Brown Eyed Girl (29 page)

Vivienne laughed in delight.
“I would absolutely love it! You two were made for each other, you know. Pete and I could tell at Thanksgiving.”

“
Thank you so much Vivienne. Now I’d like to ask a favor of you. Red and I are getting married at the courthouse today to make it legal. We’re planning on having another celebration later on so everyone can be there. But, I’d really love it if you and Mr. Pete could be there as witnesses for us today. My brother is coming in from Houston also. I didn’t want to do this with no family around.”

“
We would love to, and I feel honored that you asked us.”

“
Thank you so much. Could you not let on to Red that you’re coming if he calls you? I want to surprise him.”

“
I promise I won’t, dear.”

“
Thank you so much. I want you to know that I love him and I’ll be here for him.”

“
I know you do Tiffany. Welcome to the family.”

“
Thank you Vivienne.” Tiffany ended the call and walked back into the bedroom. She smiled as she heard Red’s deep, resonating voice singing something by James Otto. She opened the door quietly and stepped into the shower with the man she loved. “There’s plenty of room in here, isn’t there?”

“
Sure is,” he replied, pulling her into his arms. “What did mom have to say?”

She grinned. “That they could tell we were made for each other at Thanksgiving, and welcome to the family.”

“
It sure will be nice coming home to you every night.”

“
I’m kind of looking forward to waking up with you every morning,” she countered.

“
Mm…that sounds pretty damn good, too,” he said as he began to run the soapy rag over her body, awakening desire anew. “Now, let’s see how many ways we can break in this shower.”

<><><>

It was seven fifteen before Tiffany walked into the kitchen, dressed and ready for the hospital. She walked up behind Red, who stood at the stove taking the last of the bacon out of the pan. She put her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

“
Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

“
You can hand me those two plates.” He stirred the scrambled eggs one last time before distributing them and the bacon into each plate. Tiffany placed them on the breakfast table while Red poured two cups of coffee for them. “Do you want juice this morning?” he asked her.

“
Just coffee, please. I need to leave here early enough to go by my place to get my birth certificate and pick up something to wear to the courthouse. I know it’s informal, but I refuse to marry the love of my life in scrubs.”

“
Just so you know, I’d marry you in scrubs…or barefoot in a pair of daisy dukes…or in jogging attire…or better yet, wearing nothing at all.”

“
I bet you would!” she laughed, accepting an eager kiss from him.

“
I have a ring to buy this morning,” he said. “Any style in particular you’d like?”

“
I do not want a solitaire engagement ring. I wore one of those for two years and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Besides, it got caught on everything. I want an old fashioned wedding band.”

“
Just a band? No engagement ring?”

“
That’s right—matching bands—and I trust you to pick them out.”

He walked her to the door after breakfast, making it difficult for Tiffany to tear herself away from him. “I have to go,” she said, going back for one more kiss before turning away from him. She heard him call out and glanced in his direction.

“
Check your phone messages often, Babe,” he said, sending her a wink that had her wishing it was ‘take your fiancé to work’ day.

Chapter 14

Red unlocked his house and walked inside, loaded down with the purchases he’d made that morning. He made his way to the master bedroom and hung the garment bag containing the
Scala
gown he’d chosen to surprise his intended bride. He placed the bag bearing his other purchases on the bed...a pair of size seven ivory pumps to match the dress, and two boxes from a top of the line jewelry store. One containing the set of matching bands Tiffany had requested, the other holding the diamond dinner ring he hoped she’d accept in lieu of the solitaire engagement ring she did not want.

God, he was pumped! He could feel in his bones that he and Tiffany were meant to be together. He knew how much he adored her and could only hope she felt the same way about him.

He suddenly laughed out loud at the picture he must have made. Thirty eight year old club owner and entrepreneur, Red McAllister—damned near infamous for wanting to remain single and unattached. Here he was, surprising his bride to be with wedding gowns, shoes, and rings, and he was happy as hell to do it. He didn’t care how many clubs of his were burned down. As long as he had Tiffany by his side, he knew it wouldn’t matter one iota.

He pulled out his Armani suit, chose one of his many tailored shirts and silk ties, and laid out a pair of dress shoes and socks. He walked into the bathroom, whistling, as he turned on the shower jets. He was picking up Tiffany in two hours and he had to be ready for her. Life was good.

As he reached for a towel, his phone began to ring.

“
McAllister here!”

“
Well, aren’t you the happy camper this morning?”
the mysterious voice snarled.

“
What’s wrong, asshole? Couldn’t get your rocks off this morning, so you decided to get your jolly’s by trying to ruin my day? It ain’t happening buddy. I’m too pumped up to let a punk like you piss on my parade today.”

The deep, raspy chuckle crackled from his phone’s earpiece.
“Wrong again, McAllister. Life, as you know it, is about to end. Wait for the call you pompous son of a bitch…”

Red stared at the dead phone in his hand and pushed aside the sudden feeling of dread. He put the phone down and waited for the feeling to pass, but it only got stronger.

“
Shit,” he muttered as his land line began to ring. He walked into his bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, still unmade and rumpled from his and Tiffany’s hours of love-making.

He saw Mike Harper’s name and number on the caller ID window and answered with trepidation. “McAllister here and before you say a word, the asshole just called and basically told me the shit was about to hit the fan.”

“
We’ve got trouble, buddy—big trouble,”
Mike said.

“
Lay it out, Mike.”

“
Can you come to the police station so I can fill you in?”

Red put his free hand on the back of his neck. “Come on Harper, don’t make me wait. Just tell me what the hell’s going on.” He heard the man that he respected take a deep breath and release it slowly. Red closed his eyes and waited for the next link in his chain to weigh him down.

“
They found some kind of timing device and a detonator at the origin of the fire, bro. It was in your office. And...that means...”

“
That means my alibi is useless, and I’m still the number one suspect,” Red finished for him.

“
Uh...yeah...along with a few other things.”

“
What other things?

“
We got two phone calls this morning, Red. One from the parents of Angelique Baptiste saying their daughter has been missing since Saturday night. The second was from an anonymous caller, a man saying he knows the woman who was killed in the club. He claims she told him she was pregnant…with your child.”
Mike released a sigh.
“The coroner’s report came in not five minutes ago confirming the pregnancy.”

Red was too shocked to speak. He sat there, feeling as though the earth were crumbling beneath his feet. He vaguely heard Mike calling his name and finally got the presence of mind to speak. “It’s not true, Mike. I never met her.”

“
I believe you, Red, but that phone call, along with the fact that everyone in the club saw you good and pissed at Ms. Baptiste...Well, I’m sorry, but we have to bring you in.”

Red rubbed his face roughly. “I know,” he said. “I’ll be there in an hour and a half or so.” More to himself than anyone else, he added, “But I have to tell Doc, first.”

<><><>

Tiffany came out of surgery at ten forty-five, feeling pleased with the routine arthroscopic cartilage repair. She turned as she heard a technician call her name.

“
Dr. LeBlanc, someone is waiting to see you at the nurse’s station.”

“
Thanks Shawna,” she said, walking quickly in that direction.

She beamed when she saw Red leaning up against the wall, but as she got closer, she could see the glum expression on his face. He pushed off from the wall and walked toward her.

“Hey Tiff, is there some place we can go to talk?”

“Sure, babe, this way,” she said, pointing toward the doctor’s lounge. “What’s up?”

He grabbed on to her upper arm and pulled her in the direction she’d pointed to, but remained silent.

“Red...you’re scaring me,” Tiffany gasped, trying to keep up with his long strides.

“Where are we going?” he asked brusquely.

“Through those doors,” she said, as Red pushed through the double doors of the lounge.

As soon as they entered the room he released her and walked to the window.

“
Red...what happened?”

“Everything’s a bust, Doc. They found a detonator in my office, rigged with a timer, and that means the alibi is useless.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. What else has happened?”

“I can’t marry you.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s happened?” she asked.

He spun away from her and ran his hands through his hair. “We moved too fast, that’s what happened.”

She pulled her hair from its ponytail prison, frustrated at not getting any answers. “Damn it, Red, stop being stupid and tell me what happened.”

He turned to face her. “I don’t want to marry you.”

The message didn’t affect Tiffany nearly as much as the dead pan tone he used to deliver it—cold as ice. She felt as if he’d slapped her in the face. “Red, we’ll work through whatev...”

“Nobody has seen Angelique since Saturday night, and everyone in the club saw me angry enough to kill her that night. It doesn’t look good.”

“I
know
you didn’t have anything to do with that. Don’t do this, Red. Let me be there for you,” she pleaded.

“There’s more. The woman who died in the club was pregnant and an anonymous caller said the baby was mine.”

Tiffany could feel the blood leaving her face. “Was it?” she asked.

“No, but that won’t stop people from believing it.”

“It stops me from believing it, and that’s all that matters, Red.” She watched him carefully, knowing he was doing this to protect her, praying he’d stop and instead accept the support she offered. He took a deep breath and she tensed, knowing in her gut he wouldn’t do that.

“
I don’t want you, Tiffany. It was fun, but that’s all it was. I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwi...”

“Cut the crap, Red!” she barked. “You weren’t the only one to graduate Summa Cum Laude, so don’t think you can pull off that pitifully lacking performance with me. I know th…”

“
You don’t know a damn thing,” he said, his voice, cold and blunt.

“
I know the two most important things in this world, in
my
world. I
know
you’re crazy in love with me, and I
know
you’re incapable of murder.” She saw the battle raging within him and felt a sudden urge to slap some sense into him, even knowing he only did this for her…
the selfless bastard.
She watched his jaw work furiously as he prepared himself to speak.

“Yeah, Doc—” he finally muttered, “—and the jails are full of innocent men.” He pressed his palms over his eyes. “Look, I can’t worry about myself and you too. I’ve got to go turn myself in if I want to avoid the humiliation of being arrested in a public place.” He turned toward the door. “It was nice knowing you, Doc.”

“
Nice knowing you?” she said, hysterically. “Red, you’ve
known
me, biblically speaking, three times in the last twelve hours...without a condom...remember?”

<>

He strengthened his resolve and turned to her, knowing what he had to do. “It was good, too. Thanks for that, by the way.” He turned, thinking how ashamed his parents would be if they knew how he was treating her.
Thank God they didn’t have to find out.
He’d only called Jackson and Giselle to be witnesses for the civil ceremony and had already informed them both that it couldn’t happen. He walked to the door, stopped dead in his tracks at her next statement.

“
You need to call your parents before they leave Gardiner.”

He turned slowly toward her. “What do you mean?”