Betrayal of Trust (4 page)

They drove away, leaving him to stare until the taillights vanished from his view. After one last drag from his cigarette, he tossed it to the ground and headed for the driver’s-side door.

Anger burned in him. But now wasn’t the time for a confrontation. That would come later. After everything was in place.

S
tanding on the darkened front porch, Raven fumbled with her keys, wishing she’d had the forethought to leave her front light on before rushing out to meet Ken earlier. But she’d been too focused on Matthew’s story to worry about minor details. Minor at the time anyway. At this particular moment, darkness was of the utmost importance. The darkness always unnerved her.

Through the door, she could hear the phone ringing, and though she knew she had not only an answering machine, but also caller ID, she couldn’t shake that feeling of not getting somewhere fast enough. Like being the heroine in a horror flick, who can’t find the right key to her car ignition, and the window is open and the maniac gets there just as she speeds off. Sometimes it’s too late, and sometimes it’s not.

Raven shuddered at the thought. She finally located the proper key and slid it into the lock. Relief flowed through her as she opened the door, then closed it firmly behind her.

Movement to her left gave her a start. She jumped and squealed. Then she recognized her reflection in the
foyer mirror. With a chuckle she shook her head, feeling like a complete idiot for being so spooked.

Walking into the kitchen, she took a glance at the caller ID and frowned at the private caller message. She checked out the answering machine. No flashing light. No messages.

“Oh, well,” she said to Ginger, the fat stuffed tabby cat perched on her special chair against the kitchen bar. “I guess if it’s important enough, they’ll call back.”

The phone rang. She rubbed her hand along Ginger’s fake fur and grinned. “See?”

She grabbed the phone and pressed the button. “Hello?”

“Did you forget about our dinner?”

Anxiety slammed into Raven at the sound of the vaguely familiar voice. “Who is this?” she demanded, drawing on every ounce of bravado she possessed.

“Sonny.”

Inwardly, she groaned. How on earth could she have forgotten about meeting her brother, for crying out loud?

“Oh, Sonny! I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that. I was doing some research on a story.”

Silence loomed on the other end of the line and Raven frowned. “Sonny? Are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m still here. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Hang on, I have another call.”

Raven walked across the kitchen floor, carrying the cordless next to her ear. She opened the refrigerator and went on the prowl. After eating barely half of her way-too-expensive meal, she was starving, but the sudden need to fill her stomach put her too closely in mind of the emotional void she’d also been trying to satiate. She closed the door.

Only pizza would do at a time like this.

“Okay, I’m back.”

“Listen, Sonny, I feel horrible about wigging out like that. Can I make it up to you?”

“Sure you can.”

Raven expelled a relieved breath as she recognized the lift in his tone.

“Great. How about tomorrow at lunch? We could meet at the deli on the corner of Fremont and Grand.”

“You sure you won’t forget during a workday?”

“I’m sure.” Raven had to smile a little. He sounded almost like a wary child. “And it’s my treat. The least I can do after forgetting our dinner tonight.”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.”

Raven disconnected the call and snatched Ginger from her stool next to the kitchen bar. With the phone in one hand and the toy in the other she padded into the living room and plopped onto the overstuffed sofa.

“Memory one.” She sighed, pressing the button. “A girl really shouldn’t have the local pizza joint programmed into her phone,” she told Ginger. “It’s creepy.”

Almost as creepy as talking to a one-eyed stuffed animal.

After placing her order, Raven hit the shower, emerging fifteen minutes later still exhausted from lack of sleep, but good for at least another hour. She stretched out on the sofa to wait for the pizza guy and relived every second since she’d laid eyes on Matt at the gym.

He was still the only man alive who had the power to make her palms sweat. Sitting across from him at dinner had taken her back fifteen years.

As memories flowed in, she leaned her head against the arm rest and allowed herself a brief moment of regret and what-ifs, visions of a different path. After fif
teen years of staunchly refusing to allow herself a look into an alternate life reality, Raven knew she was treading dangerous waters with this look-see, but she couldn’t keep the dreams from crashing in waves upon the shores of her mind.

By the time her doorbell rang fifteen minutes later, she and Matthew were married with three kids and living in the White House. The perfect First Family. She stretched and smiled at the image, but at the insistent ringing of the bell, she shook herself from the dream.

Two slices of stuffed-crust pepperoni pizza later, and two full glasses of filtered water, and she was ready to hit the sack.

She stretched out onto her bed, but sleep eluded her as she realized she may have blown it with Matthew tonight by getting so testy. But opening up was difficult. In a perfect world, her emotional baggage wouldn’t be an issue. In reality, opening up even for the wrong reasons—like lulling him into a false sense of security in order to weasel a story out of him—was way too risky. Her heart just wasn’t up to it.

Frustration forced the door closed a little harder than Matthew intended and shook the crystal chandelier hanging in the expansive foyer.

“Whoa there, champ. Might want to ease up on those bench presses or I won’t have my handcrafted Louis XIV–style door for long.”

Matthew tossed his mother an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

She rose on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. The familiar smell of her perfume touched his senses and he began to relax.

“Come into the kitchen and I’ll make you a cup of
chamomile tea,” she said, “Then you can tell me what happened at the gym that has you so upset.”

He followed her into the spacious kitchen that gleamed with stainless-steel appliances and fluorescent lighting. The room might have seemed cold if not for his mother’s warm presence.

Matthew sat at the kitchen table and watched her graceful movements as she prepared their tea. Childhood memories wafted over his mind.

“You were the reason Dad was such a success, weren’t you?”

She glanced at him over her shoulder, a bewildered frown creasing her brow. “Whatever made you think such a thing?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just remembering all the public appearances where you stood at his side, smiling, supporting him. Supporting him at home and still taking time for Casey and me.”

She turned, carrying two steaming cups on delicate saucers. Regret covered her features. “I could have done better. If I’d spent more time with your sister, maybe she wouldn’t have…”

She set the saucers on the table and sank into her own chair. Her faded blue eyes wandered past him to stare at the wall. “I think sometimes your father and I will have to answer to God for our children’s unhappiness.”

“Unhappiness? Mom, I had a great childhood. So did Casey.”

“Happy children turn into happy adults, my boy.” She patted his hand wistfully.

“And I am happy.”

With a dubious lift of her eyebrows, she sipped her tea. “No, you are not.”

Matthew scowled. “I suppose it depends on your def
inition of
happy
, then. Because I have a full life. A wonderful mother who loves and supports me, a kid I couldn’t live without.”

“No career, a sister who can barely remember her own name, and loneliness.”

Matthew couldn’t help but grin. “And with that last point, you mean to bring up the well-worn subject of my marital status.”

Her chin rose with dignity. “It bears repeating. You need a wife.”

Yes, he certainly did. But not just any wife would do. And nothing had driven that fact home more than his date this evening. If you could call it that.

“Well, we won’t belabor the point,” his mother said. “Tell me what happened tonight to upset you.”

Matthew hesitated. Did he really want to let his mother in on the fact that he’d spent the evening with Raven Mahoney? But almost before he could decide on his own, the words spilled from his mouth. “I had dinner with Raven.”

“That Mahoney girl from so long ago?” Surprise combined with disapproval flashed in her expressive eyes.

“One and the same.” Matthew sipped his tea.

“You don’t learn your lessons very well do you? Are you going to have to go around this same mountain twice?”

“Raven’s hardly a ‘lesson’ or a ‘mountain,’ Mother. We had dinner. Period. And to be honest, that’s why I am so frustrated. It didn’t go very well.”

At her look of satisfaction, irritation nipped at Matthew’s heart. “Don’t look so pleased, Mother.”

Her expression suddenly went bland. “I’m sorry, son, but a mother can’t help but hold a bit of resentment against the girl who broke her wonderful son’s heart.”

“I appreciate the loyalty,” he drawled.

“Don’t be sarcastic. What did she do this time that has you in such a bad mood?”

“Nothing, really. She’s just as closed up as ever.” He fingered the rim of his cup. “I told her about Jamie, but she still couldn’t open up.” And then there was that awkward moment when she hesitated to pray at dinner. Had her relationship with God cooled over the years?

“Oh, Matt, really. The girl is a reporter. Are you so blinded you can’t see why she would contact you out of the blue?”

Stung, Matthew scowled. “What makes you think I didn’t call her?”

His mother raised that one eyebrow the way she did every time she had a point to make. “Did you?”

“No.”

Her eyes softened. “Son. Don’t be duped into giving away our family secrets.”

“I’m afraid Ray is going to do it anyway.”

“Ray? What do you mean?”

A heavy sigh escaped him. “I didn’t tell you quite everything. He’s threatening to go to the press.”

She gave a dismissive wave of her thin, vein-lined hand. “Oh, pooh. Public records show Jamie is adopted and that her birth mother is your sister. There’s nothing new for him to tell.” She frowned as though realization dawned. “What did he threaten to make you pull out of the race? And don’t tell me you just decided it wasn’t the direction you wanted your life to take, after all. I want the truth.”

“I gave him ten thousand dollars to stay away from Casey and Jamie.”

“Matthew Strong! We do not give in to extortion!” His mother’s eyes flashed fire.

“There was more to it than that. He threatened to go to the press and claim we forced him to sign away his rights to Jamie.”

“Preposterous! He was only more than happy to do that in exchange for his legal fees. He doesn’t care anything about Jamie. We should have let that monster deal with a public defender. He’d still be in prison!”

“Preposterous or not, his claims would be believed by some. And if some advocate’s group gets hold of his case, we could be taking a chance on losing my daughter. I’d rather pay the money.”

“And lose your career?”

“Yes. Who is really going to care about his claims if I’m a nobody?”

She stood and walked around to his side of the table. After pressing a kiss to his head, she looked firmly into his eyes with fierce love. “You’ll never be a nobody, Matt. You were destined for greatness.”

He gave a short laugh. “Greatness has eluded me, Mother. I’ll settle for being a great dad.”

“You’re already a great dad. And I didn’t necessarily mean you’ll be great in politics. Although you most certainly would have been as great as your father. Any man willing to set aside his dreams in order to protect his child is worthy of admiration. I’m proud of you.”

Matthew stood and pushed in his chair. He snatched his mother around the shoulders and gave her a squeeze before letting her go. “I’m not sure I deserve that pride. But it feels good to know I have it.”

“Always.” She smiled and nodded toward the kitchen door. “Jamie is reading before bed. I suggest you go upstairs and say goodnight before she falls asleep.”

As he ascended the stairs, Matthew’s heart lifted at the thought of spending a few moments alone with
Jamie. At the end of a long, disappointing day, Jamie was a bright light. An oasis.

The soft glow of a lamp greeted him as he walked into a room decorated with baseball wallpaper and bedspread. St. Louis Cardinals’ keepsakes plastered every spare corner. The girl was obsessed with the sport, much to her grandmother’s chagrin.

He stood at the door and watched her for a second before she noticed him. A smile lifted the corners of his lips at the sight of his daughter lying in bed, covered to her armpits and wearing a Cardinals’ cap. She looked up and her face brightened. “Hey, Dad. Where’ve you been? We ate without you.”

“I ate out.”

A teasing glint rose in her eyes. “With a girl?”

“That’s my business,” he said, ruffling the girl’s blond hair. “What are you reading?”

“Lord of the Rings.”

Matthew nodded his approval and sat down at the side of the bed. “How do you like it?”

Jamie shrugged. “Movie’s better.”

At eight years old, Jamie picked up everything she could get her hands on. Matthew loved that about her, but admittedly,
Lord of the Rings
might be a bit much for a kid who had only been reading alone for two years. “Naw, the movie’s easier, but not better.”

“I think it’s better,” she insisted.

“Oh, well. What do you know?” He grinned and tweaked her nose. “You’re just a kid.”

“Aunt Casey knew me today.”

“She did?” Mom hadn’t told him. Casey had good days and bad, and although Jamie knew Casey was her mother biologically, she’d always called her “Aunt Casey.” Everyone had agreed it would be easier that way.

“What did you two do?”

“We played Memory. I won.”

“Did you cheat?”

She shrugged. “Not much.”

Matthew bit back a grin. The girl was almost too honest. “Jamie, it’s not nice to cheat.”

“I said I didn’t do it much.”

“You shouldn’t have done it at all.”

She heaved a sigh and set her book down. “Sorry.”

“We’ll let it go this time. But don’t do it again. It’s not fair to Aunt Casey. You’d probably win anyway. You don’t need to cheat.”