Loving a Bad Boy (29 page)

“
Arghh!” Tex threw his
hands up and dropped them to his side.

Pam leaned back in her chair, tapping her
sandaled foot on the floor while waiting for Tex to talk to her, or
for Julio to drive up. She refused to expose her naiveté any
further. The happy-to-see him glow from earlier evaporated under
the weight of her new-found doubts.

Gee, thanks
Tex
.

He pointed at her, his tone commanding.
“Have fun. Enjoy your time together. We’ve never discussed what
y’all got going on, so I can tell you he’s a private person. That’s
good. Probably means he cares on some level. It just may not be the
same level you’re on.” His brow rose as he speared her. “But that’s
no reason not to have a good time while he’s here.”

The sincerity in his voice, coupled with his
troubled look, convinced her to tread carefully with Julio.
Inhaling, she looked at him, tried to voice her concerns, but found
she couldn’t utter a word to save her life.

She nodded.

Nostrils pinched, he leaned toward her. “No.
Tell me you understand. Tell me you’re going to take this slow and
not get in over your head. I owe you. Big time, but I can’t get
involved in this. He’s my boss and my friend.” Tex held her
gaze.

Realization dawned. She had put him in a
weird spot. “Look, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’m just
nervous, you know,” she mumbled, as her face heated. Why had she
asked him anything about Julio? This was humiliating.

“
I
do
worry about you. You’re my
friend. You looked out for me when I couldn’t. I’ll always remember
that. You’re good peeps and I don’t want you to get hurt.” He
touched the back of her hand. “If you ever need me, I’ll be here.”
Leaning back he chuckled. “Not here on the island per se, but any
time you need me, just call. I’ll have your back.”

She smiled.

“
Got that?”

“
Yeah, I hear you.” She
chuckled as he turned back to the monitor. “I wish I was more
easy-going like Tara. I mean, she has no problems identifying what
she wants and going after it.”

“
You’re not though. Be
you.” He slid her a backward glance. “Trust me, we wouldn’t be
having this conversation if you were more like Tara.”

She tensed. “What do you mean?” she asked in
a sharp tone.

He threw up his hands in a placating manner.
“Don’t get all pissed. I meant your niece, no disrespect. I like
Tara.” He chuckled. “I’m glad she’s the way she is. But, that would
never work for Julio. Just saying.”

Pam’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?
There’s nothing wrong with Tara.”

“
I know. But my man don’t
like easy-going, laid back, I-wanna-get-with-you women. That’s all
I’m saying. Just be you.”

“
Ohhhh…” she said softly.
Julio was shaping up to be an unusual man. “What kind of woman does
he like then?” She sat forward, hands in her lap.

“
Real ones. Soft and
sweet, who smell good. Now stop asking me questions and wait to
find out for yourself.”

“
Sheesh,” she muttered to
his back.

“
I heard that.”

“
So did I.”

Tex whirled around, gun in hand.

Pam jumped up. Her eyes widened at the man
standing in the entryway. “Daddy? When?... I mean, where?” She
shook her head to settle her stomach, which was crazy since it made
her more queasy. Hand on stomach, she forced down the panic
threatening to choke her. When all else fails, fall back on your
manners.

She cleared her throat, not ready for this
confrontation. “Tex, this is Zachary Burrows.” She waved in her
friend’s direction without taking her eyes off her parent.

Tex glanced at her. “Your father?”

“
Un huh,” she said
nodding.

Her father remained silent and didn’t glance
in Tex’s direction. Was she the only one concerned that Tex had
drawn his weapon? She had no clue if he had put it down yet. She’d
never forgive him if he hurt her father. It was an eye-opening
moment. She didn’t wish his death. Okay so she hated him but didn’t
want her friend to kill him. Perhaps she’d be okay with a few
slaps, or maybe a complete beat-down for his years of neglect. What
was acceptable? She was uncertain and that was troubling.

No one spoke.

Exhaling, she swallowed hard and broke the
silence. “What are you doing here?” Since they were at Tex’s place,
the question was relevant.

“
Came to see you. Make
sure you had everyt'ing you needed. But you weren’t at the house.
Why?” His stare penetrated her composed façade. Surely he was
mocking her, except she had no real basis to feel that
way.

“
My stuff’s here. This is
where I’ve been staying since I came to the Island.” She spread her
arms wide.

He frowned. “Why? The look he sent her said
you-can’t-be serious.

Embarrassed for no reason other than his
attitude indicated she should be, she crossed her arms. “I thought
we discussed you asking me questions.”

“
Listen to me.” The quiet
tone of his voice rang with authority. His eyes locked with hers.
“No one would ever hurt you on any of these islands. No one. Do you
understand me? You can go anywhere and be safe. Never be afraid of
coming home. The house is yours, always has been.”

Her reason stuttered at his proclamation.
“Mine? The house, over there where I used to live, you’re saying I
own that house?” she asked, not sure she understood.

“
Yes. I told you that
before. I thought you’d be fixin' it up by now. But you’re over
here.” There was a thread of condemnation in his tone, but she
ignored it.

“
I wasn’t sure that’s what
you meant. I thought… I thought...” She waved her hand as she
struggled to understand the magnitude of the gesture. She had
returned to her childhood home and he had given it to her. “It
doesn’t matter what I thought. I didn’t understand.” Excitement and
gratitude lit a fuse in her. A cautious smile slid on her face. The
man was an enigma. She hadn’t heard from him in years and he gives
her their old house. Comes to check on her when he hadn’t called in
years. What was going on?

“
I want to show you
something.” He waved her over to him.

Uncertain of his motives, she remained in
place. “What?”

He released a breath of exasperation. At
least that’s what it sounded like to her. “Come find out.” He
turned and walked out.

Pam stared for a moment and then followed.
She waved in Tex’s direction. “I’ll see you later.”

Once outside, she noticed he waited for
her.

“
Who is it you like? I
heard you talking in there.”

She blinked away the harsh glare from the
sun to look up at him. “Huh?”

His eyes darkened as he leaned forward. “I
asked who’re you talking about? Who is this man you liking?”

“
You were… you were
listening to my conversation?” Her face heated as she remembered
the more embarrassing parts of the conversation. “Why?” Not that
she cared, but she couldn’t think of a plausible explanation right
now.

He stepped back and looked up. “I need to
get you to the other side of the island.”

Her head shot up. “Not happening?”

“
You going to meet my
people, today, on the other side of the island.” He finally
returned his gaze to her face and she flinched at the determination
etched there.

She inched back and stopped. “No thanks.”
This day she planned to spend with Julio. “I’m not here for a
family reunion. I just want answers. No one has to know I’m here.
In fact I prefer it that way. I want nothing from you.”

“
Enough of these games.
I’m your father and you may not like me but you will respect my
authority.” His voice rose.

Livid, she saw red.

Pam held up her finger. She turned and ran
inside to her room. “Tell me I’m playing a fucking game” she
muttered as she pulled her gun from the box in the closet. “I’ll
show him I respect his damn authority.”

“
More flies with honey
than salt. Remember that,” Tex said from behind her.

“
He wants to take me away
from here,” she said. “I’m not going.” Loaded gun in hand she spun
around and came face to face with Tex. Arms crossed he stared down
at her.

“
Pam do you really want to
draw a gun on your daddy?” His deliberate use of the less formal
title grated her nerves.

“
He’s not my daddy.
He’s…he’s just a biological sperm donor who I owe nothing
to.”

“
You’re a
nurse.”

“
You’re a security guy
who’s standing in my way,” she snapped.

“
How will we get the
answers about Lenora if you mess up now? Plus he’s not just going
to stand there while you pull a gun.”

“
Maybe not, but this will
teach him…” She huffed and closed her eyes. “It won’t teach him a
damn thing. He might even get a kick out of it.”

Tex’s words found fertile ground, her anger
seeped away. She released a deep breath. “He did pay for me to go
to summer camp where they taught me to shoot this thing.” She held
the gun high. “Maybe I can just show him what I learned.”

Tex smirked. “Not this time. He might take
it the wrong way.”

“
I’m mad at him.” She was
furious that he thought he could dictate to her.

“
I think he knows that.
Find a way to get what you need for closure. Remember why you’re
here, stop losing sight of that.”

She glared at him. “Go with him? Is that
what you’re saying?”

“
No. I didn’t say that.
Push aside the resentment for a moment and look at the situation.
What can you do to fulfill your agenda?”

She chuckled. “You’ve been around Julio too
long. Define the problem; find a solution that’s the crap he’s been
talking about.”

Tex smiled. “It works. Seriously, look past
the anger, find a solution.”

Pissed but not overwhelmingly angry she
nodded. She had to check her emotions at the door or she’d never
get any answers. Handing him the gun, she walked toward the door.
“Put that up for me.”

Inhaling, she stepped back onto the porch.
Damn if he’d mess up her agenda. “I have something to do later on.
So I’m not going to the other side of the island today. Maybe in a
couple of days.”

He continued to stare at her.

“
So what did you want to
show me?” She asked to break the silence.

“
I brought some new
furniture for the house. It’s over there. You can see it when you
return in a few days.”

The urge to stamp her foot shot through her.
The man wasn’t listening and she refused to change her mind.
Digging her feet in the sand, she stared him down and spoke slow.
“I’m not leaving here today. Tell them I’ll see them before I leave
at the end of the month if the invitation is still open.” She
shrugged, meeting his kin was low on her list of priorities. “Let
them know I had other plans or whatever. But, I’m not going over
there today.”

“
It’s not safe for you to
stay here.”

Her brows rose. “What? You said I could go
anywhere and nothing would happen to me. What happened to that?”
She couldn’t resist one more dig. “Back to talking out of both
sides of your mouth already?”

“
No!”

Surprised she looked up at him. “No?” She
shrugged and backed up, intending to go inside and leave him alone.
“Call me when you have information on mama. Otherwise we have
nothing to discuss. Don’t bother coming by again, I have everything
I need. Oh, and you can keep the house.”

He stared at her for another moment, and
then released a breath. “Damn, you look like her. Act like her
too.”

Pam stopped. A curl of warmth filled her
belly. “Funny, I remember her saying I look and act like you.” She
was hungry to hear more.

His lips curved into a reluctant grin.
“Yeah, she did. I guess you got a little of me in there.” He
paused. “I’d like for you to leave here for a day or so.”

She thought of Julio and knew she wanted to
be with him. “Yeah, you said that. But I’m not changing my mind.”
Why did he want her to leave? Not for family that’s for sure.

“
Why? For this man you
were talking about? He comes here?”

Their eyes clashed. She hadn’t realized just
how dark his were. “Not that it’s any of your business, but
yeah.”

He closed his eyes and lifted his head to
the sky. The long column of his neck fascinated her. He was just as
dark and tall as she remembered, but he didn’t seem as thick. Both
times she’d seen him this trip, he'd wore a dark jacket with a
hood. She had no idea if he had hair or not. One thing for sure, he
moved quietly. Every time she had seen him, she'd never heard his
approach.

“
You okay?” she asked when
he didn’t say anything.

“
Yeah. I gotta make some
calls. I still want to show you the new stuff at the house.” He
eyed her. “That okay?”

With Tex’s words still ringing in her ears,
she nodded. Maybe she’d learn something about her mom. He patted
her shoulder and turned. As he walked off, Pam had the strangest
feeling something monumental had just happened but couldn’t figure
out what. At any rate she would make sure a car followed them to
insure she didn’t go anywhere but to the house.

Chapter 19