Chapter 18
Vee
Turning around, I walked away, back into my condo as Fin exchanged numbers with Bre.
I couldn’t decide how I felt about the two of them in contact with one another.
After all, I didn’t stop Fin from talking to her, mostly because I wanted to know what she knew.
As I began to unpack the groceries I bought, Fin shut the front door and walked back to the kitchen.
“What do you think?” he asked.
Unexpected tears came to my eyes as I shook my head.
Fin reached for the box of fettuccine noodles in my hand and placed it on the counter before tugging me to his wide chest and wrapping his arms around me.
A sandalwood cloud filled my senses as I laid my cheek against his soft sweater.
Beneath the fabric, Fin’s heart beat a steady rhythm.
Closing my eyes, I felt the sting of unwanted tears.
Pushing away, I looked up. Fin manifested my stress. Muscles and tendons pulled taut in his neck and his cheeks. His chiseled jaw was set and sharp.
“I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“Tears are an outlet.” He reached for my shoulders. “They’re not only to show sadness but also happiness.”
I scoffed. “I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything to be happy about.”
He tilted his face and pressed his strong lips together. “Nothing?”
“You.” I let my forehead fall to his chest. Looking up, I forced a smile. “My dad will live on.”
“In you.”
“Yeah, but not only in me. He might have a son.”
“Or another daughter,” Fin said. “Neither will be you.”
“And that baby won’t know his or her father.” I wiped the moisture from my eyes with the back of my hand. “I don’t want to believe Bre. I want to prove she’s lying about the baby. I mean, how do we know she’s even really pregnant? She could just be after part of Dad’s estate.”
“She didn’t seem to know about the team.”
I shook my head. “There’s no way for her to know that his will says children and doesn’t specifically name me as owner.” I pushed away from Fin’s hold and again removed items from the shopping bags. “You know, the Irsay sisters all are co-owners in the Colts.”
“They aren’t co-owners with an infant.”
“Is this like some medieval royal thing?” I asked. “Would Bre be the baby’s queen regent?” I met Fin’s gaze. “I sound selfish, but I don’t want to be the Coopers’ co-owner.”
“I have no idea how any of this works.”
My attention went back to the ingredients. With all that was within me, I tried to concentrate on the wild mushroom sauce I planned to make. Instead of only mushrooms and shallots, this recipe had sautéed peppers, garlic, and parsley. Emma taught me how to make this sauce when we were in college.
Fin moved around the island and sat in one of the tall stools. With his elbow on the hard surface and his chin on his fist, he stared in my direction.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
His lips quirked in a lopsided grin. “I’m watching my woman make me dinner.”
“Your woman?” I lifted an eyebrow.
“Me man. You woman.”
“Very good. We’re going to work on more complex sentence structures once we get you housebroken.”
Fin’s laugh filled the air. “How about a glass of wine while I watch you make whatever you’re going to make?”
I sighed. “After today, I may drink the whole bottle.”
“I went to the store today. We have an ample supply.”
He stood and walked to the counter behind me, uncorked a bottle we’d opened the other night, and poured two glasses of cabernet. “Here.”
Turning, I took the stem of the glass he offered.
“To my woman.”
A grin spread across my face. “To my man.”
Our glasses clinked.
After a sip, I went back to cleaning the vegetables and letting them dry on a paper towel. In a sauté pan, I added butter and olive oil.
“You don’t need a recipe. I’m impressed.”
“Do you remember Emma?”
“Your roommate. Yeah, I remember her rule about living room sex.”
A scoff came out. “Good thing we don’t have her rule any longer. Anyway, when we moved in together, I was less than helpful in the kitchen. If I remember correctly, it seemed as if my nannies cooked when I was young. After Dad married Daphne, we had a cook. Her name was Gladys.”
“Did you like her?”
“I was in my not-liking-anyone stage. Half the time I wouldn’t go to the dining room for dinner.
Gladys would bring my dinner to my room.
” I shrugged. “She was okay. I didn’t hang around in the kitchen, and God knows, Daphne never cooked or baked.
So poor Emma took on the chore of teaching me how to survive without a cafeteria. ”
My vegetables were all cleaned and sliced. I scraped them into the sauté pan and filled a large stock pot with water. “This was one of our favorite meals we’d make. Back then, we also added chicken. I guess it’s one of those comfort foods.”
Fin kissed the top of my head. “Comfort food. Just what Fin’s-in-control bubble needed.”
“Oh, you’ve fed me too well in that bubble.” I added minced garlic to the vegetables. As the delicious aroma filled the air, I asked, “Why did you offer to be Bre’s contact?”
“Because she has information we don’t have. I get that she shouldn’t contact you, but I’m fair game.”
I nodded.
“You don’t want her and me to talk?”
“I do.” I stirred the mushrooms, shallots, peppers, and parsley. “What do you think about the evidence she said they had.”
“I don’t think it’s enough.” Fin leaned his fine ass against the counter on the other side of the stove. “Granted, all my criminal expertise comes from television, but for a time I was an avid Criminal Minds watcher. Even now, if we turned on an episode, I could tell you what happens.”
“And all this great research tells you what?”
“Providing an over-the-counter medication to an adult is not illegal. It’s as if I bought you a knife for protection or a kitchen knife to cook and then you stabbed yourself. I’m not liable.”
I furrowed my brow. “You’re right. It must be because of the note.”
“Still seems weak to me. Maybe you should talk to your cousin.”
“Good idea,” I said. “I’ll call Leigh later.” My smile returned. “She doesn’t just get her legal knowledge from TV.”
“Probably a better source than me.”
I bumped my shoulder against Fin’s arm. “You’re my go-to for football plays.”
“Oh, that’s right. We were going to have a practice session tonight. I thought it could be like strip poker with play calls.”
I giggled. “You thought what?”
“I tell you a call in Coopers’ speak. You translate it. If you get it right, I will remove a piece of my clothing. If you get it wrong, you remove a piece of your clothing.” He shrugged with a sexy grin. “Seems fair.”
Fin mixed the salad kit I’d purchased and set the dining room table. The first bite of the wild mushroom fettuccine was scrumptious if I did say so myself.
“You can cook,” Fin said after he swallowed. “Delicious.”
“I finally spoke to Aunt Rachel today,” I said after a sip of water.
“She swears she didn’t know anything about the rumor you heard about getting rid of one of our quarterbacks.
She agreed with me that we need both you and Simpson healthy and ready to play.
” I shook my head. “What concerns me more is that someone is talking about financial uncertainty within the Coopers. That notion is false.”
Fin twirled pasta around the tines of his fork. “I hope you don’t need either one of us. Dennison looks good out there.”
During practice, I felt tension from Fin. If I were to guess, it was because he wasn’t suited up or practicing. “Do you have any news from the trainers on when you’re ready to practice?”
His smile dimmed. “No. I don’t know how Dennison did this for four weeks.”
“You have a job. It’s to heal. The Titans are only week nine. We have nine more weeks.”
“Of regular season,” Fin said. “The Coopers will still be playing.”
“And you will be there.”
“Do you want to talk about Bre’s request?” Fin asked. “About raising her baby?”
I shook my head. “It’s too much. I’m not saying I never want to have children. I just…”
Fin nodded. “Your plate is full.”
“Overflowing.”
The next morning, I went straight to Dad’s office—Aunt Rachel’s office.
“May I help you, Ms. Hubbard?” Kandace Jessup, Rachel’s head assistant asked.
“I was wondering about Bre Stanton’s belongings. Are they still in her desk?” From where I stood, her desk looked bare.
“Security removed everything from her desk.”
“Do you know what they did with it?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t.” She lifted a brow. “Is there something you’re looking for?”
“It’s okay. I’ll contact Maker’s Mark security.”
As I walked toward my office, using my cellphone, I called the security department. They answered on the first ring.
“Hello,” I said, “this is Maeve Hubbard. I’m calling regarding Bre Stanton’s personal belongings in her desk. Where can I see her things?”
“Ms. Hubbard, all of the items in her desk were turned over to the police.”
My stomach sank.
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“If you have any questions about anything in particular, Marvin Phelps was present when the police took possession of everything. He’s in the office if you’d like to speak to him.”
“Thank you. I would like to speak to him.”
I waved at Jen and pointed at the phone at my ear as I went into my private office.
“Ms. Hubbard,” a new voice said.
I pictured Marvin, a serious older man with white hair and glasses. He’d been with the Coopers for as long as I could remember. “Marvin, Vee here. Were you present when the police cleaned out Bre Stanton’s desk?”
“Well, Ms. Vee, Mr. Grant told me to clean out her desk the night of Mr. Hubbard’s service. I did it, not the police.”
While I wasn’t a legal expert, that seemed to be a chain-of-evidence breach.
“Did you give her things to the police?” I asked.
“No, ma’am. I left them in Mr. Marsh’s office. He gave them to the police.”