Chapter 43: Chapter Forty-Three

“Good evening, Wendy.” Kennedi greeted the nurse, who wore her usual kind smile. Brighton Gardens’ staff as a whole were among the most congenial and compassionate bunch she’d ever met. Having Pop in their care—him having gone missing, that one incident notwithstanding—always gave her a smidgen of solace.

“Kennedi, hi. Don’t you look lovely! That’s such a pretty dress.”

“Thanks. I snuck out of an event.” Kennedi winked as she checked her watch—ten after nine—and signed the log.

“That’s the same thing your boyfriend said earlier. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo too.”

The pen in Kennedi’s hand skidded off the page. Her head swung up. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Wendy chuckled. “Looks like you two coordinated pretty good. It’s in the subtlety, right? By the way, I meant to say before, you and Mr. Shaw make such a nice couple. And he’s really friendly too. He stood there and chatted with me for a good while.”

Kennedi returned a slight smile, yet she felt knocked off her heels in shock as she scanned the log and learned Trenton had signed in at Brighton Gardens close to two hours ago. “I’ll head up.” She took off nearly at a sprint.

The elevator couldn’t move fast enough. Exiting, she hurried down the hall, swiped her key card at the door and released a bracing breath before entering to find Trenton slouched at the far corner of the couch. Suit coat off, his bow tie hung loose around his neck, and the top button of his white dress shirt was undone. He was every bit as handsome, beautiful, wonderful—

Still involved with his ex. Her barren stomach flipped sideways, feeling that nag of hurt and betrayal.

Calm, yet weary—or wary, she couldn’t quite determine which—he shifted his gaze to her across the wide space, then clicked off the TV. Slowly he came to his feet with an index finger pressed at his lips, while giving a nod at her father asleep in the La-Z-Boy.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered at his approach. “Shouldn’t you be at your party? It was still going strong when I left.”

“I took a drive to clear my head and ended up here. I’d hoped you’d show. There’s something I need to tell you. If I’d called you, my guess is you wouldn’t have answered.”

The vulnerability in his tone was more bare in that unguarded moment than she’d ever witnessed. Then the impassive shield in his gaze returned.

Looking around, she noted the empty take-out-for-one container on the counter, and he stepped over and placed it into the trash.

“The menu was meatloaf tonight. Your father said he hates meatloaf.”

Her eyes widened. “He loves meatloaf.”

Trenton shrugged. “Not tonight, apparently. I got him sushi and selected his menu for tomorrow.” He pointed at the two pill bottles on the counter, then glanced at his watch. “He took his beds about forty-five minutes ago…on schedule. We started a new chess game, but he became frustrated, so we watched TV.” A small smile. “When he fell asleep, I switched it to the Atlanta game. Oh, he showered, and I laid out his wardrobe over there. I believe that’s it.”

Kennedi gave a glance at the neatly folded clothes sitting on the side table next to the bathroom door, and then at Pop’s contented, snoring form, dressed in his PJs beneath the tan throw blanket. All Trenton had done for him—for her. Her heart swelled so achingly tight, she thought it might burst. And it also wept for what she couldn’t have. “You didn’t have to do this.”

She touched his hand, needing to express that affection, and met frigid resistance.

“Trenton, you look tired.” With her immediate reaction to offer comfort, she reached up to caress the defined ridge of his cheek, but he stepped back, his stare unblinking, his features appearing almost pained.

“We should get him to bed.” He coaxed Pop out of the chair with the greatest care, helped him to the bedroom and settled him beneath the covers.

She contributed by tucking in the layered ticking at his shoulders, and tenderly kissed his forehead. Her head jerked to the sound of the entry door softly closing shut.

Shit. A quick click off of the lamp, she hurried to try to catch Trenton and swung open the door—

There he stood with hands in his front pockets, his suit jacket hanging over his right wrist. Relief followed surprise, and such agonizing desperation swirled around her that she had to pin her hands at her sides to avoid the urge to try to touch him again. “I thought you left. I-I mean, you said there was something you wanted to tell me.”

“It’s about those missing funds. There’s something you should know.” Silence stretched as he looked as though he was searching for words.

“We’ve established that already.” She braced herself as fear dissolved into a harsh conclusion. “I thought you’d stopped looking into that. Is it because I cut things off between us? You decided to retaliate?”

Weary eyes shuttered for a moment. “Kennedi, I’m well aware how you see me. But no. By the time I canceled the investigation, information had already been discovered. Your father’s signature on the Miami contract was forged. I did a comparison, but also an expert in this sort of thing found the handwriting matches that of Eleanor Chase. She, along with your father’s attorney, Dean Watts, were together in Geneva, Switzerland about nine months ago.”

Kennedi froze. “What are you saying?” She stared back at him, digesting the paralyzing fact. “They were in on it together?”

“Part of the money Watts used to pay for your father’s stay at Brighton came from embezzled means. The rest of the missing funds, according to my intel, was spent on several trips abroad that Eleanor Chase and Watts shared, on extravagant items such as jewelry, cars and a host of other things for them both.”

Kennedi shook her head, as if that would halt the revelation that her former stepmother and Pop’s best friend had stolen from him. She could almost excuse the taking of the money since it’d gone toward helping pay for Pop’s medical expenses. But to lavish upon themselves while she struggled to meet the demands of the company as well as the investors…

It explained Dean’s and Eleanor’s push to have Pop tucked away in the facility, saying it would help him. Brighton had indeed been a lifesaver. Literally. Its state-of-the-art facility and experimental treatments, so far, kept Pop upon this earth. But given his declining memory, it also aided them in their treachery. “You say there’s proof?”

“Yes.”

She glanced back at the closed door. “What will you do?” Would her father somehow end up taking the fall? She couldn’t prevent swift tears from brimming her eyes.

Trenton’s hand came out of his left pocket, and it looked as if he’d reach out, but it stayed at his side.

Right then, she needed his touch, his comfort. “Dean agreed to cover next year’s expenses. If you file charges—”

“With the revenue stream Chase Investments will generate from both the Macau and Miami deals, not to mention your confectionary, the companies will turn a generous profit. You’ll be able to handle it yourself.”

She blinked rapidly. “It’s six hundred twenty-five thousand a year.”

He didn’t twitch a lash. “Just know the payment for your father’s stay here will be covered. You have my word…though I suspect that doesn’t mean much with you.” He gave a grim chuckle. “I should head home.”

He was upset, yes, but she recognized the hurt that slashed through the external chill.

She kept pace beside him out of the building, but they didn’t speak the entire elevator ride down and out to the curb. She ached to be with him and wanted more time in his company, unable to combat the yearning.

“Good night, Kennedi.”

“Would you mind giving me a ride home? I took a Lyft here.”

Reluctance colored his expression when he turned toward her.

“Evie and I rode with Tabitha to the party. My place is on your way, as you know.”

“All right.”

She followed him to a high-polished metallic black Audi R8 coupe. He opened the passenger door and placed his suit jacket in the narrow space behind the headrest, then stepped aside in rigid form. The pleasant scent of sandalwood cologne carried on the sudden breeze, once again wafting to her nose and wrapping around her like a warm, welcoming blanket. She inhaled low and deep. “Nice.”

“It’s Dom’s.”

“I meant—” Just then, raindrops hit her cheek, giving warning that the gray night sky might soon let loose. “Looks like you’re rescuing me from the rain again.”

The joke hardly put a chip in the solid barrier he’d erected. “We should go.” His tone dry, he didn’t even bother to look at her.

Ookay. She folded herself into the seat and watched as he rounded the front of the car. Watching his tall, bold, beautiful frame had been an obsession the entire night.

They winded along the private road edged by twelve-foot boxwoods, Trenton downshifting then jetting them up the ramp and into Friday night Beltway traffic.

“I’d like us to talk.” She broke the unbearable quiet, unable to stand it a second longer.

His head swung to her. He looked as if she’d spoken a language he didn’t quite grasp, then those dark brows pinched. “What’s there to talk about?”

“Dom told me the circumstances with you…you and your ex-wife…the baby.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. You were pretty clear on that,” he ground out through tight teeth.

“Trent?” She rested her hand on his that gripped the gear shift, folding her fingers into his palm.

Once again, he pulled away from her affection.

“It wasn’t fair of me to take Alan’s words as fact without hearing your side, especially knowing he doesn’t like you.”

“He’s an ass,” he grated.

“You’re right. But he’d also revealed some truths in what he’d told me.” He looked at her again and then straight ahead. “It bothers me that you weren’t up-front about your situation. You’re still involved with your ex. And she could be carrying your child…I don’t want to get in the middle of that. But I find myself struggling here.” She spoke quietly, still mentally trying to wrap her head around it all. “If it were me in the other woman’s place… It’s just… I can’t.” She shook her head. “You and I, we have a business arrangement. We can be adults about this. Maybe it’s better this way.” Her thoughts were a babble of confusion.

Pinning an elbow on the edge of the window, she palmed her forehead, wondering how to let go of the feelings she’d cultivated for him as the Beltway exit toward her place fast approached. But Trenton zoomed past it. He took hold of her hand, their fingers lacing naturally. She didn’t say anything, didn’t even look his way as tears instantly scorched the back of her throat like a heavy dousing of cayenne.