Chapter Three
Kane helped Halley unload her paintings and carried them into Glaziers. He’d passed by the gallery often, never curious or bothering to go inside. It was funny how he now had a sudden appreciation for art. And the woman painting it.
The gallery owner was a lovely woman in her mid-forties named Faith. She had blonde hair and an affect in her voice, but she was warm and clearly in love with Halley’s work, and she, in turn, lit up with the praise. Her cheeks were flushed, and she had an excited note in her voice he hadn’t heard from her before. He wanted to see and hear her happiness more often.
Once they finished, they drove to the Shack, his go-to for hamburgers and fries. It was what the name implied, a shack on the beach, a hidden gem in their town.
“Have you eaten here before?” he asked after they’d placed their orders and chosen a small picnic table, the only kind of seating offered here. It was no frills and who he was. Time would tell if Halley approved.
“Nope. But I love a good burger and I’m starving.”
She wasn’t turning her nose up at his favorite place. That worked for him.
A little while later, they were sitting across from each other. They’d finished their burgers, and Halley was picking at her fries, dipping them in ketchup and delicately placing them in her mouth, one at a time. “Good?” he asked.
She nodded, mouth full, and only after she’d swallowed did she grin. “This place is amazing.”
He laughed. “I take Nicky here often. He loves it.”
“So he’s your sister Andrea’s little boy?”
He nodded. “She got pregnant and married Nicky’s father. Unfortunately, he wasn’t model husband material. He was a deadbeat father who left town, to everyone’s relief.”
Halley winced.
And Kane’s jaw clenched as he told the story, always angry on his sister’s behalf. “Andrea hasn’t heard from him since. Which, as far as I’m concerned, is a blessing.”
“That’s awful,” Halley murmured.
“Agreed.”
“You and your sister are close, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Very.”
She smiled. “Phoebe and I are close, too, which sometimes surprises me because we’re so different.”
“How so?” He leaned forward, interested in any glimpse she’d give him into her life.
“Well,” she said, twirling a French fry in her hand, “I’m quiet, I like being alone in my house with my painting, and my sister is a people person. That’s what makes her so good at her job. She can talk to anyone about anything. With me, it’s more like pulling teeth.”
He met her gaze. “I like the silent type. It’s more intriguing to find out what makes you tick.”
She blushed at that. “I’m really not that interesting.”
“And I beg to differ.” But he wasn’t going to push. They’d had a fun lunch, she’d gotten a little comfortable with him, and that was good enough for today.
She took a sip of her soda. “It must be nice working with your dad.”
Her topic choice took him off guard. “It’s good to have a family business.”
“I sometimes wonder what it would be like if my dad had lived,” she said, then her eyes opened wide, as if she’d realized what she said.
“What happened to him?”
She looked down. “He was in the army. He died in combat in Iraq.”
He reached over and touched her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“I was only three. I don’t even remember him because he was never home.”
She drew her tongue over her lips and he charted the movement, wondering how she’d taste. Sweet? Tart? Would her lips be soft? He couldn’t let thoughts of sex distract him from the important fact that she was letting him in, at least a little.
“I lost my mom when I was fifteen,” he said, hoping to keep her talking with some truths of his own. “The next few years sucked.”
Her eyes grew soft. “That was when you used to help me out in school,” she murmured.
“I remember you’d just transferred in and it wasn’t easy for you. I had a hard time after Mom died, and I felt like I understood you a little. I wanted to help.”
She managed a smile. “You did. More than you can imagine.”
“I’m glad.”
She glanced at their joined hands, his palm still covering hers. He slid his off her without making an issue.
Then, sensing she’d had enough for one day, he crumpled up the foil wrapper from his burger. “Ready to head home? I need to stop by the garage this afternoon and make sure things are running smoothly.”
He’d left Jackson in charge, which wasn’t the issue. His father was at the garage, as well. Kane always felt better knowing he’d looked in on his dad.
“Sure,” she said, gathering her garbage, too, and they tossed the trash.
They walked side by side to his truck, and he opened her door, helping her up and inside. She was silent on the way home, and it was a comfortable silence, one he didn’t take for granted.
Her house wasn’t far from the Shack, and they pulled up in front. He jumped out and met her at her side.
She opened her mouth to argue about the need to walk her to the door, but he placed a finger over her parted lips. It was as close as he’d be getting to finding out if they were as soft as he’d imagined.
They were.
“No argument, beautiful.”
Once again, that light flush stained her cheeks.
He placed a hand at the small of her back and guided her up the walk to her front door. She turned to face him, eyes wide and… expectant.
He had her off-balance and he liked it that way. She waited for him to speak. Or kiss her, if the look on her face—flushed cheeks, tipped-back head, parted lips—was any indication.
He leaned in and brushed his lips over her cheek. Her skin was even softer than her lips. “Bye, Halley.”
“Bye,” she whispered as he straightened and walked away. He found it damned hard not to look back.
* * *
The next morning, a banging noise filtered into Halley’s brain, rousing her from sleep. She thought she was imagining it, tried to fall back into the dream she’d been having. A dream about Kane, where the kiss she’d been denied the day before had actually happened. His warm lips had covered hers and his tongue slid over her mouth in a lazy glide, resulting in her letting him inside. She moaned. He gripped the back of her head, tilting her for better, deeper access. His tongue tangled with hers and she hooked a leg around his, arching her hips so her sex ground against his.
The loud banging penetrated her head once more, drumming through her skull, interrupting her recall of the sexy dream.
“Damn,” she muttered, forcing her eyelids open and pushing herself up in bed.
The noise sounded like it was coming from the back of the house, and she needed to check out the cause. It was too early on a Sunday morning to be woken out of a sound slumber with hot dreams, especially because she didn’t sleep easily and she definitely didn’t have sex-filled dreams often, if ever.
She climbed out of bed and retrieved a short silk robe from the back of the chair by the small vanity in her room and pulled it on, knotting the belt at her waist.
Then she walked out of her bedroom and past her easel to the doors leading to the back deck, stopping short at the sight.
Kane had carried a fair amount of the treated wood out from beneath the tarp, and he was in the process of bringing more. Wearing a pair of jeans and a fitted white tee shirt, muscles flexing, he dropped the wood onto the pile, the loud sound explaining the noise.
She was embarrassed now that she knew it was him and he’d interrupted himself starring in her sensual dream. But she needed to know why he was here.
She unlocked the door and flung the slider open. “What’s going on?” She tugged on the belt of her robe and stepped outside. “Kane?”
He glanced up, his eyes scanning from her bare feet and legs, up over her body and neck, landing on her face. Pure male approval glittered in his gaze, which, considering she’d just rolled out of bed without checking a mirror, startled her.
He walked over, stopping in front of her. “Good morning.”
She swallowed hard and ignored the heat that rushed to her cheeks at his perusal. “Good morning. What are you doing?” she asked him.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” He gestured to the stack of wood he’d accumulated. “I’m fixing your deck.”
“Yes, I see that. I meant… why?”
“Because it needs to be done and I like working with my hands.”
Her mind raced to the innuendo in that statement, his hands stroking over her body, taking his time, outlining her curves. And when he winked at her, she knew she hadn’t been the only one whose mind went there.
She cleared her throat. “I appreciate that you want to help me, but I can’t take advantage of you like that.” Take advantage. Jesus. Why did everything out of their mouths feel like it had a sexual connotation?
“You’re not taking advantage. I want to do it. I renovated the house my father lives in if you need a reference,” he said, and she wasn’t sure if he was joking about the referral. “As long as you don’t mind me working during my free time, I don’t mind getting it done.”
“Thank you. Really.” She’d have to do what she could to show her appreciation. And very specific ways of giving gratitude came to mind. Her on her knees in front of him, slowly undoing his zipper until his cock sprang free. Gah! What was she doing, thinking about him that way while he watched her, amusement in his knowing gaze?
He reached out and lifted the end of the tie on her robe. “Now that we’ve settled that, can you do me a favor?” He ran the silk between his thumb and forefinger, slowly. Sensually.
“Of course. Name it,” she said in a hoarse croak, mesmerized by the way his calloused fingers caressed the soft material, her nipples hard beneath her camisole.
“Please go put on some damned clothes,” he said in a roughened voice. “You’re distracting me from my work.” His gaze had zeroed in on the hardened peaks poking at her robe.
Oh, God. She blushed, something that was becoming a habit when he was around, turned, and headed inside.
* * *
Kane had been working for a few hours. The morning summer sun grew even hotter against his skin. Halley had brought him cold water a few times, which he appreciated about as much as he did the fact that she’d changed into one of the floaty dresses she preferred, which showed so much of her tanned, bared skin. And thank God she wasn’t wearing that short robe that hit her at mid-thigh, teasing him with thoughts of what he’d find if he slid his finger beneath the silk and traveled upward in search of her feminine sex. More than once, he’d nearly hurt himself thanks to the distraction of the woman inside the house.
The sound of a car door slamming distracted him from his thoughts. Another one followed. Halley had company and he wondered who was here. From what he’d gathered so far, she didn’t have a big group of friends.
She was so damned interesting to him. It wasn’t just the fact that he found her so fucking sexy, or that the desire to taste her everywhere only grew each time they were together. She’d given him a glimpse into the wistful side of herself yesterday, admitting how she wondered if her life would have been different had her father lived. It was a tiny nugget of information, and it opened up more questions than answers, and yet it was something.
An indicator of trust, small though it might be. It was something he could work with.
Build on.
And he intended to use every tool at his disposal. But for now, he needed to get back to work.
* * *
After leaving Kane on the deck, Halley took a shower, painfully aware of the hot man hard at work right outside her house. She rushed through her morning routine, blow-drying her hair and putting on a little makeup, some mascara, foundation, blush, and lip gloss, taking more care than usual because of Kane.
She shouldn’t care.
She told herself she didn’t. But only a fool would believe those weak protestations. She was too aware of Kane and the heat they generated when they were together. Now he was showing her he was a nice guy, too, something she’d known in the past and now understood hadn’t changed.
After Kane had been working for awhile, she took out the ingredients for omelets, intending to make him a meal by way of thanks. Cooking was the only way she could think of to show her appreciation for the hard work he was and would be putting in on her house. She could feed him or send him home with homemade meals so he didn’t have to leave here and worry about what he’d eat later.
She was a self-taught cook. She loved watching cooking shows in her free time and creating meals for herself to eat. Considering she didn’t go out much, it was her treat to herself and she enjoyed it. Sometimes she invited her sister, nephew, and her aunt over because they worried about how much time she spent holed up painting. This showed them she was fine and they didn’t need to be concerned.
She’d taken out everything she needed when her doorbell rang. She looked through the peephole, surprised to see her sister and her aunt standing out front.
She let them in. “What are you guys doing here?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
“I need to talk to you, and without a car, you can’t come to the house,” Aunt Joy said, sounding frazzled.
“So we came to you.” Phoebe walked into the family room, her gaze immediately going to the noise on the deck. “Is that…?” Her voice trailed off and she stepped closer to the window. “It’s Kane Harmon! What’s he doing here on a Sunday morning, working on your deck?”
“He—”
“Wait. Didn’t I see you talking to him at the Blue Wall on Friday night? Don’t tell me you two hooked up?” she asked, her voice lifting, and she sounded hopeful.
Another thing her sister always bemoaned was the fact that Halley didn’t go out on dates.
Halley blushed. “What? No! He drove me home from the garage after my SUV died. He saw the house, the unfinished deck, and just showed up to help me out.”
Halley glanced at her aunt, who looked on with amusement. She wisely remained silent. She wouldn’t gang up on Halley or pump her for information about her private life. That was Phoebe’s forte.
“He runs a garage. What does he know about construction?” Phoebe asked.
“He says he’s good with his hands,” Halley said, folding her arms defensively across her chest. Phoebe would keep prying, she knew.
“I’ll just bet he is.”
Ignoring her innuendo, which she’d already decided there’d been too much of today, she rerouted the conversation. “So are you guys going to tell me why you’re here?”
“It’s a long story,” her aunt said. “Maybe we should sit.”
“I need to put away eggs and milk I took out of the refrigerator first. Come into the kitchen. We can sit in there.”
Her aunt nodded and started for the other room.
Phoebe headed after her, pausing by Halley to whisper, “You really need to take advantage of all that male hotness.”
Halley rolled her eyes and walked to the kitchen, her sister following.
“Before we get started, do you have anything cold to drink?” Phoebe asked, then, without waiting for an answer, opened the refrigerator to check for herself and pulled out a Diet Coke.
Phoebe often visited and just as often made herself at home. Asking was a courtesy she didn’t need to do. “Anyone want one?” she asked.
“No,” Halley and her aunt said at once.
Phoebe turned around and met Aunt Joy’s gaze.
Halley had the definite feeling she was the only one who didn’t know why Aunt Joy needed to talk in person.
“What’s going on?” Halley asked, antsy because this felt like an ambush. She couldn’t imagine what her aunt needed to discuss that she couldn’t do over the phone.
“Let’s sit.” Aunt Joy walked over to the granite table, one of Halley’s favorite things in the house, a mix of black, white, and gray swirls. She pulled out a chair and took a seat, then waited for Halley and Phoebe to join her.
Seated, Halley propped her arms on the table and leaned forward, glancing from her sister to her aunt, struck as she always was by how much they resembled each other in appearance. With their light blonde hair, the women looked like mother and daughter. They shared the straight blonde hair, green eyes, and elegant features. They dressed similarly, too. Where Halley enjoyed loose, flowing dresses and clothing, Phoebe and Joy chose tailored suits and dresses, more fitting for work than a casual day at home. And Joy didn’t work. Phoebe’s poise also came from their aunt.
Halley looked at them pointedly.
When silence reigned, Halley couldn’t wait any longer. “Okay, someone talk.”
“I had a visitor this morning,” Aunt Joy finally said.
“Okay?”
Aunt Joy reached over and took Halley’s hand in hers. “My sister… your mother stopped by the house.”
She took the words like a punch in the stomach. “What?” Halley couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Our mother, who we haven’t seen or heard from since the state took us away as children, came to see you? You’ve got to be kidding.”
Aunt Joy shook her head. “I’m not joking. I wouldn’t.”
Halley swung her gaze to her silent sister. “You knew,” she accused.
“Aunt Joy told me on the way here because I wouldn’t stop bugging her about what was wrong.” Phoebe’s cheeks were flushed and she was obviously shaken up, too.
“What did she want?” Halley asked.
Aunt Joy fidgeted in her seat. “It’s complicated, but I have a feeling you’ll both be hearing from her.”
Halley slid her hand from her aunt’s grasp and wrapped her arms around herself. Her mouth was dry, her heart racing, and her ears buzzed, all signs of an imminent panic attack. She started to take deep, calming breaths.
“Why all of a sudden?” Phoebe spat angrily. “Why now?”
Aunt Joy rose from her seat. “Here’s the thing. It’s not the first time I’ve seen her recently.” She began pacing back and forth over the large ceramic tiles in the kitchen.
“What does that mean?” Phoebe asked.
“Meg has been out of jail for about six months. She called me when she was released, and I gave her money to help her get on her feet.”
Shock rippled through Halley. It didn’t seem like her aunt to keep this big of a secret. “Did she ask about us then?” Halley wondered aloud.
“Who cares!” Phoebe yelled at her. “She was a crap mother who let us get taken away, then got herself arrested for possession and intent to sell. She didn’t care about us when we were young and needed her. Why do you care now?”
Halley glanced down at her lap. “I don’t know why I asked.”
But she did. Because a part of her had always wanted to believe there’d been a mistake, that their mother really loved them. That she was sorry for all she’d done.
Wringing her hands, Aunt Joy spoke. “Girls, please. Don’t fight with each other. It won’t help.” She walked over and placed a comforting hand on Halley’s shoulder. “And no, honey, she didn’t ask about you then. She was scared to start over, and I thought if I gave her money and she’d changed, she’d come back to see you both once she got settled.”
“Is that what her visit was about? She’s established herself and her life and she’s ready to see us?” Halley asked, hating that she still held on to hope where her mother was concerned.
“No.” Her aunt’s grip on her shoulder tightened. “She ran out of money and wanted more. I asked if she’d gotten a job. If she was self-sufficient or partly so. If she was trying, I would have helped her again. But she wasn’t. She isn’t. She thinks she’s entitled to family money.”
“She isn’t, though, right? Your parents wrote her out of the will?” she asked of their grandparents, who had passed away before they came to live with their aunt and who had turned their backs on her mother when she ran off to marry a man with no prospects other than serving his country.
“They wrote her out of the will,” Aunt Joy said with a nod.
Halley didn’t understand her grandparents. All she knew was that Aunt Joy said they were strict, rigid, and their way was the only way. When Meg didn’t do what they thought was right for her, they’d shut her out. They hadn’t even softened after Halley’s father was killed in action.
And when the state stepped in to take them away, only Aunt Joy’s father was alive, and he claimed himself incapable of caring for little children. Never mind the fact that he could have afforded full-time help. Joy’s father hadn’t even told her that her sister had children, never mind that the state had taken them away.
Halley glanced at her sister. Phoebe ran a hand through her hair, pulling on the long strands in fear and frustration.
“And though I would help Meg again if she needed it, I won’t enable her,” Aunt Joy spoke again after a long silence. “So I think she’s going to try and reach out to you two. For money.”
“I don’t want to see her,” Phoebe said.
Halley remained silent. She had mixed feelings. She couldn’t help it. A part of her, the hurt little girl who still lived inside her, was curious about her mom.
“Halley?” Phoebe pushed her for an answer. She wanted to know what Halley planned to do if she heard from her.
“I… I don’t know,” she admitted.
“Halley!” Phoebe said, appalled.
“Girls, I can’t tell you what to do,” their aunt chimed in. “You’re adults. But I wouldn’t be doing right by you if I wasn’t honest now. And I’m afraid she’s going to play on your emotions to get what she wants, and in the end, you’re only going to be hurt.”
Halley placed her hand on her aunt’s for a quick second, indicating she understood. “I need to think.”
“I don’t,” Phoebe muttered. She rose, leaving her soda unopened on the table. “I need to go. I have phone calls to return for work.”
Her sister was angry. Shit. “Phoebe—”
“Not now. We both need to digest all this. Aunt Joy? Will you take me home now?”
Their aunt shot Halley a regret-filled glance. “I’ll call you later,” she said.
“I’m fine.” That was a lie. But she didn’t want Aunt Joy worrying even more.
“How will she find us?” Halley couldn’t help but ask. “She doesn’t know where I live or that you changed our names back to Ward, right?” When they’d returned from foster care, Aunt Joy wanted them to have a fresh start.
Their father had died years ago. His parents were elderly and hadn’t taken the girls after foster care stepped in. They, too, had claimed they didn’t feel capable of caring for young kids. Juliette was already gone by then, anyway. Again, their aunt had filled in all the blanks. She’d wanted the girls to have the option of changing their last name.
At the time, Phoebe, especially, had clung to their aunt. Halley had done whatever her sister wanted. They’d given up their father’s name and taken the family last name.
“I didn’t give her your numbers. She knows Phoebe lives in the guesthouse but she doesn’t know where, exactly, you live,” she said to Halley. “But after Meg left, I realized she played me. She asked if I’d get her water, and when I went to the kitchen, I left my cell phone on the table in the living room. I didn’t even think about it until she was gone, but my phone had been moved and she’d been pumping me for information once I refused to write her a check.”
Phoebe now folded her arms across her chest. “But cell phones need passwords.”
“Umm, I didn’t opt to put one on there.” Their aunt’s cheeks flushed red. “All she had to do was type in your first names. I’m sorry.”
“Great,” Phoebe muttered.
With a sigh, Aunt Joy turned and started to walk out of the room. She turned. “I’ll call you,” she said to Halley.
Halley nodded.
After they left, Halley let herself out onto the half-finished deck. Kane wasn’t out back. Maybe he’d left without saying good-bye, not wanting to interrupt her. She decided a walk to the ocean was in order. She walked down the stairs on the deck and strolled to the beach. She sat down on the sand, watching the waves lap against the shore in a rhythmic pattern she’d always found soothing.
In her heart and soul, she knew if her mother surfaced, it wouldn’t be to have a warm reconciliation or to beg forgiveness. She just wished she didn’t find it so hard to accept. As a little girl, she didn’t understand why she’d been sent to a new home with people she didn’t know. Or why she was so often hungry or bullied by girls as she got older. She’d cry because she missed her mom, or at least, as time went by, wished her mom would come rescue her.
By the time her aunt had shown up, Halley’s walls were high. Her anger had come out in spurts, at her aunt for not finding them sooner, at herself for never fitting in. It was always easier to be more introverted, to be alone, than to trust the people around her.
And though she tried more now, as an adult, to be kinder and more forgiving, she was still tied up in knots over the past. It kept her from moving on in any meaningful way. It prevented her from easily giving in to her interest in anything beyond her small, comfortable world.
It kept her from reaching out to Kane.