Crystals (2 page)

Taking an
additional leave of absence from university, Shane began the laborious task of
sorting through his mother’s belongings. It was at this time that he found a
bank account in his name. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw
how much money now belonged to him. There was also a neatly folded letter in
Molly’s handwriting.

Shane,

You’re all
alone now. My grandfather left me this money, but I saved every penny for you.
He would have wanted that. Do what you like with it because this is all I could
do for you.

There were no
endearments. No words of love, but he knew she had cared for him in the only
way she had been able. His father and brother had put her through too much. By
the time he came along, she didn’t have any more love to give. And it hurt him.
It hurt him more than he would ever admit to another living soul.

~~~

Crystal – Age
Twenty-One

“Crystal-Grace,”
her mother called from downstairs.

Gwendolyn was home
early. Something had to be wrong because that never happened. Scrambling
around, Crystal attempted to hide all the papers she had laid out on her bed.
If her mother got wind of what she was doing, historical records would show
that their house was where Armageddon began.

Crystal Buchanan
was twenty-one years old and she was making her bid for freedom. The papers
that surrounded her were the documents that stated she was now the proud owner
of a small two bedroom house.

When she started
university, she had lucked out by finding a job with an interior designer that
was just starting up. By some quirk of fate, the hours fit neatly around her
studies. Always a talented artist, she had wanted to study art at university,
but her mother wouldn’t allow it. By the end of her three-year law degree, she
knew exactly where her career lay.

Saving had been
easy because her mother paid for all her tuition. The only mini battle she won
was what university she attended. Fortunately, the college she chose had a law
division with a reputation for excellence, so her mother had agreed.

By the time
Gwendolyn knocked on her bedroom door, Crystal was sitting on her bed leafing
through a magazine.

“Come in, Mother.”
Gwendolyn refused to answer to anything other than
Mother
.

“Crystal-Grace,
what have you been up to today? I hope your day was productive rather than
spent wasting your time reading those ridiculous interior-design magazines.”

As usual, there
were no endearments from Gwendolyn, she just got straight to the point.

Crystal was the
only child of a successful single mother who gave her the best of everything.
Gwendolyn Buchanan had moved steadily up the judicial system with seeming ease.
After working as a Barrister for twelve years, she
was
appointed
Queen’s Council. A position which placed her just below that
of a judge. Her aspiration was that her daughter follow in her footsteps. Only
one problem stood in the way of all the decisions that
had
been made
for her. She had already chosen an entirely different career.
And the only way she would realize her dreams was by putting distance between
herself and her mother.

“Um…”

“Um is hardly an
eloquent response. What have you been doing today?” Gwendolyn asked as she
advanced further into the room, “Have you reached a decision about where you
are going to study for your Masters?”

This was the
moment Crystal had been waiting for to inform her mother of her decision. Looking
down at the colorful pamphlet in her lap, she attempted to gather her thoughts
before telling her mother that she wasn’t going to do her Masters.

“What is this?”

Her eyes darted up
to see Gwendolyn holding one of the letters she’d received regarding her new
home.

“I’m waiting for
an explanation, Crystal-Grace!”

Crystal felt
perspiration break out on her back as anxiety took hold. She wasn’t afraid of
physical chastisement, Gwendolyn had never laid a hand on her. She just didn’t
want to go through the guilt-trip her mother always put her on. This feeling
was familiar to her, she had experienced it all her life, and three years away
at university hadn’t changed a thing.

Having come this
far, she knew she couldn’t turn back. “That letter confirms that I now own that
house.”

“Why am I just
finding out about this?”

“Because I wanted
it that way.”

“I beg your
pardon?”

“I wanted it that
way. I knew if I had told you about the house, you would have tried to stop me.
I would have carried on anyway and we would have ended up having an argument.”
Crystal held her breath as she waited for her mother’s response.

“Actually, I think
what you’ve done is quite industrious. Investing in rental property is
extremely sensible, not to mention lucrative in this financial climate.”

“It’s not an
investment property. I’m moving out this weekend.”

Gwendolyn was
quiet for so long, Crystal began to run scenarios through her mind as to what
her mother would say next and how she would counter it.

“So, you think you
can use my hard earned money to purchase a property without informing me?”

“I didn’t use your
money. I worked and saved every penny of my deposit myself.”

“You ungrateful,
conniving girl! After all I’ve done for you. Bringing you up on my own. Giving you
everything you could possibly want or need and this is the way you repay me!”

“I appreciate
everything you’ve done for me. I just need my own space.”

“Space… space to
do what, run around like your cousins and end up living with some
good-for-nothing man who treats you like rubbish?!”

“It’s nothing like
that.”

“Then explain to
me why you are doing this!”

Something snapped
inside her. Crystal knew she had two choices. She could sit here and become
embroiled in an argument she wouldn’t win, or she could be completely honest.
She decided on the second option. “I admire you. I always have, but I don’t
want to be you. I’m not going to do my Masters. I already have a job with an
interior design company. In fact, that’s how I got the money together for this
house. It’s small, but it’s all I need.”

“Do you have a
boyfriend, Crystal-Grace?”

“Not yet,” she
mumbled under her breath.

“What did you just
say,” Gwendolyn snapped.

“I said no, I
don’t have a boyfriend. This has nothing to do with a man.”

“You’d do better to
forget about boys and concentrate on your studies. Take it from me, I know
exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Like I said, I’m
not you. My father left you not me.”

“How dare you
speak to me like
that.
After all–”

“I know, Mother.
After all you’ve done for me.”

“I tried, God
knows I tried. I pulled myself up from nothing when I arrived from Jamaica, and
I took you and your father with me. And what do you both do, run off as soon as
I turn my back!”

Crystal said
nothing because for the first time in her life, she finally got some insight
into what her mother truly felt. Gwendolyn was frightened of being alone. The
desertion of Crystal’s father was Gwendolyn’s only failure in life, and
eighteen years later, she still hadn’t gotten over it.

Crystal had made
her peace with her father’s death from a sudden heart attack ten years prior.
It seemed her mother had not. But that was something the older woman would have
to work through for herself.

“I’m only moving
to East London and you will always be welcome in my home.”

Gwendolyn stared
at her daughter in silence for a few seconds before she tossed the letter in
her direction. The action
was meant
to be a dismissal,
but as she turned away, Crystal saw the evidence of her real feelings—unshed
tears glistened in her eyes.

Chapter 2

Crystal – Age Twenty-Three

“I’m flipping baking. Come outside with me please?”
Crystal pleaded with her cousin as she fanned herself in an attempt to disperse
the sticky air in the packed club.

“What… no! Dizzy’s
coming over,” Fern shouted above the sound of the booming music.

“He’s had two
hours to acknowledge your existence. If he’s finally coming over after all this
time, now seems like the perfect time to let him chase you.”

“You can play all
the games you like. I intend to get my man,” Fern replied without looking in
her direction.

She followed
Fern’s gaze. Dizzy was no closer to them than he’d been two hours earlier.
There was no getting away from it, the man was gorgeous. He was six-feet, dark
complexioned with a hard muscular body. He had a bald head and his clean-shaven
face had been pulling admiring glances all night. She saw the way he kept
throwing furtive glances her cousin’s way, but for some reason, he never
approached her.

“He knows you’re
here. Come outside with me for five minutes. He’s not going anywhere,” she
pleaded in another attempt to help her cousin get some perspective where Dizzy
was concerned. Fern was watching the man like a lovesick puppy. While Crystal
felt a little embarrassed on her behalf, she also admired her determination.

“I already said
no. If you want to be single all your life, that’s fine with me. I intend to be
married in the next two years, and Dizzy’s my future husband.”

Throughout her
off-handed insult and declaration of intent, Fern kept her eyes glued on the
muscular man. Crystal was sure he knew they were talking about him because he
wore a look of such self-satisfaction, she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“What kind of
stupid name is Dizzy anyway?”

“Why don’t you go
outside and cool down; and while you’re on your way out there, take a look
around. Maybe your fussy backside will see at least one man you like!”

Crystal shook her
head as she walked away. Dizzy wasn’t the first man her cousin had set her
sights on, so she’d heard it all before. How they were so close amazed her.
They looked enough alike to be mistaken for sisters as their mothers were, but
their perspective on life was completely different.

They were both
five-five. While others referred to Fern as beautiful, Crystal fell just short
of the mark. They both had a dark brown complexion with big, brown slanted
eyes, and slightly turned up noses. On Fern, that type of nose looked cute, on
Crystal, it gave the impression of being aloof. Their lips were full and more
often than not, etched in a smile, which added a seductive nature to their
expression.

Crystal, always a
late bloomer was still waiting for her hips to fill out and her chest to
develop. But she knew what she had, was all she was going to get. Thank
goodness she had good legs.

Walking through
the crowded club she tuned out the suggestive comments that followed in her
wake. Passing a speaker that boomed music that literally shook the floor, she
scarcely managed to escape without perforated eardrums.

Moments later,
with the back of her hand stamped for reentry to the club, she stood outside in
the blissfully cool night air.

The club,
Hi-Low
,
was situated on a side road in the West End of London, just off Oxford Street,
an area well known for its nightlife. Through the milling crowd and late night
revelers, one establishment in particular, caught her attention.

The sign above the
door read,
Curves
. Mainly groups of men came and went in various states
of inebriation. Two women stood outside wearing long dresses and
gravity-defying platform shoes; smoking cigarettes and chatting. The club was
obviously a strip joint and curiosity got the better of her. Following the
cobblestoned path, Crystal headed towards the club.

On her walk toward
Curves
, the women disappeared inside. The two men standing guard
remained outside. One, an enormous black man who wore his hair in a high-top
cut, reminiscent of the eighties looked strong enough to be good at his job.
The other guard a white man did not. He was tall at around six feet. He had
dark hair and the thickest eyebrows she had ever seen. But to Crystal he looked
way too skinny to be guarding anyone’s door.

Both the guards’
gazes followed her every step. Never one to back down when her curiosity was
piqued, she raised her head and walked up to them, smiled and said hello.

“Good evening,
Miss,” High-top replied politely.

Eyebrows said
nothing so Crystal zoned him out.

“Is there
an
entry charge?” she inquired.

“Yes, there is,
Miss.”

“Okay, thank you,”
she replied politely, as she moved to walk past them and enter the club. She
had never been inside a strip club and her curiosity was getting the better of
her.

Eyebrows stepped
in front of her and blocked her path. “This place ain’t for you. Go back over
the road.”

Pissed off at his
order, Crystal looked him up and down and narrowed her eyes. “Well suppose
I
want to go into
this place
?”

Eyebrows didn’t
reply. He just took his time looking her up and down. When his gaze finally met
hers, the sheer force of his golden eyes commanded her complete attention.
Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach and goosebumps danced along her arms
and back. He, on the other hand, was looking at her as though she hadn’t
spoken.

Ignoring him, she
turned her attention to, High-top, who stood silently observing their standoff.
“Mr. Hi… umm, may I go in?”

“I already told ya
no,” Eyebrows broke in.

“Well,
fortunately, I wasn’t speaking to you, so go on with your business of looking…
grim.”

High-top laughed.
Eyebrow’s expression didn’t change.

Just then the door
opened and two other bouncers barreled through with men in headlocks. Crystal
had never seen anything like it. In her fascination with what was taking place,
she didn’t realize she was standing directly in the path of four struggling
men.

Coming to her
senses as one of the men kicked out a leg, Crystal saw she was about to take a
direct hit, but could do nothing about it. She braced her body for a blow that
never came. A strong arm surrounded her waist and pulled her out of harm’s way.
It was Eyebrows. Crystal found she had to revise her earlier impression. He
might look skinny, but he was strong. And on closer inspection, as his scent
surrounded her, there was no denying it, he was really hot!

“Now will ya go
back where ya came from?”

“Crystal!” A voice
called.

Reluctantly, she
pulled her gaze away. Turning she saw Fern hurrying towards her, followed
closely by no other than Dizzy. Obviously, she’d been cramping her cousin’s
style for the last two hours.

By the time Fern
and Dizzy reached her, the scuffle was still going on. Swearing and grunts
spewed from the grappling men, all backlit by the sounds of police sirens
drawing ever closer.

“Get her out of
here, Dizzy!” Eyebrows demanded.

Crystal didn’t
object when Fern took her by the arm and pulled her away from the entrance of
the strip club. Once they were across the road, she look back and saw that even
more men had spilled out onto the street. By now, Eyebrows had joined the fray
and appeared to be giving a good account of himself.

Shane, his name
was Shane Tierney. She had noticed his badge as her cousin led her away. And
for some unknown reason she was worried about him.

~~~

Shane – Age
Twenty-Three

After the incident
outside the club, Shane couldn’t shake Crystal’s image from his mind. Unable to
help himself, he went to High-Low and asked Dizzy if he would introduce them
properly. Shane and Dizzy weren’t exactly friends. They only knew each other
from the security work Shane sometimes did for him and Curves when he needed
extra money. At first, Dizzy had been reluctant but Shane had finally managed
to talk him around.

Knowing when
Crystal would next be at the club, he arrived early and took up a sentinel
position at the bar. When Crystal finally turned up, he spotted her right away
and the sight of her standing by the door twisted something inside him.

It was the same
feeling he’d experienced at his first glimpse of her. It was almost as though
his subconscious recognized her. Yet, at the same time, an insistent voice
infiltrated his mind, repeating that she wasn’t for him. That voice caused him
to wipe all expression from his face. And the insistent thump of his heart
prompted him to order another drink.

Her comeback at him
when he’d told her she couldn’t go into the strip club had almost made him
smile. She was right, he could be a grim-faced bastard, but that was the way he
liked it. That was how he kept people at bay. The question was—did he want to
do the same with her.

Somehow he’d
managed to miss the fact that Crystal wasn’t alone. Her cousin Fern stood
beside
her searching the crowd.

Dizzy had told him
that he was now dating Fern and Shane hoped he hadn’t told her about his
attraction to Crystal. Normally self-assured when it came to dealing with
women, in this instance, he wanted to ease into getting to know her. Having an
audience wasn’t going to make that easy.

From out of
nowhere, Dizzy appeared beside him. Shane felt his presence, turned, took up
his beer and downed it in five deep swallows. Gas and air exploded from his
mouth just as the women reached him.

Nice one
,
Tierney
,
good first impression
, Shane
reprimanded himself. To their credit, the cousins ignored the loud sound.

“Do you ladies
want a drink?” Dizzy enquired after giving Fern a hello kiss.

“Sure,” Crystal
answered for them both. “But for goodness sake don’t get us whatever he’s
drinking!”

Shane’s
embarrassment was complete and heat rushed into his face.

“Relax Shane, I
was only joking,” Crystal smiled and rubbed his arm to lessen the impact of her
words.

Her touch,
although light, sent a rush along his spine. And for some reason he wanted her
touch to continue.

Another thought
hit him. “How do you know me name?” The question came out harsher than he’d
intended, and he immediately regretted it as she withdrew her hand. “Sorry,” he
apologized hoping he hadn’t offended her.

He knew she heard
him, but she didn’t glance his way. He took hold of her hand and it happened
again. That little tingle that accompanied their touch. She must have felt it
too because she gasped and their gazes collided. Shane withdrew his hand as
though he’d experienced an electric shock.

“Sorry,” he said
again seriously thinking about leaving. At least that way he would escape his
embarrassment.

“You’re cute.”

“Cute!”

Okay, so far he’d
managed to snap at her, and sound like an absolute idiot. Shane knew his being
here was probably a mistake. But Crystal thought he was cute, so that was a
start, even though the word made him feel like a pet kitten.

“I know your name
because I saw it on your badge when you were working the door at the club. I’m
glad you came out of that brawl okay. I have to admit I was a little worried
about you.”

“Why?”

“Well… those guys
were sort of rough looking and you’re, um… not that big.”

“I’m six-one!”

He was offended.
He shouldn’t be, but he was. He was certain she’d been just about to call him
skinny.

“Um, yes. Tall is
good.”

The sound of
laughter coming from beside them pulled his attention.

Fern and Dizzy
were watching and making no attempt to hide their amusement. He’d had enough.
This meeting was a huge mistake.

Surging to his
feet, he misjudged Crystal’s proximity and nearly knocked her over. Catching
her before she could fall, he lifted her off the floor. They blinked at each
other for a few moments before he carefully set her down. Without a backward
glance, he walked away.

Standing outside,
for the first time since her arrival, Shane felt the heat leave his face. No
woman had ever affected him in this way and he realized leaving so abruptly was
a mistake. Turning around, he headed back inside and marched up to Crystal, who
still stood by the bar.

“I know this
hasn’t been my finest moment, but I’d like to take you out, and show you that I
do have some social graces.”

She didn’t
respond, and he knew he’d done it again. Made a fool of himself in front of
her, Dizzy and Fern. About to turn away, he felt a hand surround his wrist.

“I’d like that.
When and where?”

“Really?” He asked
with genuine surprise.

“Yes.”

“Why?”