Stealing Home: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel (24 page)

So how did she balance it all?

Mark and Leslie continued to tease each other so she pondered the question. Could she find a way?

Maybe. Family was family, and with it came certain responsibilities. There were things you did no matter how you might feel. But there was also the fact that she deserved a life of her own, too. One full of happiness and enchantment and wonderful, blessed optimism. She wanted to be with Mark.

And that pretty much was that. She’d figure it out.

“Lorelei?”

“Hmm?” she said, tuning back in.

Mark hugged her close with his strong arm and kissed the hair just above her right ear. “What’s on your mind? You got pretty quiet there for a while.”

“I was thinking about Logan and Michelle and that I should check in. It’s been a few days since I’ve been home and I should see how everything’s going.” She tilted her head a bit as he kissed the side of her neck. Little tingles of pleasure darted down her throat. He had such a fantastic mouth.

He worked his way up to her ear, and when he spoke, moist breath washed over it, giving her goose bumps. “Your cell phone is in your purse. Here, you can use mine.” She felt him shift behind her. “Reach in my pocket and grab it. It’s fully charged.”

Now that was a loaded one. Lorelei laughed at the double meaning. Reaching behind her, she felt around for the opening to his pocket and heard his quick intake of breath. “You say the most romantic things, Mark. And those sweet words just capped it.” She found the opening, wiggled her fingers inside. “I’m officially in love.”

He went rigid behind her.

Too late she realized what she’d said. And it was too late to take it back. So even though her heart jumped up and started racing frantically she kept calm and slid her hand all the way into his pocket. “Ah, got it.”

“That’s not my cell phone, sweetheart,” he said, and his voice sounded strange, hoarse.

“Oops, sorry.” No she wasn’t. She’d done it on purpose because she was a bad, bad girl. And she’d wanted to divert his attention.

Suddenly her hand was cradling something fully charged in his pocket and it
wasn’t
his cell phone. Then his body jerked and he growled hotly against her ear, “You’d better not be screwing with me, Lorelei.”

They both knew what he meant.

If her heart beat any faster it could leap right out of her chest and run away. God, could she do it? Did she have the guts to say it? To tell him how she felt even though he probably didn’t feel the same way?

Absolutely.

She wasn’t ashamed of her feelings for Mark. “I’m not messing with you,” she said, and felt his chest expand on a deep breath against her back.

“Say it, then. Let me hear you say it,” he demanded.

Lorelei inhaled deep as she pulled the phone from his pocket, slid it in hers. Then she laced her fingers behind his head and pulled him closer, pressed her cheek to his.

Was this how she was going to declare her love to Mark for the first time?

It was, and her heart leaped at the thrill of it. “I love you, Mark.”

His whole big, strong body shuddered against her. Right there on the sun-warmed patio with thirty or so people milling around eating burgers and drinking from plastic cups. Laughing and having a good time. With Drake Paulson eyeing the pool a little too intimately for her comfort and Leslie a few feet away sitting on John Crispin’s lap drinking keg beer.

It was perfect. It was exhilarating and oh so right.

“God, Lorelei,” he breathed into the crook of her neck. His thick hair tickled the bare skin of her shoulder. “You undo me.”

They stood there, deep in the moment, until JP Trudeau walked in front of them near the pool looking like a surfer boy. He even had the bead necklace and baseball cap on backward to complete his look. It was hard to believe he wasn’t that much younger than Lorelei. He looked like a teenager. JP stopped and said something in French that Lorelei couldn’t understand. But she could tell by the naughty look on his face that it wasn’t very polite.

Suddenly Mark was laughing into her shoulder, his whole body releasing tension. He looked up and smiled at JP.

And that’s when it occurred to her that Mark had understood. “Hey, you speak French?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

She hadn’t known that interesting little fact. Maybe he’d talk dirty to her with it later. “What did the little punk say?”

Mark said something back in French to JP that had the rookie shaking his head and laughing. Then he said to her with a chuckle, “He called me a randy bastard and said if he wanted to watch porn he’d rent a video or hit Drake’s collection.”

Drake had a porn collection
?
Gross. “Oh yeah? Well, what’d you say back?”

“Didn’t you want to call your brother?” Mark said, effectively sidestepping her question.

Oh well, she’d let him have his way for now, but she’d find out later. There were ways to make a man talk. She palmed his phone. The plastic was still warm from his body. “Yes, I did and I do. Is there someplace quiet I can call from?”

He glanced around the patio. When he spotted Peter he called out, “Walskie, come over here for a sec.”

Peter looked up from near the grill and strolled over. When he passed the rookie, he grinned wickedly, whipped his arms out, and shoved hard. The kid hollered and went splashing into the pool. Peter just kept right on walking as JP came up shouting curses at him.

Laughing, Peter blew a kiss to the soaking shortstop and then slapped Mark on the back. “What can I do for ya?”

Men. Did they ever grow up? Lorelei stepped away from Mark and asked around a chuckle, “Is there someplace I can make a call from that’s quiet?”

Peter looked at her and nodded. She noticed for the first time that he had really awesome pale blue eyes. “Sure. If you go upstairs you’ll find a weight room directly on the left. No one should bother you in there. Want me to show you where it is?”

Mark was about to comment, so Lorelei jumped in and cut him off. “No thanks. I’m sure I can find it.” She looked at Mark. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be waiting with bells on,” he said with a sexy grin.

Lorelei was still laughing when she hit the large staircase at the front of the house and jogged up. When she reached the open landing she turned and went left. Her sandals padded softly against the thick, cream-colored Berber. She found the weight room and stepped through, closed the door behind her.

Baseball posters and pictures of half-naked women decorated the beige walls, and super expensive-looking equipment filled the room. Lorelei took a seat on a black weight bench and dialed home. While waiting for Logan to answer she studied the baseball posters. The chicks in bikinis she skipped.

The answering machine picked up and Lorelei was about to hang up when the message came on. “Lorelei? Lorelei where are you? You’re not answering your cell phone. I left messages.” It was Logan’s voice, panicked and shaky.

Her stomach lurched and she gripped the phone until her knuckles were white. Her heart started beating hard as she listened.

“Michelle stopped breathing. Her lungs are failing and she’s been airlifted to Denver Children’s. ” His voice cracked and he continued, “Oh God, what do I do? What do I do if she doesn’t make it?”

Terror flooded her and she thought she was going to puke. Almost did.

Oh God no, please.

“Where the hell are you, Lorelei? You should be here. She needs you to be here.”

Lorelei felt the accusation down to the very core of her, felt it rip her in two. Looking frantically around the room she found a pen on a string by a chart board. But no paper to write on. She shot to her feet and lunged over to an unframed poster and tore off a corner. A sob racked her body as she reached for the pen and her vision blurred as tears pooled in her eyes and spilled over.

This can’t be happening. Oh God. Michelle.

With shaking hands she wrote down the directions that Logan left on the answering machine to the Denver Children’s Hospital. Then turned and raced from the room in utter panic to find Mark so he could drive.

Her mind went blank with shock and she turned the wrong direction in the huge house and wound up in a bedroom. Letting out a cry she ran back down the hall with the directions crumpling in a hand and a fist to her mouth to hold back the flood.

Pushing past people until she burst out on the patio, Lorelei pulled up short and whipped her gaze around until she found Mark.

He turned from a small group and the smile died on his face when he saw her. “Lorelei. What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

The concern in his eyes broke her and she couldn’t talk. Could barely see through the tears. But, God, she wanted him to hold her, comfort her. Tell her Michelle would be all right, that she wouldn’t die.

But she didn’t want him anywhere near her, too. Because all she could think was that it was happening, that her brother’s baby was dying and she hadn’t been there when she was needed the most. And if she’d loved her family as she should, if they’d have been first, she wouldn’t be at some backyard party with Mark.

Logan had left a message on the answering machine because he’d no way to get ahold of her. Because she hadn’t left Mark’s phone number. She’d been too wrapped up in him to even think about it.

“Lorelei. What’s happened? Tell me.” Mark took a step toward her and she shook her head, stopping him.

Finding her voice she said, “Here,” and held out the wrinkled piece of paper. Biting her bottom lip she waited for him to take the directions. She was very close to losing it.

He took the crumpled paper, looked down at it, and said, “What is this?”

She lost it. She didn’t know why, but Mark’s question pushed her right over the edge and she lashed out unnecessarily, viciously. “She’s going to die and it’s your fault!”

He slowly raised his head to look at her, hurt and confusion in his eyes. “What did you just say to me?” he said very quietly.

She hurt so bad inside for Michelle it felt like she was breaking apart. “I never got the money! Don’t you understand? You never let me get the money, and now she’s going to die.” She was being unfair and cruel. She knew it.

Knew it and couldn’t stop it.

M
ARK FELT THE
swift lash of pain and thought he’d entered the twilight zone.

Lorelei stood staring at him, defiance in her watery eyes. How could she possibly think this was his fault? Why was she blaming him? Mark looked around at his friends, at his sister, at those who were witnessing his heart getting spit on by the woman who claimed to love him.

“What happened to Michelle?” he demanded, and wadded the paper into a ball. He wanted so much to go to her and give comfort, but the look she threw him was deadly.

He was about to mention the charity he’d founded and his plans when she rounded on him. “I don’t have time to explain it to you. You’ve already taken me away from where I was needed most, and I let you.”

That wasn’t fair. Didn’t she get that he needed her, too? “Lorelei, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Mark jerked at the power of her response. She fisted her hands, began shaking, and yelled, “I did everything wrong! I got distracted by you, let you in. I let you be important. And this is my penance. This is what I get for being involved with you.”

He didn’t know what to say or do. Lorelei wasn’t thinking straight. “Why don’t you calm down, sweetheart—”

“I can’t calm down!” He took a step toward her. “Stay away from me.”

At a loss, he raised his hands, palms up, and said, “Lorelei, we didn’t do anything wrong. Michelle is just sick. This would have happened whether you were there or not.”

Lorelei turned to go and glared at him over her shoulder. “But you made me fall for you and I lost focus on my goal. I had one job to do and I fucked up. I won’t make that mistake again.”

His throat closed up tight and everything went still. “What do you mean?”

She looked him square in the eyes, hers bright with unshed tears. “I mean that we’re through.”

He shook his head in denial. It couldn’t be. “What about what you told me earlier?”

She didn’t even blink. “I lied.”

Mark stared down at her as pain lashed through him like a bullwhip. She didn’t love him.

And the truth of it nearly killed him.

“Go to hell, Lorelei.” She was just like Dina, just like the rest. When was he ever going to learn?

“Leslie, will you take me to my car?” she stood and asked, dismissing him like he was nothing to her.

He was a fool after all.

Chapter 26

L
ORELEI KNEW EXACTLY
what she had to do. And nothing was going to stop her this time. Shutting out everything else, all the hurt and panic, she focused on the only thing that mattered: saving Michelle.

Leslie shoved open the door to Mark’s condo and Lorelei slid around her. “Thanks for letting me in. I’ll just grab my bag and be right back.” Without waiting for a reply, she strode quickly down the hall to the master bedroom. Once inside she found Mark’s charm exactly where he’d left it when he’d taken it off the night before and forgot to put back on.

She didn’t even hesitate, just grabbed the cross and slipped it in her front pocket as she made her way across the room to her bag. Then she snatched up the small overnight bag she’d brought just in case, threw it over her shoulder, and was back out the door in less than thirty seconds total.

Leslie was still by the front door waiting for her, concern shadowing her beautiful face. “Is there anything I can do, Lorelei? Would you like me to go to the hospital with you?”

She wasn’t going to the hospital.

“I appreciate the offer, Leslie. But I think it’s best if I go by myself. I’ll give you a call later, though, and let you know what’s going on.” Pushing past her, Lorelei forced a smile and glanced over her shoulder as she made her way to the elevator. “I promise.”

But first things first.

They parted ways in the parking garage and Lorelei wasted no time. She’d memorized the address on the scrap of paper Dina had slipped her, knew exactly how to get there. In less than twenty minutes she was pulling into the driveway of Dina Andrews’s lavish home. One look at it confirmed what she’d suspected deep down all along: Mark had lied about the lack of money just to shake her.

Impatience and anxiety pawed at her, making her movements stiff and jerky as she climbed the steps to the front door. Lorelei refused to think of the consequences of what she was doing and pushed the doorbell button. She’d deal with whatever happened—later.

After a few tense, long seconds the door swung open. Dina took one look at her, her cold blue eyes assessing, her posture aloof, dripping Chanel. Then she tossed her pearl blond locks and smiled victoriously. “I knew you wouldn’t fail me. Come on inside.”

Lorelei felt a tremble in the pit of her stomach and forcefully ignored it. Stepped over the threshold and followed Dina through the decadent foyer. The ex-Mrs. Cutter lived well, that was for sure. The place reeked of expensive, high-maintenance woman.

The frigid sound of Dina’s voice grabbed Lorelei’s attention, and she turned her head toward Dina. “I take it things fell apart between you and that illiterate bastard. Can’t say that I’m sorry about it. I always say that good looks fade over time, but stupidity is forever. You’re better off without him.”

Lorelei wasn’t dumb. She knew exactly what the woman was implying. But she didn’t have time to play her catty little games. “Where’s the money, Dina?”

The too slender woman smirked. “Touchy, aren’t you? Does the truth bother you?”

She
bothered her. “I have somewhere to be. So why don’t you just get the money and we can be done with this thing.” She pulled the charm out of her pocket and dangled it briefly, then put it back. “I showed you mine. Now it’s your turn.”

Dina pushed past Lorelei and she caught a whiff of expensive perfume. “I’ve been after that charm of his ever since he walked out. He’s so damn attached to it that I’m going to use it to my advantage.”

A thought occurred to Lorelei. “Is that why you have the restraining order? Were you stalking him?”

She watched the blond sniff a bouquet of red roses that sat on a side table. Then she straightened and said dismissively, “That and the phone calls and the whole hitting thing. He’s such a wuss. Called the cops on me over a little slap. Can you believe it?”

Yeah, actually she could. It was called assault.

The necklace suddenly felt like lead in her pocket. “Look, Dina, I don’t care what you’re going to do with his good luck charm. But we made a deal and I’m here to collect.” Being in Dina’s presence was making Lorelei feel slimy and in need of a shower. It was time to go.

The air changed suddenly and the woman spun, hatred plastered across her face. “I’m going to make him pay out his ass. He’ll give me twenty million to get his cross back because he’s powerless without it. Five million for every year I suffered in that marriage. My best years were wasted on that dumb prick. No matter what I did, he never noticed. Never gave me the attention I deserved. I did everything for him and he didn’t give a shit about me.” She speared Lorelei with a bitter glance. “You’d better get used to it. Get used to playing second fiddle to a goddamn fucking
sport
.”

Lorelei was getting the picture now. In the center of it was a spoiled woman who was used to all the attention and when she didn’t get it, she’d become resentful. And that had eventually festered into a need for revenge.

Her heart went out to Mark. Living with Dina must have been a real bitch.

Restless to get a move on, Lorelei opened her mouth to demand payment when a knock sounded at the door. Shifting her feet on the marble floor of the foyer, she glanced out the window and saw two police officers standing there.

Her stomach plummeted to her feet.

Lorelei almost peed herself. There were cops at the door! Oh God. Had she been followed? Were they there to arrest her? Had Mark turned her in after all? What was she supposed to do now? Panic seized her in its white-hot grip.

She looked around frantically for a place to hide as Dina strode toward the door. The small cross poked into her, branding her with its presence. Running on instinct, she whipped it out quickly and slipped it over her head. She was just tucking it under her shirt when the door swung open.

“Hello, Officers,” Dina said, all solicitous. “What can I do for you?”

A tall, dark-haired cop responded, his voice a practiced neutral. “Dina Andrews?”

Lorelei’s knees shook and her stomach pitched hard. She was going to jail. She just knew it. Michelle was going to die in the hospital while she was arrested for stealing the one thing that was supposed to save her.

This had to be her karmic payback.

Wanting more than anything to melt into the floor and slip under the door, Lorelei frowned instead when Dina tossed her a look over her bony shoulder. What was that supposed to mean? If she wasn’t so scared right now, she’d think that look was something close to fear.

Trying to become the wall, she watched as Dina tossed her hair. Then the woman straightened her back, breathed in deep, and said, “That’s me.”

The tall cop in the slick shades stepped forward, reaching behind him at the same time. “Dina Andrews, you’re under arrest for violation of a restraining order.”

Sweet holy God. Relief poured through Lorelei like the Niagara. They weren’t after her.

“You’re crazy. You can’t arrest me!” Dina yanked her arm out of the officer’s grasp and tried to walk away. The officers detained her real quick.

“I advise you, Ms. Andrews, to cooperate. Security footage places you two nights ago at the residence parking garage of the party on your order. You are in clear violation. We were also informed by security there that a piece of jewelry is missing from the same party. Know anything about that?”

So much for relief. Lorelei’s whole body clenched up tight. The cross under her shirt seemed to throb with life, and the skin beneath the metal cross itched like mad, as if it had suddenly developed an acute allergic response to gold. She felt like she was stuck in an Edgar Allan Poe story. Could anybody else hear the frantic pound of her heartbeat?

Dina began cursing as the officers clamped her wrists in handcuffs. Lorelei watched with wide eyes as Mark’s ex jerked a hand free and pointed an accusing finger at her. “I didn’t take anything. It’s her! She has it, I swear. In her pocket. Check her pocket!” Her voice ended on a shrill note.

Lorelei froze.

The other officer, a balding, middle-aged man with a mustache, gave her a thorough once-over. “Ma’am, do you know what this woman is talking about?”

Like a deer in the headlights, she just stood there, blinking hard. The cop kept his eyes steady on her, waiting for a response. She must have been too slow, because she saw him sigh and begin walking toward her. “I’m going to have to ask you to empty your pockets, ma’am.”

Over his bulky shoulder, she saw Dina beam, even as she fought against the cuffs. Blood pounded in her ears as the cop stopped directly in front of her. Finding her voice, she said shakily, “Yes, Officer.” Her hands trembled so hard she could barely get them in her pockets. With her stomach flopping and her heart racing, she pulled the cotton liner out from each pocket.

They were empty.

The officer took them both in, stared for long silent moments. They were some of the longest of her life. After what felt like eons, his grizzled mustache twitched and he looked up at her. “Sorry for the inconvenience, ma’am. You can be on your way.”

Lorelei wanted to collapse right there on the floor, in a big ol’ puddle of relief-filled tears.

Dina yanked against her restraints and yelled, “No! She has it, I swear! Arrest her!” Eyes frosty with loathing pinned Lorelei. “Where did you put it, you lying bitch?”

How she managed to shrug was beyond her, but it pissed Dina off. The blond lurched for her, screaming. It took both officers to restrain her and escort her to the squad car. The woman yelled all kinds of retribution until the door was shut on her. Her outburst had garnered the attention of the neighbors, and several watched the commotion through their front windows.

Lorelei kept at the edges of the cops’ periphery and walked as slowly and normally as she could to her car. Once inside, she nodded at the uniformed men and shifted into gear. Fear still skittered just under her skin and pulled at the thread of her composure as she steered down the long drive. Mark’s necklace rested between her breasts and she drove away, keenly aware of its presence. She kept glancing in the rearview mirror until Dina’s house and the police car were out of view.

Then she released a trembling breath and raked an unsteady hand through her hair. That had been so close! Wanting to give in to the adrenaline letdown, she pushed on instead and headed toward Denver Children’s.

There was no money. It was over.

Heartache and acceptance settled over her as she navigated the streets. Her entire family was at the hospital and she wasn’t going to waste another minute being away from them.

She hoped to God it wasn’t too late.

L
ORELEI DROVE LIKE
a madwoman and made it to the hospital in record time. By the time she hit the ICU doors she was at a dead run. And she dang near plowed her brother over. She
did
spill coffee down his denim shirt, making him swear.

“Damn it, Lorelei.” Logan fanned the shirt with his right hand, then took a pull of what coffee was left in the Styrofoam cup. “Watch where you’re going.”

Bracing her hands on the sides of his rawboned face, she took a moment to calm her racing heart and studied her brother. For the first time Lorelei noticed the fine lines that had etched prematurely around his deeply tanned face, the worry line between his brows. There were deep circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and worry. But there were no shadows
in
them. She chose to take that as a good sign. “How is your baby, Logan?”

At that question Logan smiled, slowly, devastatingly. It reached all the way to his eyes and lit the dark brown depths. “She’s going to be just fine, string bean. She’s being prepped for surgery right now. You can thank your baseball player for that.”

Her brows pulled down in confusion. “What do you mean? What does Mark have to do with anything?”

Logan put his free hand on her elbow and tried to lead her down the long hallway, but her feet were rooted to the spot. He tugged until she lost balance, then began walking and explaining as he pulled her along. “Your ballplayer has a charity, Lorelei, that gives grants to children suffering from potentially terminal illnesses.”

Lorelei stumbled. “He does not.”

“Does so.” Logan kept on walking, his long stride eating up ground.

She didn’t believe it. “What’s the name of it?”

They rounded a corner and Logan took another sip of coffee. “Sunny Days Foundation. A representative came to see me a few hours ago with some paperwork and a grant that covers all of Michelle’s medical costs. Your baseball player set it all up. Apparently he’d wanted to surprise us, but Michelle was hospitalized before he could tell you about it. He’s a right good man, Lorelei. Don’t you let him go, you hear?”

After what she’d done today she seriously doubted she’d have a choice in the matter. Once Mark knew the truth he’d want nothing to do with her ever again. She’d stolen something priceless from him. But, much worse than that, she’d hurt a man who’d overcome so much adversity and deserved her respect and admiration. Instead, he’d received anger and nastiness. And after all that he’d still done this for her—for her family. She’d blamed him, and he’d been setting this up all along.

The shame she’d sworn earlier wouldn’t get to her suddenly ate a hole through the wall of righteousness she’d built and took a big, fat, guilt-ridden bite.

God, what a day. She needed a drink . . . and a plan. Mark had her love and Lorelei was going to make things right between them. No matter what it took.