Lethal Affair (7 page)

Jolene's heart tripped and her stomach
clenched. Who was this woman leeched onto Lyle's arm? Oh God, don't
tell me he brought a date! Mortified, she changed her course,
skimming past them and heading down the few steps to where the
table was being arranged.

Lyle tugged his arm loose. Drink for
Lillian forgotten, he went after Jolene even as Will's gaze settled
on yet another newcomer who had slid through the back door behind
Jolene.

It struck him right off that she was
tragically beautiful. Oval face, exotic features of dark brows and
lashes over slanted violet eyes filled with some kind of
preoccupation. White blonde hair and a generous mouth, skin glowing
in the afternoon's dappled sunlight. She wore a simple t-shirt over
jean shorts and low open sandals on her slim feet, and seemed
utterly unaware of the impact she'd made just by walking into his
space. He glimpsed nerves and a trace of defensiveness that prodded
at his innate protective nature.

Will was good at reading people. This
was definitely one person he wanted to know better. He held out his
hand. “Will Delaney, Jolene's boss. I take it she invited
you?”

A wispy smile played across her lips
as she shook his hand. “Kylie Lambert, Jolene's roommate. This is
some place you have here.”

He couldn't take his eyes off her. “At
last we meet. Jolene's mentioned you a few times. Only she left out
the part about you being so lovely.”

“
Oh. Well. I don't think she
sees me in those terms.”

“
Let's hope not.”

The grill sizzled ominously and he
turned to inspect the burgers and turn the sausages and ears of
corn in tin foil lying amongst the coals. All the while he kept one
eye on Kylie Lambert who hadn't moved an inch. She seemed to be
lost in thought.

He moved back to her side. Lillian was
leaning against the rail watching Lyle and Jolene who were in deep
conversation by the little greenhouse Will kept in the corner of
the yard. As they watched, Lyle pulled Jolene inside the structure
and their shadows merged. Lillian tensed. Or maybe it was his
imagination.

His voice jolted Kylie out of a daze.
“What can I get you to drink? We have beer, wine, soda or lemonade.
No hard liquor. We like to keep things mild mannered.”

She pressed a hand to her belly.
“Mineral water please, if you have it.”

He went to a side table, pulled a
bottle of sparkling water from the cooler, filled a tall glass with
ice and poured.

“
Lemon?”

“
Yes, thanks.”

Obliging her, he selected a second
mineral water for himself, wanting to pace himself for the
afternoon.

“
How long have you and
Jolene been roomies?” Will asked her.

“
Going on a few years now.
Three I think.”

“
Guess you're pretty tight
then, huh.”

“
Tight enough. How about
you? How long have you and Lyle Morris been partners?”

“
Most of our lives. Grew up
together, went to the same schools, worked the same construction
sites. Lyle did a two year stint at a culinary school on the
mainland but I never had the itch to cook or the focus to learn
how. We both wanted something to call our own so when he came back
we pooled our money and voilá, the Village Diner was
born.”

“
Jolene tells me you're the
senior partner. I gather that's because you worked while he went to
school and so your financial input was greater than
his.”

Smart. Not everyone figured that out
right out of the gate. “To my way of thinking Lyle's an equal
partner. But yeah, I have the controlling interest. That doesn't
mean I get to call all the shots. Without Lyle's expertise, and
believe me, he's a genius with food, I'd be a lost
puppy.”

Kylie sipped her mineral water and
eyed him over the rim of the glass. Until now Will Delaney had been
a mystery figure. Unbeknownst to him her intrepid roommate had
campaigned to set up a date between them but to no avail. Kylie had
firmly believed it would complicate things, and when she'd taken up
with Drew, Jolene had finally backed off.

Today she'd caved when Jolene had
begged her to come along saying she needed backup, someone to help
her face Lyle in this social setting after the little fiasco she'd
experienced with him a few weeks before. Since that morning she'd
been in training with Kim only, Lyle having relieved himself of the
duty. Jolene had bravely held up her head at work and then moped
around the apartment at home.

Now that Kylie was face to face with
Will her first impression was a surprise. She hadn't expected him
to be attractive, but it wasn't in the conventional way. When you
picked his face apart feature by feature there was nothing
remarkable about most of them. Nose a little too large, grin wide
but lopsided. Unruly black hair in need of a cut. But his eyes, now
they were show stopping. Classic bedroom eyes the color of the
brooding Pacific, heavy lidded and sensual, with lashes some women
would kill for. Under his shirt he seemed solidly built and by the
look of his muscular legs, she made him as a runner.

Those intense blue eyes were staring
at her, patiently awaiting a response.

“
I have a feeling you'd find
your way no matter what.”

He tilted his glass at her in salute.
“I accept the compliment. Jolene tells me you supervise over at
Valley Farms in their greenhouses. Maybe you could give me a few
tips on mine.” He nodded in the general direction of the small wood
and plastic structure he'd erected that very year. “Trying to grow
my own herbs, a few tomatoes, some squash. I'm interested in
hydroponics. You do any of that over at Valley Farms?”

“
Yes, we do. I'd be happy to
take a look at your little operation, but it might have to wait a
bit.”

He followed her gaze to where two
shadowy figures melded inside the greenhouse. She noted the quick
narrowing of his eyes, the glint of worry.

“
Problem?” she
asked.

Will chuckled. “You're
astute.”

“
I'm Jolene's roommate,
remember? I know all about it.” She paused, unsure if she should
walk this path with him. “None of my business though. All up to
them.”

“
Well the same doesn't apply
for me. The both of them are very much my business. Or rather, they
both effect my business. So you see my little dilemma here, don't
you?”

“
Fraternizing with the help?
Mixing business with pleasure? Shitting where you eat?”

He faked a wince. “Ouch. But right on.
Obviously you get the picture.”

Kylie sighed. “I've tried to reason
with Jolene about this a million times. But she's stuck on him.
Hard as crazy glue. What's a girl to do?”

About to reply, Will was suddenly
accosted from behind by Kim as he crunched him in an oxygen
depriving head lock. “Ack!” was all he managed. Laughing, Kim
released him and thumped him heartily on the back.

“
You're getting slow,
boss!”

“
I was
distracted.”

Kim's wife Carrie stepped up, baby
girl in her arms and twin boy toddlers clinging to her skirt. Her
First Nations heritage had given her high cheekbones and
penetrating ebony eyes. Kim took the baby from her, rocked gently.
“Look here, boss. My little treasure. See those little fists? Gonna
give her brothers a run for their lives.”

Carrie held out her hand to Kylie.
“I'm Carrie Moon, Kim's wife. Are you a friend of
Will's?”

“
She is now,” said Will, who
made introductions all around, including baby Samantha and tots,
Bryan and Casey, who both squealed with terror and delight when
Dino made an appearance, sniffing and jumping.

“
Off!” came Will's command
to no avail. When the little dog refused to listen, tail wagging
furiously, paws up against an unwilling pint-sized body, Will
simply and effortlessly scooped up both tots into his arms out of
harms way, making a game of it.

What a picture that made, thought
Kylie. The hale looking man holding two clinging boys as they
squirmed and kicked, his own robust laugh blending with their high
pitched giggles. She could only hope and pray that some day when
she had hers she'd enjoy the same from her own child's
father.

Gina dashed over. “Sorry. Dino's still
got a ways to go with his training.”

Everyone headed down to the fully
adorned table. The feast was laid, everyone having brought their
part, and after a hand holding blessing had been bestowed by Will
himself – Oh Lord of nature, we thank you for this bounty! - they
all dug in.

* * * *

CHAPTER FIVE

“
I'm pregnant.”

The statement hung in the air between
them as Jolene slowly lowered her fork and gaped at Kylie. They
were in the breakfast nook of their apartment, eating blueberry pie
from the diner.

“
I said, I'm...”

“
I heard you. What do you
mean? How did this happen?”

Kylie laced her misery with sarcasm.
“I wished upon a star, dummy! How do you think it happened? The
usual way of course, with candlelight and wine and hot, sexy words
and hands. Not to mention other body parts.”

“
Whoa. I thought you only
did it the one time.”

“
It only takes
the one time
.” She hadn't
told Jolene that the sex had been less than satisfactory.
Much less
. She'd gone
over it in her head a million times, analyzed, ripped apart and
dissected it. Could she have tried harder to stop him before the
inevitable? Was it her own damn fault for seducing him in the first
place? Maybe it was pointless asking the questions, because the
result would still be the same. A baby was on its way.

“
That explains why you
didn't want any wine at the barbeque.” It was all Jolene could
think of to say. Kylie did not look ecstatic as one might expect at
such news; she looked deeply unhappy.

Jolene placed a hand over Kylie's.
“Does Drew know?”

“
I haven't decided whether
to tell him yet.”

“
You're not considering
to... to...”

“
Abort? Not an option. I'm
pro-life.”

Unaware she'd been holding her breath,
Jolene deflated. “Good. Alright.” She pushed aside her plate. “You
took a test? You've been to a doctor?”

“
Haven't been to a doctor
but I did the home pregnancy test thing no less than three times.
I've already tossed my cookies first thing twice this week. There's
little room for doubt.”

Kylie got up and paced. “I've already
decided I'm going to see this through. If I feel that it's too much
for me there's always the option of adopting it out.”

Jolene cringed at the idea. “What
about Drew? Doesn't he have a right to know?”

“
Maybe. Yes. Goddamn it,
Jolene, I was just as much to blame. I went to his home all vamped
up. I coaxed him along, practically drooled all over him with lust
in my eyes. Then boom! It all went down so fast. I was the little
train chugging up the hill and he was already over the other side.
I tried to slow things down but he was in his own little world and
basically ignored me. Didn't want to use a condom. Told me
afterward it was because he didn't want to dull the sensation.” She
sank back into her chair. “Maybe I could have stopped him if I'd
tried harder. I was just as weak as he was stupid.”

“
He was controlling you.
I've seen it all along. He wants what he wants, when he wants.
First he refused you, handing you some cock 'n bull story about how
he wants to wait until you're married, then out of the blue he
crooks his little finger and you come running. Then he decides to
overrule the use of protection. I see control freak written all
over this.”

“
You think he wanted to get
me pregnant? I don't know. No matter which way we look at this
thing I had a hand in it too, for all of the two minutes it took to
make it happen. I was so freaked out afterward, I dashed out of
there before a repeat. Now it's my body, my life that's going to
change whether I keep this kid or not.”

“
You need to give Drew the
opportunity to step up to the plate.”

“
If he's such a controller,
why would I want him to step up to the plate?”

“
Because the game has
changed. He said he wants to marry you. Let's see if he means
it.”

“
What if I don't want to
marry him? So far this whole relationship has been one bizarre
ride. He seems... complicated.”

“
Maybe it isn't about
control but insecurity. Some people hide one flaw with
another.”

“
Great, so he's flawed
either way.”

“
We all are. No one's
perfect. It's a matter of figuring out whether or not we're able to
accept each others flaws and make a go of it.”

“
Problem is, I'm never
really sure what's going through Drew's mind. He's a frigging
Rubik’s cube.”

“
Yeah, and he's the father
of the child who at this very moment is multiplying cells in your
womb. He needs to be responsible whether you marry him or
not.”