The Playboy (22 page)

Rick generally wouldn’t put much stock in Lisa’s obviously biased, jealous assessment of Hannah’s situation as it pertained to himself and Kendall. After all, when he’d left Hannah, she’d bonded with two very nice girls and she’d been happy—which had been his goal in taking her to the car wash.

But considering he had taken off to be alone with Kendall, he felt guilty despite the fact that he’d believed Hannah was settled and cared for. And he was sure Kendall wouldn’t be any more pleased than he was.

Before dealing with their feelings though, they had to pick up Hannah. “Are you still at the elementary school?” he asked Lisa.

“Actually I brought her to Norman’s. She said she needed to meet you there.”

“Thank you, Lisa.” He swallowed his pride. “I didn’t mean to snap earlier. We’ll be right down to get her.” He hung up the phone and turned to Kendall.

“What’d she do?” She cringed as if afraid to ask. “Lisa didn’t say. But she’s downstairs waiting for us now. You can ask her yourself.”

“Why don’t you stay here and take your shower. I’ll talk to Hannah and you can meet us whenever you’re ready.” She paused. “Or not. Like I said, Hannah isn’t your problem.”

He shook his head. He didn’t think she was backing off, just trying to be fair to him, to give him an out—before he took one himself. “You go on and I’ll be down in ten minutes, dry and ready to help out, okay?”

She nodded. “If you’re sure.”

Her hesitant voice told him she wasn’t. That no matter how many times he told her he wasn’t going anywhere, she was waiting for him to do just that. Rick didn’t miss the irony.
He
wasn’t the one leaving. “Read my lips.” He grasped her face in his hand. “I’m sure.” He brushed a kiss over her lips. “Now go.”

She shot him a smile and ran out the door. The sound of her footsteps followed, growing fainter, farther away. Just like Kendall.

Like Jillian before her.

Rick paced the floor of his apartment in the town where he’d always lived. He tried to distinguish Kendall’s situation from Jillian’s, to put himself in Kendall’s place. Never having had two parents she could rely on. Moving from home to home, family to family, never having people she could call her own, including close friends. And then coming to a town where most people were what they seemed. Where friendship was offered with no strings and all the trappings of stability were dangled before her. Seemingly just out of reach—if only because she was afraid to reach for what she’d never had.

Hell, he’d had it all, grown up with a loving family, had married, then divorced, and
he
was afraid to reach out completely and be hurt again. How could he blame Kendall for her inability to do the same?

Kendall walked into Norman’s and immediately spotted Hannah sitting in a booth with Lisa Burton. Upon walking up to them, Kendall met her sister’s defiant gaze but instead of starting an argument in front of the other woman, Kendall decided to work on tact and diplomacy.

She glanced at Lisa first. “Thank you so much for bringing Hannah here.”

“It wasn’t like I had a choice, Ms. Sutton. She was unchaperoned and she’d already dumped a bucket of water over the principal.”

Kendall winced.

“I couldn’t leave her alone to cause more trouble and it wasn’t like
you
were anywhere to be found.”

Kendall narrowed her gaze. She’d only heard Rick’s side of the phone conversation, not Lisa’s, and she had no idea why his friend Jonesy had taken off. But Kendall assumed he had good reason and had made sure Hannah was cared for. Recalling Rick’s words the other day, she could only assume jealousy was causing Lisa’s behavior and Kendall refused to give the other woman the satisfaction of showing her emotions.

“Hey, don’t blame my sister, miss.” Hannah spoke up before Kendall could formulate a neutral reply.

Kendall blinked in shock. Hannah had actually stuck up for her. Even her sister’s rudeness couldn’t prevent the accompanying tug of pride and caring rushing through Kendall as a result. And though Hannah’s smart mouth as well as the water-dumping incident called for a scolding, Kendall didn’t want to destroy any small inroad in their burgeoning relationship by reprimanding her in front of a teacher, especially Lisa Burton.

“Hannah,” Kendall began tentatively, but her sister ignored her, still glaring at Lisa through eyes lined with dark makeup but smudged from a long day in the sun.

“I heard you tell Officer Rick you’d love to do him
any
favor he might need,” Hannah said to Lisa.

Kendall didn’t miss Hannah’s emphasis on the word
any
or the implication the word implied. Nor did Hannah if the
ick
expression on her face was any indication.

“Eavesdropping’s impolite,” Lisa said in a haughty teacherlike tone.

“Then why’d I see you doing it all day? Everywhere Rick was, you were. Everyone he talked to, you listened in on. What’s up with that?” Hannah folded her arms across her chest, waiting for an answer.

A bright flush stained Lisa’s cheeks. “It’s obvious she needs adult supervision,” Lisa said despite her embarrassment.

Kendall didn’t know who was worse, Lisa or Hannah, but she had to put a stop to this now before it degenerated. And Lisa called herself a teacher? The example she set was pathetic.

“Well, like I said, thank you for bringing Hannah home.” Kendall smiled at Lisa through gritted teeth, then turned to her sister. “Hannah, Izzy’s holding a table for us in the back. Let’s go.”

To Kendall’s surprise, her sister slid out of the booth without argument and stood beside her.

“Rick’s taken,” Hannah hissed at Lisa, then stormed off toward the back of Norman’s.

Kendall shook her head. Apparently more than one Sutton girl had a thing for Rick Chandler.

“The child’s rude,” Lisa said.

Kendall shrugged. “That may be, but she’s also right.” Catty or not, she couldn’t help but let Lisa know where things stood. Coming from an intimate rendezvous with the man, Kendall’s possessiveness regarding Rick was at an all-time high. So was her protective streak, and after hearing of Rick’s past from Charlotte, Kendall felt certain a woman like Lisa was the last thing Rick needed.

“You’re both rude and I’m certain the Chandlers will see it soon enough.” Lisa grabbed for her purse and started for the door.

“Thanks again for bringing my sister home,” Kendall called out to Lisa’s retreating back. She smiled and waved for the audience of patrons at Norman’s.

Kendall met up with Hannah at a small table in the back and sat down, folding her hands in front of her. Where to begin, she wondered.

“Don’t read anything into me sticking up for you. I just don’t like that woman hanging all over Rick.” As usual Hannah beat her to the punch.

Kendall decided to ignore her sister’s protestation. Hannah
had
stuck up for her and Kendall planned to take advantage. “I don’t like it either but Rick’s a grown man and an expert at fending off women. He doesn’t need either one of us doing it for him.” Seeing an opportunity to bond with her sister, Kendall leaned forward in her seat. “But it was fun putting Lisa in her place, wasn’t it?”

Hannah nodded warily, a slight smile working its way onto her face. “He needs us to look out for him.”

“But I’m sure he’d appreciate it if you took a more, shall we say, subtle approach.”

“Maybe I’ll think about it.”

Kendall figured it was as much of a concession as she was likely to get.

“Where’s Rick?” Hannah asked.

Obviously her sister had a thing for the middle Chandler, something Kendall could well understand. “Showering I think. He’ll be down in a few minutes. Hannah, about the principal . . . ”

“I swear it was an accident.” Hannah held up her hands in her own defense. “I was getting one guy back for squirting my shirt and he was quick enough to duck first. It’s not my fault Dr. Nowicki is short enough to be a target.”

At Hannah’s age, it seemed nothing was ever her fault.

“Well, look who’s here!”

Kendall turned to see Raina and the town doctor walk up to their table, saving Hannah from a be-more-careful-next-time lecture. “Hi, Raina, Dr. Fallon.”

“Eric,” he said. “No formality here.”

Kendall smiled. “Eric. I’d like to introduce you to my sister Hannah,” Kendall said, along with a silent prayer for Hannah’s polite behavior. “Hannah, this is Rick’s mother and Dr. Eric Fallon.” She added the Rick connection for extra luck in gaining her sister’s goodwill.

“Nice to meet you.” Hannah graced the older couple with a genuine smile.

Raina walked over and shook Hannah’s hand. “Same here. You’re a beauty, young lady.”

To Kendall’s surprise, Hannah blushed.

“I need to talk to you, Kendall, and since your sister is here, I can use her help too.” Raina glanced at Eric. “Give me five minutes would you?”

“Anything for you. But you need to sit down and rest.”

Raina shot him a glare, narrowing her gaze. She obviously disliked being told what to do.

“Your heart,” Eric reminded her, tapping his chest. The older woman flushed and nodded, but Kendall focused on Eric. Was it her imagination or was there a sarcastic bent to his voice? She shook her head. Not possible. “Raina, Eric, please join us.” Kendall gestured to empty chairs.

After the older couple seated themselves, Raina launched right into her request. “I’ve planned a surprise party for Rick’s birthday. Or should I say I’m delegating plans for a surprise party, since my daily activities are limited.”

“It’s Rick’s birthday?” Kendall asked. “When?” He’d never mentioned a thing. And she wondered why she was insulted he’d kept something so basic from her.

“Well, duh,” Hannah chimed in. “Tomorrow. That Lisa woman—”

“Ms. Burton,” Kendall corrected.

“That Ms. Burton woman said she had the
p-u-u-rfect
gift in mind.” Hannah shuddered in complete and utter revulsion.

Kendall sighed. Some women never gave up.

“Can you imagine what she wants to do to him?” Hannah asked, horrified. “Kendall, you have to keep her away from Rick.”

“Oh, I do so enjoy young people.” Raina laughed. “Hannah’s right. We need to keep Lisa away. I realize I might have encouraged her—before you came to town, you understand,” she said to Kendall. “But I never knew she was so persistent. In my day, once a woman had been turned down, she had more pride than to keep at it.”

“I thought men asked women out in the olden days,” Hannah chimed in.

“Oh, Lord. Hannah—”

Eric’s booming laugh cut off anything Kendall might have added. “You’re right, young lady. In the olden days, most women were more demure and passive and let a man do the bidding. But then as now,
some
women were more brazen and had a mind of their own.” His smile grew wider as his gaze drifted to Raina, the caring and affection between them obvious.

An unfamiliar knot twisted tight in Kendall’s chest. “So Mrs. Chandler’s got her own mind?” Hannah perched her chin in her hand and focused on Eric.

“I think we should get back to Rick’s birthday discussion before he shows up,” Kendall said. Before Hannah got completely irreverent.

“Good idea. But don’t worry.” Raina leaned closer to Hannah. “You and I can finish this discussion another time.” She patted Hannah’s hand. And Hannah didn’t pull away.

Would wonders never cease, Kendall thought. The key to her sister’s heart seemed to revolve around the Chandlers.

“At any rate, I’m going to ask Rick to bring the two of you to dinner tomorrow night. Izzy and Norman said they’d do the catering and cleaning, so that’s set. I don’t have to lift a finger. You two will bring the guest of honor and I’ve already made phone calls, the only thing I can do to arrange Rick’s various surprises.”

“What surprises?” Kendall and Hannah asked at the same time.

“I want to do a version of
This Is Your Life.
Let Rick’s childhood memories come to him.” She clapped her hands. “It’s going to be such fun.”

“What’s going to be such fun?” Rick arrived and in typical cop fashion didn’t miss the conversation or the opportunity to interrogate.

“Well, your birthday dinner, of course.” Raina didn’t miss a beat.

“Your mother invited me and Kendall to dinner tomorrow. Isn’t that cool?” Hannah asked Rick.

From the flicker of aggravation and something more in his eyes, Kendall had the sense “cool” was the last thing Rick thought this birthday celebration would be. And poor man, he thought it would just be family. Wait until he realized what his mother had in store.

Recovering quickly, he walked over to Hannah’s chair. “It’s Da Bomb,” he said and ruffled her still purple hair with his hand.

Kendall wondered what she’d have to do to get her sister to rinse out the dye and go au naturel again. But when Hannah giggled over Rick’s attempt at teenage slang, Kendall realized there was something more important in life than how her sister chose to look. And that was how she felt inside. When Rick was around, Hannah’s laughter was easy and carefree, like the happy kid she ought to be. Kendall’s heart felt like it blossomed inside her chest.

“You’re such a Poindexter.” Hannah rolled her eyes as she poked fun at Rick, bringing Kendall’s concentration back to the conversation at hand.

Raina and Eric looked at Rick expectantly, obviously waiting for a translation.

“A nerd,” he explained. “Working with teenagers has expanded my vocabulary.” He grinned.

Hannah laughed again and over her head Rick caught and held Kendall’s gaze. Warmth translated between them along with an electric reminder of just how intimate they’d been before the telephone rang in his apartment earlier.

Now his hair was damp from his recent shower and he hadn’t shaved, the razor stubble she’d felt against her cheek earlier adding a sensual edge to her reaction to his ruggedly sexy appearance.
Later.
He seemed to transmit the thought with his darkened eyes. And oh how she wanted to be with him, Kendall thought.

But with a birthday bash to get him to and her sister who adored him, Kendall wondered how they’d find the time to pick up where they left off.

The morning after Raina informed them of Rick’s last-minute party, Kendall paced the floor of her attic workspace while Hannah cracked her gum and shot down every suggestion Kendall made for Rick’s birthday gift. They needed to create something by late this afternoon before they picked up Rick for what he thought was a family dinner at his mother’s.