Full Disclosure (Homefront: The Sheridans Book 2) (7 page)

“So you’re a big people watcher?”

“The finest. Before Logan started at JLS,
I was traveling every week. Always eating in hotel restaurants. Logan and Allie
aren’t the only ones that have a story here, I’m certain.”

We sit at our table along the wall, the
perfect spot. I can watch everyone from here. “Take that couple over there. They’ve
been married for about twenty years, I’m betting.”

“How do you know that?”

“First, they’ve got rings on their
fingers. You’re not very good at this, are you?”

“Maybe they’re not married to each
other.”

“Cynic,” I accuse. “They’re married to
each other, and for a long time. You can tell because they’re not talking to
each other. After that many years, there’s nothing left that needs to be said.”

She smirks at me. “Now who’s the cynic?”

“I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s a
good thing. Watch them, Kim. They’re not mad at each other. Not even bored. But
they’re just at that comfortable point in their relationship when they don’t
need
to talk anymore.” I never reached that point with Adriana. There was always a
need to amaze her with the deals I had struck during the day, or the money I’d
spent. It’s what impressed her. And she liked to be continually impressed.

The waitress comes and we order our
meals. “Do you want a drink?”

“Um, a diet soda’s fine for me.”

“Do you mind if I have a Sam Adams?”

“No,” she says quickly. “No, of course
not. Have five or six. That way I can take your keys away from you and get the
chance to drive your Mercedes.”

I laugh. “I’ll let you do that anyway.”

“Really?” Her face falls suddenly. “Oh,
but I can’t drive stick.”

“You can’t drive stick?”

“Yeah. My parents always had automatic
transmissions when I was growing up, so I never had a chance to learn.”

“I’ll teach you,” The offer slips from my
mouth before I can imagine the tragic sound of my Mercedes getting its transmission
ground up.

“No way. I get a buzz when I hit 70 in my
old Toyota on the freeway. I think I’d pass out if I sat behind the wheel of
your car.”

As she takes a sip of her water, another
table catches my eye.

“What about that couple over there, Kim? I’m
thinking they’re on a blind date.”

“Nah. They met online.”

“How can you tell?”

“Everyone meets online in this area. It’s
the only way to find single people. Plus, they’re looking at their menus for
too long. Right now, they’re trying to remember stuff they read on each other’s
profiles so that they can have something to say.”

“Interesting. Do you do the online dating
thing?”

“Me? God, no. I don’t date at all.
Babysitters are expensive,” she adds flippantly. “But I hear all this through
my friend Cass.”

“Princess Buckeye.”

“The one and only. I live vicariously
through her.” Her playful eyes glimmer in the fake candlelight of Bergin’s. “How
about that couple over there?”

I glance their way. “Easy. He just picked
her up at the bar.”

“How can you tell?”

“Her body movements. She looks nervous.
Like she hadn’t quite intended to end up having dinner with this guy.”

“Like Allie and Logan did when they met.”

“Is that what happened?” Women share
everything, I’ve come to discover.

“Logan didn’t tell you that?”

“No.” I have to suppress a smile at the
thought of Logan giving me a play-by-play of his dates.
When hell freezes
over.
“We don’t exactly share that sort of thing.”

Cocking her head slightly, she says, “But
you seem pretty close to him.”

“I’d say I’m close with both my brothers.
But it’s a complicated relationship.”

“Because you’re the CEO of the family
company.”

My eyes settle on her face as I try to
come up with a way to simplify the relationships among my brothers. But one
evades me. “I guess that’s it,” I say instead.

“Did you always want to run JLS?”

“Definitely not,” I answer with a laugh,
surprising myself by telling her the truth.

Her eyes widen. Obviously she’s read
every JLS annual report that talks about my supposed innate desire to continue
the family heritage for a third generation.

“Really? I’m stunned. What did you want
to do?”

I sigh. “I wanted to be a MEDEVAC pilot
in the Army. But that stays between you and me.”

Her mouth hangs open for a moment. I
think she’s the only person outside of my family and maybe my old high school
girlfriend who knows this now. The idea of that would usually unnerve me,
especially since she’s an employee. But for some reason, it just doesn’t bother
me with Kim.

“Your secret’s safe with me. But why a MEDEVAC
pilot?”

“I listened to all the same war stories
that Logan did when I was growing up. Our grandpa served in the Korean War. He
was only in for six years, but he always stressed the importance of serving,
how it changed him, made him into the man he was. So when I was in high school,
I got an internship through this governor’s program they had at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base. Best summer of my life.”

“But you didn’t want to join the Air
Force?”

“I would have, but the Army has more
helicopters. I figured I’d go with the better bet. My grandpa told us a story
once about how they were pinned down and one of his buddies was shot up pretty
bad. There was an Army MEDEVAC pilot who risked everything to get them out. I
wanted to be that guy, to pull someone out of danger at a time when there’s no
hope.” Which might be why I love the idea of flying patients to hospitals now
in my Cessna, I ponder, curious that it’s only now I’ve realized this.

“You’re an adrenaline junkie like your
brother.”

“Brothers.” I correct her. Dylan is as
much of a junkie as Logan and me.

“So why didn’t you do it?”

I shrug, the answer so obvious to me that
I’m almost surprised I need to tell her. “JLS. I submitted my application to
West Point about two months before Logan got accepted to the Naval Academy. It
just killed Dad, finding out that Logan didn’t want to take up the reins at
JLS. So I did instead.”

“So you gave up your dream to make your
dad happy.”

It sounds pathetic when I hear it put
that way. “No. No, definitely not. I gave up my dreams so that we could
continue our heritage. The company means a lot to our family.”

“To the whole region, actually,” she
interjects, and I’m glad to know she gets it.

I nod. “A lot of people rely on JLS for
jobs around here. My dad could have sold the company, but there’s little chance
the headquarters would have stayed in Newton’s Creek. My family’s lived here
too long. It’s a part of us. The people who work for me now—they’re the
same people I went to high school with and a lot of their parents. I
trick-or-treated at their homes. I went to parties with their kids. I didn’t
want to see JLS move anymore than Dad did.”

“What about Dylan?”

“Dylan never had any interest in JLS. That
guy belongs in a gym. Not a CEO’s office.”

She shoots me a sly smile. “Hey, I’m not
blind over here. Looks to me like you spend your share of time in a gym, too.”

It feels good to know that she notices. “The
only gym I see these days is in my basement after Hannah’s gone to sleep. It’s
a good stress reliever. And I still fly, but not helicopters. I’ve got a Cessna
that I take up in the air any chance I get.” Taking another bite of my woefully
overcooked steak, I catch a motion out of the corner of my eye. “Hey, take a
look at our twenty-year couple over there.”

She looks over and her expression warms
at the sight of them silently holding hands while they wait for their dessert.

“Told you they were happy,” I say.

~ KIM ~

Tonight, I feel normal. And it might seem
funny that an evening out with an honest-to-God billionaire is making me feel
normal
because there’s nothing normal about it.

But talking with Ryan, my hands aren’t their
usual brand of clammy when I’m around men I don’t know well. My heart isn’t
lodged in my throat like it was those few times I tried to venture into the
dating world again.

Maybe it’s because he’s Logan’s brother.
Or maybe it’s because he’s my boss and a pillar of our community. Or maybe it’s
just because every instinct I have tells me that Ryan Sheridan is nothing but a
good guy, even though I question my instincts by default ever since that night
in college when my life changed forever.

“I really had fun tonight,” he says into
the silence as we wait at a stoplight.

“Me, too,” I respond, resisting the urge
to reach over and just touch his hand ever so lightly as it grips the shifter. This
isn’t a date. This is my boss.

I glance over at him as he looks at me,
and I swear there’s nothing boss-like in the way he’s looking at me now. It
should almost frighten me, that split second when I think I see a trace of
desire in Ryan’s eyes. I haven’t felt comfortable being the object of anyone’s
desire in years. Tonight, I feel like there’s a part of me coming to life
around Ryan, a part I keep locked up tight, probably behind the same padlock
where I keep all my secrets.

The light turns green, and the change
seems to snap him out of whatever thought process he was drifting on.

I wish I could say the same.

My head is swirling with emotion—a
strange concoction of confusion laced with attraction, and just a hint of fear
at feelings that I can’t deny.

As we drive through downtown Newton’s
Creek, my thoughts drift to what awaits me at home: reality. I love my son;
don’t get me wrong. But I’m not ready to assume my role as single mom just now.

“Don’t take me home,” I blurt, a hint of
desperation in my tone.

I feel Ryan’s eyes on me as he pulls his
car to the side of the road. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” I shake my head. “No. I’m
not. I’m just—” I wrack my brain for an excuse to drag this night out
just a little longer. Just a little longer to pretend I’m like any other 24-year-old.
“It’s just that Connor’s not in bed yet. And my mom always rags on me after
she’s worn out from babysitting. If I have to listen to it, I’d rather it be
after Connor’s in bed so he doesn’t catch wind of it.”

It’s not a lie in the least. But it’s a
convenient truth.

“Well, do you want to try to get another
donation? We could try a restaurant downtown here. I think Francesca’s is still
open.”

I shake my head. “I hit all the downtown
restaurants last week.”
Damn my thoroughness.

“Damn, you’re thorough,” he says as
though he could read my mind. He gazes at me thoughtfully. “Before Hannah came
to live with me full-time, I used to avoid going home all the time. I just
hated the house being so empty.”

“So where did you go?”

“I’d work.”

I grin. “Is that how you increased profit
by 25% in the past year?”

He looks at me, seeming surprised that I
know that much about the company. I smile meekly. While it might be tempting to
just stare at his picture in JLS’s annual report, I actually do read it, too.

“Yeah, that’s about the crux of it.”

“So, you want to go to work?” The idea is
crazy, but honestly, even firing up my computer at the office for a couple
hours sounds better than facing reality.

“God, no. I have a better idea.” He flicks
on his turn signal and pulls off Anders Street.

My brow furrows. “Where are we going?”

He grins. “To JLS’s best-kept secret.”

He drives only six or so short blocks off
Anders Street when we reach a long stretch of undeveloped land. It’s heavily
forested, and overgrown with weeds. I grew up just north of Newton’s Creek, so
I know the area pretty well. But I’ve never ventured back here. There just
wasn’t reason to.

He parks the car and darts over to my
side to open my door before I can even put my hand on the handle.

“Um, Ryan, there’s nothing here.”

“There’s plenty here. You just don’t see
it yet. Can you keep a secret?”

“Uh-huh,” I say warily.

“Come here,” He takes my hand and gives
it a tug. The feel of his skin touching mine should send me to the ER seeing as
my heart rate is already topping 150. But as it is, his hand in mine seems to
calm me. That’s never happened before in my life.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out.”

I’m still holding his hand as he pulls me
onto a makeshift trail that leads toward a neglected part of Newton’s Creek.

“Ryan, I’m in heels,” I protest when I
see the thick weeds we’re about to trek through.

He stops and glances down at my legs, and
I could almost swear his gaze lingers a bit longer than it should. “Sorry. Hop
on my back then.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. You’re a feather.”

I cock my head and place my fist right at
the curve of my waist. “I’m hardly a feather.”

He puts his back to me and bends down. “Come
on. I’ve been dying to share this with someone and you need a distraction.”

I should feel even a hint of trepidation,
going off into the woods with him, especially given my record in making
cataclysmically bad choices when it comes to male company. But there isn’t an ounce
of hesitation in me at the moment.

And I’d rather go anywhere than home
right now.

“Where do I put my hands?”

“On my shoulders. Haven’t you ever ridden
piggy back before?”

“Yeah, when I was five.” I tentatively
wrap my arms around his shoulders and the feel of his chest against my forearms
is pure heaven. Thank God I wore heels and have this excuse to wrap my body
around him. I hop onto his back and a tiny smile creeps onto my face knowing
that this will likely be the only time in my life when I get to wrap my legs
around Ryan Sheridan.

“Atta girl,” he says, walking along the
trail toward the sound of the babbling creek. Behind us, the headlights of the
car click off automatically, but there is still light from the full moon above
us.

“I’m going to end up with ticks,” I can’t
help whining. I don’t do well with parasites.

“You won’t get ticks. Have you ever even
had a tick in your life?”

“No, thank God. Have you?”

“Plenty. Mom said I started hiking before
I started walking. I was always in the woods with my brothers. Backpacking,
camping, rock climbing. My best memories are sleeping out under the stars. I’ve
woken up with plenty of ticks clinging to me.”

“Ugh,” I respond, trying hard to focus on
what he is saying, all while I’m savoring the feel of his muscles between my
legs as he walks with me on his back.

“Woke up one morning and found a
copperhead in my sleeping bag with me.”

“A copperhead? You mean the snake?”

“The one and the same. I was sixteen. Didn’t
bite me, just scared the shit out of me.”

“Remind me to never go camping.”

“You’d love it.”

“I’d hate it.”

“You just have to go with the right
person.”

I can’t help thinking how I’d gladly go camping
with him, snakes and all. “Yeah, a person with a rifle. And a machete,” I add
as he pulls away some overgrown branches from our path. “Have you taken Hannah
camping yet?”

“Lots of times. I even bought an RV last
summer.”

“An RV?” I’m having a hard time picturing
a billionaire CEO driving a Winnebago.

“Yep. We drove to Cherry Springs State
Park to see the Milky Way last August. It’s one of the dark sky viewing areas. Pretty
incredible, really.”

Ryan just doesn’t fit into the neat and
tidy stereotype that I had slid him into when I first saw his portrait in the
JLS lobby. “I thought men like you were supposed to vacation on private islands
in the Caribbean.”

“I’ve seen plenty of the Caribbean. But I
won’t do private islands anymore now that Hannah will always be traveling with
me. I don’t know. I just like being able to access a hospital in an emergency. Maybe
I’ve got a little of that parent paranoia you were talking about, too.” He
turns his head slightly toward me so that I can see the grin sliding up his
face.

Laughing as I bounce a little on his back
with every step, I feel all the anxiety that seems to permanently reside in me
flowing outward to my fingertips, dripping unforgotten into the dirt below us.

We only trek about the length of two city
blocks, but I feel like I’m a world away from town as he lowers me off his
back.

I glance down at the picturesque creek—the
same one that slices through our town and meanders its way behind my townhouse.
“Okay… so it’s Newton’s Creek,” I say cautiously.

“Exactly.”

“I don’t get your point.”

“This is it. The creek that gave our town
its name, right? But it’s completely inaccessible from downtown. This is the
site of our newest development.”

In the light of the moon, I can see the
excitement flash in his eyes. But seeing as this must be JLS’s gazillionth
development, I’m not sure I understand the significance. “This is pretty here.”

“It is, isn’t it? Walking distance to
downtown. And now that I convinced the commuter bus to start picking up there,
this is prime property to build on.”

“Wait a minute.
You
convinced the
commuter bus to come to Newton’s Creek?”

“Yeah. That was me. The town was going to
die otherwise. When dad got diagnosed, I knew I wanted to get some projects
going close to home so that he could still stay active and feel a part of
things.”

“Sounds more like an emotional decision
than a business decision, Mr. Sheridan,” I say coyly.

“I’m not the man I pretend to be.”

“I’m discovering that.”

“Just don’t tell anyone.”

I make a gesture as though I’m locking up
my mouth with a key and dropping the imaginary key down my blouse. “Your
secret’s safe with me.” His eyes track downward on my body to my chest and I
swear I can see desire in his eyes again. Even me, with my limited and sadly distant
experience with such a concept, I’m certain I see it.

Such a thing should scare me, I tell
myself. The last thing I need is to be desired by anyone. But still his gaze
heats me from my breasts and downward to my core. I inhale sharply. “I’m
guessing you’re planning on buying this land?”

“Already bought it about nine months ago.
We’ve been busy getting permits and working with the city to make sure we don’t
hurt the environment here. But it looks like we’re clear to start working on it
later this month.”

“So you’re building another housing
development?”

“No. Better than a housing development. I
want a sustainable community. I want a place where people don’t just go to
sleep, but actually
live
. You’ll be able to walk to a school, a bus
stop, pick up groceries, go to a playground, get a book from the library, all without
even having to get in your car.”

“There is no grocery store or library
around here.”

His smile gleams in the moonlight. “There
will be.”

“Sounds like something out of a Norman
Rockwell painting.”

“On the nose,” he says, touching his
finger to his nose.

I laugh, nudging his hand away from his
face and am taken aback when he doesn’t let my hand go.

“So what do you think? Enough to breathe
a little life into our ailing town?”

“I think it’s brilliant. I also think
that people will realize you aren’t a cold-hearted CEO after you pull this
off.”

“Nah, they’ll never catch on. I’ll just
say that if Newton’s Creek doesn’t thrive, then it doesn’t reflect well on the
area’s primary employer.”

“Good answer. Why don’t you want people
to know, though?”

“Know what?”

“That you don’t eat small children and say
things like Fee Fi Fo Fum.”

“Who says I don’t?”

“Seriously, why?”

He shrugs. “Logan is the good
guy—the patriot, SEAL, there’s no denying that. Dylan’s always been the
playboy. Never serious, always with his face in the press. I guess in a family
that runs a business like ours, someone needs to be the bad guy. That’s me.” There’s
a hint of something in his eyes now. Not quite sadness or regret. Just
vulnerability.

Only now do I realize that I still have
his hand in mine. “Well, your secret is safe with me.” I take a step, unable to
control the need to get closer. I can tell myself that I just want to steal a
little of his warmth; it’s October and I’m only in a thin blouse. But I know
that’s a lie. I feel the last remnants of my reality being carried off by the current
of the brook beside us. The sound of the water seems to hypnotize me, mixed
with the moonlight, and something stirs in a dark, forgotten corner of my soul.