returning from Elizabeth Fairchild’s house, Cole opened the door to Keeley’s home. From one mansion to the other. As the only child of two schoolteachers in the small town of Duncanville, Oklahoma, mansions were something he saw on television but had never experienced.

Wealth had never been of interest to Cole. If it had, he certainly wouldn’t have become a teacher himself. History and sports had been his thing, but when it came time to choose between a possible football career and an opportunity to marry his childhood sweetheart and
live modestly as a schoolteacher, the choice had been easy.

Though he had to admit, Keeley’s house, massive though it was, had little in common with the Fairchilds’ pretentious monstrosity. The woman’s décor matched her personality. Cold and overbearing. And her sexual overtures during their long afternoon together made him want to take a long, hot shower with a strong disinfectant.

“Any luck?”

Cole turned to see Eden standing at the entryway of the living room.

“Not a lot. She acts like she’s the queen and every person should pay her court. In between her pompous bragging about everything the Fairchilds have done for this state—hell, the entire world—we were interrupted about ten times. Every one of them was some big shot in town who acted as though he couldn’t wipe his ass without her permission.”

Eden laughed but Cole winced. Dammit, years ago that kind of talk would have gotten his mouth soaped down. “Sorry, that was crude.”

Eden’s twinkling eyes told him she wasn’t the least bit offended. “The imagery was a bit gross, but it was funny all the same.”

“Where’s Keeley?”

“In the children’s room.” She smiled. “Bath time.”

Cole nodded and, taking the steps three at a time, headed to the children’s room. What he’d told Eden was true. The visit with Elizabeth had been full of interruptions. But he’d been able to glean enough from her to come up with a couple of interesting theories. He hadn’t mentioned it to Eden because he wanted to dig a little deeper first. Maybe his suspicions were all wrong.

Cole pushed the bathroom door open to splashing and giggles. A pain wrenched deep inside him as an unexpected memory sliced through his heart. Jill and
Cassidy and bath time. They used to sing silly songs as Cassidy splashed and played and Jill giggled. Cole remembered standing in the doorway, as he was now, and smiling as he listened to them.

Keeley and Hannah were apparently enjoying their time together, too, though it appeared that Hannah liked the splashing part much more than the actual bath. Keeley was laughing as she tried to dodge the soak-fest and bathe her daughter.

Not wanting to intrude, Cole backed out of the door. He must have made a sound, because Keeley looked up before he had a chance to leave.

“Cole? Everything okay?”

“Yes, sorry to interrupt. Just wanted to tell you I was back.”

Holding on to her daughter’s hand, Keeley stood. “Did you get anything else from Elizabeth?”

Every thought in his head disappeared. The thin white T-shirt Keeley wore was soaked, as was her bra. Everything beneath the damp clothing showed in voluptuous and explicit detail. Cole clamped his mouth shut to keep from groaning as he admired what could only be considered art in its purest form.

Earlier today his hands had been on those luscious mounds, and now, more than ever, he bitterly resented the interruption that had kept him from seeing them in their full beauty. Keeley’s breasts were beautiful and bountiful; brown nipples, hard and peaked, jutted beneath the shirt.

Lust slammed hard and fast. Turning away before she could see the evidence of what she was doing to him, he muttered “No” to her question and shut the door quickly before she could say anything else.

   Keeley pressed a kiss to her sleeping daughter’s forehead. After three “Once upon a time” stories, two
“extra special” prayers to bring Hailey home, and a drink of water, she was finally asleep.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she gazed down at her dark-haired angel. Tonight was the first time Hannah had willingly mentioned her sister. The psychologist had recommended that Keeley not mention Hailey’s name. And as hard as it had been, she hadn’t. Tonight, Hannah had said her sister’s name.

Keeley had been listing people for the Lord to bless. She’d said Hannah’s name, and without any prompting, Hannah had said, “And Hailey, too.” It hadn’t been more than that but it was a start.

Unable to resist one more kiss, Keeley leaned down. Cold dampness pressed into her skin and for the first time she realized how wet her shirt was. That thought led her to another: Cole’s abrupt answer and his expression when he’d closed the door so quickly. She looked down at her damp shirt and realized that Cole had probably seen an out-and-out peep show. A wet T-shirt contest without the benefit of a bar. No wonder he’d looked so … How had he looked? Sexual. Predatory. Hot. His expression had held awareness, desire … lust. Those amazing eyes had darkened as they’d zeroed in on her breasts.

Keeley headed to her room for a clean, dry shirt. Despite the warning in her head that being attracted to the dark and dangerous Cole Mathison wasn’t like the sensible person she’d always considered herself to be, she couldn’t help the increased rhythm of her heart or the tantalizing thought that flashed through her. Would Cole be interested in more than what they’d shared weeks ago?

Even in the first blush of their marriage, Stephen had never looked at her like that. His first priority had always been to pleasure himself. If Keeley happened to find pleasure, well, that was a plus but not something he
strived for. Stephen always came first, in more ways than one.

Of course, after what she’d learned today, it made sense that he hadn’t cared about her needs. If her suspicions were true, she’d been his pawn to defy and infuriate his mother. Never having had a boyfriend and rarely dating, she’d been the perfect patsy. Her lack of experience and innocence must have seemed like a gift to him.

Cole’s heated expression had been completely different from Stephen’s lackadaisical interest. The desire in his eyes had been a promise of fulfillment for both of them. She had experienced that fulfillment. Knew how satisfying it was … and despite the knowledge that it wasn’t wise and sensible, she wanted to experience it again.

Keeley changed to a dry bra, then took a shirt from her closet and pulled it over her head. Her thoughts went back to their conversation this afternoon before Cole had kissed her. Was that really the only reason Stephen had married her? To spite his mother? That seemed extreme, even for someone as shallow as Stephen.

Naïve and gullible she might be, but Keeley resisted believing that was the only purpose for their marriage. Taking a pen and paper from her desk, she sat down in her favorite chair. An image of Stephen popped into her head. Though she knew the greatest blessings from their marriage were her daughters, other thoughts suddenly came to mind—events she hadn’t allowed herself to think about since before his death. When she discovered he had been unfaithful, she’d buried any good thoughts of him. Now it was time to determine if her judgment had been totally skewed when it came to her husband.

Her hand flew across the page. Twenty minutes later, she looked down at what she had written—five pages filled with memories of her life with Stephen. While
many of them were painful to relive, there were several sweet ones. Movies they had enjoyed together, jokes they had shared. During long walks, they would sometimes hold hands and he would talk about his childhood, how much he’d loved his father and how he was always trying to protect Miranda from his mother’s meanness.

One particularly poignant moment was when the twins were born. He’d held them in his arms and tears had rolled down his face.

So she had a choice. She could assume every good thing about their marriage was a lie, or she could accept that while his motives may not have been the purest and he hadn’t been the husband she’d hoped for, he’d had some redeeming qualities and their marriage hadn’t been a total sham. Keeley chose the latter.

More at peace with Stephen than she had been in years, she stood, the sudden need to see Cole taking over. He’d told her he had learned nothing, but there had to be a reason he came upstairs to see her. The little peep show she’d unintentionally given him might have distracted him from what he had to tell her.

She tried to convince herself that brushing her hair and applying a pale pink lip gloss just to speak with Cole meant nothing—that she would do that for anyone. But she knew that wasn’t true, so why lie? She wanted to look nice for Cole.

She made herself walk slowly downstairs. At the entrance to her office, Keeley stopped. Cole sat at the desk, flipping through pages of his notes. Since he didn’t seem aware that she was there, Keeley took a few seconds to look at him. Whenever he turned those amazing eyes on her, she had difficulty concentrating. Being able to look at him without his knowing it was a treat. He was a beautiful man; there was no denying that. Well over six feet tall, and built like … she mentally shook
her head trying to come up with an apt description. Jenna’s description of “Greek god” seemed too trite, yet she couldn’t deny the appropriateness.

Tall; even to her five feet ten inches, Cole towered over her. Whenever he moved, the muscles rippled under his shirt, and her fingers literally ached to touch his broad shoulders, wrap her hands around a biceps. She regretted not taking advantage of that opportunity when they’d made love before. If she was ever given another chance, she wouldn’t make the same mistake.

When she saw him close his eyes and press his fingers to his temple, she came out of her lustful trance. Poor man was suffering from a headache and all she could think about was how gorgeous he was.

“Another headache?”

He opened his eyes and shrugged. “Not bad.”

She came into the room and settled on the small sofa a few feet from him. “Have you ever seen a doctor for your headaches?”

A dry, humorless laugh burst from him. “Yeah.”

Apparently he wasn’t going to share any information about his headaches. That made her sad. He didn’t look like he was one to share things with anyone. She was fortunate that she had Jenna and Miranda she could talk to. Who did Cole go to when he needed to get something off his chest?