Sweet Surrender Read online

  “The house is not an ornament you keep around as a memento. I knew you would be emotional about this so I made the decision. I’ve talked to Laura and she agreed with me to sell.”

  “You did?” Sheena glared at Laura, who stared at him clearly mortified at his disclosure.

  “Sheena, it’s for the best. It’s for Omar.”

  Everyone turned their attention to their youngest sibling. Omar didn’t resemble his sisters or brother. He was a combination of features shared among them. The latest addition to his constant makeover was a goatee and a thick gold chain around his scrawny neck. He wore his usual uniform: an oversize shirt and wide-legged jeans that looked juvenile, but probably cost more than he had in his pocket, since he was in between jobs.

  “Hey, don’t pull me into this domestic disaster. As usual, big brother is plowing ahead with his own agenda while we must all bow down to his brilliance and foresight. And of course, we’d be so ungrateful if we didn’t remember to say thank you, sir, thank you.”

  “Enough!” Pierce’s fist slammed down on the desk. Omar’s blatant disrespect infuriated him.

  Omar dropped the expensive lead-crystal paperweight he juggled onto the carpet in response to his brother’s outburst.

  Sheena stopped. Her mouth parted in mid-stutter.

  Laura stared up at him. Her eyes wide like a shocked deer.

  “I have never steered you wrong. I’ve bailed you out of your respective messes on too many occasions.” After a deep breath and a moment to compose himself, Pierce continued calmly, “Sheena, my plan is to do a rent-to-own on the property. This way, I can decide if the person is a proper fit before making a final commitment. For your information, I have a woman and a child moving in this weekend.” He stood, signaling the end of their meeting. “Any further questions?”

  Omar opened his mouth. But Pierce glared at the youngest Masterson until his mouth snapped closed and he retreated out of the room.

  “Oh dear, I better go check on him.” Laura offered Pierce a shaky smile before running after Omar.

  Pierce saw that Sheena hung back. From his periphery, he noticed that she hadn’t budged since she’d last spoken. She’d always been the one to test him. She was also the only one who could challenge him when she set her mind to it.

  He took a deep breath and prepared himself for her rage. He wasn’t backing down. This subject wasn’t up for debate.

  He waited for Sheena to begin.

  Instead she said nothing, following his pacing with her disdainful gaze until he stopped in front of his desk. “What is it Sheena? I’m not going to argue with you about the house.” Impatient, he settled on the edge and folded his arms.

  She shook her head. “You’ve been the big brother. Hell, you were a father when Daddy left. You did a good job.”

  He nodded. It was the truth, after all.

  “But you don’t really have a knack for what family is or means.”

  Her words hit him squarely between the eyes. It stunned him as if she had cursed at him.

  “You don’t give us credit for making the right decisions. You give yourself credit. All the credit. And you remind us that you handle us and our affairs out of obligation. Not love.”

  Sheena’s complexion could barely be called beige. She was the lightest of them. When she laughed hard or cried, her face took on a pinkish hue. At this moment, he would add the additional descriptive word hot to that pinkish hue.

  “Love? This isn’t one of your chick movies. This is real life. Seems to me that you’ve enough emotion for both of us. Your emotions have you struggling with a husband and kid, both a drain on resources, if you ask me.”

  “And I wouldn’t change a thing. What do you have? Your degrees gather dust on the wall. You bought this big house, but it’s empty. Not even a casual girlfriend comes to this museum. Your heart is as empty as this house, Pierce.” She picked up her pocketbook. “Here’s something to chew on. One day you’re going to get old. And we’ll be the ones looking after you. You might not care for the sensible and cold-hearted decisions that we have to make for your good.”

  Pierce shuddered at the thought of being old and sick in any of their homes.

  “I’m leaving now and I really don’t want to be around you for a little while.” She pushed her hair behind her ears; tears shimmered in her eyes.

  “What are you saying?” Sheena had never talked to him in this manner.

  “I’m not going to have a shouting match with you. I’m not going to embarrass you with my emotional displays. But I will show you what it feels like not to have someone in your life. So I’m going to take a break from you.”

  “And by next week, when you need financial help, you’ll decide to talk to me.” He’d never thrown anything he’d done for her in her face, but her words and her attitude unnerved him. It wasn’t cold. It was matter-of-fact. She looked at him like a stranger.

  “The next time that I ask you for anything will be when hell freezes over, big brother.”

  Pierce didn’t follow her out to the door, but he heard it snap close. He couldn’t move.

  An hour later, as the shadows crept across the floor and the room darkened, Pierce still sat on the edge of his desk.

  The clock on the mantel broke the silence with its ticking.

  He had never felt so alone.

  But he had made the right decision. Hadn’t he?

  Chapter 2

  Haley couldn’t sleep. She never slept well for the first few nights in strange places. Hotels were the worst, but this new house was no exception. Before she settled in for the night, she had checked and rechecked the locks, windows and placed her sturdy hammer under her pillow. She didn’t like guns, so the next best thing was a good, solid weapon.

  The house’s age, coupled with its expansive wood flooring added to her feelings of creepiness as she lay in the dark. The house creaked and settled, as if searching for a comfortable position. At one point, it sounded as if someone walked down the hall. She tiptoed to the door and eased it open. The hinges on her bedroom door didn’t cooperate and emitted a sharp squeak. She wished that her daughter would come running in to sleep with her, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  This would be a long night, Haley realized as she stared up at the ceiling in the dark. She punched the pillow under her head, frustrated that she couldn’t fall asleep. She was supposed to be exhausted.

  An animal scurried outside below her bedroom window. Well, it had better be outside. A neighborhood dog barked until a faint voice yelled to shut up. If this kept up, she was heading to the pharmacy for over-the-counter sleeping pills and a night-light. She closed her eyes and started to count sheep.

  The bright morning sun peeping through the bedsheets Haley had hung on the windows provided enough of an excuse with its sharp light to get her out of bed. Lots of work lay ahead of her with the brown carton boxes stacked in each room awaiting her attention. Her brothers had positioned the heavy furniture around the house. But once that task had been completed, they’d made their excuses and left, promising to return for her first cookout.

  With a loud yawn and lots of stretching, she mentally readied herself to get up and start her new life. She grabbed her robe, jammed her feet into her slippers and headed out of the room.

  “Beth?”

  Her daughter’s room was at the other end of the hallway. A third room was sandwiched between Beth’s and Haley’s rooms. Beth had grabbed the bigger room and the privacy the moment she’d seen it. She needed her space, as she’d put it.

  “Beth!”

  No answer.

  Haley placed her hand on the doorknob to turn, but hesitated. Opening Beth’s door without her consent would be akin to starting World War III. She knocked. Still there was no answer. In a split-second decision, she opened the door. If Beth chose to go berserk, she’d have to remind her that she was the mother in this dynamic duo.

  To her surprise, the bed was empty, sheets tossed aside. However, the boxes assigne
d to the room had been emptied. Beth already had transformed the room into her haven. Haley had to admit that seeing the wooden carving of Beth’s name propped on the chest of drawers quieted some of her guilt that simmered below the surface over the move.

  She returned to the hallway, looking into the bathroom, then the third room. Still there was no sign of her daughter. She called out again to Beth as she entered the living room. The open floor plan provided her with a good view of the dining area through to the kitchen. The back door stood slightly ajar.

  “Beth!” Haley ran to the door and flung it back. The door bounced off the wall. Without slowing down, she ran down the three steps and promptly tripped over her daughter’s huddled body. She landed in a heap next to her.

  “Hey, Mom,” Beth greeted her with a bright smile, still on all fours.

  “What are you doing?” Haley placed a hand over her chest to calm herself. Her heart had to have jumped into her throat. Plus she felt as if she were about to pop a lung in an effort to catch her breath. She stood, brushing off pieces of grass and dirt from her robe.

  “I’m waiting for the man to come out.”

  “Man! What man? Here?” Haley pulled up Beth by her arm. She scanned the area, expecting a stranger to lunge at them.

  “Relax. He’s our landlord.”

  “Where is he?” Haley continued to look around the enclosed yard. She didn’t see anyone.

  She wondered whether she should call the police. Someone might not have known that the house was now occupied. The thought of a man wandering around her yard unnerved her. Obviously her daughter needed another chat about talking to strangers. Why on earth didn’t she come get her?

  “In the shed.” Beth pointed to a dilapidated structure off to the side of the property.

  “Why is he in the storage shed?”

  “He was looking for a lawn mower, but then we thought we heard kittens meowing.”

  “How long have you been out here?” Haley frowned. It bothered her that she hadn’t heard any of this, especially since her bedroom faced the back of the house.

  Beth shrugged.

  Haley stared at the door, waiting for this mysterious man to emerge. She had rented the property from a management company and had only met the company’s representative when she’d come for a visit. It never crossed her mind that she would actually meet the landlord, if that’s who was really in the shed.

  She picked up a rake and lowered it into position so she could ram the offender. Taking small careful steps, she moved toward the doorway. She looked over her shoulder to tell Beth to stay back. Her daughter stood with her hands folded across her chest, rolling her eyes.

  A few more steps and Haley stood directly in front of the shed door. She heard a muted thump, followed by a clatter of tools. There was a muffled grunt and then a colorful swear word. She tightened her hold on the rake and advanced.

  The door swung open and a man staggered out holding the side of his head. His T-shirt had dark brown stains with a large rip on one side. His black pants were intact, but wouldn’t be considered casual, at least not for rooting around in a dirty shed.

  “Who’re you?” he asked through gritted teeth. His expression was grim as he continued to press the side of his head.

  “I think that I should be asking you that question.” Haley tightened her grip on the rake, aiming it for his midsection. Hit hard and then run.

  “I’m the landlord. Pierce Masterson.” He removed his hand from his head and wiped his palm against his pants leg before offering it to her.

  She looked at his dirt-smeared hand and then at his face, focusing on his eyes for any sign that he’d lied. He didn’t shift away his gaze or act unsure. She transferred the rake to her other hand and shook his. “Haley Sanders, tenant.”

  He nodded. “I met Beth earlier. She thought that she’d heard cats, but I don’t see any.” He looked down at his shirt and brushed at the stains.

  The action didn’t help, but at least it showed that he wasn’t comfortable looking…dirty.

  “Do you need to clean up a bit? How about a bag of ice?” Haley tilted her head toward the house, but wasn’t sure that she wanted this character in her home.

  “Nope. I have a clean shirt in my car. I’ll change. I only came over to see if the lawn mower still worked.” He touched the small bump that now had formed on his temple. “Unfortunately, with the pile of junk that’s in the shed, I couldn’t tell.”

  “Does this mean that I’ll have to buy a lawn mower?”

  Even though she had relocated without the benefit of a moving company, it had still cost a pretty penny. She’d refused alimony from Vernon, instead instituting a legal order for the money to be placed in trust for their daughter, including the required child support. With a tight budget, she couldn’t afford any major expenses until she began working.

  “A new mower will be bought,” Masterson replied.

  “Don’t go cheap on it. I know the games owners can play.” This man would know that he wasn’t dealing with a weak-minded ninny.

  He hesitated, but said nothing.

  “Whew, it’s getting hot out here already. Care for some water? I know that I do.” She let him lead the way. Better to keep him in her sights. Walking behind him, she wondered what kind of man would wear dress slacks and loafers to do yard work. Maybe the outfit was for her benefit, knowing that he’d meet his newest tenants.

  “I’m going to change and I’ll be back,” Masterson said over his shoulder. “I have a list of items that I need to fix.”

  Haley watched him go out the backyard and head to his car. She watched as he strode to a sleek black car buffed to a blinding sheen. It seemed to be on the pricey side for a mere landlord who couldn’t afford a handyman. Masterson sat in the driver’s seat and pulled off his T-shirt.

  The car door prevented a full view, but it couldn’t hide everything. It certainly didn’t prevent her from seeing a muscular shoulder and chest, the color of brown sugar. Mowing lawns agreed with him. It wasn’t just his body, but a handsome profile that acted as an introduction to the potentially fantastic total package. For the first time, she looked forward to her single status.

  “Mom?”

  “Hmm.”

  “The kitchen sink is clogged.” Beth leaned against the screen door.

  Haley turned away as Pierce slipped on a clean shirt. Show over. Reality kicked in with a painful reminder that she might be in over her head now that she was a future home owner.

  “I’ll get Mr. Masterson to look at it,” Beth suggested.

  “Sure.” Haley didn’t hold much stock in the landlord’s help. He wasn’t bad to look at, but she wasn’t sure about his maintenance skills. The clothes, man and car didn’t equal her notion of a handyman.

  In the meantime, while he continued to get himself together in the car, she’d go look under the kitchen sink to see what was there.

  She found a plunger. For the next five minutes, she tried loosening the clog. The back door swung open and then closed. She didn’t have to look up to feel his presence.

  “Here, let me have a go.”

  “I think that I have it, Mr. Masterson.”

  “Call me Pierce. Too formal otherwise.” He watched her fight with the sink. “If you’d let me, I’ll snake the line.”

  “Snake the what?”

  “I have this device that I can put down the hole. It won’t take long.”

  Haley stepped away, not really confident that he knew what he was doing. “I’ll be right over here. I’m going to make breakfast.”

  “Already ate,” Beth said. “Can I ride my bike?”

  “What did you eat?” Haley didn’t see any dirty dishes.

  “Cereal.” Beth headed out the door.

  “Not so fast. You don’t even know where you’re going.”

  “I’m not going far. Promise.” Beth popped a quick peck on her cheek and ran out the door.

  Haley stared after her daughter. She didn’t want to air th
eir differences in front of this stranger. But at some point, she really had to have a talk with Beth and reset a few rules.

  Pierce had the sink operating in no time. He looked out the window over the sink and watched Beth jump on her bike and ride along the side of the house toward the street. Her mother didn’t move, but he saw the worry creep and settle like a shadow over her face.

  “I’m not going to lie and say that our city is crime free, but it is safer than most,” he offered as reassurance.

  “That was the major selling point for me.”

  “It wasn’t this wonderful house?” he teased.

  “I only saw it once. Lemonade?”

  Pierce nodded. She poured his serving into a large glass with lots of ice and a lemon slice. “Thanks, Mrs. Sanders.”

  “Haley,” she said. “How long have you been doing this?”

  “Not long, but I’ve fixed my house and my sisters’.”

  “Maybe I should call them for references.” She sipped her lemonade.

  As she held the glass, the diamond encrusted band on her left hand winked at him. The property-management company had told him that it was a mother and her child. No mention made of a husband.

  The only reason that he lingered to talk to Haley instead of working was that he was more than mildly interested in Haley Sanders. But the ring ended any further thoughts in that area. Maybe she’d recently married before moving into the house.

  He gathered up his tools. “Better get to work before Mr. Sanders comes down and thinks that I’m lollygagging.”

  “Pierce…is it? I’m the only one that will think you’re lollygagging.” She set down her glass with a sharp rap on the counter.

  He’d made her mad. Was it the husband reference? Was she married? She neither confirmed nor denied her status. Or, was she like Sheena? Was she mad that he didn’t think she was in charge?

  “What are you thinking?” She folded her arms, still staring at him.

  “I’m thinking that you have interesting eyes. They are hazel, but not quite.”

  “I’ve heard it all. I have cat eyes that make me look spooky.” She rolled her eyes and turned so that he could no longer see her face.