The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (5)
Even though Gruff couldn’t hide his own sadness, he sent me on my way, and just as the sun was setting, I arrived in Blackwood Keep, Connecticut.
My hope that this new start would end soon died at each peek of the beautiful homes beyond the curtain of green.
I was forced down this highway to hell a week after the race. Gruff had shown up on our doorstep, not to fire me but to warn that the Feds were poking around. Two Special Agents arrived later that day to question my involvement with the Exiled—a violent gang polluting the east coast. It didn’t take much for me to connect the dots after that. These Exiled had been the ones marked with the X.
Apparently, Mickey’s humble gambling ring landed on the FBI’s radar after he’d gotten mixed up with them. One harrowing interrogation later, the agents lost interest in me, but after planting the seed that a vicious gang was after me, Rosalyn was spooked.
To make matters worse the client whose bike I totaled threatened to sue. I had been ready to forfeit every penny I’d won, but Thomas swooped in with his gold-plated fountain pen and leather-bound checkbook and saved the day.
And it didn’t end there.
I’d probably still be slumming it if it had. The billionaire’s fast-talking lawyer then saved me from losing my license. I still had to pay a fine for speeding, but Thomas had taken care of that, too.
Summer passed, Gruff forgave me, Rosalyn kept her sanity, and once my leg healed, I naively believed it was all behind me.
But then Rosalyn announced that we were leaving Cherry.
We stayed long enough to pack, but as it turned out, there wasn’t much Rosalyn had been unwilling to part with. For a week, I sat back as she bestowed our things on the neighbors. The day Thomas arrived in a pearl white Lincoln Navigator, she left with little more than the clothes on her back.
“…and then there’s Robin Point. It used to be a private beach for locals, but some guy sued, and now it’s open to tourists.” Thomas had been giving us a history lesson of Blackwood Keep as he drove us to his home, but I couldn’t muster the interest. It wasn’t until I noticed Rosalyn frowning at me from the front seat and Thomas stealing glances in the rearview mirror that I realized some response was expected.
“Sounds good.”
“Your mother tells me you’ve never learned to swim. I’m sure Ever can teach you if you’re up for it.”
“I’m sorry…” I couldn’t decide who to focus on as I recited the name in my head. At last, I forced myself to ask the burning question. “Who’s Ever?”
Thomas and Rosalyn had some silent conversation that ended with her biting her lip and Thomas letting out an aggravated sigh.
“He’s my son.” I couldn’t hide my flinch, which might have prompted him to say, “It wasn’t my intention to corner you. I thought your mother would have told you by now.”
Well, I was already uprooted from my home, why not get one more blow in while I was down? Out loud, I said, “It’s fine.”
“You’ll be fortunate to know someone at your new school,” Rosalyn added.
“Yes,” Thomas confirmed. “Maybe you’ll have a few classes together.”
Great.
I ignored their attempts to soften the blow and resumed staring out the window.
So Thomas had a son.
I wonder how he felt about our new living arrangements.
I trailed behind the couple as Thomas gave us a tour. Home seemed too inadequate a word to describe the monstrosity sitting on five acres of the greenest grass and the tallest trees I’d ever seen. I didn’t know much about the rich other than their piles of money, but I never would have painted an accurate picture of just how glamorous they lived. I pictured the two-bedroom single-wide we left behind…it probably would have fit inside the two-story foyer.
After meeting the housekeeper, a jolly woman with graying blonde hair and red glasses, Thomas led us through heavy wooden sliding doors and into a living room three times the size of ours back home. There was a fireplace at each end, adjacent sofas made of bronze and gold fabric with ornate carvings and rolled arms, and a coffee table made of ivory, marble, and dark oak. Three sets of bronze French doors decorated with gold billowing curtains opened onto a terrace spanning the rear of the house.
A rectangular pool sat perpendicular to a two-bedroom pool house. Thomas then explained that we could find the theater, gym, indoor pool, massage, and the steam and sauna rooms on the lower level. Rosalyn openly expressed her awe as he showed us the library, billiard, family, kitchen, dining, and breakfast rooms.
I’m surprised he doesn’t have an elevator to get around this place.
“And you can find the elevator on the east wing if the stairs become tedious.” Unwillingly, my jaw dropped, causing Thomas to chuckle. “I know it’s a little much.”
He seemed ready to say more, but with lips pressed tight, he averted his eyes, and for the third time that day, I was stumped. I peeked at Rosalyn, but she was too focused on the grandeur to notice his pain. I sighed, knowing this romance wouldn’t last long, and once more, I’d be the one to piece Rosalyn back together. With a forced smile, Thomas promised to show us the rest of his home when we were better rested. I shouldn’t have expected less since I’d googled his name the moment I was released from the hospital.
The McNamara family was worth more than the goddamn Hiltons.