Deadly Bonds (6 page)

Shoot. He was going into avoidance mode again. “You must have quite a workload with those make-up classes. It’s okay if you want to stay a little longer.”

“Isn’t it against the rules?”

“That didn’t stop you before.” Amusement tugged at her lips. “Besides, there are worse ways of breaking the rules.”

One side of his mouth moved toward a half-grin, just for a nanosecond before he drew on his serious demeanor again. “I just needed a quiet place to study...away from home, you know? But I should go. Dad will start wondering where I am.”

“Too late. Dad’s already here,” an annoyed John Rochard said from the doorway. “I finally found the note you left. I was supposed to deliver you to your mother an hour ago. Get your things.” He looked at Sara. “May I have a word with you in the hall?”

She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I’m proud of you, Neil.”

He nodded once but didn’t meet her eyes. Swallowing a sigh, each step heavy as if she were approaching the gallows, she moved into the hallway to face off with John. “He’s working hard.”

“I overheard you say he broke the rules.”

“Technically, yes, but—”

“It is unacceptable for a Senator’s grandson, for
my
son, to break any rules.”

She hid her incredulity. Was this the same man who’d suggested she fudge his son’s grades?

“But of course you’d condone that kind of behavior. It doesn’t bode well for the future of this school.”

Her jaw dropped. She’d never, ever been labeled as a rule-breaker. She nearly laughed out loud. Elizabeth would have been proud to hear her friend had achieved anarchist status after all this time. “I didn’t know he was here until just before you arrived. And he is working hard, as you wanted him to.”

“He can do that at home.”

“Can he?” She doubted whatever was going on between the Rochards was conducive to academic excellence. Not only had Neil’s grades been slipping and his sullenness growing, but Jeremy had started to show signs of similar issues just before school had let out for the summer.

John lips pressed together until they were white around the edges. She thought he would blow up at her, but instead he seemed to regain self-control. “I’d be very careful what you say, Miss Burns. Watch your step. You’ll find your sweet ass out on the street with no hopes of future employment in this field. And you’ll find out just what the Rochards are capable of.”

“Dad?” Neil’s arrival saved Sara from spitting the fiery words she longed to hurl at John. “I’m ready.”

“About time.” John spun on his heel. Neil didn’t even look back, just walked with his head down and shoulders hunched as he was swallowed in the wake of his father’s enormous ego.

Chapter Six

I
thought I should let you know that Theo emailed me using your home account.
I’m sure he just misses the routine of school
,
and I represent that to him
,
but he may be lonely too.

Holt read and reread the email Sara had sent to his work address. She might be a busybody, but she really seemed to care about her students. Or was it just Theo, and was she acting out of guilt about how she’d almost broken Holt and Elizabeth up years ago?

He closed the laptop on his desk and went in search of his son. He found him plunked on the couch in front of the television.

“How about burgers tonight?”

“Takeout?” Theo didn’t pull his attention from the movie.

“Actually, I thought maybe we could cook outside together. It’s about time you learned how the grill works.”

This time, Theo actually turned to look at him. “Our special recipe?”

“Of course.”

“Yeah, okay.” He went to the kitchen and washed his hands in the sink.

If he’d known his son would get this excited over grilling something, Holt would have tried this long ago. He led the way outside and showed him how to light the grill. From inside, the doorbell chimed.

“I’ll get it,” Theo said. He returned a moment later with a grin. And Sara. She’d been near his thoughts all week, but seeing her in the flesh was like a punch to his chest. She was even sexier in jeans that hugged her curves and a button-down shirt than she’d been in her sundress.

“I didn’t mean to intrude.” She looked at the grill, then sent an apologetic look toward Holt. “I certainly don’t want to interrupt dinnertime.”

“It’s all right,” Holt said.

“Can you stay for dinner?” Theo asked.

Sara’s gaze turned helpless. “Oh no, I just need to talk to your dad for a moment. Nothing bad, I promise,” she hastened to add.

“We’re making our famous burgers,” Theo continued. He was actually trying to entice her to stay. Holt was both amused at his son’s antics and frustrated he and Theo wouldn’t have time together on their own. But maybe Sara’s presence would be the buffer he needed to break through his son’s barriers. She seemed to get along with Theo so well.

“We’d love it if you’d stay,” Holt told Sara. “And we can discuss whatever you came by for over dinner.”

She smiled and he felt a ridiculous pull in his groin. His attraction to her confused the hell out of him, given their past.

“We’d better get started on those burgers,” he said, covering his reaction by moving inside. The others followed.

Theo gathered ingredients from the cupboards, keeping up a surprising stream of chatter. “Our burgers are a family tradition.”

Sara leaned against a counter, both to stay out of the way and to watch the show. “Oh?”

“There are only three ingredients—hamburger meat, shredded cheese, and chunky mild salsa.” Theo looked from the block of cheese in his hand to Holt. His bangs slid across his forehead, but he didn’t swipe them away. “Remember what Mom used to say—that you were the meat, she was the salsa, and I was the cheese.”

Holt grinned. “Because you’re always cracking cheesy jokes.”

Sara laughed. “Now
that
, I can imagine.”

“Theo is quite the clown.” Or at least, he
had
been a jokester. Most of that spark had dimmed, but Holt hoped it was still there, an ember waiting to come to life again. Elizabeth had added the fun-loving spice to their family unit. Holt had been the meat—important but nothing exciting, until you added the other ingredients.

“It’s not the same without the salsa.” Theo tossed the pile of cheese into the bowl of ground beef.

Yes, Elizabeth had added all the flavor.

Holt wanted to reach out to hug Theo, but felt the attempt would be rejected. He didn’t know if he could stand that right now. Besides, Theo was already moving away from him to grab the jar of salsa from the refrigerator.

“Hey, I should be helping.” Sara pushed off the counter, stood up straight, and saluted as if she were a soldier readying herself for action. “Reporting for duty, sirs.”

“Yeah, you should be helping,” Holt said, grateful she’d taken the edge off a difficult moment. He grinned at Theo. “How about we give her the dirty job.”

Theo grinned back. “Sounds good to me.”

“Wash up, Cadet,” Holt ordered Sara. “And you might want to take those rings off.”

She had an engagement-type marquis diamond ring on her right hand, but nothing on her left, and he wondered what that meant.

“Gladly. I’m not afraid to get dirty.”

“How about raw meat squishing between your fingers?” Theo said, adding a wicked grin. “Grandma says the only way to cook is to use your hands.”

“And get a little dirty.” Sara washed her hands in the sink. “I get it. Guess I’m not the guest of honor.” But her smile said she didn’t mind. She dipped her slender fingers into the mixing bowl and deftly churned the ingredients together, then shaped and molded them into three patties. Holt couldn’t seem to remove his gaze from her hands. “
Voila.
”

He had a sudden urge to kiss the silly, triumphant grin off her face.

Theo appraised her work as if he were a foreman. “Not bad.”

Swallowing his desire, Holt carried the plate of patties out to the grill. He sucked in the night air, trying to cool the fire in his blood.

* * *

“That was delicious. I can see why your family keeps the recipe a secret.” Sara teased Theo from across the kitchen table, enjoying the way he smiled easily. It seemed he wasn’t the only one missing someone the past week. She’d missed him too. She sat back and crossed her hands over her belly. “But I’m full.”

Theo slanted her a sly look. “Too full for a chess match?”

“I’m never too full to exert worldwide domination.”

Holt raised his eyebrows. “Is she always this cocky?” he asked Theo.

Theo nodded. “Yes, but she has reason to be. I haven’t beaten her. Yet.”

“I like your confidence,” Sara said. “But I need to talk to your dad for just a minute. Then, maybe we can play a game.” She looked suddenly at Holt, realizing that she was, perhaps, overstaying her welcome.

“I’d enjoy seeing my son crush you,” Holt reassured her. The heat in his eyes when he met her gaze was only partly friendly challenge. There was something more there. If Sara didn’t know any better, she might call it lust, or at least sexual interest. But this was Holt Patterson she was thinking about.

“Sweet.” Theo rose from his chair and scooped up his empty glass and plate. “I’ll be waiting in the den.” After plunking his plates by the sink, he rushed off.

Holt shook his head. “He’s been studying how to play chess. The kid hasn’t shown an interest in anything in months, and now...I don’t know how you got through to him.” He sighed. “But I’m glad someone did.”

Her heart flip-flopped. Was that a compliment? “Me too. Did you get my email?”

“Yes. I assume that’s why you stopped by?”

She felt her cheeks heat. She couldn’t admit that she’d wanted to see Theo again with her own eyes, to reassure herself that he was okay. He might see that as an insult. But that wasn’t the complete story, anyway. She’d wanted to see Holt again. “I was concerned. And since you don’t usually answer phone calls from me, I took a risk and stopped by in person.”

“I’m sorry I was such an ass to you. Thank you for letting me know about the email, by the way. I’d have understood if you didn’t try so hard to notify me, given how I’ve behaved, but I’m glad you persisted.”

“Sure. If I were a parent, I’d want to know. And I know, with our history, why you avoided me, and that it didn’t have anything to do with how much you love Theo. But everything seems okay with him now.”

He sat forward and folded his arms on the table. “Hell, Sara, I don’t know what’s okay. One minute, he’s ignoring me. The next, he’s grinning like the old Theo. On rare occasions, I’ll say or do the right thing and we make a connection, but it’s always brief.” His eyes brimmed with misery as they met hers. “I miss my son.”

Before she could talk herself out of the gesture, she reached out to touch his forearm. “You’ve been through a tough time. Go easy on yourself.”

His gaze locked on her hand and she slowly withdrew it. Maybe it was too soon to show that much sympathy. It probably wasn’t welcome, but there was such pain behind his expression that she hadn’t been able to resist some measure of comfort.

She covered the sudden awkwardness by rising and going to her purse on the counter. “I brought something for Theo. I thought, with your permission, maybe I could give it to him?”

Holt came over to stand next to her, looking at the video game in her hand. “I think he’d like that.”

“And then I should probably get going.”

His brow crinkled. “I thought you were going to stay for a game of chess.”

She hadn’t wanted to come between Holt and his son. Truthfully, she hadn’t wanted to give Holt any more reasons to be angry with her. “You can play with him.”

“Oh, no. You’re not putting this on me. He’s looking forward to besting
you.
I wouldn’t dare disappoint him.” He grinned mischievously. “Besides, I’d like to see that myself.”

“I’m sure you would. Too bad you won’t see it. Because it isn’t going to happen.”

They found Theo sitting on the floor of the den next to the chessboard. He’d put a couple of floor pillows in her spot and was hugging one himself. Sara sat opposite him, curling her legs under her. She was surprised that Holt hung around. He moved behind his desk, probably getting back to work on some case or other. But every now and then, she felt his gaze on her and she’d look up. Questions lurked there. And still, that heat she didn’t understand. Perhaps he was just as confused as she was by their sudden connection after years of distance.

* * *

“Will you come by again sometime?” Theo asked as they walked Sara to the door an hour later. The game had ended just as Sara had predicted. She’d captured Theo’s king, but Holt had been impressed by the way his son had strategized.

“I’ll see you every day at school,” Sara reminded him. “You’ll soon be sick of seeing this face.” Her gaze went to Holt’s, and he realized she wasn’t sure what her welcome was.

“I doubt that,” Holt said. Feeling foolish, he backpedaled immediately. “Theo would enjoy a rematch. A chance to reclaim his honor.”

“Yeah, since I got my you-know-what handed to me,” Theo said, pretending to be disappointed. Holt had never seen his son so focused as when he was hunched over that chess board.

“Language,” Holt said.

“What? I didn’t say anything bad.”

“But it was what you intended...” Holt heaved a sigh as he realized the conversation was quickly turning sour. “Good night, Sara. Thank you for stopping by.”

“Thank you for dinner, and I hope we’ll see you at Parents’ Weekend in a couple weeks.” She left the statement as a question, but Holt hadn’t even thought about attending the parent-student functions that weekend.

“Maybe.” They said their goodbyes and watched until Sara was safely in her car. Holt shut the door. “I do believe we just let our guest escape without helping out with the dirty work.”

“The dishes.” Theo groaned. “I forgot.” A few minutes later, side-by-side at the kitchen sink, Theo washed and Holt dried.

“You’re coming for Parents’ Weekend, right?” Theo asked.

“I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“There’s some kind of parent party thing after the student-parent dinner.”

“There is?” He’d barely glanced at the itinerary that had been mass-emailed.

“Yeah. Jeremy’s dad is even staying overnight at the hotel where they’re having it.”

“Jeremy told you all of this? How?” Holt had just received the email that afternoon.

Theo’s bangs slid across his forehead. He swiped them back. “Jeremy and I chat online while we play video games.”

“What?” He could have kicked himself. A boy who was savvy enough to figure out his dad’s password and email the director of his school was smart enough to figure out how to hook a game system up to the internet.

“I haven’t played much this month.” Theo’s tone of reassurance told Holt that he had caught his worried expression. “I was too into that chess book. That was cool of Miss Sara to give me a computer chess game. Now I can practice.”

“I should have gone over some ground rules about online activity. It’s not always safe.”

“I know to be careful. I don’t tell anyone where I live or give away credit card information or anything. Miss Sara taught a personal safety class last fall when she found out someone tried to get Brendan Tucker to meet up at a gas station across from the school.”

Holt tried to swallow past the sudden constriction of his throat. SSAM occasionally offered similar courses to the public—usually after there’d been an increase in online crimes and someone had gotten hurt. “Well, Miss Sara should earn a gold star for hypervigilance.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”

He studied his son, surprised to get such a genuine, non-sarcastic answer from him. He wanted to hug him, but he wanted his son to want the hug. Lately, all signs seemed to indicate Theo wanted some distance.

Sara
would have hugged Theo.
She
wouldn’t have let him retreat behind his defenses.
She
would have marched right over to him and pulled him up against her, rejection-be-damned. Because the only thing he knew for sure about Sara was that she was fearless when it came to doing what she thought was right. Perhaps he could learn some things from her after all.

* * *

The breeze carried the smell of a cooling grill and recently cooked beef. Through the window, father and son stood side-by-side at the sink. Theo rinsed dishes. Holt dried them and put them in a neat stack. Like two parts of a whole. Perfect symbiosis.

Toxin enjoyed watching the minutia of everyday life, but it reminded him of what he’d lost. The little things he’d never thought he’d miss. It had been fate that brought Holt and Toxin together.

No
,
not fate.
Toxin was in control of his destiny. It had been his own actions that brought Holt Patterson into his world.