Home To You (22 page)

J
aime checked the clock and headed toward the sink to wash off the grease. It was time he took the bull by the horns, or maybe the wildcat by the whiskers. Whatever. He tossed the bag of frozen peas he’d been using as an ice bag back in the shop freezer, and wished he had a steel cup. He had a feeling he was going to need one. At least Addie was small; he could probably deflect her kicks, and it’s not as if he were unprepared. Besides, how much trouble could he get into in a kindergarten classroom?

He drove down to the elementary school and spotted Addie’s car in the lot. He knew the kindergarten had its own play area, since he was the one who bought and installed the little kids’ play equipment. He went around the school, let himself into the gated area, and slipped inside the classroom.

He’d never been in Addie’s classroom before. It contained tables surrounded by the world’s smallest chairs, and all the bulletin boards were covered with colorful pictures. The room was empty of people but neat and tidy. He knew she was still in school, and the lights were still on. He heard humming and followed the sound. The
door to a storeroom was open just a little. He found her standing with her back to him, refilling paint containers and humming a familiar tune—something his great-grandma used to listen to, something from the 1930s or ’40s. Then she broke out into song, and he realized she must have been humming the intro.

Her voice shocked him. He was amazed that something that big could come from someone so small. He didn’t know much about music, but he knew greatness when he heard it. Addie wore a green corduroy jumper with a putty-colored turtleneck, matching putty-colored kneesocks, and butt-ugly brown penny loafers. She danced to music only she could hear, belting out the lyrics with such feeling, he felt like a voyeur. The song was about running into an ex-lover for the first time, knowing that he’d moved on when she obviously hadn’t. She sounded hurt and wistful and so damn sad.

Just the thought of her wanting some guy that didn’t deserve her had an unfamiliar feeling crashing over him and his hand tightened on the doorjamb. He waited until she finished the song with “I still love you so.” She held that last note for at least two bars, but he had a feeling she could hold it longer if she wanted to—her voice was just that strong. When the sound of her voice faded, he gave her a standing ovation.

Addie jumped, spilling red paint all over her hand and the table. She spun around, and it looked like her face had paled, but it was hard to tell with that hideous putty-colored turtleneck. She looked almost ghostly, which made the dark circles under her eyes more pronounced.

“Sorry, Addie. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Right. That’s why you failed to go to the office to be announced or even to knock. How long have you been
standing there?” Her cheeks were turning pink, which beat the whole White Lady Ghost look she’d been rockin’.

“You were humming the intro and I followed the sound. You’re the most amazing singer I’ve ever heard.”

Her glare was filled with so much fire, he was amazed the school was still standing around him. She swallowed hard and wiped her paint-covered hand on her ugly jumper. “What are you doing here?”

So her voice was off-limits too? Shit, you’d think she’d at least thank him for the compliment. Instead, she looked steamed that her little secret wasn’t so secret anymore. Too bad. “I wanted to see you . . . to explain about the whole Jax-and-Kendall mess. I know you’re probably angry.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Furious?”

She crossed her arms.

“Irate?”

“All of the above. But you don’t owe me an apology—you owe one to Kendall.”

“I already did that, right after she did her best to make sure I would never be able to reproduce.”

That got a smile out of her. It would.

“My hands were tied. There are reasons I can’t go into, but, well, I thought I was doing the right thing for everyone involved. Including you.”

“Me?”

He walked over to the sink and wet a half dozen sheets of paper towel and did his best to clean the spilled paint. “Yeah, you. I didn’t want you put in as uncomfortable a position as I was. I really hated keeping secrets from Kendall.”

He took her by the hand, stood her in front of him,
pulled up both sleeves, and helped her wash her hands like only a grease monkey could. It didn’t hurt that he got to put his arms around her and pull her up against his chest, her ass tucked tight against his fly. Okay, tight was probably a bad idea. He stepped back while he scrubbed red paint off her. “But if you’d seen Jax, though, Addison, you’d have gone along with the ruse too. It’s like he’s back. The old Jax. Do you remember what he was like, Addie?”

She nodded. “Kendall’s hurt and upset, but when she told me what happened, it was as if things started to add up. She didn’t share it with me, but it sounded as if she realized he might have had a good reason for his actions.”

“Several.” He turned off the taps and handed her a few towels.

“And you?”

“Me?” He thought her dress should be put in the closest burn pile. “I didn’t have much to do with it, other than to tell him to come clean with her. I don’t know how she found out, but, man, she was pissed.”

“Have you heard from Jax? Is he okay?” Of course she’d be more concerned about Jax than him. Talk about takin’ one for the team; he’d gotten kneed in the balls and didn’t get an ounce of sympathy.

“Nah, you know how guys are. They tend to lick their wounds in private.”

“Unfortunately for Jax, that wasn’t an option. He was supposedly sicker than a first-year teacher during a flu epidemic. Teddy took him back to the lake house.”

“Teddy was there? At the cabin?”

“Oh yeah. He walked in just before Kendall left, and after she found out she’d fallen into bed and in love with
the Grand Pooh-Bah of Harmony. Teddy knows. I don’t know how he knows, but Kendall knew she was busted big-time. And believe me, Kendall knows her daddy.”

“So does Jax. Hell, so do I.” He’d been on the wrong side of Teddy’s hand once, and he’d never forgotten it. “Maybe Jax being sick wasn’t such a bad thing. Grace won’t let Teddy kill him until he’s better, at least.”

“We have to do something.”

“What in the hell can we do?”

“You can go and see Jax, make sure he knows that Kendall has feelings for him and make sure he’s okay, and report back to me.”

“And what’s your role in this little mission?”

“I’ll work on Kendall. Maybe I’ll go help her pack up her place this weekend. She’s moving home to Harmony. If you tell me what’s going on with Jax, I can let a few things slip . . . accidentally . . . on purpose.”

“Just make sure I don’t have to do anything that’s going to put Kendall on the attack again.”

That got a smile out of her. Damn, but she had a great smile. “You should do that more often.”

“What?”

“Smile. You have a beautiful smile, and you should sing. You would win
American Idol
if you showed up.”

“I don’t sing.”

“I have to disagree, since I stood here listening to you for about three minutes.”

“I don’t sing in public—ever.”

“Not even karaoke?”

She shook her head.

“Why?” He stepped closer, and as he caught her scent, he was almost happy to find out Kendall didn’t do any permanent damage. But he didn’t think he would ever
smell green apple or tempera paint again without getting a woody. Shit.

She just shook her head.

“So, now I know two of your secrets. I know how gorgeous you are when you don’t dress like a bag lady, in clothes ten times too big, and I know your voice could make angels weep.”

“Jaime . . . please—”

He put a finger on her lips to stop her. “Addie, I’d never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. If you choose not to share your talent with anyone but me, that’s your choice. But, baby, it’s a real loss to everyone else.”

“So you won’t tell anyone?”

“No, I won’t.” He stepped closer. “So, I was thinking. How about you and I take a trip into Boston next Saturday. What do you say?”

Her gray eyes widened, her lips trembled, and so did her hands. “I . . . no, I can’t.”

He took two steps back. “Addie?”

She turned around and grabbed her purse out of a cabinet. “I need to leave, Jaime. I have an appointment.”

“Okay. Let me walk you to your car.”

“No. Please, just go.”

He backed out of the storage room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you Addie.”

“You didn’t.”

She was as bad at lying as she was with fashion.

*

Kendall pulled into her parking space and stared at the elevator. God, she didn’t want to go back to the apartment and rip apart her old life and be forced to take a long walk down her not so happy memory lane alone. All she could
think about was how much of her life she’d wasted on David. She didn’t know if that was an improvement over crying about Jack . . . shit, Jax. His name was Jax—maybe someday she would remember that. Maybe someday she wouldn’t feel physical pain when she thought of him. Maybe someday she’d stop loving the lying jerk.

She wished she had the money to pay people to pack the place up so she wouldn’t have to face her old life and see what a sham it had been. Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to waste a cent. No, she’d need all her savings just to get into a new apartment. As it was, Erin had volunteered the moving services of her fiancé, Cam, and his brothers, Adam and Butch, for the price of beer and homemade pizza. She wasn’t sure how the men felt about being volunteered, but she had enough on her plate to worry and cry over, without taking on more.

Someone pulled into David’s space, and when Kendall recognized her best friend’s car, she smiled for the first time since the night before. She jumped out and threw her arms around her friend. “Erin, what are you doing here?”

“I knew you had a lot to face and I didn’t think you should have to do it alone, especially without wine and chocolate.” Erin reached into the backseat and pulled out a big bottle of Shiraz and a one-pound box of Godiva Dark Chocolate Truffles.

“Oh, my God, I love you. You know that, right?”

“Of course.” Erin threw a bag over her shoulder. “We’re having a sleepover, too. After we finish the wine, I’ll be in no shape to drive, and I thought you might not want to stay here alone.”

“And Cameron’s okay with that?”

Erin smiled, “Oh, don’t worry about him. He wasn’t
happy about it, but I promised I’d pay him back. He’ll have the whole night to figure out an interesting way to collect. I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with.” She waggled her eyebrows.

Kendall could only imagine what Jack would do if he had carte blanche in the bedroom or anywhere else, for that matter. But Jax wasn’t Jack. Tears stung the back of her eyes. She blinked them back while she opened up the hatch and grabbed her bags. “I guess I can’t avoid it any longer. At least we have all the necessary provisions to get over disastrous love affairs and heal a broken heart, right?” They headed to the elevator.

Erin pressed the call button. “Disastrous love affairs, as in plural?”

“Jack turned out to be someone else.”

“Is he married?”

“No”

“Engaged?”

“Not that I know of, but it’s worse. He’s Jackson Sullivan—my dad’s boss, the man who owns half the town of Harmony and a bunch of banks in Chicago.”

“He’s single and rich? I would think that would be an improvement over married or engaged.”

“Erin, he made me think he was some kind of carpenter who was working in lieu of paying full rent.”

“You didn’t recognize him?”

“I haven’t seen him since I was twelve. He looked like a construction worker—he wasn’t walking around in a three-piece suit. It’s not like I’ve been cyberstalking him all these years.” She stepped into the elevator and hit 4. “What is it with me and men who are out for total world financial domination?”

“It sounds as if one of them was at least successful.
Frankly, I never thought David had the brains—I mean, he knew which asses to kiss. That was easy enough to see at all those damn events you dragged me to, but I’ve always wondered if he had the goods to really get the job done.”

“Not in his pants, that’s for damn sure.”

Erin broke into peals of laughter, leaned against the wall, and crossed her legs. “Oh, damn, Kendall. Stop. You’re going to make me pee my pants.”

They made it to her apartment without further incident, and as soon as Kendall unlocked the door, Erin ran for the bathroom. “Pour the wine and keep talking—I’ll leave the door open. I have to hear more about this.”

Kendall stepped in and shivered—the place exuded the transitional yuppie style that David had insisted upon and had all the warmth of the arctic circle. She’d gotten so used to the feel of the cabin, she was shocked by the difference between the two places.

Kendall checked the thermostat and stepped into the kitchen. Even the granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances threw off a chill. “Sounds like a heck of an idea—pouring the wine, that is. I’m not sure about the talking part.” What she wouldn’t give to be in the kitchen at the cabin. She missed the comfort of the old, chipped yellow starburst Formica counter and antique white stove and the hum of the ancient refrigerator with the old-fashioned ice trays. Kendall opened the bottle with David’s absurdly expensive, four-hundred-dollar Code38 Stealth corkscrew. He ordered it just as soon as he read about it in the
New York Times
and then hosted a wine tasting to show it off. He seemed to be the only one who was impressed with the titanium tool. At least it worked well. Lord knew she’d opened enough bottles with it for
the tasting after David realized the corkscrew wasn’t receiving the admiration he’d spent a small fortune to achieve. She was surprised he’d forgotten to pack it.