Fresh Temptation: Barboza Brothers, Book One (18 page)

Cara’s emotions went from
angry to doubtful to everything in between.
How dare that rich witch think she’s so much better than
me?

But what if she’s right?
What if I’m fooling myself to think Victor could be happy with
someone like me for very long? Maybe it’s good that Alexis came
along to try to burst my bubble.

Still in a daze, Cara
finally arrived at home. She parked in the driveway and retrieved
her lone suitcase from the trunk to roll it into the
house.

As soon as she opened the
front door, she heard Isaac’s sweet voice.

“Mommy Mommy
Mommy!”

She let go of her suitcase
and let her purse drop to the floor to scoop him into her arms the
moment he ran to her. “My baby boy.” She sniffled against
unexpected tears. No matter what happened, no matter what kind of
crazy emotional roller coaster she may go through because of a man
in her life, she could always come home to Isaac. She cradled the
back of his head, holding him against her chest. “I love you so
much.”

Oblivious to her tears,
Isaac immediately began talking in a long string of words, some of
which were barely audible. When she placed him down on the floor,
he kept going, talking with his hands as if he were acting out the
events of the past day that she had missed. There were explosions
and other sound effects, all of them making Cara laugh as she
cried.

After a few minutes, Cara
took Isaac’s hand and they went to the kitchen where Patty was
preparing dinner.

Patty dropped her
potholders on the kitchen counter and gave her daughter a hug.
“Hello there.”

“Hi Mom.” Cara squeezed
her tight, dreading the inevitable questions. “I hope Isaac wasn’t
too much trouble without me here.”

Patty let her go and gave
her a dismissive wave before picking up her potholders. “He’s never
any trouble. He’s my grandson.”

“Well you’re in an awfully
good mood.” Cara looked around the kitchen. The last time she saw
some of these ingredients was the night her mom had invited Victor
for dinner. “Hmm. We’re having this dinner again,
already?”

“Yes, but this time I made
carrot cake.”

“What’s the occasion?
Don’t tell me you invited my boss again.” Cara sighed.

“What?” Patty stopped what
she was doing, giving Cara a wide-eyed stare. “Oh no. You don’t
wanna see him after your big trip? That’s not good. You can tell me
all about it later…after,” she glanced down at Isaac, who hovered
at Cara’s feet, “someone goes to bed.”

“No, no. It’s not that.
It’s a long story. So tell me. Who’s coming over for
dinner?”

Isaac spoke up. “Tom. Fwom
the pawk.”

Patty blushed, devoting
her attention to stirring a pot on the stove. “Little one, you are
too smart for your own good sometimes.”

Cara laughed. “Tom, huh?
What happened to Stanley?”

“Oh, nothing.” Patty
rolled her eyes. “Stanley was so…three weeks ago.”

“Wow.” Cara’s eyes and
mouth gaped. “I’m shocked. I don’t even know what to say. So, tell
me about this Tom. When did you meet him? Is he nice?”

“We met yesterday. He’s a
widower. Retired from the police force. Has some grandchildren.”
She giggled. “Likes my cooking.”

“How many times do I have
to tell you. Everyone likes your cooking.”

“Yes, well, it makes me
feel good to cook for a man. Call me old-fashioned. Hey, why don’t
you go get unpacked so you can help me with some things. I’m
running a little behind.”

“Sure. Is it okay that I
invited Marcy over tonight? Didn’t know we were having
company.”

“That’s fine. I didn’t
want her here with your boss because I wanted you to have the
spotlight. Tonight’s different.”

Cara nodded. “Ah. He only
has eyes for you.”

“I think so,
yes.”

Cara smiled and led Isaac
out of the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later, as
dinner was almost ready, the doorbell rang.

Patty untied her apron and
slung it onto the kitchen counter. “I’ll get it.” She fluffed her
hair as she ran to the front door.

Cara gave Patty a minute
to greet Tom by herself, then walked out to meet him.

“Hello.” Cara held out her
hand. “I’m Cara, Patty’s daughter.”

Tom cleared his throat,
his eyes averting hers as if he was nervous. “Pleased to meet you.
I’m Tom Sutton.”

Cara gave him a big smile
in an effort to make him feel more comfortable.
Maybe he’s just nervous about meeting the daughter of a love
interest. Holy cow, my mom, a love interest?
“So, you and Mom met at the park? Were you there with any of
the kids?”

“Um…no,” he said. “I was
just passing through the area. Went to a deli around the
corner.”

Right then, the doorbell
rang again. Cara stepped around Tom as Patty began to talk to him,
leading him into the kitchen.

When Cara opened the front
door, she fell forward to give Marcy a quick hug. “Thanks for
coming by. You have no idea what a weird day I’ve had.”

“What? Did something
happen? Last time we spoke you were doing great.”

“I know. I thought about
calling you but it was too much to talk about over the phone.
Victor’s ex ambushed me in the parking garage.”

Marcy’s hand went to her
chest. She gasped. “No! That’s crazy!”

“Yeah.”

“What’d she say? What’d
she do?”

“Hold on, let’s get you
inside.” Cara stepped back and opened the door wide. “We can go up
to my room for some privacy for a minute. Mom has company…” As
Marcy walked past her, a car parked on the street caught Cara’s
eye. It looked like the same blue sedan with dark tinted windows
she saw in the parking garage on Monday morning. “Oh my God. What
the…”

“What?” Marcy looked over
her shoulder at the street. “You see something?”

“Yeah. I swear, Monday
morning I had this feeling like someone was watching me before
work. It’s the same car, I think. I remember the windows. They’re
so dark, I’m surprised they’re legal.”

“You think someone’s in
there watching you right now?” Marcy’s voice got quiet. “Like, Mr.
Sexy Boss Man? Is he having you followed?”

“I have no idea. I sure
hope not.” She took one last look at the car, then shut the front
door, her heart racing with fear. She walked to the kitchen to find
Patty. “Mom, do you know anything about the blue car parked along
the street? Has it been there all day?”

“What blue car?” Patty
asked.

“It’s a blue four door
car,” Cara said. “Really dark tinted windows.”

Tom’s eyebrows shot up.
“Why do you ask?”

“Oh no.” Cara’s blood ran
cold. “It’s yours?” She walked backward as she contemplated taking
Isaac’s hand and running out the front door. “Were you watching me
in the parking garage at work on Monday morning?”

Tom winced, scratching the
back of his neck. “I can explain.”

Patty’s eyes widened.
“Monday morning? We didn’t meet until yesterday
afternoon.”

“Please, please, I beg
you,” Tom said. “Let me explain. I’m sorry if I scared
you.”

Patty picked up a large
kitchen knife from the block behind her. “Stay away from me. I may
not look like much but I know how to use this.”

Cara glanced around for
Isaac. She was relieved to hear him playing loudly in the living
room where he couldn’t see his grandma threatening a man with a
knife.

Tom held up his hands,
waving them rapidly in front of him. “Patty, it’s really not what
you think.”

“You better talk fast,
mister,” Patty said. “Or I’m calling for help.”

Tom turned to Cara. “I was
hired by Alexis Whitt to spy on you. I’m a private investigator.”
He looked at Patty. “That’s why I was at the park. Alexis wanted me
to get information about Isaac, and I already knew where to find
you.”

Cara was suddenly choked
up. “Information about Isaac? What kind of information?”

Tom sighed. “About his
paternity. She’s desperate to keep you away from Victor. Listen,
I’m so sorry.” He turned to Patty. “After I left this morning I met
with Alexis and told her I can’t work for her. I already refunded
her retainer. As soon as I met you yesterday, I felt horrible about
taking this job. But if I hadn’t taken it, I never would’ve met
you. You’re the most wonderful, most interesting woman I’ve met
since Dianne died. So for that, I’m grateful to Alexis for hiring
me. But that’s over. It’s really over. I’m so sorry.”

Marcy said, “Aw.” Her lips
curled downward in a sympathetic pout.

Cara shot Marcy a mean
look, then directed her attention at Tom. “Why should I believe
anything you say? How do we know you’re not still spying on me?”
She then turned to Patty. “And you! You let a,” she lowered her
voice in case Isaac could hear, “strange man sleep over, with my
son in the house?”

“Sweetie…” Patty
said.

“Don’t ‘sweetie’ me,” Cara
said. “We all just heard him say he left here this morning. You had
a stranger in here, overnight. Not only that, but he was the same
man who was hired to spy on me.”

Patty frowned. “I’m sorry,
Cara. We got a little carried away last night, that’s
all.”

Marcy quietly muttered,
“Yeah, sounds like it.”

Cara gritted her teeth. “I
can’t believe you two. What does Alexis know about me?”

Tom’s head shook. “Not
much. I had pictures of your son playing in Victor’s car the other
night.”

Cara gasped. “You took
pictures of my son?”

“I’m so sorry,” Tom said.
“I was doing a job, that’s all. I’ve destroyed those and everything
else associated with the case.”

“Please calm down,
sweetie.” Patty walked over to Cara, gently tugging at her elbow.
“Come on, let’s go talk about this alone.”

Cara pulled away from her.
“No. You don’t understand. I was approached by Alexis Whitt in the
parking lot after work tonight. And now I know she wants me away
from Victor badly enough to hire someone to spy on my family. This
is all too much for me right now. I think I just need to take Isaac
and go somewhere by ourselves for dinner. Marcy, you can come, too.
But this situation,” Cara waved a hand in Tom’s general direction,
“is something I can’t deal with right now.”

Several minutes later,
Cara was driving with Marcy in the passenger seat and Isaac in the
back in his car seat.

“I’m sorry, Marcy,” she
said. “I can’t believe what happened back there.”

“It’s okay. I’m a little
jealous about how exciting your life is compared to
mine.”

“Ha! I wish mine would
calm down. This kind of excitement is a bit much for me right now.”
Cara shook her head. “Did I tell you I got an offer to go back to
my old job in Chicago last week?”

“You’re kidding. Why
didn’t you tell me?”

Cara shrugged. “I don’t
know. I sorta put it outta my mind, I guess. Didn’t want the
temptation to take the job. I’m starting to wonder if I made the
wrong decision.”

“No! You just moved back.
Don’t leave me all alone here. Besides, what about
Victor?”

Isaac giggled.
“Bictow!”

Cara looked at him in the
rearview mirror. “Yes, Bictow.” She gave Marcy a glance and
whispered, “Careful what you say in front of him.” She let out a
loud sigh. “I don’t know. Seems like it might be better to get out
before it
really
gets serious. This whole Alexis thing.” Cara gripped her
steering wheel like she wanted to shake it out of place. “You know,
she told me today that…” She glanced at Isaac again and lowered her
voice. “Let’s just say, she claimed there was infidelity on his
part.”

“Well, she sounds insane,”
Marcy said. “I wouldn’t put it past her to lie. If she went as far
as hiring a private investigator—”

Cara produced a deep
groan. “Don’t remind me. Mom. I can’t believe it.”

“Cara hon, I know you
don’t wanna hear this but…” Marcy paused, considering how to soften
what she wanted to say. “I think you may be overreacting about your
mom and Tom. He seemed pretty sincere. He could’ve just taken the
money and finished the job but he didn’t. He quit.”

“So he says…”

“Whatever. I’m sure he
could prove it. Listen, how many times has your mom dated since
your dad passed? Hmm?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I always kept in
touch with her, even when you didn’t live here. Trust me, she
doesn’t date.” Marcy smiled. “I think it’s sweet.”

Cara’s voice was weak.
“Yeah, maybe. But did she have to let him…” She glanced at Isaac
and quietly said, “spend the night.”

“Like mother like
daughter,” Marcy said.

Cara’s mouth fell open.
She took her hand off the steering wheel and smacked Marcy’s leg.
“How dare you throw that up in my face! It’s been years for
me.”