Cain (14 page)

Alyssa burst out laughing. “No, not
about my mother, but it’s good to know I have your support where
she is concerned. No, I need to know…I had…I had unprotected sex
and I need to know how long before I can see if I’m
pregnant.”

~CHAPTER
FOURTEEN~

Cain spent all day on Saturday setting
up his office at the Grant Building. Damon told him that he would
take care of putting an ad in the paper on Wednesday advertising
that he had taken on a new partner and that Doctor Cain Waite, MD
was looking for patients. That had been on Friday morning after
Cain had taken his sisters home from the hospital.

“
You can follow me around
on my rounds and such. Get to know the staff and a few of my
patients at the office and by the beginning of next week, you
should have a few people of your own. I anticipate you having a
great many younger women flocking…err, trying to see you once your
picture comes out too.”

Cain flushed with embarrassment. He had
had this problem in Maine too for a short while. Once the women
realized he wasn’t going to ask them out, they began to stop asking
him. He wasn’t looking forward to it happening again.

“
Maybe I should just wear
a bag over my head until they get used to me.”

“
Nah. It’s not just your
pretty face, though Charlotte did comment on it quite a few times
after dinner the other night. But it’s the body. She said you have
a…how did she put it? Oh yeah, a ‘great ass and tight pecs.’ She
told me I’d have to work out if I wanted to compete with
you.”

Cain looked over at Damon. The man was
in great shape even if one didn’t take in the fact that he was
nearly sixty years old. Cain just shook his head. That was
something he’d forgotten about the Grant men; they spoke their
mind, no matter the subject.

Cain was still grinning about the
conversation when his office phone rang. He almost didn’t answer,
but was worried about his sisters. He picked it up, barking his
name as a greeting.

“
Have you found her yet?
Jazzie and I have been waiting for you to call and tell us all
day.”

Cain sat in his chair and rubbed his
eyes. He was tired of going over this with them. He’d told them
yesterday, several times as a matter of fact, that he wasn’t going
to look for Alyssa.

“
No, Quinn, I have not.
And I told you this morning before I left that I’m not going to
either. She could have gotten you and Jazzie killed with her
selfish behavior and I would rather not have someone in my life
like that. End of discussion. Would you like me to pick up pizza on
the way home?”

There was so much silence at the other
end that Cain was sure she’d hung up on him. If he couldn’t see
that the time was still counting the length of the call, he would
be positive of it. He started to say something when she finally
spoke.

“
I thought you’d say that.
I had hoped that you wouldn’t, but I thought you would. I’m not
even going to ask you again to give her a chance to explain. Nor am
I going to tell you that I think Mother and Father had something to
do with us getting hurt again.” This time, he could hear her
crying. “I love you, Cain,” and the phone went dead.

Cain sat there for several seconds
before he got up and dialed home again. He was mad. He wasn’t sure
yet at whom, but he was. When no one answered the house phone, he
tried Quinn’s cell phone and it went directly to voice mail, so he
tried Jazzie’s. She answered on the first ring.

“
Where’s Quinn? I need to
talk to her.” He could hear Jazzie relay the message, but Quinn’s
reply was muffled and he didn’t hear it.

“
She said to tell you to
fuck off. I’m not playing mediator now, Cain. You’re both too old
for me to tell you two what the other said. You two will work this
out on your own. And for the record, I think she’s right, you are
an asshole.” Then Jazzie hung up on him too.

He was still holding the phone in his
hand when the other line rang in. He was pissed now and was going
to give Quinn a piece of his mind. Pushing the button for the
extension, he snarled in greeting.

“
You hang up on me again
and I swear to Christ that I will come there and beat your ass but
good. I will not go and find her and I will not be manipulated into
doing something just because you two get it into your head what I
fucking should be doing in my own life. Understand me?”

“
Yes, sir. But I just
wanted to make an appointment to speak to you. I have something
that belongs to you.”

Cain closed his eyes against the
twitching in his left eye. It did that when he was stressed and he
hadn’t been this stressed in some time. He looked at the caller ID
now and thought that he should have done that before.

“
I’m very sorry. Do you
have any sisters, Mr…?”

“
Miller, sir. Thomas
Miller. No, no, I’m an only child. Why do you ask?”

“
Would you like some? No,
I’m sorry about how I answered. My sisters are…appointment, you
needed an appointment. I’m not…let me find something to write on. I
can set you up with me anytime this week. I’m not officially taking
patients yet.”

“
Oh, no. No, I’m not a
patient, Dr. Waite. I have something to give to you. I could come
by sometime mid-week if that would be convenient for
you?”

Cain sat down again. Give to him? He
was sure he didn’t know that name. Maybe he was someone from his
past when he’d lived here as a teenager. He was about to ask when
the man spoke again.

“
Dr. Waite, you don’t know
me. We’ve never met. I’m just to bring you this and we shall part
ways. Would Monday be convenient for you?”

“
Sure. That will be…am I
in some sort of trouble, Mr. Miller? Should I have a lawyer when
you come in?”

There was that silence again. “If you’d
like. There really isn’t anything you’re in trouble for, Dr. Waite.
I assure you.”

“
All right then, Mr.
Miller. I’ll see you at ten on Monday then.”

~~~

“
Miss, I have an
appointment with Dr. Waite on Monday morning. I have instructed the
bank to honor the request when he is ready to use it.” Thomas set
the tray on the desk she had been sitting at since noon and looked
up at him. “Are you sure this isn’t something you should be
doing?”

Alyssa was sure he was right, but she
didn’t think he’d see her. In fact, she was positive he wouldn’t.
Then she looked at the tray he’d set in front of her.

“
Who do you think you’re
feeding? I swear, Thomas, if I have to stay here much longer, I’m
going to weigh as much as this house in no time.”

In addition to the two ice cold bottles
of water, there was a green salad with tomatoes and cheese. There
was a large basket of club crackers and a bowl of what looked like
minestrone soup, steam billowing off the top. When she lifted the
lid covering the plate, she found a large baked potato with butter
and sour cream, two thick, grilled pork chops with glaze on them,
green beans with onions, and grilled tomatoes. Under the other
cover was a slice of cherry pie that had to have been three inches
thick and a quarter of the pie. Putting the top back over the pie,
she looked at him again. He was not as innocent as he was trying to
look.

“
Dr. Trout said that you
need to eat more. I’m just making sure that you do. And cook said
that if you didn’t like this, he could cook you something else. I
do believe he is enjoying this. It’s not often that he gets to cook
for someone other than me.”

Alyssa had been at this house for three
days now. She had spent the first day sleeping. Now after resting
for nearly thirty hours, she was ready to face the music. The
papers had not mentioned her and she half expected the newspaper
crews to be camped out in front of Thomas’ door, but it was eerily
quiet. When she had asked him about it, he had shrugged it off and
moved on to another topic. She decided to try again.

“
Thomas, how are you
keeping this quiet? I know by now several people have to know what
happened, yet there has been nothing on the news or in the papers
about the murder of that man and the injuries of Quinn and Jazzie.
And I won’t be put off again.”

“
You will need to make a
donation to the paper when this is over and to the policeman’s
charity. Captain Grant has requested to speak to you before that
happens, but I have been able to put her off. I have explained that
you needed your rest from your ordeal and your
injuries.”

“
And the reason for my
‘ordeal,’ is she aware of that also? Or is she only concerned
because the Waite girls were hurt?”

Alyssa could tell by his face that he
wasn’t happy about her tone. She flushed. To be honest, neither was
she. To make it up to him, she picked up her fork and knife and
began cutting into the chop.

“
The board meeting is set
for Friday morning. I have made sure that your mother and uncle are
not aware of it and won’t be informed until they come in on Friday
morning. The Sinclair Group will also be there, as well as three
other of your holdings. I have been able to make contact with most
of the other holdings and have set you up with appointments with
them next week.” Thomas pulled out a pad of paper. “You also have
an appointment with a stylist for your hair tomorrow and Miss
Ryland is coming in later this afternoon to fit you for a new
wardrobe.”

Alyssa finished chewing before she
answered. The pork chop was delicious and she was nearly finished
with the first one before she realized she’d eaten it. And most of
the potato.

“
They all know to keep
quiet, right? I’m sure you explained, but I’m sort of nervous. I
can’t…Thomas, you’ll be there, right?”

He put his pad away, sat up straighter
in the chair, and regarded her. Alyssa was never one to squirm, but
he was making her nervous and she hated that feeling. He stood when
she put down her fork and knife.

“
I cannot, miss, and you
know it. I will be just outside the door if you should need me, but
I—”

“
I do need you, Thomas.
Please come into the meeting with me? It’s been so long that I’m
not sure that…I don’t want to make my father regret this, leaving
this all to me.”

Thomas sat back down again. Hard.
Alyssa was sure she had heard his teeth clamp together when he
had.

“
Alyssa Howard, your
father was very proud of you and there is nothing in this world
that you could do that…he loved you. With all his heart he loved
you. And anything that happens in that closed room will be fine.
Your father knew what he was doing when he left you in charge of
the company. You’ll make him proud.”

Alyssa could only nod as he stood,
kissed her forehead, and gathered up the tray. She barely managed
to hold onto her tears until he left the office. Thomas believed in
her and what she was doing. He may not have wanted her to be gone
so long, but he believed in her. She opened the next file in front
of her and couldn’t see anything through the tears. She would make
her father proud of her if it was the last thing she
did.

Groaning when she realized what file
she had opened, she nearly closed it when something caught her eye.
Her mother’s expenses, usages of credit cards, and the bank
statements were clipped to each side of the folder. Flipping
through the rest of the bank statements, Alyssa started to grin. By
the time she had gone through the entire year of them and the
credit card expenditures, she was smiling. Her mother had been a
very busy woman since Alyssa had been gone. Picking up the phone,
she called Thomas back in.

“
Where are my mother and
Uncle Samuel staying right now? I can see that Nathan is in rehab
and that Robert is in Europe,” she asked him as he settled in a
chair.

“
Let’s see, your mother is
in the mansion and has been since the day after you disappeared. I
believe your uncle Samuel has been as well. They have let go most
of your staff and have replaced it…I think there has been a
succession of help there since you’ve been gone. Why do you
ask?”

Alyssa looked at Thomas. She knew then
that he’d put this particular file on top because he knew
something. What, she didn’t know, but she was more than willing to
figure it out. With his help, of course.

“
According to my dad’s
will, they were to be ‘put out,’ I think were his exact words. Why
are they allowed to continue to stay there? And why”—she picked up
the file again and showed him the pages she had marked—“are there
huge payments to me monthly from the household account? The one
that I own, I would like to point out.”

Thomas grinned. Then he chuckled. “You
are your father’s daughter. Yes, they are paying you rent. And yes,
from your own accounts. I believe they were advised to do that from
their attorney, Charles Winegardner. I was informed that he thinks
it will establish them as to not ‘sponging’ off you, but actually
renting from you.”

Alyssa looked at the file again.
Seriously? Her mother was paying her rent from Alyssa’s account to
live in a house that Alyssa owned.

“
And the expenses? I
suppose I’m being equally generous in paying those as well?” She
knew the answer even before she asked. She had the accounts in
front of her.