The Golden Chance

  Thelma Anderson's words echoed in Phila's ears. You're a born crusader. A rescuer of others. It's your nature, Phila. Thelma was not the only one who understood her greatest weakness, Phila realized. Nick had caught on really fast.

  “Tell me something, Nick. Why do you care what happens to Castleton & Lightfoot now after what the others did to you?”

  Nick hesitated. “It's hard to explain. All I can say is that it's a family thing.”

  “The chips are down, and even though no one except Eleanor has spoken to you in three years you're going to try to save the family firm for everybody.”

  “That's a little heavy on the dramatics, isn't it?” he asked with a fleeting smile.

  It may have sounded dramatic, but it also rang true. Phila realized she believed him. He was not asking this of her because he wanted revenge on Hilary, or if he did, that revenge was just a byproduct. His main goal was to save C&L for the families. She understood that need now. Family was family.

  “All right,” Phila said. “I'll do what I can. Just don't expect miracles.”

  “Thank you, Phila.”

  “Don't get maudlin about it, okay? Let's just keep this on a clean, businesslike basis.” She started for the bedroom.

  “Phila?”

  “No,” she said very firmly. “If you stay here again, you sleep on the couch. We're not going to get this situation any more confused than it already is.”

  Three hours later Nick decided he'd had enough of the lumpy sofa. He kicked aside the blankets and got to his feet. Padding barefoot to the bedroom door, he opened it carefully and looked at the bed. He could just barely make out Phila's form curled up under the covers.

  He eased the door open farther and stepped inside the room. She did not stir. He went to the bed and slowly pulled back the sheet. Then he slid in beside her.

  Nick touched her lightly and, without waking, she immediately turned into his arms, snuggling close. One of her legs slipped between his. He heard her sigh softly against his chest, and a great tension seemed to evaporate from his body.

  Phila was wrong when she said they could not trust each other in bed. It was in bed that she was at her most honest with him and he with her.

  “Bastard,” she muttered drowsily. But she did not pull away. The tip of her tongue touched his nipple.

  “Do that again,” he said, rolling onto his back and taking her with him.

  She did, and a very pleasant tremor went through him. Then her tongue touched his other nipple, and he groaned softly. He stroked her sleek back down to her thigh, found the hem of her nightgown and pulled it up to her waist. His fingers moved lightly into the warm cleft between her buttocks. Nick felt the small shiver that rippled through her and he smiled in the darkness.

  “Damn you, Nick. How do you do this to me?” But she wasn't waiting around for an answer.

  She was starting to wriggle down under the sheet. Nick felt her bare teeth on the skin of his stomach. When he shifted his leg she moved lower. Her fingers blazed a trail ahead of her mouth, finding the base of his manhood and cupping him eagerly. He was already rock hard. He had been since he'd entered the room.

  “Baby,” he muttered. “Kiss me. Please. I want to feel your mouth on me.”

  She instantly started to crawl back up along the length of him, aiming for his lips. He halted her gently, his hands twining in her hair.

  “Kiss me down there,” he muttered thickly. “Where your hand is.”

  She trembled again and then she began to work her way back down his belly to the hard length of him. He felt her breath stirring the mat of hair above his thighs, and then he sucked in his breath as he felt her lips on his throbbing shaft.

  “So good,” Nick said. “So damn good.” He lifted himself into her warm, soft mouth and she took him willingly. Her fingertips traced erratic little designs on the insides of his thighs. His whole body began to grow rigid.

  “Now,” he told her, reaching for a package in the bed-side drawer. His fingers touched the revolver. He pushed it out of the way, scrabbling for the condom.

  Phila released him as he quickly sheathed himself. Then she was flowing up and over him until she was lying on top of him. He reached down to guide himself into her, felt her tight, hot opening give way slowly as she pushed herself eagerly against him.

  Then he was inside where he needed to be. Deep inside. He exhaled heavily, savoring the sweet heat that engulfed him. He slid his hands up Phila's soft, curving thighs and she cried out and clutched at his shoulders. He could feel her fingernails sinking into his skin, and he laughed silently in the shadows.

  Within a few minutes she was rigid with shuddering pleasure, and he gave in to his own shattering climax. Phila collapsed on top of him.

  A long time later he stirred sleepily and adjusted Phila more closely against him. He thought she was asleep, but her voice came softly out of the darkness.

  “Whose baby was it?”

  “Huh?” It took Nick a few seconds to orient himself to reality. He had been drifting in the pleasant aftermath and had been intending to glide straight into sleep.

  She rested her chin on her folded arms and peered down at him with her big, questioning, wary eyes. “Hilary's baby. Whose was it?”

  “That's a hell of a thing to bring up now.”

  “There was a baby. Everyone agrees on that. It wasn't yours, so whose was it?”

  Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling weary. “My father's I guess. She probably started to work seducing him as soon as she realized I meant to end the marriage.”

  “Nah.” Phila dismissed that impatiently. “Not Reed's.”

  Nick stopped rubbing his nose. “He was quick enough to marry her.”

  Phila eyed him thoughtfully. “You've been thinking all along that Reed slept with Hilary?”

  “There's not much point speculating about it one way or the other. It's history.”

  “Wait a second. It's bad enough that Reed suspects you of walking out on your own kid, but I never realized you might have believed he was the one who got Hilary pregnant.”

  Nick was suddenly very tense. “You don't think that's the most logical explanation under the circumstances?”

  “Good heavens, no. Reed would never have slept with your wife. Not while she was still technically married to you, at any rate. Besides, Eleanor says Hilary claims she was raped.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Reed would never use force on a woman any more than you would.”

  “No, but Hilary is quite capable of lying to Eleanor.”

  “Possible, but I still don't see Reed as the guilty party, either way. He only stepped into the situation because he was convinced he had to make up for what you had done. Honestly, Nick, how could you have been so dumb as to think your father had slept with your wife?”

  Nick got angry. “He married her, for God's sake. The day after the divorce was final. What was I supposed to think?”

  “What a pair of idiots. So smart in some ways but brick-dumb in others.” Phila sat up, drew her legs up to her breasts and wrapped her arms around her knees. The puzzle was pulling at her again. “Let's think about this.”

  “Why bother?”

  “Because I believe it may be important.”

  “It's old news, Phila.”

  She shook her head thoughtfully. “I'm not so sure about that.”

  “Damn it. It happened three years ago.”

  “It's still affecting the families.”

  “I'm not asking you to hang around until August so that you can play social worker. This is not a dysfunctional family situation that requires your professional counseling services. Just follow my lead, okay? Stick to the business side of things. I'll handle the details.”

  Phila was silent, but Nick could almost hear the wheels spinning in her head. Her engine was revving up again, and he had to admit it was a relief. She had given him a real scare earlier in the evening when he'd walked in and found her looking as though she
had given up on all of them, including him.

  Nick gave her a few more minutes of silent contemplation, but when she failed to stretch out beside him he grew impatient. “All right, maybe it was some outsider who got Hilary pregnant. Some man with whom she was having an affair.”

  “Not likely.”

  “Why not? She sure as hell wasn't in love with me. She could easily have had an affair, gotten pregnant at an opportune time and decided to use the pregnancy to her own advantage.”

  “I don't think that's the way it happened. Eleanor says she saw Hilary the morning after she found out she was pregnant. Hilary was very distraught. That's not the attitude of a mature, sophisticated woman who's simply having an affair and accidently gotten pregnant. A woman in that position would have taken care of the problem quietly.”

  “For crying out loud, Phila. I've told you Hilary is more than capable of lying.”

  “I believe you. But I don't think Eleanor was lying to me this morning. She genuinely believes Hilary was abused. She feels very protective toward her. I wonder why?”

  “I've told you, Eleanor wants to keep Hilary in charge of things so that Darren's career can get launched. Naturally she feels protective toward her. Now stop looking for answers to old questions and go to sleep.”

  “Stop telling me what to do. You know I'm not good at taking orders.”

  “True. There are, fortunately, others things that you do very well, however, so I think I'll keep you around.”

  She looked at him, her eyes very large in the shadows. The eyes of a clever little fox, Nick thought. Even in the darkness he could tell Phila's gaze was full of energy once more.

  “Just so long as you understand that this time around our relationship is strictly business,” Phila declared.

  He ran his thumb down the length of her graceful spine. “Lady, who are you trying to kid?”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The knocking on the front door of the cottage awoke Phila the next morning. She opened her eyes slowly, aware that something heavy was weighing her down. Instinctively she shoved at the offending bulk, trying to push it aside. It didn't budge. Her fingers touched bare skin, skin with rough hair on it—masculine skin. She was suddenly, frantically, wide awake and struggling wildly.

  “Phila. Phila, wait a second. Hold on. It's just me. Take it easy, honey.”

  “Get off of me,” she hissed in muffled tones, shoving at Nick's broad shoulders.

  “I am getting off of you. I'm sorry. I must have moved in my sleep.” Nick rolled quickly to one side, disentangling his legs from hers. He had been lying half-sprawled over her, his heavy thigh anchoring her lower body, his arm across her breasts.

  Phila sat up, breathing quickly, and pushed hair out of her eyes.

  “Are you all right?” Nick said gently.

  “There's someone at the door.”

  “I'll get it.” Nick pushed aside the covers and stood up. He gazed down at her in concern. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded rapidly, not meeting his eyes. “Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I just panicked for a minute, that's all. You know I can't stand having a man on top of me.”

  “It was an accident, honey.”

  “I know, I know. Go see who's at the door.” She waved him out of the room.

  Nick stepped into a pair of jeans and went reluctantly out of the bedroom. Phila took several deep breaths and pulled herself together. It wasn't too bad this time, all things considered. The panic had been short-lived, and it was already fading.

  Nick would never hurt her. He had just accidentally triggered some old reflexive fears.

  She heard Reed Lightfoot's voice in the outer room. Phila got out of bed and pulled on her robe. When she opened the bedroom door she felt almost calm again.

  “Well now, don't you look all bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning, Phila,” Reed said cheerfully as he spotted her in the hall. “I was just telling Nick, here, that I thought you might like to take another stab at a golf ball today. What do you say?”

  Phila blinked, her gaze going to Nick, who was standing barefoot near the front door. He had a watchful expression on his face, and she knew he was plotting again.

  Phila yawned. “I don't think I'm up to it today, Reed. Why don't you go with him, Nick?”

  There was a moment of awkward silence as both men assimilated her words. Reed cleared his throat. “It's short notice. You've probably got a lot of things to do, Nick.”

  “Yeah. And I don't have a set of clubs with me. Haven't played for quite a while,” Nick said.

  Phila's eyes narrowed. “Don't be ridiculous. The notice isn't any shorter for you, Nick, than it would have been for me. You don't have anything in particular to do this morning, and you can always rent a set of clubs at the course. Gee whiz, being Lightfoots, you could probably get the pro to loan you his personal set, if necessary.”

  “Course is probably crowded, anyway, this morning,” Reed offered weakly. “Might be better to try it another time.”

  “Yeah.”

  Phila frowned at the two men. “Go on, both of you. I'm not used to having so many males standing around in my living room at this hour of the morning. Makes me nervous.”

  Reed inclined his head in an abrupt motion. “Suit yourself, Nick. Feel like a game?”

  “You'd probably cream me.”

  Reed began to smile evilly. “Goddamn right. Especially if you're out of practice.”

  “I'm not that out of practice. Care to put a little money where your mouth is?”

  Reed sighed. “Too much like taking candy from a baby.”

  “We'll see. Let me get some shoes on. I'll be right with you.” Nick went down the hall to the bedroom with a long stride.

  Reed looked at Phila. His brows rose. “Sure you don't want to come with us?”

  “I'm sure. I want a real breakfast. Coffee and a Danish doesn't do it for me.”

  “We could have a real meal at the clubhouse restaurant before we go out on the course.”

  “Hah. I know you. You'd lure me out there with a promise of ham and eggs and then tell me we didn't have time to eat. Too many people waiting to tee off. You'd rush me out onto the course, and I'd have to walk eighteen holes with my stomach growling.”

  Reed glanced idly around the room. “Why did you push Nick into going with me?”

  “I think it's time the two of you got to know each other again. I think somewhere along the line you've both forgotten a few important things about yourselves.”

  “Like what?”

  “Figure it out. You're both reasonably smart. Not brilliant, mind you, but definitely above average for the male of the species. No telling what you might come up with if you try.” Phila adjusted the sash of her purple robe.

  Nick came out of the bedroom, his windbreaker slung over his shoulder. He walked over to Phila and kissed her squarely on the mouth. “You remember our deal, okay?”

  Phila slitted her eyes. “Go on, get out of here.”

  “She always this grouchy in the morning?” Reed asked as he followed his son out the door.

  “No. Sometimes she's worse. Don't worry, I'm working on the problem.” The door closed behind him.

  Phila rolled her eyes and went toward the kitchen to start the coffee. When she had it going she trooped back into the bedroom with the intention of taking her morning shower.

  She was halfway down the hall when she noticed the closet door standing ajar. She opened it and saw that Nick had gathered up the bedding she had given him for the sofa last night and shoved it inside. He must have done it in a hurry on his way to answer the door.

  This was the second time he'd scrambled to disguise the fact that he'd been relegated to the sofa. Had to be pure masculine ego. She found it oddly touching to realize that his male pride wouldn't allow him to let anyone think he might have had to spend the night in the living room. He was so cool and confident; so sure of himself in so many other ways.

  It occurred to Phila that being marr
ied to Hilary might have been a difficult cross for a man like Nick to bear.

  She opened the closet and began refolding the blankets he had tossed inside along with his clothing.

  Something crackled in the pocket of the shirt he had been wearing when he arrived the previous evening. Phila glanced inside the pocket and saw the piece of paper that had been folded into fourths.

  She almost talked herself out of looking at it, but some instinct made her go ahead and remove the sheet of paper from the pocket. She unfolded it carefully and saw that it was a fax copy of a newspaper article dated two and a half months earlier.

  HOLLOWAY. A Holloway area man was convicted today on a variety of drug and assault charges stemming from an attack on a social worker earlier this year.

  Elijah Joshua Spalding was given a total of eighteen months in prison.

  The assault took place in the parking lot of the Holloway Grill. According to testimony at the trial, Spalding had agreed to meet Philadelphia Fox, a social worker, at the restaurant to discuss matters concerning the foster home run by himself and his wife, Ruth.

  Spalding and Fox arrived in the parking lot at approximately the same time. There was an argument during which Spalding attacked the social worker and tried to drag her into his pickup truck. Fox fought back and Spalding got a gun out of the pickup. He was threatening her with it when police arrived on the scene.

  When Spalding was searched at the time of the arrest, a quantity of heroin was found on him. Spalding pleaded guilty to the assault charges.

  His wife maintained throughout the trial that her husband had never used drugs. The children who had been in the Spaldings' care have been sent to other homes.

  Phila's fingers were shaking as she refolded the piece of paper. Nick had been digging into her past. She wondered frantically what he had been looking for or, worse, what he suspected.

  He could not know anything more than what the newspaper story had covered, she told herself. There was no reason for him to think there was anything more to the tale.

  She sank down onto the plump arm of the sofa, trying to think logically. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. He had merely been curious about Elijah Spalding. It made sense. After all, he knew she had a definite fear of the man, and he had taken care to see that she learned how to protect herself in the event Spalding showed up in her life.