Second Thoughts (20 page)

She and Moose stood at the same time, and she walked toward the back door. The corner of her eye caught the look of relief that crossed Darlene’s face when Derek and Moose fell in step together to follow Connie. She suspected Darlene hadn’t noticed anything besides Derek’s gender and his apparent connection to Connie.

Outside, she sat on the bench, but the two men remained standing.

“I didn’t break my promise,” she told her ex-husband. “I haven’t done anything. Once I decided what it was I was going to do, I would’ve called you before I did it.”

Moose waited politely for her to finish. Then he told Derek, “She called Hayworth last night and found out he doesn’t have a security system—don’t ask me how she got that information—then she called again this morning and discovered he’s away on business. And now she wants to know how to break into a safe. Frankly, Uncle Dare…” He paused to breathe. “She scares the hell out of me.”

Derek stared at the water fountain. “I know the feeling.”

Connie crossed her legs and clasped her hands on the uppermost knee. “This is from a man who committed armed robbery three times? But you draw the line at burgling an empty house?”

“Could your brother put her in protective custody or something?”

“Or something,” Derek mumbled.

“Would you guys sit down? You’re giving me a crick in my neck.”

“Just for a little while,” Moose suggested. “Until she comes to her senses. Could be she’s not thinking clearly. She seems…well, unhinged.” Moose hesitated, doubt crossing his face. “Unless she’s always like this?”

Connie could only see Derek’s profile, but she caught his lips curving.

“I’m right here,” she reminded them a little testily. “Talk to me. Not over me.”

“You know her better than anyone else does,” Moose continued, ignoring her. “What should we do?”

Her gaze traveled from one man to the other. This was turning into an extremely unproductive morning. “You could always invest in a piece of rope. Or maybe a set of handcuffs.”

For the first time, Derek gave her a direct look. “That’s the best suggestion I’ve heard so far.”

“Yeah? You give it your best shot, O’Reilly.” She jumped to her feet. She was through with diplomacy and coalition-building. Her gaze nailed both of them, and she hoped the spark of fire that fanned her temper showed in her eyes. “You two comedians can go help each other. I don’t need you, or your permission.
I
will decide what
I
want to do, and then
I
will do it.”

Her attention centered on Derek. “The deal’s off. I might go home, and I might not. And I don’t advise you to hold your breath waiting for that courtesy call.”

She stomped away, relieved and surprised when neither man followed. She was angry because she hadn’t been taken seriously, frustrated because she didn’t know what she was going to do, and terrified because she knew exactly what it was she wanted to do.

Connie spent the rest of the morning in the stores. In light of the mood she was in, shopping could be considered therapy, but she had specific items in mind. She bought jeans, a cotton t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers, all in black.

When she returned to her hotel, she found Derek in the lobby.

“It’s about time,” he said. “I’ve been getting strange looks from the desk clerk but he hasn’t asked for my autograph. So I figured it was a tossup who’d show up first—you or hotel security.”

She said nothing, barely pausing, but was aware that he followed her into the hall. If hotel security saw fit to stop him, she wouldn’t come to his defense. But when she unlocked her door, he was still behind her. She left the door open and dropped her bags on the bed.

The maid had closed the drapes, so Connie opened them. Her room overlooked the pool, and she watched two school-aged kids splashing in the water, probably brother and sister. She turned.

Derek had taken the only armchair. Looking comfortable with one ankle resting across the other knee, he gave her a disarming smile. “Something tells me you’re mad at me.”

While she’d been shopping, it’d occurred to her that he and Moose had merely proved themselves wiser than she. Because it didn’t seem fair to punish Derek for just being sensible, she relaxed her stance. She didn’t exactly return his smile, but he must’ve caught her shift in mood.

“That’s better,” he said. “You’re prettier that way.”

She pulled the bench out from beneath the vanity and sat on it. “Don’t push your luck.”

He indicated the bags on the bed. “You’ve been busy.”

She looked at the various bags but didn’t comment.

“Have you had lunch yet?”
he asked.

As if cued, her stomach growled.

He grinned. “Guess not. You still like spinach salad?”

“Umm.”

“Good. I checked out the dining room’s menu—there wasn’t a whole lot to do while I was waiting for you—and that’s the luncheon special. Shall we?”

“We shall. But give me a minute.” She disappeared into the bathroom. When she reappeared, Derek was at the window, looking at the pool. She grabbed her purse. Using the vanity’s mirror, she flicked a comb through her hair and freshened her lip gloss.

Realizing she no longer heard the kids, she glanced out the window at two bikini-clad women basking in the sun. She looked at Derek and grinned. He shrugged, giving her a half-smile.

She ordered the salad without looking at the menu, and Derek ordered a club sandwich. Though he liked to cook extravagantly, he ordered plain food when eating out. As simple as it was, the waitress took extra time with their order. When she called Derek by name, Connie understood why. Fortunately she was neither gushy nor star-struck, however, although Connie detected envy in the look the waitress gave her before leaving. So it wasn’t just his celebrity status that had caught the woman’s attention.

She buttered a piece of French bread. “Once you make prime time, it’s going to be even harder for you to wander around in public.”

“Once I make prime time? Do you know something I don’t?”

“You’ll make it. You must know that.”

Turning somber, his gaze lowered, then again rose to meet hers. “Yes, I’ve got a shot at it, a good shot.” She saw more vulnerability in him than she’d ever seen before. “It’s scary, Connie. Sometimes, in soul-searching moments, I wonder which I fear the most—making it big, or not making it. There’s adjustment either way.”

She saw the man she’d fallen in love with and married, not the man she’d divorced, and her heart did a flip-flop. Fortunately, their food arrived, transporting her back to the present. Today’s salad had yesterday’s beat by a mile, and she dug in. Derek seemed satisfied with his sandwich but ate only half of it. He pushed the plate away and sipped from his water glass.

“Can we talk about you for a minute?” he asked.

She looked up, surprised. “What about me?”

“Were you planning on going out to Hayworth’s house tonight or tomorrow night?”

With her gaze riveted on him, she slowly put her fork down.

He went on in the same mild tone. “When you were in the bathroom, I checked your purchases. They told a story, one I was hoping to avoid. Brand new black outfit. Black’s a good color on you, but not that much of it. I repeat, when are you going out there?”

“You had no right to do that.”

“I know I didn’t. When are you going out there?”

Her response was a long time in coming, and it was honest. “I don’t know.”

“In that case, how about tomorrow night, or even Thursday? And I’m going with you. The extra day will give us a chance to work on Moose. Once he realizes you’re not going to back down, he may join us as well.”

“This is a drastic change from your attitude this morning.” Her posture was so stiff, she was becoming uncomfortable.

He nodded easily. “Uh-huh. But I know you mean it, and I know I can’t stop you. And neither can I let you go by yourself.”

When she didn’t respond, his gaze dropped to the sandwich remnants on his plate. “You scare me, and you worry me. The whole situation does. Until you brought my attention to those women at the pool, I didn’t even know they were there. That’s how worried I was about your new black outfit. And they were, uh…”

“Well-endowed?” She managed a smile. “Not bad to look at?”

He grinned. “All of the above. And I wouldn’t describe them as being overdressed.”

Sobering, she looked down at her plate, and he signaled for the check. The waitress must’ve had her eye on him because it came quickly. Connie watched him put bills down to cover it, then his gaze rose to meet hers.

“What are you thinking?” he asked sharply, and she realized her doubt and suspicion showed.

Watching him carefully, she told him the truth. “I don’t know if I can trust you. I’m afraid you’re going to try to stop me.”

“I can’t, Connie. Other than talking you out of it, there’s not a damned thing I can do. And so far I haven’t had a lick of success talking you out of it.”

She continued to study him, and he candidly returned her gaze. Though she couldn’t read him as well as he could read her, neither was he a closed book. When she found no signs of unstated motives, she sat back with a decisive nod. “Okay. Tomorrow it is. Thursday might be too late. He could come home early, and we’d really be in trouble. And I suggest you talk to Moose. If I show up again, he’s liable to call bank security.”

“He probably would.” When he chuckled, it seemed a weight lifted from him. “I doubt he’s looking forward to seeing me either,” he said wryly. “But I’ll let you know tonight how it went. Join me for dinner?”

“Uh-uh. If we have dinner together, we’ll more than likely spend the night together, and I’m not ready for that yet.”

“Well, at least you said ‘yet,’” he muttered. Then his eyes turned quizzical. He squinted at her. “Did I hear you right? You’re ready for burglary, but not—”

“Never mind.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She returned to her room, alone, frowning, and pondering her use of the word
yet
.

* * *

Burglarizing plans were made by phone, with Derek initiating the calls. Connie didn’t know how to prevaricate, and if she got Kristy or Kevin on the phone, she feared she’d spill the whole conspiracy.

After much discussion, their agenda remained amazingly simple. They would play it by ear. Master burglars, they weren’t.

Moose agreed to help. Derek didn’t say, and she didn’t ask, how he’d managed to talk the big man into it. They’d be eating dinner at Moose’s house Wednesday night. Derek was cooking lasagna, and then they’d proceed from there. It might’ve been the lasagna that had tipped the scales in their favor.

Her phone rang again as she was walking out the door of her room. She’d got more phone calls in two days at the hotel than she got in a whole week at home. She pushed the door shut and answered the phone.

“Good,” said Derek’s voice. “I was hoping I’d catch you. Moose’s casserole is cracked, and I don’t want to use it. Stop in that shopping center and buy one. In fact, buy two. You know the size I want.”

She grinned. Her light mood was surprising, considering her unusual plans for the evening. “Are you serious? No self-respecting burglar would go shopping for a casserole on her way to cracking open a safe.”

“Uh-huh. If you want to eat, you bring the dish.”

“He won’t settle for extra crispy chicken?”

“Even if he would, I won’t. Remember the directions? It’s east of you, which means you turn right when you leave the hotel parking lot. The shopping center is also east, and it’s on your way.”

She nodded. “Yes, Derek. Thank you, Derek. I know where the shopping center is.”

“Then, of course, turn right again when you leave the shopping center. Which means you have to use the same entrance slash exit that you used to turn in there.”

“You’re pushing it, Derek.”

The housewares section wasn’t crowded. Her purchase took two minutes. At the store’s exit, she paused, then turned back around and found the hardware department, where she searched for flashlights and latex gloves. Directing several furtive glances around her, hoping no one was watching and wondering why she was interested in such things, she tested and then selected three slender flashlights that would fit nicely inside one’s pocket, yet had good illumination.

On her second trip out of the store, a man who was entering held the door open for her. She looked up and stopped dead.

“Well, hi, Connie,” Kevin said. “We hadn’t expected you back so soon.”

“Uhh.”

“All in black? You look like you’re trying out for a motorcycle club.”

“Uhh.”

“Is Kristy expecting you?”

She shook her head. Didn’t the man ever shop anywhere else? She realized how guilty and stupid she must seem, but for the life of her, she couldn’t think of a thing to say.

They were blocking foot traffic, so he guided her away from the doors. When she risked another glance at him, he didn’t seem puzzled or suspicious at her stupor. Instead, he was watching her with a knowing, smug smile.