Harbour of Refuge (24 page)

Liev shrugged.

“Not really your thing, then?”

“Noisy.”

He had noticed that Liev preferred quiet to a lot of buzz around him. “It was pretty noisy, but did you have fun hanging out with Danny?”

“Not really.”

Enzo smiled at the candid response. One thing was for certain, Liev would be a source of entertainment.

* * * *

Halyn pushed herself on the swing with her foot and sighed. She stared out over the beautiful scenery before her and thanked God for allowing her to be here. A storm had gone through earlier but now it was clear and sunny. Water droplets sparkled like diamonds and she inhaled deeply, loving the crisp weather.

Autumn had finally arrived. This was her favourite time of the year. The leaves had begun to turn and soon she’d be taking her days off to go up into the mountains and enjoying the fall foliage.

“Knock knock.”

“Hey, Mila.” Halyn didn’t even turn around. “Come on and sit down.”

Her friend sat beside her and they swung in silence for a bit. Eventually, she turned her head and said, “What’s up? Haven’t seen or heard from you in a few.”

“Work’s been hectic and Joe, well, he’s Joe. I was hoping you could help me with his birthday.”

She stopped pushing the swing. “Help? Sure. What do you need?”

“I’ll need you to keep his gift because he always tries to find it and, if it’s not too much trouble, some snacks.”

“Not a problem. I love baking. Just send me what you want cake-wise for him.”

“Thanks, sweetie.” Mila took her hand. “How are you doing?”

“Me? I’m good. We’re getting to my time of year. I always feel better in the autumn.”

Mila laughed but it sounded slightly strained. “I know that, I meant about with Enzo.”

“Fine, as far as I know.” She tapped her friend’s hand. “Why?”

“Joe said he saw Amber Watkins with him on the pier and they made lunch plans. Their kids were there, but I wanted to know how you were doing?”

Something ugly and cold reared its head in her chest. Shaking it off, Halyn shrugged. “Don’t know anything about it.”

“Oh, shit. I thought he would have told you.”

Yeah, I thought so too.
She played it off. “We don’t tell each other everything.”

Mila knew her well enough not to buy her crap. Releasing her hand, she draped her arm over her shoulders, tugging her close. “I’m really sorry, honey. I didn’t think I was telling you anything new.”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. He can eat with whomever he wants, he doesn’t answer to me.”

“I know. I know.”

A few moments passed and Halyn pushed away from her friend. “Enough about me. Let’s talk about food and cake. That always makes me feel better.”

The friends went inside and popped some beers while they sat at her table. Halyn listened to what Mila had in mind and made some notes. Once that was finished, they made dinner and had a lot of laughs during the meal.

Mila left a short time before midnight and Halyn shut the door behind her, locking it with a smile. Time with Mila always made her happy. And it was even better she’d not spent time focused on what she’d said about Enzo having lunch with Amber Watkins.

She knew the woman, knew she was actively seeking her next husband. Hell, the entire town was aware of her antics. It just rubbed her wrong to know that woman had her sights on Enzo.

“Great, now I’m becoming possessive.” Rolling her eyes at herself, Halyn headed for bed.

* * * *

The next morning she awoke from an extremely erotic dream of Enzo and the numerous ways he brought her pleasure. She realised in the shower that she still felt a bit pissy and disgruntled by Amber Watkins.

“Get a grip,” she groused to her reflection as she brushed her teeth.

Her phone rang and she hurried to answer it. “Hello?”

“Halyn.”

She frowned not recognising the voice. “I’m sorry, who is this?”

“Ernest Macklin.”

How the hell had he got her number? She hung up without saying another word to him and retreated to the bathroom. While she finished dressing, the phone rang again. And again. Frustrated, she kicked the door shut with the heel of her foot. Not exactly how she’d planned on beginning her day.

Once ready, she went to the kitchen and ate some yogurt topped with granola and fresh fruit. She listened to the messages while she rinsed out her bowl. The first was a hang up but the second wasn’t.

“Ms Jennings. I know you’re home, you’ve already picked up. This is Ernest Macklin from the local paper. We’re doing an exposé on your boyfriend, Enzo Cassano. I wanted to get some information on you. Either you talk to me or I’ll call Elave and speak to Mr and Mrs Jennings.”

Grinding her lower jaw, she dialled Stacy.

“Hello?”

“Stacy, I’m sorry to bother you but can you open for me today?”

“Something wrong?”

“That reporter is threatening to bother my family if I don’t talk to him.”

“The bastard! Go handle him, I’ve got the store.”

“Are you sure you don’t have class?”

“Positive. I’m scheduled for an exam in the afternoon. I can study at the store.”

“Bless you.” She hung up and headed past the bike she’d planned on riding in this morning. Settling behind the wheel, she turned over the powerful engine of her Z28, backed out of her garage and the drive once the door had securely shut.

Ignoring her need for a latte, she parked outside the news building. Her lip curled up in disgust but she took several deep breaths to control her temper, which dangled on a frayed thread.

Licking her lips quickly, she got out of her car, locked it behind her and made her way to the door. Another breath was required before she pushed through. Her shoes made no noise as she travelled. She peered through the glass doors before continuing on. They seemed busy despite it being relatively early.

Guess the news never really sleeps.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m looking for Brenden Printer.” She’d snagged the name from the board outside the door. Got to love the towns that made some things just so simple. Ironic for an editor’s last name to be Printer but hey, who was she to judge.

“I’ll see if he’s in.”

“Thank you.” She went to a bench and instead of sitting, looked over the awards the paper had received. It didn’t take too long for the man she assumed to be Brenden to arrive.

“Can I help you…?” He waited for her to supply her name.

She stood and stared. Tall, leanly muscular, and quite handsome with his tapered, salt-and-pepper hair.

“Ms Jennings. Halyn Jennings.”

His expression gave nothing away. He shook her hand and said, “We can talk in my office.”

Wonderful.
As they walked she took in the faces of those who worked so hard to make the paper a success. She didn’t envy them their jobs, it had to be hard, but it didn’t excuse the crap she’d been putting up with.

“Shut the door behind you,” he said as she followed him into his office.

She did, then waited by a chair for him to offer her a seat. It was done with a jerk of the head. She perched on the edge and placed her hands on her thighs.

“What is it that I can do for you, Ms Jennings? And can we make this quick? I have a paper to run.”

“I understand that, Mr Printer. I have a business of my own which I can’t be at because I’m here.”

He leant back in his chair, steepling his fingers. “And just what is it that brings you here instead of your job?”

“You have a reporter named Ernest Macklin on your staff.”

His gaze shuttered, almost as if he were resenting admitting it. “What about him?”

“He’s harassing me, and while I’m fine with it because I can ignore him, now he’s threatening my family.” She leant forward. “My family has just gone through some rough times, Mr Printer, and I swear to you, if I catch wind he’s bothering them in any way shape or form, I will sue this paper. And I
will
own it.”

Brenden began to shake his head and she held up a hand. “Before you think I can’t or won’t get away with this, be forewarned I have him on my answering machine, threatening to bother my parents if I continue to refuse to talk to him. I will
not
allow any stress be put on my parents because one of your men has an issue with being told no.”

She leant back, feeling better by the second. “You should also know I’ve had him banned from my shop and will call the police to arrest him should he cross the threshold one more time. Family and my livelihood, Mr Printer. I’ll not have this man bothering either one of them.”

He blew out a breath and rested his elbows on the table. “This has to do with that Enzo Cassano racer, right?”

“I can’t say for certain. You’d have to ask your reporter that. I just thought I would stop by and give you a warning.” She stood. “I don’t play games when it comes to certain things, and they would be two of them. Thank you for your time and good day, Mr Printer.”

That said, she turned and walked out. As she smiled at the woman who’d called Brenden for her, she heard his voice holler out, “Macklin!”

All intentions of confronting the reporter had vanished when she’d realised it would be so much smarter to go to the top of the food chain. So she had. Whistling, she went to her car, stopped off for the much-needed latte, then headed into work.

Chapter Seventeen

“Thanks for coming to this,” Enzo said as he held the door for Halyn on her Z28. Liev scooted out from the back seat after she’d climbed out.

They’d had dinner at her place and he’d asked her to join them for the parent-teacher conference. Liev had wanted to look at her car, so she’d suggested they take it to school. She’d allowed Enzo to drive and he’d had a lot of fun doing so.

She shrugged. “Not a problem.”

“Stay close, Liev.” He stared at the woman beside him. “Hey”—he captured her arm—“what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He didn’t believe her. Drawing her close, he lowered his head to hers. Flicking his tongue out, he traced the whorl of her ear. “You’re lying. Something is bothering you. Tell me.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. Come on, let’s go.”

He made note to ask more insistently later on, once they’d got away from the school and had got Liev down for the night. Dropping his arm, he took her hand, lacing their fingers. It was simple, romantic and just what he wanted.

Enzo sat in the back of Liev’s classroom and listened to the teacher talk about what they’d done so far, and the plans for the rest of the year. Liev sat at his desk and Enzo couldn’t help the smile which lifted his lips. He’d never expected to be so proud over seeing his boy in class.

Halyn walked with Liev while Enzo stayed behind to talk to his teacher, Mrs Rosten. She was quite an attractive woman, who’d been teaching for fifteen years. Blue eyes peered out at the room from behind her glasses.

“How’s he doing?” he asked, occupying a seat in the front across from her desk.

“I have to say, Mr Cassano, your son is very bright. That is something I would like to talk to you about. Maybe bumping him into advanced classes. He appears to be getting bored in here, and I wouldn’t want him to start hating class because there is no challenge to him.”

He rested his elbows on the desktop. “Are you sure that’s the best thing?”

“Your son has a perfect score on everything we do, extra credit included. Problem is, he does it within ten minutes, where the rest of the class takes a good chunk of an hour. So he’s bored.”

“Is he causing problems while everyone else is doing their work?”

“No, not at all. He’s also very quiet. He doesn’t read aloud and barely speaks.” She gave a wry smile. “Not that he needs to ask questions for the work.”

He gave a relieved sigh. “So you think putting him into an advanced class would help?”

“I think it would keep his mind occupied much more than my class would. We’re above the national average anyway, but he is blowing this grade out of the water.”

His chest swelled with pride despite his hesitation. “What classes were you thinking of?”

She licked her lips and twirled a pen in her fingers. “Hear me out before you make a decision.”

He shifted in his seat. She reached into her desk and pulled out a clear-covered report. Enzo took the folder when she offered it.

“These are the courses which the AP offers.”

Flipping it open, he skimmed the information on the top page. “Can I take this with me?”

“Yes. Now, I want to put him a few years up. I gave him some work earlier this week from three grades up. He finished very quickly and got them all correct. I honestly believe for him to get what he should out of school, he needs to be in tougher classes.”

He waited to hear what else she was going to say. Mrs Rosten hooked her fingers. “I know a lot of parents don’t want to put their children in higher classes, don’t want to put undue pressures on them. Which is good and well for many. I’ve seen a lot of kids who couldn’t handle being in a room with children much older than them. I think, however, Liev will be fine. He’s extremely analytical, systematic and rational. I sincerely doubt he will care one way or another what age the other children in his class are.”

“Do you see him having trouble making friends?”

“Yes, but not because he feels like an outsider. He’s just not like them, he doesn’t care about television shows, or the coolest new toy. He reads every chance he gets and won’t rise to the bait when they try to tease him.” She held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I put a stop to it when I see it happening. Your son is just an introvert. Some kids are.”

“You’re not telling me to push him into sports or clubs to get him over that?”

She shook her head. “No. If he’s like this in another year I would suggest having him do something but right now, he’s your son and that brings attention. He’s also in a different country. I’d let him come out of his shell at his own pace. I’m not a child behaviourist, but that’s what I’d do.”

Another parent stuck their head in. Mrs Rosten gave him a smile. “Look over the papers and we can go from there.”