Chapter Sixteen

Jen spotted the news vans outside her house before she turned down her street. If they were out there, they’d bombard her the second she turned into the driveway. With a little luck, she might get into the garage and into the house. So far luck hadn’t been on her side today. A more likely scenario would be a reporter would plant himself in front of her garage, meaning she either had to run him over to get inside or park in the driveway then walk the gauntlet of reporters to get inside the house.

Rather than chance it, she turned onto Hudson Street instead and parked in Anna and Billy’s driveway. Their backyard abutted hers. Since they were on vacation, they wouldn’t mind if she left her car there for the night. Pushing open the gate, she entered Anna and Billy’s yard and crossed toward the gate in the fence, which would open into her yard. When she’d moved in, she’d found the extra gate an odd feature. Later, she’d learned she’d purchased her home from Billy’s twin brother. Since their children had loved playing together so much, they’d had the extra gate installed in the fence so the cousins could visit whenever they wanted without having to walk far. Tonight the unique feature allowed her to sneak into her house without alerting the vultures hanging around outside.

“Hey, Bo.” As usual the dog greeted her in the kitchen. After giving him a scratch behind the ears, she let him out into the backyard.

She’d been tempted to check the internet when the crowd gathered outside the office put a halt to her coffee run. She’d forced herself not to give in. Although she didn’t know what had the media so curious again, she sensed it wasn’t good. With two important meetings to get through, she needed her head in the game, not on whatever story the news was running. Jen had no good excuse for not checking now, other than she suspected she wasn’t going to like what she found.

“Not looking isn’t going to change it,” she said, grabbing a diet root beer from the fridge.

Jen let Bo back in the house before retreating to her bedroom. “Let’s see what the big story is.”

The dog jumped on the bed next to her as she pulled up the Providence Gazette’s website. The headline staring back at her made her wish she hadn’t: Brett Sherbrooke’s Judgment Not All It Should Be.

She didn’t need to read any further to know she wasn’t going to like what followed in the article below the rather nice picture of her and Brett outside Ambrosia Pastry Shop and Café. Jen forced her eyes to scan the words anyway.

Jen read the first paragraph and stopped. Dropping her head in her hands, she tried to breathe as her stomach rolled. Dominic Russo. The name hadn’t crossed her mind in a long time. How had they found out about him? As far as she knew, he was still rotting in a South Carolina prison.

She forced her head up and continued reading the article. It claimed, according to a relative, she’d had a run-in with the law herself. While the statement about her biological father was true, this part of the story sensationalized what had really happened all those years ago. Since the article had the facts straight about her biological father, would anyone believe her when she set the record straight on the rest?

Even though Jen knew she’d find similar articles on the other news sites, she typed in the web address for the Boston Times. Senatorial Candidate Brett Sherbrooke’s Judgment Called Into Question, the headline on the site read. Although written by a different reporter, the article attached to the headline read similar to the one the Providence Gazette had published. She didn’t look any farther. Instead, she closed the laptop and fell back on the bed.

The media was calling Brett’s judgment and integrity into question? He was the most upstanding individual she’d ever met. The media shouldn’t be holding her biological father’s poor decisions against Brett, especially when he didn’t even know the man existed.

Jen covered her face with her hands and groaned. His association with her could cost him the election, maybe even kill any chance he’d ever make it in politics. It wasn’t fair. Especially considering the type of man he was running against. From the little she’d learned about Ted Smith, the man was an adulterer who made questionable business deals. A person with such low moral standards didn’t have any place making decisions that would affect the country.

Bo nudged her hand, demanding her attention. Reaching over, she scratched the dog just below the collar, one of his favorite spots. “Do you think he hates me?”

She’d never lied to Brett. She’d introduced him to Reggie Wallace, the man she considered her father. Dominic Russo was simply someone she shared DNA with, nothing more. Would Brett see it that way? Or would he think she’d been trying to hide her true past from him? And if he did, what would he do?

Actually, even if he understood why she never mentioned she was adopted, Brett might not want anything else to do with her. She didn’t like it, but she realized there might only be one way for him to salvage his campaign, and more importantly his reputation. His family was probably already suggesting he end their relationship. She’d found both his parents, as well as the rest of his family, to be friendly and kind, but the Sherbrookes had an image to maintain. They wouldn’t want one of their own dating a woman whose father had committed armed robbery and murder.

Jen moved into an upright position. “I better prepare myself now,” she said to Bo. When Brett ended things, she wouldn’t beg and plead with him to reconsider. Even though it would hurt like hell, she’d maintain her dignity. She’d reserve all her crying for the nights when she was alone.

Brett had said he’d call tonight, but considering this disaster, maybe she should try calling him now. She reached for her cell phone, but before she could bring up Brett’s contact information, the phone rang and her mom’s name appeared on the screen.

Something told her this call would only be the first in a long string of others.

***

“Answer the damn phone.” Brett paced from one end of the room to the other. Despite his command, the ringing stopped and Jen’s voice mail came on. He’d wanted to call her the second he left Carl’s office. He’d decided to wait. When they discussed the details of the article, he wanted Jen to have his full attention. He couldn’t give her that if he was driving.

Suspecting there would be a media circus around his house, he’d gone straight from Carl’s office to his brother’s condo in Boston. Although the place was currently on the market, he knew Curt wouldn’t mind if he used it for the night. He’d arrived there ten minutes ago and had been calling her ever since. So far she hadn’t answered his calls or the two text messages he sent her. She was expecting his call, so why wasn’t she answering or at least sending him back a text message? By now she’d seen the articles circulating. Even if she hadn’t, someone she knew would’ve and alerted her to them. Was she avoiding him or had something happened to her? People got into accidents all the time driving to and from work. He’d seen one tonight on his way to Carl’s office. If she was lying in a hospital bed, or worse, a morgue, she’d have no way of answering her phone and her family would have no easy way of contacting him. He couldn’t call them either. He didn’t have their phone numbers. Getting them might be possible.

Brett knew Kristen’s address but unfortunately not her full name. Finding a cell phone number without a name would be difficult, at least for him. One of Carl’s people could probably find it with even less information, but he had no intention of getting Carl’s contacts involved with this too. He’d have to see if he could find either her mom’s cell or home number instead.

He typed in the name Erica Wallace first. When all he got was an address and a list of possible relatives, he typed Reggie Wallace into the site. Once again, the website came back with only an address and a list of possible relatives. Apparently Jen’s parents, like so many other people these days, didn’t have a landline, and finding cell phone numbers was more difficult than he’d expected.

Frustrated, he closed the laptop and tried Jen again. Like all his previous calls, it rang before going to voice mail. Although he’d left her several already, Brett left another message asking her to call him right away.

Brett dropped the cell phone next to the computer and considered his options. He could sit and wait for her to call back. If she was avoiding him, who knew when she might do that. And if she was injured and unable to call him, it might be days before Jen or someone in her family found a way to contact him. He knew her brother Keith worked for Elite Force Security these days. He might be able to reach him by calling the firm. It wasn’t a guarantee, especially this late.

Waiting much longer to talk to her was out. He needed to know she was okay, and he needed answers. Brett checked his watch. It was already after eight o’clock. Leaving now, he’d get there around nine. Jen should still be awake, but they’d been up late last night working on the speech he’d given this morning. She might have called it a day and gone to bed already. If she had, he’d hate to disturb her. Unfortunately, he didn’t see he had any choice tonight.

Brett pulled out of the parking garage and tried her number again. It rang several times before Jen’s voice came through the car’s speakers.

“Thank God you answered. I’ve been calling you,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. I think half the people on the planet have called me since I got home and turned my phone’s ringer back on,” Jen said, sounding frazzled. “I just hung up with Kristen and was about to call you.”

Well at least she wasn’t trying to avoid him.

“We need to talk. I’m on my way to your house now,” Brett said.

“There are a few news vans outside. Most have left; I think they assumed I wasn’t coming home tonight or something. Maybe the others will leave soon too. If they are still there when you get here, drive over to 8 Hudson Street. My neighbors are on vacation, and that’s where I parked. There is a gate in the fence, and it will bring you right into my backyard.”

He wasn’t surprised the media was camped outside her house. “Will do. See you soon.”

From the corner of her street, he saw the two news vans parked across from her house. Brett turned the corner and parked in her neighbors’ driveway behind Jen’s car. He followed her instructions and used the gate in the fence to enter her backyard. He immediately noticed there was no light coming through the downstairs windows suggesting she remained upstairs with her blinds drawn so the media out front didn’t know she was home.

The motion lights went on as he approached the back steps, and he knocked on the door. Bo’s barking reached him through the door. Thanks to the outside lights, he saw the blinds on a nearby window move, and Jen peek out soon after. She opened the door a moment later.

“Come on in.”

She took a step back so he could enter, and he gave her a quick once-over. She was wearing a pair of smiley face pajama bottoms with a matching T-shirt. Her hair was a wild mess, as if she dragged her fingers through it repeatedly.

He closed and locked the door. “Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. After I talked to you, I turned it back to vibrate only.” Jen moved across the room and sat. “How are you?”

“About the same,” he admitted.

She nibbled on her thumbnail. In all the time they’d spent together, he’d never seen Jen bite her nails. When she caught him watching her, she folded her hands together instead.

He sat down and immediately Bo jumped up next to him. The dog didn’t like to be left out. “Jen, we need to talk.”

“I know,” she whispered as her face dropped toward the floor. “But first I need to tell you I’m sorry.”

Brett touched her face and nudged her chin up. “For what?” The only people he blamed for the situation were Phillip Young and whoever else worked for Ted Smith.

“The story in today’s news, of course.”

“Talk to me.” He needed to know what he was dealing with. “Is any of it true?”

Jen sighed and sank back against the sofa cushions. “Yes and no.”

He’d hoped for a resounding no but hadn’t expected it. Carl and Dad were right. Smith’s camp wouldn’t have released such intel if they weren’t confident it was true. “Start with what they got right.”

“The man mentioned in the article, Dominic Russo, is my biological father. I wasn’t trying to hide him from you. I never think of the man, except when I get those family medical history questionnaires at a doctor’s office.” She paused and cleared her throat. “My biological mother, Tina Russo, died in a car accident when I was eight. She and my mom, the woman you met, were first cousins. Dominic was arrested about three years after the accident. He knew enough to give the authorities Mom’s name as my next living relative. Mom and Dad took me in immediately, and as soon as they could, they adopted me.”

“Russo was arrested for murder?” Brett had all the details from the article memorized.

“We were never close, even before my mother’s death. At some point, he and two other men started holding up banks. I guess they did it while I was at school. I don’t really know. Anyway, during their last attempt, a security guard inside the bank intervened, and Dominic shot him. They’d never hurt anyone before that day, so I think he panicked.” She shrugged and reached over to pet Bo. “After he went to jail, I sent him letters for about a year. He never responded to any of them, so I stopped. As far as I know, he’s still in prison.”

He knew some people had terrible childhoods. Brett had never realized Jen was one. Despite the rotten parent she’d been born to, she didn’t sound bitter or sad. Unsure of an appropriate response to the story she’d shared, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. From the moment I walked in the house, Mom and Dad treated me the same way they did their biological children. Kristen and Keith have always treated me as a sister. Regardless of what my DNA says, the four of them are my immediate family.”

Not all children in a situation like Jen’s got a chance at a loving family. She’d been lucky. “I’m glad you have them.”

“Then you believe I wasn’t trying to hide the truth from you?” she asked, sounding uncertain.

Brett cupped her face in his hands so she couldn’t look away. “Affirmative.” What the media and Carl believed would be another story, but he’d worry about it later. “What about the rest?”

“The part about me having a run-in with the police is mostly exaggerated.”

Either you’d gotten in trouble with the cops or you hadn’t. But he wouldn’t jump to any conclusion. He’d hear Jen out. “How?”

She blew out a deep breath. “It happened about six months before Dominic was arrested. We’d moved to another new town, and I really wanted friends. There was this group at school. They were the cool kids. Everyone wanted to hang around with them.”

He knew the type. Every school had them.

“In order to be in their group, you had to pass their tests,” she said.

Jen reached out again to pet Bo. He noticed since arriving she hadn’t touched him once. Usually when they sat like this, she’d lean her head on his shoulder or take his hand. Not tonight.

“There was another girl, Laura, who wanted to be part of their group too. Our test was to spray paint the shed behind her aunt’s restaurant. One night we did it. Neither of us knew there were cameras outside. They captured us both on video. Laura’s aunt, who happened to be married to the chief of police, called the authorities. They took both of us to the station in a police car and gave us a long lecture. Then I sat there until Dominic came and picked me up. I sat there for several hours,” Jen said. “Thankfully, Laura’s aunt didn’t press any charges. I think she only called the police because she wanted to scare us. Make sure we never did something so stupid again. As a punishment, we had to help her repaint the shed.”

“Yeah, I’d call that a definite exaggeration and not something the press should’ve printed.” A new burst of anger exploded inside him. It was bad enough to drag up parts of her past that were true, but making a situation sound worse than it really had been and putting her reputation in question was unacceptable. “Other than the phone calls and the media outside, has anyone bothered you anywhere else?”

“Reporters were outside work again. And there were twice as many reporters when I got home then there are now.”

Tomorrow they’d be back at her office and the number outside her house would double again. The media would get all they could from this story before leaving her alone.

“Brett, I’m sorry about all this.” Finally she reached over and took his hands. “Even I know this can’t be good for your campaign.”

“It’s not your fault.”

He had the truth. Now he and Carl could develop a strategy to handle it.

“Your campaign is important. Do whatever you need to.” Her voice cracked on her last sentence.

“I plan to.”

He pulled out his cell phone and called Carl. The man answered on the second ring despite the time. “I’ll be at your office in about ninety minutes. Have Lily met us there as soon as she can.” He’d need his press secretary too.

Carl demanded answers, and Brett gave him the condensed version. When they got to Carl’s office, he’d give him everything. “See you soon.”

He didn’t wait for a response before cutting the connection and calling Dad. His father answered faster than Carl had.

“Dad, I’m meeting Carl in about ninety minutes. Can you come?”

And what did he plan to do, she wondered as she watched him make another phone call? After greeting his dad, he stood and walked away as he spoke. She followed him with her eyes. His facial expressions let her know he didn’t like whatever his father was saying.

Brett raked a hand through his hair. “Enough. I’ll see you soon.” His voice reached her from across the room.

He shoved the device back into his pocket and looked toward the ceiling before rejoining her.

“More bad news?” she asked.

“Difference of opinion. It’s not the first time Dad and I don’t agree. I guarantee it won’t be the last.”

“You’re meeting Carl and your dad tonight?”

“It can’t wait.”

He didn’t seem in any rush to share his plan. If his plan included saying goodbye, she wished he’d get it over with and leave. “It’s getting late, and you have a bit of a drive.” She stood. “I’ll make you a coffee for the road so you don’t fall asleep.”

“I know you’ve got work tomorrow, but I’d like you to come to my meeting with Carl tonight.”

His words kept her from walking away.

Brett’s request made sense. He wanted her to share the story she’d told him and answer any questions Carl or his dad might have. “After seeing the media gathered outside the office today, I told my boss I’d be working from home tomorrow.” She’d hoped by Monday the media would lose interest in her again. Of course that had been before she saw the headlines tonight.

“Good. As soon as you pack a bag, we can drive into Boston together. After the meeting, we can either stay at a hotel in the city or drive back to my house. By then the media probably hanging around my place will have given up for the night at least.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea? If you really think I have to go, give me the address, and I’ll meet you there. After it’s over, I can drive home.”

She didn’t want to face Brett’s dad, but she’d suffer through the meeting if it would help him. Staying at Brett’s house or in a hotel with him was something else. If he planned to put distance between them, having her stay at his home wasn’t the way to go about it.

He stood and advanced on her. “Why wouldn’t it be a good idea?” he asked, but didn’t give her a chance to answer. “And yeah, I need you there tonight. You might not be the one running for office, but we need to face this problem together.”

“Together?” It didn’t sound like he planned to walk away, but she didn’t want to read too much into his statement either.

Brett put his hands on her waist and pulled her a little closer. “Isn’t it what couples do? They work together? I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships, but my parents always work as a unit.”

Her parents did as well. “Yes, but I thought you’d find it easier to cut ties with me. You could go on record saying you didn’t know about my past, which is the truth, and move on. If you did, the voters might not hold all this against you in November.”

“Is that what you want?” He sounded concerned. “I know your involvement with me has turned into a major headache for you. Given time, things will die down.”

She could say yes and possibly help save both his reputation and his chance of winning. A better person would do just that and ask him to leave. She wasn’t a better person. “No, of course not. But I­­—” Jen wasn’t sure what she planned to say, and Brett didn’t give her a chance anyway.

“Good. Because if I had to choose between a seat in the Senate and you, I’d pick you every time.”

Her mouth opened but no words came out. His admission had robbed her of any intelligent thoughts. Before any came to her, he continued. “I love you.”

Jen snapped her mouth shut, both stunned and elated by his words. “You… I….” She’d known he cared about her, but hadn’t expected his feelings ran as deep as hers yet.

“This is the point when you tell me you love me too,” Brett said before she could gather her thoughts enough to answer him.

Tonight the guy was a little too sure of himself. “Oh, really? You know what they say about assuming things, Buster.”

“We’re back to Buster again, are we? I still need to come up with a good nickname for you. I’ll work on it.” He didn’t seem fazed by her comment. “And yeah, you love me. If you didn’t, you would’ve kicked my ass to the curb the second the media started circling around. You’re not the attention-seeking type.”

He had an excellent point, and one she couldn’t argue with. “At least on this, you’re 100 percent right.” She didn’t want to stroke his ego too much. “Honestly, I was half in love with you before we met at Ambrosia.”

“Same here.” He sealed his confession with a kiss.