The Sound of Consequence (Puget Sound ~ Alive With Love Book 1) (21 page)

She captured dark eyes with thick lashes, wavy, black hair that fell past the fairy’s shoulders and thick, pouty lips that spread across her face when she smiled. Stacie made notes about the dress and settled on a bright green with dark blue trim and crystal beads to accent the bodice.

Hours later when she was done with her sketch and the story, Stacie tried to watch the people come and go and imagine what their lives were like, and what it was about Starbucks that drew them there.

Stacie soon realized that the people weren’t interesting enough to distract her from the discovery she’d made that morning. Owen not only had a daughter, he also had two ex-wives.

There was only one reason why he hadn’t told Stacie. He was hiding something. Something horrible. Maybe that’s why he kept pressing her for details about her panic and the nightmare.

She could drive herself crazy thinking about it, so she opted to head home and hopefully get some painting done.

Jenny stood at the dining table and Stacie barely registered that her best friend was flipping through the sketchpad Owen had given her.

“Hey,” Jenny called over her shoulder.

“Hey Jenny,” she replied, walking to the refrigerator to find something for dinner.

“You look distressed, girlfriend.”

Distressed was an understatement. It was in her best interest to forget about Owen, his ex-wives, his daughter, and whatever horrible thing he was hiding. Stacie grunted, uninterested in sharing the entire sordid drama.

Jenny’s sudden gasp drew Stacie’s attention.

“Holy hell,” she said, fanning herself. “This picture is HOT!”

Oh, good Gatsby! Stacie hadn’t intended for anyone to see that drawing of Owen. She rushed over to the table and tried to close the pad, but Jenny wasn’t having it.

“Stace, this is incredible. When did you draw this?”

“Yesterday,” she sighed. It seemed like a lifetime ago, before things got complicated. The day in the park, and making love on the beach had been so romantic.

Stop thinking that way, she told herself. It was just sex and it was over. That was the smart, rational decision.

“So, what, he didn’t like the drawing?”

“No, it’s not that. He hasn’t seen the drawing. I didn’t want anyone to see it.” Stacie managed to get the pad away from Jenny and clutched it to her chest.

“Girlfriend, you look like the girl I kicked out of the condo the other night. What’s up?”

Jenny was relentless on her best day. Stacie knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid the subject forever, so she may as well give it up now. “I found some stuff out, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“Dish,” Jenny commanded.

“He’s been divorced twice and has a daughter he’s only allowed to see once a year, for a supervised visit.”

“Why?” Jenny asked.

“I don’t know. He must have done something horrible, otherwise why we he hide it?”

“What, wait? He won’t tell you why?”

“He didn’t tell me at all. I found out.”

“And exactly how did you find out?” Jenny’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Stacie was embarrassed about the snooping. She’d never done anything like that before. It was incredibly immature. If Owen had done that to her, she’d have lost all respect for him.

“Remember that painting I told you about?” Stacie hoped to stall long enough to make it look like she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Jenny nodded. “The one with the pine tree.”

“Well, I looked at the back of it and it said
To Daddy
. So I looked at some papers and found out the rest.”

“Where was Owen while you were snooping through his things?” Jenny winked, her approving expression a complete contrast to the accusation in her words.

“I wasn’t snooping. It was more like a scavenger hunt. I found one clue and that led me to the next.”

Jenny cocked her head and Stacie knew she wasn’t off the hook, so she recapped the whole adventure, hoping Jenny wouldn’t judge too harshly.

“First of all, shame on you for snooping,” Jenny said proudly, extending her arm to give Stacie a high five. “I didn’t think you had it in you. Second, you need to talk to him about it. He’s been nothing but sweet and romantic with you. Maybe it’s not something horrible. Or does it bother you? The two ex-wives? The daughter?”

Stacie sighed. “It doesn’t bother me. At least I don’t think it does. But what if he has this horrible secret, something he did, and that’s why he hasn’t told me about them?”

Stacie paused for a moment, letting go of another sigh. “I don’t want to care anyway. This is just supposed to be a fling. I didn’t come here to get wrapped up with some guy, so I really shouldn’t care. It’s just sex. See, that’s it, I don’t care.”

Jenny sat back, raising her eyebrows at Stacie. “OK, Sybil.”

“I do not have multiple personalities.”

“Maybe not, but the other thing is pretty obvious.”

“What other thing?”

“Girl, you’re in love with him.”

Stacie shot a dirty look at Jenny. She couldn’t be in love with Owen. It was exactly what she didn’t want. It was just his sex appeal, the appeal for his sex, stirring all the emotion.

“Have you told him about Greg?” When Stacie groaned, Jenny went on. “Well there ya go. Tit for tat. You tell him about Greg, maybe he’ll tell you about his daughter.”

“I don’t know,” Stacie said on a sigh.

If she told Owen about Greg and everything else, then she would be admitting this was more than a fling, admitting that she was falling in love with him. Or that the falling part had already happened and she was head over heels.

Great Gatsby.

“Or you can continue with this ridiculous internal struggle you’re having and be as miserable as you were with Greg. At least with Owen, there’s some passion and excitement. And you glow. The glow looks damn good on you.” Jenny came around the table and put her arms around Stacie. “It’s OK to let yourself love…and be loved.”

~~~

Owen had been staring at the paining for nearly an hour, nursing a beer that was now warm.

He missed Stacie. The ferry ride home had been lonely enough, but when he got back and found the note, his heart nearly splintered.

She’d heard him and his cowardly whisper that morning. She’d heard those words and she’d bolted.

But she hadn’t bolted right away, if the crooked placement of the painting was any clue. Had she taken it down and seen the message on the back? If she hadn’t heard his cowardly whisper, maybe the thought of him having a daughter spooked her.

If that was the case, how would she feel when she found out he had two ex-wives? And why he couldn’t see Hailey?

Hailey Belle. The one good thing in his life. Well, at least until Stacie had come along.

He took a swig from the bottle and forced the warm brew down his gullet. Thinking the Internet might distract him from missing Stacie and wondering why she bolted, he dragged his sorry ass into the spare bedroom and proceeded to check his e-mail.

Owen stretched his neck and spotted the safe, about four feet away from where he’d left it.

“How’d you end up there?”

The problem was Owen knew how it ended up there. The painting was crooked, the safe had been moved, and Stacie was gone. Shit always happened in threes.

The suffocating in his chest told Owen he’d likely seen the last of Stacie. He’d hoped she was different, but turns out she was just like every other woman he’d attempted to date. As soon as they found out about the baggage he was lugging, they were history.

He couldn’t blame them. Smart women didn’t want a broken man, and with his track record, it was obvious that he couldn’t be fixed.

On that note, he went to the fridge and popped the cap off another beer. If he couldn’t be with Stacie tonight, he was going to drink the thought of her away. Or at least pass out trying.

Stacie had had the longest
night of her life. Her mind raced with thoughts of Owen, her brain making up one scenario after another to explain why he couldn’t see his daughter.

All the mind churning led to hours of tossing and turning. Despite the sleepless and lonely night, and the long, unproductive day, she’d made a decision. She wasn’t going to judge Owen by his past. She was also done keeping hers from him.

She wanted to be with him and not just sexually. It was a revelation she mulled over for countless hours. The fact was, she really cared about the man and if she was going to be completely honest, Jenny was right. She was in love with him. Even though it had been years since she’d felt that stir in her heart, she recognized it, along with the longing when she wasn’t with him.

Promising herself that when that longing stopped, she’d end the relationship instead of hanging on the way she had with Greg, Stacie decided it was OK to allow the relationship to grow. Of course, if she was going to be honest with herself and look at it with a little perspective, it was growing despite her efforts to keep it casual.

It’d happened fast, so fast that she still wondered if it was possible. Stacie had never believed in love at first sight, nor the power of chemistry, but apparently both existed. Either that or Stacie was insane. The jury was still out.

The sun was still bright in the sky as she made her way through SoDo to the ferry. She planned to catch the 6:45 ferry out of Seattle to meet Owen when he boarded at 7:55 in Bremerton.

She stepped lightly in three-inch heels with wide red straps that matched the straight-line red dress she’d bought on her shopping adventure. Even though the stretchy cotton clung to her curves, it wasn’t nearly as snug as the black dress Jenny had given her. This one was still a little more risqué than Stacie was used to wearing, fitting the new image of being a sexy, successful writer and artist. She noticed a few men looking at her as she meandered to the waterfront, but what made her smile was picturing Owen’s face when he spotted her.

Stacie had intended to leave her hair down because Owen liked it that way. But it was windy so she opted to pull the thick waves into a twist and clipped it. It’d come down easy enough when they got back to her place. She hoped he’d be amused by the fact that she lived right across the hall.

Stepping into the terminal, she spotted the ferry crossing Elliot Bay. Her heart beat a little faster and butterflies danced freely to the beat of what must be some crazy techno. Stacie had no idea what she was going to say when she saw Owen. She hoped he’d just kiss her and they could move forward from there.

“You look nice,” a familiar voice stopped her dead in her tracks. She’d forgotten Greg was in Seattle, distracted by all the time she’d been spending with Owen.

As she tried not to let panic set in, Stacie turned to find Greg sitting just a few feet away. He had a smug grin pasted on his face and all she could think about was smacking it off him. It looked like he’d just been to a groomer, his blond hair perfectly feathered above his ears, the blue alligator shirt tucked into khaki slacks, not a wrinkle to be found. Good Gatsby, he was boring.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped.

“I’ve been looking for you for a week,” he said as he stood up from the bench and walked over to her. He leaned in and tried to kiss her. Stacie turned away, disgusted by his advance.

She stepped back and looked at him for a long moment, unable to say a word. Nothing about him excited her. She blinked hard a few times, hoping to make him disappear. Each time she opened her eyes, he was still there. Had he finally managed to follow Jenny home and discover where they lived, then followed her here? Or was this just a coincidence?

“How did you find me here?” she asked.

“I didn’t,” he said, looking away from her for a moment and pausing. “It’s a nice day, so I decided to check out the ferry. I was hoping to watch the sun set. Maybe we can do that together.”

Romantic gestures weren’t his forte and neither was lying. Whenever he looked away and paused like that, she knew he was full of it.

“What do you want, Greg?” She decided not to call him out on the lie. She really just wanted him to go away so she could get on the boat and meet Owen.

“It’s time to come home, Stace. You don’t have to finish out the school year, but running away like this isn’t going to fix anything.” He placed his hand on her arm. “No harm done, OK? You can come home and we can just pick up the pieces. We can forget the last couple of months ever happened. I know I wasn’t there for you after the accident. I realize now how traumatic it must have been. I know it changed you. It doesn’t have to change us.”

Stacie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was delusional. She wasn’t going back to Maine, not with him, not for him, not for her old job. She was starting a new life here. She wasn’t just on a vacation.

Of course, this was her fault. It was the consequence of leaving without a word. Not even a note. She’d been a coward, but she didn’t trust herself to follow through if he was there to talk her out of it. She had the courage now, though. She’d done it and there was no going back.

Pushing his hand off her arm, Stacie stepped back and realized the people walking by them had just gotten off the ferry. She needed to get him to leave so she could meet Owen.

When the tingle traveled down the back of her neck, she knew Owen was behind her. She hoped she was wrong, but every time she got that sensation, he was there.

“Baby, is this guy bothering you?” he asked as he put his hands to her waist, his warm breath passing over her ear.

“This guy happens to be her fiancé.” Greg took a step closer and stuck out his chest. “Who the hell are you?”

Stacie wanted to laugh at Greg’s gesture. He was small compared to Owen and he was more flab than muscle. Unless that had changed in the last several weeks, he didn’t stand a chance against Owen.

Then she realized what he’d said. Fiancé? Hadn’t he gotten the message when she left the ring on the table and packed all her things? Obviously not, since he was here in Seattle.

“I’m her boyfriend,” Owen said, a natural confidence in his voice as though he’d said the same words a thousand times.

Greg snickered. “Boyfriend? Jenny set this up, didn’t she? That little bitch has been trying to break us up for years.”

“You know what, you need to leave. Why I came here is none of your business. We’re over. We were over long before we broke up.” Stacie tried to be tactful, to keep her anger leashed, but calling Jenny a bitch, on top of thinking the engagement was still on was like pouring gasoline on a smoldering fire.

“I’m not leaving without you.” Greg grabbed her arm and squeezed as he tugged her away from Owen. A wave of emotions swarmed her, the same panic she’d felt before. She still couldn’t visualize the memory. She stumbled back, overwhelmed by the sense of terror that raced through her.

Owen stepped out from behind her and placed himself between her and Greg.

“The lady asked you to leave.” Owen’s voice was calm, controlled, as his muscular body towered over Greg. Stacie was sure Owen could hurt Greg if he wanted to. And he looked like he wanted to.

Greg clamped down on Stacie’s arm, to the point that his grip hurt. As she tried to pry his fingers open with her free hand, he grabbed even tighter and jerked her toward him, stepping to the side of Owen to avoid the obstruction.

“You her body guard too?” Greg snarled.

“If I need to be. Now let her go.”

“Why? You think she wants to leave with you?”

“Maybe she does. Maybe she doesn’t. We both know she doesn’t want to leave with you.”

“Greg, let me go,” Stacie commanded, trying to pull her arm away.

Greg dropped her arm and backed away when Owen stepped in front of her again. 

Stacie blinked back the tears as she hid behind Owen. Her impulse to leave Maine without saying a word to Greg was obviously a mistake. What could she say now? And with Owen standing there?

The whole situation was a disaster. She wasn’t good at making decisions when it came to relationships. She’d been foolish enough to stay with Greg for years when she wasn’t in love with him. And she’d been foolish enough to have sex with a man she didn’t know just to experience the pleasure of it. Now she was standing here trapped by the two of them.

“I’m so out of here,” she whispered and stepped back from Owen. Stacie hoped they’d keep doing their alpha male thing long enough for her to make an escape. 

As she found her way out of the terminal, she wasn’t sure where to go. The sandals prevented her from being able to run, so she set off at as quick a pace as she could manage.

Going home wasn’t an option, afraid one or both of them would follow. After she crossed the pedestrian bridge that led to First Avenue, Stacie turned left, away from the condo. Just a few blocks away was the pub she and Owen had gone to last week. That was as good a hiding place as any. When she got there, out of breath and anxious, she found a table tucked into an alcove and sat where she  wouldn’t be seen. The same server they’d had before came over.

“All alone tonight, hon?” Trudy asked, smacking her gum.

“Yeah,” Stacie said, looking beyond the woman to see if she’d been followed. “I’ll have an Alaskan Amber.”

Trudy sashayed back to the bar and returned just a couple of minutes later with Stacie’s beer. Stacie wrestled a ten out of her purse. “Keep it.”

She chugged the ale, drinking half of it in one go, then put it down and tried to breathe. She hadn’t wanted a man in her life and suddenly she had two. What was up with Owen showing up like that? He wasn’t supposed to be on that ferry. And the whole claiming to be her boyfriend thing. They had talked about that, agreed that wasn’t where their relationship was heading. Never mind that she’d decided otherwise. That had been a moment of weakness that thank Gatsby she hadn’t shared with Owen. So what gave him the right to claim her?

Her forearm was red and tender where Greg had squeezed so tightly. “Jerks,” she said, picking up her glass to take another long drink.

Owen’s arrival was obvious when Stacie’s neck got all tingly, so she wasn’t surprised when he came around the alcove. He stood there while she avoided looking at him. Instead, she took another drink, curious as to how Owen always seemed to find her.

“Baby, we need to talk.”

Stacie looked up to find him in full defensive stance, his arms were folded across his flexed chest, his legs shoulder width apart. He looked angry, his dark eyes narrowed and his lips stretched in a thin line of disapproval.

An hour ago, she was ready to tell him anything, everything, but seeing Greg reminded her of the mistakes she was trying to leave behind.

“I don’t want to talk.” She looked away, focused on the dew on the side of the glass. It was cold and she wanted to press it against her face to cool the fever that was steeping.

Trudy returned. “Another one?”

“Yeah,” Stacie responded under Owen’s more stern “No.”

“Yes,” Stacie repeated, matching the same tone Owen used. He was not making any decisions for her tonight. Or ever.

The server quickly departed, not asking Owen if he wanted anything. Stacie finished the beer and wished Owen away. Apparently she didn’t have the magical prowess of Prospero since Owen continued to glower at her.

When Trudy returned, Owen handed her a twenty and told her that’d be it for them for tonight. She nodded and scurried away. Smart girl. This little corner of the bar was about to turn into a warzone.

“Tell me about the fiancé,” Owen demanded as Stacie took a long chug.

When she couldn’t swallow another gulp, she put the glass down and played with the dew, saying nothing.

“I haven’t pushed, Stacie. You didn’t want to tell me about yourself, I didn’t push. But I think you owe me an explanation.”

He had excellent control of his temper. That was probably from years of practice. It was likely that temper that had gotten him limited and supervised visitation with his daughter. Once a year.

“I don’t owe you anything,” she spat, slamming her glass down on the table. “You’re not my boyfriend.”

“Baby, please,” he pleaded, reaching for her hand. “If it’s that awful, let me help you leave it behind.”

Pulling her hand back, Stacie palmed the beer and finished it off.

“It’s not awful,” she said, a partial lie. The accident had been awful, Audrey’s death devastating. “It’s boring. It’s insignificant. I’ve got nothing on your life. Two ex-wives and a daughter. What else are you hiding behind your charm and sexy accent?”