Blackwater 2 - Vance's rules (3 page)

Vance rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks for the sympathy, bro. Appreciate it.”

He waved a hand in the air. “Yeah, yeah. So, what did she want?”

“To clear the air, she said. As if that’s even possible.” He grunted. “I mean, why would she think I’d care after all this time? We’ve both moved on. What we had is over.”

He quirked a brow. “You sure about that?”

“Yes,” he replied, knowing it was a lie. Seeing Shayla again had brought it all back, as if the last twelve years hadn’t existed. No, God damn it, he’d gotten over her. She’d just surprised him with her sudden reappearance. There wasn’t any more to it than that. And maybe unicorns really did exist. “She can confess all her sins, but it won’t change the fact that whatever we had is in the past.” Vance thought of how well he’d handled the situation and groaned.

“What?”

He looked down at the floor. “I, uh, didn’t exactly welcome her with open arms.”

Sam was silent a moment, then in a low tone, he asked, “You still carrying a torch for her? And be honest.”

He thought about lying, to himself and Sammy both. Unfortunately, Sammy would see right through it the way he always did. “I don’t know,” Vance admitted. “Maybe.”

Sammy shook his head. “Did you at least find out if she’s married?”

Ah hell. “Christ, I didn’t even think to ask. I was too busy trying to figure out if I was having a really fucked-up nightmare or something.”

“You’d better find out, if you plan to go any further with her.”

Vance stiffened. “The only thing I have planned is to find out the truth. I figure she owes me that much.”

“True, but I don’t want to see you hurt.” Sammy closed the distance between them, clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “She cut you pretty bad once, Vance. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you nearly dropped out of school when she dumped you. You were pretty friggin’ raw over Shayla, and it took you a long time to get over her. Don’t let her do that to you again.”

He knew Sammy was right and that he had the best of intentions, but it still stuck in his craw that his brother had to issue the reminder. As if he was too dense to look after himself. Then again, Vance did have a tendency to forget common sense whenever that woman was anywhere near. “She’s coming over tonight,” he replied. “I figure we’ll have a calm, polite discussion; then she can leave. She’ll have a clear conscience, and I’ll know the real reason why she left. A win for both of us.”

“I hope you’re right, bro.”

When they heard a curse in the other room, they headed back into the dining area in time to see his youngest brothers, the twins Reilly and River, striding through the door. Reilly wore the heavy black parka their mom had bought him for Christmas and carried a couple of bags from the hardware store. River had his brown leather coat zipped clear to the chin. The dark sunglasses he sported gave Vance a pretty good idea why Reilly was glaring at his twin. Another late night? Probably. When Reilly punched River on the arm and River punched back, Vance knew the answer was yes. He checked the clock on the wall and frowned. “Where have you two been all morning?”

Reilly scowled at River. “Well, I’ve been busy picking up supplies from that list you gave me yesterday, but sleepyhead’s been in bed getting his beauty rest.”

Vance laughed for the first time that day. “Out too late again, River?”

He yawned, then took off his shades and stuck them in his coat pocket as he headed toward the coffeepot. “Nope, just up too late.”

About three weeks ago, River had started taking out a different woman every night, as if he was on a damn quest to bed every available woman in Blackwater. “What’s her name this time?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Christy,” River answered. The coffeepot paused halfway to his cup, and Vance watched as he frowned. “Or maybe it was Crystal.”

Vance chuckled, but Sammy wasn’t nearly as amused. “You seriously need to chill with the one-night stands or you’re going to catch something. Christ, River.”

River waved the warning away and continued pouring the coffee. “I’m not an idiot, Sammy. I do take the necessary precautions.” He held the pot out for Reilly, but he shook his head. River replaced the carafe on the warmer, while Reilly continued to frown at his twin. After River took a cautious sip, he looked over at Vance. “So, where’s your crew? I figured they’d be pounding the shit out of this place by now. We’re removing the counter today and installing the bar, right?” He paused, then added, “And where’s Mom? I thought she wanted to see the changes you drew up.”

Vance headed around the bar and sat on a stool at the counter. “Mom and Julie are out shopping; should be along any minute. And we are installing the bar, but I gave the crew the day off. They’ve been working their asses off on this place and needed the break.”

Brodix took the seat next to him and glared. “Hey, why didn’t you bitch at him the way you did me?”

Confused, Vance asked, “Huh?”

“You told all of us yesterday that the crew had today off,” he reminded him with a kick to the side of Vance’s shin. “You hate to repeat yourself, remember?”

Vance scratched his chin. “Yeah, sorry about the attitude earlier. My day didn’t quite start out the way I planned.”

“Why?” Brodix asked. “What happened?”

“Shayla Riggs happened,” Vance replied, knowing there was no use trying to keep his private life private.

“Shayla? Like, Shayla from a decade ago?” Brodix asked. When Vance nodded, Brodix let out a low whistle. “Whoa. And I see it didn’t take her long to get your boxers in a twist,” Brodix helpfully supplied. “See? This is why I don’t bother with long-term relationships. Too many cute fish in the sea to start getting all tangled up with just one little piranha, if you ask me.”

“Vance, you still hung up on that girl?” River asked with a cocky grin on his face, as he picked up on only part of the conversation.

Vance flipped him the bird and turned his attention back to Brodix. “You know, one of these days a woman is going to come along and knock you on your neatly pressed ass. Like the supportive brother that I am, I’ll gladly help you up while I laugh myself fucking silly.”

Brodix chuckled. “Not going to happen, but you keep dreaming, sugar.”

Annoyed that he hadn’t managed to ruffle his brother’s feathers in the slightest, Vance tried to come up with a witty response, but River’s cell phone started to chirp, interrupting them. He took it out of the front pocket of his coat and looked at the screen. The wide, toothy grin River suddenly sported had the room going quiet, all of them curious if the woman on the other end was the same one River had spent the night with.

When River hit the Answer button and shouted, “Sunshine!” Vance instantly knew that the person on the other end was none other than Jeanette Munroe. She happened to have the distinct role in River’s life of being his one and only friend. Jeanette was a sweet, tomboyish type and a few years younger than River. She also happened to be the only person River ever allowed to sleep in his bed. Not even the women River dated stayed all night. Vance figured it was a remnant from his brother’s nightmarish childhood. Being a foster kid had sucked for the lot of them, but River had had it worst. Abuse seemed like a tame word when Vance thought of what River’s foster father had put him through.

“God, he’ll be on the phone an hour at least,” Reilly grumbled as he watched his brother and drummed his fingers on the counter. “Now that I think about it, I remember River saying something about Jeanette coming home from college for a few days.”

Vance nodded. “Looks like we’re down one, then, because sure as shit River will be spending the rest of the day with her.”

When River set his cup down and went into the other room to talk in private, Sammy cursed.

Sammy’s entire body seemed to go rigid, and Vance frowned. “What’s wrong?”

He took a pack of gum out of his shirt pocket, ripped open a piece and popped it into his mouth before he asked, “Do you think that boy will ever figure out that Jeanette’s feelings run deeper than friendship?”

Reilly snorted. “Hell no. I asked him once why they don’t date. She’s good for him, makes him happy. He’s always more relaxed around her too.”

They all three nodded in agreement. “What’d he say?” Vance asked.

Sadness seemed to drain some of the life from Reilly in that moment. “That Jeanette deserved better than damaged goods.”

“Fuck,” Sammy replied.

“Pretty much,” Reilly said. He moved away from the counter and headed for the front door. “I’m going to start unloading the truck.”

Brodix grabbed his wool coat from a booth near the door and offered, “I’ll help.”

“Good deal,” Vance said. “We have spackling to do and a counter to rip out. Might as well get started.” After the brothers nodded and headed out, Vance looked over at Sammy. Neither of them said a word. They wanted River whole again, but they both feared that was one dream that may never come true. Hell, Vance knew too well how quickly a dream could disappear. He’d had plenty of dreams once upon a time, and several of them had included Shayla.

Chapter Four

Shayla watched Vance dish up the penne pasta and alfredo sauce he’d made for their dinner into a couple of cream-colored bowls. He placed one in front of her and smiled. “I hope you like it. The alfredo sauce is Mom’s recipe.”

Vance definitely had the “Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde” routine down pat. When she’d arrived, tension had filled the air as Vance took his time looking her over. Shayla’s body had responded to the heated journey his gaze took with a trickle of moisture between her thighs. Of course, she had taken an extra few seconds to admire Vance’s long, muscular legs in the snug-fitting jeans. What woman wouldn’t? When she’d finally managed to tear her gaze away, she’d gotten stuck on the way the white T-shirt stretched across his wide chest. Unfortunately, the frown he sent her way effectively chased away any remnants of desire.

“When I arrived earlier, you looked about as happy as a kid with a toothache, and now you’re cooking for me and smiling.” She squinted suspiciously at him. “What gives?”

“It’s dinnertime, and I’m hungry.” Vance shrugged. “Don’t eat if you don’t want it.”

She considered it a moment, then caved. No sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth. “I’m sure I’ll love it,” she offered. As she inhaled the aroma of parmesan cheese and fresh garlic, her stomach rumbled. “It smells heavenly. When did you learn to cook?”

Vance smiled as he took a seat across from her. “Mom taught all of us. She’s always held strong to the belief that whatever a woman can do, a man can do—and vice versa.”

“She’s a pretty special lady.” Shayla smiled as a memory surfaced. “I’ll never forget that time she brought that care package to the hospital for me when I had my tonsils removed. Remember that?”

“Yeah, she insisted on buying you that little red-and-white teddy bear. Swore it’d make you feel better.” He shook his head, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her that you were a senior in high school and probably didn’t sleep with teddy bears anymore.”

Shayla bobbed her eyebrows. “Ah, but you’d be wrong there. In fact, I still have George. He sleeps next to me every night.”

Vance’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Get out! Seriously?”

She laughed. “Yep.”

Vance went quiet, and she wondered where his mind had gone. She took a bite of her food and realized it tasted better than she’d imagined. It wasn’t at all fair that the man cooked as wonderful as he looked. How was a woman supposed to keep from drooling when she had a tanned, hazel-eyed hottie sitting so close? Shayla let out a sigh and dug into her food, wishing she had the right to do more than admire Vance from afar. For a while, they both ate in silence. Soon, Vance pushed his bowl away and sat back.

“I don’t see a ring,” he stated as he stared at her hand.

Shayla swallowed the last bite of her dinner and dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “Uh, that’s because I’m not married. Not dating either.” A horrible thought struck, and she asked, “You?”

“No. I’ve been too busy getting Vance’s Construction off the ground to even consider marriage.”

“Starting your own business isn’t a walk in the park. Lots of late hours.”

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

She stood, then brought her bowl to the sink and ran water in it. “I do. I started my own digital-first publishing company a few years ago. It’s just now making me enough money that I was able to quit the dreaded day job.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Digital? Like those books you can download to your phone and laptop?”

She smiled and propped herself against the counter. “Yep. And I’ve moved the company here, which was nothing short of a nightmare, let me tell you. I mean, I have a terrific staff, but there are always problems.” She shrugged. “First there was an issue with the Internet in the building we’re leasing, which took forever to fix. Then some new software we purchased recently didn’t want to cooperate with the old computers, so we were forced to upgrade. We managed to get things all worked out, but we were all pulling our hair out.”

“It sounds like a nightmare,” Vance said. He paused before adding, “So, you were serious when you said you were here to stay.”