CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Annabelle took Boris for a walk around the lodge grounds, admiring the landscaping along with the expanse of land Vaughn owned. She paused by the tree where she’d had a picnic with Nick and settled in, releasing the leash and letting the dog run free and get enough exercise so, with any luck, he’d pass out later on.
Two days had passed since Lola’s ultimatum to Yank and her subsequent departure. Her uncle had remained, sulking and finding excuses to call the office and Lola, though Annabelle knew Lola wasn’t giving in on her ultimatum. But with her sisters both away on business, Annabelle had nobody to talk to back at the office to find out what was really going on. All of which left her to focus on her current job and her life here in Greenlawn.
Since Mara had followed up the promotional mailing with an e-mail offer, calls were coming in accepting the free night and confirming holiday reservations. True, there’d been a fair share of cancellations from people not willing to risk not having a place to go for vacation, but according to Mara, most of the calls praised Vaughn and the summer program. They were all too willing to take a chance on Vaughn’s lodge, and of course the free night incentive helped.
In addition, the electrical damage was nearly fixed, thanks to the crews working double shifts. All in all, things were looking up and Annabelle had just one more suggestion for Vaughn before she returned to New York. In fact, she could probably return home soon, but a desire to make the most of her time here stopped her from suggesting an early departure.
Closing her eyes, she too easily recalled the last few nights with Vaughn. He had obviously decided his hands-off policy wasn’t working for either one of them, and the nights they’d shared had been spectacular. The stuff of fantasies, Annabelle thought.
Waking up safe and secure in his arms after a dreamless sleep was nothing short of pure bliss. Careful, she warned herself. Short-term was still the rule of the day. Falling for the lush, green landscape of the lodge or the big empty house that begged for a woman’s touch wasn’t part of the deal.
Time to focus on business. She whistled and Boris came running. She scooped him into her arms and headed back to the main building. She was about to walk into the office when she heard the laughing and hushed voices of Nick and Mara, and from the sound of things they weren’t working.
Not wanting to interrupt, she turned away and bumped directly into Vaughn’s solid chest.
“Whoa.” He grabbed her forearms and steadied her, while Boris scrambled to escape confinement in her arms in exchange for licking Vaughn’s face.
“Guess you’d better take him,” Annabelle said, laughing.
She handed him the pooch and he grabbed him awkwardly, clutching Boris around his middle so his legs dangled and his head bobbed as he tried to get closer to Vaughn.
Annabelle shook her head. “I don’t know which one of you is more pathetic. Here. You hold him like this.” She adjusted Vaughn’s large hands so he held Boris’ bottom in one palm and supported him with the other.
“I’ve got his butt in my hand,” he grumbled.
The dog squirmed up and licked his face in reply. Next thing Annabelle knew, Vaughn let Boris snuggle into his chest as he cradled him in his arms.
She grinned. “See? That wasn’t so hard. Now, I wanted to talk to you.”
He stepped around her. “Then let’s go inside.”
“No!” She cleared her throat. “I don’t want to interrupt Nick and Mara,” she explained. “I think they’re…busy.”
“Aaah.” He nodded in understanding. “Then let’s take a walk and talk?”
“I just came from doing that, but you can never get too much fresh air in the summertime.” She tipped her head toward the exit. “Let’s go.”
They took a different route, this time toward the parking lot. Since Boris refused to go down, Vaughn was forced to hold him while they walked. Annabelle couldn’t help but notice his discomfort with the dog, though he had come a long way since he’d yelled at her in front of her apartment building about bringing the animals.
“What did you want to talk about?” Vaughn asked.
“What’s your real problem with pets?” Annabelle wondered aloud at the same time.
He stopped and leaned against a parked car. His dark gaze met hers. “What is it that you like about animals? Besides the unconditional love?”
She narrowed her gaze, unsure of where this was headed. “I don’t know. I suppose I like taking care of them,” she said. “I like that they need me,” she slowly admitted.
Vaughn nodded. “Exactly. Remember the fish I told you about?”
“T.D.” Annabelle said, surprising Vaughn.
“I’m shocked you remember his name.”
She shrugged. “It seemed important to you. What about him?” she asked.
“A kid wins a fish at a carnival. He has to read the instructions to feed him properly, doesn’t he?” Vaughn winced at the memory, the pain of discussing this episode harder than he’d ever imagined.
“Or he can ask an adult to read it for him…” Annabelle’s voice trailed off.
No doubt she’d just recalled the grown-ups in Vaughn’s childhood and drawn the obvious conclusions. “Right,” he muttered. “And after I killed my first pet, I decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to let anyone rely on me again.”
She reached out a hand and caressed his cheek, offering him the kind of understanding and caring he’d never been given before. Not even, he knew now, by Laura. In his first wife, he’d mistaken education for understanding. The realization now helped him put some of his anger and resentment to rest. Something else for which he owed Annabelle.
“You need to trust yourself more,” she said softly. “I trust you.” She leaned close and brushed her lips lightly over his.
Boris barked madly, forcing them apart.
Annabelle jumped back fast. “He’s jealous,” she explained.
Vaughn scowled at the dog. “Are you sure you’re male? Cause if you were, you’d know where I was coming from.”
Annabelle chuckled, lightening the mood, and he took the opportunity to change the subject. “Since I know you didn’t come here to talk about my childhood pets, what did you want to discuss?” he asked.
“A charity to correspond with the lodge. I don’t know your financial situation of course, but I thought if we booked an appearance or something big for you, we could donate the proceeds and create a scholarship for children suffering from dyslexia. We could discuss ages and requirements later, but I was wondering if the idea appealed to you at all?”
He paused in thought. He’d flatly refused to do any publicity on the summer camp, then Annabelle had taken charge and turned things around for him. She was making sure the lodge didn’t suffer while they finished construction and the police investigated. Her instincts were strong. Yank had every right to exude pride in his nieces.
This niece in particular. “Yes, the idea appeals to me.”
Annabelle let out a pleased and shocked whoop of glee. “Thank you!” She started toward him for a hug, then catching Boris’s glare, she backed off, laughing. “I’ll just save that for tonight.” She winked at Vaughn, then ran off to do her job, just one of the things she did best.
Unfortunately, she left him alone with Boris, who’d decided he loved Vaughn and wanted to express it with licks and kisses, every chance he could. Vaughn groaned, yet he ended up laughing. The dog made him laugh just like Annabelle made him smile.
Both things he’d done too rarely before she’d come into his life.
* * *
After an afternoon of making phone calls regarding advertising opportunities for Vaughn and catching up with her sisters by cell phone, Annabelle leaned back in her chair, exhausted.
She raised her arms over her head and stretched backwards, feeling the pull on her cramped muscles. “Boy it’s been a long one.”
“I agree. What do you say we call it a day and have some fun?” Mara asked from her seat at her desk across the room.
Annabelle tipped her head. “Do you have anything particular in mind?”
Drumming her fingers against the desk, Mara grinned and said, “I might.”
Half an hour later, Annabelle and Mara were climbing the bleachers behind the high school, a brown bag of wine coolers in hand. “I know where we are,” Annabelle said. “But I’d like to know why we’re here.”
Mara pulled two coolers out of the bag and, after opening the first one, she handed the bottle to Annabelle. “We’re going to guy watch.”
Annabelle raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” Mara tipped the bottle and took in a good amount of alcohol. “You should have some. It goes well with what we’re about to see.” She gestured across the field to where a bunch of young men in shorts and T-shirts had stormed the field and begun doing laps.
“I’m sure we’re not here to fish for jail bait,” Annabelle muttered and just in case, took a hefty sip of the fruity wine cooler herself.
“No, we’re here to watch the coaches.” With that, Mara let her gaze drift to the two men striding out from behind the school. Nick wore a dark green T-shirt and shorts and Vaughn sported a similar look in light gray.
At the sight of him, Annabelle’s heart did a flip reminiscent of her teenage years and suddenly she understood what Mara meant by guy-watching. “You’re taking me back in time.” Annabelle laughed.
“Except things only get better with age, and I’m not just talking about the men. When we were younger, we’d watch and hope the guys would notice us, right?”
Annabelle nodded.
“Well, at our age we’re well past hoping.” She whistled loudly and both men’s heads whipped toward her. Mara waved.
Forced to acknowledge Vaughn and Nick, Annabelle did the same.
Mara lowered herself to a sitting position. “Well, they know we’re here for one reason only. To see them, which pretty much guarantees they’ll be flattered, which pretty much guarantees a successful evening.” Mara held out her bottle and clinked it against Annabelle’s. “Cheers,” she said.
“I thought you and Nick weren’t going on a date until the party.”
“We’re not.” Mara placed her now empty bottle on the bleacher beside her. “Do you see two people on a date? I don’t see anyone on a date.”
Annabelle, feeling light-headed from the combination of the wine cooler and the sun, sat down beside Mara. “I see a woman who changed from her work clothes into tight shorts and a skimpy top all in an effort to drive a man insane with lust.” And Mara had encouraged her to get casual as well, so she’d changed into an old denim miniskirt and a scissor-cut top.
“Can’t put anything past you.” Mara grinned, then waved at Nick again.
Annabelle figured that by now the man was in a sweat that had nothing to do with the weather. Then there was Vaughn.
She had no idea he’d extended his coaching obligations into the summer, besides helping Todd on occasion, but of course, every surprise she learned about him was a positive one. She couldn’t read his thoughts now, but if they mirrored her own, he couldn’t wait to get her alone.
“Hello…” Mara snapped a finger in front of Annabelle’s face. “I asked if you planned to take advantage of being older and wiser, too.”
“Hmm.” Annabelle tipped her head to one side and let her gaze devour Vaughn. “Interesting way of putting it,” she murmured.
Annabelle took a long sip of her drink. Since she was here watching Vaughn, she might as well enjoy the sight. As he urged the kids to work out, he kept pace along with them. And every so often he’d pause and glance up. At her. Though she couldn’t see his eyes beneath the dark shades, she sensed his heated stare and couldn’t mistake the yearning in his expression.
Desire was equally at work inside her. He was so sexy in his cut off T-shirt and shorts, his hair mussed from sweat and hard work, she could barely catch her breath.
He kept up with the guys, but it was obvious he and Todd had a bond. He worked the kid extra hard and rewarded him with encouraging words and back slapping for a job well done. Vaughn obviously felt a kinship with the kids. If he could feel this kind of affection for other people’s children, Annabelle realized what a fantastic father he’d make for his own child. She trembled at the thought.
The sound of Vaughn’s whistle startled her and brought her out of her musings. The guys gathered around Vaughn. Annabelle glanced at her watch, surprised to see that a full hour had passed.
Beside her, Mara stood and collected her things.
“Where are you off to?” Annabelle asked.
“Just to say goodbye to Nick and see if he takes the bait.”
Annabelle nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“You?”
“I thought I’d go back to Vaughn’s, do some work. See if anyone got back to me for bookings. I’d really like to get Vaughn’s face out in front of the general public again.”
Mara rolled her eyes. “Are you telling me I just plied you with alcohol, let you watch two gorgeous, sweaty guys, and all you can think of is work?” She nudged Annabelle in the ribs with her elbow. “Surely you can think of something more exciting to do with your evening.”
Annabelle closed her eyes and let her imagination flow. What would she want to do if nothing stood in her way? She asked herself. Spend the night alone with Vaughn. Under the stars in a place where no one would bother them. Not his parents, not her uncle, her sisters or even her pets.
She opened her eyes and began digging into her purse.
“Now what are you doing?”
Annabelle scribbled a note onto a sheet of paper, then folded it in half. “Do you think you could give me a ride back to the lodge?” she asked. The rest she could handle from there.
Mara sighed. “Okay, okay. So you learned nothing during our hour together. You’re still determined to work.”
Annabelle folded the paper in half yet again. “One thing about me, Mara. I’m a quick study.” She glanced at the other woman. “Watch and learn.”
She rose and adjusted her clothing, pulling the waistband of her skirt up a notch, which had the desired effect of raising the hem. Next, she shrugged until the left side of her wide-necked top fell casually off one shoulder. She ran a hand through her tousled hair, popped a mint from her purse into her mouth and walked down the bleachers toward her unsuspecting target.
* * *
Vaughn and Nick dismissed the guys from the huddle. They were a select group of talented high schoolers who’d asked them to coach them throughout the summer and give them pointers before the season started again in the fall. Like Vaughn, Nick always enjoyed a chance to hone a kid’s skills and so they’d agreed. But even while busting the guys for being too damn lazy, Vaughn’s focus had been diverted more than once by the beautiful blonde hanging out on the bleachers.
He was sure the visit had been Mara’s idea, but if Nick had been as distracted as Vaughn, he hadn’t let it show. And Vaughn was determined to have the same restraint and focus on the players, not the women, until his work here was finished.
“Hey, Todd.”
The kid ran over. “Yeah, Coach?”
“Good practice today.”
“Thanks.” He glanced down and kicked his feet at the dirt.
“How’s the summer going?” Vaughn asked him.
He shrugged. “Not bad, considering I have to mow lawns and work with a tutor instead of hanging out with the guys.”
Vaughn laughed. “I’m sure you’re finding time for your friends, too.”
Todd grinned. “Yeah, yeah.”
“Whenever you get frustrated, just remember the goal. You need an education as a fail-safe. Just look at me. If I’d blown out this knee in my first season, I’d be out of luck because I didn’t have the help you did to work on the problem.”
Todd glanced up at him, trust and idol worship in the kid’s gaze. Vaughn wasn’t comfortable with either, but hell, if he kept the kid motivated, who cared if he thought Vaughn was a saint?
“I hear ya, Coach.”
On impulse, Vaughn reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair, then shoved his hand back into his pocket.
“Hey, Todd, you coming?” One of his friends called.
Vaughn inclined his head. “Better get going.”
“Yeah. Uh, Coach?”
Vaughn raised an eyebrow. “What’s up?”
“Thanks,” Todd said, then turned and ran to catch up with the other guys.
Vaughn turned back to Nick. “Man, does that kid have talent.”
Nick nodded. “And he’s a damn hard worker. The only drawback to the kid getting ahead is his—”
“Hey now!” A loud voice interrupted them. “I heard today was practice day and I thought I’d stop by and see how my boy’s doing.” Roy strode up to both men.
“Speak of the devil,” Nick said, laughing. “The kids just left.” Nick pointed to the parking lot.
Roy shuffled from foot to foot. “I saw ’em go. I didn’t want Todd to know I’m here asking about him. It embarrasses him in front of his friends.”
Vaughn shoved his hands into his front pockets. Then why bother him? Vaughn wondered. Although he had always wished his father had shown interest in his games and his athletic ability, Roy’s smothering would end up driving his son away if he wasn’t careful.
“Todd’s a real talent and you should be proud,” he informed his foreman.
Roy’s shoulders straightened and his head lifted a little higher. “He’s the best thing in my life.” In the split second that Roy emphasized his relationship to Todd, a flicker of what looked like jealousy crossed the other man’s features. For all Roy’s talk, did he resent the time Vaughn spent with his son?
Nick slapped a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I’m sure Todd knows it, too.”
“Todd needs your help,” Roy said, meeting Vaughn’s gaze with a pleading one of his own and making Vaughn think he’d imagined the envy.
“And he’s got help from both myself and Nick.”
Roy kicked at the dirt. “Part-time help. Imagine how far he could go if you’d take the coaching job at the university.”
Vaughn caught Nick’s look which seemed to say I feel for you, man.
Vaughn clenched his teeth. For as much as Roy loved his kid, it wasn’t Vaughn’s job to see to it Todd succeeded. He had his own life and problems to deal with.
“Listen, Roy. I love the kids and I’ll always be here for them in one way or another, but my focus is on the lodge now,” Vaughn said, trying like hell to ignore the disappointed look in the man’s eyes.
“Why don’t you lay off Vaughn and go see if your boy wants to throw a few balls with you in the yard?” Nick suggested. “That’s always good for both of you.”
Roy frowned. “He’s busy with his friends.”
“Then give him his freedom,” Vaughn said. “Boys his age need that, especially with all the demands on Todd this summer. He knows you’ll be there for him.”
“I guess. Well, I’m gonna go back to work. I’m determined to get you back to your normal schedule despite the problems.”
As he stomped off toward the parking lot, Vaughn and Nick exchanged glances. “He’s got nothing else in his life,” Nick said. “So he drinks and cheats on his wife and puts all his hopes and dreams on Todd. Don’t make it your headache.”
“I hear you.” It was just the stupid pain in his chest he got when he thought about both the similarities and differences between himself and Todd. “I’m going to hit the road,” he said to Nick.
“You’re going to deal with Ms. Jordan first.” Nick grinned, looking across the field.
Vaughn drew a deep breath as Annabelle approached, those too-high heels and impossibly long legs drawing his attention with each step.
Mara was right behind her, calling, “Nick, I was hoping to have a word with you.”
Vaughn chuckled. “You’re not out of the woods, either, my friend.”
Annabelle sauntered up to him, a sassy sway to her hips. “I knew you coached during the school year but I didn’t realize you did it during the summer, too.”
He shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”
“I told you I could use everything about you to work the PR angle, yet you continue to withhold information.” She sashayed closer. “I’m not into secrets.” She bunched his T-shirt in her hands and rose to her tiptoes so they were eye to eye, though it was her lips he couldn’t take his eyes off of.
“You know I prefer to get things out into the open,” she said and, continuing to tease him, she brushed a kiss over his lips.
His dick hardened and the desire to have her now, on the lawn, in front of Nick, Mara and the wide blue sky overwhelmed him. “You realize we have an audience?”
He nodded toward his best friend and his assistant. Although in truth, Vaughn didn’t know whether they were watching or engaged in their own version of foreplay.
“Why don’t we go somewhere we can be alone?” Annabelle’s eyes glittered with excitement and he wanted nothing more than to agree.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t. “I need to go home and shower.” He leaned forward and nibbled on her mouth. “You can join me,” he suggested.
“Actually, I have a better idea.” She stepped back.
“What?”
“It’s all here.” She held a piece of paper in her hand and playfully turned it from side to side.
He tried to grab the sheet but she snatched it away, still teasing.
“Are you coming, Annabelle?” Mara asked.
Vaughn glanced over in time to see Mara sweep a hand down Nick’s cheek and walk away, his friend’s hungry eyes following the movement.
Nick had it bad. Not that Vaughn was one to talk.
“I’m coming,” Annabelle told Mara.
“Where are you going?” Vaughn asked her.
She pulled on the waistband of his shorts and dropped her note into his pants. She was all sex appeal, but in her eyes he thought he caught a glimpse of something more. Something that made his breath catch and his heart nearly stop.
“Meet me tonight,” she said in a husky voice.
He caught her wrist in his hand. “What do you have planned in that mind of yours?”
She grinned. “Something just for you in a place where we’re guaranteed not to be interrupted,” she promised him.
“Last taxi is pulling out now.” Mara’s voice interrupted them.
Annabelle waved goodbye to Vaughn with a wiggle of her fingers and a seductive twist of her hips as she took off with Mara.
Nick let out a slow whistle. “Who’d have thought wine coolers could have such a potent effect on women.”
Vaughn laughed. “I take it Mara was flashing her wares at you?”
Nick looked up at the heavens. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“You trusting her now?” Vaughn asked.
“I’m trying.”
“You?” Nick asked.
“I’ve got no reason to worry about that. Annabelle’s job will be done and she’ll be gone soon.”
Nick kicked his sneakered foot against the dirt. “Yeah, sure, buddy. That’s what we tell ourselves when we’re trying not to fall too hard.” He slapped Vaughn on the back. “Just be careful, okay?”
“You looking out for me now?”
He smirked. “Actually, you can take care of yourself just fine. It’s Annabelle I’m worried about.”
But Vaughn caught the lie in his friend’s gaze.
They parted ways in the parking lot, Vaughn’s mind on the note in his shorts from Annabelle, when a distinctive blue SUV pulled into the space beside him.
His day went from promising to crap in seconds flat. He opened his car door anyway, intending to appear rushed and annoyed. Which he was, as his parents climbed out of their car.
“Hello, Mom. Dad.” He propped his arm on the window and waited for them to come to him. He’d been dodging their calls and expecting this visit since the vandalism at the lodge hit the local news.
“Hello, Brandon.” Estelle stepped forward, Vaughn’s father at her side, and an awkward silence followed.
“How’d you find me here?” Vaughn finally asked.
“According to most everyone in town, if you aren’t home and you aren’t at the lodge, you’re on the field coaching misfits,” Theodore said.
“I doubt those were anyone’s words but yours,” Vaughn muttered. “But the point is the same. Everyone in town knows where your son is except you.”
“Brandon, Theodore, please, don’t do this,” Estelle said, interjecting between them. “We came to have a pleasant conversation.”
“Which we tried to do on the phone, except you’ve been ignoring our calls,” his father added.
Vaughn pinched his forehead between his fingers. “I’ve been busy.”
“Trying to get that godforsaken lodge up and running. We know.” Theodore waved a hand dismissively. “Why coach here for nothing when you could have a prestigious job at the college?” his father asked.
Surprisingly his mother shot Theodore an annoyed look. Standing up for Vaughn? Doubtful.
“Brandon, the publicity surrounding this venture is all negative.” His mother shook her head. “Your father and I only want what’s best for us all. Take the coaching job and let this pie-in-the-sky dream go.”
She reached out to touch his arm, but he stepped out of reach, the back of his legs hitting the inside of the car. “The lodge is my dream,” he said through clenched teeth. “Just like pro football was my dream. But my dreams don’t mean anything to either one of you. Only Dad’s dreams do.” He shook his head in frustration. “I’m not taking the damn coaching job and Dad can just tell the board that I said to shove it. You’re both just going to have to deal with that.”
“I told you this trip would be a waste of our time,” Theodore said to Estelle.
She shot him a pleading glance and for the first time he saw a glimpse of a caring woman. Too bad the caring was all about them. And they excluded their only son.
He watched them walk back to their car and drive away.
Settled in his vehicle, he slammed a hand against the steering wheel, his parents disapproving faces in front of him. They never gave their support, he knew they never would and yet he wished for it anyway. Like a kid in a candy store, they reduced him to a needy state and he frigging hated how it made him feel.
He shifted in his seat and got stabbed in the gut. He couldn’t help but grin as he pulled Annabelle’s forgotten note out of his pants. He shook his head, laughing, his mood immediately lightening. Leave it to Annabelle to come up with such a unique method of delivery.
He unfolded the paper and read her hastily written words. “Peace, quiet and space. Meet me at the lodge for all three and more. A.”
Her timing was impeccable, he thought. She seemed to know what he needed even before he did. And tonight, he needed her.