In His Good Hands (20 page)

“Just because I’m not great with numbers doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” Brett leaned forward. “You know who bought it, don’t you?”

She swallowed. But when she opened her mouth to speak she couldn’t seem to get the words out. Finally she croaked, “Yes.”

“I knew it! You were so sure that I would get it back someday. You were very insistent.”

“I was, wasn’t I?” she said dismally.

“Then there’s how fast the money was transferred between accounts. That could only happen with behind-the-scenes help at the bank.
Your
help.”

Her silence must have seemed to confirm his suspicion.

“I’m positive you know the buyer. Maybe you even orchestrated the deal. You obviously trust him, because you bypassed protocol to process the transaction quickly.”

She fiddled with the leather strap of her watch, avoiding his gaze.

“Well?” he said. “Is that what happened?”

“Er, something like that.” She pulled her un-touched coffee toward her. The steam had stopped rising.

Brett sucked in a deep breath. “I’m trying not to be angry that you went behind my back—”

She made a strangled sound, started to speak.

“Hear me out,” Brett said. “You were attempting to help so I’m not going to go ballistic, even though you were aware I don’t want to be beholden to you.”

Renita’s hands curled in on themselves.

“But you’ve got to tell me.” Brett leaned forward. “Who bought my Brownlow Medal?”

The silence stretched, magnifying the ticking of the wall clock. Finally, she whispered, “I did.”

Brett froze. The blood drained from his cheeks. “You!”

“You can have it back anytime,” she said in a rush. “I don’t want it for myself. I only bought it so you wouldn’t lose it forever to an unknown collector.”

“You paid nearly two hundred thousand dollars for something you don’t want and have no use for?” He slumped back in his chair, shaking his head in disbelief. “Where did you get that kind of money?”

“I took out a second mortgage,” she said, hunching down in her chair. Her head was pounding worse than ever. “I was certain you’d buy it back from me when you could.”

“It’s just another way of giving me a personal loan.” He paused before saying, “You
knew
how I felt about this. Going ahead and buying my medal showed zero respect for my wishes. I would rather a stranger had bought it. Then at least I’d be free and clear of debt.”

Color flooded back into Renita’s cheeks. “I thought since we were a couple it made sense. I thought you’d be pleased. Grateful, even. Guess I thought wrong.”

“You were my buddy, Renita. The woman I laughed with, made love to. Fell in love with. And now—now you
own
me.”

“Not just me,” she said miserably. “Jack has a stake. And so do…your parents.”

He stared at her. “You went to my
parents
for money to bail me out?”

“Only five thousand. I’m going to repay them first. I should be able to get it to them within thirty days.”

“They can’t afford it, not even for a month!”

Anger shimmered in the air between them. They’d fought before and made up. Renita knew with a dull, sick certainty that they weren’t going to bounce back from this.

“Did you even stop to think what this would mean for our relationship? For my life?” he demanded.

“I—” Renita faltered. She’d only considered two things. Saving the gym and saving the medal. Wasn’t that enough?

“If I want to take Tegan on a trip, first I have to consider what I owe you.” Brett pushed away from the table to pace across the tiled floor. He spun back. “If I want to buy you a present I will only have the money because
you
made it possible. What if we break up? You’d resent me, if not despise me, over a sacrifice you made for nothing. This will hang over my head every second of every day until I can pay you back.”

“There’s no hurry,” she said in a small voice.

He began to pace again, gesturing angrily. “Plus I’ll have your sacrifice on my conscience. What if you need money for something?”

“I know you’ll discharge the debt as soon as you can,” she rallied to argue. Anyone would think she’d tried to hurt him, the way he was carrying on. “Your money will be freed up when your divorce is settled. You told me it was only a matter of time.”

“
If
Amber agrees to my terms. That’s not certain, by any means. And I may only get a fraction of what I expect.”

Renita tilted her head to one side. “So were you lying before when you asked the bank for a second loan?”

He stopped moving abruptly, clearly aware of his tactical error. “I was being optimistic.”

“You’re supposed to be accurate. But that was never your strong point, was it?” She rose abruptly, scraping her chair over the tiles. She smoothed down her skirt. “If this is going to cause problems between us, you can have the medal. My gift to you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t accept a gift of two hundred thousand dollars.”

“If we’re
friends,
if you love me, it’s not ridiculous.” She paused, then added quietly, “Or was that a lie, too?”

He flinched. “No! But how can we be friends, or lovers…or even equals, if you’re always wondering whether I’m with you because I owe you?”

“You mean, if you feel less of a man,” she said flatly.

“You’re no one to talk about insecurities. With this much money between us, how will either of us ever know for sure what’s true and real?” He slid onto a barstool at the kitchen counter and dropped his head in his hands. “Renita, Renita, what have you done?”

“I was only trying to—”

“Help,” he said bitterly. “Yeah, I get it. It was an incredibly generous thing to do. And a terrible mistake.”

“I wouldn’t have had to save you if you’d listened to me in the first place.”

“You wouldn’t have had to ‘save’ me if you’d shown confidence in me.” He got to his feet, his expression stony. “I think you’d better go.”

She started to panic. “We’re not going to talk this out?”

“What is there to talk about?”

“Our future?”

He pushed the stool roughly up to the counter. “Keep the damn medal. Sell it and get your money back. I don’t care about it anymore.”

“You. Don’t. Care.” Renita slowly went to pick up the purse she’d dropped in his front hall. Her voice was quiet, halting, when she said, “How dare you say that after what I sacrificed to get it.”

“You see? You’re already throwing it in my face.”

She slammed the door shut behind her.

“Where’s your gym gear? Brett’s running nonstop classes and a marathon bike ride—”

“I’m not here to exercise. In fact, I won’t be coming to the gym for a while. It’s awkward. Brett and I…we had a thing going on.” It was impossible to keep her voice steady. “But we broke up.”

“Oh, Renita. I was afraid something like this would happen,” Steve grumbled. “You’re better off without him.” She
so
didn’t want to talk about this right now. “Dad, I’ve got to go. I’m just dropping something off for Brett.”

“What about the Fun Run in a couple of weeks? You’re still going to do that, aren’t you? We’ve hardly had a chance to train together. I was hoping we could step that up between now and the run.”

Oh, hell. How could she have forgotten the Fun Run? Her breast surgery was scheduled for next Saturday. The day of the run she would still be recovering. She couldn’t bounce the girls and risk tearing out the stitches. It made her wince just to think of it. “We’ll have to see.” She felt bad about lying to her dad but she knew what he’d think about implants and she wasn’t in the mood.

Renita hadn’t picked the best day for her mission. Tightening her grip on her shoulder bag with her precious cargo, she stepped into the gym, nonetheless.

A whiteboard at reception detailed the schedule of classes and special events. Brett and his team had worked toward this for months and it was finally happening. The refurbishment was complete. The entire gym, including the new equipment, gleamed.

She edged her way through the milling crowd. More streamers and balloons decorated the refreshment area. There were probably well over a hundred people here—regulars and guests. Thumping feet overhead attested to a group fitness class happening upstairs. The cardio room was packed. Janet was conducting a spin class; Matt was demonstrating the weight machines.

Brett had taken over a squash court to lead a group in a Boxercise. He wore a sleeveless tank top. Greedily, she took in his glistening shoulders and fierce concentration as he fielded punches with a padded shield. The teenage boy throwing them appeared set to prove he could be the next feather weight champ.

Next to her, a sweat-drenched woman with a towel slung around her neck was talking excitedly on her cell phone. “You’ve got to get down here. Member ships are half price today only. No, the gym’s not like that anymore. You wouldn’t believe how this place has improved.”

“Hey, Renita!” Tegan was circulating with a tray of Dixie cups. “Do you want a Powerade?”

“No, thanks…. This is amazing.”

“We’ve signed up so many new members I’ve lost count.” Tegan paused. “How come you told him?”

“I’m not good at keeping secrets. He guessed, anyway.”

“I think it sucks that you and Dad stopped seeing each other.”

“Do you mean that?” Renita asked warily.

“I know I wasn’t that nice to you. But you’re actually kind of cool. At least, you don’t act phony with me.”

“Thanks.” Renita smiled, touched by the girl’s admission. “I need to talk to Brett. When will he be finished with Boxercise?”

Tegan checked the clock above the shiny new cappuccino machine. “In a few minutes.”

Renita saw Brett glance her way through the glass wall of the squash court. She waved. The teenage boy landed a punch that sent Brett staggering.
Oops.
She’d broken his concentration.

“I’ll wait over here,”
Renita mouthed.

The cappuccino machine was self-serve. She put a mug under the spigot, slotted in a dollar and pressed a button.

“It’s excellent coffee,” a woman in yoga gear enthused, mug in hand. “I’m on my third latte.”

That ought to help her with her relaxation poses,
Renita thought.

“Renita,” Brett said from behind her.

She set the coffee down on a table, unprepared for how much it would hurt to see him. “I know you’re busy, but do you have a few minutes?”

“Come through to my office.” He led the way up the stairs to his new office and shut the door, muffling the noise.

Renita glanced around. He’d framed his Collingwood jersey and hung it on the wall alongside a photo of his team. The furniture was new. “You’ve done a good job with the refurbishment.”

“Thanks,” Brett said quietly. The irony of how it came about couldn’t have been lost on him. “What can I do for you?”

“Give me a dollar.” She held out her hand, palm up.

“What is this for?” Brett said, fishing in his pocket. He placed a dollar coin in her hand.

Renita opened her purse and took out the leather case with his Brownlow Medal. “Now you’ve bought it back. You’ll pay me the full amount when you can. In the meantime, I’ll feel better if it’s in your possession.”

She could see him struggling with himself. It went against a lifetime of O’Connor pride to accept what must seem like charity.

“I can’t take it,” he said, pushing it back at her. “You own the medal, that dollar notwithstanding.”

“Don’t you get it, Brett? It was never about the money.” She placed the case on his desk. “I’m giving you your Brownlow Medal because I love you.”

His gaze faltered. “Renita—”

She pressed on, speaking faster to get it all out before she lost courage. “I want what’s best for you even if it means—” Her voice broke. “I—I lose you.” She held up a hand. “I know. I already have.”

Her eyes were welling. She had to wrap this up quickly. She took a piece of paper out of her purse, the receipt she’d prepared. “This proves the Brownlow Medal is your property.”

Brett took it reluctantly, clearly troubled. “I’ll pay you back as soon as I settle with Amber. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll make payments just as if it was a loan.”

“If the scene downstairs is anything to go by, you’re on to a winner here. You know, Brett, I have to admit, you were right. The exercise machines are a hit. You’ll figure out the business end or you’ll hire someone who can do your accounts. You’ll be a success because you have the right touch with people.”

“Renita, I—I don’t know what to say.”

Smiling through her tears, she backed up, found the door handle and fumbled it open.

Then she was on the other side, shutting the door, leaving him behind. As she quickly made her way to the exit she heard Tegan calling her.

Renita kept walking.