From the Ashes, page 9
“No. I’m not.” Brian swallowed the awful panic and even worse anger that engulfed him every time that word was mentioned. “And I won’t have you treating me as though I am. Especially not in front of my staff.”
“I’m looking out for you. Same as always.”
“Same as always, there’s one quarterback to a team. Your criticism of me stops right here.”
“Point taken,” Dwight conceded. Smiling, he lifted his fist.
Brian tapped it with his own. Another realization surfaced—now that he was no longer a professional athlete, this was a relationship that needed to change. “See you in the morning at the photo shoot?” he asked.
“I’ll be there. Need a lift?”
“Nope. Gramps said he’d drive, and he gets a kick out of hanging around the crew, so I like having him there.”
After Dwight left, Brian stared around his impossibly dark office a moment, wishing he could see better. Disabled. That one single word made him shake inside. Ruthlessly, he pushed the fear from his mind, squared his shoulders and went back to the front office.
Jasper came trotting toward him as he had before. Somehow, that dissolved the last of Brian’s irritation as he patted the dog. His confidence bolstered, he looked around at the staff, many of these people ones that he’d handpicked.
“Thanks for all your help,” he said, turning his head slowly, making sure he made eye contact with everyone who had come in to help. “Jodie, what else needs to be done?”
“Nothing we can handle tonight,” she said. “The insurance adjuster will be here first thing tomorrow. They suggested we hire a guard, and I called the security company. The guy is already in the parking lot.”
“Let’s lock up and go home.” He found Angela watching him, and she smiled when he caught her glance. Jasper stayed in the heel position as they crossed the room. Angela handed him the leash, which he hooked onto the dog’s collar.
With a chorus of goodbyes around them, they headed outside where dusk had fallen and the temperature had dropped to freezing.
“That’s a nice group of people,” Angela said to him after they were under way.
“They like you, too,” he said.
“I made some calls about your dishes while I was waiting,” she said. “Nordstrom has the pattern, and they’re in stock.” In the dim light, all he could make out of her was a silhouette, but he still felt a charge of awareness when she turned her head and looked at him. “Park Meadows Mall is more or less on the way back to your house.”
“I doubt this is how you planned to spend your day,” he said.
“That goes both ways. Do you want to go get the dishes?”
He laughed. “Single-minded has nothing on you, does it?”
“No,” she said.
“Okay,” he said.
On the way, he responded to Angela’s questions about the work of the Beanstalk Gang and the staff members she had met today. Since the work was his passion, he liked sharing, but he realized he wasn’t learning anything new about her.
Dusk had fallen, and as always happened to Brian at night, what little vision he had left was a sea of black interspersed with the blurred lights of moving cars. Tonight, though, he studied Angela instead of closing his eyes against the kaleidoscope outside the car. She didn’t seem to mind his looking at her because every time she turned her head toward him, she smiled.
He could get used to this, he thought. He wasn’t sure how this woman had become so important to him over the space of a few days, but she had.
To his surprise, she found a parking place next to the store entrance when they arrived at the mall. When they got out of the car, he took her hand, like he had when they had arrived at the offices hours earlier.
She walked close enough to him that he sensed when they reached the curb without her saying anything. And when they entered the brightly lit store, he kept telling himself all the sensible reasons he had to hold her hand. It made maneuvering through the store easier. He wasn’t likely to stumble over something hidden within the dark void of his nonexistent peripheral vision. The simple truth was, he liked it—from the scent of her hair to the clasp of her fingers against his. It felt…safe.
When they reached the china department, the choices turned out to be more complicated than he had imagined. Did he want a twelve-piece set or plates alone? Did he want the design with the gold rim or the platinum? He’d never paid attention to that and had to take Angela’s word that the rims of the broken plates were gold. Then they had added dessert plates and a coffee service. By the time they headed back to the car, Brian felt as though he had just finished playing a tough game with a rival team rather than simply shopping. He thanked the sales person who helped them carry the packages back to the Escalade and stow them in the back while Jasper watched attentively on from the backseat.
“Thanks to you, my grandmother is going to be a happy woman,” Brian told Angela, holding the driver’s door open for her. “I felt exactly like the proverbial bull in a china shop.”
“You did just fine,” she assured him. “Most guys would prefer a sporting-goods store over shopping for china.”
He’d been referring to his sight loss, but she had seen his comment simply as one of those inexplicable differences between men and women. He looked down at her, close enough that her face was all he could see, her usual serene smile in place and her lips slightly parted.
He lowered his head, giving her time to back away if she wanted. She didn’t, so he kissed her, cherishing the soft texture of her lips against his. She kissed him back before drawing away, her eyes impossibly bright when she opened them. He touched her cheek with a finger…and became aware that someone was clapping.
He lifted his head, hating that he couldn’t recognize the shadowy figure approaching them. He stepped in front of Angela, shielding her with his body.
“So you guys are just friends,” the man said, his voice familiar.
“Tommy? You followed us here?” Outrage filled Angela’s voice as she let go of Brian’s hand and took a step toward the other man. “I told you to leave me alone! I’m sick of you popping out of the woodwork every time I turn around.”
“You know what I want, doll face.”
The name reeked of disrespect and condescension, and made Brian instantly angry. He took a step forward, crowding the smaller man, who backed away. “That’s Miss London to you, bud. Show a little respect.”
Tommy laughed. “She’s two-timing you, you know. Saw her on a date myself.”
“Following her then, too?” Brian answered softly. He wasn’t prone to physical violence, but at the moment, he imagined flattening this whiny user. “She’s given every indication she doesn’t want you around. Shove off.”
Tommy took a step back, jamming his hands in his pants pocket, his attention once more on Angela. “Maybe your boyfriend would like in on our deal.”
“There is no deal. Never was. Never will be,” she said. “If I find you following me again, I’ll call the police—”
“And what?” he challenged. “This is a public parking lot, and I just happened to cross paths with my old friend Angela.”
Angela looked up at Brian, her features drawn. “Are you ready to go?”
“Sure.”
She got into the car, putting the key in the ignition. Brian closed the door and walked around the back of the car where he could still see Tommy’s shadowy figure.
“Maybe I should come talk to you about my business proposition.”
“No.”
“C’mon. You don’t even know what it’s about. I watched what was going on over there at your offices. You’re clearly a man who likes to dance on the shady side of the law.”
NINE
Brian grabbed Tommy by his shirt front and pulled him close. “You don’t know anything about me or my foundation.” He gave the man a little shake. “Maybe you don’t think Angela will call the police, but trust me, I will.”
“And I’ll tell them you assaulted me.” Tommy grinned, his shoulders thrust back. “Go ahead, hit me. Make yourself feel like a man.”
Brian was too tempted, even as something his grandfather had always said about heavy stones and a fool’s wrath being even heavier flickered through his mind. Still, Brian couldn’t release Tommy. “Leave Angela alone.”
“Staking your claim?” Tommy pulled out of his grasp and straightened his coat. “Trust me. She’s a woman without any staying power. Where she’s concerned…if I were you, I’d be watching my back.” With that, he walked away.
Brian got into the car. Once, he would have taken Tommy up on his taunt and flattened him without a backward glance. Brian shook his head against the conflicting emotions punching at him from inside his chest. Anger at a bully. Jealousy that any other man might have a claim on Angela. Pleasure at the memory of her sweet kiss. Swallowing, he turned his head to look at her.
Within the dark car, he couldn’t see her expression as she started the engine and backed out of the parking place. For the first time, the silence between them was awkward rather than companionable. He couldn’t decide if it was because of the kiss—hoping it wasn’t, because he couldn’t regret kissing her—or because of Tommy. Getting the man out of his mind was like trying to get away from the lingering stench of a skunk.
“Do you have big plans for Thanksgiving?” he asked, grasping on to the most neutral topic he could think of and knowing that he was going to invite her to spend it with his family if she said she didn’t.
“Actually, I do.” Her voice warmed, and he envied whomever she was spending it with. “For the first time in years, I’m having dinner with my friend Rachel and her family. Maisey is coming with me, too, and it’s going to be great.”
Rachel. Not a man. Brian couldn’t deny that he was relieved even as Tommy’s taunts rattled inside his head.
The rest of the drive was taken up with chitchat about the upcoming holiday that was only a couple of days away, the planned commercial shoot on Brian’s schedule tomorrow morning and the training for Jasper that needed to be rescheduled. Little by little, the confrontation with Tommy faded.
By the time they pulled into the spacious garage next to his grandparents’ Buick, the mood between them had returned to its usual companionable one. Lights came on, illuminating the space.
“You’ve got to come in and meet my grandparents,” he said as they got out of the car. “Plus, I want them to meet Jasper.”
Angela chuckled. “And I thought the real reason was you wanted help carrying all these packages into the house.”
“An added bonus,” he agreed, meeting her at the back of the vehicle where they each picked up a couple of shopping bags. “Come on, Jasper. You’re going to like Nonnie, and Gramps will probably think you’re okay, too.” After they opened the door into the house, he called, “I’m home.”
Curious about his grandparents and far too consumed by thoughts of the kiss, Angela followed him down the hallway. The kitchen was brightly lit and filled with the aroma of something roasting. Breakfast had been hours ago, and she just now realized they had missed lunch. Her stomach growled.
Brian’s grandmother and another woman were at the counter. Brian set his packages on the table, then reached for the ones in Angela’s arms.
“Nonnie, this is Angela London,” he said, drawing Angela toward a white-haired, dark-eyed woman whose face lit in welcome. “My grandmother, Priscilla Ramsey.”
Drying her hands on a towel, she came toward them with a smile, her hands outstretched. “It’s so nice to meet you. You wouldn’t believe all the nice things that Brian has said about you.” She gestured toward the other woman. “This is Olivia Inness. Brian hired her to cook for us, which was a fortunate thing for me because otherwise we would have never met or gotten to be such good friends. Now then.” She slipped behind Angela, pulling her coat from her shoulders as she spoke. “You need to take off your coat because you’ll be staying for dinner, of course.”
“Of course,” Olivia agreed, while Brian said, “You might as well say yes right now because there will be no changing her mind.”
“My grandson is right,” Nonnie said, handing Angela’s coat to Olivia, who carried it to the coat closet near the laundry room. Nonnie’s gaze lit on Jasper, who was sitting next to Brian, and her smile grew even wider. “This is your dog. My! What a handsome boy he is.” She looked over her shoulder to Angela. “Thank you for bringing him. I’ve been asking Brian for the last week when we were going to meet his French poodle.” She came to a stop in front of the dog. “Why, look at you!”
Jasper’s tail thumped, but he remained sitting at Brian’s feet.
“He knows how to play, doesn’t he?”
“Release,” Brian commanded, grinning at Angela, who felt her stomach quiver the way it always did when she imagined that smile was meant only for her. With that, Jasper moved away from Brian, following Nonnie, who retrieved a box of dog treats from a pantry shelf. The dog’s tail wagged harder.
Brian looked in Angela’s direction. “Let the spoiling begin. She bought the dog treats the day after I announced I had found a dog.”
She chuckled while Nonnie said, “This isn’t spoiling. It’s appreciation.”
Angela’s attention remained on Brian. This was a man she could fall in love with if she wasn’t careful. And no way could she allow that to happen. All she had to do was look around the kitchen, which was nearly as big as her whole house, if she wanted a reminder of the gulf between them. And, if that didn’t do it, she’d do well to think of her checkered past, which wasn’t as far behind her as she had hoped. Brian Ramsey and his foundation didn’t need the kind of baggage she carried.
On the other side of the room, Nonnie told Jasper to sit. He immediately did, earning his treat. After gushing over the dog a moment, Nonnie straightened, her smile brilliant.
“He’s quite something, isn’t he?” Brian said.
“Oh, yes.” She came toward him, hugging him as though doing so was the most natural thing in the world. “I am so grateful for this answer to my prayers.”
“That’s what Angela said, too.”
“Well, she’s right.” Nonnie turned her head, including Angela in her warmth.
“I’ve got a confession, Nonnie,” Brian said, dipping his head, his expression suddenly contrite. “I had a little accident when I was getting your Christmas dishes down this morning.”
Nonnie shook her head, her smile slipping a little. “I saw what was in the garbage. That looked like more than a little accident. Are you okay?”
“Fine.” He gestured toward the packages. “I know it can never be exactly the same since you had been collecting the others. But, thanks to Angela, I went shopping and replaced the dishes.”
“All of them?” She looked around Brian to the bags on the table.
“All of them,” he said, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “Plus that coffee service that you’ve been talking about for a while.”
“You didn’t have to—”
“Yeah, I did.”
“You shouldn’t have—”
“I wanted to.”
“It’s too much money,” Nonnie said.
“Not for you. Never for you,” he said.
As Angela watched the interplay between them, she knew Brian had been given all the love and security possible while he was growing up. That he had it now. The fact that Nonnie had been concerned for him instead of the broken dishes said everything about the kind of woman she was. Angela hoped Brian knew how blessed he was.
He knew what it was like to be part of a loving and supportive family. She didn’t. The feeling that flowed through her chest wasn’t envy exactly, though she admitted wanting what he had. Loss, that’s what it was, she decided. A sense of grief for something she’d never had.
Just then, a tall, white-haired man with Brian’s chiseled features came into the kitchen. Undoubtedly this was Brian’s grandfather. His face lit for the barest instant when he saw Brian, then settled back to a more somber expression.
“Wasn’t sure whether you’d be back for supper or not,” he said, his voice gruff. “That message you left on the phone worried your grandmother, you know.”
“I’m sorry. There’s not a real tactful way to describe vandalism.” As Brian had done when he introduced Angela to his grandmother, he took her by the hand and brought her forward. “Angela, this is my grandfather, Philip Ramsey.”
She extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
He smiled, the somber expression vanishing completely, his warm welcome matching Nonnie’s. “You’re too pretty to be a dog trainer.”
“And, Gramps, this is Jasper,” Brian said while his grandmother said, “What a thing to say to the girl, Philip.”
“Well, she is pretty.” He turned around to look at the dog. “He’s a poodle, all right.” Glancing at Angela, he added, “You’re sure this is going to work out? In my day the only Seeing Eye dogs you ever did see were German shepherds. Never heard of a poodle doing the job. It’s sure a sissy-looking dog.”
“Using poodles is a little unusual,” Angela agreed, “but I found several case studies of poodles used in Europe, and a few here in the United States. I’ve spoken with a couple of the trainers and one of the owners. Poodles do extremely well at this work.” She couldn’t decide what to make of Brian’s grandfather as his smile dissolved into the stern facade he’d worn when he first came into the kitchen.
“Brian seems to think it’s okay, but I sure can’t imagine such a thing,” he said. A dismissal of sorts since his attention turned to Brian, and his expression became even more stern. Gramps nodded in the direction of the back hallway. “Come with me,” he commanded Brian.
“Is this about the dishes, Gramps?”
“You know it is.” His voice held a note of surprise though the glower stayed firmly in place.
“It’s handled.”
“You made your grandmother cry.”
Brian’s shoulders drooped. “I figured as much.”
“I’m over it,” Nonnie said from the stove where she lifted the lid on one of the pots and stirred whatever was inside. “He replaced them, Philip, down to the last saucer.”
