Sweet Heart (The Hearts of Sawyers Bend Book 2) Page 13

  I was stirring in a spoonful of honey when headlights flashed below the kitchen window. A door opened and shut, followed by another.

  Voices, one of them familiar.

  What was my dad doing behind the bakery at this time of night?

  In the dark, I was invisible. They probably couldn't even tell the window was open. I didn't resist the urge to eavesdrop. I hitched my hip onto the edge of the sink and looked down to see my father standing beside an unfamiliar car. I couldn't tell the model, but it was shiny and sleek and looked expensive. Not his car.

  A woman stood facing him, hands propped on her hips. I couldn't make out all of her words, but her tone was aggravated. I caught enough of her to see shiny dark hair and red lips. She was tall, taller than my dad in her heels, and voluptuous.

  I couldn't see my dad cheating on my mom, but what was he doing meeting this woman in the dark? And why here?

  She shifted, looking even more annoyed, her voice louder than before. “Don't even think about giving me any of your bullshit, Darren. We're on a timeline here. If you fuck this up I'm not the one you're going to have to deal with. Do you understand?”

  “You know I do. You can depend on me.”

  I imagined I could see the woman's eyes roll as she tossed her hair, but maybe that was projection. Her next words proved me wrong. This woman knew my father. “If I had any other option, I never would have brought you in. You're a weasel and you're lazy.”

  “Hey, that's uncalled for.” I marveled at how genuinely offended my dad sounded.

  “I disagree, but you're what I have to work with. Get the job done or I'll let my partner deal with you.”

  “If it's so important, why don't you do your own dirty work?”

  “I'm too well known to pull off this stage of the plan and you know it. Get the job done and I'll get you the cash you need. And if you don't, you'll have a bigger problem than empty pockets.”

  “Hey, just tell your partner I've got it under control.”

  “See that you do.” The woman got back in the car and pulled out. I watched my father duck out of the parking area behind the bakery and head down the alley to the street. Silently crossing my apartment, I moved to the windows overlooking Main Street, tracking him as he walked back toward the road to Grams' house.

  Crap. Now what was I supposed to do?

  He was up to something, but I'd known he'd been up to something when he came back to Sawyers Bend. Now I knew he had a partner, but I had no idea who she was. It'd been too dark to see her features clearly, but what I'd seen I didn't recognize, and I don't think I'd ever heard her voice before.

  Whatever was between them, I couldn't imagine he was cheating on my mom. I didn't get that vibe. She'd seemed dismissive and pissed, and he hadn't struck me as a guy trying to seduce a woman. More a man putting off his boss over a late assignment.

  I didn't even know if what he was up to was illegal. She'd told him to get the job done and her partner would be mad if he didn't, but that didn't necessarily mean they were breaking the law.

  West couldn't arrest my dad for secretly meeting a strange woman behind the bakery. People were allowed to have conversations in public. And Grams' heart would break if her son was arrested in Sawyers Bend.

  I sipped my tea in the dark and tried to convince myself to forget I'd seen a thing.

  I'd keep an eye on my dad, but I was going to do that anyway. For just a second, I thought about telling him to forget the money, to just go and leave us all in peace.

  Even if I were willing to forget the money, telling him to go would be a waste of time. Whatever my dad was involved in, it sounded like exactly his kind of trouble.

  Darren Hutchins had never walked away from trouble that I could remember. I couldn't imagine him starting now.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  royal

  I didn't think I'd be nervous. This wasn't my first rodeo. I'd picked up plenty of women for dates and usually, my concerns centered around whether I'd be bored and if I'd get laid at the end. I wasn't surprised to discover that, like all things with Daisy, this was different.

  Daisy worried about being too complicated, but I wasn't sure she knew what she was getting into with me. My life had never been simple. Since my father died it had only grown more complex.

  I thought having Daisy to a family dinner would be like ripping off a bandage. We'd get all the crazy out of the way at once and hopefully, she'd still want me when it was over. At the time, it had seemed like the perfect plan.

  Now that I was standing in front of her door, a bouquet of daisies clutched in my sweaty fist, I was absolutely questioning my sanity.

  Sawyers Bend had no shortage of romantic restaurants. Why wasn't I taking her to one of them? Or I could have driven her into Asheville and taken her someplace really nice, could have arranged to stay in a hotel overnight… Fuck. What the hell had I been thinking?

  Her door opened and my gut dove straight to my toes. A man stood there, about the same height as me, with dark hair, broad shoulders, and a lean, rangy build that could have used a few pounds of muscle.

  It wasn't his body that was striking, it was his face.

  I couldn't quite pin down the mix of ethnicities there. Almond eyes, smooth brown skin a few shades lighter than Daisy's, and dark hair that had a wave to it. His eyes were a startling green framed by thick, black lashes, and his cheekbones could have cut stone. He would have fit right in on a runway.

  He could be none other than the famous J.T.

  I hadn't been nervous when I ran into Daisy's grandmother, but meeting J.T. had me shaking in my shoes. I bit the bullet and stuck out my hand.

  “I'm Royal Sawyer. You must be J.T. It's great to meet you.”

  J.T.'s fingers closed around mine, his grip strong, but he didn't try to crush my fingers or overpower the handshake. He swung the door wide and stepped back, inviting me in.

  “Daze is still getting dressed, but she'll be out in a minute. Taking her to family dinner?” He shook his head, an amused grin on his too-handsome face. “You like to jump right into the deep end, don't you?”

  I gave a rueful smile. “I'm starting to wonder what I was thinking. But I guess if she doesn't run screaming, that's a good sign.”

  The door across the living room opened. Daisy walked out, and all thought fled my mind.

  Daisy was always beautiful to me. She had a spark inside her, an inner glow that shone through no matter what. Even after a long day, when she was exhausted, and sweaty, and her hair was all over the place, I still thought she was gorgeous.

  I didn't know what gorgeous was.

  I'd never seen her like this. She wore a creamy sheath dress that set off her warm skin, curving around her hips and dipping in front enough to show the tiniest hint of cleavage. She'd done something different with her hair, the wild curls strikingly defined, framing her face in shades of auburn, red, and hot pink.

  I didn't think she wore much makeup usually, but tonight her eyes were deeper, her lashes longer and her lips pink. Instead of her sneakers, she wore cream spike heels that looked a mile high and made her legs even more unbelievable than they'd been in the first place.

  “I don't think I want to share you with my family. You're usually gorgeous, but this is… Wow. All I can say is wow.” I shoved the bouquet at her, mouth a little dry. All my smooth compliments had deserted me. All I had was wow.

  Daisy reached up to tuck a curl behind her ear and J.T. was there, smacking her hand away. “Stop touching your hair, or you'll turn it into a frizz bomb,” he ordered.

  Daisy scowled at him and hid her hand behind her back. J.T. took the flowers from her other hand. “I need to talk to Royal for a minute. Why don't you run downstairs and get that chocolate cake you baked?”

  Daisy raised an eyebrow and glanced between J.T. and me. Her eyes settled on J.T. “
Are you going to be nice?”

  J.T. turned her toward the door and gave her a gentle shove. “Of course, I'm gonna be nice. I just need to have a chat with Mr. Sawyer before he takes you off on your date. Indulge me and go get the cake packed up.”

  Daisy followed orders, stopping at the door to look back at me. “Don't believe anything he says. I'll see you downstairs.”

  She disappeared, her shoes clicking on the stairs and fading away. I shoved my hand in my pocket and turned back to J.T.

  “So?” I asked, wondering if he was going to warn me off.

  J.T. shoved his own hands in his pockets and leaned back against the kitchen counter. “I like the suit.”

  “I don't usually wear one, but it seemed appropriate tonight.”

  “Since you're taking her to a family dinner, I'm assuming this is serious. All the gossip about you and I've never heard of you bringing any woman home for dinner.”

  I relaxed. I liked a man who could get straight to the point. And this was J.T.—as Daisy had said, more family than most of her family. Maybe it should have been annoying, but I liked that she had someone looking out for her. Since J.T. was being upfront, I wasn't going to waste time playing games.

  “I think it's fair to say this is serious. And you're right, I've never brought a woman home to a family dinner. Hell, we haven't had family dinners since I was a teenager. Daisy isn't like anyone else I've been interested in. I can't make any promises. I don't think we know each other well enough for that. But I want to, and wanting to make promises is a new thing for me.”

  J.T. considered my answer and nodded gravely. “Since accepting a date at all is a new thing for Daisy, I'd say you two are on the same page. I'm hoping that this is unnecessary, but I sent her ahead because I wanted to tell you this—I've been in your corner since you sent those flowers. Don't make me regret it. Understand?”

  “I do. I won't be careless with her. That's one promise I can make.”

  “Good enough. She's strong. A survivor. But her family is a sore spot and something's up right now—I don't know what because she won't talk to me—so I'm asking you to look out for her.”

  I nodded. “I already am.”

  “I can see that. Daisy is the best, you know. And she deserves the best.” J.T. tilted his head to the side and scanned me from the top of my head to the tips of my shoes. A smile curved his full lips and he winked. “I think you'll do.”

  I couldn't help but grin at him. “As long as Daisy thinks so, that's all that matters.”

  J.T. straightened and raised his chin at the door. “Yeah, I think you'll do. Let's go down before she comes storming up to rescue you. I need to scavenge dinner out of the kitchen anyway.”

  “Not eating over at Grams'?” I asked. I was curious how J.T. fit in with the rest of Daisy's family.

  J.T. rolled his eyes and followed me out of the apartment, closing the door behind us. “If it was just Grams? Definitely. That woman can cook. But I'm gonna take a pass until Daisy's parents skip town again.”

  “Not their biggest fan?”

  J.T.'s eyes went dark and he shook his head as he went through the back door and into the kitchen. In a low voice Daisy wouldn't hear, he said, “It's mutual, but you'll figure them out soon enough if you stick around.”

  “Gotcha.” I dropped the subject as we came into the kitchen. Daisy stood there with an oversized Sweetheart Bakery cake box in her hands. “Wow again,” I said. “What's in there?”

  “Chocolate cake with a raspberry cream filling. I hope I made enough for everyone.”

  J.T. grinned. “Daze, that cake is enough for half the town. Now, you two hit the road. I'll lock up here. And Royal?”

  I raised an eyebrow and waited.

  “I'll be waiting up, so bring her home before she turns into a pumpkin.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Daisy

  What did J.T. say?” I had to ask even though I doubted Royal would tell me.

  Men.

  J.T. had been insistent that I give him a few minutes with Royal. I hadn't wanted to, obviously, but J.T. had been oddly stubborn and I hadn't had the heart to shut him down. He was the one person who was always, always in my corner. Just like I was always in his. If he wanted a minute with Royal I had to trust him not to do anything that would embarrass me or screw things up.

  Royal shot me an amused grin. “Wouldn't you like to know?” At my glare, he laughed. “Just the normal best-friend-slash-big-brother type stuff. I better watch my step and treat you right, etc. Since I was going to do that anyway, no big deal. I like him.”

  “Me too,” I agreed. “Most of the time.”

  “He's just looking out for you. I like that you have that. Tenn would probably be grilling you on my behalf by now if he wasn't enslaved to your brownies.”

  “Just wait till he tries this cake,” I said, my nerves easing a little.

  “You didn't have to bake a cake, Daisy. Not that I'm complaining. But that's a huge box. It looks like it was a lot of work.”

  I looked down at the box in my lap. It was a huge box and it had been a lot of work. Not on the level of a custom cake for two hundred, but still, it had been extra time on what was supposed to be my afternoon off. I didn't mind.

  I wasn't always confident in myself, but I was definitely confident in my baking, and I wasn't showing up to dinner at Heartstone Manor empty-handed. I didn't trust myself to pick out wine and I doubted they needed more flowers, but I was sure I could make a good impression with a chocolate cake.

  I wasn't just depending on the cake. For the first time in what felt like forever, I'd put serious time into the way I looked. I'd bought the dress a year before after I fell in love with it in a boutique in Asheville. I didn't have anywhere to wear a fancy cocktail dress or the shoes that went with it. J.T. had talked me into getting it anyway. For the first time, I was relieved I'd spent the money.

  Tonight, instead of dragging my hair back into a poof or bun like I usually did, I'd loaded it down with product after my shower, carefully separating each curl, and going to work with my diffuser, J.T. helping on the back because—let's face it—I am not a pro with the diffuser.

  I looked my best, and I was loaded down with a killer cake, but still, I was nervous.

  Royal knew. He reached over and closed his hand around mine, squeezing. “Don't worry about dinner, Daisy. I'm not going to let them scare you off. Anyway, most of my family is pretty cool. And you're bringing cake so it's pretty much guaranteed they'll like you better than they like me.”

  “I've found cake is a pretty good icebreaker.” It was true. Except for those rare people who didn't like sweets, but I pretended those people didn't exist. I'm suspicious of anyone who can't be won over with chocolate.

  Royal turned onto the long drive to Heartstone Manor. Oak trees lined the road, their arching branches creating a green tunnel. I could see evidence here and there of landscaping work in progress. In some spots the trees were surrounded by beds of dark mulch, the grass neatly trimmed. In others the forest pressed to the road, weeds chewing at the crumbling asphalt on the edges.

  The front courtyard wasn't landscaped, but here every weed had been banished, leaving the grand house bare of adornment and that much more intimidating.

  Royal parked at the front. “Stay there,” he ordered, getting out. I didn't argue. I was too busy staring up at the front of Heartstone Manor. Three stories tall, the Manor was made of granite, softened by the ivy climbing the walls at the corners. The front door was huge, iron-strapped wood with heavy iron handles I'd bet it took two hands to turn.

  My door opened and Royal leaned down to take the cake box from my lap, handling it carefully. We climbed the steps and walked through Heartstone's big wooden door into a whirlwind. Voices carried into the hallway, a man saying something that sounded like, “—too salty,” and a woman, ir
ate, “If I hear one more complaint out of you, Finn Sawyer—”

  They came into view, the man tall, dark-haired, and undoubtedly one of Royal's siblings. He strode across the entry hall, hand held up as if to fend off the woman who stalked after him.

  Her voice raised in a shout. “Finn, don't you walk away from me!” I thought she'd storm after him and out of sight, but she drew to an abrupt halt when she spotted us standing there.

  “Please, tell me the cook didn't quit,” Royal said.

  “Not yet, but if Finn doesn't keep his mouth shut, and she walks out—” She let out a breath, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. “Well, I was going to say I'd kill him in his sleep, but I think Griffen said something about making him pitch a tent in the woods. Or just kicking him out.”

  “If only we could figure out a way to make Finn take the cook's place,” Royal said. Looking over at me he explained, “Finn is a classically trained chef. Went to the Culinary Institute of America and everything. He even studied in Paris. He's only cooked for us twice but—” Royal rolled his eyes to the ceiling high above. “His food is amazing.”

  The woman crossed her arms over her chest after flipping a strawberry blonde braid back over her shoulder. She wore a black and white patterned a-line dress and a cute pair of dark-green Mary Janes I recognized as being comfortable enough to stand in all day.

  “I wouldn't know,” she grumbled, “because he didn't save any for me, but it doesn't matter if his food is delicious considering he thinks he's too good to cook for the rest of us. I wouldn't pay him any attention except he keeps trying to scare away our cook.”

  She shook her head and held out a hand to me. “I'm sorry, Finn distracted me. You must be Daisy.” I took her hand and shook. “I'm Savannah. I'm the housekeeper at Heartstone Manor. If you need anything while you're here just let me know.” She turned her alert gray eyes to the cake box in Royal's hands. “What's this?”