The Playboy Read online

  “Hey, don’t blame my sister, miss.” Hannah spoke up before Kendall could formulate a neutral reply.

  Kendall blinked in shock. Hannah had actually stuck up for her. Even her sister’s rudeness couldn’t prevent the accompanying tug of pride and caring rushing through Kendall as a result. And though Hannah’s smart mouth as well as the water-dumping incident called for a scolding, Kendall didn’t want to destroy any small inroad in their burgeoning relationship by reprimanding her in front of a teacher, especially Lisa Burton.

  “Hannah,” Kendall began tentatively, but her sister ignored her, still glaring at Lisa through eyes lined with dark makeup but smudged from a long day in the sun.

  “I heard you tell Officer Rick you’d love to do him any favor he might need,” Hannah said to Lisa.

  Kendall didn’t miss Hannah’s emphasis on the word any or the implication the word implied. Nor did Hannah if the ick expression on her face was any indication.

  “Eavesdropping’s impolite,” Lisa said in a haughty teacherlike tone.

  “Then why’d I see you doing it all day? Everywhere Rick was, you were. Everyone he talked to, you listened in on. What’s up with that?” Hannah folded her arms across her chest, waiting for an answer.

  A bright flush stained Lisa’s cheeks. “It’s obvious she needs adult supervision,” Lisa said despite her embarrassment.

  Kendall didn’t know who was worse, Lisa or Hannah, but she had to put a stop to this now before it degenerated. And Lisa called herself a teacher? The example she set was pathetic.

  “Well, like I said, thank you for bringing Hannah home.” Kendall smiled at Lisa through gritted teeth, then turned to her sister. “Hannah, Izzy’s holding a table for us in the back. Let’s go.”

  To Kendall’s surprise, her sister slid out of the booth without argument and stood beside her.

  “Rick’s taken,” Hannah hissed at Lisa, then stormed off toward the back of Norman’s.

  Kendall shook her head. Apparently more than one Sutton girl had a thing for Rick Chandler.

  “The child’s rude,” Lisa said.

  Kendall shrugged. “That may be, but she’s also right.” Catty or not, she couldn’t help but let Lisa know where things stood. Coming from an intimate rendezvous with the man, Kendall’s possessiveness regarding Rick was at an all-time high. So was her protective streak, and after hearing of Rick’s past from Charlotte, Kendall felt certain a woman like Lisa was the last thing Rick needed.

  “You’re both rude and I’m certain the Chandlers will see it soon enough.” Lisa grabbed for her purse and started for the door.

  “Thanks again for bringing my sister home,” Kendall called out to Lisa’s retreating back. She smiled and waved for the audience of patrons at Norman’s.

  Kendall met up with Hannah at a small table in the back and sat down, folding her hands in front of her. Where to begin, she wondered.

  “Don’t read anything into me sticking up for you. I just don’t like that woman hanging all over Rick.” As usual Hannah beat her to the punch.

  Kendall decided to ignore her sister’s protestation. Hannah had stuck up for her and Kendall planned to take advantage. “I don’t like it either but Rick’s a grown man and an expert at fending off women. He doesn’t need either one of us doing it for him.” Seeing an opportunity to bond with her sister, Kendall leaned forward in her seat. “But it was fun putting Lisa in her place, wasn’t it?”

  Hannah nodded warily, a slight smile working its way onto her face. “He needs us to look out for him.”

  “But I’m sure he’d appreciate it if you took a more, shall we say, subtle approach.”

  “Maybe I’ll think about it.”

  Kendall figured it was as much of a concession as she was likely to get.

  “Where’s Rick?” Hannah asked.

  Obviously her sister had a thing for the middle Chandler, something Kendall could well understand. “Showering I think. He’ll be down in a few minutes. Hannah, about the principal . . . ”

  “I swear it was an accident.” Hannah held up her hands in her own defense. “I was getting one guy back for squirting my shirt and he was quick enough to duck first. It’s not my fault Dr. Nowicki is short enough to be a target.”

  At Hannah’s age, it seemed nothing was ever her fault.

  “Well, look who’s here!”

  Kendall turned to see Raina and the town doctor walk up to their table, saving Hannah from a be-more-careful-next-time lecture. “Hi, Raina, Dr. Fallon.”

  “Eric,” he said. “No formality here.”

  Kendall smiled. “Eric. I’d like to introduce you to my sister Hannah,” Kendall said, along with a silent prayer for Hannah’s polite behavior. “Hannah, this is Rick’s mother and Dr. Eric Fallon.” She added the Rick connection for extra luck in gaining her sister’s goodwill.

  “Nice to meet you.” Hannah graced the older couple with a genuine smile.

  Raina walked over and shook Hannah’s hand. “Same here. You’re a beauty, young lady.”

  To Kendall’s surprise, Hannah blushed.

  “I need to talk to you, Kendall, and since your sister is here, I can use her help too.” Raina glanced at Eric. “Give me five minutes would you?”

  “Anything for you. But you need to sit down and rest.”

  Raina shot him a glare, narrowing her gaze. She obviously disliked being told what to do.

  “Your heart,” Eric reminded her, tapping his chest. The older woman flushed and nodded, but Kendall focused on Eric. Was it her imagination or was there a sarcastic bent to his voice? She shook her head. Not possible. “Raina, Eric, please join us.” Kendall gestured to empty chairs.

  After the older couple seated themselves, Raina launched right into her request. “I’ve planned a surprise party for Rick’s birthday. Or should I say I’m delegating plans for a surprise party, since my daily activities are limited.”

  “It’s Rick’s birthday?” Kendall asked. “When?” He’d never mentioned a thing. And she wondered why she was insulted he’d kept something so basic from her.

  “Well, duh,” Hannah chimed in. “Tomorrow. That Lisa woman—”

  “Ms. Burton,” Kendall corrected.

  “That Ms. Burton woman said she had the p-u-u-rfect gift in mind.” Hannah shuddered in complete and utter revulsion.

  Kendall sighed. Some women never gave up.

  “Can you imagine what she wants to do to him?” Hannah asked, horrified. “Kendall, you have to keep her away from Rick.”

  “Oh, I do so enjoy young people.” Raina laughed. “Hannah’s right. We need to keep Lisa away. I realize I might have encouraged her—before you came to town, you understand,” she said to Kendall. “But I never knew she was so persistent. In my day, once a woman had been turned down, she had more pride than to keep at it.”

  “I thought men asked women out in the olden days,” Hannah chimed in.

  “Oh, Lord. Hannah—”

  Eric’s booming laugh cut off anything Kendall might have added. “You’re right, young lady. In the olden days, most women were more demure and passive and let a man do the bidding. But then as now, some women were more brazen and had a mind of their own.” His smile grew wider as his gaze drifted to Raina, the caring and affection between them obvious.

  An unfamiliar knot twisted tight in Kendall’s chest. “So Mrs. Chandler’s got her own mind?” Hannah perched her chin in her hand and focused on Eric.

  “I think we should get back to Rick’s birthday discussion before he shows up,” Kendall said. Before Hannah got completely irreverent.

  “Good idea. But don’t worry.” Raina leaned closer to Hannah. “You and I can finish this discussion another time.” She patted Hannah’s hand. And Hannah didn’t pull away.

  Would wonders never cease, Kendall thought. The key to her sister’s heart seemed to revolve around the Chandlers.

  “At any rate, I’m going to ask Rick to bring the two of you to dinner tomorrow night. Izzy and Norma
n said they’d do the catering and cleaning, so that’s set. I don’t have to lift a finger. You two will bring the guest of honor and I’ve already made phone calls, the only thing I can do to arrange Rick’s various surprises.”

  “What surprises?” Kendall and Hannah asked at the same time.

  “I want to do a version of This Is Your Life. Let Rick’s childhood memories come to him.” She clapped her hands. “It’s going to be such fun.”

  “What’s going to be such fun?” Rick arrived and in typical cop fashion didn’t miss the conversation or the opportunity to interrogate.

  “Well, your birthday dinner, of course.” Raina didn’t miss a beat.

  “Your mother invited me and Kendall to dinner tomorrow. Isn’t that cool?” Hannah asked Rick.

  From the flicker of aggravation and something more in his eyes, Kendall had the sense “cool” was the last thing Rick thought this birthday celebration would be. And poor man, he thought it would just be family. Wait until he realized what his mother had in store.

  Recovering quickly, he walked over to Hannah’s chair. “It’s Da Bomb,” he said and ruffled her still purple hair with his hand.

  Kendall wondered what she’d have to do to get her sister to rinse out the dye and go au naturel again. But when Hannah giggled over Rick’s attempt at teenage slang, Kendall realized there was something more important in life than how her sister chose to look. And that was how she felt inside. When Rick was around, Hannah’s laughter was easy and carefree, like the happy kid she ought to be. Kendall’s heart felt like it blossomed inside her chest.

  “You’re such a Poindexter.” Hannah rolled her eyes as she poked fun at Rick, bringing Kendall’s concentration back to the conversation at hand.

  Raina and Eric looked at Rick expectantly, obviously waiting for a translation.

  “A nerd,” he explained. “Working with teenagers has expanded my vocabulary.” He grinned.

  Hannah laughed again and over her head Rick caught and held Kendall’s gaze. Warmth translated between them along with an electric reminder of just how intimate they’d been before the telephone rang in his apartment earlier.

  Now his hair was damp from his recent shower and he hadn’t shaved, the razor stubble she’d felt against her cheek earlier adding a sensual edge to her reaction to his ruggedly sexy appearance. Later. He seemed to transmit the thought with his darkened eyes. And oh how she wanted to be with him, Kendall thought.

  But with a birthday bash to get him to and her sister who adored him, Kendall wondered how they’d find the time to pick up where they left off.

  The morning after Raina informed them of Rick’s last-minute party, Kendall paced the floor of her attic workspace while Hannah cracked her gum and shot down every suggestion Kendall made for Rick’s birthday gift. They needed to create something by late this afternoon before they picked up Rick for what he thought was a family dinner at his mother’s.

  In her brief time in Yorkshire Falls, Kendall had grown to know Rick well, his expressions and what went on inside his head. And though she didn’t know why, she was certain he wouldn’t be pleased with tonight’s event. She’d debated warning him ahead of time, then decided she had no right to come between mother and son or betray Raina’s confidence and surprise.

  Kendall concentrated on his gift instead. She and Hannah had agreed to make a joint present, something special for Rick that no one else would possibly come up with. They’d been back and forth with ideas since late last night. With no success.

  “Cuff links?” Kendall offered as another suggestion. Hannah rolled her eyes. “Yeah like he’s gonna use those in his T-shirts.”

  “Tie clip?”

  “Puhleeze.” She folded her arms across her chest. “What are you trying to do? Turn him into a dork?”

  Kendall groaned and tossed her hands in the air. “Okay, I give up. What would you like to make for Rick?” So far the only other thing they’d agreed upon was the fact that they’d create his birthday surprise instead of purchasing an impersonal store-bought item. Short on cash and credit, Kendall had been relieved Hannah had gone along with the idea.

  “Well since you finally asked, I think we should make him a necklace. Not a pansy kind but a cool kind. Leather braided maybe.” Hannah walked around the bridge table, searching through Kendall’s plastic containers with assorted varieties of stones and beads. “Hey, what are these?” She picked up a handful of round beads.

  “Hematite rondelles.”

  “Geez. How about using my language?”

  Kendall laughed. “They’re rounded flat beads. Shiny and blue-black in color. All of which you can see by looking at them. The technical term for the mineral used in making the jewelry is hematite and rondelle describes the shape. That’s where the name hematite rondelles comes from.”

  Hannah stared at her wide-eyed, a hint of interest flickering across her features. Perhaps they’d found a topic that could help them bond, Kendall thought. She’d love to teach Hannah all she knew about beads and jewelry making and she’d be happy to learn what she could from Hannah’s fresh, young perspective. She’d start by giving her sister a confidence boost.

  Kendall held out her hand for some of the beads and Hannah transferred them to her palm. She fingered the smooth, lustrous stones and held them up to the window light. “Strung together they’d have a masculine look.” She glanced at Hannah. “You’ve got an eye for this, you know.”

  Her sister blushed red. “Okay, these are way cool. Rick gets a necklace of hemorrhoids.”

  “Hematite, you wise guy.”

  Hannah giggled. “Whatever. We’ll use these.”

  “I know which bead would break up the solid black look.” Kendall sorted through her sterling tube beads and pulled out her favorite. “Check this one out. It’s handcrafted on the outside of the tubing. Every twenty-fifth or so hematite bead, we add one of these for contrast.”

  “Let’s get started.” Hannah rubbed her hands together and pulled up a chair to the work area.

  Kendall was thrilled to see her sister animated and interested in something so close to her own heart. “Why don’t you pull out the nicest-looking hematites and I’ll get the wire ready.”

  Half an hour later, they were still at it, Hannah absorbed in choosing flawless beads and asking all sorts of questions while she worked. For the first time since her arrival, Kendall felt as though Hannah had let down her guard, enabling Kendall to do the same. The sense of family and bonding she’d always missed in her life surfaced now and it was all Kendall could do not to pull her sibling into a huge hug and spoil everything.

  “So how’d you get into this?” Hannah asked.

  “Aah. Well, with all the moving around I did, I didn’t have many toys or things. But when I lived with Aunt Crystal, she taught me how to string macaroni as a way of making jewelry. We’d use all different kinds of pasta and put hooks on them. Then we’d paint. Aunt Crystal worked with real beads and things until her arthritis hit her hands. I guess you could say jewelry making runs in the family.”

  “She probably made old lady stuff,” Hannah said in the snotty tone that had been noticeably absent the entire morning.

  Kendall narrowed her gaze. “Crystal had talent.” She glanced over at Hannah’s choices in beads. “And so do you.”

  “Right. Like it’s so hard to pick black beads.” Hannah scooped up a handful and tossed them all together, mixing all the beads and undoing the meticulous work she’d already accomplished. “Here you go. All done.”

  “Oh, Hannah, why?” Looking at the mess, Kendall’s heart squeezed tight. “You did such an amazing job and now you combined them all again.” Hours of her sister’s work, undone for no good reason.

  Or was there an explanation Kendall just didn’t know about? If so, Hannah didn’t appear inclined to elaborate. She sat with her jaw clenched tight leaving Kendall with no choice but to replay their conversation in her head. Her sister’s attitude had changed the second Kendall mention
ed Aunt Crystal but she didn’t understand why Hannah would be angry or envious of an older relative she’d never even met.

  “Hannah,” Kendall began tentatively. “Are you jealous of Crystal? Of my time with her?”

  “Why would I be jealous just because you had time for her and not me?”

  “That’s not how it was.” Kendall reached for Hannah, but her sister twisted her body out of reach.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  And the mutinous set of her jaw told Kendall she wasn’t kidding. She exhaled hard, knowing she needed a subject change and fast if she wanted a return to the bonding they’d begun to share. “Do you like making jewelry?” Kendall asked.

  Hannah shrugged. “It’s OK.”

  But recalling how the young girl had eyed the assortment of beads, Kendall figured it was more than just okay. “You know, I used to do pasta jewelry everywhere I went. From home to home. Wherever I lived, no one minded me keeping busy by creating necklaces. It kept me quiet and out of their hair till I moved on.” Kendall shrugged, good memories mixed along with the bad. “Stability’s the one thing you had that I didn’t.” Maybe she could get Hannah to see the positives in her life.

  “Big deal. Staying in the same place, year after year. No family around. Friends come and go depending on their family situations. It’s not as hot as you think.” Hannah’s overglossed lips set in a pout.

  Obviously Kendall wasn’t getting through to her sister. “Well . . . ”

  “Ladies, where are you?” Pearl’s voice carried from downstairs. The sound of her muffled footsteps quickly followed as she tread up the stairs and joined them in the attic.

  They were no longer alone and Kendall lost the opportunity to talk to her sister and maybe, somehow fix things for Hannah, herself, and their too-fragile relationship.

  Rick couldn’t help but notice the tension was thick when Kendall picked him up and drove them all to his mother’s house for dinner. He didn’t know what had happened between the sisters earlier but obviously both were upset and neither had much to say to each other.