Dane's Storm(27)

Dustin pressed his lips together. “Yeah, I guess you’re sort of between a rock and a hard place. Just . . . be careful, okay?”

“Think Luella will cut me out of the business again if I tell her to quit this bullshit?”

“No, you’re too damn good at your job. That’d just be stupid on her part and Luella’s many things, but stupid isn’t one of them. But in any case, it’s not Gran I was warning you about.”

One side of my mouth tilted upward, and I let out a humorless huff of breath. He was right—it was Audra alone who could twist my guts simply by standing in the room. Why? It’d been seven years and it was still the same. “Maybe I’m cursed. It’s the only explanation.”

“Maybe you have unfinished business.”

“What do you mean?”

Dustin sighed. “Did you ever work through losing Theo?”

I gave that a moment of thought. “I think so, Dustin, as much as anyone can.”

“What I mean is, did you ever work through it with her?”

“How could I? We couldn’t work through it when we were living in the same house, much less from over a thousand miles away. She divorced me, Dustin. All I can do is hope she’s found some peace on her own somehow.” When he didn’t immediately respond, I said, “I’m taking her to dinner tonight.”

“Ah, hence drinking at lunchtime.” He paused. “Again, be careful, okay? I’d hate like hell to see you in the state you were in seven years ago.”

I shook my head. “That’d be impossible.”

Dustin pressed his lips together again but stood. “Okay, well I had some business, but it’s nothing that can’t wait. Why don’t you go home early for once in your life and get your head together before tonight.”

I sighed, but stood too. “Yeah, maybe I will.”

“Good. Say hi to her from me, man,” he said before he walked out, closing the door behind him.

I stood for a moment, considering, and then walked to my desk, pressing the intercom that went to Tina’s desk. “Yes, sir,” she purred.

Annoyance raced through me. The way she’d treated Audra was unacceptable. I suspected she’d hidden her messages on purpose. I couldn’t prove it—even I admitted my organizational skills were lacking—but it gave me the perfect reason to fire her. I was sick and tired of her constant flirtation. It was the last thing I needed or wanted in an assistant, and I’d deal with her as soon as I got back.

“Tina, cancel my meetings for the rest of the week. I’ll be in Colorado. Email me if you need anything.”

“Okay. Do you need company—?”

“No. And cancel my appointments this afternoon too. I’m taking the rest of the day off.”

I hung up without waiting for her response.

I drove to Saratoga, and when I pulled through the gates of my driveway, I barely remembered the commute at all, so lost in thoughts of the girl who had once been my world.

I focused on the mountains behind my house, taking a deep calming breath. The mountainous backdrop had always been something I loved about my home state of Colorado, so when I’d moved to California, I’d chosen the small town of Saratoga, a beautiful residential community in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains.

Dropping my briefcase and keys on the table by the door, I began unbuttoning my shirt as I walked toward my bedroom. I was going to go for a long run and then do some laps in the pool before leaving to pick Audra up. I’d need my mind as clear as possible to survive tonight. I already had a feeling just being in a room with her for half an hour had caused something inside me to break free and drift to the surface. My feelings for her were all twisted and tangled. I couldn’t decide if I liked or hated the swirling excitement. But one thing was undeniable. It’d been almost eight years, but one damn look at her had thrown me into a fucking tailspin.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN


Then . . .



“Hey,” Dane said, throwing his backpack on the ground and taking Audra into his arms. She tried to relax in the warm safety of his embrace but didn’t manage it and he pulled back, his lips turning downward in worry. “Is everything okay?”

She shook her head, her heart pounding in her chest as she took her bottom lip between her teeth, her large dark eyes filling with tears.

“Baby, hey, what’s going on? Did someone—”

“Dane, I’m . . . I’m pregnant,” she said softly, her lips trembling. His head reared back and he took a step away from her. She flinched, his reaction causing a spiral of hurt to whirl through her chest, stealing her breath.

Dane shook his head slowly. “What? No. We . . . used protection. Every time.”

Her eyes searched his face for a moment, looking for understanding, or tenderness, but only finding confusion and distress. “It didn’t work. I don’t know . . .” She shook her head so slightly, the movement was barely discernible and Dane blew out a breath, running his hand through his hair.

“Pregnant,” he murmured, his brows coming together as if he was having trouble accepting the meaning of the word . . . the meaning of the situation they were in.

Audra turned away from him and wrapped her arms around her middle—the place where their baby grew, that tiny person they’d unknowingly created. She was scared . . . petrified. But she loved that little being already. Her body shook with both her own fear, and the panic she’d seen in his eyes.