Big Girls Don’t Cry (Dundee, Idaho #6)(14)
Author: Brenda Novak

“We’re a family, right?”

She threw her head back as he kissed her br**sts, touched her elsewhere. “Right.”

“And families stick together,” he murmured against the skin of her throat.

“For better or for worse,” she repeated as she wrapped her arms around him. But when he pulled back to look in her face, he saw the sad little smile those words engendered, and the fear returned.

CHAPTER FIVE

Chicago, Illinois

KEITH’S CALL CAME on Saturday, catching Isaac in his car on the way to the university.

“Hey, why are you coming to Phoenix?” his brother-in-law asked, as engaging as ever. “I thought you had work to do at home.”

Isaac marveled at the fact that Keith sounded perfectly normal. Was it only the night before last that he’d seen him with another woman? “I figure another week off work won’t matter. I haven’t been golfing since before I went to Africa. And the weather in Phoenix is pretty good, isn’t it? This time of year, it’s got to beat Chicago.”

“It’s beautiful here,” Keith said without hesitation. “Not a cloud in sight.”

God, he was a good liar. Isaac wondered if it was still raining in Idaho. “So what do you say? Can you do it?”

Would Keith squirm? Make up some excuse?

“I’d love to, man, I really would,” he said. “But I won’t be here. I have to head back to L.A. tomorrow.”

“So soon?” Isaac struggled not to sound suspicious.

“My company’s having trouble with a new piece of software I developed. They need me there to work out the bugs.” Keith sounded sincerely disappointed.

“Do they call you home early very often?”

“Not often, but occasionally. L.A. is our base.”

Isaac pictured the blurry shape of the female he’d seen through the window of the modest white house—the house with the childish note that had acted like a talisman against his intrusion. “What about the, um—” he cleared his throat “—people you were supposed to train in Phoenix? They won’t mind letting you go?”

Keith’s laugh sounded rather uncomfortable. “They won’t be happy about it, but…I don’t really have a choice.”

Maybe the woman’s husband had returned. “Does Liz know you’re coming home?”

“I’m just about to call her.”

Keith had to be telling the truth. He knew it was likely that Isaac would be speaking to his sister in the next few days. “I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear the news.”

“Now I can watch Mica in the spelling bee.”

Isaac slowed as he approached the exit that would take him to the university. “Mica’s a great kid.”

“She is. So smart. But Chris is, too.”

Were the children the only reason Keith kept coming back to Liz?

Isaac’s call-waiting beeped. Glancing at the screen, he realized it was Reginald and knew he had to take it. “I’ve got to run, Keith. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

He switched over but couldn’t quite erase the vision in his mind of Keith kissing his lover. “What’s up, Reg?”

“Isaac, where are you?”

“Nearly in the parking lot. I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Please tell me you’re wearing a tie.”

“Of course I’m not wearing a tie. It’s Saturday. No one at the university wears a tie on Saturday.”

“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to turn around. You’re going to need one.”

“For what?”

“The committee has agreed to interview you this afternoon.”

“Today?”

“It was the only option. Mr. Zacamoto, the chair, leaves for Detroit on Monday.”

“I thought I had to wait until next month. Why would they be so accommodating?”

“Because of your recent and very extensive experience in the Congo. They’re trying to expedite your application.”

That meant he was probably the center’s favorite contender for the grant. “Great,” Isaac said, allowing himself a huge sigh of relief. He couldn’t wait to fly back to Africa and continue his research. But now that he knew Keith was heading to L.A., Isaac needed to finish up a little business in Dundee first.

“MOMMY, THERE’S A stranger here!”

At the sound of Angela’s voice, Reenie pulled her head out of the refrigerator, which she’d been cleaning, and tossed her rag in the sink. A stranger? Reenie had grown up in this small community. There was hardly a stranger in all of Dundee.

Quickly wiping her hands on a towel, she tucked the wisps of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ears and hurried to the front door.

On the porch stood a tall man, maybe an inch or so taller than her husband. He wore his thick dark hair, which had significant curl at the ends, longer than she liked, but the golden cast to his eyes made them intriguing.

“Hello.” He was a stranger, all right. Reenie would’ve remembered the unusual color of his eyes, if not the long, dark lashes that framed them. Only the thick eyebrows that encroached ever so slightly on the space above the bridge of his nose kept those startling eyes from looking too feminine.

He turned the smile he’d just given Angela on her. “I’m Isaac Russell.” He seemed to hesitate briefly, as if he expected some reaction to his name. But she was fairly certain she’d never heard of him before.

“Rena O’Connell,” she replied, and extended her hand.

He’d already moved to shake with her, but froze. “Did you say O’Connell?”

Reenie hesitated. “Yes. Does that come as some sort of surprise to you?”

“No.” He briefly gripped her hand in a firm, warm shake, then let go. “Nothing like that. I—” he cleared his throat. “I wanted to be sure I had your name right, that’s all.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it.” It struck her that there was something odd about his reaction. “What can I do for you?”

He cleared his throat again and tipped his head toward the driveway. “I’m, um, here about the Jeep. Is it still available?”

She hadn’t received a single call on the Jeep since putting it up for sale a week ago. Trying to bury her dissatisfaction with her husband’s hurried departure, she’d thrown herself into a cleaning frenzy and had forgotten all about it. “Yes, it is.”