Love Scars (11 page)

I knew I wasn’t supposed to hear this. I got up quietly and went back into the Student Union, holding my breath all the way. I watched through the window until Nicole left.

I went outside again, and Steve greeted me with that million dollar smile—I should say $150,000 smile.

“Hi, Nora,” he said. “Ready to be briefed?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m not sure—”

“Maybe this will help.” He handed me an envelope. “I convinced my superiors you deserved a gesture of good faith. Take a look.”

The envelope held a check made out to me. “$50,000. You’re joking,” I said. “This can’t be legal.”

“Look closer,” Steve said. “Would that information be on the check if it was illegal?”

It was a MolyMo Corporation check. In the remittance advice, it said Barton Dig Scholarship. I’d never heard of MolyMo Corporation, but that didn’t mean anything.

“We call it a scholarship so we can write it off. Call it a signing bonus,” he said. “Of course it comes out of your other bonus if you find what we’re looking for.”

“And if I don’t find what you’re looking for?”

“Keep it for your trouble—and your loans paid off too. We won’t forget.”

“What
are
you looking for?” I said. “And what makes you think I even know how to find whatever it is?”

“This.” He picked up an electronic device sitting on the table. It fit in the palm of his hand. “You stick this probe end into the dirt at four different places in the tunnel at Dr. Barton’s dig. While it’s set, push each of these four buttons. Twenty seconds each. That’s it. Meet me here in three weeks with the scanner, and you’re done.”

“Dirt,” I said. “You want to test the dirt?”

“What did you think?” He burst out laughing. “It was some terrorist plot? Not that exciting. We’re looking for what are called rare earth elements—though they’re actually minerals. It’s boring stuff, but the world turns on boring things more than people realize. These minerals are worth a fortune to those who know how to use them. What my company is paying you is nothing compared to their big picture.”

“Wow, it’s so small.” I turned the device over in my hand. “It sounds too easy.”

“It is.” Steve stood up. “Look, Nora. It’s no big mystery. You just got lucky. In the right place at the right time. Enjoy it.”

I looked at the envelope in my other hand.

“Deposit the check today,” Steve said. “It’s yours. Just remember, no one can know about this. Not even Dr. Barton. He’s afraid of companies like mine. He thinks we’ll desecrate sacred ground. I hope you can see that’s not the case.”

“But won’t you destroy the dig eventually if the minerals you want are there?”

“Not at all! There are new extraction techniques for selective targeting. If we do find what we’re looking for, the grant money Barton receives will fund his work for the rest of his life and beyond. You’ll be a hero. This is an everybody-wins scenario.”

He made it sound so good, but as I watched him walk away I felt like something was off. He was mean to that red-haired girl, Nicole. She seemed afraid of him, but I couldn’t know. Maybe she made a deal with MolyMo, like I had, and Steve was just making sure she kept her part of the bargain.

And of course he was right. There was nothing illegal about testing dirt.

I put the envelope and scanner in my bag and headed for my car. Stacey’s dinner was in a couple of hours, and I still had to pick up the cake. I put the windows down in the car, thinking of that check in my bag. If I wanted to, tomorrow I could go buy a car with working air conditioning. It seemed like a dream.

I pulled onto Highway 50, and it hit me once again: Stacey was eighteen. We were free of Child Family Services. As Lisa put it, I could think of my own happiness now. If I was willing to work for it, there was a future available for me not filled with pain and fear and worry.

“Foresthill!” I screamed at the steering wheel. “Foresthill! Foresthill!”

No monsters here.

I was going to beat this thing. I’d wait until tomorrow to deposit Steve’s check. Now I wanted to pick up the cake, get home, and take a shower and wash my hair. I took the Auburn-Folsom exit from Highway 50, and as I passed the roadside billboard for BlueMagick I remembered that Lisa told Brad to bring J.D. tonight. My stomach got all fluttery, and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

I stopped at the Raley’s bakery and bought a couple small bags of ice to pack around the cake box so the icing wouldn’t slide off on the short drive home. Yesterday, this would have depressed me. With $50,000 in my bag, it was a funny anecdote.

As I expected, no one was home. Today was Stacey’s first day at the restaurant, and Lisa was training her during a lunch shift. I put the cake on the kitchen counter and went to take a shower. It felt so good to wash off the sweat from driving in the hot car. I shampooed my hair, rinsed it, and lathered it up again and rinsed, then put conditioner in and left it piled on my head. I soaped up my body and turned the water temperature to lukewarm and ran the spray over my skin with the hand-held showerhead.

I closed my eyes and let the water run over my breasts, imagining what it would be like if J.D. stepped in with me. I’d lean back against his chest and feel his arms around my shoulders, his hands on my breasts teasing my nipples. I aimed the water spray between my legs and set it to pulse.

I remembered the feel of J.D.’s cock in my hand, and my muscles clenched with wanting him inside me. Quivering with the pulsing water, I steadied myself against the tiles until I shuddered with a serviceable orgasm. Not great, but it would do.

I blow-dried most of the moisture out of my hair and rolled it up then laid down for a few minutes on my stomach, my head at the foot of the bed, my head resting on my crossed arms. The warm air felt sensuous on my naked skin. I inhaled deeply and exhaled, blowing out any lingering stress.

There was a check in my bag for $50,000! The relief I felt was amazing. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, just to let my hair set....

Happy chattering filtered in from the kitchen through my bedroom’s open door. I opened my eyes and sat up, naked on my bed. I must have fallen asleep. Lisa and Stacey were home from work.

At the sound of the back door sliding open Stacey called out, “Hi, Frank!”

“So how was the first day?” Frank said.

“Ugh! I’m
so
tired!” Stacey sounded exhausted and happy all at once. Proud of herself. I was happy for her. That first day at the first job is such a great feeling.

I aimed the blow dryer at my hair again then let the rollers sit for a few more minutes while I decided what to wear.

“Happy birthday, kid!” Brad’s cheerful voice sounded from the kitchen. My heart raced, and I held my breath, hoping to hear J.D. with him.

“Oh, how nice,” Frank said flatly. “You came.”

“Happy birthday, Stacey.”

Butterflies played over my stomach in reaction to J.D.’s low tone. I caught my smile in the mirror. Happy. Carefree. Like I was seventeen again.

I chose my usual shorts and a new pink cotton tank top with cut-out snowdrops along the top. The back was all cut-outs in flower shapes that showed a lot of skin.

I took out the rollers and brushed out my hair. I love the feeling of my hair falling on my shoulders, but I wanted to show off my bare skin, so I grabbed a scrunchie for a ponytail. I put on a little blush and lip gloss and my favorite sterling silver snowdrop earrings.

J.D. had come. It had to mean he wasn’t completely repulsed by me. I felt my cheeks redden on the way out to the kitchen, thinking about my fantasizing earlier. The release in the shower was nice, but not enough. I had real feelings for J.D., and I didn’t want them to stop.

I wanted Jaxom Draco Reider in my bed again, and not merely to keep me company when I slept.

Chapter 15

By now it was clear no one used the front door at Nora’s house. All the action happened in the backyard. Brad and I went through the side gate. Up on the deck hamburgers were cooking on the grill, but there was no one around.

“Hey, guys!” Lisa called through the open window at the kitchen sink, waving us in. Brad grinned like a fool as he opened the sliding glass door. My heart went out to the guy, but he needed to move on.

Lisa stood at the counter with a young girl, the two of them slicing tomatoes and onions for the burgers. The girl was like Nora, a few inches taller and more athletic. She had the same brown hair, though curlier and short, and her eyes were green.

I must be getting old. Eighteen looked younger every year.

“Happy birthday, kid,” Brad said.

“How nice. You came,” Frank said. In the history of sarcasm, no one ever meant the opposite more.

He walked past us with an empty tray and went outside. A few seconds later he appeared on the deck, framed by the wisteria at the kitchen window. If I owned the place I’d take out that wall, make it nothing but glass, and extend the deck another ten feet. The view of the lawn, the granite outcroppings, and the oak trees would be amazing.

Actually, I had no business even being there, let alone making renovations in my head. I hardly knew these people. I didn’t know Nora’s niece at all. But I couldn’t help myself. I told myself I was being a good friend, supporting Brad in his misplaced devotion. I really just wanted to see Nora again.

“Happy birthday, Stacey.” I handed the kid “my” present—the bike helmet Brad had picked out and bought and wrapped.

“Birthday loot. Awesome.” She grinned and put down her knife and accepted the box. “What could it be?” She was a cutie. I liked her immediately. Basketball must be her game. She wore a jersey with the team name
Waves
and a number 10 on the front. “Is it from both of you?” She flashed a smile at Brad. “Or did you get me something too?”

I got it then. She was like Veda, with the same aura of mischief about her. Brad was nuts for Lisa, no doubt about it, but Stacey drew him to this house in equal measure. She made him feel like a big brother again.

The dude was just your basic good guy. He didn’t feel right unless he had someone to take care of. Who better than an avatar of his dead little sister?

“Don’t worry, there’s more,” he said. “My present is too big to bring in the house.”

“Yeah?” Stacey smiled at me and wiggled her eyebrows, then her gaze shifted behind me. “Hey, Aunt Nor. Brad got me a car for my birthday!”

Aunt Nor.
Everybody laughed at the joke as Nora joined us, but Stacey’s words hit me in the gut.
I’m attracted to someone’s aunt.
I knew Stacey’s father had been a lot older than Nora, but still. Life was clicking along, whether I joined in or not. Somebody’s aunt was five years younger than me.

And it drove me crazy to be near her.

She walked by to give the kid a hug, and the fragrance of rosemary and mint caught me. She had her hair up in a ponytail, showing her perfect shoulders and arms. Her tank top had flower-shaped holes all over it, exposing more skin, and her little flower earrings bounced when she moved, enticing a guy to come nibble.

I want to be Nora Deven’s man.
Desire swarmed over me like a wave. I wanted the right to grab her right there in front of everyone, wrap my arms around her and pull her close, kiss her neck and whisper something—anything—in her ear.

Finally I’d found someone who made me feel at ease in the world. I felt great—and I felt like shit. How could she ever trust me? I’d begun with a lie.

The sliding door opened again. “Burgers are ready.” Frank brought in a plate of patties and buns from the grill and set them on the counter. “Dive in.”

“No fries. Chips.” Nora mimicked John Belushi from the classic Saturday Night Live skit as she tore open a bag of crinkly potato chips and poured them into a bowl.

“And no martinis,” Lisa said.

Thank god.

“Beer and iced tea tonight. Nothing fancy.” She pointed her Teavana toward the refrigerator and smiled at Brad. “There’s Pale Ale.”

No one else would notice, but I knew Brad. I saw the wistful longing pass over his face and his quick effort to suppress it. Poor bastard. I handed him a beer from the fridge and fixed myself a burger.

I followed Nora out to the deck and sat in a chair beside her. “Is it just us? No big party tonight, huh?”

“Stacey’s friends are coming by in a while to take her to the new
Star Trek
movie.” She smiled. “To my relief.” Again I wrestled with the urge to touch her.

“So we’ve set the date.” Frank sat down next to Lisa and casually knocked his leg against her thigh, a small sign of possession. “The third Saturday in July. We’ll have time for a honeymoon and a week at home before I start my new position at the center. My brother’s coming from Africa to be my best man. He’s with MSF. Doctors Without Borders is the American name.”

“
Médecins Sans Frontières,
” I said. BlueMagick was high on their donors list. “That’s awesome, dude. They do real good in the world.”

I regretted the
dude
part. Frank wasn’t really the dude type.

“I assume Nora’s your best lady,” Brad said to Lisa. “Or what’s that called?”

“Maid of honor, silly,” Stacey said. “And I’m a bridesmaid. My first time. I agreed on the condition our dresses don’t suck.”

“They won’t suck,” Lisa said. “I’ll give you veto power. How’s that?”

“Excellent.”

“Where are you having it?” Brad said. “The ceremony.”

“Here,” Nora said. “In the backyard. It’ll be great.”

“This yard would be great for anything,” I said.

“I wish I didn’t have to work tonight,” Lisa said. “I’d rather have a beer. Split shifts. Gotta love ‘em.”

“You won’t have to work at all when we’re married.” Frank covered her hand with his.

“I like working.” She squeezed Frank’s hand then dropped it as she bent down for her iced tea. “I like paying my bills, anyway. I just wish I set my own schedule. But I’ll take you up on that offer next fall while I finish my masters.”

“Are you going to try for a job at the capitol?” Brad said. “Any politician would be lucky to have you on their staff.”