Distractions (23 page)

held our breaths as they signed the

documents.

What stood to be a devastating

event was softened by the most

unexpected source. The men bantered

easily as if they were ordering lunch, not

securing the future of my family’s land.

In a moment, it was over. The ominous

hands that were so ready to snatch away

our roots were now extended in

courtesy, pleased that they were able to

complete the deal so smoothly. I was

only able to get Vivienne to concede

under one condition. We had a year to

secure enough funds to cover the debt.

Connor could not sell the property

within that year unless she authorized it,

being the power of attorney. He felt it

wasn’t necessary, but I agreed it would

make me feel better as well.

Our eyes grew large as Connor

signed and handed them a check for

approximately two hundred and seventy

thousand dollars. I had yet to tell him

that nearly sixty of that was because of

my schooling. When I showed up at my

grandmother’s

house

after

finding

Connor and Taylor together, she held me

tight as I bared my soul to her. The next

morning she handed me a check and told

me to not worry about school; she would

make sure I never put myself in a

position like that again. She also gave

me a Bible and told me I would need it

for my journey. Encouragement shielded

the disappointment in hope that the

experience rocked me hard enough to

walk a narrow path. Never being the

church going type, I opened the book and

read the first thing I saw.

Depart from evil and do good

things
. How appropriate.

I packed the red leather bound book

in my duffel bag along with some

clothes. I refused to go back to the

apartment; there was nothing in my life

that couldn’t be replaced. She kissed my

cheeks and told me she would pray for

me.

Connor’s hand lightly massaged my

shoulder, snapping me out of my

reflections.

Vivienne

continued

to

appear ready to attack him the moment

we walked out of the conference room. I

must have noticed something, because

she asked me to go on ahead so she

could talk to Connor alone. I didn’t

hesitate to listen and turned on one foot

without question. She was the only one

who knew about my hospital visit and

the baby.

During our short conversation

earlier in the morning, I told her we had

come clean. Ten minutes passed before

they came walking out to meet me in the

lobby. Connor’s head was lowered to

the ground as if he’d just lost the biggest

fight in the world. Vivienne looked none

too pleased with me, but didn’t say a

word. I knew we were all exhausted. I

asked her if she wanted to have dinner

with us, but she declined. Sitting down

so soon with him was too much for her.

Agreeing to breakfast before the service

the next day, she knew his gesture

deserved at least that much. With a hug

and a kiss, she whispered in my ear.

“He has been warned.”

With one last glare directed at

Connor, she got into her rental and

headed off to spend the evening with

some friends.

“We need to go get your car, too,

and return it so you are not charged

anymore fees. We still have time before

they close.”

My head dropped back as I

grumbled loudly.

“Okay, that’s a good idea, I totally

forgot about it.” I shook my head from

side to side, embarrassed at my absent

attention span.

“You need some sleep – we both

do. Now that you don’t have to worry

about the ranch, you can breathe a little

more. One foot in front of the other, that

is how we’re going to do this, okay?”

I looked at Connor as if he was

crazy. “When did you become the voice

of reason?”

I tried laughing, because it was

funny. Even as kids, he never stepped up

to the plate. It was always me being the

responsible one.

“Ever since I got word that you

were in town and needed help.” His

hands wrapped around my shoulders and

pulled me close.

So much had happened that it

seemed unbelievable, but it was true. I

was too tired to think anymore. I

squeezed back and returned the kiss he

offered. “Thank you.” I gave him another

quick kiss and held his elbow as we

walked back to the Jeep. Whatever my

sister

said

dragged

him

into

a

melancholy mood, but he continued to

keep touching me as much as possible.

Even the threat of Vivienne Phillips was

not enough to deter him from his

mission.

“Do you want to go somewhere to

eat? I really don’t have any food at my

house. We can go to the grocery, too,

and pick up a few things if you want

instead.”

His thumb ran along the inside of

my palm as he spoke. I was not in the

mood for sitting down somewhere. I just

wanted to crawl in a bed as soon as

possible, so I opted for the store. After

pulling into the parking lot of the Front

Street Cabaret, I quickly jumped into my

car and headed towards the rental

center. I wanted to be as far away from

there as possible.

An hour later, we were walking the

aisles of a boutique grocery, randomly

tossing items in the cart. A deep sense of

calm began to wash over me. This was

the first normal thing I had experienced

since touching down two days ago.

Hearing the clicking noise of the wheels

against the linoleum was comforting

alongside the light music piped in over

the speakers. The distinct smell of a

health food store lingered in the air. I

picked up a bunch of bananas and began

the hunt for breakfast ingredients.

“Do

you

still

like

banana

pancakes?” I was still deciding between

organic mixes when I looked up to him

for an answer.

“I haven’t had them since you made

them for me.” His lip started to quiver as

if he was admitting he threw a baseball

into a neighbor’s window.

I was done being sad for the day, I

wanted a semblance of a happy thought.

“Would you like me to make you some

tomorrow?”

I

made

an

excited

expression,

hoping

it

would

be

contagious.

“Please,” he said softly.

I smiled approvingly and started

walking to the meat section for some

sausage and eggs. I rarely ever cooked

and almost never for anyone else. Alessa

liked me cooking at her apartment,

because she never did. Every few

months, we would host a bourbon party

that required cooking appetizers since I

refused to have it catered. I doubted

Vivienne would eat much, so I bought a

bag of espresso grounds and a small

coffee press.

“Do we need to stop and buy some

pans, too?” I smirked

“I have everything else you need,”

he said while caressing my back end,

causing a hitch in my breathing. It never

stopped and he knew it.

Connor tried to get in front of me

closer to the cashier once the items were

loaded onto the belt. Insulted that he

would try to pay after what he’d just

done caused me to become testy.

“Let me do at least one thing for

you, please!” I huffed out as I loaded the

groceries back into the cart, but he just

ignored me and smiled.

“I can think of some other things

you can do for me – well, to me.” With a

wink at the cashier, he turned just as I

went beet red.

I began walking towards the Jeep

without looking back. Hearing Connor

chuckle caused a slight grin to grow

across my lips. Is this how it could have

been for us? His demeanor started to

become more relaxed and a glimmer

was present in his eyes. He was buoyant

compared to an hour ago.

“Let’s go home now.” He placed

his arm across the seats with his hand

just above my head as he backed out.

Noticing we were back on Route

24 headed west, I looked out the

window as we traveled through Old

Colorado City towards Manitou. “Where

do you live?” I was surprised I hadn’t

asked, yet. With everything else, it didn’t

cross my mind.

“You will see.” He looked

mischievous as though the revelation

would surprise me. He pulled into the

same parking lot we were at the night

before and could tell I looked confused.

“Follow me.” As he stood there holding

onto several grocery bags, I took a few

and followed him through the small lot

to an inconspicuous door at the back of

an old brick building. The entryway was

dark and had an old wooden stairway

immediately ahead as you walked in. He

held the door with his back and

motioned for me to walk up the steps.

“It’s the door on the left.”

I stood and waited for him to set

down the groceries and retrieve his

keys. He seemed nervous that I was

there and excited at the same time. I

couldn’t deny the curiosity that was

building inside of me. Why did he have

an apartment above a business? If he

could afford to buy a ranch at the drop of

a dime, surely he could do better.

The irony was not lost on me. I too

lived way below my means and had my

reasons. Soon I could change the

situation if I chose to. I had become so

accustomed to having very little; it

would be a shock to my system when I

was no longer bound to certain

obligations.

He opened the door and waited for

me to enter.

“Welcome to Casa Lewis.”

I stepped across the threshold and

immediately had all the air sucked out of

my lungs. As I gripped tightly onto the

bags to prevent them from hitting the

ground, I thought how I should have

known better than to make any type of

assumptions about Connor.

The door clicked behind me and the

deadbolt locked into place. There was

no running now.

Chapter 22 - Never

Say Never

The evening sun poured into the

large windows lining two walls in the

exposed brick apartment. The ceilings

must have been over twenty-five feet

with gleaming sheet metal duct work

snaking across the ceiling. An open floor

plan was separated by partition like

walls.

Stainless

steel

appliances

surrounded the poured concrete counters

that were stained a navy blue and buffed

to a shine. The doors were made of

corrugated

metal,

completing

the

industrial feel of the place. This was

definitely a man’s abode. I ran my

fingers along the large, brown leather L

shaped sitting area. Reclaimed lumber

and glass tables were scattered through

the room. Connor was putting things

away in the kitchen and observing my

reaction.

“It’s beautiful.” I gazed at him for a

moment before looking around. This

explained Connor without saying a

word. The outside was deceiving as to

what was really within. I always felt

like I was the only one who really saw

him. I doubted I was the first female to

share those sentiments about this place.

The thought pulled me back from being

lost and made me a little nauseous.

It was too quiet for my comfort. I

wandered over to the corner where I

noticed a low table with a set of

turntables and a mixer. Several shelves

of records lined the wall; there were

thousands, all neatly organized.

“You seriously have decks? Do you