Dreams Claimed (Warfield's Landing, #1) (14 page)

“Things are right on schedule, but I have a few questions.”

Rory was well organized so the Q and A was over in a few minutes. Nic was beginning to see the benefit to having good people take care of things, but she wasn’t going to admit it to Thomas. She looked around what was left in the studio.

“Where are the damaged paintings?”

Rory gave her a long look. “Thomas made an executive decision. They’re being taken to the art restorers, as we speak.”

Nic shook her head. “I was going to trash them.”

“We know... and they were some of the best work you’ve done. Trashing them would let Evil Stalker win. You don’t have to do anything. Let the restorers do their job and then, ship them off to the gallery. The purchasers get wonderful Nic Bannermans and good stories to tell other collectors.”

“Tell her about the pool.” One of the interns yelled from across the room where he was packing art supplies.

Nic raised an eyebrow in question.

Rory grinned as he explained, “We have an office pool going... how much more the damaged paintings will sell for. I’m predicting a major leap in prices across the board as a result. Makes me glad I got in on the ground floor,” he teased, referring to three of her paintings he’d bought several years ago. 

Teasing him back, Nic talked out of the side of her mouth, “Tell ya what I’m gonna do... I’ll give a drawing to the winner of the pool.”

From across the room another intern yelled, “Really? Sweet! I need to change my bet.”

At that moment, Nic’s phone rang, and they all froze. The crew packing up knew about the phone calls she’d been getting. She pulled it out, looked at it and called out, “It’s Thomas.” As she answered, everyone relaxed and got back to work.

“Are you at the studio?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I’m on my way. I just talked to Sylvia. She finished at your place. The plants are in your van. I’ve arranged for your van and the trucks to be stored in a warehouse overnight. The studio crew will take their truck over when they finish. First thing tomorrow, they’ll carpool up to Warfield’s Landing with the trucks, and your van with the plants. They’ll get everything unpacked and organized. If there is still work to be done the next day, Rory can take a small crew up and finish.”

“That sounds good.” Nic didn’t know what else to say. She’d finally decided her best bet was to stand back and let Thomas handle things... she was quick and agile, she’d leap out of the way before he barreled over her. And really, except for Sylvia’s refusal to do her laundry, this looked to be the easiest move she’d ever made.

“I’m on my way to pick you up. We’re meeting Karyn for dinner. You’ll ride to Warfield’s Landing with her tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.” Nic replied. She put the phone away. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, thanks. We’ve got it all under control.”

With one last look around her studio, Nic left...

B
entley sat in a corner of the condo living room, well out of the way of the madness. Daniel recognized the dog’s “What ARE you doing?” look, his brow furrowed with concern.

The smaller furniture now marched around the outside of the large room. It was obvious that it had been moved out of the way... of something.

“Everything’s okay, big guy. I’ll be done shortly.” Daniel rolled up the area rug that CeeCee had chosen for him and slid it across the hardwood floor to the room’s outer perimeter. Bentley rolled his big dark eyes and allowed his front legs to slide out from under him. Sigh...

Grabbing one corner of the sleek black leather sofa, also picked out by CeeCee, Daniel manhandled it into the middle of the room. With a ruthless disregard for the floors, he lifted one end and bounced it around. He was a big man, but the couch was fighting the good fight. Bentley watched from across the room, his worry evident.

Applying pressure to the side of the sofa, Daniel swung it the other way. He threw himself down on it and looked at the walls in front of him. He rolled off gracefully and adjusted the angle slightly.

The adjoining walls held several dramatic paintings. Daniel checked the sightlines yet again. After another nudge, he judged his mission a success. Stretched out on the couch, he could now see all of the paintings with only a slight shift of his gaze.

He strode into the condo’s gleaming granite kitchen and opened the cupboard above the refrigerator. He grabbed an unopened whiskey bottle and a heavy, squat glass.

It was significant that the dog had not accompanied him into the kitchen for his usual treat.

Daniel ignored the silent rebuke.

At one of the discarded occasional tables, Daniel opened the bottle and splashed several fingers worth of liquor into the glass. He left the open bottle on the table and carried the glass over to the couch.

He lay down and placed the glass on his belly, his hands gently cradling it. He stared at the paintings.

*****

D
aniel had no idea how long he’d been staring, lost in those magnificent paintings. The whiskey was untouched and he’d been ignoring his phone. The sound of a key in the front door, was also disregarded. He knew it was either Luke or CeeCee.

It was Luke.

Daniel didn’t turn his head to look. He didn’t have to, because Luke made it a point to walk across in front of him. Skirting the sofa, Luke grabbed one of the smaller chairs and dragged it so he could see Daniel’s face.

“You drinking that?” Luke nodded at the glass on Daniel’s stomach.

“Nah.”

There was a brief silence. Luke just sat there, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped loosely between his legs.

Daniel knew that Luke would sit there as long as it took. He cut his eyes from the paintings to Luke and smiled wryly. “I’m proving to myself that I’m not my father.”

Luke waited.

“When my mother left us, he was devastated. We both were. But he climbed into a bottle and never climbed out.”

Daniel sat up, holding the full glass carefully. Luke held out his hand and Daniel gave him the drink. “For the first time, I can understand the pain he felt.” He made a face at Luke. “I’m still mad as hell that he abandoned me emotionally, but for the first time... I understand it.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Luke looked at him steadily.

Daniel knew what Luke was asking. “Damned if I know. I love Nic, and I know that she never had an affair with Jamie, but CeeCee... This has been a tough time for her. It’s been the three of us for so long.”

“Are you serious about Nic? Really serious?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then, you need to go to her.”

“I can’t. I can’t abandon CeeCee.”

“CeeCee’s strong. She just needs some time. This whole thing played on her insecurities. For what it’s worth, I agree with you. I don’t know Nic, but I knew Jamie. He was an abrasive SOB, but he loved CeeCee. I don’t believe he’d have cheated on her.” Luke waited. Daniel didn’t answer. “You know, it HAS always been the three of us against the world. Until CeeCee found Jamie.”

“That’s different.” As Daniel said the words, he realized that he didn’t actually believe them.

“We understood that for CeeCee, Jamie would always come first. We were okay with it.” Luke pointed out.

When Daniel didn’t answer, Luke continued, “Well, then. It’s probably just as well... I’m sure that by now, Nic’s figured out where your loyalties lie. She’d be stupid to get involved in a situation where she always comes in second best.”

Luke stood and walked into the kitchen. Daniel heard the splash of whiskey in the sink. Luke came back into the living room and retrieved the liquor bottle. Daniel didn’t object as he heard all of the liquor in the condo being poured out.

He smiled inwardly. Let it be a lesson to him. An expensive lesson.

He, CeeCee and Luke all came from alcoholic and abusive families. They’d pledged never to go down that road. While he knew he wouldn’t take that first drink, he appreciated that Luke was watching out for him.

“C’mon, Bentley.” Luke called to the dog. Daniel heard the dog stir, then pad over. The door closed behind man and dog.

Daniel went back to contemplating the pictures.

D
aniel’s empty apartment seemed even quieter. It was so quiet, it was interfering with his concentration. He realized he missed the soft whisper of Bentley’s snores.

He scowled and tried to get back into the paintings, but Luke’s words echoed in his head. “She’d be stupid to get involved in a situation where she always comes in second best.”

For the first time, he looked at what he remembered of his parents’ relationship from the perspective of an adult.

His dad had been a workaholic, with no time for his wife or son. After his mother had left, his father had fought hard for Daniel and won. But instead of spending time with the boy he’d kept from his wife, he’d replaced his strong work ethic with an even stronger drinking ethic. He’d sent Daniel across the county to a boarding school.

Daniel swung himself off the couch and looked out the big picture window. The lighted city glowed brilliantly, but he didn’t notice. He was too busy working through what Luke had just said.

Slowly, Daniel realized that his family history had taught him relationships were an either/or proposition. In this case, he’d been thinking that he had to choose between CeeCee and Nic... a decision he’d been unable to force himself to make.

In the kitchen, Daniel smiled slightly at the empty bottles lined up on the kitchen counter. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a soda. Leaning against the counter, he remembered the early days of CeeCee’s relationship with Jamie.

Throughout her marriage, she’d included both him and Luke in all of her activities with Jamie. Jamie had been amused and easygoing about it. CeeCee had managed to have Jamie AND her two best friends.

His problem was CeeCee’s animosity about Nic. CeeCee attitude was unjustified, he was sure, and as he thought about it, totally out of character for CeeCee.

Daniel realized that this was a leap of faith on his part. He knew that Nic was the one for him. He needed to trust that CeeCee would come around. If she didn’t, well, Nic had to be first in his life.

Leaving his partially finished soda on the counter, he checked the time. It was late, but not too late to talk with Nic. Pulling out his cell phone, he flipped to his Contacts. He started to call Nic, then thought better of it.

Rather than call her, he decided to walk down King Street to her apartment. It was about a mile and would give him time to figure out how to say what he needed to say.

As he locked his condo door behind him, he admitted to himself that he was afraid she wouldn’t answer if he called, but if he was at her apartment...

D
aniel enjoyed the soft air of the warm summer night. Traffic on King Street was busy but this close to the Metro stop and so far from the waterfront, there were few pedestrians. Most were going in the other direction, heading to the Metro.

He hadn’t gotten much further than the obligatory “I’ve been an asshole” part of his speech, but he’d managed to convince himself that what came after would have to be improvised based on Nic’s reactions.

At the street door to Nic’s apartment building, Daniel hit her buzzer. There was no answer.

He waited for her to call on the intercom, but again, nothing happened. He tried again.

After his third try, a couple came down the stairs from another apartment.

“Are you looking for someone?” the man asked politely.

“Nic Bannerman.”

“Oh, she moved out a few days ago,” the woman answered.

Daniel felt like she’d punched him in the gut. “Do you know where she moved?”

This earned him a long, suspicious look from both the neighbors.

“No.” The woman was firm.

Clearly their assistance was at an end.

He turned from the door and continued down King Street toward the river while his mind whirled with confusion.

He passed the Torpedo Factory which was closed, walked around to the back of the building and took a seat on a bench facing the water.

He pulled out his phone and called Nic. No answer. Acid churned in his gut.

He called Thomas’s number wondering if the big man would answer.

“What do you want, asshole?”

Okaaaay... He answered Daniel’s call. That was good, Daniel assured himself.

“I’m trying to find Nic. She’s moved out of her apartment.”

“No shit.”

“I tried to call her but she didn’t answer.” Over the line he could hear a woman’s voice. He assumed it was Karyn. Thomas murmured back and then spoke to Daniel.

“Karyn will be seeing Nic tomorrow. She’ll tell Nic that you called. Nic can decide what she wants to do.” He ended the call.

“Thanks.” Daniel said to the dead phone.

Daniel looked around and shook his head.

What had he been thinking? That Nic would be waiting around for him to see the light? Which, he reflected, was pretty tough to do when you had your head up your ass.

Taxi back to the condo or walk?

Walk. Maybe inspiration would strike and he’d figure out a way to turn back the clock about two weeks.

N
ic poured her coffee and stepped out on to her condo balcony. Somehow, Karyn, working with Julia, the realtor, had not only managed to score a three bedroom unit for her, it was on the river side of the complex.

Sylvia had kept her promise and set up one bedroom, the kitchen, bath, and living room with all of Nic’s apartment stuff unpacked and organized. Nic had already promised herself that she’d hire Sylvia when it came time to move into her quarters in the renovated school. From a practical point of view, the move to Warfield’s Landing was the easiest she’d ever had.

While this temporary living space had two more bedrooms to act as studio space, that move had been less seamless. It wasn’t Rory’s fault at all. It was the logistical problems brought on by trying to fit too much stuff into a much smaller area. She did appreciate that Rory had given her some excellent suggestions to minimize the issue and then he and his crew had helped her implement them.