Chapter 5 Rendezvous #4
“No, you were right,” she interrupted breathlessly, swiveling to face him.
“This might sound crazy to you since you’ve obviously been to a lot more church services than I have…
” she paused after such a long lead-in to take a breath before continuing, “but I’ve always prided myself on my logic.
I’ve spent my entire life relying on science and math, things that add up on paper.
Then this guy I barely know sits next to me in church and shoots holes through my carefully defined existence by pointing out the utter absence of logic in my faith. ”
She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “I feel like I should reintroduce myself. Hi,” she announced brightly, thrusting a perfectly manicured hand in his direction. “I’m April Chandrakanta, a believer who intends to start reading her Bible and doing what it says like a real Christian.”
He could no longer keep still. A guy only had so much willpower.
He took the hand she was holding out and cradled it reverently between his.
Her nails were painted in an enticing shade of pink.
“If it makes you feel any better, the guy sitting next to you is really looking forward to getting to know you better.” He lightly pressed her fingers again before letting them go.
“Especially now that you’re no longer a heathen. ”
To his dismay, she blushed — hard — as if she were wildly embarrassed about something. “Oh, no,” she moaned softly.
“What?” He wanted to take her in his arms, but it was too soon for that.
“Bear, I’m not sure I even own a Bible.”
Her poignant confession tickled him. “April, there’s a simple solution for that.”
“There’s my favorite uncle!” Kaya breezed up to them, wearing an aha expression at the sight of how close he and April were sitting. “What did I miss?”
“Plenty.” Bear very much liked the fact that she had a bodyguard in town. The guy was wearing a Lonestar Security uniform, which meant he’d been carefully vetted.
Her new boyfriend might be another matter. Bear’s gaze flicked to the young man, and he suddenly understood why Kaya had been in no hurry to introduce him before now.
Up close, Bear could see that he was the spitting image of his father — a younger, skinnier version of the wealthy, snide, condescending Dr. Benjie Haywood.
A man who carried a Texas-sized chip on his shoulder.
A man who’d once dated Tiana Dakota in secret.
A man who hadn’t spoken to Bear since the day she’d disappeared.
Kaya took one look at her uncle’s expression and stepped between him and her boyfriend. “Uncle Uri, this is Dr. Ben Haywood. He’s a dentist, like his dad. Ben, this is my Uncle Uri Dakota.”
Bear bristled despite April’s earlier request for grace.
“Funny thing, Dr. Haywood, I don’t recall you asking my permission to date Kaya.
” He had a lot of nerve showing up on the rez, everything considered.
The Haywood family had spent the past century treating the Dakotas like the dirt on the bottom of their shoes.
Ben turned as red as the mist clouding Bear’s vision and started sputtering.
It was Kaya’s pale and stricken pallor that made Bear take a mental step back. He’d seen that look on a woman before. His sister had worn it the day she’d confided her secret to Bear about who she was dating…and been forced to witness his reaction to it.
Not again! Bear felt as if he’d taken a cannon blast to the chest. He actually glanced down to make sure there wasn’t a gaping hole where his heart had been.
However, Kaya’s trembling fingers were the only thing resting there. He mechanically reached up to cover her hand with his, clearing his throat. “I, ah…maybe we should start over and shake hands?”
“Yes, sir!” Ben Haywood thrust a hand at Bear and delivered a surprisingly firm handshake.
“Pleased to meet you, sir!” There was no mistaking the adoration in his eyes as they landed briefly on Kaya, nor the anxiety for her uncle’s approval.
He was dressed to impress in a dark suit and a white dress shirt. He was even wearing a tie.
Bear wished he could say the same thing back to the guy, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t the least bit pleased about meeting Kaya’s boyfriend, and a part of him was enjoying making him squirm. It was the most dad-like emotion he’d ever experienced.
Dr. Haywood reached up with two fingers to tug at his collar. “You’re right, sir. I should’ve asked for your permission to date Kaya. I’m asking for it now.”
Bear wanted to deny the request at the top of his lungs. He wanted to howl his frustration at the ceiling. He might give in to the temptation and do exactly that later this evening. There was a full moon, so it would be fitting.
Instead, he heard himself saying, “Son, if I ever have a problem with you dating Kaya, you’ll no longer be dating her.
” Those were the kindest words he could muster.
If anyone didn’t like it, that was too bad.
He pivoted and returned to his seat beside April, satisfied he’d made his point.
It caught him by surprise when Kaya and her boyfriend slid into the pew in front of him and April, twisting around to remain a part of their conversation.
Kaya’s color slowly returned to normal. Her sass returned along with it. She curled her upper lip at Bear, speaking with a faint tremble in her voice. “If you’re done terrorizing my boyfriend, I would love to hear the big news you wanted to share with us.”
The last thing Bear wanted was to spill his guts in front of a Haywood. However, he caught sight of the rez police chief sidling their way, so he swallowed his misgivings and quickly shared the conversation he’d overhead last night.
A whole new wave of outrage shook Kaya. “I don’t want to believe a word you’re saying. I don’t.” She sounded close to breaking down, “because it would mean Tiff’s been lying to me the entire time we’ve been roommates. It would mean I don’t have a best friend after all. It would mean—”
Ben Haywood reached for her hand, halting her tirade mid-sentence.
She clung to it like a lifeline, drawing a sobbing breath.
“The whole turn of phrase about her future bar application sweating is one hundred percent Tiffany Masterson. She was one of the two women you heard talking, Uncle Uri. I know it, and I hate that I know it!” A tear slipped and slid its way down her cheek.
April produced a tissue and silently held it out to her. “I’ll ask Gil to have his team at Lonestar do some digging into Tiffany’s background.”
Kaya accepted the tissue with a mumbled thanks and dabbed the edges of her eyes with it.
Adriel Montana reached Bear and leaned over the back of the church pew to speak directly into his ear. “We need to talk, my friend. Don’t make me pull out my handcuffs.”
“Very funny.” Bear gave him a hard look. Sometimes, it was impossible to tell when the stoic-faced police chief was joking, which he was pretty sure the guy was. “The eyewitness report about me was debunked. Try to keep up.” Did he even realize they were in the presence of a Haywood?
“I’m aware of the debunking,” his friend grumbled. “But there’s still something hanky going on, and the bone-planting proves it. So, tell me what you know, and let me do my job.”