Forget Me Not (7 page)

“How did you get into my home?” Gideon stood by the bedroom door.

The way he felt, if he had moved in closer to this nut job, he would grab her and remove her from his house. Gideon had no plans of putting his hands on this woman. He held his cell phone and crossed his arms to keep it hidden.

“Actually it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.” She moved to the edge of the bed. “I was going to sit at the guard shack until you showed up and ask you to invite me up.” She hugged her body, which pushed her augmented breasts together.

Again, Gideon wouldn’t peer down. Nothing good could come from him looking at her like he wanted her.

She continued and smiled as though she had done a great thing. “I was on the same flight as you. Did you feel me touching your shoulder?”

So that strange touch hadn’t been on accident. As Gideon thought about the connection, a shiver ran through his body. He had been stepped on during a game by an opposing team member. He’d even been spat on in his face through his face guard. This cheerleader’s touch made him want to crawl out of his skin.

“Right when the plane landed, I went straight to your house.”

“How did you know where I live?” he asked.

“A girl’s got to have her secrets.” She winked. “Maybe later I’ll tell you so we can laugh about it.”

Gideon’s blood boiled with each treacherous word she spoke. Not only had she
violated his personal space, she’d somehow managed to get his personal information.

“I didn’t have to wait for a bag because I came here with the clothes on my back. There was a male guard at the gate. I told him I was a She-Wolf and here to see you. It helps that we had that personal interaction at the Super Bowl.” She swung her legs back and forth. “Did you like that? I liked touching you.”

Gideon remained quiet. He had to hear her full story first before he took action.

When Gideon didn’t answer, the cheerleader’s smile started to fade and she continued with her tale. “He let me in and called your house. Your cleaning staff was here so they let me in.” She raised her hands in the air. “Tah dah. That was smart of me, right? Do you know any other woman who would do this much for you?” She snaked her tongue over her red, bee-stung-looking lips.

Nothing about this plastic woman appealed to Gideon. She didn’t seem real. The more she smiled, the more he saw her as a mannequin that had come to life. This one, though, had sought refuge in his home, in his bed. He couldn’t have that.

Gideon never wanted to be one of those athletes that bought a big, ostentatious house because they made millions of dollars. Once he’d seen the security measures taken for the area, he’d decided to buy in this subdivision. With this intrusion, he had to think twice about his decision.

Gideon started counting in his head to lessen his anger. He took a deep breath before he said, “One hundred.” Then he glared at her. Counting in his head hadn’t eased his frustration as he had hoped. Regardless of what she did, he had to treat her like a lady. His mother would never forgive him if he did anything less. “For one thing, I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s—”

Although Gideon’s mother had taught him not to interrupt people, he had to stop this one. “I don’t want to know it. I want you to get dressed and get out of my home before I call the police.”

The smile started melting down her face before she firmed it up again. “You are such a kidder. That’s what I like about you.”

“Lady, you don’t even know me. You’ve seen me play. I probably said hi to you once or twice, and now you’re stalking me.”

“I am not. I love you, Gideon. I love watching you play. I love how you are with your friends. I don’t even care that your mother is black. I think it’s cool. It’s like the reverse
Blind Side
.”

Gideon blinked. “You know what? Sit right there.” He brought his phone to his face. “It’ll make it easier for the cops to get you.”

The cheerleader hopped out of bed and snatched her clothes from the floor. “Loser!” She put on her tight T-shirt. “I can’t believe you’re letting all this go out the door.”

“I’m not. I told you that you can stay right there until the police get here.” After the first ring, Gideon heard a click.

“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?” the dispatcher asked in a canned fashion.

“Yes, I got home and found an intruder in my house.” Gideon kept his stare on the She-Wolf to make sure she didn’t do anything else foolish. He had no idea if she had a gun or a knife or any type of weapon. How far would she go to get him?

She growled as she slipped on her skirt. “Bastard! Are you really on the phone with the cops?”

“Ma’am, do you hear her? She’s in my bedroom.” Again, Gideon kept his glare on this intruder. He spouted his address to the operator.

“Yes, sir. We’ll get officers to the scene.”

Gideon heard the woman typing as she spoke to him.

Dennis would have probably loved these antics. Gideon found nothing amusing about it. He felt violated and like he’d lost some control.

The cheerleader slipped on a pair of boots and then snatched her purse from the floor. So the woman wore no underwear? Okay, part of that did appeal to Gideon, but nonetheless, she’d crossed several lines. Don’t encroach on his space and never, ever talk about his family.

She started to make her way to the bedroom door to leave when she stopped. She turned toward Gideon and strolled toward him.

Gideon stood firmly in his spot as he pointed to the door. He’d seen careers of other athletes crumble from one stupid move. No way would this one opportunist make him step out of his character. He wouldn’t lay a hand on her.

“I’m leaving. I need to get this.” The cheerleader reached around his shoulder and removed a small cell phone from behind the picture of his family on the middle bookshelf. She pushed a button on it before slipping it in her purse.

“You were taping this?” The longer Gideon stood in front of her, the more it felt like lava coursed through his veins. His eyes and the back of his neck felt hot. He couldn’t stop balling his hands into fists. If he didn’t calm himself down, he would snap his phone in two.

“It would have been so intense. Me, you
,
and your Super Bowl ring.” She gazed down at his hand. “Oh, guess you don’t have it yet.”

Gideon spoke to the dispatcher. “Please send someone right away. She’s about to leave and I’m definitely pressing charges.” He gave a description of her outfit to the dispatcher while the She-Wolf continued growling at him. With the call over, he glared at the stranger in his home. “I’m calling the Wolves’ head office to get you removed from the team and banned from getting anywhere close to us. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

The tiny terror stomped down the marble steps to the door. She opened it, triggering Gideon’s alarm. She didn’t even turn around to acknowledge him. He closed the door, locked it again
,
and then disabled the alarm. As expected, his cell phone rang.

First, his alarm company called him. Gideon explained what he’d found when he’d gotten home.

“We’ll send police to make sure she leaves the premises,” the alarm company representative said.

“I’ve already contacted the police. They’re sending someone over now.” Gideon didn’t want to go that route, but she’d given him no choice.

Then Pearl from the front gate called him. “I got a report your alarm went off. Forget the code, Mr. Wells?”

“No. The guard before you allowed a stranger to come to my home and gain entrance with the cleaning staff here. I don’t appreciate that, and I will be reporting that to management.” As he thought about it, he would also have to call his cleaning company and complain about them letting this woman into his home. They had no right to open his door to a stranger.

“Oh, shit. I mean, I’m so sorry, sir. That shouldn’t have happened. I’ll call my boss right now and connect you to him.”

Gideon shook his head. “Later. I’ll talk to the police
,
and then I need some sleep.” He disconnected the call.

The police arrived within two minutes.

“The woman who was here left.” Gideon pointed down his driveway. “I want to make sure you get her before she gets away.”

“She won’t, Mr. Wells.” The officer took a step into Gideon’s home. “The first unit saw her walking down the road and they apprehended her. I’m here to take your statement.” He pulled out a notepad. “By the way, great game last night. Still can’t believe you’re here so soon.”

Gideon couldn’t believe everything he’d had to deal with within a twenty-four-hour period. Could he get a break?

After completing a police report, taking a couple of pictures with the officers and signing some autographs, the police left. Too bad now Gideon couldn’t sleep. He needed to rest to think clearly.

He lumbered up to his room after making sure he secured the downstairs and strolled into his large yet empty bedroom. When he crossed the threshold, he peered over to the bookshelf where the cheerleader had hidden her phone. If she’d hidden her phone, what else had she done? Had she bugged his room with some other recording device?

“Damn.” Gideon retreated to a spare bedroom.

With each step to the other bedroom, he gritted his teeth. His home should be his sanctuary. Now he felt like a guest. Never again would he allow a woman or anyone else to derail him. He wanted to keep his focus on his family, the reason for his trip back home.

Janelle’s mother, Ida, could only be tolerated in small doses. Conducting her conversation with Ida by phone allowed Janelle an easy out when her mother got on her nerves. She rolled her eyes again, probably the fourth time during their chat, as she drove to her shop and listened to her mother give her advice on how to live her life…again.

“What you need to do is get you a rich man to pay your bills and get you out of this mess
,
” Ida said.

Janelle had made the mistake of not updating her address with her bank before they sent out a notification about her delinquent status. He mother had seen it and now felt she had every right to comment on Janelle’s personal affairs.

“Mom, I was able to get the loan on my own. I had the business idea on my own. I developed the business plan on my own. I don’t need a rich man to bail me out. As usual, I’ll figure out how to get myself out of this mess.”

“You mean without me, right?” Bitterness laced Ida’s words.

Janelle squeezed her eyes shut for a quick moment to collect her thoughts. “I have a plan to get Flowers Galore more customers.”

“Really? How’s that?” As usual, doubt filled her mother’s voice.

“There’s a flower competition. I’ll enter and win.” Janelle smiled as she thought about the plant she’d been cultivating for months.

“How much do you get for first place?”

“I don’t know. 350 dollars, I think.” Janelle believed she’d seen that amount on the application, but she hadn’t paid a lot of attention to it.

She knew what winning the prestigious Virginia Flower Show contest would draw true flower and plant admirers to her store. She would be taken seriously in her field. The new perception would give her publicity. Then she would be able to see the payoff. It had to work. She had no other options except close the store.

“So wait. Winning this contest won’t get you enough money to pay off your bills? Sounds like a waste of time.” Ida pushed a disapproving grunt through the phone.

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand, Mom. Your plan for me is to find a rich guy. Coming from you, that advice is surprising. It’s not like you’re hooked up with
Warren Buffet
.” Janelle didn’t mean to hit her mother with a low blow, but Ida had been shooting down her dreams for as long as Janelle could remember.

“So you think your one and only boyfriend makes you some sort of expert? Men need to be used. They have no problem in using women, now do they?”

Janelle shook her head. Some traits she didn’t want to inherit from her mother. She’d already gotten her height, lithe body
,
and her huge backside. Janelle wouldn’t take on her hatred of men.

“You gave me your advice. I’m telling you what I’m going to do. As always, thanks for the support.” Janelle disconnected the call before their discussion ended up as it always did, in an argument.

Janelle pulled up to the store and parked in her usual spot at the farthest corner of the lot. She wanted to leave plenty of space for potential customers. She unlocked the door and scanned the contents of her place.

“I need a miracle.” Janelle went behind the counter and stowed her purse and coat.

Before Penny showed up for work, Janelle went to the back room where she kept her baby. With all the lights on and in a heated glass cabinet, sat her swamp hibiscus. She opened the door long enough to check the moistness of the murky, muddy water she had the plant’s roots in. Out of habit, she took a sniff from one of the closed buds. The fragrant aroma soothed her. This would be her ticket.

Janelle stroked one of the leaves. For its unappealing name, the petal tickled the pads of her fingers. This would be her salvation. She closed the cabinet door and checked the thermostat to make sure it remained at the right temperature. Everything had to be perfect.

Until something great happened, she would continue to work hard until…well, until the bank forced her to stop what she loved in this space.

* * * *

After a few hours of restless sleep and a long, hot bath, Gideon changed into something comfortable, got into his garage-kept car and sped down to the hospital. He didn’t drive anything fancy or special. As a matter of fact, he’d picked this crossover vehicle because it resembled a station wagon. He liked the wholesome feel he got from being in something that looked like his mother would drive.

What was he thinking? His mother had owned a Cadillac, and now ha
d
a small Mini Cooper. She could never be described as typical…thank God.