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The Tessarae Inn |
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Dreams In Amber Refrains
CHAPTER 9 Todd let his head fall back against the seat and tried once again to erase the image of Blair standing next to Travis as he drove away. What the hell was going on? He had to work like a banshee to convince Blair that the children were safe and fine, that JStarr could do without her for a week or so and to come to Key West with him. He did all of that to keep her away from Jake Travis and look at what happened. Still Key West hadn’t really been about Travis. What he had wanted more than anything was to get Blair alone and to have her focus all of her attention on him for a while. They had been through so much in the last year and most of it had been his fault. He didn’t deserve her and that thought had never strayed far from his consciousness even during the worst of it. There were so many times during all of those months when the deep whirling guilt eating him up inside about the dead baby lie made him hold back, hide his feelings and avoid even the simple pleasure of touching her. But that was all over and he and Blair survived their trial by fire and all he wanted was a few days alone with her. In the end, he got more than he ever imagined possible. They stepped off the plane and stepped right into that space between dreams and fantasy. He had always loved Blair. Always. But he never let himself really consciously need her as much as he did in Key West. He’d always been so damn scared of losing her; wanting her so much that when she left all he could do was lay down and die. It didn’t matter if that’s the way he felt, he just couldn’t let her know it. If he didn’t let her know it then maybe he could pretend not to feel it. But in Key West all of the defenses slipped away. His soul was stripped naked in front of her and all she did was wrap him in love so warm and nurturing his soul had literally taken flight intertwined in hers. He had never felt more loved or connected to her. And the magic hadn’t stayed in Key West. He rubbed his knee to deflect how much he just wanted to be with her now, in her and on her. And even what happened with Rebecca hadn’t caused a major ripple. Rebecca. If there had ever been any lingering doubts about what would happen if she came back into his life the question had been answered once and for all. Maybe he should feel guilty about what happened in the hotel room and about not telling Blair about it, but all he felt was elated and elevated because nothing really happened between he and Rebecca other than a brief almost kiss and so much more could have if he let it. She was in a bad place in her life, reaching back to the past for answers to questions that didn’t belong there. He wasn’t her answer and even at the time she knew that in her heart of hearts. She just wanted to stop hurting and he refused to make it worse for her by letting her do something she would regret later. But most important he refused to risk what he had with Blair even for a second for any reason. Nothing was ever going to come between them again, especially some thoughtless action on his part. “Driver, please take the next exit and go to The Talbot Hotel on Prince Street in Clearwater.” What the hell? He looked over at Heather and glared at her. “This is business.” “Look, I agreed to give you a ride but this is no taxi service. I suggest we drop you at some car rental place so you can handle your business on your own terms.” She frowned and narrowed her eyes. He could not believe this bitch. First, she all but begged him to give her a ride to Llanview where she could make a quick connection to Philly and now she was acting as if the limo was hers and he was just another one of her paid flunkies. He had only agreed to let her come so that he could see Blair’s face. He agreed to trust Blair about this Grammy stuff but he couldn’t allow her to get too comfortable. He had not been disappointed by Blair’s reaction but that rush only lasted a few minutes because payback is a bitch. He ended up stuck in a limo with this bitch on wheels for three hours and now she was trying to extend the trip. Heather’s face softened and that headband she had on pretending it was a skirt rode up another inch or two. Another fraction of an inch and he’d know what color panties she was wearing and he was not interested. “I’m sorry. I should have asked first. My sister is stranded and I would consider it a great favor if you will let me pick her up so she can ride the rest of the way with us.” A great favor? She sounded like some queen patting one of her subjects on the head. “Mr. Manning, the exit is coming up. Shall I take it or not.” Heather opened her eyes and pouted slightly but she was obviously out of practice and the expression came across as slightly demented. She was some piece of work. It had been a long time since he crossed paths with a woman like her. They were not unheard of in high school. Rich bitches with rich daddies and bored out of their minds and not bothered by a pesky thing like a soul or moral scruples. He’d known how to handle them then and the thing was—they liked it. But he had grown up. Finally. The image of Blair standing on the porch in Key West flashed in his mind but then that image was replaced by an image of her standing an inch, two at the most, away from Travis. He growled softly then said, “Yeah, Fred. Take the exit.” A blast from the past times two might be an interesting diversion for the rest of the trip. He needed to remind himself of what he found. He could trust Blair and she was worth ten million Heathers and her sister combined. Robyn turned out to be far more interesting than Heather. She was shorter with curly dark auburn hair and a pretty, but not spectacular, face. If Heather dressed to make an impression then Robyn seemed to be interested in being comfortable. Of course, comfortable meant one hundred percent cashmere sweatshirts and designer slacks and designer shoes. Still if Heather was all high glossy finish then Robyn seemed to have at least a toe in the real world. He grunted when Heather introduced them but Robyn maintained eye contact with him for much longer than was appropriate. “Find what you’re looking for?” She cleared her throat and then looked at Heather with wide eyes. “I told you!” blurted Heather. “I’m sorry,” said Robyn turning back toward him, “you just remind me of someone.” “I met him at Travis’s.” Todd sat up straight. What the hell was going on here? The two of them were talking in some kind of code. He didn’t like it. Not one bit. He glanced at Robyn and noticed that her face was now flushed a deep pink and her eyes were like coin slots in a vending machine as she stared at Heather. “You were with Travis? I thought you said…” “Forget it. It’s not exactly up to me. That man can’t seem to stay away from me. Insatiable it seems.” Todd’s interest peaked as he listened to the sisterly exchange. There was something feral and vicious about it. He cocked his head and looked at Heather with hooded eyes. Travis seemed more than happy to get Heather out from under foot. The woman he couldn’t seem to stay away from was Blair. Robyn probably wouldn’t be any happier to hear that though. “Well, you could have at least told me about your change of plans. I ended up having to have lunch with Treyscott. He’s on a tear as usual.” This time it was Heather who seemed to bristle and snap her claws. “There’s nothing I could have done to help.” Robyn smiled slightly but then said, “Daddy Carl was really upset. He’s ready to throw his hands up about this whole mess. Could care less what happens next year with the team and the chances for the Super Bowl. You need to …” “Shut up, Robyn. I introduced you to our host, Todd Manning, publisher of The Sun. A fucking newspaper.” Something cold slapped him across the forehead. Did she say Treyscott? “Bryan Treyscott?” “Yeah,” said Robyn. “Do you know him?” “I know about him. Quarterback for The Tornados?” “That’s him all right. Quarterback and fulltime pain in the ass.” Bryan Treyscott? One of the few football players in the whole freaking world that he would cross a street to talk to. Daddy Carl? Shuttlesworth? Carl Shuttlesworth! The Tornadoes! Damn. These girls weren’t just the spawn of a rich daddy, they had the godfather of all rich daddies. What did he know about Shuttlesworth? What did he know? He tried to still his mind and focus on a directed search of his memory. Robyn hit her forehead lightly with the tips of her fingers. “I know you. Or, I mean, I’ve heard about you. Llanview? Right?” Todd nodded as he calculated what she might have heard. “Serious money.” “That’s what you’ve heard?” “Close enough. Asa Buchanan told us all about you. Serious money. Wicked smart. Are you interested in buying a piece of The Tornadoes?” What did she just say? Did he hear her correctly? Todd leaned forward and stared at Robyn. He tried to control his excitement. A football team? She wanted to know if he was interested in buying a piece of a football team? The Tornadoes. A team with a real chance to make it all the way this year? Damn straight he was interested. He locked his gaze on Robyn because he knew getting something he wanted was never as easy as simply saying yes. He tried for a barely beyond neutral facial expression and shrugged. Robyn narrowed her eyes but smiled. “Robyn, will you shut up. You don’t have any authority to even circulate that information.” Heather turned toward him. “Todd, I hope you will overlook my sister’s rather glib style. She has little head for business and appropriate procedures.” “Yeah, sure. Consider it forgotten. Fred, pull over into that station. You need to get some gas and I need to make a call.” Fred pulled into the station and Todd hopped out of the car. He walked away from the limo but stood so he could see if anyone got out other than Fred. He pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial number. When the connection was completed, he said, “Shuttlesworth. Carl. Everything.” “When?” asked Duke Wilson. “Last week.” “You’re back in the civilized North?” “Close enough.” Click. He took a minute to steady his nerves. His life was taking some funny twists and turns lately. He hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about football in the last eight years or so. He watched that dream get blown away like everything else back then but now this had fallen into his lap. It wasn’t the same as having the career playing ball that he planned but now he could be a principle owner of The Tornadoes. He could have Bryan Treyscott, Demetri Sinclair and Cage Sloan working for him…playing for him. Damn it but he never thought of it before. And now he couldn’t stop thinking about it. There was a chance to salvage something after all these years. The phone rang and he answered immediately. Maybe Duke had found out something he needed to know that quickly. “Would you come and get me?” It was Blair. His heart flipped at the sound of her voice. How long had it been since he talked to her, fourteen days or so? He checked his watch. It had only been two hours. His body reacted as if she had just walked into the room, an almost imperceptible wave of excitement. “Hey, babe. What did you say?” “Can you come and get me.” “I’d walk through fire to get you. If he left right now he could be with her in less than two hours. Damn. He looked over at the limo. There was no way he could expect Blair to share the limo with Heather and Robyn. Maybe they were just pulling his chain about The Tornadoes but he didn’t want to risk missing the opportunity of a lifetime. “I’ll be there first thing tomorrow.” “Tomorrow?” “I’ve got some things to take care of this evening.” “What kind of things?” “Just business.” “Where are you? I hear trucks and traffic sounds. Are you still on the road?” “At a gas station.” “Then why can’t you just turn around?” Todd dragged his nails along the receiver of the phone and imitated crackling noises and static. “Breaking up, babe. I’ll call you in the morning…Love ya.” “What? Todd, can you hear me?” He broke the connection and then turned off the phone. ===================== Sometimes Heather was convinced that she hated Robyn. At other times, she just disliked her mightily. Then there were the extremely rare times like now when she wanted to reach across the space between them and give her big ass kiss. The stupid bitch had given her the key she needed. Nothing she had done, said, felt, hinted at had so much as generated a flicker of interest in Todd but that stupid football team lit a fire under his ass even though he tried to hide it. She made a call to Daddy Carl immediately and now she had the carrot to reel this one in. Everybody had a price. Sometimes it was having a chance to be involved in a stupid boy's game played by grown men. When he slid back into the limo, she ignored him. She stared out of the window with her head turned away from him. She knew that Robyn was watching her like a hawk but wasn’t stupid enough to interfere. Long years of experience had taught Robyn to shut up and sit back when she knew the game and to shut up twice as hard and sit back even further when she didn’t know the game. “Ready to get moving?” So Mister Colder-Than-Dry-Ice was now interested in what she wanted. She turned slowly and let her gaze settle on him like a chilly mist. “Whatever,” she said in a soft hoarse whisper. “Sorry about stopping but we needed gas and I needed to talk to my wife for a second.” Robyn jerked forward. “Your wife? You called your wife?” “Yeah and Travis told me to tell both of you Hi. Especially you, Heather. He wanted to make sure you are having a safe trip. Couldn’t stop talking about you.” “She’s with Travis? How come?” Damn you, Robyn. Why of all the times in the freaking world did you decide to break protocol now? “My wife is the one who sings with Travis on his latest CD.” “The mystery woman? I didn’t think she would ever surface. I thought Travis made her up or something.” “She’s real and they’re planning to announce it to the press in the next day or so.” “Why?” “Robyn, please shut up with the stupid questions. Mr. Manning and I have business to discuss.” “It’s as much my business as yours.” Todd shifted his gaze to Heather. “What kind of business, Miss Shuttlesworth?” “Maybe this is not the time. Lunch tomorrow?” “Oh, for God’s sake, Heather. Just tell him. Look, we called Daddy Carl and he’s interested in meeting you if you have any interest in buying into The Tornadoes.” “Just like that?” “We do things our own way. Heather gave you an okay and I concurred. Plus Asa hates you and that’s pretty high praise. So you have to meet Daddy Carl. None of this guarantees anything but unless he likes you there won’t be talks of any kind—money or otherwise. I assume you have deep pockets.” “Had to sew in sub-pockets to handle the overflow.” “The rest of it then is personal. He says he’ll meet you tomorrow at the Llanview Country Club for lunch at 12:30 but he’ll really meet you at your house first thing in the morning. He likes to catch people off guard. I guess that will give you enough time to check us out. We’ll have everything we need to know about you by then. You did call your investigator, didn’t you?” He grinned at Robyn. “Hell, yeah.” Heather watched the exchange and decided then and there that Robyn would regret the day she was born. At that moment Robyn turned and smiled at her. The bitch was getting her back for Travis. Fine. If she wanted war, then she got it but the bitch better never close her eyes again. “Now, Heather, I’ve saved you at least seventy-two hours or so of intensive game playing to get us to this point.” “Appreciated,” said Todd. “Nothing is free, Mr. Manning,” said Heather. “Remember that.” Chapter 10 Dreams In Amber Refrains FAN FICTION |