Reese (4 page)

“That would be me.” I rubbed a hand across my face, trying to get completely woke
n
up. “Kieran Stone.” I stepped back. “Come
in.” I turned and let him shut the door as I moved into the little kitchen to start some much needed coffee. “Want some?” I asked when I found him standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

His eyes were taking everything about me in. It was unsettling, because the only person who had ever looked at me like that was The Pervert. But there was something different about the look in Stone’s eyes, completely unlike that of my stepfathers. It wasn’t leering and it sure as hell didn’t disgust me.
In fact I found myself sneaking appraising glances of my own as I went about making the pot of coffee.

“Your friend Reese must have told you I was coming.”
He shook his head, a smile on his face. It was so not fair that he was that sexy. His white tee stretching over his bulging muscles, jeans that hung low on his hips.
His face was not run of the mill handsome, not with that nose that had been broken at least twice, but I couldn’t help thinking that he was the most appealing man I had ever come across.

I blinked, completely surprised that Stone hadn’t realized that
I
was Reese. I mean yeah, sure I had been Goth Girl last night. But couldn’t he see beyond the paint to the girl beneath
?
That dead-muscle-coming-to-
life feeling
tightened
and I busied myself making the coffee to
hide
the hurt and anger. Anger
directed solely at
myself for being hurt!
What was the matter with me?

“Yeah, she told me.” I bit out as I loaded my mug with sugar and cream while the coffee perked. “So how is the old man?” I asked, my tone full of eve
rything I felt for Greg Daventry
. It wasn’t a pretty sound, my feelings
:
The coldness, the anger, the hurt…Mostly the hurt.

He shrugged those bulging muscles that were his shoulders
, and despite my new dislike of this beast of a man, I found my gaze compelled as I watched the smooth movements.
“He is good, I guess.” He pulled a
thick envelope from under his arm and I saw my name scrolled across it
in handwriting I remembered as that of my grandfather’s.
“He asked me to give you this.”

I didn’t reach for the envelope and he just set it on the counter beside of him. “He also asked me to tell you
that
he is sorry.”
There was something in his eyes, something that told me maybe he understood my anger, and didn’t judge me for mine. I would have felt comforted by his understanding if my heart hadn’t been aching so much right then from the hurt he had inflicted on me mere moments ago.

I clenched my jaw, but didn’t say anything. Finally the coffee was done and I poured it into my mug. When I offered him a cup with a wave of the pot he just shook his head. “Well, thanks for delivering Greg’s message and the paperwork.”

He stiffened at my
dismissive
tone. “Am I keeping you from something, Rebecca?”
He glanced around, as if looking for something—or someone. His steel grey eyes were narrowed a little and I noticed a ticking in his clenched jaw.

“Yeah. I have to get ready for work.” I took a big swallow of the coffee, not caring that it burnt my tongue; in fact I welcomed the pain. “So if you will excuse me?” I crossed back to the front door and held it open.

He frowned down at me as he passed
, seeming reluctant to leave. But I really wanted him gone
.
His nearness affected men, made me nervous and admittedly excited. Both emotions pissed me off.
“Are you working at Safe Haven tonight?”

“I practically live there.” I informed him truthfully.

He seemed
to relax a little
. “I’ll stop by tonight, then.”

I gave him a cold smile. “Sure.” And then I slammed the door in his handsome face.

“Jerk
!
” I muttered to myself as I went back into the kitchen to retrieve my coffee. “And to think I had actually liked that loser!”

As soon as thos
e words left my mouth I stopped, frozen
in my tracks and gasped.
I
liked Kieran Stone? I tasted the truth of those words and
clenched my fists. “Stupid!” I scolded myself as I
snatched up
mug of
coffee and
,
after a
brief
hesitation
,
the envelope with my name on it.

()

I was sorting through some bills that needed my attention. The bar didn’t open for another hour or so. I was caught up in the papers spread out before me, taking occasional bites of the dinner I had picked up on my way to work, and not really paying attention to much else.

So the hand that landed on my shoulder made me squawk and I grabbed for
the
baton
strapped to my thigh
instinctively. A feminine laugh made me relax before I had even
f
licked my wrist to extend the steel bar and my heart started to slow its erratic beating. “Mel!” I exclaimed, both happy to see my mentor
and friend, as well as annoyed. “I nearly brained you!”

“Sorry, kid.” She dropped down into the chair by the door in the small office, still laughing. When I had first met Mel, she had rarely laughed. But I think I have changed her. Now, five years after meeting her, she laughs all the time.

She tosse
s
her bangs out of her eyes and watches me as I return to my seat in front of the desk.
“How has it been?” She had been on a vacation for the last week or so. A real vacation, with sandy beaches and warm water. Something I had tricked her into doing, because I had wanted her to really relax and have a good time.

I shrug my slender shoulders, concentrating on my dinner and trying to push all thoughts of Kieran Stone and Greg Daventry out of my mind. “Business has been good.” I assure her, knowing that it isn’t what she was really asking, as I stuff my mouth full of the grilled salmon salad.

“Yeah, big surprise there.” She gives my profile a long appraising look, seeing under my Goth makeup like she has always done. “How about you?
You seem tense.”

I raised my head, met her gaze for half a second then turned my blue eyes to the one way mirror that was behind the bar. Some of the bouncers were setting up: Turning o
n
the music, carrying ice for me
, p
utting chairs into place around the many tables
, straightening up the balls and pool sticks in the back
. It was safer to concentrate on what they were doing and not the feelings churning in my gut. “I had a visitor last night.” I surprise myself by saying. I hadn’t planned on telling Mel about Stone, but it was just bothering me so much!

Mel set up a little straighter and her shoulders stiffened a little. “Oh, yeah?”

I reached for the envelope on the desk. The one that Stone had dropped off earlier in the day with all the things that made my skin crawl, my heart to ache and my stomach to hurt. The salmon set hard
i
n my stomach and I pushed the takeout container away before handing the thick envelope over. “You know Kieran Stone?”

She blinked at me for a moment before the name rang a bell. “The MMA guy?” She asked, pulling out documents and a letter from the envelope without glancing at them yet. “That Kieran Stone?”
             
“Yes.” I leaned back in the chair and glared up at the ceiling. “He came in last night. He was looking for Rebecca Daventry.”

“What?” She exclaimed. “Reese you never said that you knew him.”
She was a big fan of MMA and Kieran Stone was a favorite of hers.

“I had never seen the guy before in person. He was looking for Rebecca because he owed Rebecca’s grandfather a favor. Hence the hundred and one legal papers in your hand.” I popped my knuckles, one of my stress relievers. “Greg
needed someone to do his dirty work.”

Mel finally glances down at the papers. The top sheet
was
a letter, to Rebecca from Greg. It
wa
s handwritten
on Daventry Corporation letter
head
and dated three days ago. I had
only read the thing twice, but I knew what it said almost verbatim.

Mel reads the letter and then gasps as she raises her head and meets my gaze. “He had no idea that you had run away until two years later? How the hell is that possible?”

I shrug. “He was always busy. Either with work or his hobby. I doubt I crossed his mind much. And if I had, I’m sure that my mother was to terrified of the monthly support checks that Greg sent her being cut off should he find out that I was gone.” My smile is bitter. “Those support checks bought her cocaine, after all.”

Mel grimaces. “I hate that woman.” She bit out.

“Yeah, me too.” I assured her.

She took a peek at the next sheet of paper, a document. “So he wants to see you. How do you feel about that?”

I bite my lip, thankful that my black lipstick doesn’t come off easily. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to see him just so I can punch him in the face. Another part of me wants to just shred the letter and forget I ever knew the man.
”

Mel was quiet
, r
eading through the documents. I let her, knowing that the legal papers were just as upsetting as the letter had been.
There was a
checkbook in the
mass of legal papers, with the name Reese Graves
on it and a ludicrous number
written in as the balance
. Another legal paper said that I owned thirty percent of the stock in Daventry Corporation
.
Five years ago the stock had been worth an astronomical
amount, I could only guess what they were worth now.

A copy of the
deed to Safe Haven was in there. Signed and sealed and 100% paid for. Greg Daventry had bought out the mortgage for the bar, and then
given it to her
. It now belonged to Mel completely. I had been so shocked. Safe Haven had been in the black for a while now. The pr
ofit margin had been steadily r
ising since I had started working for Mel. But she still had a good twenty years left on her mortgage.

It was a
thank you
for taking me in and keeping me safe when he and no one else had.

Mel raised shocked brown eyes. “Reese…
How is this possible?” She whispered as tears gathered in her eyes.

“You read the letter, Mel.” I murmured. “He said he wanted to do something to repay you for helping me. This is his way of thanking you.”

“I can’t accept this!” She jumped to her feet, tossing the deed and other documents into the chair she had just vacated. She began pacing in the small office, her hands raking through her short dark hair. “I do not want repayment for helping you. I have never wanted anything in return. You are the daughter of my heart. Mothers do not take payment for such things!”

My heart lifted at her words. I loved Mel more than anyone in the world. I had known that she felt the same, but to hear her say th
os
e words was heartwarming. I grasped her hand as she passed me and pulled her to a stop. “You are the mother of my heart, Mel. Without you I don’t know what would have happened to me. Please don’t be offended by Greg. He doesn’t really know how to deal with things other than throwing money at them.”

Her eyes misted at my first words and she pulled me into a tight hug. She knew that I didn’t like being touched or having my personal space invaded so the hug didn’t last long. But I felt safe the few seconds that her arms were around me. “Fine. So I will consider myself well and truly thanked. This does not mean that you have to give the guy five minutes of your time if you don’t want to.” She told me firmly. “You do what you want to do, and screw the rest of the world.”

A rare grin spread across my face. It felt odd at first but soon I found myself enjoying the feel of my lips being upturned. “I have always loved that philosophy of yours, Mel.”

It was ten when Stone showed up.

Mel was tending bar with me because the place was almost to capacity. I could have handled it if she
hadn’t stayed
, but I was really glad that she was there with me. Music was blaring, people were coming more than going, and I was up to my eyeballs in rum because that seemed to be the drink of choice tonight.

Bubba was once more in attendance and had parked himself in his usual spot at the end of the bar closest to me. “That was a great show last night, Goth Girl.” He told me as I put his second beer in front of him.

“Thanks Bubba.” I rolled my eyes at him.

He only grinned. “The way you broke that one guys arm sure did make this old heart flutter.”