7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
When life gives you lemons, add vodka.
Magnolia stepped back as her best friend barreled into the foyer in dark jeans, a snug red sweater and four-inch heels the same bright red, with a little bow by the toes. She was pretty sure they were Valentino. “You look gorgeous. Why so dressed up? Meetings today?”
Mari, a pilot who now owned three private airports, normally wore jeans, sneakers and a pullover. Or shorts and T-shirts in summer. But when she dressed up, it either meant she had a date or meetings that she loathed. “No way, we’re not talking about me. But thank you, I love these heels—what happened? Are you okay?” She eyed Magnolia as if looking for damage.
“I’m okay…ish. Today has been long. And weird. Ezra’s here,” she blurted because ten seconds was the longest she could hold out telling her best friend. A woman who was her sister in all the ways that mattered.
Mari’s mouth fell open. “Wait, here, here ? As in your house?” Her hands balled into fists and the sight made Magnolia want to laugh.
And cry.
And hug her.
She stepped in front of Mari. “Yes and you’re not going to do whatever it is you’re thinking right now. Besides, I need a hug.”
Mari didn’t pause, just launched herself at her and wrapped her arms around her tightly. “I’ll make sure no one ever finds the body,” she whisper-growled as she bear-hugged her.
Despite the craptastic day she’d had, she laughed, and oh god, it felt good. “I believe you. And listen, I don’t think he ghosted me,” she said as Mari stepped back. “I think he was just as in the dark as I was about some things.” Magnolia held up a hand when Mari went to argue. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, but I need to talk with him.”
Mari’s cheeks flushed hot, but she finally said. “Fine. But first, where’s Lucas? Is my sweet boy okay?” Ever the fierce aunt who would do anything to protect him.
“He’s at the MacElroys’ so I know he’s safe.” Just down the street, only four houses away. “And before you ask, I don’t know who shot at me.”
“Yeah you do.”
“Well, I don’t know for sure,” she muttered. “How’d you even know about what happened?”
“Camila texted me.”
Magnolia couldn’t even get mad. She sighed. “You’re staying the night, aren’t you?” She flicked a glance down at the leather weekender bag Mari had owned since they were eighteen.
“Uh yeah. I’m not leaving you.” She held her palms up. “I’ll go make myself at home in the guest suite. But if you change your mind.” She pounded one fist into her open palm. “I will destroy everything that he is and everything he cares about.”
“You sound like a crazy villain when you say stuff like that.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true.” She plucked up her bag, set the strap on her shoulder. “Come get me once he’s gone.”
“I will. And thank you for being you.”
Mari just grinned and headed toward the stairs.
Steeling herself, she headed back into the kitchen, found Ezra sitting at her island top looking more gorgeous than any man had a right to. Jesus, he just got better with age. He was eating some of the cheese, and some primal instinct had her gaze flicking down to his hands.
His big, callused, very talented hands. It didn’t matter how many years had passed between them, she remembered everything he’d done with those wicked, wonderful hands.
Aaaand now was so not the time to even think about that. Not now. Not ever. She leaned against the countertop across from him and just watched him, trying to figure out what the hell to say.
“I…” Nope. That wouldn’t work. She sighed. Words! Come on brain, get it together.
Thankfully, he gave her a lopsided smile and it was like the years between them vanished for this one small moment. “Today is weird.”
She let out a startled laugh. “That’s an understatement. I don’t even know what to say right now. I was so mad at you for so long and then eventually I just boxed it all up.” Reaaaalllly healthy, according to her therapist. She nearly snorted. “And now…” She rubbed her hands over her face, wishing she had a pillow to scream into.
“Who was shooting at you and why?”
His question brought her out of her head, made her focus on him. “I’m not totally sure.”
“But you have an idea who.” There was a dark glint in his eyes, one that sent a shiver down her spine.
This was the Ezra she remembered, the one with the dangerous edge she’d fallen hard and fast for. “I do.”
“Who?” A single question, his voice hard.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It very much matters. I work in security. Let me help you with this problem. Because I’m helping regardless. It’ll just be easier if you give me all the information I need up front.”
She blinked once. Again. “So are we just not talking about Lucas?”
“I figured you needed a break, and honestly I do too.” He’d taken off his jacket, had hooked it on the chair behind him, and his long-sleeved T-shirt was shoved up, showing off gorgeous forearms. That she was totally not going to notice. Nope.
“And this is a problem I can help you with,” he continued, oblivious to her practically drooling over his forearms. “Because that psycho took a shot at you in the middle of the day with people around. Who do you think it is?”
So he wasn’t wrong about her not wanting to talk about their son. Mainly because it was simply too much to process right now, especially since she had a good idea who’d come between them. And she really, really didn’t want to think about that. It hurt too much.
A little ache in her chest throbbed, and nope. No, no, no. She had to focus on the threat and just lock up everything else. For tonight only. Because tomorrow she was going to get her answers.
She pushed away from the countertop, paced a little because she needed to move. “I think it’s a man named Samuel Perry. He’s sent me threatening emails, has shown up at one of the hotels I manage and…” She shoved her hands in her pockets because they were starting to tremble. “He’s a horrible man. He used to abuse his wife and she finally left him thanks to the encouragement of some friends. She stayed at a shelter I work with and the owner eventually put her in touch with me. I help abuse victims find jobs and transition into working again, getting financial independence.”
She took a deep breath, not wanting to get into all of that now. Ezra was such a good listener that it was easy to open up to him.
“Anyway, he hunted her down to her new job and I happened to be there when he was threatening her. She tried to stand up to him, but I could see the fear in her eyes so I got in his face while waiting on security. Then I banned him from all the establishments my company runs. His ex also has a restraining order, but he’s a violent angry man. The bans and order won’t stop him. And he’s gotten it into his head that I’m the reason, or at least part of the reason, his ex won’t talk to him. He tried to shove me and I dodged him, swiped his legs out from under him, and kept her physically safe. It embarrassed him, and if security hadn’t shown up when they did…” She trailed off, not wanting to relive that day.
She’d acted on instinct, using the training from her weekly self-defense classes. But she hadn’t thought much past just stopping him from attacking. Sure, she’d managed to take him off guard, but she wasn’t sure she could have held her own against him. He was big and strong and full of rage.
“What are the police doing to keep you safe?” There was a bite to his words, just as her phone buzzed again.
She bit back a curse as she looked at the incoming request from the front gate’s security cameras. Oh, nooooo . It was her parents. Apparently she was going to have to deal with things sooner than later.
“I hate to do this, but do you mind waiting again? I need to handle this.” And have a conversation she’d been hoping to put off until tomorrow morning. But it seemed like she didn’t get to be a coward tonight after all.
Ezra nodded, but she could see the frustration on his face. His rugged, handsome face and gorgeous full lips.
She forced herself to look away, to make her legs move and guide her out of the kitchen.
“Baby.” Her mom pulled her into a giant hug, her Chanel No. 5 subtly trailing her in a little cloud. “How are you? Where’s Lucas? Why aren’t there police here? Is Mari here? I saw her car outside.”
Oh, this was going to be a lot. “I’m okay,” she murmured as she stepped back, hugging her dad as well even as she prepared to ask them hard questions. “And Lucas is at a neighbor’s house. He’s fine. The police are handling things, but they certainly can’t be here all the time. Mari’s in one of the guest rooms working.” She had no idea if Mari was, but Magnolia didn’t need an audience for this regardless. She motioned for them to come into the living room. “We need to talk about something.”
Her mother frowned, but her father simply headed into the living room, waiting for her mom to sit before he sat next to her on the little love seat angled by the main window. It competed for space with the giant Christmas tree she and Lucas had put up a few weeks ago.
Magnolia couldn’t sit, not with so much energy pummeling through her, so she leaned next to the electric fireplace. For a moment, she thought about trying to be delicate, to soften her questions.
But no, she wanted the truth and would only get it if she surprised them. Something her dad had taught her long ago when they’d first gone into business together. Sometimes you have to ambush people. It’s the only way to get to the truth.
“What did you hear about today? Because obviously someone told you what happened.”
“Oh, Lucas texted me, told me that some lunatic tried to shoot you. I should have heard it from my daughter though.” Her mom’s tone was only slightly scolding. “But I can imagine how scary that was. At least you’ve got great security here.”
Okay so they didn’t seem to know about Ezra. That would help this whole ambush thing at least. “I do. Luckily someone saved me, tackled me out of the way from being shot.”
“Thank god,” her father murmured, shaking his head. “The world has gone mad, I swear. I think we should talk about getting you a driver, at least for now.”
“Ezra Hunt saved me.” She paused, watching their reactions. Her mom frowned in confusion. Her dad… oh, no. She saw the flash in his gaze. “He also had no idea about Lucas until just today. He thinks I broke up with him all those years ago, and never received any letters from me.” She watched her dad as she spoke, because she knew his tells. “And I believe him. Dad, did you meddle in our relationship?”
“Oh darling, your father never would have done that…” Her mom trailed off as she glanced at her father, seeing the same thing Magnolia did. The truth. “Oh, Arnold. You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t.” She breathed out the last few words in horror.
“That boy was no good—”
“No!” Rage swelled inside her and it took all her self-control not to shout, to let loose the way she truly wanted. “He was just from the wrong side of the tracks, according to you. But he was a good person. Why does he think I broke up with him? ”
For a moment her father was silent, his jaw working as he ground his molars. Then he stood, stalked to the window overlooking the front yard full of Christmas cheer. “I sent him a text from your phone. You were in some school thing. A play I think. And I saw the texts between the two of you, the ‘plans’ you had to move in together after high school.” His voice was a little mocking and oh, that pissed her off even more. “I ended things with him, then blocked his number. You guys didn’t go to the same school and didn’t run in the same circles. It was worth the risk.” And he didn’t even sound sorry.
She wanted to throw up.
“What about the letters I sent him telling him about Lucas?”
He swiveled. “I had nothing to do with that! Which just goes to show you he didn’t care about Lucas at all. So I’d been right to interfere.”
“You’re wrong.” Ezra strode into the room now, huge, intimidating and exactly like the man she’d known he would grow into. Powerful. His voice was just as quiet as Magnolia’s, but there was no mistaking the underlying edge. “I never got any letters. I joined the Marines because Magnolia…because I thought she’d broken up with me. There was nothing left for me here without her.”
She was definitely going to be sick.
“Get out,” she snapped.
Ezra looked at her in shock.
“Not you.” She went to reach for him, stopped herself, then turned to her father. “You. Out. Now. I can’t look at you. And I don’t want to say something I’ll regret.”
“Magnolia—”
“No.” This from her mother, who’d already stood, picked up her purse. She looked furious as she glared at her father. “I’m so disappointed in you, Arnold. More than I ever thought possible.” She turned to look at Magnolia, tears glittering in blue eyes that were a mirror to hers. “I’ll call you tomorrow?”
Magnolia nodded and refused to look at her father as they left. Only once the front door shut behind them did she allow herself to crumple on the nearest couch. “Ezra, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” Nausea pushed up inside her even as tears pricked her eyes. “I should have tried harder—”
“No, you don’t get to take on that guilt.” He sat next to her, looking lost as he watched her. He scrubbed his hands over his face. “This was all your father. And it sounds like you did try. Jesus, so many years.”
Ignoring his body language—because Ezra had always held himself apart—she leaned forward and pulled him into a hug.
To her surprise, he wrapped his arms around her tight. She buried her face against his neck and resisted the urge to crawl into his lap. But she needed to hold on to someone right now. No, not someone, just Ezra, who understood what she was going through, to an extent.
And it had to be worse for him—he’d lost so many years with his son. “I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive him for taking all those years from you,” she whispered against his neck. “From Lucas.”
He rubbed a hand down her back but didn’t respond. Just held her in that way that shouldn’t be familiar, but was nonetheless.
She tightened her grip for a moment, then made herself pull back. “Sorry,” she muttered, wiping away the last of the tears. “I shouldn’t be crying, not when you’ve lost…” She swallowed hard.
To her surprise, he cupped her jaw, rubbed a callused thumb over her cheek as he stared at her.
And just like that, she tumbled back almost seventeen years. Hell, eighteen, to the first time she’d met him. She’d been absolutely smitten, and she’d found out later that he had been as well. He’d just been able to mask his reaction to her a lot better.
Right now, he wasn’t masking anything as his gaze fell on her mouth, hot and hungry, and yep, that familiar ache was back.
One she hadn’t experienced in so very long it seemed as if it had been a dream. A different life. Heck, it had been a different life. She’d been a different person, full of dreams and a vision of how her life would look.
“Ezra,” she whispered, no idea what she wanted to say.
He let out a moan, so low she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it, but then he leaned slightly forward.
And the front door banged open.
She jumped back, blinking away the haze of lust as she turned toward the foyer to see Lucas striding in, his backpack on his shoulders. “Mari’s car is in the driveway so I couldn’t get to the garage…” He trailed off from calling out to her as he usually did when he realized she was in the living room. With someone else. “Oh. Hi.” He gave his mom a confused look, but then smiled politely at Ezra. “You’re the guy from the police station. Is everything okay?”
“Oh yes.” Nervous, she stood up and rounded the couch. “We’re just talking about something. I made snacks in the kitchen and Mari’s in one of the guest rooms if you want to go see her.”
Lucas nodded, clearly understanding she wanted privacy, then dropped a kiss on her cheek before heading down the hallway to the kitchen. Likely to eat half the food in the fridge. She missed having that metabolism.
Aaand none of that mattered now. She turned back to Ezra, who’d already stood and was looking unreadable. And a little uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t told him about you yet. I’d planned to, but then he wanted to know about the shooting and the threats I’ve been receiving. And by the time we got back here…I chickened out,” she whispered.
Ezra shoved his hands in his pockets. “It’s okay. And if you don’t want to tell him, it’s okay—”
“Are you serious right now?” She stared up at him, wishing she had heels on so there wasn’t so much of a height difference.
“I don’t know.” He ran a hand over dark hair he still wore a little long. “I don’t know anything right now. I just don’t want you to feel pressured or—”
“Okay, we’re going to stop that right now.”
He blinked.
“What?” she demanded.
“I forgot how bossy you are. Always surprising coming from such a small package.”
She snickered despite the tension coiled inside her. “I’m not bossy. I’m just always right. And we’ll set up a time to introduce you,” she said, lowering her voice. “I’ll talk to him tonight, tell him everything. God, he’s…well I don’t know how he’ll react. But oh, wait, I need your number. And you need mine. Though since you found my house I’m guessing you won’t have trouble with my cell.”
He just gave her a small grin.
Ooooh she felt that one all the way to her core. So she ignored the feeling and pulled her cell out of her pocket. Not trusting her trembling fingers—and not wanting him to see how affected she was—she opened her phone and held it out to him. “Just put your number in. I’ll call you in the morning and let you know how things went.”
He took her phone, his fingers brushing hers as he did. And she didn’t think it was her imagination that he felt that spark too.
“You can call or text me anytime. You don’t have to wait until tomorrow.” His deep voice wrapped around her, made her feel lightheaded.
She had to actively order herself not to step closer to him, to not hug him.
He cleared his throat. “If you want to smooth over what your dad did when you tell him…it’s okay. Well, it’s not okay, but I’ll understand. He’s his grandfather.”
She stared up at him, floored by his words. “My father never understood you,” she murmured, then shook her head slightly. “And no. I’ll tell him everything. He deserves the truth. My dad made some really bad choices and he’ll have to live with them. Not you.”
He paused, but then nodded and let himself out.
And it was like he took all the heat with him. Sighing, she locked the door and headed to the kitchen. She had to do this now. Not because she thought she’d lose her nerve, but Ezra deserved for her to tell Lucas as soon as possible.
She’d worry about what happened after this later. As soon as he left, she armed her security system and then double-checked that all her security cameras were on as well.
She could only deal with so much stress and she needed to know that her family, including Mari, was safe in her house.