Bittersweet Surrender (19 page)

Sitting here at a restaurant, Scott had pretty much heard Melissa's life story. The woman acted as though she hadn't had adult companionship for years. He'd heard somewhere that women have a lot of words they need to get out every day. And from the ride over, he was convinced Melissa had been storing hers up for some time now. Maybe she would slow down with food.

He planned to feed her a lot.

Carly took a look at herself in the full-
length mirror. Dressed in the delicate red dress and dainty jewelry, she could hardly believe the difference a little fixing up and losing a few pounds could bring. Okay, and she'd had her hair professionally colored. She wasn't going to risk those stubborn grays poking out tonight. With her polished nails, fresh haircut and color, and new dress, she felt better than she had felt in a long time.

“You look amazing,” Jake said when she stepped into the living room.

“Thanks. You look good yourself,” she said, taking in how the crisp blue shirt hugged his broad chest and his biceps ballooned beneath his sleeves. The military had been good to him.

“Magnolia here?”

“No, she's gone to the church for a meeting.”

He slipped his arms around her waist, pulled her into him, and brushed a light kiss on her lips. How many times as a kid had she dreamed of him kissing her? Now it had finally happened. Her first kiss since Gary walked away.

Hmm . . .

The kiss was warm and pleasant, but it didn't exactly curl her toes. Once she had married, she never thought her lips would touch anyone's but Gary's.

“I've been wanting to do that since I saw you.” He smiled and ushered her down the stairs toward the spa and out of the house.

Finally, she was making a life for herself. Starting over. And not with just anyone. She was with Jake Mitchell. That thought alone should send her flying. But when she looked at him, she felt a kink in her stomach. It wasn't Jake she saw when he grabbed her hand and grinned at her just now.

It was Gary. Sometimes she wondered if she'd ever be able to move on.

Jake helped her into the car, then pulled to the edge of the drive. “Katelyn will be arriving tomorrow,” he said, making sure the way was clear before he backed out.

“Got any special plans?”

“Plans? What do you mean? She's going to spend the day getting her room cleaned up. I put her furniture in there, but she has to put her things away. It's good for a kid to have responsibilities. I won't raise any slackers.”

His face had turned a slight shade of red, and Carly wondered what she had said that upset him.

“I didn't mean anything by that. I—”

He waved her off. “I know. Sorry. I get a little heated where Katelyn is concerned. As I told you in our e-mails, we haven't been getting along too well.”

“I remember.” She made a mental note to remember he had a temper too.

From that point on, she steered the conversation away from Katelyn, and over dinner they talked about his days in the military, his work in Chicago, and his interests. Midway through their conversation, they were interrupted.

“Well, hello.”

Carly looked up to see Scott standing there with Melissa Winters, who looked drop-dead gorgeous. “Hi,” she said, making the necessary introductions. She didn't miss the way Jake looked at Melissa. Just like every other man in the room.

They talked a few minutes about the food and atmosphere at the restaurant and while Jake discovered that he'd gone to school with Melissa's brother, Scott leaned in to Carly.

“You clean up pretty good,” he said with a grin.

“You're not so bad yourself.”

He had a fresh haircut, styled and slicked up with the latest hair products, which gave him a trendy, youthful look. Standing next to Miss America, they made quite a handsome couple. Suddenly, Carly felt a tad dowdy. In fact, she was beginning to see the family resemblance between her and Magnolia. And they weren't even related by blood.

“Looks like we both took the plunge.”

Carly smiled. “I'm proud of you.” She kept it to herself that she would have chosen someone else for him. She was not his mother, after all.

“I thought you might be. But don't expect me to head down the aisle any time soon.”

“I'm glad to hear that. You're not ready,” Carly said.

“Are you?” He studied Carly but before she could respond, Jake turned to her.

“So, Squirt, you ready to go?”

She guessed it would take time for him to get the name right.

“Scott, we'd better let these two get back to their date,” Melissa said in a silky evening-date–type voice. She put her hand on his arm. “Good to see you.” There wasn't a hint of sincerity in the smile she flashed before they walked off together.

Carly wanted to pluck the woman's manicured nails from Scott's arm and scream at him to run for dear life.

“You still with me?” Jake asked.

“What? Oh yeah. Sorry. Just thinking.”

Jake added the tip on the bill and signed his name before getting up. “Thinking about what?”

“Nothing, really.”

She'd thought Scott was different than every other man, but obviously not. They were driven by the physical. That was just life.

She'd have to accept it.

“You know I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't
urgent, Carly.” Sitting on her sofa, C. J. twisted his hands together and Carly couldn't help the compassion swelling inside her for her brother. He was in trouble. Again. In over his head. Sometimes she felt instead of living in Spring Creek they lived in some big city where mafia and hit men abounded. Evidently, every city had its problems.

She felt sure there were better ways to spend her Saturday mornings.

“How much this time, C. J.?” At this rate, she'd never get that surgery. Every time she was within reach of her goal, C. J. showed up on her doorstep. She knew she should tell him no, but he was her brother. If he got hurt because she didn't give him the money to pay his debts, how could she forgive herself?

“You don't know how I hate to ask you, sis. But if Rita finds out . . .”

“I understand. How much?”

“I'll make it up to you, sis. I promise.”

She sighed. How many times had she heard that one? “How much?”

He grabbed her hand and stared into her eyes. “I swear I will make it up to you.”

Okay, now he scared her. He wasn't telling her how much, which meant it was a lot. “C. J., how much?”

His gaze dropped to his hands. “Five thousand.”

Her breath stuck in her throat. “Five thousand. Dollars?”

“I know it's a lot, but I'll pay you back. I promise.”

Carly looked at him and knew full well he meant it. With everything in him, he wanted to pay her back. Unfortunately, it never happened. Did he know how long it had taken her to save that amount of money? She needed to expand not only her chest but her business. At this rate, she'd never do either.

She felt a strength swell up in her that she hadn't dreamed possible. She looked him full in the face and said, “I'll have to think about it.”

He blinked. “What?”

She'd never put him off before. Not ever.

“I said I'll have to think about it.”

He gulped, then panic flit across his face. “Carly, I can't mess around with these guys. They mean business.”

“You should have thought about that before you gambled with them.” As the words came out of her mouth, she looked around to see who had said them.

His face hardened. “So that's how it's going to be? Just like that you write me off? In my hour of need you turn on me?”

The sharp intensity of his voice normally made her give in. But not this time.

“Where's that Christian love you're always preaching to me about?” When he turned to her, there was no trace of the loveable brother she longed to see. Deep lines and angles etched his face, his eyes flashed, his lips thinned.

“Christian love takes many forms, C. J.,” she said, her words quiet and measured.

“However it suits you, right, sis? Thanks for nothing.”

With that he stormed out of the house, leaving her shaking and breathless. The tears she'd been holding back broke free. She pulled her hands to her face and cried like she'd never cried before. It was as though all the past had caught up with her in that moment. She cried for her lost breast. She cried for Gary walking out, getting remarried, and living in Estes Park. She cried over her best friend's death. Her dad. Her stepmom moving in. Her business struggles. Her brother. She cried until she could cry no more.

And by the time it was over, she didn't feel any better.

Maybe C. J. was right. Maybe she didn't have Christian love anymore.

“Scott, I know it 's Saturday and I shouldn't
bother you, but could we go for a walk?” Carly hated to call him on a Saturday, but after her brother's visit, she had to talk to somebody. Rita was the person she normally went to, but obviously she couldn't talk to her about it. Sometimes she talked with Amber, but this was far too personal to discuss with her.

“Wait.
You
are calling
me
to go exercise? Who are you and what have you done with Carly?”

“Ha, ha.” She deserved that. “Truly, I need a friend right now.”

Once he heard the seriousness in her voice, he didn't hesitate. “I'll be over in five minutes.”

When Scott showed up at her door, his face was pale, his brows pulled into a worry line. “Please, tell me you're not sick again.”

She hadn't thought about him thinking that. “Oh no, it's not that.” The obvious relief on his face comforted her. Scott truly cared what happened to her. It was nice to know
someone
cared.

“Why aren't you working today?”

“Nothing on the schedule for me today. Other techs are covering.”

His shoulders relaxed. “So tell me what's wrong.”

“It has to do with C. J. I've never told you—I've never told anyone—but C. J. has a gambling problem. He came over this morning.”

Scott nodded and listened while she explained to him the discussion she had with C. J. earlier that morning. Of course, she didn't tell him how badly she needed that money and that she was saving for the surgery of a lifetime. Some things were just too personal to share—especially with a man. Even Scott.

“Yeah, I see the problem.”

“It's not that I don't want to help him, but when is enough enough? I've never minded before, but Rita and I are great friends, and I got to thinking how would she feel if she found out all this time I'd been bailing him out of these spots and she knew nothing about it. It seems dishonest and deceitful.”

“I agree.”

“And yet if I tell her, then I'm betraying C. J.'s confidence, and that wouldn't be right either.”

“You know, Carly, it's really not fair that he's putting you in this position.”

“I know.” Her legs grew heavier with every step. She should have warmed up with her yoga routine.

“Besides that, you're doing him a favor to say no. He's obviously addicted and can't help himself. As long as you give in to him, he'll continue in this pattern until you're both spent.”

“Yes, but he's my brother. What if they hurt him? I would never forgive myself if I caused that.”

“That's just it. If that happened, it wouldn't be because
you
caused it. It would happen because
he
caused it.”

“Yes, I know, theoretically that's true, but deep down I would always feel it was my fault.” Tears sprang to her eyes again, and she swallowed hard. She didn't want to go there again. “So did you have a nice date last night?” she asked him in hopes to keep herself from crying.

“Yeah, we had a nice time.”

She couldn't worry about that either. Scott was a smart guy. If Melissa was the kind of woman Carly thought she was, Scott would see right through her. And if Carly had her pegged wrong, he'd see that too.

“How about you?” he asked.

“Yeah, we did.” Suddenly she felt selfish. After all, she had had a nice time with Jake and she cared about him a lot. Why shouldn't Scott be happy too? She didn't even know Melissa all that well, so who was she to judge their relationship?

They talked awhile about their first dates in forever and finally ended back at Carly's house.

“Thank you for meeting me, Scott. I always feel better when I talk with you.” She smiled.

“Pray about it, Carly, before you go any further. God will get you all through this.”

She knew he was right. “How did you get so smart?”

“Lucky, I guess.” He flashed a warm grin. “Take care of yourself, kiddo.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and started to leave but stopped short and turned back to face her.