When the Heart Lies Read online

  Olivia’s irate voice filled the air. Jackson pulled the phone from his ear letting her vent before ending the call. “I can hardly hear you. Are you in the chopper I hear coming? We’re down the road from the cabin. Yeah, you’re breaking up. We’ll meet you there.” He snapped his phone shut, hopped up into the truck bed with Kinsley, and they headed toward the cabin.

  He and Jim leaned against the truck and watched the cabin as it burned. Jackson turned, reached over the side of the truck into the bed, and opened the cooler to get a bottle of water. To his surprise, six beers stuck out from the ice. He peeked at Jim with a question mark glint in his eye.

  “I was hoping we’d have something to celebrate,” Jim said and grinned. “Besides, we woulda needed one either way.”

  “I like the way you think.” He handed Jim a beer. They cracked them, tapped them and took long, heavy chugs.

  Jim tilted his head to the side and took a minute before speaking. “Think anyone’s inside?”

  Jackson looked over at Kinsley sleeping in the truck, folded his arms across his chest, and took another long drink of his beer. “Yup.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Within a half-hour, the perimeter swarmed with police, firefighters, the local sheriff, and the Hostage Rescue Team. Kinsley was tucked safely into the air-conditioned ambulance with Jackson at her side. The sheriff deputies clamored to get involved, but Olivia’s charm and the big guns of the Hostage Rescue Team kept them at bay. Olivia organized the personnel and attempted to get into the ambulance to talk to Kinsley and Jackson. An EMT assured Olivia it wouldn’t be long.

  Another EMT assured Jackson that Kinsley was physically unharmed, except for the lump on her head that was probably tender. The same EMT started an IV to rehydrate her, and Kinsley began to wake up. Lights and sounds flashed and buzzed around her. Her lids were still heavy, and the stench of thick smoke filled her nostrils. People talked calmly around her, but she couldn’t make out their voices.

  Jackson held her hand in his. Her eyes fluttered open. She looked confused, staring questioningly at the EMT first and subsequently at Jackson. She’d been nearly delirious at the roadside.

  “Jackson? It’s you?” It was a half statement, half question. “I thought … I thought I was dreaming.” Her eyes bulge. Dread hit her deep inside, so deep. She’d never known the place existed before now. She grabbed both of Jackson’s hands in hers. “What did they do to him?”

  “Who?”

  “Max.”

  He took one of his hands and placed it back down gently over hers. “Max is on a flight home with Jonathan. Wayde left him with Veda. I presume he wanted him out of the way.”

  She dropped his hands and slumped back onto her pillow, draping her arm over her eyes to conceal her tears of joy and relief. Jackson handed her a tissue and waited patiently for her to expend her emotions.

  “Wayde told me they killed him. That’s why I—”

  He put his finger to his lips to shush her and glanced up at the EMT. “Can we have a minute here?”

  The EMT opened the back door and jumped out, closing the door behind him. Jackson reached over, locked the door from the inside, and looked at her intently. She’d seen Olivia heading for the ambulance before the door closed.

  “So, I was the work you couldn’t talk about at the hospital?” she said.

  “Yes, but no time for a lovers’ quarrel now. Self-defense. You thought your life was in immediate danger. Don’t elaborate.”

  She opened her mouth to speak.

  “Ah, ah, ah.” He wagged his finger across his lips and tilted his head, waiting for agreement.

  She nodded just as Olivia yanked the locked door and cursed.

  “Open the door, Jackson!”

  He reached over and unlocked the door, opening it with curious expression. “How’d that get locked?”

  Olivia shot him a cold hard glare. “Save it, Jackson. I need to talk to her.”

  He shrugged a shoulder and lifted his hand toward Kinsley as he leaned back with one foot propped against the inner wall of the vehicle.

  Olivia shooed him off with a wave. “Alone.”

  Once he was gone, the two women took a minute, sizing one another up. She remembered seeing Olivia years ago with Xavier. She didn’t comment. Olivia took a seat on the EMT’s short stool next to her stretcher. While Olivia thumbed through a small notebook, she fought to stay silent and wondered how close she and Jackson were. She shook the thought off. It didn’t matter how close they were, she was going home now. It was obvious she’d only been a case to him. She knew he was too good to be true. He wormed his way right into her heart. He’d had her believing he understood her. But he was paid to listen.

  “I’m sorry to have to ask you to go over what happened here so soon.” Olivia frowned, apologetically. “However, questioning is necessary. Simply tell me what happened as clearly as you can.”

  Olivia seemed kind. Kinsley told her everything, and some of it was true. She told her Wayde had drunkenly shot at her the previous night. Whether to scare her or kill her, she wasn’t sure. The casings found in the charred aftermath would confirm her account. She said she thought she was going to die, her voice wavering. She explained that she used her prescription pills to drug the two of them once they threatened to kill her. It was plausible that the skillet she told Olivia Wayde had thrown at her jarred the stove. Olivia appeared sympathetic, and as Kinsley expected, her deductive reasoning lead her to assume that was how the propane became compromised. She told Olivia nothing of Wayde’s comments about Angela. Why make things worse by airing family secrets, especially secrets that could only bring suffering. She’d talk to Angela first.

  “Okay, well sounds like you covered everything.” Olivia flattened her lips as her head swayed compassionately with the slightest movement side-to-side. “Here’s my card if you need anything. There will be an investigation, and we’ll need to bring you in for further questioning. I’ll let Jackson know when. You’ll have to stay a couple days until we have all the information we need from you. Things may take longer, but we’ll do our best to get you back home as soon as possible. I spoke with Xavier. He’s reserved a hotel suite for you at the Hyatt in Le Grand. He or Nick will be calling you later to arrange for your trip home.” She hesitated before she turned to leave. “Xavier would like Jackson to stay with you. Until Nick comes, he’ll be in an adjoining room.”

  She lowered her eyes. “Of course.” Just what she wanted, to be supervised by a man who must think she’s pathetically needy and delusional. At the same time, she was relieved he’d be close.

  Against medical advice and Jackson’s urgings, Kinsley chose to forgo an ER visit. Jim hitched a ride back to Le Grand with Olivia, leaving Jackson and her to navigate the awkward ride back.

  The weight of the silence bore down. She noticed Jackson taking quick peeks at her, but didn’t let him see her eyes directly, only the reflection of them as she watched the countryside stream by through the window. That’s as far as she could open herself to him right now. She wasn’t surprised by his distance. What could he say? It was evidently clear to him what she’d done. Did he think she was a killer? Was she a killer? Wouldn’t any parent do the same? The questions spun like a cyclone in her head.

  The ringing of Jackson’s cell phone interrupted her thoughts and broke the tension. He answered the call. “Hello.”

  “Hello, Jackson. How is she?”

  Xavier’s voice was low, but audible. She instinctively straightened and turned toward Jackson.

  Maintaining her steady gaze as he spoke, Jackson replied, “Quiet.”

  “I’d like to speak with her if she’s up to talking.”

  Jackson held the phone out to her. She looked down at it, trembled, and eyed him worriedly.

  “It’s Xavier.”

  She drew a steady breath and put the phone to her ear, unable to make words form.

  “Kinsley?”

  Her soft breaths carried through the phone.

&
nbsp; “Kinsley?”

  “Yes, I’m here,” she murmured. His voice sounded like home, making her die a little inside.

  “Thank God you’re safe. There hasn’t been a moment you weren’t thought of. You know that, don’t you.”

  She didn’t respond.

  His words came slowly. “I won’t downplay the ordeal you’ve been through by asking if you’re okay. Nick is at the airport meeting Jonathan and Max. He’ll call you tonight. I haven’t been able to tell him you’ve been found yet. He’ll fly down as soon Max is settled. He’ll be anxious to see you. He feels terrible for letting you go.”

  “No. –Please.” Her voice stumbled over her quick reply. “Tell him to wait. I don’t want to talk to him on the phone or see him until I’m home.” When he didn’t say anything, she spoke again, nearly inaudible. “Please.”

  Xavier hesitated. “I’ll tell him. I’m sure he’ll be disappointed, but he’ll understand. I assumed you have no personal items with you, so I made a list and had some things delivered from some local shops to the hotel in Le Grand. I thought you and Nick might be there a while. I also sent a credit card in your name.”

  As always, he was too good to her. “You didn’t have to send anything. Thank you.” She rarely spoke so formally with him.

  The line became quiet again. “Kinsley? You do know—”

  She stopped him. “Yes, I know.” She closed the phone and laid it on the bench seat.

  Jackson put his hand over hers before she released the phone from her grip. The sentiment surprised her, and she pulled back. His face dropped, and he looked toward the windshield again.

  “Can’t we talk, Kinsley?”

  She glanced at him then back toward the window. “We can talk.”

  “I understand your being upset with me. I only wish you’d try to see I did the best I could to be honest with you.”

  “I’m not upset. I really wish you’d … forget it.” She wished he could see her for who she wanted to be and not the monster he must see her for now. Why do I care so much? “You had a job to do. No one can fault you for doing your job.”

  “That’s just it, if I had been doing my job, I... my gut wouldn’t be half chewed away from the inside out. Everything between us was real. I wasn’t toying with you. I had to keep some things from you.”

  Finally turning from the window, she spoke fast, afraid she’d lose the nerve if she waited. If she were smart, she’d keep her mouth shut. But she didn’t. She’d never have what she wanted when she returned home, and for a little while, she needed to forget that. “I have one, two days tops. After the investigation, I’m going back to New York. I need to decompress, and I can’t do it alone, but I don’t want to do it with all this tension between us.”

  The truck screeched to a halt. He sat for a time and looked beyond the dash before he unbuckled his seat belt and bolted out. Within seconds, he was at her door, pulling her from her seat and into his arms. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he hugged her body close. Her arms circled his neck tightly as their lips sealed some unwritten agreement. Contract sealed—he pulled back and helped her dazed body back into her seat. Closing the door, he leaned down into the window.

  “Two days. You’re mine. However much or little you want to share with me. Promise me that. Two days.”

  Her nod was hesitant. It’d be hard for her to leave, but she was determined to do the right thing for Max. And Jackson. It’d be selfish for her to stay. In the end, when he found out things he wouldn’t want to know, it would change things between them. They’d have two days. She’d go back, and they’d have something real to hold on to when she was gone. “I’ll go home after that, Jackson.”

  He put his hands up between them, pushing her words back. “Two days.”

  Chapter 19

  Max ran through the kitchen, yelling and heading for Xavier. Nick followed behind him. Finally, Max landed in a lump at the bottom of Xavier’s feet in the living room. He hugged Xavier’s ankles. Xavier picked him up, inhaled deeply, and sank into his embrace.

  “Poppy, Poppy. I missed you.” He pulled from Xavier’s grip and examined his Poppy. Xavier’s lips kissed the palm Max thrust into his face as he giggled.

  “I’m so glad your home. In a few days, Mommy will be home, and we’ll all be together again.” He bent down, turning his back to Max. Max jumped on and Xavier pulled him up onto his shoulders and flew him around the room like an airplane.

  “Ah, there’s the little Master,” Jonathan said as he entered the room. “Your supper is waiting. Any later and it will be your breakfast. Come along now.”

  Xavier took him in for a landing, and Max ran from the room just as he’d come. Xavier’s eyes followed Max as he disappeared though the door. “His laughter’s healing.”

  Nick scratched his brow and looked to Xavier. “He’s grown.”

  Xavier continued to look in the direction Max had gone and smiled. “Yes, they tend to do that.” He turned back to Nick. “I spoke with Kinsley. She’d like to wait and see you when she gets home. She may need some time before she wants to discuss what happened. I’ll update you with all the details from Olivia. We’ll talk when Max naps.”

  Nick’s face deflated.

  Xavier changed the subject. “Your mother wasn’t able to give us any information today.” He didn’t mention the bank account Angela had set up for Wayde.

  “I don’t know what you expected to get out of her. Why doesn’t Kinsley want me to go to her? Doesn’t she want to come back? To me?”

  “I don’t know any more than you do, Nick. I’m sure you’ll both have a lot to deal with when she gets home.”

  Nick went to the bar and then stopped himself. “I’ve never wanted things to work out more than I do now. I’m just never sure how to go about it. Shit. I need a drink. But I guess slowing down on that would be a start, huh.”

  Xavier laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder as he left the room.

  ~ ~ ~

  The creak of the old truck door opening and interior light flickering on roused Kinsley from the on again off again slumber she’d fallen into during the long ride from Shallow Water to Le Grand. Jackson stood beside her at the passenger door of the truck. When her eyes opened, he smiled and leaned in, removing her seat belt. The belt released, and he backed away, stopping when his face was level with hers. “You’re even more beautiful when you sleep,” he said. Stepping aside, he extended his hand. She took hold of it, and he helped her tired, aching body from the truck.

  She was unsure of the time, knowing only that it was late. Jackson looked equally spent. The events of the day hung somewhere in the not so deep recesses of her mind. Uncertain of what she felt about them, she elected to keep them there for a bit. She welcomed Jackson’s warm arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders, both guiding and reassuring her along the way. They entered the hotel, checked in, and went straight to the suite. They bypassed the living area. Jackson directed her into one of the lavish bedrooms and stood at the door as she looked around the room.

  She turned to him. “Thank you… for everything.”

  A slight nod and brief lowering of his eyes acknowledged her statement. “The things Xavier sent are being brought up. Do you want me to call down for anything? The bellman said there’s twenty-four hour room service. I can put something on TV. What can I do?”

  “Maybe just some tea? A hot shower? I’m sure there’s a robe and towels in the bathroom. Once I’m done, the only thing I’m going to need is that bed. Maybe you could keep me company until I fall off to sleep?” The thought of being alone in the strange hotel room after the events of the day unnerved her. Coming to terms with what she’d done was going to be a process. A process much like the one she’d face soon when she returned home and started confronting all the things that lead to this day.

  By the time she showered and settled into bed, still wearing the bulky robe that somehow, rather than being cumbersome, made her feel protected and secure, Jackson knocked and entered wit
h her tea. After setting the tray up, he took a seat in the bedside chair.

  “Are you sure you want company?” he said as he twisted the cap off the beer he’d grabbed from the small kitchen’s fridge.

  She cozied onto her side, packing blankets around her and leaving her arms free to turn and grab her tea. After taking a long sip, she sighed. “Yes, I do. I’d rather not be alone. I see you also took advantage of the amenities.”

  He was wearing one of the plush robes, and his hair was still damp from showering. The two of them smelled of the fresh scent of hotel soap and were flushed from lingering under the welcoming heat and wet of the waterfall-like showers. The night was quiet, except for the soft music mixing with the rustlings of the mellow white caps hitting the beach. She listened and watched as the sheer curtain of the patio door blew in cadence with the sounds that lulled her to sleep.

  Sometime during the night, Jackson got into bed with her. She remembered dreaming, the adrenaline-induced tingling and coolness that came over her body, the fear, and then the comfort of his warmth encasing her when he draped his arm over her, hugging her close. The fact she felt at peace once he was by her side troubled her. Was she okay with what she’d done? And what kind of person did that make her?

  ~ ~ ~

  Kinsley’s cheek pressed firmly against Jackson’s hard yet velvety, muscled chest. Still semi-asleep, she didn’t open her eyes, but slid her hand up and rested her palm on the closest peck. His tiny bead-like nipple hardened beneath her hand when she unintentionally grazed the tip with a light involuntary movement of her palm. Her own nipples hardened from the responsiveness of his body and the images the touch elicited. The sensation growing between her legs intensified, and her bent leg traveled upward, attempting to reign in the need. When she bumped his morning hardness with her knee, her breath held. The shaft of his generous maleness pressed against her thigh, increasing the ache in her center. To regain her composure, she turned her back to him. He pulled her in and snuggled closer, his large package settling into the upside-down heart of her ass cheeks. The fabric between them left little to the imagination. His robe was fully open. She fought the urge to arch back and press fully into him. Her body stiffened as she contemplated how awkward the next couple days might be if she simply jumped out of bed and headed straight into a cold shower, forgetting all about their little agreement. The opportunity never came. His hand slid up her arm and rested on her bare shoulder where the robe had inched down. His soft lips laid a gentle kiss there. She laid her hand over his.