Carly paced the apartment, the company apartment not Garrett’s. Garrett had left the restaurant alone. His excuse had been following a lead. The real reason was something totally different. Carly just wasn’t sure if it had been the easiest way to break it off between them, or something else.
“Will you stop pacing? Clay’s going to make me replace the carpet,” William said.
Carly glared at him over her shoulder. He sat at a desk working on his computer. “How can you just sit there? You know something’s up, right?”
“With?”
“Garrett of course,” she said. Lordy William could be exasperatingly dense sometimes. When he leaned his chair back looking entirely relaxed she wanted to scream.
“He hasn’t spoken to his father in years, Carly. Knowing Garrett he wants to get the meeting over with as soon as possible,” William said and then smiled. “And afterward, he won’t be fit to be around for a while. That’s why he had you come with me.”
Carly knew the real reason Garrett had her stay with William. They were getting too close emotionally. It was the same reason she hadn’t fought about it. One of them would break and want more than the other could give. Wanting the memory of loving Garrett to stay positive she knew distance was their best friend now. But this wasn’t about that. This was about something else entirely.
“No, actually, he’d probably want me to be around to see that side of him. He works really hard at trying to distance me.”
“I can see how well that worked.”
“What does that mean?” she asked narrowing her eyes.
“Baby sister, please, I’m not blind. The soft touches and compassionate words, that’s not a Garrett I’ve ever seen. And you, always pushing guys away suddenly can’t keep your eyes or hands off the man? If you two haven’t slept together, and more, I’ll pay the bar’s mortgage for a year.”
Dang she hated the fact that she couldn’t lie to him. Not tell him something, no problem. But lie, she’d never been good at that. “So we slept together. He’s not the first man I’ve been with, William. And what more is there?”
He shook his head at her. “Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you. You’re in love with him.”
“Just stop right there,” she said, knowing how William’s mind worked. “I take it Meg accepted your proposal. Congratulations, but--”
“I didn’t propose,” he said, interrupting her.
Startled, Carly paused for a moment. Cocking her head to the side she watched her brother. “Why not?”
When he shrugged she wanted to scream. These tight-lipped men were going to be the death of her.
“It doesn’t matter right now. We were talking about you and Garrett.”
“Oh, your love life doesn’t matter, but mine does? Well hear this; I am not in the market for a husband, so drop it. Your friend and I had some fun. That’s all.” The sad grin on her brother’s face didn’t bode well.
“I notice you didn’t deny loving him.”
Narrowing her eyes again, she walked to stand in front of him. “You do know what a pain in the butt you are, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, especially when I’m right.”
Carly turned and stalked away from him. “Fine, think what you want, but--”
“Carly, look at me.”
The quiet tone of William’s voice stopped Carly in her tracks. It was his ‘understanding big brother’ voice. The voice that usually made her confess things she didn’t want to. The voice that said, I’m not judging you, I love you, let me in. With his favorite topic, her love life, as the focus, she did not want to hear him. In obvious self-preservation stance she normally wouldn’t allow herself, she wrapped her arms around her middle and turned. “What?”
William hadn’t moved from his chair. When she faced him he leaned forward resting his forearms on his thighs. His smile soft and full of love. Carly could already feel her throat choking up.
“Do you really think I don’t know what this solitary woman persona is all about? I haven’t said anything before because you, for the most part, seemed happy.”
“I am happy. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.
He shook his head. “Jason, your senior year, the pregnancy?” William stood and walked toward her. When he stood right in front of her, Carly stared at his shoes unable to meet his gaze. His finger went under her chin, lifting it. “And all the rest.”
Tears she’d thought herself long over spilled from her eyes. The unwanted pregnancy had terrified her. But losing the baby and the possibility of future ones had devastated her. “You don’t know everything,” she said, as he pulled her close.
“I had a long talk with Jason shortly afterward. He told me everything, including you not wanting family to know. He swore he would call me if you needed me, but otherwise he would take care of you.”
“Jason’s a good friend,” she said, easing out of his hold.
“Yeah, I have to admit he earned my respect. But we’re not talking about Jason, we’re talking about you and how you keep denying yourself the happiness you deserve,” he said, smiling down at her. “Did you think I wouldn’t approve of you and Garrett?”
“No,” Carly said, pulling totally out of his grasp. “I knew exactly what you’d think. And it can’t happen. Even if Garrett wanted more, which he doesn’t, I can’t give him what he deserves.”
“You already love him, what more is there?”
Carly glared at him. “I thought you said you knew everything. I can’t have children, William. If anyone should have a family it’s a man like Garrett. He has more love and compassion held hostage behind his fear of failure than any man I know.”
“What fear of failure?” William asked. “The guy’s never failed at anything that I know of.”
Carly went limp with relief. Someone else’s issues were much easier to talk about than her own. “Don’t you know anything about your best friend? Didn’t you see the way his eyes flashed when he read the note? The way his fingers tensed for just a moment before he folded it back up?”
“Yeah, and I say again, he hasn’t seen his father in years. It’s hard to hide emotion when you’re given a shock like that. Granted most people would have shown more, but for Garrett that was like jumping up and down in the middle of a board meeting. The guy’s not nicknamed Man of Steele for nothing.
“Besides, he called his father when you went to the ladies room. They arranged to meet, so stop worrying. Garrett’s not going to hurt the man or himself. In fact, he’ll probably forgive him and they’ll have a family reunion.”
Carly couldn’t help the questioning gaze and frowning forehead she turned toward her brother. “You really don’t know him at all. His mother committed suicide when he was twelve. His father lost it, I guess. He went through the motions of life, but basically abandoned his sons by burying himself in work and later women, from what little Garrett told me.”
“Suicide? Sons? Garrett has a brother?”
Shaking her head, Carly still found it hard to hold back the tears thinking of Garrett’s brother. “No, he died a couple of years after their mother. He was sick and their father didn’t notice until it was too late. He died from leukemia. Garrett blames himself more than his father.”
“He was just a kid. How could he blame himself?”
Carly heard the same disbelief in William’s voice that she’d felt. “Because his mother, in a letter she sent to him before she died, told him to take care of his brother. Therefore, he was responsible in his eyes.”
“Why would a mother put such responsibility on a kid’s shoulders? Didn’t she know how serious Garrett takes everything? No wonder he always blames himself for everything. He’s smarter, stronger, and bigger than most people around him, probably always has been. Add that to being charged with such an important task, and failure would be a life altering experience. It also explains why he’s so driven,” William said.
Carly grinned, maybe he knew Garrett better than she realized. “True. He blamed himself for the trouble Darin caused at the bar. The fact that it had been brewing for months before he even came to town wouldn’t convince him otherwise.”
William leaned forward, staring hard at her. “Months? Darin’s been harassing you for months and you didn’t tell me? Damn it, Carly, what’s wrong with you? You could have been killed?”
“I wasn’t,” she said. “And you’re missing the point. We were talking about Garrett blaming himself for everything.”
She watched her brother seethe for a minute before he reined in his temper. It took longer than usual making her realize just how scared he was for her. Maybe she should stop trying to handle everything herself. It seemed to cause him more worry rather than less. But right now they needed to concentrate on Garrett.
“I’m sorry. Can we save this discussion for later?” she asked.
“Fine. Explain why you’re so concerned about Garrett.”
Sitting on the sofa across from him, she tucked her legs under the dress she’d worn to dinner. “Garrett said his mother was emotionally abusive toward his dad. But I don’t think he came to that realization until recently. He watched his father slide down a very slippery slope after she died. I think he’s afraid he’s inherited the worst of both of them. Her temper and manipulative side, and his father’s weaknesses. That’s why he pretends to be so hard, show no emotion.
“Then there’s the abandonment issue. His mom’s suicide when he was twelve was bad enough. But I don’t know if he’ll ever get over losing his brother because his father was too wrapped up in his grief to notice his son’s illness. Anyway, I just don’t see Garrett being so calm about a note from him. I definitely wouldn’t expect him to agree to see him so easily.”
William rubbed his jaw which told Carly her arguments made sense. She decided to keep quiet until he finished thinking. When he turned back to his computer she walked over to him. Didn’t he care?
“You’re just going to go back to work? To your researching?”
“It’s what I do, Sunshine. I figure maybe we should research Garrett’s family a little. See how much of what you say is fact, and how much is the imagination of a kid.” He glanced up and winked when she doffed him on the back of the head. “I meant Garrett as a kid, not you.”
“Oh,” she said, having the grace to blush as he turned back to his keyboard. “I guess I’m just used to you considering me a kid.”
“I know you’re not a kid anymore. That doesn’t stop me from being your brother. You’re all the family I have left. Whether you like it or not, I will be watching over you for the rest of my life.”
He didn’t look up or stop working as he spoke, and Carly was glad. It kept him from seeing the tears in her eyes. She tried to remember why she had to keep everything from him, but couldn’t come up with a good reason. Her stupid teenage tragedy didn’t seem to matter anymore.
It probably never would have if you’d given him a chance.
Wrapping her arms around his neck from behind she hugged him. “You are the world’s best brother. I love you.”
“Back at you, Cupcake.”
She tugged his hair for using the hated nickname.
“Hey,” he said, swatting at her hand. “Hey, what do we have here?”
Carly looked at the monitor. Beside a wedding announcement she saw a picture of Garrett’s parents. His mother was beautiful. Obviously of Indian origin with her high cheekbones, copper skin, long dark hair, dark eyes, and petite stature she was the exact opposite of her husband. Garrett’s father stood a head taller than his wife. Wavy blond hair, broad shoulders, and the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen. He definitely had his father’s eyes. The look on his face said it all. He was madly in love with the woman at his side. Moving her attention back to the woman, Carly saw something else in her expression. She smiled, but it seemed insincere. It looked like she couldn’t wait to get away from both the camera, and the man beside her.
Glancing over to the article, she read the title: ‘Steele Heir Weds.’
“It sounds like his father comes from money. That’s not the impression I got when he talked about his family,” she said, more to herself than her brother.
“Yeah, he paid his own way through college, as far as I know,” William said. “Most of the time he had a full time job and a full schedule of classes. The guy was driven.”
“His father looks so happy. Hard to believe love like that could be turned against him. Is there anything about them later?”
William’s fingers tapped the keyboard a few times and another list of articles popped up. The bits and pieces Carly read started to sound more familiar. Garrett’s father had basically been disowned when he married. He’d worked independently of the family, and did well for himself. The worst said about him was that he was a workaholic. Then the article about his wife’s accident appeared.
Carly read the entire thing and a bad feeling started to bubble in her stomach. There had been two bodies found in the car. Garrett’s mother and a man. His mother didn’t kill herself. She’d been running away with a lover. “How could Garrett not know this?” she said.
William flipped to several more articles about the husband’s devastation. His fall from glory in business. “His father probably kept it from the boys. Most people try and shield the kids from details like that. But it looks like you were right. His father lost it. Whether it was losing his wife to another man or her death I don’t know, but he went off the deep end.”
“And the boys are the ones who suffered most. Garrett’s still suffering. His parents needed a swift kick,” Carly said. “How could a woman abandon her children for a lover?”
“I don’t have an answer for that one. You said Garrett thinks she was abusive, right?”
Carly nodded. “Yeah, but I got the feeling he originally thought she was the one abused.”
“That explains a lot.”
When he didn’t elaborate, but started pounding away on the keyboard again she wanted to scream. “Explains a lot about what?”
“His attitude toward women.”
He stopped again and Carly smacked his shoulder. “Enough with the one liners, William. I need details.” He had started scrolling through a list of information from some website.
“Garrett always and I do mean always, gives a woman the benefit of the doubt. They’re always innocent, always taken advantage of, always easy marks.” He glanced up and Carly met his gaze. “He’s probably at a total loss with you, Miss Handle-it-Myself.”
“Cute, but what does this have to do with tonight?” she asked. She just knew this wasn’t about confronting his father. Garrett’s issues with his father were too deep. Despite his amazing emotional control, he would have shown more anger.
“Okay, say you’re right about his problems with his father. What do you think would happen if his father were in danger? Danger Garrett thinks he caused,” William said. “And ignore the fact it was caused by doing his job. Would he turn his back on him?”
Carly shook her head. “No, he’d feel responsible. He wouldn’t be able to let anyone else pay for something he believed his fault.”
“Now, think back to his comments after Clay told us about Scarpelli’s murder. Remember what he said about Martha? He suggested she might have killed Scarpelli. Did you hear the guilt in his voice? He hated thinking like that about her,” he said. Looking at the monitor he whistled. “Looky here.”
Carly looked where he pointed at the monitor.
“It appears she’s not who we thought,” William explained. “Neither mine or Garrett’s background checks went back far enough or deep enough. Martha isn’t the devastated divorcee he was lead to believe. Her husband didn’t leave her, she killed him. At least that’s what the police in Chicago seem to think. It looks like they couldn’t prove it and she left town. Somewhere between Chicago and New York she must have reinvented herself enough to throw off anyone looking into her background. Damn, Scarpelli was right; she does have a smart head on her shoulders.”
It took a moment for it to sink in and process. Then terror grabbed hold of Carly’s heart. “Oh lord, he’s gone to meet her.”
# # #
Garrett climbed out of the cab and walked up the stairs to the front of the brownstone. Not the Ritz, but nicer than where his father lived when Garrett left for college. Obviously he’d gotten his life back together. He pressed the buzzer.
When the door opened and his father stood in front of him with a huge smile on his face, Garrett realized he had no idea what to call him. Dad didn’t seem right since they weren’t close. Father sounded like a priest, which his father definitely wasn’t. His first name maybe?
“Garrett,” Davis Steele said holding out his hand.
Garrett told himself he accepted the gesture out of habit, when his father covered their joined hands with his other, something slipped inside him. The warm gesture, so out of character for their relationship threw him for a loop. Who was this man in front of him? He looked like his father. Granted his hair wasn’t as golden as it had been, and his face held more wrinkles, but the basics were there. But the warmth and happiness were unfamiliar.
“Sir,” he said, unable to decide on anything else. His father’s smile dimmed a little, but he squeezed Garrett’s hand before releasing it.
“Come in, come in. I can’t believe you’re really here after all this time. When you called I almost fell off my seat.”
“I hope I’m not intruding.” He remembered only too well how he used to feel like that’s all he did.
“How could my son intrude on my home,” Davis said, waving him down a hallway. “I fixed a pot of coffee. Would you like some?”
“Sure.” Damn, why is this so hard, Garrett wondered? Why am I so tongue tied? It’s business. I need to find out how he and Martha are connected. This is not a family reunion.
“Have a seat if you don’t mind sitting in the kitchen.”
“I don’t mind,” Garrett said as he pulled out a chair and sniffed the air. “It smells good in here. Have you taken up baking?”
His father glanced over his shoulder. In that split second Garrett thought he saw guilt. Was his father in on the whole thing? Was he trying to stall for time until Martha arrived?
“No, my, uh, wife baked it. Would you like some?”
Relief felt like a dam breaking in Garrett’s chest realizing his father’s concern had been about telling him about his marriage. “No, thank you. When did you remarry?”
His father turned and carried two mugs to the table. “A few years ago.”
“Does she know about me?”
Davis Steele stared down into his cup for a moment before lifting his head and meeting Garrett’s gaze. “She knows everything.”
Garrett sipped his coffee. His hand steady, his gaze constant, he gave nothing of the surprise that statement gave him away. Enough with the male bonding already, get back to business. “Everything?” His father nodded. “Does she know your friend?” Pulling out a picture he’d printed off before coming over, Garrett placed it on the table in front of his father.
“Who’s this?”
“Your partner would be my guess,” Garrett said.
“I don’t have a partner. I’m a service tech for a small phone and computer repair company,” his father answered, then picked the picture up and looked closer. “But wait a minute, she looks familiar.”
Garrett asked, “One of your late lunches?” as the old pain and hurt burned his throat more than the gulp of coffee he’d taken. His father looked at him over the piece of paper.
“I guess I deserve that,” he said, then grinned and shook his head. “Why should you think any different, that’s what you remember. What you don’t know is why. And maybe it’s time I told you the truth. My wife said I should tell you.”
“What? Your excuses? I don’t think so.” Garrett stood unable to look at him anymore.
“No, no excuses. The truth. You may not believe it, and you may hate me more after hearing it, but it’s time you heard it.”
When his chair scraped back, Garrett glanced over his shoulder. His father walked toward a cabinet. Curious, Garrett turned and watched him pull out a manila envelope then bring it back to the table. “What’s that?”
“This is fifteen years of a tumultuous marriage, and ten more of guilt. It’s newspaper clippings and legal papers from the announcement of my marriage to your mother through your graduation from college. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the best,” he said with a smile.
A rattlesnake ready to strike couldn’t have looked more intimidating. Garrett stared at the envelope for a couple of minutes before sitting back down. He didn’t reach for it. And he couldn’t quite believe his father knew anything about his graduation from college. “What’s in here that I didn’t see with my own eyes growing up?”
His father reached over and opened the envelope, tipping it up so the items inside slid out onto the table. On top of the pile Garrett saw a picture of his parents and reached for it.
“That’s our wedding announcement, for lack of something official anyway. Actually, some reporter heard about me eloping and snapped that as we came out of the courthouse. My father was furious. The article’s more about him than us.”
“Why was your father mad?”
Davis chuckled. “Because your mother wasn’t the society girl he had picked out for me to marry. But I didn’t care. I was in love and nothing he said or did could break us up.” When Garrett set the picture back down, his father picked it up. “I was obsessed with her. Anything she wanted I found a way to get for her. She wanted to get married, so we got married. She wanted to move to Manhattan, so, we lived in Manhattan. She loved living the high life.” He picked up another piece of paper. “She loved it a little too much. We were on the verge of divorce when she found out she was pregnant.”
Garrett had that damned itch at the back of his neck again as he watched his father smile while fingering the paper in his hand.
“I still remember the day you were born. Nervous doesn’t come close to describing how I felt. Your mother kept trying to tell me you weren’t mine, but I knew. I knew in my heart you --”
“What? You’re accusing her of cheating on you? Give me a break.” The man had balls, Garrett would give him that. “I seem to remember you were the one with commitment issues.” The sad but patient look his father aimed at him made him even more uncomfortable.
“Again, I’m not surprised you think that way. The way I acted after your mother’s death is unforgiveable. But, yes, your mother was cheating on me, almost from the moment we were married. It didn’t take long for me to figure it out. There was just one problem. I still loved her, or at least thought I loved her. Now I know it was obsession, not love. Unfortunately I didn’t figure that out until after you were gone. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for that.”
Garrett stood and left the room. Plowing his fingers through his hair he walked down the hall and into the front room. He did not want to hear this. He wouldn’t listen to it. The reason for coming here was still the same; find out what his father knew about Martha and get out. Make sure he was safe, despite being a pitiful excuse for a man, and get out. Pacing the room, his gaze stopped on a framed picture on the mantle. He walked over and picked it up.
“Valedictorian,” his father said from behind him. “I know I have no right, but I was so proud of you. Not surprised, but proud. I found it on the college’s website and printed it off. I carried it in my wallet for years.”
None of this made sense. “I don’t get it,” Garrett said, holding up the picture of him giving a speech at commencement. “You never had time for me or Brian when we were with you. What’s this about?”
“I told you, obsession,” his father said. “When your mother was alive, she was all I could think about. Even with all the cheating and fighting and threats, I couldn’t let her go. I kept thinking if I worked harder, bought her what she wanted, took her to more parties she’d be happy. I know now it wasn’t love, but then it didn’t matter. She was everything to me. Then,” he held up another newspaper clipping, “this.”
Garrett took the piece of paper from his father’s hand. It was an article about his mother’s crash. Suicide. Yeah, he at least remembered that. Her letter had been clear. She couldn’t live anymore. As he started to read the bottom fell out of Garrett’s world. “Who’s Brent Jameson and why was he in the car with--”
The phone Garrett received at dinner rang, interrupting him. Despite who was calling he was thankful for the distraction. He was afraid he knew the answer his father would give, and Garrett didn’t want to accept it.
“Steele.”
“Meet me at Buddy’s Beans. Half an hour. Or your sweetheart’s dead.”
The line went dead a second after Garrett’s heart froze.
“Garrett? Son, are you all right?”
As his eyes focused on the man in front of him, Garrett forced himself to breathe. He pulled his own cell from his other pocket, punching the speed dial for Carly’s phone. It went directly to voicemail. Disconnecting, he called William’s number. Same thing. Damn it. He glared at his father. “How do you know her?”
“Who?”
“The picture I showed you before. How do you know her?”
“Oh,” his father turned and went back to the kitchen. Garrett followed.
His father picked up the picture and stared at it for a minute. Then he tapped it with his finger. “She came into the shop late this afternoon wanting some parts to fix a computer. She also bought a trac phone.”
“How did she get this?” Garrett pulled the envelope with Martha’s note out of his pocket and held it up for his father to see.
“I was writing a note to see if I could talk to you after I saw you on television. It was with the out-going mail on the counter. Why would she pick that up?”
Closing his eyes for a minute, Garrett pinched the bridge of his nose. Think, damn it. Think. How could she have known his father worked there? He didn’t know his father worked there. Of course, he hadn’t wanted to know anything about Davis Steele.
Damn, he was so stupid. Opening his eyes, he looked straight into the ones Martha had instantly recognized. The blue eyes Garrett had always hated, stared at him with concern darkening them. While he’d been side-tracked with Scarpelli, Martha had been busy researching the Steele family tree. As cold as the trail to his past had been, Garrett knew if you want something bad enough you can find it. And though he never talked about his family he had never done anything to hide it.
“Where’s your wife?” he asked.
“What?”
“Your wife? It’s late, why isn’t she here? Where is she?” His father had a caught in the headlights look about him. They might have baggage, but Garrett decided in that moment he wanted the chance to open it and sort it out. He reached out and squeezed one of his father’s shoulders. “Dad, it’s important. Where is your wife?”
“She’s next door with her sister. She wanted to give us some time alone.”
“Does the sister have a car?” Garrett asked.
“Yes, it’s parked out back. But I have a car if you need to borrow one. Garrett, what’s going on?”
“Call your wife and tell her to meet us out back with the keys to her sister’s car. Yours might be rigged. Until I have time to check it out, no one should drive it. Now, I need to take you somewhere safe while I take care of some business.” Phone still in his hand he pushed the number for Clay.
“I don’t understand.”
“I know, I--” he held up a finger when Clay answered. “Just a minute, Clay,” he said and turned back to his father. “I wish I had time to explain, but I don’t. You’re going to have to trust me, please.” His father nodded and picked up the phone on the table.
“Clay, I’ve got a meeting with Martha in,” he glanced at his watch, “twenty-four minutes. She said she has Carly.”
“That’s not possible. I saw William and Carly come in a little while ago. They went up to the company apartment.”
“They aren’t answering their phones. Can you check?” Garrett knew Clay often stayed in one of the two apartments the company kept in the building. Waiting anxiously for a report, Garrett paced the small room. Please let it be a trick. Looking at his father talking to his wife, Garrett wondered what the woman was like. If his father could find someone to really love him after all this time, could he and Carly find a way to make it work?
“William! Carly?” Garrett heard the names yelled over the line. “Come on, buddy, wake up.”
“What the hell’s going on?” he asked, while ushering his father out the back door. Garrett held his breath. “Clay!”
Panic clamped his chest like a vice waiting for a reply.
“William’s out cold. Carly’s gone.”
~~~