A Collateral Attraction (22 page)

And just as I thought, it doesn’t take long before the brothers start talking — really talking — and the things that had long been simmering beneath the surface boil over. Blythe and I can hear them through the door, though we don’t make a move to interrupt them, the words held back for so long finally spilling out between them.

It takes the brothers three hours to straighten things out between them as much as they can. The first hour is spent on talks just between the two of them, and by the time Blythe and I go outside for a walk on the private beach in front of the resort, and have dinner by ourselves, the next two hours are with Heath’s own team who have come in to join them, assisting Ethan in securing all his financial affairs in one go, from the basics of account numbers, passwords, investment portfolios to just about everything else that has to do with his net worth – even the start of estate planning to include Blythe. Though they don’t finish in two hours, nor intend to, it’s a good enough start to secure what could have been lost due to Ethan’s carelessness.

It’s damage control, though Blythe and I don’t stay to learn about the specifics. What we do know is that while Ethan’s team, up to an hour earlier, consisted of close friends who became his financial officers, Heath’s team is composed of experts first — with possible friendship coming later, if at all.

His “home office,” as he calls the small circle of handpicked financial experts who help him manage Ettinger Holdings, had arrived from New York that morning, and had set up shop in the suite across from ours. And with Heath back on the calendar, I hear that they’re even traveling back with him back to New York, and working the entire time while en route.

By the time it’s all over, I’m all packed and ready to go — and still wishing that Blythe is coming with me.

“I wish you’d change your mind,” I say, holding her hand and refusing to let go as we stand at the lobby, waiting for all the cars to come up to the front of the hotel. “We still have one week of vacation left, Blythe.”

“And this is where we would have gone, Bee,” she says, “right here in Santa Barbara for Ethan’s match, and just hang out by the pool or the beach, and shopping. I figured maybe coming here, where we came once with Mom and Dad when we were kids, would have been a perfect way to spend the last week together. Sure Ethan would have been working but-” she pauses, then sighs. “I really wish I could go home with you, Bee, but I hope you understand why I can’t. I love Ethan, that’s true – I mean, anyone can see that. He’s like the air I breathe and I’d like to think he feels the same way about me.”

“He does,” I say, remembering how envious I felt watching them together, and I still am. For all her shortcomings, with Blythe, what you see is what you get.  She’s as real as they come, false eyelashes and all, and she doesn’t apologize for it.

“But I also don’t want to look like I’m guilty by hiding away in the boonies,” Blythe continues. “I don’t want to look like such a coward. If the news hits about this alleged embezzlement, I want to be next to Ethan like, you know, those wives standing next to their husbands who’ve cheated on them. Not like embezzling is like having an affair because there’ll be hell to pay if he does, but you know what I mean, right?”

I pull her towards me and hold her. “I know. I’d probably do the same thing.”

“With Heath?” she teases, her face brightening.

I pull away and give her an incredulous look. “No.”

“Oh, please Billie, stop with the punishment,” Blythe says, her voice lowering. “Ever since Andrew, you’ve been blaming yourself for what happened. In fact, I will press charges against him – anything to tell him that I’m not staying quiet.”

“Quiet about what?”  I ask, staring at her.  “What charges?”

Blythe sighs and pulls me down on the couch closest to the entrance.  By the reception counter, the general manager is speaking with Ethan and Heath, though they seem like they’re in another world, for Blythe is bringing me back to the past as she speaks.

“The day you were released from the hospital and waiting for me to pick you up, Andrew was at the house. He said his truck broke down and he needed a ride.  I’d just come from the party store so I could decorate the place with a Welcome Home sign and all that, and he offered to help me.  He gave me one of the soda bottles we refill, you know, the one from the vintage soda machine-“

“We still have them, yes,” I say slowly.

“I’ve only told Kathryn about this, but…there was something in that soda that he gave me,” she says and when I gasp and am about to say something, she holds her hand. “Don’t say anything yet, Bee, please.”

I close my mouth, and nod, gripping her hand tighter as I fight back the tears.

She’s trying to find the words, and I wait. “I should have said no, but he’d opened it for me. I mean, what could go wrong. It’s just Andrew, right? And then, I was out, like a light.  When woke up, I was in bed with him and he was-”

“He raped you-“

“I don’t know what he did, Bee,” Blythe says, her voice trembling. “I should have gone to the police station and reported it — but what?  I had no idea what happened, and I didn’t want to stress you anymore than you already were, leaving the hospital without me because I wasn’t there to pick you up.”

“Blythe, I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t want to lose you anymore than I already did for not being there for you,” Blythe says.  “That’s why it was better that I left.”

“I kicked you out,” I whisper. “I kicked you out, Blythe, even when you were in the bathroom throwing up when I got home.  But I was too angry, and I chose to believe Andrew when he told me-“

“I will press charges against him, Billie,” she says. “I don’t know how I’ll go about it, but I will.”

“Does Ethan know?”

She shakes her head. “One day he will, but not right now, not when we’ve got bigger problems to deal with. But now, I just need to let you know that whatever you thought happened between Andrew and me-“

“-wasn’t what happened — I know that now, Blythe and I’m so sorry I never bothered to listen to you.  It’s only what you’ve been saying since the beginning, and even Kathryn asked me to listen to you, but I never wanted to.  I just wanted to punish you,” I continue. “I’m so sorry for the last three years when I thought only the worse of you.  I’m so sorry. No wonder you never wanted to come home. It’s all my fault-”

“Now stop right there, Bee,” Blythe says, glaring at me. “Whether or not you believed Andrew’s lies back then, it’s the past and one day he will pay for all the hell he put you and I through. But for now, stop punishing yourself, and I sure hope you’re not punishing yourself by pushing Heath away. What is this I hear that you’re agreeing to go home to Nevada City when you should fly with him to New York?  You’ve got a week of vacation to go, Bee.”

I look at her, not hearing her question. “What’s Heath got to do with all this? I’m talking about Andrew.  Besides, Heath has to get your ass out of trouble.”

“I know, but I’m talking about Heath right now,” she says sternly. “Stop being so sensible, Bee, and live a little.  See what’s right in front of you for a change, and grab opportunity by the horns.  Heath is crazy about you.  You two can’t keep your eyes off each other. Heck, even Ethan said so.”

I know she’s trying to lighten the mood, to pull me out of the past that is Andrew, and what he did to her. And for once, I let her do it and force a smile. “Really? What exactly did he say?”

“He said,” and Blythe’s voice lowers as she mimics Ethan, “’my brother really likes your sister, but I don’t get it. What’s her problem? Why doesn’t she like him back?'”

We giggle in spite of the tears. “You just made that up.”

“Does it matter if I did?  He still said it, just not in those exact words,” she says, “Besides, what is your problem?  Heath Kheiron likes you.  Let that sink in, Bee.”

I exhale, avoiding her gaze. “I just don’t want to get hurt, Blythe.”

“Oh, come on!  Live a little, for crying out loud,” she says, frowning. “And newsflash — we all get hurt. All of us. Rich, poor…whoever we are, it doesn’t matter. You think that bodyguard over there doesn’t get hurt? Or that concierge over there? What about Ethan? Or me? We all get hurt, but it’s like falling off that bike — we just get back right on and keep riding. Because if we don’t get back on it, especially when we really really want to, life will leave us behind.”

I fight back the tears, the truth behind her words hitting me hard. Behind her, the brothers are saying good-bye, their exchanges less strained now. Heath’s car is idling in the carport.

“It’s okay to be hurt, Billie Bee. What’s not okay is walling yourself up from all that hurt,” Blythe continues as her eyes search my face, “because when you do, you wall yourself up from all the good, too.”

By the time Heath’s plane takes off from Santa Barbara airport, it’s past nine at night and we’re scheduled to arrive in Sacramento in about an hour. We would have flown straight to Nevada County Airport, just five minutes from my house, but with heavy cloud cover due to an oncoming storm from the east, Sacramento will have to do — plus an hour and a half drive home along Highway 80 and then Route 49. My stomach is in knots the entire time at the prospect of saying good-bye to Heath, and it doesn’t help that we’re far from alone.

But he has to work and there’s no room for me.  His whole New York team is there with him, and they’re busy planning for every eventuality, should the board members choose to wait for more information about Jackson and Charlene before making a decision on what to do next.

Damage control.

With 30 minutes left before landing, I don’t stay to listen to every detail. I figure, with Heath’s 8-person “home office” doing what they do best, the last thing they need is someone like me eavesdropping on every little detail that has nothing to do with me.

I make my way to the bathroom at the rear cabin and shut the door. There’s always the crew bathroom in the front of the plane should anyone need to use the facilities, but I’m determined to stake my claim on the only place that’s quiet – till I hear the soft knock on the door fifteen minutes later.

“I know you’re hiding in there, Billie,” Heath says, “though if you aren’t, I apologize.”

I open the door a crack and see Heath’s smiling face, something I haven’t seen in the last few hours. Billie’s words return to me then — live a little — and I open the door wider with one hand, and with my other hand, I grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him inside.

Though the last thing I want to do is join the mile-high club, as far as kissing Heath is concerned, I’m all in — and so is he. His kiss threatens to undo me, from the way my heart feels like it’s splitting in two with the realization that we’re going our separate ways, to the way my belly tightens at the feel of his hands cradling my face as he kisses me hungrily. I can barely stand for my knees have given way but Heath lifts me up and props me against the counter so that he’s standing with my legs wrapped around his waist, our kisses softening as we savor each other for as long as we can.

Outside the portholes, rain pelts against the glass but I don’t care. California needs the rain, but right now, I just need Heath to hold me, and kiss me — and if we had all night, make love to me. And maybe that’s why the sky is crying, I tell myself, because I can’t afford to cry right now, not when he’s right here with me for the next few minutes. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I can’t fool myself about what will happen.  He’s heading back to New York — to his old life — without me.

When the captain announces that we’re beginning our descent into Sacramento airport, and that we should all be seated and buckled in, I finally pull away.

“You heard the captain,” I say, biting my lip. “We should head back to the cabin before everyone thinks I’ve just been inducted into the Mile High Club-“

“I came here to tell you that I’m staying in Nevada City with you.”

“Why?”

“Because I intend to talk you into coming with me to New York in the morning.”

“You don’t have to talk me into coming with you, Heath,” I say. “If you’d asked me before your pilots informed ground control about your flight plans, I’d have told you that I’d be happy to go to New York with you.”

He grins, the dimples making their appearance. “I should have asked you earlier then.”

“But what about the meeting? And where is everyone staying?”

“Don’t worry about the meeting.  And as far as accommodations, even though my staff is not happy about my decision, there are some rooms available at an inn and a bed and breakfast close to your house. There’s a hotel-”

I grab Heath’s face and kiss him before he can finish whatever he was about to say regarding his staff’s accommodations. The last thing I want is for him to set aside company matters to spend time with me, but I also want to be selfish for once. I want to be spontaneous and careless, and forego everything that makes sense. Hell, I’ll even make love to him right now if I could, even if the flight attendants have to drag both of us out of the bathroom and strap us down into our seats if they have to.

It’s time those darn walls come down anyway.

My elation over Heath’s decision to stay the night lasts only till common-sense Billie returns to her senses the moment we land and are all waiting in the pilots’ lounge as the pilot files the new flight plans.  It’s what sets me apart from my twin sister — I’m too levelheaded to let go and, in Blythe’s words, live a little.

There’s no way I can allow Heath to stay with me tonight, not when he needs to be in New York as soon as possible.  Every hour counts as Tyler stands alone to defend Heath’s actions — or inaction about his brother’s embezzlement _— to the board members.

There’s even word that Harris is on his way to New York, and considering just what Harris thinks about Heath being behind the whole embezzlement, Heath’s absence could very well mean his guilt, and that of Ethan and Blythe. At the very least, it represents a gross act of negligence on Heath and Tyler’s part.

“I won’t allow it, Heath,” I say, exhaling as I tell myself that I’m making the right decision for everyone concerned.  “I don’t care what you do, but you need to get back on that plane — all of you — and fly to New York, or-“

“Or what?” he asks, frowning.

“Or I’ll never see you again,” I say, gazing at him with the best serious expression I can manage even though it kills me inside to say it.

Heath looks at me quizzically. “The meeting will be pushed back, Billie.”

“Remember when you first met me?” I begin and Heath nods.  “Your main concern was getting to Ethan and taking back your mother’s letters, no matter what the cost.  You insulted me and everyone else within ten feet of you.”

“Of course I remember.  And I apologize for that-“

I press my finger lightly on his lips.  “Then you told me that Blythe was in trouble.  You convinced me that I had the power to save my own sister, even when all I wanted to do was go home and leave her to rot in jail.”

“You’ve got good memory,” he says, taking my hand and kissing my fingers.

‘It’s only been five days, Heath,” I say, realizing what a life I’ve managed to live in the past five days, much more than I’ve experienced in my lifetime before meeting Heath.  “But things have changed since then, and right now, we know that it wasn’t Blythe or Ethan embezzling the company.  Instead, someone was framing them to go down over a tenth of what Ethan’s worth.  Not only that, but whoever is trying to destroy them, they’ve got you going down, too, for not telling the board what was going on.”

“Then come with me.”

“I can’t,” I say, groaning, “but you have a job to do first and I as much as I want to see Mr. Tycoon in action, not like this, not when you don’t need distractions.”

“Who said you’re a distraction?  If anything, I haven’t felt this good in years, Billie,” Heath says. “People don’t call me all work and no play for nothing.  It’s because that how I was before I met you.  But since then, I want that balance of business and something more. And I want to explore that with you.”

“Then we’ll explore it after you put out this fire in New York,” I say, smiling.  “And when it’s all over, come back here and let me show you my hometown.  We can ride horses, go hiking, go whitewater rafting, even skinny dipping.  Or we can pick wild blackberries and lie on my roof to look up at the stars.”

Heath rolls his eyes.  “Great.  Just when I thought I was being spontaneous, you pull this on me, Miss All-Work-and-No-Play,” he says, leaning his forehead against mine.

“It’s what makes me so dull compared to my sister.”

He kisses me on the lips just as Wally, who’d been standing a few feet away, looks away. “You are far from dull, Billie. Never forget that.  Anyway, I’m not letting you stay here alone.  Wally and Brad will stay with you.”

“For how long?”

“Until everything’s taken cared of,” Heath replies, his expression serious again. “If they were bold enough to set up this elaborate plan to frame Ethan and Blythe, I can’t rule out the possibility that they could also be after me — and you.”

“I’m not in any danger, Heath. I’m not a Kheiron like Blythe.”

“It doesn’t make you any less important,” he says, his expression turning serious.  “Look, it’s just for your safety-”

“-you mean for your peace of mind.”

“This is my normal, Billie.  And right now, it’s your normal, too, until Jackson and Charlene are found and till I get to the bottom of all this,” Heath says, pulling the ends of my scarf playfully and kissing me one more time though it’s a chaste kiss, what with everyone around us pretending not to notice.

“Get to your plane, Mister Tycoon,” I say, chuckling as I push him away.  Heath kisses me one more time, a deeper one this time, not caring who’s watching.  It takes my breath away and I have to push him away from me the second time, only because Wally clears his throat as a reminder that Heath is running behind schedule.

As I watch Heath’s plane take off with him and his whole staff on board, I turn to look at Wally and Brad, their faces stoic.

I shrug helplessly when I catch Wally’s gaze.  It’s not like Nevada City is so dangerous that I’d need bodyguards. The county is home to Chuck Yeager, retired brigadier general and test pilot who was the first to travel faster than the speed of sound. It’s the land of the California gold rush, where historical buildings still line the narrow roads and the main thoroughfare of Main Street. It’s also my home, even if ghosts of my past are all I end up coming home to.

By the time we’re on the road, it’s almost midnight. Wally is driving, relying on the car’s navigation panel to direct him along the route that will take me home, while Brad sits next to him in the front passenger seat where Fred used to sit.

It’s still raining, though now it’s mostly a soft drizzle, just enough to leave a mist hovering above the ground. Even as I look out the window, I can’t help but wish Heath were with me. I wonder if I made the right decision to have him fly to New York, assuring him that when it’s all over, he can come back for me. I’ll be waiting, of course. And with Heath, I’ll probably wait forever if I have to.

When my phone rings, I smile as I click
Answer
, my fingers trembling with excitement. We’ve only been apart for an hour and here I am, already acting like a schoolgirl in love.

“Where are you?” Heath asks in a low voice, sending shivers up and down my spine.

“Probably half-way,” I reply, glancing out the window at the rain that’s coming down hard again. “We’re on Highway 80 just before turning to 49, so probably half an hour more.”  Route 49 will take us straight into Nevada City, and though I’m loathe to be apart from Heath, I’m actually excited to breathe in the air of home.

“Are you doing alright?”

“Much better now that we’re talking,” I say and for a few moments, we’re silent.

“Thank you, Billie,” he says.

“What for?”

“For being yourself,” Heath replies, “even if it means we have to be apart for awhile. You’re right — as much as being with you is the only place I want to be, given the circumstances, it’s the last place I should be.”

I shrug. “Well, I think you would have done the same thing for me – not that you haven’t already. Each time I said I wasn’t going to help Blythe, you helped me see why I had to stay on course. And now I can see how right you were to keep me from leaving. If I’d gone back home and given up-”

“Yet you didn’t, and the world’s all the better for it, Blythe’s especially, and mine, too,” he says and I notice that it’s quiet from where he’s calling.

“Is everyone asleep?” I ask, chuckling. “It feels weird not hearing that constant drone of voices.”

“They are, and two of them are snoring, though one of the guards just went into the lavatory,” he says. “The meeting with the board starts promptly at six, New York time, which means it’s straight to the boardroom the moment we land.”

“That’s brutal, Heath,” I say.

“It’s my world, Billie,” he says softly. “And unfortunately, it’s not for everyone, probably not even you.”

“Are you saying I can’t handle you?” I tease, grateful for the distraction of talking with Heath for this part of Route 49 makes me nervous. It brings back memories I don’t want to think of.

He chuckles. “Oh, you do a good job. Too good.”

“Good, because I was worried there for a second,” I say, glancing at Wally and Brad in the front seat. They both have their eyes set on the road ahead of them, the windshield wipers swishing side to side quietly.

“I can’t believe we’ve actually been together for almost five straight days, maybe even more when you factor in the travel time — and we haven’t killed each other yet,” I whisper, giggling.

“It has, hasn’t it?  But it’s a lifetime, Billie, at least for me, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

“So what happens next, Heath? I mean, after your meeting with the board?”

He exhales. “After I defend my decision to delay informing the board about Blythe’s alleged fraud and show them everything my office has discovered so far — that Jackson and Charlene were behind all this — life will go on as always. And if there’s someone else involved, we will find them.  I still hold majority control of the company so even if they vote me out for incompetence, it won’t change anything — not unless I’m dead.

“Don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry. Anyway, I just need to find out who stands to benefit the most from the company falling apart. It could be one of our competitors, some activist investor…or it could be someone from inside.”

“What about Richard?” I ask. “Doesn’t he know too much, being Ethan’s assistant? Didn’t you say that they trained in the same polo school together, but that he just couldn’t make it past the top 200?”

“We did run a check on him today and other than being adopted, I guess his only crime would be being Ethan’s number one groupie, living his dreams through Ethan.  Hanging out with famous people, that kind of thing. It’s what he gets off on,” Heath says, sighing. “But why are we talking about business again, Billie? I wanted to talk about us.”

I giggle. “Pillow talk, you mean — without the pillow part?”

“Shh, you’re not alone, you know.” Heath whispers. I love seeing him drop all his defenses, even if it’s just over the phone.

“Did you know this is the most we’ve talked today?” I say as thunder rumbles overhead, the skies lighting up seconds later. “I mean, once you work, you really work.”

“Hang on a second, Billie,” Heath says as I hear the sound of someone’s phone alarm going off in the background. It’s the sound of crickets, loud and annoying the longer it continues.  “Can someone get that please?”

There’s mumbling in the background, as if he’s awoken everyone in the cabin with his request.

Heath’s voice returns on the line.  “Someone’s set his phone alarm — oh, wait, it’s one of my security.  Rogers, yes, you needed what?  Oh, God-“

Suddenly there’s a piercing scream on the phone, followed by one word —
knife!
  A scuffle ensues and then shouts.  Then I hear Heath groan.

“Heath!” I scream just as the sound of crickets goes off inside the SUV and I see Brad reach for something from the glove compartment.

A gun.