Caught Between a Lie and True Love (Caught Between series Book 1) (6 page)

“No use trying to spare an old man’s feelings. I never wasted time sparing yours.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his thick bushy eyebrows drawn together in a frown as he turned back to face her, and held out his arms. “I missed you, Buttercup.”

How much was an act and how much was for real? Because she didn’t know, she gave a resigned huff and rolled out of bed.

Closing the distance between them, she moved into his arms and gave him a hug. The familiar scent of pipe smoke and aftershave clung to his clothes, and brought back the memory of other reconciliations, other warm embraces. Despite all of her distrust, he was still her dad.

As she pushed out of his arms, his defensive stance relaxed. “I’ve been thinking about the future a lot, Buttercup, thinking maybe I could settle down and retire here.”

She thought of Gram’s life savings in the jar in her kitchen, and her spine stiffened. “How much do you want, Dad?”

“Buttercup, I’m insulted.” The corners of his mouth turned down and he stared at her. With hopes he’d break, she stared back. But of course, he didn’t, and he smoothly changed the subject. “I peeked in on Starr. She must be twice the size since I saw her last.”

Paige froze. Her heart thudded in her chest. “You stay away from Starr.”

“Ain’t no reason why I couldn’t have paid you a visit and gotten to know my granddaughter.”

“Actually, there was. There is.” Her voice shook and she barely managed to hold onto her fear. “I don’t want Starr exposed to your line of work and I don’t want you to teach her any of your tricks.”

“What am I going to do? Corrupt her?” When she just glared at him, he shook his head and headed for the door, nonchalant and easy as though he didn’t have a care in the world, tossing thoughtless words over his shoulder. “You don’t have much faith in your daughter, do you?”

“I trust Starr. What I don’t trust is her smooth talking, scheming, double-crossing grandpa whose every word is a lie.”

One hand on the doorknob, he faced her and smiled. “I’ve gone straight, Buttercup.”

His declaration stopped her.

Was it possible? Could he go a day without telling a lie or scamming some innocent bystander out of their life’s savings?

Hope blossomed where hope had no right to blossom, and she quickly squashed it down. The likelihood of that happening was about a zillion to one.

He drew an X over his heart. “God’s honest truth, darlin’.”

“Right.” The last thing she needed was for Gram or Starr to inadvertently get involved in one of his schemes, then end up the fall guy.

He’d done it before, probably way more times than even she knew about. There was no doubt in her mind that he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again and again and again to save his own worthless hide.

He pulled open the door, stepped out into the hallway, then turned back, and gave another tug on his tie. A guilty flush crept up his neck.

The old man couldn’t hide things as easily as he used to.

“I’m—uh—a little short of cash, Buttercup. Can you see your way to lending your old man five bucks for a cup of coffee?”

Worry and dismay ratcheted up her spine. “You’re that broke?”

He gave a nonchalant shrug. “I’ve been short of cash before, but things always have a way of turning around. I’ll get a job, I promise, a real one this time.”

She stared at him, saddened by the secrets they shared. “If Gram ever finds out what you do—”

“What
we
do—”

Her resolve hardened. “When Starr was born, I went straight. I’ve managed to support us through honest paying jobs instead of conning people out of their money.”

He quirked one brow. “Honest jobs? Like that pole dancer job you took?”

“How did you—?” A flush started in her chest and moved up her neck into her face. But she refused to let embarrassment drag her down. “It paid the bills and got me through designer school. That’s all that matters now.”

The familiar cagey light in his eyes returned. “We made a good team, Buttercup. Maybe we could…” He must have seen something on her face because he shrugged and smiled. “Never mind, darlin’. I won’t ask again. Now, about that five dollars?”

She crossed the room, grabbed her jeans off the armchair where she’d dropped them last night, and pulled out a small roll of bills from the front pocket.

Jeb whistled and came to stand in front of her. “That’s quite the pile of cash, Buttercup. Rob a bank lately?”

She peeled a five dollar bill out of the roll and handed it to him. “Promise you’ll stay out of trouble.”

“Now darlin’,” he said with a wink and a smile as he accepted the cash. “When did I ever get caught?”

As she tucked the money away, she made a mental note to find a new place to hide it. She’d have to convince Gram to hide her money too. As long as Jeb was in the house, nothing of monetary value was safe. Heck, he’d sell his own family out if he thought he could profit from it.

Jeb crossed the hallway and headed downstairs, and Paige followed in his wake, not trusting him any further than she could throw him. “Where are you going?”

“Out to meet a few of our kindly neighbors.” He smiled, that old familiar smile that fooled everyone but her. “You worry too much, Buttercup. Didn’t I prove to you more than once that everything always works out in the end?”

As Jeb reached for the door handle, the doorbell rang. He opened the door and Brody stood there, a tool pouch hanging off his lean hips.

The memory of him dressed only in his boxers washed over her, heating her face and the rest of her body. Paige dragged her attention up to his face, and caught him doing his own survey, which made her wish she’d at least taken the time to wash her face and brush her teeth before coming down.

And maybe put on something sexy.

She gave herself a mental shake.

Sexy belonged in her fantasies.

Jeb barely gave the man at the door a cursory look, before he started to shut the door. “Not buying any.”

Before the door slammed in Brody’s face, Paige jumped forward. “Dad, this is Brody Jackson, Gram’s neighbor. He’s here to fix the kitchen faucet.” She gestured Brody in. “Brody, this is my dad, Jeb Calhoun.”

“Good morning, Sir.”

“Top of the morning to you, son.” As the two men shook hands, Jeb eyed the tool pouch. “Are you a handyman?”

“No, Sir, but in my college days I worked for a house builder, so I learned a thing or two about renovations.”

“Where would I buy one of those?”

Brody’s eyebrows hiked up and curiosity filled his gaze. “I imagine you’d find one at the hardware store.”

Paige didn’t like the calculated expression on Jeb’s face. “Dad, don’t you have some place to be?”

He tore his gaze from the tool pouch and smiled. “Right. We’ll talk to you later.”

He tipped his hat and as he sauntered out of the house, a taxi pulled up in front of the driveway. Jeb stopped, and when he turned back, his gaze was shuttered, but he couldn’t quite contain the guilt oozing out. “Buttercup, would you tell your grandma that I invited Lisa to stay for a few days?”

Horrified, Paige watched a woman wearing a wide brimmed sunhat and huge dark sunglasses climb out from the backseat of the cab. Her short dress clung to her voluptuous curves, and the four inch heels on her feet drew attention to her ultra-long legs.

The woman waved at Jeb, then headed toward the trunk of the car where she directed the driver unloading her luggage. As suitcase after suitcase after suitcase got deposited on the curb, Paige grabbed Brody by the forearm, tugged him into the house, and slammed the door shut.

“Who’s that?” he asked.

Paige covered her face with her hands. “Don’t ask and I won’t have to lie.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Paige leaned back against the door, squeezed her eyes shut, and wished she could grab Starr by the hand and disappear.

What was that woman doing here? Why would Jeb invite her back to the island? When Gram found out, she was going to be so pissed.

Brody’s deep voice cut through her thoughts. “Someone you know?”

The door pushed and rattled behind her. Desperate, she pressed back against it to keep the past from getting in. “You wouldn’t have an extra bedroom I could borrow, would you?”

His curiosity morphed into pity. “That bad?”

“Worse than you can imagine,” she muttered as someone outside shoved against the door again. She gave in to the inevitable and stepped aside.

The door flew open and Starr rushed into the foyer. “
Olivia, you have company
.”

Paige glared at the woman coming through the open doorway.

The cherry red lipstick on her mouth looked almost ghoulish against the paleness of her face and the darkness of her hair. And when she smiled, her upper lip stayed frozen in place. Paige didn’t have to see her eyes to recognize the exact moment she fixated on Brody.

That cherry-red mouth turned sultry and she made a beeline straight for the poor, unsuspecting man. “Hello, handsome. I’m Lisa-Lee. And you are?”

Memories washed through Paige…that Marilyn Munroe voice, the cloying perfume, begging for her mother’s attention.

Brody stuck out one hand. “I’m Olivia’s neighbor, Brody Jackson. You look familiar. Have we met?”

Fear stole Paige’s breath and kept her frozen in place.

Lisa caught his hand in hers and gave a tug to draw him closer, her laughter deep and throaty. “No, I’d remember if we did. I’m a Karie-May consultant.” Holding tight so he couldn’t escape, she used her free hand to stroke her palm along his jaw. “Maybe I can give you a treatment while I’m here. And then you could give me—” She purred deep in her throat. “—something in return.”

Gram walked into the foyer, hands on hips. “This house is like Grand Central. What’s all the commotion about?”

She took one look at the latest arrival and stopped in her tracks.

The tall brunette released her grip on Brody, and her cherry-red mouth thinned. “Hello Olivia. It’s always a pleasure to see you.”

“No, it’s not.” Gram’s frown deepened. “I still hasn’t forgiven you for divorcing my son.”

Paige stepped backward until she encountered the staircase wall behind her.

Long ago, she’d wanted a mom more than anything in the world, someone to protect her, to keep her safe like she tried to keep Starr safe. But she’d gotten over it, gotten over the fact that she was alone in the world, save Starr.

Gram took one look at the stack of bags on the front step and went off like a military commander. “Girls, make yourselves useful and carry Lisa’s luggage upstairs.”

Brody stepped forward. “Can I help?”

The old woman’s gaze never left her newest houseguest. “No. Go home. We have it under control.”

He frowned. “What about the kitchen faucet?”

“Come back tomorrow. I’m sure it will still be dripping.”

With a shrug, he headed for the kitchen. “I’ll just take a measurement, then be off.”

Paige refused to look his way. Instead, she grabbed a bag in each hand and tromped up the stairs. Halfway up, she heard Lisa ask, “Who are those people?”

“Never you mind.” Gram tsked. “What are you doing here?”

And in the most plaintive voice Paige had ever heard, the other woman said, “I didn’t know where else to go and Jeb said you wouldn’t mind.”

She fled up the remaining steps and dumped the bags in the spare bedroom, then stopped when she saw Starr follow her in.

Starr dropped the suitcases in the middle of the room, a calculated expression on her face. “You know, there’s alternate routes off the island. We could hire a plane or helicopter to take us back to St. Croix, then catch a flight home. It won’t hurt my feelings if we leave today.”

If only
. But Jeb’s presence ensured that was impossible. “As much as I like your idea, we can’t go anywhere right now.”

Without a word, the teen turned and slumped down the hallway to her bedroom, and disappearing inside, slammed the door shut.

Intent on escape, even if it was only a temporary measure to give herself some breathing space, Paige headed to her room where she crossed to the window, slid it open, and climbed onto the rooftop. She sat down, pulled her knees to her chest, and focused on the view beyond Gram’s yard.

This had been her favorite place to go whenever she needed a quiet place to think. Thanks to the huge Mahogany tree which shaded the rooftop, it was a place where no one could find her either.

Somewhere in the neighborhood, a lawnmower roared to life, a dog barked, a child laughed.

Beyond Gram’s yard, over the rooftops of the houses across the street, she could see the beachfront properties, and beyond that, the crystal blue expanse of ocean water. The sun sparkled off the whitecaps, and the waves crashed into the shoreline.

As Paige formulated a plan of action to get her through the next few days, she chewed on her bottom lip.

Whatever her dad was up to, she’d have to stop it before the ferry arrived. Until then, she’d simply avoid Lisa. How hard could it be? It wasn’t as though the woman even remembered she had a daughter.

She frowned, ready to wallow in self-pity and hide until her mother left town. Except it didn’t seem like Lisa planned to leave any time soon. Judging by the suitcases, she was here to stay for a very long time.

If Gram ever found out what her former daughter-in-law did for a living, she’d kick her out in a heartbeat. Maybe she could casually mention it—

The front door squeaked open and squeaked shut, and every muscle in her body tensed.

“I thought I’d find you up there.”

Paige shifted her attention from the rise and fall of the ocean waves to the man standing at the periphery of her hiding spot.

Brody grabbed onto the lowest branch of the Mahogany tree and climbed up to the rooftop. As he sat down beside her, he set the tool pouch between them, then pointed to the side of her mouth. “I didn’t want to embarrass you earlier, but you—uh—have a little something stuck there.”

Ugg
. She turned to wipe off what it was and pictured how she must look. Bed hair. No makeup. Dried drool at the side of her mouth.

And her teenage crush there to witness the ugliness.

Cheeks heating, she hid her face in the crook of her arm and mumbled, “Go away.”