Dream (Rosewood Bay Series Book 4) Read online

  “Dad–”

  He shook his head. “Nope. No lectures. I won ten thousand dollars on a scratch-off ticket. Ten grand, can you believe that?”

  And she knew what he’d do with the money if allowed to keep it. “How about you give it to me to put away for you?” she suggested.

  “Hell no. I’m on a winning streak. I’m not letting you or your brother get in the way of me adding to my winnings.”

  She rolled her eyes, knowing better than to argue with him. “Dad, just be careful. Don’t end up owing the wrong people.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Now I’m going out to hang with the boys.”

  She watched him go, wishing yet again there was a way to stop his gambling and knowing that there wasn’t anything she could do. With a sigh, she headed to the kitchen to help Halley prepare dinner.

  Chapter Nine

  A week later, Thanksgiving came, a big family affair that Andi enjoyed even more this year. She could really appreciate the fact that she had these wonderful people in her life and that she could celebrate with them. With Billy lurking around, and she had seen him watching her from his car and on street corners, she was well aware of how different her life had once been.

  The women congregated in the kitchen of Phoebe’s house, and the men hung out in the den area, where football games played on Kane’s large-screen television. Dinner was a boisterous affair, with the two younger boys, Nicky and Jamie, hanging out at one end of the table and the couples sitting next to one another talking, while Halley’s aunt Joy and Andi’s dad spent their time chatting while they ate.

  After dinner, Andi helped clean up and then she excused herself and Nicky to go to Kyle’s for dessert. His parents were happy to see her and even his brother, Chase, who could often be cool to her when she ran into him in town, was on his best behavior. His mom fussed over Nicky and slipped him a second piece of pumpkin pie with ice cream and Andi didn’t say a word, merely let him enjoy. Their day had been too good for mom rules and worries to get in the way.

  Nicky and Andi left Kyle’s mom’s house, with Kyle departing at the same time and insisting on following them home. She didn’t argue. He’d been doing that more often since the incident with Billy, and she understood his concern and couldn’t deny she found comfort in knowing someone had her back. She couldn’t bring herself to think he didn’t trust her to take care of herself. Not in light of her ex-husband’s threats.

  Once they were in the house and Nicky had gone up to his room, she turned to face Kyle.

  “How was your day?” he asked, his fingers tangling in her hair.

  “Really good,” she murmured. “Your mother’s pies are still the best.”

  “She went overboard today. I think she wanted to impress you and give you a reason to come back.”

  Andi wrapped her arms around his neck. “Does she think you’re not enough of a reason?”

  He narrowed his gaze. “Of course not. She was just adding incentive.”

  Andi laughed. “She doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

  “Mom, can we watch a movie?” Nicky asked, running down the stairs and joining them.

  She easily stepped out of Kyle’s grasp. “Sure. Why don’t you two decide which one.”

  They sat in the family room and watched The Secret Life of Pets. Nicky had begun to take Kyle’s presence in their lives as normal and she wondered if she ought to have a more serious conversation with him about her relationship with his teacher. This wasn’t an easy decision and she mulled it over, distracted from the movie, trying to decide for herself just what this relationship was to her. She’d avoided thinking about it, blaming the fact that she had other, bigger issues in her life to worry about, but that was an excuse. She was afraid to examine her feelings too closely, frightened of what she’d find.

  Kyle possessed so many qualities she not only admired but was drawn to on an emotional level. If what she felt for him was only sexual, it would be so easy. She’d scratch an itch. She wouldn’t bring him around her son outside of school. She wouldn’t spend part of a holiday with his family. And she especially wouldn’t give in to requests like, please call me when you get home from work so I know you’re safely in the house with the alarm set.

  She glanced over to the other side of the couch to see Kyle laughing at the antics on the screen, talking to Nicky about the gang leader bunny named Snowball. He had the ultimate amount of patience for her son and she found that as sexy as his bare chest, toned body, and handsome face.

  She no longer thought of him as her childhood best friend, but instead as the man she was falling for. And falling hard. How that had happened when she’d promised herself she didn’t need a man in her life, that she could and would stand on her own, was beyond her.

  Nor did she know what to do about it. What did it say about her if she got over one bad relationship only to jump right into another one, albeit a good one, without really spending enough time making it on her own? And what was enough time, anyway? Did being a couple necessarily mean she was giving up her independence?

  With those questions preoccupying her mind, she missed most of the movie, which she’d seen twice anyway. When the show finally ended, she sent Nicky up to shower and get ready for bed. She cleaned up the popcorn they’d made and Kyle helped her bring the soft drinks into the kitchen and put everything in the sink.

  “They’re lighting the town Christmas tree a week from Sunday,” he said. “They picked a sixth grader to pull the switch this year and turn on all the lights.”

  She smiled. “Sounds like fun. I know Nicky wants to be there. He asked if he could go with his friend’s family but I feel like I should take him myself.”

  Kyle propped himself against the kitchen cabinets and met her gaze. “Then let’s do it. We can go together and he’ll run into his friends when he’s there. We’ll make it a family day.”

  She bit down on her lip, her earlier conflicting thoughts still swirling in her head. Should she take her son herself? Did she need to push aside what she wanted, which was to be with Kyle, and do things on her own just because Billy had tried to control what she did and who she saw? Or was making her own decisions about spending time with Kyle enough?

  Was it emotionally dangerous to act as if the three of them were, in fact, a family? Would Nicky be hurt if things ultimately ended with Kyle? She already knew she would be. But he’d given her no reason to think this relationship wasn’t serious for him. He’d guided her ever so slowly from casual to intense without her even realizing it.

  “You’re overthinking things again,” he said, capturing her face in his hands so she met his gaze.

  An embarrassed smile lifted her lips. “Guilty,” she murmured.

  “It’s an evening outside, watching a Christmas tree be lit up. It’s not a lifetime commitment,” he said, teasing, but she felt certain she heard hurt in his voice.

  Because she’d hesitated. Because she couldn’t just have a relationship without worrying about what it meant. What it said about her as a woman. As a person.

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. Yes, let’s go see the tree.” She was well aware that this event would be them making a public statement. One Billy would no doubt see if he was still in town. And though according to Phoebe he had closed on his house, she knew he was still lurking around.

  “Are you worried about Billy seeing us together?” he asked, reading her mind.

  “Worried?” She shook her head. “No, because I won’t be alone. I’ll be surrounded by people and you’ll be by my side. Aware of it? Always.”

  He slid his hand into hers. “We make our statement. We’re together and he can’t dictate that fact. And we go about living our lives,” he said with determination.

  As she nodded, he pulled her into his arms. “I’m glad you spent some of the holiday with me,” he said, changing the subject.

  “Me, too.” Despite her qualms about everything, being with Kyl
e felt right.

  Suddenly the sound of the shower running resonated through the pipes in the walls. Obviously taking advantage of the few minutes alone while Nicky showered, Kyle backed her against the counter, his hips holding her in place, and covered her lips with his, devouring her with his tongue.

  She raised herself up on her toes and kissed him back, sliding her arms around his neck and losing herself in the masculine taste of him, desire immediately building inside her. It never took long for her body to ignite around him, but the longer they were together, the more her feelings were involved, too. In fact, she was all emotion now.

  He made her feel safe at the same time he aroused her, and she pressed her body against him, trying to get as close as possible with their clothes on. He slid his hand into the waistband of her jeans, his palms cupping her ass just as the shower water stopped and Nicky yelled down, “Mom, I forgot towels!”

  Laughing, she stepped away at the same time he removed his hands, grinning at her as he did. “At least we weren’t caught,” he said with a chuckle.

  “True. And I have to go rescue the wet boy. Be right back.”

  She headed upstairs and retrieved freshly washed bath towels from the closet and handed them to Nicky. She returned downstairs to see her phone in Kyle’s hand. “It was buzzing. It’s your brother.”

  He handed her the device and she answered. “Hello?”

  “Andi?”

  “Kane? What’s up?” she asked, suddenly alert. Because she’d been with her brother all afternoon. It wasn’t like him to call after just spending the day with her.

  “Dad got a phone call and left here in a mad rush, a huge grin on his face.”

  “A card game,” she said on a sigh.

  Kyle placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

  “That’s my best guess. Want me to go hit all his usual places and bring him home?” her brother asked.

  She shook her head. “You stay with your pregnant wife. It’s been a long day.”

  “He’s going to risk his scratch-off winnings,” her brother said with frustration.

  “And there is nothing we can do to stop him.”

  Kane muttered something she couldn’t make out, probably a few choice curse words.

  “How was the rest of your holiday?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “Nice. Yours?” Kane asked, just as Kyle stepped up beside her and nuzzled her neck with his lips.

  Her body reacted instantly, nipples puckering and an answering desire pulsing between her thighs. “G-o-o-d,” she stammered, elbowing him playfully. “Stop it,” she said when he licked the skin along her collarbone.

  “Sounds like it’s still going on,” Kane said. “I’ll let you go. Just give me a call if you hear from Dad and I’ll do the same.”

  “Will do.” It seemed like they had this same conversation often, but there really was nothing more they could do than commiserate and hope for the best.

  She disconnected the call and met Kyle’s understanding gaze. “I was just trying to lighten the mood,” he said by way of explanation.

  She chuckled, her body still alert and aware thanks to his seductive if not timely touch. And lick.

  “Anything I can do to help?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Nothing’s changed since we were kids. We just try and deal with his gambling better now.”

  He squeezed her hand in support and she tipped her head upward. “Are you sure you want to be involved with me? I come with an awful lot of baggage.” Her ex-husband and his threats, her father and his vice, not to mention the fact that she was a single mother with all the responsibilities that entailed.

  “Do you feel the connection between us?” he asked, his darkened eyes serious.

  She nodded. With every fiber in her being.

  “Then what makes you think I wouldn’t be one hundred percent certain I want to be with you?” He pulled her close, his body heat comforting her. “You’re worth everything that comes along with being in a relationship with you. In other words, you’re not getting rid of me.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. “And I don’t want to.”

  She just couldn’t shake the premonition that something bad was lurking just around the corner. Something like her ex. Or her father’s excessive gambling that could send her spiraling in ways she didn’t expect.

  * * *

  Andi was fast asleep when her doorbell rang. Panic raced through her as she pulled on a robe and tied it around her waist. Her cell phone in her hand and mouth dry, she walked to the front door and looked outside, prepared to see her ex-husband, relief filling her when she realized it was only her father.

  She flipped on the hall light, deactivated the alarm, and opened the door, pulling him inside and locking it again behind them. “What are you doing here so late? It’s almost midnight and you scared me to death!”

  “Andi, I had the best luck!” His golden-brown eyes, so similar to her brother’s, flashed with excitement.

  “Shh! Nicky’s sleeping,” she said to him.

  Her father nodded but it didn’t dim his excitement. “I made a small fortune and I had to share the news with you.”

  Anger welled up inside her. “You woke me and you frightened me just to tell me you were gambling? I know that! And you know how I feel about it.” She reached for the doorknob, intent on asking him to leave.

  “You’re going to feel differently when you find out who I won it off of,” he said, pulling wads of cash from the inside lining of his jacket.

  She blinked in shock. “Dad! You can’t walk around with all that cash. It’s just not safe!” And on that note, she set her burglar alarm.

  “Don’t you want to know who my patsy was?” His cheeks were flushed red with excitement.

  She groaned. “Fine. Who was it?”

  “Your bastard of an ex-husband,” he said almost gleefully.

  Andi pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache starting. “Dad, you’re telling me you saw him sitting at the table and you didn’t walk away?”

  He shook his head. “I told you I was on a roll. Who better to take for a ride? Son of a bitch had the money he’d gotten from selling his mother’s house. He was trying to add to it. Rumor has it he’s gotten himself in some trouble and needs to leave the country.”

  “Oh my God.” So he was in town to sell the house, get as much money as he could put together, and leave, harassing her while he was here just because he could.

  Well, that explained some things, she thought. But leave the country? “What kind of trouble?” she asked.

  “I don’t know and I don’t care. But I do want you to have the money you should have had in the divorce. This can make life better for you and Nicky.”

  Her dad, who never parted with extra money if he was in a gambling phase, handed her more cash than she’d ever seen in her life.

  She narrowed her gaze, her focus on her father and the wad of money in his pockets. Everyone he’d played at that table with knew he was walking around with big bills on him and it wasn’t safe. To top it off, she knew taking anything from Billy was a double-edged sword. And he wouldn’t let this loss go unpunished.

  Hating to do it at this late hour, she turned her phone on and called her brother. “Kane? Dad’s here. I’m going to need you to come over,” she said over her father’s blustering objections.

  Kane showed up fifteen minutes later. Andi deactivated the alarm and let him inside, resetting it behind him. She gestured to the money her father had spread out on the table in the family room.

  “Holy shit.” He stared from the cash to his father.

  “He won it off of Billy,” Andi whispered.

  That renewed her brother’s cursing. “Dad, that bastard now has every reason to come after Andi. What the hell were you thinking?”

  “It was a card game, Kane. I play them all the time. He lost fair and square.”

  But Billy had a temper, and if he
needed the money for serious reasons, this was definitely going to be an issue, Andi thought, her stomach churning.

  “Okay, for now I’m going to take this money and put it in the safe at the garage,” Kane said. “And tomorrow we’re going to figure out how to get the money back to Billy.”

  Their father started to open his mouth to argue, then wisely shut it again. Maybe he was starting to realize the magnitude of his mistake, playing cards against Andi’s ex. He meant well, he always did, but he’d screwed up big this time.

  * * *

  The Friday after Thanksgiving was a big local shopping day and Andi opened the store herself. Although she knew from experience most people bought their floral arrangements before Thanksgiving, it still made sense to be open just in case. Her plan was to work half a day. Nicky would be at his friend’s in the morning and Wendy, the owner, wanted to take the afternoon shift. Apparently she had family over and needed a break from her company. After her own shift ended, Andi would pick the boys up and bring them back to her house so Nicky’s friend’s mom could do some Black Friday shopping herself.

  She was sitting around in a quiet shop, no customers and no deliveries to make up, when the phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Andi? It’s Katrina.” The mom who had Nicky over this morning.

  “Hi, Katrina. Everything okay?”

  “No,” the woman said, her voice trembling. “The boys were outside playing in the backyard and Michael came running inside to tell me a man came and took Nicky.”

  The blood drained from Andi’s head, and even sitting, she thought she might faint.

  Katrina went on. “He said Nicky recognized him and didn’t want to go, but the man grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the car. They were gone by the time Michael ran inside and told me. I’m sorry, Andi. I–”

  “It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. I know who it is,” she said, somehow keeping her composure. “And I’ll handle it.” She disconnected the call. All she could think about was how terrified her little boy must be.