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Overview
With his three younger siblings looking to him for guidance, Pierce was a man who took family seriously. He knew he could help Haley and her daughter adjust to life here—if only his alluring tenant would let down her guard. But once she did, was this Masterson male ready to take a chance on love and share with Haley the joy of a promise fulfilled?
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781460370599 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Harlequin |
| Publication date: | 11/15/2014 |
| Sold by: | HARLEQUIN |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 224 |
| File size: | 669 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Haley Sanders sealed the last moving box and pushed it against the wall. The word kitchen had been scrawled on its sides to make the eventual unpacking easier.
She'd spent the last three days throwing away or packing possessions in her two-bedroom apartment that had been home for exactly one year. Muscles in her shoulders and lower back protested each movement. Tonight her body would demand payback when her muscles tightened and ached to the bone.
There could be no stopping now.
She glanced over the open kitchen and tiny living area, a far cry from the mini-mansion in buppie-dom, Mitchellville, Maryland. No custom-designed mini-blinds decorated the windows. The standard white paint had no colorful border accents to pick up the coordinated scheme in the carpet and furniture.
But there had been no way that she could have remained living in the house that had seen the early giddy days of her married life, the birth of her only child and had witnessed her husband's acts of intimate betrayal. After the legal separation, she'd endured six months under that hellish roof until she could afford to move.
Her little apartment had become more than home. It was the place where everyone reassured her that she'd move on with her life. The healing was far from complete, though. It wouldn't be until she could put distance between herself and her past.
Trying to keep herself busy, she picked up a cloth and the multipurpose spray cleaner. The landlord would be up soon for the final walk-through. She sprayed at the random smudges on the wall, erasing traces of her existence in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.
In the master bedroom, her new queen-size bed sat bare. The bed had been the first item she'd intended to replace. Thinking about lying on the mattress that she'd shared with her husband and his other woman still had the power to make her stomach heave.
She fiddled with the thin gold band on her wedding finger. The intricate, diamond-studded wedding ring set had long been replaced with a simple gold band. Those who knew she was divorced accepted her explanation that the ring kept men from approaching her.
However, the metal served as a talisman to ward off another relationship. As she slid the band around her finger, she stared at her hand. Once in a while she indulged in a manicure, but most times, like today, her fingernails were short and unpolished.
Sliding the ring to her knuckle, she looked at the untanned skin. The pale line against her toffee-colored complexion had the same effect as a flashing neon sign overhead announcing her failure.
She couldn't make it as a wife and had failed as a lover.
"Hey, Mom. You okay?"
"Of course." Haley quickly dropped her hand to her side. She blinked back the sting of tears.
Her daughter stood in the doorway. Her lean body on the brink of maturity sported a crop top and jeans low on her hips.
"Did you do a quick run-through of your room?" Haley pasted a bright smile to erase her daughter's visible unease at seeing her upset. Throughout this ordeal, she'd made it a point not to show any signs that she couldn't handle the divorce.
"Are you sure we're going to get help to load these boxes?"
"Yes, Beth." Haley smiled. "Your uncles are coming." She glanced at her watch. "Anytime now." She crossed the room and placed an arm around her daughter's shoulders.
"Yeah, right." Beth shrugged off the offending arm and headed to the front door. "I'll be outside."
"Don't go far. As soon as everything is on the truck, we're leaving."
Beth surveyed the room. "If you think so." Haley watched the front door close. "Smart-ass." Since she'd told Beth they were moving, Beth had kept her at arm's distance. Obviously, nothing had changed. But she was determined that things would get better soon. The forbidden clothes would have to be dealt with later.
Where were her brothers? She should've known better. But there was no one else to ask. She walked to the wall phone in the kitchen. Never mind that she'd already placed two calls. Her brothers didn't budge unless she nagged them incessantly. Today proved to be no exception.
Her eldest brother, Theo, had a nasty reputation for being unfashionably late. No one bothered him about it. His pit-bull physique and tree-trunk limbs tempered any person's irritation.
On the other hand, the middle sibling, Stan, was punctual, except when one of his many girlfriends distracted him. He called himself the Love Doctor and declared himself on call twenty-four hours, seven days a week for his lady friends.
As the little sister, she didn't carry too much clout. Haley prepared to make yet another call when the doorbell sounded.
"Thank goodness," she muttered. Maybe she wouldn't be too off her schedule. A two-hour drive remained in front of her.
She opened the door. "What took you so—?"
"Hello, Haley."
"Vernon?" Haley's grip tightened on the doorknob. She'd already stepped back in welcome, expecting her brothers to enter. Her ex-husband acted on the unintended invitation and strode with heavy steps into the living room.
"Where's Beth?" he asked over his shoulder. His focus zeroed in on the stacked boxes.
"Why are you here?" Damn the shakiness in her voice. She didn't move from the door, nor did she close it. Only his profile was in view. His tight, controlled movements reminded her of a tiger swishing his tail, sizing up the lay of the surroundings before launching in attack.
"Did you think you could sneak out of town with my daughter?"
Haley heard the steely edge lacing his words. She knew from experience that his fury wasn't too far behind. Though he'd never lifted a hand against her, he'd blasted away her confidence with his tongue enough times to set her on automatic alert with the occasional retreat.
"You look a mess." He faced her with arms folded across his chest. His disgust poured onto her and clung like a thick, oily coating. "Why would you wear shorts? First, you're too old to dress like a teenager. Second, you need to set an example for my daughter. Third, it sure looks like you haven't kept up with the jogging program I designed for you. Take my advice, visit a gym."
Her teeth worked on the inner side of her lip. Red-hot anger swallowed her entire face, shooting its way to the roots of her hair. Anger and a double serving of embarrassment warred with her emotions, a constant state of her reality whenever Vernon was around.
She'd love to have the courage to call him names, but he was always the picture of perfection with a toned physique outfitted in designer clothing. He always managed to look as if he had stepped out of the shower, fresh and clean, wearing perfectly creased pants and crisp shirts. Vernon had always been neat and a control freak.
She leaned against the open door for support and as a possible route of escape. Her ability to think rationally had gone into sleep mode, with the defensive flight mode activated.
"Vernon, we have nothing to discuss. I don't have to tell you when and where I'm going. I have full custody of Beth and as agreed, you will see her a week in the summer and Thanksgiving." To her ears she sounded breathless, as if she had sprinted around a track.
"No court is going to decide when I can see my own daughter." He took a step toward her. "Where is she?"
"She's not here." She tried to match his arrogance, but couldn't keep her eyes locked with his. Too much anger shone back at her. A long time ago, it used to be love, or something close to it.
"Going out of state?"
"Maybe," she hedged.
He raised her chin with his finger. "Look at me."
She didn't. "I said, look at me."
She slowly moved her eyes up his face until she stared back at familiar cold eyes that were dark enough to be considered black. "You don't have to tell me where you're going because I can afford to find you anywhere, anytime. I took care of you. I made you a woman. Gave you my family's name. You were nothing before you met me. No matter what melodrama is playing in your silly mind, I took good care of you and my daughter like a husband and father should." He leaned closer. "It's not over."