Lethal Affair (21 page)

He was convincing and more important,
giving her a choice. The opposite of the kind of commanding and
insisting that went against the grain.

She nodded her assent. Then, “What
about Max? Is he old enough to stay on his own here?”

They both looked at Max snoring
softly, his face angelic in sleep.

“
He'll be alright,” said
Will, “but why don't I have Jolene cut work early tonight and come
home?”

“
Who'll cover
her?”

He thought about her trainee, Lillian
McFarley. There wasn't anyone else and this was important. “I've
got someone in mind.”

He made the call to the diner and
Jolene was on her way. She arrived in record time on her sleek ten
speed and they filled her in on their plan.

Jolene pulled Will aside. “Are you
sure about putting Lillian on the floor tonight by herself? She's
not ready.”

He looked at his watch. “There's only
a few hours left on your shift. It'll be okay.”

Within five minutes Kylie and Will
were out the door while Jolene fretted over Lillian's incompetence
as well as Kylie's dilemma.

*

The Dancing Pig was outfitted like the
inside of a barrel, curves and all, reminding Kylie of a hobbit
house. There was a central bar with stools and lacquered wood
tables all around. A few patrons enjoyed drinks at the bar but most
sat in groups at the tables working on pitchers of beer. The
no-smoking rule was in effect but the air was tinged with the
pungent smell of hops.

Kylie found Drew at a table mid way
down sipping a cocktail; no beer for him.

He rose when she approached and pulled
out a chair for her, polite behavior intact. His clothes were
rumpled and he wore a five o'clock shadow. It seemed as though his
emotional state was being held shakily in check.

Kylie sat and when the waitress
approached, ordered cranberry juice.

Drew raised his glass in salute. “Good
to see you're taking care of our baby,” he commented.

“
I'm also taking care of
myself, which includes avoiding men who cater to their dark
urges.”

“
What's that supposed to
mean?”

“
It means that I'm only here
to reinstate my request to leave me alone. I'm asking you nicely.
It would be great if you could see your way to honoring my wishes.”
There, she'd said it. Couldn't be clearer.

His tone was eerily calm. “Looks to me
like you've already found somebody to replace me. Am I right,
Kylie?”

“
Drew. Really? Skulking in
the bushes at Beacon Hill? Isn't that a little beneath a man whose
career requires a corporate wife?”

“
You're avoiding the
question.”

“
And you're avoiding my
right to privacy. Yes I have friends, ones who care about me and
don't take out their frustrations on innocent women.”

“
Innocent? You think you're
fooling me? You're a slut, Kylie. You came on to me strong and I
tried not to take you up on it, didn't I? But no, you insisted on
seducing me.”

His slide from nice to nasty made her
head spin again and only solidified her resolve. A slut now. It was
mind boggling that a man who thought of a woman as a slut would
want to marry her. No logic in that whatsoever.

“
I don't think you're
remembering things right. You compared me to a whore when I wore
that dress so I accommodated you and changed. Then you turned
around and in your own words, wanted to take the dress for a spin.
Is it coming back to you now? Let's cut to the quick. Thanks to
your lack of responsibility and my poor judgment, I'm pregnant.
That doesn't automatically mean that you own me. If you can hit me
once, you can do it again. I'm not willing to risk a second act.”
So much for telling him the baby isn't his, she thought bitterly.
But she wasn't a liar and wouldn't degrade this child by telling
the father he wasn't one.

Suddenly he was nice again. Before she
could snatch her hand away he reached across and took it in his,
gently but firmly.

“
I want us to be a family.
I'm sorry I slapped you. It was really just a tap, nothing more. It
won't happen again.”

She tugged her hand out from under
his. “That so-called tap produced a huge welt and bruise that
lasted well over a week. Everyone who saw it was appalled. And what
about that ear bite in the grocery store? That hurt! I get the
feeling you're just getting started, Drew. You need to nip this in
the bud. I don't want to be anywhere near you.”

He stared blankly.

“
A man who raises his fist
to a woman can easily do so to a child. You don't even recognize
your inner beast or try to control it. I won't have this child
subjected to that.” She paused and reigned in her own anger. “I
don't want to go the legal route, but if I have to get a
restraining order I will. If you continue to harass me in any way,
I'll have you arrested. That won't look good with the boys in the
accounting firm, will it? Never mind your father. My suggestion?
Get some counseling.”

Her juice arrived and she gulped it
down in three swallows, then rose to her feet, tossed a few bills
on the table. “That's it. All I have to say. Good bye,
Drew.”

His face infusing with pink, he
pleaded, “At least let me hug you one last time.”

She held up a hand. “Not a
chance.”

The muscle in his jaw worked
furiously. With narrowed eyes he watched her march out the pub's
front door. It swung open enough to reveal a Jeep at the curb with
a man at the wheel.

The same guy from the park, the one
with the kid.

So it was like that, was
it.

Drew slugged down the rest of his
drink and gruffly ordered another. Scotch, neat. He liked the way
it burned all the way down, how it warmed his belly and softened
the too rough edges of his mind.

Briefly he thought about his last
relationship, another that had ended before it truly began. Trudy
Milhone. She'd been a man magnet with her curvaceous body and wild
mane of curly black hair. Not classy like Kylie, certainly not wife
material, but attractive nonetheless. She'd wanted to sleep with
him from the get-go and their first time in bed had been their last
as she too had told him to stay away from her afterward. All he'd
done was slap her around a little, in jest, in fun. Okay, the thing
with the knife had been going overboard, but he'd only meant to
scare her minimally, to enhance their experience. He never would
have actually stuck her with it. Although she probably deserved
it.

He'd let her go, just like the redhead
and the brunette before her. When he'd spotted Kylie she'd reminded
him of his mother, a woman he could mold to his specific needs.
Apparently he'd been wrong. Too bad she'd turned out to be such a
wimp. That slap had been nothing, a mere reaction of his wrist to a
frustrating situation.

Sucking back another scotch, Drew's
eyes closed as he recalled the bright red of Kylie's skin when he'd
struck her. The fear, doe-like, those slanted eyes going wild with
it. It gave him a hard on that pulsed against his trousers as
desire filled him, desire to crush, to maim, to inflict
pain.

The waitress was standing before him
with a wary look when he opened his eyes. “Everything okay here?”
she asked.

He smiled, his whole face morphing
into something irresistible. “Perfect. Check, please.”

* * * *

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

“
You bitch!”

Jolene clamped her lips tight before
she really got started. Damn it all, Lillian McFarley had her arms
coiled around Lyle's neck. Thankfully for him he extracted himself
and pushed her away. Lillian slowly turned to Jolene.

“
What did you call
me?”

Her expression foul, wordlessly Jolene
wheeled her bike into the back room. Lillian followed her in while
Kim and Lyle exchanged raised eyebrows. This was going to be
good.

“
Jolene's gonna go ape-shit
every time a woman looks sideways at you,” commented
Kim.

“
Lillian did more than look.
It's justified.”

Kim sent him a side-long glance.
“Could it be that Lyle Morris, bachelor extraordinaire, is about to
get snared?”

“
I told you my views on
that. They haven't changed.”

“
Sometimes things change
without us noticing. Suddenly you're on the opposite side of the
fence.”

“
Now you sound like Jolene.
She's been hinting at marriage and babies and houses. Hell, I'm
breaking out in a rash.”

“
Yeah, but maybe she's
scratching that rash good, huh?”

Lyle grinned. “Like it's never been
scratched before, my friend.”

“
A high five to that. Should
we go in there and referee?”

“
Nah. Let those two cat it
out themselves.”

In the back room Jolene and Lillian
faced off.

“
Lyle and I are dating,”
Jolene spit out. “We're together. That means hands off.”

Lillian had her own ideas. “I don't
see a ring on your finger. Lyle's an attractive man. It should be
up to him to decide if he wants a little variety.”

Jolene was mad enough to risk it.
“Then let's go ask him right now.” And heaven help him, if he
didn't stand up for her like she thought he should then maybe she
was barking up the wrong tree. Studly as he was. She moved toward
the door.

“
Wait,” said Lillian. Not
having signed a work contract with Will Delaney, she needed Jolene
on her side. Pouring it on, “I'm sorry. I deserved to be called a
bitch. I'd probably do the same if things were
reversed.”

Jolene's glare was icy cold. “What
were you doing anyway?”

“
I wanted to thank him for
helping me get through the rest of the shift on my own last night,
that's all. There were a few shaky moments and he coached me
through them. I'd like for us to be friends Jolene. After all,
we'll be working together, won't we?”

Not if I can help
it
. She wasn't buying Lillian's apology but
at least it was on the table. She'd give Lillian her recommendation
and strongly suggest she be contracted for the new location in
Langford. Then she'd be rid of her.

“
Yeah, sure,” she mumbled.
“Tonight you shadow me. That means you hover in the background and
listen and learn. If you think you're ready, I'll let you take one
table on your own.”

Lillian nodded. “If I do well enough,
will you tell Will that I'm ready to be contracted?”

“
Yet to be seen. You'll need
to wear this apron and tie your hair up. The fewer stray hairs the
better.”

Later that night lying in Lyle's arms
Jolene asked, “Are we exclusive?”

Lyle grunted, half asleep. “What do
you mean?”

“
It's self
explanatory.”

He knew where this had come from.
“This is about Lillian.” He looked into her troubled eyes. “Let's
clarify. As long as we're together I won't see anyone else, and I
expect the same from you. Sound fair?”

“
Fair enough. Lillian's a
schemer. She wants you and I have a feeling today was only her
first act.”

“
Jolene, when Lillian made
her play I felt nothing. Nada. Not an iota of attraction. Why?
Because all I can think about is you. You fill my dreams and my
every waking moment. That's going to have to be enough for now,
okay?”

His words warmed her all the way to
her toes. “Okay. But I'm a little quicker on the uptake than you. I
love you. I'm not afraid to say it either.”

He searched her eyes. “What makes you
so sure you love me?”

“
I see how you handle
things, how you love Dino so much. How you have a way of defusing
chaotic situations with a calm word or a simple look. You're like
this... gentle giant. I know you'll make a great Dad some day and
an even better husband. You're exactly what I've been looking for.
I hope that doesn't scare you off.”

“
It did. Not so much
now.”

She let out a long breath. “Love is a
two way street.”

“
Doesn't work otherwise.” He
shifted, spooning her and murmuring in her ear. “The idea of
marriage scares me, but you don't. Let's sleep on this. We can talk
in the morning over coffee and eggs Florentine.”

Jolene sighed at the incredible bonus
of having a man in her life who ruled the kitchen. She drifted into
sleep.

*

Drew had a buzz on, big
time.

He sat in his car gazing at the entry
to the Village Diner. Kylie's roommate had worked the evening shift
and he could see two shadowy shapes still moving around inside. It
was time to pay the interfering bitch back for nattering in Kylie's
ear all that nonsense about rights and restraining
orders.

It was all jumbled up in his head.
Kylie, the baby, her roommate. How women could be such cock
teases.