Red Zone (17 page)

“Because men suck.”

He laughed. 

“Sorry,” she said, not appearing to be that remorseful. 

“It’s okay,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “So you’ve had a lot of trouble with men, then?”

Megan took another long pull on her beer, emptying it. “You got another?” 

“Yeah, behind the bar in the fridge.” He motioned over his shoulder. 

She slid off her chair, causing the skirt she was wearing to ride up to indecent places. Other than acknowledging the event, his body didn’t react. Megan was an attractive woman, and she’d already made it clear that she’d have no problems having
a
little fun
if he was willing. He wasn’t. For reasons he didn’t quite understand, Rebecca was the only one his body seemed to be interested in, and she was too busy trying to rebuild those walls of hers. 

“I always pick the wrong guys.” Megan’s voice floated up from behind the bar. She reappeared a minute later with another beer in her hand. “I trust them too easily, and they break my heart every time,” she said, retaking her seat at the table. “Sometimes I wish I could be more like my sister, but then again, I don’t think I could be a monk.”

Unfortunately for Gage, he’d chosen that same moment to take a drink of his water and nearly choked. “Your sister’s not a monk.”

“And how would you know?” Megan asked. Her eyes were wide, innocent. He knew she was anything but. 

“Not a chance,” Gage said, getting up. “I’ve got some calls to make. Make yourself at home.”

Megan laughed, and he joined in, shaking his head. The next few days should be fun.

On the way to his room, Gage noticed Rebecca’s door was open, her room empty. He hadn’t seen her on the main level, so he assumed she was outside doing whatever it was she did out there every day. That, and avoiding him, of course. 

Shaking off those thoughts for the moment, he shut his door, picked up the phone, and dialed. It rang several times before someone answered. 

“Hello?”

“Hey, Ma. How are you?”

“Busy as always. Your father is outside trying to help Trent with some sort of pruning he insists has to be done before winter. I don’t know. You know me. I’ve never been the one with the green thumb. That’s all your father and brother.” 

“I’m sure Trent can handle anything Dad comes up with,” he said, smiling. He missed his family more than he’d care to admit most of the time. Trent, who was four years older than him, lived just outside Cincinnati where their parents lived. Out of the four brothers, Trent was the one who typically helped around their parents’ house the most, since he lived closest. Gage, being the farthest away, was home the least. He didn’t let it get to him often, but there were times such as these when he wished he could be closer to his mom and dad. 

“Is everything okay, Gage? You’re still coming for Thanksgiving, aren’t you?” He could hear the worry in her voice.

“Yeah. I’m still coming, don’t worry.”

He heard her release a breath she’d been holding. “Good. I’m so looking forward to having all my boys here this year. Elizabeth will be joining us, too. I can’t wait until the wedding. She’s perfect for Chris.”

“Wedding?”

“Your brother didn’t tell you?”

“No.” He frowned. Even though he hadn’t talked to his brother on the phone for about a month, he would have thought that would be something important enough to warrant a phone call. 

“Oh.” She paused. “Maybe he was waiting to tell you in person since he knows you’re coming home for the holiday.”

“Maybe.” Gage tried not to let it bother him too much. His mom was probably right. Chris was most likely waiting until he could make the announcement in person. It made sense. 

“Ma, the reason I called . . . ”

“Yes?” she prompted when he didn’t continue right away.

“I’m going to be bringing a girl with me.
Two
girls, actually.”

She was silent for several long heartbeats. “Gage Lucas Daniels, I don’t usually say anything about how you live your life, but I will not have you bringing any of those women you . . . you do what you do with into my house for family time, do you hear me?”

He lowered his head, shame hitting him full force. His mom never said anything about all the women he went through on a regular basis, but he’d known on some level she was disappointed in him because of it. “It’s not like that. Rebecca . . . she’s my . . . girlfriend, and her sister showed up last night. It’s a long story. I don’t really know it all, but it looks like she’s going to be sticking around for at least a little while. I was hoping to bring Rebecca with me, and I didn’t think it would be a good idea to leave her sister here alone.” There. He’d said it. 

His mother was quiet for a long time, and he began to get nervous. He had no idea what he’d do if she said no. 

“You have a girlfriend?”

“Yes.” He felt bad lying to his mom, but it couldn’t be helped. 

“Is it serious?” Gage could hear the excitement in her voice. 

“It’s still pretty new, but . . . I like her.” To most people that would have sounded lame, but his mother knew him better than most. 

“I can’t wait to meet her, Gage. I’m happy for you.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, Ma, okay? I mean, we’ve only been dating a short time and—”

“I don’t care. You haven’t brought a girl home since high school. Of course she’s welcome. And her sister. All the bedrooms will be full, but I’m sure we can figure out something. The couch folds out. I was thinking maybe you and Trent, but—”

“You don’t need to do that. I can get us hotel rooms.”

“Nonsense. You’ll all stay here and that’s that. I won’t hear of anything else.”

He chuckled. “Okay, Ma. Whatever you say.”

A few minutes later, he hung up with his mom and placed the receiver back on the nightstand. Thanksgiving should be interesting. For the first time in years, the Daniels clan would all be back under one roof. 

Chapter 15

Rebecca was on her way to her sister’s room when Gage ambushed her. She’d just come from another patrol of the outside. Normally, she only went out once a day, but she found being outside in the cooling temperatures a better alternative to being in the house trying to avoid him. All her efforts were moot, however, when she turned the corner, and there he was. 

“Hi, beautiful.” He smiled, causing her insides to do somersaults again. 

She put on her game face. “Hello, Mr.—”

He moved fast, wrapping his right arm around her waist, pulling her front flush against his chest. “Oh no you don’t. You’re not starting with the whole
Mr. Daniels
thing again.”

Palms flat against his torso, she tried to push herself off him or at least gain some distance. She didn’t get far, and he followed her step for step until her back was against the wall. “I need to go check on my sister.” Rebecca hated how weak she sounded, how much power this man had over her. She steadied herself and tried again. “I need to make sure she’s okay.” 

“Megan’s fine,” he said, crowding her more. He held her firmly in place with his arm while he took his other hand and ran his fingers down the side of her cheek, her neck. She closed her eyes, trying to resist. She
needed
to resist, get back onto stable ground with him. 

“Everything’s set for this weekend. I talked to my mom and let her know you and your sister were coming with me,” he said, his lips brushing against her cheek. 

“What . . . what did you tell her . . . them . . . your family?” It was difficult to concentrate when he was this close.

She felt his lips curve into a smile against the side of her face. “I told her I was bringing my girlfriend and her sister. She’s very excited to meet you.”

“Gage—”

He chuckled and leaned back. “See. That wasn’t so hard was it?”

It took her a moment to grasp what he was saying. When she finally did, it reaffirmed what she knew she had to do. She took a deep breath, her chest brushing against his, distracting her from her purpose. “I think . . . I think we need to go over some guidelines . . . for the weekend.”

Ignoring her, he asked, “What did you tell your sister about why you’re here with me?”

He shifted his position a little to give her some breathing room. Not much, but she’d take what she could get. “She knows I’m here on assignment. I didn’t go into detail. She didn’t ask.” When he didn’t say anything more, she took her opening and slid out from between him and the wall. 

Once she was a few feet away, she chanced a look back at him. He was standing there with a huge smirk on his face. His cocky grin told her he’d been waiting for her to do just that. 

He stood his ground, hands casually in his back pockets, and said, “This weekend . . .”

“Yes?” she asked when he didn’t continue.

He chuckled and walked away, leaving her standing in the middle of the hall feeling like a fool. She should have known better than to try to establish rules of conduct with a man like Gage. He’d made it perfectly clear on any number of occasions that he wasn’t interested in her rules, especially ones that would create professional distance between them. 

Sighing, she walked the remaining steps to her sister’s room and knocked, hoping she was loud enough to be heard over the music coming from inside. 

Quicker than she thought possible, the volume of the music was lowered, and the door opened. Megan stood in the doorway looking very different than how she had just over an hour ago playing cards downstairs. The woman before her had red, bloodshot eyes from crying, along with a few fresh trails of tears on her cheeks. She also had a smudge of chocolate running from the corner of her mouth where she’d probably stuffed a huge piece in. Megan always went for chocolate when she was feeling down.

Seeing her sister so disheveled, Rebecca opened her arms. Megan fell into them silently, the tears resuming. They stood there for several long minutes before Rebecca maneuvered them back into the room and over to the bed. She brushed the twenty or so mini candy wrappers out of the way and sat them both down. 

“You want to talk about it?” 

“Not really,” Megan mumbled into Rebecca’s shoulder. 

“Okay.” Rebecca continued to hold her sister, trying to comfort her as best she could. She hated seeing her like this.

They were quiet for a long time before Megan began talking, as Rebecca knew she would. “They always seem so great and then . . . am I so horrible? Why can’t they love me the way I love them?”

“You’re not horrible, Megan. You have a big heart, that’s all. One day you’ll find someone. The right someone,” she clarified. 

“You haven’t.” 

Rebecca knew her sister hadn’t said it to be cruel, but she cringed anyway. 

“Sorry,” Megan mumbled.

“No, it’s okay. You’re right. I haven’t.”

Megan sat up, wiping the moisture from her cheeks with the backs of her hands. “What about Gage? I like him, and I think he likes you.”

Rebecca shook her head. “I told you. He’s an assignment.”

“Uh-huh. What I saw in the hallway didn’t look like he was only an assignment.”

She blanched. “It’s not . . .” What was she supposed to say? “I’m here to do a job.”

“You can’t do your job and get some action at the same time?”

Rebecca’s eyes widened in shock at her sister’s blunt comment. 

Megan laughed, her melancholy momentarily forgotten. “Look, I know I’m not always the best judge of character when it comes to guys, but he really seems to like you. What’s the harm in having a little fun?”

“It’s not professional?”

Her sister waved her protest away. “Becca, I love you, but you’re too serious. You need to learn to live a little. Enjoy life. I saw the way you reacted to him. It’s not going to hurt anything to have a little fun, and I think tapping that . . . you could have a whole lot of fun.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That was crude.”

“But true.” Megan shrugged and reached for a piece of chocolate, handing it over to her sister. “You like him, right?”

Rebecca sighed. She was through lying. “Yeah. I do.”

Megan smiled. 

“I know I make some stupid mistakes when it comes to guys, but you know what?” She paused, putting another mini candy bar in her mouth and chewing. “I don’t want to have any regrets. Even if I make mistakes along the way, at least I know I tried. I know our parents were screwed up, Becca, but don’t let their mistakes keep you from living.”

Rebecca looked at her sister, and for the first time she didn’t see the teenager she’d all but raised. “When did you grow up and get so smart?”

“Eh,” Megan said, bumping her sister’s shoulder playfully. “I think it happened somewhere between Texas and Chicago. Mostly, though, I learned it from my big sister.”

Gage loaded the last of the luggage into the back of his SUV. It was just after two on Wednesday afternoon, and Rebecca and her sister were already in the vehicle waiting on him. Unless they ran into traffic, they would arrive at his parents’ house just in time for dinner. 

The last two days had been interesting. His original impression of Megan had been accurate. She was the complete one-eighty of her sister. And as he’d gotten to know her, he liked her more and more. She was fun, easygoing, and able to let her hair down when the situation called for it. He’d seen glimpses of sadness every so often, but for the most part, she was trying her best to move on from whatever had happened with her boyfriend.