Niki's Challenge (6 page)

It gave him pause to think Mason kept
up with his activities. That didn’t bode well. He made a call and
got his security team on it. He had too much riding on his recent
find to have Mason sticking his nose into his private affairs.
Clicking off with his top security advisor, he picked up his
briefcase and left to meet his sister at his parents’
house.

****

Tony pulled up in front of the large
Tudor mansion that had been in his family for generations. His
family expected him or Gale to raise their family in the home.
Lately, his parents had been despairing of having any grandchildren
at all. He and his sister were twins. Gale was gay and made it very
clear that she wouldn’t be giving birth to any children. Rissa, his
sister’s partner, and Gale had been living together for the last
two years and Tony was glad his twin appeared happy.

Unfortunately, that left him the sole
recipient of their parents’ “grandbabies, please” requests. It
didn’t matter to them that he had no desire for marriage, a wife or
kids, and was quite content with his life the way it was. There
were so many more digs to explore, artifacts and buried cities to
unearth. Collecting was his passion, coupled with discovering the
meaning of his finds. Those things fueled him. His company had a
worldwide reputation for dating and authenticating artifacts. He
stayed busy and was only stateside because of his mom’s and Rissa’s
birthday. Good thing they were close together and he wouldn’t need
to return until the holidays.

“
I’m getting older and I’d
really like to spend some time with my grandkids while I can still
play with them,” she’d complain in a strident tone. Normally, he’d
smile and keep going. Lately, she ratcheted up the pressure,
getting his dad involved. He’d thought about foregoing this visit,
but Gale wanted to talk to him about something. They both thought
they could get together at their parent’s’ home and get the
bi-weekly visit out of the way at the same time.

“
Mom...Gale,” he yelled,
walking in through the garage door.

“
In here,” his sister
yelled.

Strolling through the hall into the
den, he saw his mom and sister sitting on the sofa leafing through
some magazines.

“
What’re you doing?” he
asked, bending down to kiss his mom on the cheek.

“
I’m trying to find the
perfect gift for Rissa’s birthday party. Don’t forget it’s in three
weeks,” she reminded him.

“
I got it,” he pulled out
his PDA to make sure the date was there. “What kind of gift do you
want to get for her?” he asked as he pulled a couple of grapes from
the bowl on the table in front of them. Moving to the other sofa,
he stretched out his long legs, getting comfortable. At six feet
two and one hundred ninety pounds, he needed a longer couch, but
knew better than to comment and start a long discussion. He wanted
to make this visit short and get back to the office. He’d barely
made a dent in authenticating his latest find. A horn of some sort.
Since he planned to keep this rare item in his personal collection,
he’d placed it to the side. But after Mason’s call, he decided to
start the process.

“
I want to give her some
jewelry, but she’s really not a jewelry person. Besides her cousin
will probably give her something like that, since she collects
stones and diamonds.” Glancing over at her brother, she laughed
aloud. “Now
she
has some serious pieces, damn. Oops, sorry, mom,” she quickly
apologized as her mom raised her eyebrow. Tony snickered and
ignored the glare his sister sent his way.

“
But then she’s loaded and
calls jewelry investments,” she commented offhandedly as she
continued looking through the magazine.

“
Well, you should give her
what I’m giving her.” He spoke into the silence.

“
What’s that?” she asked as
both she and her mom looked over at him.

“
An American Express gift
card,” he told them in a smug tone.

“
Really, how much?” she
questioned, looking at him.

“
I’m not sure. What’s
appropriate for the brother of the lover?” He ducked the pillow she
threw at him.

“
I don’t know, Tony, just
make sure it’s a decent amount,” she demanded.

“
No problem.” He turned
toward his mom. “I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?” He didn’t know why
he asked his mom. She wouldn’t know, he couldn’t remember ever
seeing her cook.

“
I don’t know. Go ask
Josie, I think she’s still in the kitchen,” she said without
looking up. His eyes met his sister’s and they sent each other a
secret smile.

“
I’ll wait. I’m too
comfortable to move right now,” he told her, closing his eyes. A
pair of brown eyes stared at him. “Why can’t I forget you?” he said
under his breath.

“
What’s that, honey?” his
mom asked.

“
Nothing, Mom. I think I’ll
go see what Josie’s making for dinner.” He pushed himself up from
the couch.

“
I’ll go with you,” Gale
said. The look she gave him let him know she heard his
comment.

“
So spill it.” She stopped
him when they left the den. “Who can’t you forget?” He recognized
the look she sent him. When she crossed her arms, he knew she
wasn’t about to let it go. As a rule, he was a solitary person,
except with his twin. All their lives, they confided in each other
and that hadn’t changed as they became adults. She always had his
back and he had hers.

“
I met this woman in
Chicago, and I’ve been unable to find her or stop thinking about
her,” he said rubbing his neck and walking down the
hall.

“
Wow.” Gale stopped in her
tracks, mouth agape. “How long ago did you meet her?” The surprise
in her voice would’ve pleased him if it’d been about anything
else.

“
A little over five and a
half months ago” he answered. Gale gasped as he strode pass her
into the kitchen. Clearing her head with a quick shake, she coughed
to get her voice.

“
And you...Mr. Love and
Leave ‘em, are still hung up on her? Tell me about her, what’s her
name, where does she live? What does she do?” She threw the
questions at him. His brow arched at her. Obviously, she had a
problem grasping the concept of him running behind a
woman.

“
Let me see...I don’t know.
I don’t know. Oh yeah, I don’t know. I just said I’ve been trying
to find her,” he growled. “But there’s no info on her, not a trace,
and now after two private detectives I’m giving up.” His voice
lowered. He walked away, not ready to talk about it yet. There was
no getting away from Gale. She was worse than a bloodhound when she
sensed a mystery.

“
You did what?” Fanning her
face, she looked up at her brother. “You hired detectives to locate
a woman you met in Chicago.” Shaking her head, she peered over at
him. “Damn, she must have been awesome! But why didn’t you just
give her your number here in Atlanta or take hers?”

Face burning, he moved to the kitchen.
“I tried, but she wouldn’t take it,” he mumbled.

“
What? I know I didn’t hear
you right.” She burst out laughing.

“
Fuck you, Gale.” He
snapped, searching the area to make sure they were
alone.

“
Not you or any other man,”
she sang out. “Seriously, what do you mean? Are you saying she
wasn’t interested? In you?” She tried not to laugh, but failed
miserably.

“
Oh, my goodness,” she
breathed loudly. “You finally met someone you like, but she isn’t
interested in you? I never thought I’d live to see the day.” She
threw her hands up in a gesture of peace as he brushed past her to
go into the kitchen, not appreciating her humor at all.

“
Oh, come on, Tony. You
know this is rare.” She cackled, trailing behind him. “Let’s just
laugh about it for a minute before we get all serious.” He refused
to respond. Instead, he opened pots and the oven in search for
food.

“
I really don’t want to
talk about it. How’s the planning going for Rissa’s party?” He
redirected the conversation to her favorite topic. He wasn’t in the
mood for teasing, not about his chocolate delight.

“
Oh, everything’s ‘bout
done.” She moved to sit near him. “I don’t know why I thought I
could surprise her, though,” she complained.

“
What do you mean? It’s not
a surprise anymore?” Picking up a plate and looking around, he got
some food to hold him until later. His housekeeper would’ve left
his supper in the microwave at home.

“
Naw, she saw some stuff in
my bag and told me to make sure to get a suite for her grandmom and
cousin.”

“
What, why do you have to
do that?” he asked, confused.

“
They’re really close. Her
cousin is pregnant and Rissa has already taken time off from work
to be with her when the baby arrives later in the year.” Tugging
her shirt straight, she looked at him. Their eyes met as he ate
some grapes and homemade cookies.
Shit.
He prepared himself for
whatever scheme Gale had up her sleeve. The look in her eye sent a
spear of apprehension through him.

“
That’s what Rissa really
wants, you know.” Her hesitant approach put him on alert
immediately. It meant he wouldn’t like it.

“
What?” he asked
cautiously. He kept eating but looked directly at her, noticing her
face had turned a dull red. This couldn’t be good. There wasn’t a
shy bone in Gale’s body. She must want something big.

“
A baby,” she told him in a
quiet voice. Watching as he almost fell off the chair.

“
What the...she wants a
baby? How the hell? What the fuck’s going on, Gale?” he growled,
regaining his composure.

“
We both want kids. We’ve
been talking about our options.” Taking a deep breath, and looking
around to make sure they were alone she continued. “We looked into
adoption and that’s still viable. We looked at her getting pregnant
by normal means, and we raise the baby.” Shaking her head, she
confessed in a lowered tone. “I just can’t stomach that. Then
there’s artificial insemination. We discussed that. We’ve even
talked to a doctor.”

Observing his sister, he didn’t know
what to say. She constantly surprised him. The decision to leave
men and turn to women had been a long time coming, so he wasn’t
that shocked when she came out the closet. She’d always been
uncomfortable with her dates. But when she felt it was necessary to
discuss being the man or masculine one in her relationships with
him, and wanting pointers from a more masculine point of view, he
drew the line. There were things he’d never feel comfortable
discussing with his unpredictable twin.

Gale expected immediate acceptance of
her lifestyle choice by family and friends. Without warning, she
chose a family dinner to make her announcement. Their grandmother
fainted, and her lady friend at the time left the dinner,
embarrassed. Now, he could only imagine how she expected to
accomplish having the family she and Rissa wanted. But he had
learned a long time ago, never to underestimate his
twin.

“
Okay, and the doctor said
what?” His gaze captured hers in preparation for whatever she threw
at him.

“
That either of us could
carry the baby. Rissa wants to do that.” She gazed at the entryway
as Josie walked in.

“
You guys hungry? I see
you’ve gotten some snacks already, Tony.” Josie smiled as she
opened the oven to check on the roast.

“
Yeah, the food smelled so
good, I just needed to get closer for a contact high,” he teased.
Josie had been with them for years and he considered her a member
of the family. They enjoyed joking with her.

“
It’s done. Your mom said
you all were going to serve yourselves later, so I’m just going to
place this in the warming oven.” She explained as she moved the
dishes around. Once she completed that, she pointed to the stove.
“The rice and vegetables are on the top of the stove.” Turning, she
looked at them both smiling. “It’s good to see you two, I hope
everything is well, and I’ll see you on your next visit.” She waved
good-bye and turned to leave.

“
Josie, if I call and let
you know the day I’m coming, can you make me some of these cookies
to take with me?” Tony held up the delectable treat in his
hand.

“
Sure. I’m glad you like
them. Tell you what. I’ll make you some next week, and you just
stop by and pick them up, okay?”

“
Absolutely, thanks, Josie.
You’re the best.” Tony walked over and gave the diminutive Latina a
hug.

“
You spoil him, Josie. I
don’t know why.” Gale rolled her eyes, teasing as she joined in the
conversation.

“
Yeah, and you can pick up
those muffins Rissa loves at the same time.” Josie laughed as Gale
turned pink and waved goodbye.

“
See there, that’s what
happens when you go up against the force known as Josie,” Tony
mocked, turning back to face his twin.

“
Yeah, whatever,” she
huffed. Apparently, she intended to continue their conversation
despite the interruption. Inwardly he groaned. He didn’t understand
what he could do to help, or why she wanted to share such an
intimate subject with him. The day had been long and unfruitful, he
wanted to eat, work on his artifact and sleep.