He gathered her into his arms and kissed her. “Dani, the man left you and then you found out he was cheating on you. You owe him nothing. I think he was damn lucky to have you and an idiot to leave you. I’m glad you enjoyed being with me. I’m glad it was easy. You’ve earned that.”
The combination of his strong arms and supportive words made her heart flutter. How had she gotten so lucky so soon after her divorce and how did she make sure this never, ever ended?
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome.” He kissed her. “Okay, you either have to get out of bed right this second or brace yourself to be taken again.”
She laughed. “As much as I want to be ravished, I have to get to the restaurant.” She touched his cheek. “See you at four?”
“I’ll be there.”
She dressed quickly, then retouched her makeup. Twenty minutes later she entered the restaurant to find them clearing away brunch.
Edouard met her with a growl. “It is ridiculous,” he told her by way of greeting. “Do you know who I am? I am a famous, incredibly talented chef. I am gifted. You had me spend the morning supervising cooks making omelets and Belgian waffles. I am insulted.”
“Sounds like trouble in your personal life to me,” Dani said, unfazed by his complaints.
“My personal life is fine. It is excellent. It is much better than yours.”
She wanted to tell him he was wrong. That Ryan did things to her body that might not be legal in some states and that until doing the wild things with him, she hadn’t known she was a screamer. But sharing that kind of personal information would make her vulnerable and right now she needed to keep control of the kitchen.
“If you’re so happy, then handling brunch should be easy,” she said. “It’s only one Sunday a month. You know we rotate the assignment.”
“It is torture and I hate you for making me do it.”
She smiled. “Good to know.”
He narrowed his gaze, then walked away. She wanted to call him back and give him a big hug. Or break into song. The sun was shining, the sky an amazing shade of blue and her life was perfect in nearly every way.
She walked to the front of the restaurant and saw there were only a few customers lingering over coffee. The buffet stations had been broken down and stored until they would be needed next week. She was about to return to her office, when she saw a young woman carrying a little boy walk into the restaurant.
The hostess was long gone and most of the servers were in the back. Dani didn’t see anyone else who could help her, so she walked to her and smiled.
“Hi, we’ve stopped serving brunch. Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I’m not here to eat. Is Ryan around?”
Ryan? Dani looked from the woman to the toddler, then back. “Ah, no. He’s not due in until four.”
“Huh. I just called his apartment and he didn’t answer. Still, it’s a beautiful day so I’m sure he’s out somewhere. I wonder if I should try to find the apartment or wait here.”
Dani didn’t know what to think. She almost said that Ryan had probably been in the shower and the woman should try again, but she didn’t. Her body felt as stiff as wood and she wondered if she would be able to speak.
Fortunately it wasn’t an issue. The other woman kept chattering away. “I know I’m just dropping in. It’s a surprise. I told him I’d be staying with my mother another week, but she was making us both crazy. It’s the grandma thing. Nothing I did was right, which is always the case, but I’m not usually living with her. I would have come up sooner, but I had to finish my orals.” She smiled shyly. “I’m getting my Ph.D. in nutrition with an emphasis on eating disorders.”
She stopped and shook her head. “My God, listen to me talking and talking. It’s just for the past three days it’s been me and Alex here. I’m so excited to see another adult.”
The toddler stuck his fingers in his mouth.
The woman was tall and thin. Pretty in a sensible sort of way. Dani’s gaze dropped to her left hand and the diamond band on her ring finger.
The cold inside started to hurt. She told herself it wasn’t possible, but she couldn’t make herself believe it.
“I’m Dani Buchanan,” she said. “I work here with Ryan. He didn’t mention any visitors.”
“Like I said, I’m a surprise. Alex and I weren’t due here for a few more days.” She held out her free hand. “I’m Jen, Ryan’s wife.”
WALKER PARKED in front of Cal’s house, then hurried inside. Reid’s car wasn’t there, meaning Cal hadn’t been able to get a hold of him. Which was fine—Walker was ready to take care of this himself.
Anger burned hot and bright inside of him. With Hugh, beating the crap out of the guy hadn’t been possible, but shit-bastard Ryan wasn’t in a wheelchair…yet.
He walked in without knocking and saw Dani on the sofa, curled up and leaning against Penny’s shoulder. His sister looked up when he entered.
Her face was wet and flushed, her eyes swollen. “He’s m-married,” she said on a sob. “He’s married and he never told me, never hinted. He never said anything. I can’t believe it. Even when we talked about how Hugh had cheated, he never said a-anything.”
As he moved toward her, she rose and stepped into his embrace. He held her tight, rocking her.
There weren’t any words. Nothing he could say would make this right. He hated that Ryan had done this to her right after Hugh’s rejection and betrayal.
He glanced at Cal, who looked as if he wanted to put his fist through something. Penny had obviously been crying.
“This just sucks,” Penny murmured. “I hate him.”
“Me, too,” Dani murmured against Walker’s chest. He felt her tears dampening his shirt. “He has a kid. A little boy. How could he have slept with me while he has a kid? That’s so wrong.” She raised her head and stared into his eyes.
“It hurts,” she whispered. “Make the pain go away.”
He kissed her forehead, then drew her against him again. “I can’t. I want to, but I can’t.”
If only he could tell her things would get better. He knew that they would, eventually, but the words were a cold comfort to her now.
He hated how much she hurt. She was his baby sister and he’d always felt the need to protect her. He told her he wanted to find Ryan and beat the shit out of him, wait for him to heal, then do it all again.
“I’ll join you,” Cal said quietly.
Penny looked between the two of them. “You can’t beat up Ryan,” she said. “He’ll have you arrested and I’m due to give birth at any minute. Neither of you can be in prison then.”
Dani drew in a shaky breath. “She’s right. I’d love to watch you pound him into the ground, but you can’t.”
“Maybe not,” Walker admitted, although in his mind the idea was still worth considering. “But I can fire him.”
One corner of Cal’s mouth turned up. “Perfect. Let him try to get a job in this city without a reference from us. He’ll starve.”
“No!” Dani stepped back and glared at them both. “You’re not going to fire him, Walker.”
He couldn’t believe it. “You still care about this guy?”
“What?” She wiped her eyes with her fingers. “No. Of course not. I want him roasted on a spit. But I went into this relationship on my own. No one made me. I’m the one who didn’t pay attention or ask the right questions. I have to take responsibility for that.”
“Dani, he tricked you,” Penny said.
“I know that, but I refuse to give him all the power. I am not some spineless female who is going to be rescued by her big, bad brothers. Ryan stays. I’ll get through it.”
Walker appreciated her attempts to be strong, even though he still wanted to hit something…or someone. “If I don’t fire his ass, he’s going to show up every day. You’re going to have to deal with that. Can you?”
She straightened her back and squared her shoulders. “Bring it on.”
THE CONCEPT HAD SEEMED simple enough at the time, Walker thought the next day, as he waved to Mrs. Ford and one of her friends. The two old women drove away, leaving him alone with Zoe and all the potential things that could go wrong. All he had to do was watch the kid for a few hours until Mrs. Ford finished with her Labor Day Seniors Picnic. As it was adults-only, Mrs. Ford had been unable to take Zoe along, and for reasons still not clear to him, he, Walker, had volunteered.
“Brain injury,” he muttered to himself as he stepped into Elissa’s apartment. “Must have been a blow to the head I don’t remember.”
He’d left Zoe on the floor watching something on Nickelodeon, but when he returned, the TV was off and she’d spread out several articles of clothing on the sofa.
“I start school tomorrow,” she told him with an expression that was both hopeful and terrified. “Mommy and me are still talking ’bout what I’m wearing.” She fingered a T-shirt with a crown on the front. “This is pretty.”
“Very nice,” he said, wondering how the hell he was supposed to fill a whole day. Mrs. Ford wouldn’t be back until after dinner. Even though the craft fair ended relatively early, he didn’t expect Elissa until six. Sure he could take Zoe to the fair, but that was only going to burn two hours. Plus, what about meals? He’d said he would take her out, but that meant sitting across from her and thinking up things to say. What if she choked or something?
Despite the heat of the morning, a cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck.
“Did you see what Mommy got me for my lunch?” she asked suddenly, then raced into the kitchen. She came back with a brightly colored lunch box.
Zoe opened it and showed him all the wonders of a space for a juice box, a plastic container for a sandwich and fruit, along with a special pack that would keep everything cold.
“It’s the best,” she said reverently as she closed it, then ran her hand along the top.
He glanced at his watch. Great. Two minutes down, four hundred and eighty to go.
“Want to ride your bike?” he asked, thinking at least that would tire her out. Did kids her age take naps?
“Okay.”
But instead of running toward the front door to get to the garage, she raced down the hall, only to return with a large bottle of sunscreen. After handing it to him, she stood patiently, as if waiting for him to apply it.
“Right,” he said slowly. “You don’t want to get a sunburn.”
“Mommy says it’s important to protect ourselves.” She held out one impossibly small, skinny arm.
Walker squirted sunscreen into his left palm, then used his right hand to rub the lotion onto her skin. He could encircle her upper arm with his thumb and forefinger and he had a bad feeling that he could have snapped any bone in her body just as easily. If she was this little now, what had it been like when she’d been born? Elissa had to have been terrified, but she’d handled it all on her own. She hadn’t bolted or even tried to get away.
Unlike him.
He ignored the ghosts from his past and finished applying the sunscreen, then followed Zoe outside.
“Stay on this side of the street,” he said.
Zoe sighed. “I know. Mommy always tells me where I can ride. I’ll be good.”
After opening the garage, he helped her put on her helmet. Then she climbed on her bike and set off down the sidewalk. The small training wheels gave her balance and she rode with a purposeful confidence. Walker watched her for a couple of seconds, then glanced around for something to do while she burned off energy.
He saw several gardening tools in a corner of the small garage and remembered noticing Elissa weeding flowers in the front bed. As busy as she’d been getting ready for the craft fair, he would guess she hadn’t had time to keep up with her outside chores. Weeding he could handle.
He collected the tools, ignored both the gloves and some kind of squishy mat to protect his knees, grabbed a bucket and went to work.
The sun was hot, the day already warm. He attacked weeds and anything questionable looking, then dumped them into the bucket. Every now and then, he glanced up and checked on Zoe. She continued to ride back and forth, waving as she passed.
About fifteen minutes into her ride, she was joined by the girl from across the street. Walker couldn’t remember the kid’s name but she was a year or so older and seemed okay. They rode together for a few minutes, then collapsed on the lawn in the shade.
“I’m comin’ back,” Zoe yelled as she raced into the house.
Before Walker could get up and go after her to find out what she was doing, she’d returned with an armful of toys. The other girl did the same and they settled on the grass for a serious session of…whatever it was girls that age did. He reached the corner of the house and started down the side.
He worked the earth, not noticing when spade became shovel and the hole got big enough for a body. Digging graves, he thought grimly. Digging…
He jerked back, willing the image to fade. It did and there were plants again. Sweat dripped down his back. He didn’t belong here, he thought. He couldn’t do this—couldn’t be normal. He—
He heard voices. Too many voices for just Zoe and her friend. Walker stood and hurried to the front yard. When he stepped around the house, he saw Zoe standing up to a boy several years older than her. The boy pushed her lightly. Zoe shoved back. The boy pushed harder. Zoe went down on the cement sidewalk.