Silver Falls - Anne Stuart [21]
“Why are you trying to get rid of us?”
He looked at her for a long moment, his deep brown eyes shadowed. And then he blinked. “Just a momentary lapse on my part, sweetheart. People will tell you I seldom do the right thing—it goes against my nature. Stay here if you want. Just keep an eye on your daughter.”
“I always do. Which is why I don’t want you anywhere near her.”
“Trust me, I’m the least of your worries. I could tell you something interesting about Jessica Barrowman.”
“Who’s Jessica Barrowman?”
“The murder victim.” His voice was flat.
“I thought you hadn’t been here long enough to know her?”
“I’m a fast learner,” he said. “I’ve been here long enough to find out a few things about the murder. Jessica Barrowman was young, thin, with long straight blond hair down her back. Just like your daughter. You might consider getting Sophie a haircut and a perm.”
Her stomach lurched in sudden panic. “You son of a bitch—”
He caught her arm as she charged him, spinning her around until it was trapped behind her back. Their bodies were pressed together for a long, endless moment as they looked at each other, the tension crackling between the two of them.
Rachel didn’t move. His grip on her arm was like iron, his body was warm and hard against hers, and she could feel his heart beating, fast. Her own heart was racing—with fury, she told herself. His grip loosened on her arm, releasing her, but she didn’t move, and neither did he.
Why now, she thought. Why, after all this time, did this man have to show up now? Why couldn’t she have met him five years ago and gotten him out of her system then, when she was free to do so? Why did he have to appear now, with a hidden agenda, and she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to shove him away or move closer, so close that they could practically melt together, so close that she could close her eyes and their breathing would be perfectly in sync, so close her eyes and his mouth would cover hers and she’d kiss him back and realize it wasn’t worth the trouble, it never was.
But why did it have to be now that she was un-characteristically tempted?
She stepped back, and he let her go without any show of reluctance. “Does my brother know you’re not happy?”
“I’m perfectly happy in my marriage,” she said, ignoring the debacle in her bed last night.
“Are you?” He looked past her, his eyes narrowing for a moment, and then suddenly he moved closer. “I could change your mind…”
David walked into the kitchen, just as Caleb reached for her, and she waited for his explosion.
None came. “What are you doing here, Caleb?” David said, sounding only slightly distracted.
Caleb’s smile was easy, just barely taunting. “It’s been a long time. I wanted to see what you were up to.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve got a new family. A lovely new daughter. It’s only logical that I’d want to meet her and get to know her mother better. Why, I bet Rachel doesn’t know anything about our childhood. I could tell her stories that would probably shock the hell out of her.”
“No, thank you,” Rachel said, moving to stand by her husband. “I know all I need to know about David, and I don’t really need to know anything at all about you.”
“Don’t be rude, Rachel,” David admonished. “You’ll find that Caleb likes to stir things up whenever he can. He likes to play the bad boy, but in the end he’s really quite harmless.”
“Am I, David?” Caleb’s smile was far from reassuring. “You might be surprised.”
Whatever had happened to upset David seemed well past, and he looked at his brother with fond benevolence. “I’ve known you for thirty-five years, Caleb. I doubt you could surprise me anymore.” He leaned over and kissed Rachel on the cheek. “We’re going over to my father’s for dinner, sweetheart. That way you don’t have to cook.”
Shit, that was all she needed. Another interminable evening with Stephen Henry. “Sorry, can’t do it. It’s a school night and Sophie’s got a lot of work to do. You’ll have to take my apologies.”
“Father will be so disappointed. You know how fond he is of Sophie,” David said.
“Sorry, but rules