Road to Absolution (16 page)

I rolled my
eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know, Carter.”

“Yoohoo!” a
voice called out from the foyer.

“Kitchen, Mase,”
Payton responded.

“I’ll get Lily,”
Hawk said, and bellowed for her up the stairs.

“Helpful, babe,
thanks,” Payton grumbled.

Hawk grinned and
Lily and Maverick came down the stairs a few seconds later, Maverick in full
protection mode. I was beginning to see that I’d need to have a conversation
with him about the difference of being protective and stalker-like.

“Auntie Macey,”
Lily squeaked and hugged her.

Macey hunkered
down in front of her and grinned. “Hey, baby. Mommy said you got a bruise on
your arm. I’m gonna look at it okay?”

“Okay,” Lily
said.

“Mav, let’s give
them some space,” I said.

He frowned and
it took him a few seconds before he stepped away from Lily and over to me. I
gave Carter a look of frustration and he smiled.

“Hey, Mav, let’s
go talk for a bit,” Carter said.

“I want to make
sure Lily’s okay,” Maverick countered.

“She’s okay,
bud, but Macey needs to look at her to make sure.” Carter laid a hand on his
shoulder. “And she needs to do it without us hovering.”

Maverick sighed,
but followed Carter into the family room. I heard my phone peal from the kitchen
and rummaged through my purse to answer it. I didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”

“Cassidy?”

“Yes, this is
she.”

“Hey, it’s Tom.”

I frowned. “Oh,
hi.”

“I’m ringing to
see if everything’s okay with your son.”

“Oh, yes. It’s
fine. Thank you. How did you get my number?”

“Janie provided
it. I hope I’m not overstepping. I was concerned about you and wanted to make
sure you were okay.”

“Thank you. Yes,
everything’s fine.”

“I’m so glad,”
he said. “Well, should you need anything, please let me know.”

“Okay. Thank
you.”

“Cheers.” He
hung up.

“Who was that?”
Carter asked as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer.

I shoved my
phone back in my purse. “No one.”

“Does this no
one have a name?”

“It was a
telemarketer,” I lied. “I didn’t ask his name.”

“Want a beer?”

I shook my head.
“I’m good with pop.”

He smiled and
wrapped an arm around my waist. “Stop worrying.”

I dropped my
head to his chest. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Carter chuckled,
setting his beer on the island and sliding his hand to my neck. “I’ve got Mav,
honey. We’ll hang out this week at the shop. He’s old enough to hold a wrench
and learn how to fix an engine anyway.”

I raised my head
and bit my lip. “You won’t let a car fall on him, or let him fall down into a
hole or anything, will you?”

“Babe.”

“What?” I
challenged. “He’s a little boy and he’s curious about everything, but common
sense is not his strong suit.”

“I remember,
honey. Don’t worry, I got this.”

I squeezed his
middle. “I love you, even if you drive me nuts.”

“So, how about
we go get married next week?”

“You are
not
going
to get a rise out of me, Carter Quinn.”

He chuckled
again and raised my head for a heart stopping kiss. “We’ll continue this
later.”

I smiled. “We
better.”

“Come on, let’s
go join everyone.”

“Okay, but I
can’t make it a late night.”

“It won’t be,”
Carter promised. “I need time to do things to you.”

I giggled. “You
are so romantic.”

* * *

“I’ll just grab my beer, babe,” Ace
said, and waited until Cassidy was out of sight. He then found her phone,
referenced the phone number that had last called her, and put the phone back in
her purse. Grabbing a soda for her, he took his beer and followed her into the
other room.

Telemarketer,
his ass. He knew she’d lied to him, he just wasn’t sure why, but he fully
intended to find out.

I
ARRIVED AT the office the next morning
to find flowers at my desk. Red roses. Not my favorite, but still, I wondered
who would have sent them. Carter wasn’t much of a flowers and romance kind of
guy… unless he was trying to butter up my mother, plus, he knew sunflowers were
my favorite, so he’d never send roses.

“Who are they
from?” Janie asked excitedly from my cube door.

I faced her and
shrugged, dropping my purse into my drawer. “I have no idea.”

“Well, what does
the card say?”

I smiled. “You
know something, don’t you?”

The pretty
brunette pressed her lips into a thin line. “I plead the fifth.”

I powered up my
computer and then opened the card. “Ohmigod, they’re from Tom.”

Janie gasped and
then gave a girlish giggle. “That’s so cool, Cass. He’s unbelievably hot.”

I groaned. “But
he knows I’m taken, Janie. It’s a little weird, don’t you think?”

“Lady, you’re
not married. You’re not even engaged, so live a little.” She leaned against the
desk. “Tom is super hot, super rich, and super interested in you. This guy
you’re dating isn’t even on the same playing field as him. Go for it.”

“You know
nothing about my boyfriend, Janie, I’d be careful about what you say next.”

She raised her
hands in surrender. “Not trying to start a fight, Cassidy. It’s just that Tom’s
a catch and you rarely talk about your boyfriend. I saw him when he came to
pick you up and he kind of looks rough, you know? Tom’s a total gentleman.”

“Okay, since I
don’t really want to get into a cat fight, Janie, I’m going to ask that we stop
this conversation. I purposely try to keep my private life private, but I will
say something and I need you to hear me. I love my boyfriend. More than you or
anyone could ever imagine. Not only is he good to me and my son, and loves us
both dearly, he served this country and continues to serve it, so in my eyes
he’s a hero. Maybe you and other people don’t see him on the same playing field
as a man like Tom Dale. Well, I’d agree with you there, because Carter is the
greatest human being I’ve ever known, and that includes the great Tom Dale.”

“I didn’t mean
to offend you,” Janie grumbled. “I’ll talk to you later.”

I didn’t respond
as she walked away from my desk. There was no reason to. Janie Styles was a
notorious gossip and could be vindictive as hell. I wasn’t interested in
getting further on her bad side.

I decided there
was only one thing to do. I had to return the flowers to Tom. I grabbed the
vase and headed to the elevator. Once at his floor, I squared my shoulders,
walked past the executive level receptionist desk, down the hall to his office.
I knocked on the door, entered when bid, and set the flowers on his desk.

“You got them,”
Tom said, rising to his feet with a smile.

“I did. They’re
beautiful, but I’m sorry, I can’t accept them.”

“They’re just
flowers, Cassidy,” he argued. “I know you had a rough day yesterday and I
wanted to cheer you up.”

Well, that was
seriously thoughtful.

“That’s very
kind of you, Tom, seriously, and I don’t want to look ungrateful—”

“Then take the
flowers back to your desk, Cassidy.”

“I can’t. I’m
sorry.”

“You can, love.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against his desk. “Tell people your boyfriend
sent them. It can be our little secret.”

“I don’t think
that would be a good idea.” I smiled. “I should get back to my desk. Have a
lovely day.”

“Have lunch with
me,” he said to my retreating back.

I faced him
again and shook my head. “I brought my lunch today, but thanks for the offer. I
really should get back to work.”

“No worries,” he
said, and I hightailed it back to my cubicle.

At just before
noon, I entered the main kitchen and opened the fridge. I couldn’t stop a
little swear as I shoved things around in the icebox. My lunch had disappeared.

“What’s wrong?”
Janie asked, and grabbed a Coke from the vending machine.

“My lunch has
suddenly walked away,” I complained.

“Ugh, people
suck. Mine got stolen last week. I’m thinking next time I bring something with
me, I’m going to put a powerful laxative in it.”

“That’s actually
a really good idea,” I said.

“Hello, ladies,”
Tom said, and walked into the room.

“Hi, Tom,” Janie
said. I just smiled.

“Did you finish
up with the board?” Janie asked.

“I did.” Tom
checked his watch. “Thought I’d grab lunch.”

Janie nodded.
“You might want to take Cassidy with you. Someone stole hers.”

“No, it’s okay,”
I rushed to say. “I’ve got stuff at my desk.”

Week-old Ritz
crackers and oatmeal, but beggars can’t be choosers.

“Who would steal
someone’s lunch?” Tom asked, disgusted.

“It happens all
the time around here,” Janie informed him.

I gaped at her.
She was just a
wealth
of information today.

“What do you
say, Cassidy?” Tom asked. “Can I take you to lunch? It’ll have to be quick
because I have a meeting in two hours.”

That was a quick
lunch? Good lord, to be an executive.

“No, really,
it’s okay,” I said.

“I insist.
You’ve got to eat, after all, and I’m starving.” He smiled. “We’ll just head to
the deli across the street.”

I
was
hungry and it was just lunch. Besides, since the deli was within walking
distance, it’s not like I was getting in a car with him, so it’s not like it
was a date or anything.

“Okay, sure.
That sounds great,” I said.

Gah! Why did I
feel like I was cheating?

“Shall we?” he
asked.

“I’ll just grab
my purse.”

“No, it’s on me.
We won’t be long.”

“You kids have
fun,” Janie said, and I followed Tom to the elevators.

* * *

Ace slid out from under the sixty-seven
Mustang he was working on and smiled at Maverick who was sitting relatively
quietly on a chair by one of the tool cabinets. His face was focused on Ace’s
iPad, probably because he’d loaded a bunch of games on there for him.

“Ace,” Booker
called, his voice echoing through the shop.

“Here, brother.”
Ace rose to his feet and wiped his hands on his rag… not that it helped much.
He probably should have worn gloves, but what he was doing was delicate and he
needed to feel his way with limited visibility.

“Got somethin’
on that number you sent me.”

“Mav, let’s go
hang inside for a bit,” Ace said, and waited for him to follow him.

Once Maverick
was settled safe within sight, but out of earshot, Ace took the pages that
Booker handed him. “The fucker called Cassidy on her cell phone?”

“Yeah. I did
more digging and Tom Dale has more than one cell. He has a company one and a
private one. He called her from his private one.” Booker pointed to page two.
“The guy left New York under suspicious circumstances, but nothing’s in writing
and no one’s talking. Mack’s got a P.I. looking into it in person. For someone
who’s made it so far up the chain so young, there’s no chatter about him. Not
one fuckin’ thing, and that doesn’t sit well with me. There’s nothing positive
or
negative about him.”

Carter skimmed
through the information. “Yeah, you’d think he’d have a hell of a lot more out
there than this. It reads like a scripted professional biography. Even his
social media seems vague.”

“Any clue on
what he wants with Cassidy?”

“He wants
her
,”
Ace said. “But she thinks he’s a nice guy with no ulterior motives.”

Booker sighed.
“And she’s not listenin’ to your warnings.”

“Nope. Fuck me,
this guy’s not right.”

“Got your back,
brother.”

“’Preciate it,
Book.”

Carter grabbed
Maverick and they headed back into the shop to work on the car some more. He
tried to put the pit in his gut aside, but the more he thought about the
asshole sniffin’ after Cassidy, the more concerned he became.

* * *

Lunch with Tom was surprisingly relaxed
and, dare I say, kind of fun. He was funny and sweet, and as Janie had said, a
gentleman. He paid for the meal, which I appreciated since I hadn’t budgeted
for a lunch out that week. I quite liked the man, although, maybe not the same
way he seemed to like me.

I was willing to
admit that Carter might have been right, but I was confident I could handle the
situation… and do it without Carter’s Neanderthal interference.

I saw Tom again
as I was leaving, but just a wave goodbye, then I was on my way home. I was
feeling pretty confident in myself as I walked into my apartment. Even if I
wasn’t interested in Tom, it was flattering to have such a successful and
good-looking man interested in
me
.

“Hey, babe,”
Carter called from the kitchen.

“Hi, honey.” I
dropped my purse on the sofa and made my way to him, raising up on tiptoes to
kiss him. “How was your day?”

“Good. Yours?”

I smiled. “Well,
other than someone stealing my lunch from the fridge, it was good.”

“Hi, Mom!”
Maverick said, as he wrapped his arms around my waist. “I helped Carter fix a
Mustang.”

“You did? That’s
awesome, buddy. What else did you guys do?”

“We ate lunch
with the brothers. They were so cool, Mom! But they kind of swear a lot.”

I wrinkled my
nose. “Well, that’s what some adults do, honey, but they’re allowed to because
they’re adults. As long as you don’t start copying them, it’s all good.”

“I won’t, Mom.”
He lowered his voice. “But just so you know, when I make Lily my old lady, I
might say ‘fuck.’”

“Maverick!”

“Sorry, Mom.”

I bit the inside
of my cheek to keep from laughing… or washing his mouth out with soap. I was
conflicted on which way to go, so I dropped my shaking head onto Carter’s arm.

“Go wash up,
Mav. Dinner’s almost ready,” Carter said.

He rushed off to
do what he was told and I dissolved into giggles while Carter wrapped an arm
around me. “What are you men teaching my child?”

Carter chuckled.
“You’d be surprised by how little they actually swear around him. They’re used
to watching their tongues with the other kids, but sometimes shit filters out.”

“I was wondering
more about the whole “old lady” thing. Good lord, are you creating a pint-sized
biker badass under my nose?”

He grinned and
took a swig of beer. “He’s gonna see it with us, so he’s gonna have to figure
out which way to go when he’s older.”

“Hmm-mm,” I
grumbled.

“Did you figure
out who stole your lunch?”

I shook my head.
“No. I ended up having lunch with…” My plans to filter had just gone horribly
wrong, so I grabbed a soda out of the fridge and opened it.

Carter crossed
his arms and leaned against the counter. “You ended up having lunch with…?”

I sighed. “You
can’t get mad.”

“Fuck me,” he
ground out. “You had lunch with that dipshit Tom guy?”

“It’s not like
it was planned. He was in the kitchen and Janie told him someone stole my
lunch. He was being nice!”

“He was probably
the one who fuckin’ stole it, Cassidy!”

I gasped. “He
wouldn’t.
”

“And you’re
fuckin’ naïve if you really believe that.”

“Don’t talk to me
like I’m an idiot, Carter.”

“Babe, I don’t
think you’re an idiot. Far from it. And I know why he’d do something like that.
If I were him, I’d probably do the same thing.”

“You’d steal my
lunch,” I countered.