Whisper My Name Read online

  “I remember you saying ‘why don’t you visit me in Dallas?” He threw up his arms, posing like Diana Ross on stage. “So, here I am.”

  She paused for a moment. “Uh, I did?”

  “You sure did, honey.”

  “I believe it was years ago that I issued the invite.”

  “Doesn’t matter. An invitation is an invitation. There’s no expiration date.”

  She sighed. “Couldn’t you have called first?”

  “Called?” He blinked. “That’s not something we do. We are besties. There is an open door policy when it comes to us.”

  Danielle pointed at him. “No, you have an open door policy. I always call and ask if I can come before I show up at someone’s house. I thought you left with the rest of the crew yesterday anyway.”

  Lee spread his arms wide and let them scan his body. “As you can see, all of this is right here. What’s the problem? It’s not like you have a man or something.” He lifted arched eyebrows. “Or do you?”

  “We aren’t discussing my love life.”

  “Or the lack of,” Lee retorted.

  “If you had given me notice, I could’ve been better prepared. I don’t have much food in the house. The bedrooms are not furnished. Well, they do have beds but that’s about all. I know how much you love luxury.”

  “Do you want me to leave?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then stop trying to discourage me.”

  Danielle burst out laughing. “Lee, you’re undeniably crazy.” Her arms circled him with a huge hug. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Feed me, girl.”

  “Alright. I hadn’t planned on eating breakfast but I guess I can cook something.”

  “You do that. Where is my room?”

  “Up the stairs. Down the hall, the second room on the left.”

  He secured the stuffed animal under his arm and picked up the luggage. “Give me thirty minutes to freshen up.”

  “Why? There’s no one in the house but you and me.”

  Lee rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs. “After all these years and you still don’t get it. Beauty is always on display. I refuse to believe you’re a lost cause.”

  ###

  With the juice, Danielle placed the plates of food on the tray. The doorbell rang. Leaving everything in the kitchen, she went through the hall to the front door. She frowned when she heard raised voices.

  Lee was standing in the doorway with a hand on the panel blocking the person’s entrance. Danielle came up behind her friend, peering around his arm.

  “What are you doing here, Jon?” she said, moving beside Lee.

  Jon tried to step over the threshold but Lee wouldn’t move. “Will you excuse me?” he said to Lee.

  Lee glared at Jon. “Danielle, he tried to walk his fine ass into this house without telling me who he was, but I wasn’t having it.

  “Jon, I don’t have anything to say to you. I’m surprised you would show up here after what you did.”

  “What did he do?” Lee asked.

  “How can I fix it if you won’t take my calls? I’ve been trying to contact you for weeks. You’re never at the center anymore. And if you do come; you make sure I’m not there. You’ve got to give me another chance.”

  “Danielle, what did he do?” Lee asked, again.

  “Jon, I don’t have to do anything. It’s over. There are no second chances to be given.”

  “Please. Listen.” His tone had become angry and agitated. “I just need a few minutes. Now let me in the house.” He tried to push his way through the door.

  Lee gave him a hard shove, causing Jon to stumble.

  He righted himself. “What the hell…”

  “Danielle, told you to leave.” He waved his hand in dismissal. “Get to steppin.”

  “I don’t know who the hell you are but this is a conversation between me and Danielle. If you ever put your hands on me again, you won’t like the results, you feel me?”

  Lee rolled his neck in a circular motion, balled up his fists and planted them on his hips. “Danielle, please…” He stared hard at Jon. “Can I do it…just once?”

  “No, you can’t. I can handle this.” She stepped on the porch but made sure Lee was behind her. “Jon, we can’t ever be friends again. I didn’t press charges because I didn’t want the center to be in jeopardy. Don’t get me wrong, if I thought for one moment, the teen-age girls that come through there were in danger, I wouldn’t hesitate one minute to have you locked up.”

  “I’m not a monster, Danielle. I’d never hurt those kids. You know that. What happened between us got out of hand. I have never done anything like that in my life. I thought we were going strong in our relationship. Then to be dumped for an Indian,” he said with disgust, “caused something to snap inside me. I’m sorry I hurt you. Please believe that,” he pleaded.

  “I don’t know you at all. I certainly didn’t believe you would ever attack me. However, I was wrong…again.”

  Lee gasped behind her. “He did what! Please. Let me whip his ass, Danielle!”

  Jon sneered and then laughed. “Please…You’re kidding, right?”

  “Asshole.” Lee waved his finger in Jon’s face. “I hold a black belt in karate. I could kick your ass with my eyes closed.”

  “Lee, please. Jon, you need to leave. Now.”

  “You’ll regret this.”

  “Shit head, I know you’re not threatening Danielle.”

  Jon ignored Lee. He ran his hand over his face. “I made one mistake and you can’t forgive it.”

  Danielle didn’t say anything.

  “One day you’re going to know how it feels to have your heart trampled upon.”

  When Rio cheated, it hurt her pride but not her heart. She didn’t feel anything for Jon—absolutely nothing.

  Jon stared. “I wish things could’ve been different.” He strolled to his vehicle, started the ignition and pulled out of the driveway.

  She watched his car disappear before she walked back into the house closing and locking the door behind her.

  “Who the hell was that, Danielle? Another abuser? Are you a magnet for men who want to beat your ass? You should’ve let me mop the porch with his big, muscular ass.”

  “I don’t need you fighting for me. Once was enough. You ended up giving the poor guy a bloody nose, black eye and a sprained wrist. It cost me a small chunk of change to get him not to press charges against you. He was a zealous fan with roving hands not an abuser.”

  “Shit. That was years ago, I had a lightweight karate belt then. Now I can destroy an asshole who steps wrong.” He ran his fingers through his curls. “Come on. I’m hungry.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know anyone who can change a topic in the middle of conservation quicker than you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Brody swung at the ball and missed, causing it to bounce off the wall.

  “Damn, Brody. This is a first. I’m beating you at racquetball. I haven’t won a game since our college days.” Ashton said.

  “Are you going to play or talk?” Brody threw the racquet on the bench, grabbed a towel and wiped his face.

  Ashton leaned one shoulder against the wall. “What the hell is eating you?”

  “Nothing.” Brody propped his foot on the bench and folded his hands atop his stomach.

  It’d been two days since he’d seen Danielle. He could still taste her. They had made love—but not completely. That damn phone of hers had interrupted them. Although, he hadn’t let her know it when he left, he was frustrated, angry and unsatisfied. He almost called her several times. But he’ll be damned if he would run after a woman. Not happening. So he controlled his urges to phone her and to go to her house by keeping busy, to the point she only invaded his mind a few times a day instead of consuming every minute. Nothing had changed in his life. His normal routine during the day was just that—normal.

  Without fail, his mind drifted to thoughts of her, th
e smell of her, the look of her—the taste of her, to where he could feel her lying beside him.

  Then he would reach for her, his hand came back empty. But that didn’t stop his body from yearning. And every night, he went to her like a man on fire. It was a dream that visited each night.

  He hadn’t planned on being affected by Danielle at all. She was just one more attractive woman who’d caught his interest. Somehow she had wriggled her way under his skin, into his life with a surety that captured him and bothered him more than a little. He couldn’t sleep or work without her invading his mind. It had to stop.

  “A woman has gotten you tied up in knots.”

  Brody shot Ashton a look that should’ve cut him to the core. Ashton wasn’t affected.

  “I’ve never let a woman get to me.”

  Ashton pushed away from the wall, walked to the bench where Brody was leaning.

  “Ah, but you’ve never met a woman like Danielle either.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Ashton’s eyebrow lifted and a corner of his mouth tipped into a half smile. “I never thought I would see the day. She’s getting to you.”

  “No woman has ever gotten to me.” Brody lied. “Not happening.”

  “You can’t stop it.”

  “You want to bet.” Brody laced his fingers together atop his stomach, until he felt pain.

  “I don’t need to. I see it.” Ashton retorted. “You go to work and home in that order unless you are on a business trip. No women.”

  “How in the hell would you know what I do?”

  “If I call you at night and you answer the phone then I know there’s not a woman in your bed. Otherwise you wouldn’t answer. So you’ve cut yourself off from everyone. You’re in protective mode. You are damn near a recluse already you don’t need become more distant. That’s not good.”

  Brody strived to get a rein on the flare of anger that had erupted inside him. “Don’t try to psychoanalyze me. I have a billion dollar business to run. I don’t have time—”

  “I also have a billion dollar business.” Ashton said, interrupting him. “I know how much time it takes to make and keep a business profitable. We grew up together. I know you. You need more than your damn horses. You need a life.”

  “I have a life.”

  “No, you have a shell of a life. It’s nothing but empty space.”

  Brody fixed him with a frown. “What’s the point of all of this?”

  “Danielle is nothing like the women you are used to dating. You know it. I know it.”

  “I’m not dating Danielle. Remember you told me to stay away from her.”

  “Ah, so you listened to me.”

  “Shut up, Ashton. Don’t make it into something more than what it is.”

  “I don’t need to. You’ve done it yourself.”

  Brody moved his foot off the bench and stood erect. “Let it go, Ashton.”

  “You’re human. You feel pain, disappointment and regret—just like the rest of us. You pretend that you don’t or rather that you don’t recognize it.”

  “I’m not doing this shit with you.”

  “If you let yourself go, you could fall in love.” He sighed and continued. “You’re not alone. You’re no longer an orphan. You have a family. You have me. I know you don’t like to, but talk to me.”

  “Damn you, Ashton. When did you become a shrink?” Brody snarled.

  Ashton shook his head. “Your attitude doesn’t deter me. Happiness is within your reach. You deserve it. But go ahead and bury your future because of your past—”

  “I know my future.”

  “Beaumont Oil and Gas, the horses, the ranch, those are things…commodities. They won’t warm your bed at night, bring light into your life, and give you children.”

  “Children?”

  “Yes, children.”

  “I’m never getting married, so children aren’t in my future.”

  Ashton pointed at him. “Danielle is a good woman but you’re not ready for her. She’s too good to be used and discarded. She deserves better. You deserve better.”

  Despite what Ashton thought he knew about his relationship with Danielle, there was no hope for a future. His friend was the one who had the gall to bring up the fact he’d been adopted. But worse, being dumped on a doorstep like trash. Trash. His heart jarred from the impact of the word. Whoever left him on that damn doorstep never looked back to see if the door opened. The pain was something he never vocalized to anyone—not even to himself.

  Without saying another word he picked up his racket and walked out.

  ###

  Danielle walked into Delilah’s, an upscale bistro she and her friends frequented for their afternoon get-togethers. As she looked around, she spotted Nicole and Sally at a table near the bay window looking out onto the street. Today was the first time they’d gotten together in a few weeks. Her friends waved her over to their table.

  “Hey ladies,” she said flopping into the empty seat. “Sorry, I’m late. I had some last minute re-shoots for the ad.”

  “I’m glad you’re here.” Sally scanned the menu. “I’m starving.”

  Nicole laughed. “What else is new? You’re always hungry.”

  Danielle hid a smile and opened her menu. “Well, I’m glad that we all could get together. It’s been a while.”

  After giving their food orders to the waitress, Danielle took a sip of her water and looked at her friends. They were silent, as if they were waiting for something.

  Danielle leaned back in the chair. “What’s wrong with you two? You’re staring at me like I have mud on my face.”

  Sally was the first to speak. “When were you going to tell us you’re dating Brody?”

  Danielle sputtered. “What?”

  “Someone spotted the two of you having a cozy dinner in a swanky restaurant.”

  “It was only dinner, Sally. No big deal.”

  “Well, according to a source it looked like something more.”

  “Sally, how many times have Danielle and I told you about listening to gossip? Give Danielle time to tell us about it.” Nicole scooted her seat closer to Danielle and rested her chin in her hands. “We’re waiting.”

  Danielle sighed. Her friends could be a pain in the ass sometimes—and nosey but she loved them dearly.

  “Brody showed up at the shoot—”

  Sally yelped. “I knew it! Brody has never grilled me about anything or anyone. For him to break his code of silence and ask personal questions about one of my best friends was telling. I told him you were at that photo shoot. I knew it had to be a big deal…Real big.”

  “I should be angry with you, but I’m not. It wasn’t a date. We sort of hung out together after the shoot was over, that’s all.”

  “Hmm. I say it was a real date. Brody doesn’t hang out with women and he doesn’t inquire about them. They ask about him. It’s sickening.” Sally clapped her hands. “This is so romantic. You’re dating your teenage crush. My brother. We’re going to be family now.”

  “Sally—”

  “No need trying to calm Sally, Danielle. You know how she gets with a bone, she won’t let it go,” Nicole said, a smile creasing her lips.

  “Look, we spent the day at the stables and—”

  “Whoa! Danger Crossing.” Sally held up her hands. “Back up. My brother took you to his most prized possession—his stables, which I can’t recall him ever taking anyone, much less let anyone step foot through the gate. But he takes you.”

  Puzzled, Danielle squinted, not understanding what the fuss was about. “So?”

  “Invites are by special permission only, which Brody never gives and—I mean never.”

  Danielle rolled her eyes. “Sally, you’re being melodramatic. He showed me the horses.

  “His horses? Wow. He’s fallen in love with you!”

  “Sally, please focus,” Nicole admonished. “Continue, Danielle.”

  “We went to dinner. Th
en he dropped me off at my house. End of story.” Danielle said, knowing it wasn’t all the truth.

  A picture of them with her legs wrapped around his waist, his mouth on her breasts and his fingers massaging her vagina, bringing her unbelievable pleasure flashed before her. She closed her eyes to remove the image.

  “Well, if you ask—”

  “No one asked you, Sally.” Nicole piped in.

  “I was just saying, that’s all.”

  “Sally, your brother doesn’t do relationships.”

  “Uh…How would you know that? It seems to me you and Brody had a deep conversation.”

  “We only talked, Sally. You’re making it more than it was.”

  Sally was silent for a moment and threw her a sly grin. “The waters have been troubled.”

  The moment the servers returned with their food. Danielle knew she had a reprieve. Nothing came between Sally and eating.

  ###

  Early that evening, the doorbell at Danielle’s house vibrated throughout the house. She and Lee were on their way to the family room but looked at each other.

  “I’ll get it, Lee,” Danielle said.

  The bell rang again with persistence.

  Lee touched her arm. “What if that asshole is back?”

  Danielle rolled her eyes. “Calm yourself. It’s been three days.”

  She opened the door open. Brody stood with his hands on his hips and his eyes shaded by dark sunglasses. Today his shiny, black hair flowed around his shoulders. He was dressed in his trademark blue jeans and worn boots. A dark shirt covered his chest with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Danielle took a deep breath to quell the rapid beat of her heart. This was bad—real bad for her. She hadn’t seen him in a week and thought, no hoped, she wouldn’t see him again.

  He removed his Ray Ban sunglasses and placed them in his shirt pocket. Piercing green eyes scanned her body from head to toe. The fact she was dressed again in baggy sweat pants and an over-sized shirt made her self-conscious. Not an attractive look at all. Notwithstanding the fact that her face was void of all make-up and she hadn’t combed her hair, she felt shitty and tired. Damn. Why hadn’t she listened to Lee? He would never have been caught dead not looking his best.