Loving True (37 page)

He whirled around to stare at True who was tossing underwear inside a separate bag. “The hell it won’t!
 
I can protect you a whole lot better at my home.”

Closing the bag, she sat down on the bed and gnawed at her bottom lip. “
Hayward
, I’m scared.” True confessed,
A
line of wrinkles covered her forehead. “I don’t know what this man wants from me. I can’t think of one reason why he would do this to me.”

“Do you think it could be someone
Dalton
hired to get back at you?” He questioned sitting down on the bed next to her.

“No, I’ve already thought about that.
Dalton
already got what he wanted from me. He has no more use for me.” Balling her hands into fists, she hit the space between them on the bed. A shadow of anger crossed her delicate features. “I’m so pissed that someone has this kind of control over me now.”

Hayward
wrapped his hand around the tiny fist and brought it to his mouth. Kissing each knuckle, he looked into
True’s
eyes. “Kitten, I won’t let this sick bastard make you live in fear much longer. We’re going to find out who it is and turn him in.”

“I hope so.” She muttered, removing her hand from his.

“I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”
 

Getting up off the bed, he grabbed both suitcases.
 
He took
True
by the elbow and led out of the front door. Outside, True handed him her house keys and he locked the front door.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Instead of taking her to his bedroom,
Hayward
led True to the guest bedroom at the very end of the hall. “The closet in this room is large enough for all your clothes. When you finish unpacking I’ll be downstairs in the study waiting for you.” He said shutting the door behind him.

True spent the next hour getting settled into the room: then left to go find
Hayward
.
 
She wanted to find out what he was thinking. Standing outside
Hayward
’s office door, she stared at the beam of light underneath the door. Turning the knob she went inside and found
Hayward
sitting by the fireplace with a drink in his hand. “I was wondering if you would like to eat with
me?
”

“True, I don’t think I’ll be good company for you.” He sighed, holding up the brandy in his hand. “I’ve had too many of these in the past hour.”

“Fine, we don’t have to eat anything, but I’m not going to let you drink yourself into another stupor.”

She walked over to him took the drink out of his hand. The fire cracked as another log burned inside the fireplace. Sitting the glass on the table next to the chair True crawled into
Hayward
’s lap. Placing her head in the middle of his chest, she watched the flames do their magic dance. She lost track of
time
 
as
 
they both t sat in silence, whilst they enjoyed each other’s company. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

* * * *

Later that night, True woke up in front of the fireplace wrapped in a blanket with
Hayward
’s arm firmly around her waist. “Don’t even think about moving from this position.”
 
He mumbled in her hair. “I love watching you sleep. Your top lip does this cute little curl thing.”

“How did we end up on the floor wrapped in a blanket?” Her fingers played with the hair that poked out from underneath the sleeve of his shirt

His hold grew tighter and she squirmed in his arms. “You kept squirming around on my lap in your sleep. It was making me very hard pressed not to explore the possibilities, so I decided we both should take a nap on the floor.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Kitten, you can ask me anything.” Flipping on his back,
Hayward
grabbed her and laid her on top of his chest. Even though the thick layers of clothes, she could feel his erection pressing against her. Swallowing her desire, she focused her mind on what she wanted to say.

“When are we going to start decorating for Christmas?”

Christmas had been her favorite holiday for as long as she could remember. When she was a little girl, she loved baking cookies with mama and leaving them for Santa Claus. It has been a while since the upcoming holiday brought a smile to her face. Running her fingers over his washboard stomach through his shirt, she waited for his answer.

“How about we get the boxes out of the basement tomorrow? I didn’t have to heart to get rid of them because
Tyler
loved Christmas so much.”
 

“I think that is a wonderful idea.” Mentally she counted the boxes marked Christmas down in her basement. “I can also go back home and get some of my Christmas decorations too.”

“You aren’t going back in that house by yourself!”

Blinking at
Hayward
’s sudden outburst, she muttered “It will be daylight I don’t think anything will happen to me.”
 
He couldn’t be her constant shadow. There might be some days she wanted to be alone and not have him five steps behind her.
  

Hayward
pulled her closer until they were face to face. She smelled his brandy-scented breath on her face. “We will go back to your house together.”

True touched the side of his face tenderly. “Okay, what time should we go over there?”
 
Why argue with him?
Hayward
wouldn’t let it go until she agreed with him anyway.

“How about
ten o’clock
?”
 
He suggested. “We can eat breakfast first and then headed over there afterwards.”
  

“Sounds like a plan to me.”
  

Flipping the handmade quilt off their bodies,
Hayward
rolled her off his body back on the floor. He stood up and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. “Stay right there. I have something for you.”

“
Hayward
…I don’t want anymore gifts from you.”

Ignoring her,
Hayward
kept walking to his desk and picked up the black box she gave him weeks ago. With it in his hand, he came back over to her and sat back down on the floor.

“Here my mother wanted you to have this.”

True took the medium size box from
Hayward
with a stunned expression.
 
Her heart thudded against her ribcage once, twice and then settled down. “Sweetheart, your mother never got to meet me. How could she give me this box?”
 

Resting his back against the couch,
Hayward
tugged her into his arms. “My mother left black boxes for me and Clinton to give to the love of our lives.”
 
Brushing his fingers across the smooth black surface, he continued. “I knew Brooke wasn’t my true love so I never thought about giving it to her.”

Taking his hand off of box, he put his hand under her chin, tilting her up to his. “After the comfort you gave me at the graveyard I had no doubt I wouldn’t give it to you.”
 
He pushed a stray piece of hair away from her cheek.

Why did he say that to her?

“Do you know what is in it?” She flipped the box over in her hands. It felt heavy, but it wasn’t bearing down on her arms.

“No, I don’t. Why don’t you open it so we can find out?” Bending his left leg up, he rested his arm on it as he boxed her in.

Her hands shook as she opened the box. Peeling back the gold paper she gasped as the light reflected off the diamond and ruby necklace inside. She couldn’t accept this from
Hayward
. All of his other presents were wonderful, but none of them compared to what was in this box.
 

“Read the note.”
Hayward
muttered by her ear. “I know that you want to. Go on read it.”

Nodding she picked up the tiny note card and read the two little lines.

If my son has given you this box, you’re the love of his life.

Linda Campbell.

White-hot panic gripped her tightly by the throat. With a pang she realized
Hayward
was giving her this gift as a commitment to their love. Nervously, she licked her bottom lip and shoved the box back into his hands. This isn’t how she wanted a gift from his mother. How did he know that he would have liked her? This was so wrong on so many levels that it wasn’t even funny.

 
“I can’t take this.”
 

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why don’t you want my mother’s gift?”

“Your mother doesn’t have a choice in your decision to give it to me. What if she wouldn’t want me to have it?” The question hung out there in the air heightening the tension.

Bending her legs, she wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on them. Her eyes flickered over the fireplace as her mind wandered back to the necklace. It felt so at home in her hands like she was meant to have it, however, a necklace that beautiful wasn’t meant to be worn around her neck.

Hayward
voiced his opinion behind her with quiet, but determined, firmness. “My mother would have loved you from the moment she laid eyes on you. You’re everything she wanted me to find in a woman Please take her gift back.”

He leaned over her shoulder and stuck the box directly in front of her legs. “I know how you feel about expensive gifts, but technically I didn’t buy this for you.”

Hayward
bumped his arm into her back. “I thought that diamonds were supposed to be a girl’s best friend.”

“They are.”
 
She whispered, running her fingers across the box.
 
Could she really take this from him? There was no doubt that the necklace was worth a fortune. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. I’m very sure, Kitten.”
Hayward
kissed her on the back of the neck, and then waved the box under her nose. “The diamond and ruby combination will look breathtaking against your skin.”

She couldn’t disagree with him. The necklace would look amazing on her. She had a few nice pieces of jewelry from her aunt, but none of it came close to what
Hayward
was trying to give her. She realized that she wanted it badly.

Moving her legs downwards, she took the box from
Hayward
and pressed it to her chest. Just like the first time, the box felt so right in her hands. “T
hank
you,
I would be honored to accept it.”

Hayward
gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
 
“Good, now let’s get up and see what we can find to eat.
 
I’m starving.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Walking around
True’s
basement on the following morning,
Hayward
was amazed at the number of boxes marked ‘Christmas’.
 
Boxes were piled over in the corner. Several more were spread across the built-in wall shelves, and three red Christmas boxes were shoved underneath a chair.
 

 
“How many decorations do you have?”
 
He asked, looking around the room. “I love Christmas. Damn, I still can’t reach it.” She said in exasperation.

Hayward
turned his head at the sound of
True’s
mumbling. She only did that when she was pissed or upset.
What was she up to now
?
 
Fear shot into his eyes as the metal ladder wobbled under True as she reached for a box above her head. Running over to her he lifted her off the ladder. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” He remarked as he placed her in front of his body. He didn’t know if he should kiss her or shake her.

True brushed the hair out of her eyes and fixed her glasses; then had enough nerve to glare at him.
 
“No, I don’t want you to have a heart attack.”

“Then why are you standing on a ladder trying to reach a box several inches above your cute head?”

“I’m use to doing things myself.”
 

“Don’t climb on that ladder again. I can reach most of the boxes in here.”
 
Hayward
stated hoping that she would listen to him. He didn’t want her sneaking back down here trying to reach for something on that ladder when he wasn’t around.

 
“I won’t do it again.” True sighed. “Can you hand me those two boxes?”
 
She waved at two white boxes directly above his head.

Snatching the boxes above his head, he sat them down on the floor and brushed the dust from his hands. “Do you need anymore?”
 

“I believe those are the only two I need.”
 
She replied taking around quick glance around the basement. “Let’s go back home.”

He lifted the two boxes off the floor back into his arms. They were a lot heavier than he first thought. How in the hell did True lift them on that shelf without any help?
 

“I love how you said home.”

True brushed past his body as she went toward the basement stairs. He took his time and enjoyed the view in front of him. He never knew another woman that could fill out a pair of jeans the way True could.

“I’m happy you think of my home as yours too. I still think you need to sell this one and move in with me permanently.”
 
He was trying his best to be patient, but his patience was wearing thin with rapid speed. True would still be at this house if he hadn’t dragged her over to his.

Pausing at the bottom step, True raised her eyes up and stared into his. “Let save this topic for another time.”

He grinned.
 
“Does that mean you are thinking about it?”

“Yes, I have been thinking about it but I haven’t made up my mind.” True admitted as she walked up the stairs.

Hayward
stood at the bottom of the basement steps and stared at
True’s
hips
swayedbefore
him. A goofy grin was plastered on his handsome faces enhancing almost perfect masculine features.
 
Yes!
He was finally about to get what he wanted.

* * * *

True heard the door ringing the second she stepped back into the living room from the basement. She hurried to the door and looked through the peephole. “Who in the world is that?”
 
A sandy haired man wearing a blue suit with a white shirt and striped tie stood on the other side, holding a long white envelope in his left hand.
 
She was a little apprehensive about opening the door. She didn’t know who in the hell this man was. What if he was the man who had been calling her?

She jumped back from the door when the man stopped ringing the doorbell and started to knock. Why was he trying so hard to get her? Taking step toward the door, she cracked it opened and peeked out.

“Yes, can I help you?”

Removing his sunglasses, the man stuck them in the front pocket of his suit. Dark gray eyes stared back at her. Something about the way the man looked her straight in the eyes made her feel uneasy. “Are you True Monica Williams?” He asked tapping the envelope against the palm of his hand.

Behind her, True heard
Hayward
coming up the steps from the basement. “Yes, I am.”
 
Why was he standing at her door?
What did he want with her?

“You have been served.” The man shoved the envelope in her hand. Walking back down her driveway, he got into the black Lexus and drove off without looking back at her.

Closing the door, she looked at the envelope in her hands. The girth of the contents felt heavy in her hands. What in the hell was she being served about? She had been on jury duty before and this isn’t how it was done. Holding the letter up to the light, she tried to see what was on the inside, but the envelope was too thick. Dying to know what it was, she tore it open and scanned the neatly type document quickly.

“NO! I won’t do it. They can’t make me do it.” She screamed dropping the letter on the floor. She shook as the thought of seeing his face again after all of these years. Just the thought of hearing his deep voice and seeing those hypnotic brown eyes made her insides churn.

This couldn’t be happening to her. Why now after all these years did they want to believe her? She couldn’t see him again not after all the things he said to her. Her face burned as she remembered the taunts as she ran from his office. He left her battered and her self-confidence sorely bruised. She thought she would never heal until
Hayward
came into her life.

“Kitten, what is the problem?”

She raised her eyes and found
Hayward
staring at her from the middle of the living room. His eyes clung to hers waiting for her answer, but she didn’t know if she had enough strength to say the words.
Hayward
would go through the roof when he found out. He hated what the jerk did to her more than she did.

“A man just delivered that letter to me.” She pointed a shaky finger at the official looking document lying at her feet.

Eyeing her with concern,
Hayward
went over to the document and picked it up. He looked at her one last time before he read it. “The hell you will go!” He yelled “I won’t let you within ten feet of that bastard.”

* * * *

Dazed, True collapsed onto the couch and buried her hand in her hands. Could she really face
Dalton
again and not come apart? He burnt her so badly the last time they were in the same room. Did she want to face him again, in a room full of people?

“You aren’t going,”
Hayward
repeated, sitting beside her.
 

“I can’t ignore the letter. I’ve been served with a summons. I don’t know why they want me to testify at his trial. I haven’t seen or hear from him in years.”
 

“Well, I’m going to that trial with you.” He cut in.

“I don’t want you to come with me.”
 
The last thing she needed was
Hayward
getting arrested for killing
Dalton
at his own trial.

Hayward
eyes narrowed into blue slits.
“Why not?”

“
Dalton
is a part of my past I have to deal with. He was there before you.
 
Now I need to put him to rest without you.”

“Are you sure you are up to this?”

“I don’t know until I see
Dalton
face to face again.” Was there a still a small part of her that secretly wanted to see him? Did he know that she was coming? How would he react once he saw her?

Wait a minute!
She was in love with
Hayward
, why was she agonizing over what
Dalton
would feel once he saw her again. Hell, it was time for her to be honest with herself. She knew the reason she wanted to go back to
California
without
Hayward
at her side. She wanted
Dalton
to see what he had thrown away.
 
He had discarded her away like yesterdays old paper, without missing a beat. Yeah. She wanted him to regret the day he laughed her out of his office.

“Hey. I don’t want this to ruin our day. Don’t we have a bare tree that needs some decorations?” She pulled
Hayward
up from the couch and dragged him out the front door.

* * * *

True stood in the doorway and swallowed her laughter at the disgusted look that covered
Hayward
face. She had started working on the revisions that he wanted, the second they came back home. He promised her that when she was finished, the tree would be decorated with all the ornaments from her house mixed with his own. That was over two hours ago.
 
The only thing that hung from the tree was a sad looking string of lights.

Smothering another laugh, she stepped over the small step at the bottom of the entranceway and eased her way over to her cute, but pissed off boyfriend.
 
Maybe all the years he stayed hidden away up in the mountains had wiped out his Christmas decorating gene. She shook her head at the sad sight in front of her.
Poor man.
Hayward
was a highly intellectual individual, but he didn’t have a clue about hanging decorations.

Crouching down, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are you having problems?”
 

He flipped her around his body, into his arms. “Yes, I am and you knew I would too.”

She laughed as his fingers brushed against her ribs. “Sorry, you were so adamant about doing it all by yourself so I agreed.”
 

“Next time don’t listen to my ego.”
 
He replied.

“Honey, are you telling me you need my help?”

“Don’t tease me
True
. Are you going to help me with all this or not?”
 
Hayward
groaned; pulling her up to sit in front of him.

“Soon as you let me up, I’ll help you decorate the tree.”
 

“I have to do one thing first.”
Hayward
said.

“What is it?”

He turned her so she was on the floor underneath his hard body. Shoving his hands into her hair,
Hayward
opened her mouth with his and held her head still while he feasted on her mouth. She felt him hardened above her. Wanting more, she rubbed her lower body seductively against his.

Hayward
answered her silent plea by thrusting his erection further between her legs and making her panties wetter than they already were.

“Baby, I don’t have any condoms on me.” He whispered by her ear. “But I’m more than willingly to go without the latex if you are.”

Go without the latex?

Those four little words were like a dose of cold water hitting her in the face. True tore her mouth away from
Hayward
and wiggled from underneath his body. No, they weren’t ready to go without the latex yet. How could they when he never mention having kids with her?

“I think we need to stop.” She stated as she stood up.

Hayward
groaned and fell back on the floor between all the Christmas decorations. “Are you sure? Can’t we just fool around for a little while longer? It had been such a long time since we have made love. I miss you, Kitten.” An eyebrow wiggled at her. “Say yes. You know that you want to.”

His charm wouldn’t work on her this time; no matter how sexy he looked in
his
 
disheveled
state. Would she ever get over how mouth watering her boyfriend was? She let her eyes slowly trace the lines of his body until they came to rest on the huge erection, pressed against tight denim. An all-consuming heat started in the base of her back and worked its way through her body.

“No, we need to get all these decorations up. I can’t allow you to sidetrack me with sex.”
 
Standing up to his full six foot two inch frame,
Hayward
ran his fingers through his hair. “God, I hate it when you are right about things.”

 
“I’m usually right about most things.” She smirked.

Hayward
growled and reached from her, but she swatted his hands away. “Play time is over. We really need to work on helping out poor bare tree.”
 
She took a quick glance at the pitiful tree. It was worse than the tree in the Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon. Sad thing needed a lot of TLC.
 
The quicker, the better.