We're One (3 page)

Wow, her reaction seemed over the top. Her defensiveness stirred a latent feeling of chivalry, and he couldn’t help but wonder who in her life had instilled such reactions, and how he could settle a score with them on her behalf. Just the thought of anyone hurting this beguiling, sensitive creature made his blood boil. Time to change the subject. Bring a smile back on her haunted face.

“I’m scared to ask, but are there any other creatures I should know about, maybe a snake under the bed or a lizard in the closet?”

Her mouth scrunched up as she looked at him and saw his saucy grin. Her hands fell to her hips and her head tilted to the side. “Now you’re just being silly.” The twinkle he saw deep in her pearl grey beauties convinced him he’d succeeded in his quest. Happiness suited her.

He’d never before met such an interesting character all wrapped up in one dazzling package. An obvious soft touch for animals, true, but he’d seen her in action with her bat, and there was no holding her back. She had backbone, and bullies didn’t stand a chance against that tough streak buried in her mushy heart.

Thanks to his position at the casino, beautiful women were a dime a dozen. Everywhere he looked, there they were, willing and available. It wasn’t that he lived like a saint, but after seeing the special love between his brother and Carrie, he knew he’d never settle for anything less than the kind of relationship they unwittingly flaunted.

“Beauty is as beauty does” was an old saying he liked to repeat each time his attention stalled and settled for any length of time on any one girl. He’d pay close attention and, sure enough, disappointment followed as each proved by her behaviour that she was all glitter and glamour on the outside with no real substance on the inside.

Mirrors don’t lie, and his portrayed dark good looks every morning. His position as part owner of the Parks Casino evidently added to his attractiveness, so there were many opportunities for romance. Dedicating most of his talent to being a pleasant, happy kind of fellow certainly played a part in his popularity, also. Relying on intelligence to override his softhearted tendencies had saved him from settling for anything less than perfection.

“Sit still, Ash! Quit being such a baby. Mercurochrome doesn’t sting all that much.”

“You try putting it on an open wound and see if you still believe that nonsense. Ow! You’ve already doused that cut. You’re enjoying torturing me with this nasty treatment, aren’t ya?”

He turned around and caught her gleeful smile. She’d tried wiping it off, but it was too late.

“You wicked woman! You’re having fun.”

She couldn’t help it. Tiny giggles erupted into huge chuckles. His disgruntled face, decorated with red marks, was too funny. She’d even drawn a small heart over one particular gash. Eyeballing her artwork made her crack up again.

Most likely, the stress created by the earlier pandemonium played a part in her unusual playfulness, but whatever the cause, she hadn’t laughed so hard for such a long time, and it felt wonderful.

“Humph! Go ahead and laugh. I like to see a girl enjoying herself. I’ll be glad to sit here, bleeding to death, while you have your fun. Don’t worry about me.” He interlocked his fingers and placed them around his crossed, swinging knee. The teasing note in his voice wasn’t lost on her.

“Pooh! You’re just a big sucky. And I’ve finished. Your injuries are all cleaned and disinfected.” She replaced the lid with the saturated red ball attached.

“What a good sport he is” stuck in her mind and wouldn’t be lifted. Not once tonight, through everything that happened, did the man sitting so nonchalantly in front of her lose his cool. No anger, no fists—smart mouth, smart talk, and shrewdness appeared to be his way of handling a situation where most other men would have exploded into violence. She felt safe with him.

Where did this intuitive trust come from? It unsettled her. How did this man slip inside her protective walls so quickly that she felt as if she’d known him forever—liked him forever?

It resembled, in a way, her affinity for the little creatures that always seemed to find and recognize her and come to her for care and love. In the same way she couldn’t disregard a sick animal who’d burrowed its way into her heart, neither could she ignore him. It was that complicatedly simple. What did she do now?

He had to go.

Amazing how a person could shut down when cornered and frightened. Her manner and voice changed from warm amusement to stern, cool implacability.

“It’s very late. Joey and his pals will be gone by now. I’m safe here in my apartment. I’d bet my bottom dollar they didn’t recognize me; therefore, I’m not at all worried. I think you’d better go.”

He shot to his feet and walked over to where she stood. “Not before we come to some agreement for payback. I’d like to take you out for dinner—at the very least.”

His wink created a strange reaction in her pulse speed, and those blue eyes? Heck! They ought to require a license as lethal weapons. She shook her head decisively. “Uh-uh!”

Ignoring her, he lifted her hand and playfully kissed the tips of her fingers. “My lady warrior, I must show my appreciation for your most gallant defence in my moment of need.”

She whipped her hand away from his soft lips and held it behind her. Looking everywhere but into his eyes, she stepped back, putting space between herself and his magnetic exuberance. The intensity of his gaze burnt into her, luring, enticing, but she held back from returning his stare. Realizing she’d be lost if she let him capture her with his devilish glint, she remained strong.

Long, drawn-out seconds passed.

“Well?” He demanded a reply. “Will you let me show my gratitude?”

“I’m sorry, but tonight’s the first night I’ve had off in a long while, and I suspect I’ll be working pretty well nonstop for the foreseeable future. I work evenings until quite late, and by the time I get off, I’ve had it. All I want is peace and quiet, and my bed. Besides, I don’t expect payment for helping someone in distress; it’s what people do—or at least should do.”

“Like your needy, pitiful animals, I’m just another unwanted obligation. Is that it?” She heard the plaintive note in his voice, like a child needing reassurance that he mattered. She couldn’t and wouldn’t go there. Not with him, not with any man. She toughened her heart and gave him the answer she decided would send him on his way.

“Yes.”

This time, her hardened attitude in place, she stared him down. Then she turned to walk toward the door and opened it, waiting.

He sauntered toward her slowly, tempting her to change her mind.

She didn’t.

He forced his card into her hand. “Take this, and if you ever need me, all you have to do is call.” He stepped into the hallway and stopped, his back toward her. “Lock the damn door.” His mutter came across clear and sulky. Then he left.

After closing and locking it, she slid down the door’s support and wrapped her arms around her bent knees. What a night!

Earlier, determined to ignore the commotion outside her window, she’d tried shutting it out. But she’d recognized Joey and Arnie from the casino as two of the three ruffians and sensed they could be vicious when provoked. Within seconds, she was in her bedroom throwing clothes around in an effort to come up with a costume in which she wouldn’t be recognized.

Thankfully, she still had her baseball cap and her favourite old soft flannel shirt of her father’s, which she’d used as a nightgown during the times the cold settled over the Montana plains back home. And she’d had her bat! Saved her before, and it sure came in handy tonight. No telling when a girl would need a bat to help get her point across.

Her mind wandered back to the time she’d last used her reliable weapon. Slaving away to look after three brothers and a father, all as useless as water to a plastic plant, she’d done everything—the housework, the garden, the cooking—the works. No thanks, no help, and no way she’d continue when the time came to move on. Her lazy family, crafty enough to know when they had it good, tried to physically detain her and her small suitcase, but they were helpless against “the wooden equalizer.”

The neighbouring boys, who’d hung around with her brothers drinking and carousing, had no small part to play in her choice to leave. The Neanderthal bullies hunkered after her like drunks to a free bar, but their assumption that she’d be willing to scratch their horny itches incensed her, and her trusty bat convinced them that she was seriously offended. After a few well-connected swings, the stubborn jackasses allowed that she’d gotten her point across.

Sticks and stones became her riposte, as they tried calling her vile names to batter away at her determination. The experience left her hardened against the whole male species. After all the years of sweating in her large garden to have enough food put up for the winter, cleaning up after insensitive louts who had worse manner than the farm animals, and living in near-isolation with only one older English woman as a friend, Crystal had had it; she was done, finished. Fed up with enough male chauvinism to last her a lifetime, she left, vowing that never again would any man have control over her.

Ever!

“Ash, lemme come up. I need to talk to you. It’s jush me, I promise.”

Joey’s drunken voice over the in-house phone pleaded, and Ash didn’t have the heart to refuse. After all, he had a score to settle with his little scumbag friend, and he wasn’t averse to looking after it now. Ever since last night, when Crystal had forced him from her apartment, his normally happy mood had been flipping between morose to unpredictably edgy. Using Joey as a punching bag might help release some of those gripping frustrations.

The woman had gotten under his skin. One moment she portrayed a lighthearted buddy, the next a coldhearted bitch. He didn’t get her, and putting her out of his mind wasn’t an option, either. She stuck like a fly to flypaper.

The loud thump on his office door heralded Joey’s arrival. With one hand Ash twisted the knob and yanked open the door. With the other, he reached out, snatched Joey’s shirtfront and, cantankerous as hell, pulled him into the room.

“Whoa there, bosh. Hold your horshes. I come in peash. In fact I have information, whish might interest you. It’s my way of saying—no bad feelings.”

Ashley let go of the drunken idiot. Looking down his nose into the widened, glassy-eyed stare of the smaller guy, he watched Joey’s hands go up in the don’t-hit-me position. Like a dog turning to show his belly, Joey portrayed no threat whatsoever. No threat, and no fun to kick the stuffing out of, in his stumbling condition. Ash quickly lost his motivation. It would be way too easy.

“You’re pie-eyed,” Ash said, disgust apparent in his voice.

“Yeah, well, I knew I had to come here and talk to you, so I drank some liquid courage. Look, pal, I’m sorry you forshed me to get rough with you, man, but you have to understand where I’m coming from.” Joey took a big breath to clear his head.

The stench of whiskey almost knocked Ash to his knees.

Joey rambled on. “My job is all I care about, and you keep stealing the best chicks from our joint. Keep it up, an’ big Dave’ll fire me, an’ I’ll be with the poor chumps in the breadline. But, I didn’t come to rehash that problem; I come to tell you Arnie is on the warpath. Your little friend really did a number on him last night; now he’s stinkin’ mad an’ out for blood. Swears he’s gonna kill the bat-swinging piece of shit. He’ll do it, too.”

“What are you talking about? The bat hit him in the back of the legs. I saw it. It was no big deal.” The steeliness in Ash’s voice indicated an intense interest in the subject matter.

“I guess you didn’t see where he fell. Right over a garbage can, and his face schmucked the side of the brick building. He’s a mess and madder than hell. Says he won’t rest until he finds out who done it. Figures someone in the apartment buildings around the alley might have seen something. He’s gonna check it out, and he’ll get people to talk, trust me. His persuasion techniques are brutal.”

The bigger man’s next move surprised them both. He had Joey by the throat, feet waving inches off the ground while Ash’s eyes glared fury. A quick shake engaged Joey’s full attention, and Ash’s words, gritted out between clenched teeth, kept that attention riveted to his face.

“If he so much as touches one hair on my friend’s head, I won’t only kill him, I’ll be coming after you, too. Do you understand this concept?” Another small shake for reinforcement. “You will keep me advised of whatever he plans, anytime, anywhere. Do you get it?” The last words were yelled. A few extra shakes to the hanging man added emphasis. “My little friend saved my bacon, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let anything bad happen because of it. You stick to that prick like glue, and you keep in touch with me every few hours, so I know what’s up. Got it?”

The purple face bobbed up and down until Ashley loosened his hold and threw the smaller man against the wall.

Choking and coughing kept Joey busy for a few moments, but not too busy to stumble around and put the desk between him and the furious man.

“Hey! Ash, buddy! I come out of the goodness of my heart to give you the heads up, and you freakin’ brutalize me. What’s up with that?” Joey sobered up quickly when he had to.

Ash moved so swiftly, Joey hadn’t a chance. As the big hands reached for him again, Joey twisted into a small ball and covered his neck. “Okay! Okay! I get it. I’ll tell you anything I find out. Don’t flip out on me again. I came here, didn’t I? I ratted out Arnie and I’ve agreed to be your snitch. Cool it! I feel kinda responsible for all this trouble, ya know.”