Exposed to Passion (Five Senses series Book 3) Page 15

  “You’ve never done this before? Asked local artists to participate?”

  “Nope, this is virgin territory for me. But I’ve already got Jenni working on a press release and creating a list of schools and art critics in the area. We’ll invite them all to opening night. Give the show and the kids more exposure.”

  “Talk about inspired ideas.” The smile on his face mirrored Rikki’s. This amazing woman had found a way to make lemons into lemonade for Katie. His heart swelled in his chest with pride and admiration. And something else he couldn’t put a name to. An emotion with such strength it startled him with unexpected intensity.

  The soft light from the lamp on the desk glinted off her hair, sparking the auburn streaks into fiery life. Her gaze traveled over his face then met his eyes, hopeful, determined. He pushed a stray tendril behind her ear and rubbed his thumb along her cheekbone, hypnotized by the satiny feel and warmth of her skin. The quiet reverence of the room was broken only by the soft whirr of Rikki’s laptop. He blinked to clear the trance he’d fallen into when he’d brushed her face and cleared his throat. “How can I help?”

  “I’m very relieved you asked that. I figured you’d like the idea, but I… I wasn’t sure.”

  “Why wouldn’t I help?”

  “You’re busy, and already helping me with so much for the exhibit. I was almost afraid to ask.”

  “You’ve got to know by now I’d help any way I could. I lo—”

  Whoa! Where did that come from? He’d never given any thought to his growing feelings for her and suddenly he’d nearly spewed a word like love right into her face.

  He took a step back, instantly regretting the action when her smile dimmed. “Rikki, I love being around you, and love how supportive you’ve been with the photography club.” Didn’t that sound like something a lame dumbass would say? Sam stifled a curse and attempted a recovery. “I’m serious. Tell me how I can help.”

  Rikki’s timid grin and disappointed sigh sliced through him, a sharp blade across tender skin. Glancing away, she picked up a pencil sketch from the desk. “First, I think I’m going to need at least one extra portable panel. There’s a room to the side of the museum that I was planning to block off, but I’ll use for this part of the exhibit.” She handed him the paper and pointed out the location. “I’m going to pick the best pictures from the group, and have them all mounted and framed the same way. The consistency of the framing will help the content stand out. Since some of the kids are under eighteen, I could use your help getting permission to display. Do you mind handling that? I’ve got everything else covered.”

  Sam nodded. “Absolutely. I have a buddy who owns a frame shop. I bet I could get you a discount.”

  “You’ve already done so much.”

  “This is nothing. You’re doing my students a huge favor.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Let’s finish talking about this on the way to Red’s. We’re late and if I know my brother, he’ll have some smartass comment to make about it.”

  Rikki blushed, her mouth open in an O. She twisted around, her butt brushing against his groin. His cock surged to life with the contact, and the little blood that hadn’t rushed south flashed into his face. Her startled gasp and sensual glance back at him made the heat burning his cheeks worth it.

  * * * *

  The evening temperature was mild so they’d opted to leave the truck home and hoof it to the tavern. Continuing a lively discussion about the exhibit, the fifteen-minute walk flew by. Laughter, clinking glasses, and the sound of his name called by several patrons when they walked through the door to Red’s created a pleasant assault to the senses. Sam hated to admit he might spend a little too much time here, kind of like Norm from Cheers. But the tavern was comfortable, the customers his friends. Sam placed his hand possessively at the small of Rikki’s back and steered her toward his brother and parents, seated at a scarred wooden table.

  “You want a beer?” he said, raising his voice and angling his head closer to her ear to be heard over the raucous laughter from the players around the pool table. Lifting his hand, he flagged down a passing waitress.

  “Yeah, whatever we had the other night would be great.”

  “Molly, can we get two of the seasonal brew? Thanks.” The girl hustled away to fill his order and Sam pulled Rikki’s hand into his own, lacing their fingers together. Sensing her hesitancy, he sent her a reassuring grin. “They don’t bite. They’re going to love you. I promise.”

  “It’s just a bit disconcerting, meeting your family when I barely know you. Just don’t leave me alone with them. Please?”

  Good vocabulary was a strength of his, but right now he wished it was exceptional. Because “winsome” didn’t aptly describe her sweet smile. “I won’t.”

  His dad and brother stood as they approached the table, their gazes trailing speculatively from Rikki to Sam and back. Holding tight to her hand, he greeted his family and introduced her. “Dad, this is Rikki Salerno. Baby, this is my dad, Bruce.”

  Rikki stretched her arm across the table. “Pleased to meet you, sir.”

  His dad shook her hand vigorously. “Now, no need to call me sir. Just Bruce will do. This is Sam’s mom, Eileen. And our other son, Jack, and his fiancée, Jem.”

  Rikki greeted everyone graciously as Dad pulled a chair out for her. Sam greeted his mom and Jem with a hug and kiss then claimed the chair next to Rikki’s, grabbing her hand under the table. He shot her a wink, gratified when she returned it, along with an easy smile.

  He wanted her to fit in and be comfortable with his family. He held his breath, weighing the idea of Rikki as family.

  Rikki squeezed his hand, alerting him to the fact his dad was talking to him. “What?”

  Dad smirked, like he knew exactly where Sam had gone, and repeated the question. “I asked how that little girl was. The one you told Jem about this morning?”

  “Katie Germaine. She’s fine. I stopped by late this afternoon and she seems to have made a complete recovery.”

  “What’s going to happen to the girl who supplied the brownies?” his mom asked, a frown pulling the corners of her mouth down.

  “For now, she and her boyfriend, Brett, are suspended. Old Man Edwards told me he is going to recommend expulsion. But that’s up to the school board. I spoke to the detective in Wayland, who told me the District Attorney is preparing charges against both of them.”

  “What possesses kids these days?” Dad shook his head. “It can’t be peer pressure. That’s been around forever and I don’t remember it ever being this awful.”

  Sam shrugged, no more sure of the answer than anyone. “It might have been, but we live in a world that’s shrunken in size since I was in school. With social media, news, good or bad, is immediate. Apparently, Suzannah posted pictures of Katie eating the brownie on Instagram and Twitter last night. Little did she know those pictures, and her claiming credit for the prank, would be nails in her coffin.”

  His mom turned toward Rikki, a generous dimpled smile erasing all traces of her previous frown. “You were there last night, too. Sam mentioned he’d asked you to help chaperone. I’m glad you were around.”

  “I enjoyed the trip up until that point. I could have done without the evil trick they played on Katie.” Rikki glanced at Sam, her eyes shimmering in the soft light shining down on the table. “Sam was great with his students. He dealt with the situation and kept the kids calm. Katie definitely didn’t deserve what happened.”

  Uncomfortable with the ongoing discussion of last night’s events, Sam leaned back in his chair, putting his arm along the back of Rikki’s. “No, she didn’t. She was lucky to have Rikki’s help. I know I was impressed, even before she got called on to play nurse. The kids really liked and respected her. You should have heard their questions about cameras and photography.”

  Jack sat forward, toying with the label on his bottle. “Sam showed me the layout plans for the Sims exhibit. It opens next week, right?”

  “Yes
, and I appreciate your company making the portable display panels. They’re going to be useful. This is the first time Silas has wanted a three-dimensional type of layout.”

  “Is it unusual for him to take an interest in the exhibits?” Jem asked. She pulled Jack’s bottle from his hands, peeled the label off, and handed it back to him with a look of triumph.

  Rikki grimaced, then canted her head to the side. “A little. Normally, he lets me take care of all the details. I guess he’s more involved this time because he’s familiar with Granite Pointe. He took his most famous picture here, after all.”

  Rapping his knuckles on the table, Dad drew all eyes toward him. “I’ve met him, you know. Silas Sims. I was twelve, and working after school for my dad in the hardware store. He came in one afternoon, looking for lumber and nails. Said he was going to build a platform to sit on out in the salt marsh. The ground was too unstable for his tastes. Struck me as a very eccentric man.”

  Sam snorted. “Must run in the family. I think the granddaughter might be a bit odd, too.”

  Stiffening beside him, Rikki opened her mouth, but his mom spoke before she got any words out.

  “Sam, you shouldn’t say things like that. You either, Bruce. Neither of you know these individuals. Have you ever met Ms. Sims? She’s probably a lovely young woman.”

  “You’re right. I bet everyone on the A-list cocktail party circuit thinks she’s exceptional. My only wish is that she’d answer her darn email. The Sims Foundation is the only one I haven’t had a response from, and all the other grants have been denied. Maybe if she spent more time in the office I’d have an answer.”

  Rikki stared at the tabletop, her hands fisted together.

  Aw, shit. He’d done it again. One of these days, he was going to sprain his ankle jumping up on the damn soapbox.

  Leaning over, he gave her a peck on the cheek and whispered an apology for her ears only. “I’m really sorry. I know you don’t like it when I talk smack about your boss. And Mom’s right. I should be more careful about my words.” Her terse nod was all the proof he needed that he wasn’t forgiven. “I think Molly must have gotten sidetracked. I’m going to get us some beers. Maybe I’ll see if I can order them with a side of crow.”

  Finally, a small chuckle escaped her compressed lips and humor flooded into her dark chocolate eyes. Dropping his hand over her clenched ones, he squeezed. “I’m heading to the bar. Anyone need anything?”

  “I’ll go with you.” Jack stood and started toward the dark wood counter.

  Jumping up, Sam had to race-walk to catch up with his brother. He called “Hey, man. Wait up, will ya?”

  “Christ, Sam. You’ve been hanging out on planet Uranus too much lately…you’re turning into a real asshole. You’re talking about the woman she works for, for crying out loud.” Jack nodded at an acquaintance, but kept walking.

  “I know. I apologized.”

  “Did you see the way she tensed up? She must hate it when you jump on her boss with both feet that way.”

  “I can’t help resenting the hell out of Marguerite Sims. It would take all of five minutes of her precious time to respond to an email. The photo club needs this money.” They were five steps from the bar when Sam spotted a familiar and wholly unwelcomed woman beckoning him over. “Aw hell, that’s perfect. Of course she’d be here.”

  Sherry Hillman jumped off her barstool and scooted right up next to him, brushing her breasts across his chest. Repressing a shudder, Sam turned his head just in time to avoid connecting his lips to hers, though she did try. “Mr. Kerrigan…Sam. I’m so glad I ran into you tonight. I wanted to talk to you about the awful thing that happened last night.” She gestured to the empty stool next to the one she’d vacated. “Can you join me?”

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Hillman. I’m with someone tonight. On a date,” he added for good measure. “Perhaps you could call the office Monday and schedule a time during office hours. I have first and second hours free as prep time.”

  Her murky brown eyes narrowed and she glared over his shoulder at the table where Rikki, Jem, and his parents sat. The baleful look morphed into one of cloying sweetness. Jack grunted behind him, a noise that sounded suspiciously like bitch. Yeah, Jack clearly didn’t like the opportunistic woman any more than Sam did.

  “I’ll get the beers,” Jack said and walked away, removing his chicken-shit self from the conversation.

  Laying her hand on Sam’s bicep, Sherry shifted her weight, ramming her hip into his crotch. He tried to move away, but she tightened her grip on his upper arm. A cloud of her flowery perfume assaulted him. He suppressed his gag reflex. Had the woman bathed in the shit?

  “Sam, I’m so worried about Suzannah Cohan. About this whole unfortunate incident.”

  Sam’s jaw dropped. Had he heard right? “Suzannah?”

  “She certainly doesn’t deserve what’s happening to her. She told me and my Aly all about it this afternoon.”

  What the— “Suzannah doesn’t deserve…” Un-fucking-believable! Even though Sam wanted to unload the anger flaring through him, he was talking to the mother of a student. Harnessing the thin strings of his temper, he clenched his fists to keep himself in check. “Mrs. Hillman, you’re mistaken if you think Suzannah is the injured party here.”

  “Oh, but she is! Katie Germaine must have been acting. She’s made up the entire thing to get Suzannah into trouble.”

  “Blood tests don’t lie. Katie ingested a massive quantity of marijuana by eating a brownie laced with the sh—stuff. A brownie Suzannah made.”

  “That’s not possible. Suzannah would never hurt anyone. My Aly is her BFF, and she wouldn’t be friends with someone like that.”

  Summoning reserves of self-restraint from deep inside, Sam shook his head, then pulled his arm free of her blood-red-tipped fingers. “Suzannah admitted making the brownies. Maybe your Aly helped her.”

  Sherry’s lips compressed into a stark line and she knit her brows together in a frown. “You watch what you say about my daughter, Sam. I might be divorced from her dad, but he’s still an attorney. If you insist on slandering my Aly’s good name, I’ll have him file a defamation of character suit so fast it will make your head spin, like that girl from that old movie.”

  And wasn’t that just freaking awesome? Sherry Hillman, threatening him with a lawsuit immediately after she’d made similar slanderous allegations about Katie Germaine. Too bad Jack had walked away. Sam could use a witness right now. Glancing around, relief shot through him when he saw Molly standing behind the bar, the scowl on her face directed at Sherry.

  The barmaid looked at him, shrugging her shoulders. “Can I get you anything, Sam?”

  “Thanks, Molly. Not now. I think Jack got this round.” He returned his attention to Sherry, who glared at the table where his family sat. He spread his hands in front of him, hoping to calm the crazy cougar down. “Mrs. Hillman, maybe we should continue this discussion on Monday, with Principal Edwards. I’m sure he’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on this incident.”

  “He might also be interested in hearing about your indecent behavior with that…that Rikki Salerno.”

  The malicious smirk on Sherry’s face gave him pause. What in the hell was she talking about?

  “Oh, I’ve heard the details of your scandalous behavior from Aly and Suzannah.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And, it seems, neither do you.”

  “I’ve seen the proof of your debauchery. In front of children!”

  Sam vehemently shook his head. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m not sure what kind of proof you think you have, but it can’t be too serious.”

  “We’ll just see about that, shall we?” Sherry spun on her do-me red stilettos and collected her belongings from under the barstool. Facing him again, the angry sneer on her face aged her by ten years. “You had your chance, Mr. Kerrigan. I’ll be talking to Mr. Edwards first thing Monday morning. I hope you enjoy all the free time coming your way
.”

  Pushing past him, she marched toward the exit, stopping long enough to salute Rikki and his family with one lifted finger. The identical looks of shock might have been comical if Sam wasn’t busy searching his memory for what behavior Sherry, the lunatic, was talking about. The front door slammed and Sherry cast a dirty look at him through the large plate glass window as she stomped away.

  “Sam?” Molly’s soft voice distracted him. “You know that Katie is my cousin, right?”

  “I didn’t know that. Katie doesn’t talk about herself much.”

  “I wanted to thank you and your friend over there for helping her last night. She told me this afternoon that she’d been terrified when she first started losing it. She’s a good kid, regardless of what Scary Sherry says.”

  “Scary Sherry?”

  “Yeah. That’s what some of the regulars call her. Scary, ’cause they’re afraid she’ll decide they’re the next victim of her matrimonial longings.”

  “Oh.” Having been afraid of that himself, Sam couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

  Molly looked him square in the eyes. “I’m not sure what she’s got cooking behind that vapid look in her eyes, but you can count on me and Katie as character witnesses. If you need them.”

  “Thanks. I’m sure nothing will come of her threats. But your support means a lot to me.”

  Despite his certainty that Sherry Hillman was bluffing, unease settled on his shoulders like a cold, dousing rain. Waiting patiently for the proverbial other shoe, in Sherry’s case the other Louboutin, to drop, would be an exercise in intestinal fortitude.

  Chapter 16

  This is just flipping great!