Lucky Charm

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

GABRIELLE STARED AT THE MAN in disbelief. “Mary Perkins wants me gone? She’s behind everything?” She shouldn’t be surprised and yet…“Tell me more.”

“She never fails to remind people of the family curse, but not in public. Not in her speeches. In private. When asking for donations. When she’s trying to push her own agenda on town council. She achieves her goals by frightening people into submission. And as you’ve no doubt seen and heard, people need only look to the Corwin men as proof of her point.”

Gabrielle winced, not looking at Derek. “Go on.”

“I tried to bring her dirty dealings out in the open. There was a Fourth of July gathering in the center of town and we were each making a speech. All I did was say that votes must be earned, and curses were only in people’s minds.” He cleared his throat, glancing out in a fog once more.

Gabrielle waited him out.

Finally, he continued. “My life went downhill after that. A picture surfaced of me and a prostitute. At first, it came to me alone with a note threatening to reveal it if I didn’t drop out of the race. It didn’t matter that I swore up and down it wasn’t me, I couldn’t prove it any more than I could prove Mary Perkins was behind it. But I knew.”

Gabrielle shivered because she knew, too. And now she knew who was behind Sharon’s pictures reemerging. Mary Perkins had somehow gotten ahold of them. Sharon and Richard were off talking to her ex-boyfriend. If he hadn’t sold them to Mary Perkins, she’d found another way to get her hands on them.

“So what did you do?” Gabrielle asked. Because she knew this man hadn’t gone from being a mayoral candidate to a hermit over some photographs. There had to be more.

“I refused to give in to the blackmail, of course. I was young and brash and I believed in integrity. I thought I could beat her despite it all. I never got that far. Shortly afterward, my wife had a car accident. It looked like she lost control of her vehicle, even though it wasn’t raining and the roads were in good shape.”

“You don’t believe it was an accident, do you?” Gabrielle asked soberly.

From everything Gabrielle had heard so far, Mary Perkins wasn’t just arrogant, she was evil. And that scared her. Not because Gabrielle believed in witches or curses, but because she feared what the woman was capable of if her power was threatened.

He shook his head. “The police said they didn’t find anything and I had no choice but to believe them. Personally, I think someone sabotaged the car. At the time, though, I was too busy with my gravely injured wife to give much thought to the car. She recovered eventually, but was left with tremors and paralysis on one side. I stayed by her through the whole ordeal, but she never forgave me for not dropping out of the race and preventing the whole thing.”

Gabrielle shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “So am I, but it doesn’t change anything.”

It did for Gabrielle. She wasn’t stupid. She was petrified for Sharon and Richard, who were also in Mary Perkins’s direct line of fire. And she was a little scared herself. She now knew who wanted her not just out of town, but away from the subject of the Corwin Curse.

Was she going to give in?

No way in hell.

Gabrielle was more determined than ever to beat Mary Perkins at her long-standing game.

GABRIELLE CALLED A MEETING. Since Holly was already at Hank’s place, Derek had asked his father to keep her busy for another hour or so. He also promised her that he’d take her out for a father-daughter dinner later on tonight. Gabrielle knew Derek felt guilty moving her out of his house and she understood why he’d want to hang out with her alone. As for Gabrielle, she’d spend the evening safe in Derek’s house, with its locks and alarm system.

Sharon and Richard met up with them at Derek’s place.

“It looks like we have a common enemy,” Richard said after they’d discussed the situation. He stood in the center of the family room, his suit and groomed appearance giving him an air of authority. A conservative air.

Gabrielle knew he loved Sharon deeply. Yet at the same time she could see how the renewed threat had changed their relationship. Sharon needed to find the strength that had carried her once before if she was going to get through this challenge. Sharon loved and wanted to marry Richard. She needed to have more faith in him and in herself.

Sharon shivered. “It’s just hard to believe one woman can be so evil.”

Gabrielle nodded. “So addicted to power that she’d hurt people to keep it.” Gabrielle rose from the couch. “Well, it’s time to bring this all out into the open. Do we all agree on that?”

“Depends on your intended method,” Derek said, leaning forward in his chair. “I don’t want either you or Sharon putting yourself out there as a target.” His gaze bored into Gabrielle’s.

Clearly that comment had been intended more for her than Sharon. Did he really think she’d let Mary Perkins hurt more people? “To start with, we should agree to stay the course. Nobody should change their plans at this stage,” Gabrielle said.

“Now, that I agree with,” Derek said. “I’m not suggesting anyone pull back or run scared.”

Richard nodded. “Certainly not.”

Sharon merely listened. She seemed preoccupied with more than just her blackmail situation. Gabrielle would have to have a long talk alone with her friend later.

“The thing is, I don’t think staying the course is going to be enough to get the reaction we need from Mary. We need to step things up pretty quickly. Richard needs not to just continue his campaign but to be as vocal as possible about running on merit and not fear,” Gabrielle stressed. “Discuss the good mayor’s family history with the curse and get people discussing it. Better yet, get people questioning it.”

This time she let her stare linger on Derek as she lay down the challenge, not just for everyone in the room, but for him and his most personal beliefs.

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

But she wasn’t finished. “In the meantime, I plan to start writing my book. I’ll interview as many people as possible and make my presence and my topic known.” And once everyone began gossiping about Gabrielle Donovan’s book on the Corwin Curse and Mary Perkins’s desperation to cling to the perception of it, Gabrielle had an even bigger plan.

One she wasn’t ready to share with her friends. Especially not with Derek, whose scowl only seemed to grow larger with each word Gabrielle spoke.

“Why in the hell would you want to deliberately antagonize a woman who will go to any lengths to get her way?” Derek asked, furious.

“It seems obvious to me. The only way to prove what Mary Perkins is capable of is to lure her into getting caught. If we keep the pressure on her from both ends, she’s going to get nervous and screw up.”

“Whether she screws up or she succeeds, someone is going to get hurt. That’s her MO and I don’t want it to be you.”

“Would you rather I sit back and do nothing?”

“Yes!”

“Hold on!” Sharon jumped up and stepped between them. “Fighting with one another is not going to get us anywhere.”

Richard nodded. “I agree. Let me see what I can find out about the guy who wanted to buy the photographs. Maybe he’ll give us a legitimate connection to Mary Perkins, although I’m sure she’s insulated herself. There are probably layers of people between Mary and those who do the actual dirty work.”

Derek inclined his head. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Gabrielle clapped her hands together. “Okay, then, now that that’s been decided-”

“You’ll do nothing until we see what Richard turns up?”

She gritted her teeth and forced a smile at Derek. “Nothing except what it usually entails to write a book.”

Which she knew involved a lot more than sitting behind a keyboard and doing nothing. But what Derek didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

DEREK DROVE HOLLY TO T.G.I. Friday’s for dinner. She picked at her chicken fingers and fries, something completely out of character for his daughter, who usually dug into her meals with gusto. Especially meals he had nothing to do with preparing.

“What’s wrong?” Derek asked.

She glanced up at him with sad eyes. “I dunno.”

“Yes, you do. So out with it.”

She laid down the french fry she’d been playing with. “I don’t understand why we had to leave Gabrielle home to eat alone.”

Derek sat back in his booth, surprised. “Am I such lousy company? I thought you’d want to spend some time alone together, since you’ve been sleeping at Grandpa’s.” He’d thought Holly would be feeling left out and maybe even resentful of Gabrielle’s sudden presence in his life.

He and his daughter had just started bonding when Gabrielle had returned, and now his former flame was monopolizing his time. He couldn’t imagine that his daughter didn’t have a problem with it.

“I just think it’s rude, that’s all.” Holly stared into her plate. “And I don’t mind being at Grandpa’s. Fred is there and it’s not like I never see you. It’s fine.”

“You miss hanging out with Gabrielle, too.”

She nodded.

He signaled to the waitress and she walked over to the table. “Can I help you?”

“Would you mind wrapping this up? We’ve decided to take it to go,” he said, winking at Holly.

Her eyes lit up at the idea.

“Can you add a Caesar salad with grilled chicken to the order?” he asked.

She nodded and strode off.

“Thanks,” Holly said, smiling.

He returned the grin, but inside his stomach was churning. Holly was turning Gabrielle into part of their family.

And not only was he allowing it, he was even starting to like it.

GABRIELLE HAD BEEN ABOUT to pour a bowl of cereal and curl up on the couch to watch television when Derek and Holly arrived with dinner. She’d been pleasantly surprised, especially when she’d discovered that Holly had been the one wanting to include Gabrielle. She understood Derek’s need to spend time alone with his daughter, so she’d happily agreed to do her own thing for dinner. It meant a lot to Gabrielle to realize that Holly didn’t resent her for displacing her in Derek’s house.

They’d enjoyed a relaxed meal while watching The Devil Wears Prada, Holly’s choice and current favorite movie. Derek had an issue with the PG-13 rating, but since Marlene had sent the movie along with her daughter’s clothes, he couldn’t very well argue. Holly was bright for her age and Gabrielle thoroughly enjoyed her. In fact, she had so much fun with the father-daughter duo, she was downright nervous.

Nothing in life came with a guarantee, least of all Derek. And the thought of losing all this as quickly as she’d discovered it scared her beyond reason. Although she couldn’t control the outcome, she darn well planned to do her best to sway things in her direction, beginning by not manipulating or pressuring Derek in any way.

He’d just walked Holly over to his father’s house when his telephone rang. She hesitated a second, then decided, what the hell. She picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Um…I think I have the wrong number,” a female voice said. “Is this Derek Corwin’s residence?”

“Yes, it is. I’m sorry. He stepped out for a minute. Can I take a message?” Gabrielle glanced around the family room and found a pen and paper beside the phone.

“Is Holly there?” the woman asked.

Realization dawned. She must be talking to Derek’s ex-wife, Gabrielle thought, a wave of emotion she couldn’t name washing over her. “Actually, she’s with Derek,” Gabrielle said vaguely.

She wasn’t sure what Marlene knew about the shift in living arrangements, and Gabrielle wasn’t going to be the one to tell her.

“Who is this, anyway?” the other woman finally asked.

Gabrielle swallowed hard. “Um…”

The front door opened and Derek stepped inside.

“Here’s Derek now,” Gabrielle said gratefully. “Hold on, please.”

She covered the mouthpiece and waved the phone toward Derek. “It’s Holly’s mother,” Gabrielle mouthed to him.

He winced and settled onto the couch beside her, taking the phone from her hand. “Hi, Marlene.” He glanced at his watch. “Is everything okay?”

He listened, then said, “Why? Because it’s late for you to be calling.”

Gabrielle rose and started to leave the room to give him privacy, but he cleared his throat loudly. She turned and he waved her back.

With a shrug, she took a seat at the other end of the couch from him, curling one leg beneath her.

A series of “mmm-hmms” followed as Derek listened to whatever his ex-wife had to say.

“I understand, but I have her party planned here.”

Gabrielle narrowed her gaze. Obviously the conversation involved Holly.

“That’s generous of you, but wasn’t the idea for me to spend more quality time with her?” he asked.

“Mmm-hmm. Yes, I’d miss her, too, but-”

His gaze met Gabrielle’s, and in his eyes she saw a wealth of pain. “I’ll talk to her and get back to you tomorrow.” He hung up without saying goodbye.

She was dying to ask, but she didn’t want to pry. Luckily, she didn’t have to.

“Marlene had planned a four-week trip to Europe. She’d been gone about two and decided to come back early. She misses Holly and wants to take her home to New York when she gets back this weekend,” he explained, his tone hard edged, his disappointment obvious.

Gabrielle shook her head. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not sure I should agree to this. I rarely get time with Holly as it is.”

Gabrielle understood, but she also thought he should consider all sides before he reacted in a way that could hurt him even more. “But didn’t you say Marlene’s just starting to be reasonable about visitation? Do you want a fight that will get her angry and make her be even more difficult again?”

“You’re right. She did promise to bring her back up for her birthday party as planned. She also said Holly could come up as often as we could arrange for the rest of the summer,” Derek said, the admission obviously difficult for him. “But it still bugs me that just because she misses her, I have to give her up.”

Gabrielle eased closer to him and placed her hand over his. “I’m on your side,” she assured him. “I just wanted to play devil’s advocate.”

He smiled grimly. “I appreciate it.”

“Um…Derek? Does Marlene know that Holly’s living with your father?” And did Marlene know about Gabrielle, period-past and present-she wondered.

He shook his head. “Not from me. I didn’t think she’d appreciate the fact that no sooner had Holly moved in than I moved her out.”

Gabrielle groaned, her guilt returning. “I am so sorry. I really shouldn’t be here. It’s wrong. I can get a hotel in Boston and have all the security I need.”

“You could, but you won’t,” he insisted. “I want you here where I can see for myself that you’re safe. Besides, after the way Holly reacted when I left you home for dinner, can you imagine how she’d carry on if you moved out?”

Gabrielle shook her head and laughed. “I really do love that kid.” The words slipped easily from her lips.

She didn’t want to take them back any more than she wanted to spook Derek. She glanced at him. If he’d heard her, he didn’t react. No doubt he was more wrapped up in the fact that he was losing Holly sooner than planned. She ought to be relieved he wasn’t paying attention to her.

Instead she felt a bone-deep emptiness. One she feared would grow larger over time.

LONG AFTER DEREK AND Gabrielle had climbed into his bed, long after they’d made love and fallen asleep in each other’s arms, Derek lay awake, replaying the night in his head.

I love that kid. Derek had heard and processed every word that came out of Gabrielle’s beautiful lips. He’d merely pretended he’d been preoccupied.

He didn’t know what he was going to do with her, nor did he know what to do with feelings that were growing by the day. Right now, though, he had to keep her safe. And for that reason, letting Holly go home with her mother seemed like the most logical-if painful-solution. But he had no intention of allowing Marlene to think she could continue calling the shots where his daughter was concerned. There would be no more allowing Marlene to schedule silly things on his visitation weekends. No longer letting her find convenient excuses not to put Holly on the phone when he called.

In fact, first thing tomorrow, he was getting Holly her own cell phone with a limited calling plan so he could get in touch with her whenever he wanted.

He’d just found his daughter again.

He wasn’t about to lose her.

THE NEXT FEW DAYS PASSED in a haze of normalcy. Derek woke up beside Gabrielle, they’d shower, eat breakfast with Holly, then she’d head off to the library to work while he took Holly to the beach. In between, he’d have business appointments while his father took over hanging out with Holly and Fred. Holly had agreed to go home with her mother as long as she could come back as often as she wanted.

Derek knew how much she missed her mother. Because he didn’t want her to feel torn between her parents, he’d made the decision an easy one for her. “Fred and I need some alone time to plan your birthday party,” he’d said.

She’d laughed.

In reality, Derek was glad Marlene was home in time for Holly’s birthday. All Derek could offer her was cake, presents, Grandpa Hank and Fred, the dirty old basset hound. Her mother could give her the one thing she needed more. A party with friends her own age.

This morning, the sky was overcast, which nixed a trip to the beach, so he decided to go to the office for a few hours before meeting Hank and Holly for lunch at the Diner. He finished up early and decided to stop by the library to see if Gabrielle wanted to join them.

Along the way, he noticed all the new election signs posted along the town line and sporadically in well-traveled places in Perkins.

Bold signs with a bolder message, urging voters to listen to their conscience, to ignore curses and vote for change. In both towns there were fliers announcing a town meeting where people could meet Richard Stern and discover what he stood for. As promised, Richard had stepped up his campaign, putting pressure on his opponent.

The Perkins family’s power in town was now, unofficially, in jeopardy. Derek couldn’t imagine that Mayor Perkins appreciated the fact.

Derek parked and entered the air-conditioned library. Because it was a nice summer day, the place was empty. He found Sharon alone in her back office.

He knocked on the door to announce his presence and she jumped up, obviously on edge.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Derek placed a hand on the doorknob.

Sharon nodded. “It’s not you, it’s everything else going on,” she said.

He inclined his head in understanding.

“So what brings you by?” she asked.

He narrowed his gaze. “Gabrielle, what else? I didn’t see her. I even checked the microfilm area. Is she around or did she step out to get lunch?”

Bracing her hands on the desk, Sharon rose to her feet. “Gabrielle isn’t here.”

“Isn’t she working on her book here?” he asked.

“I haven’t seen her.” She bit her lower lip.

“Not today, but yesterday? Or the day before?” he asked, a bad feeling gnawing at his gut.

She shook her head. “But I’m sure she has a good reason for telling you she was here…” Sharon trailed off.

“I’m sure she just didn’t want me to worry.” Or get angry with her, he thought. “She probably wanted you out of the loop, too. You have enough on your mind without worrying about whatever she’s up to.”

Sharon exhaled a deep breath. Wasn’t that just like Gabrielle? “Well, the least she could do was let me know she’d need a cover,” Sharon muttered.

She glanced at Derek, but he’d already turned and headed out the door. Sharon grabbed the phone to warn Gabrielle-wherever she was-but the ring went straight to voice mail.

Sharon had no doubt Derek would find her. She called one more time and this time she left a message. But it looked as if Gabrielle was on her own.

GABRIELLE SAT AT HER adopted table at the Wave where she’d been working for the past three days. When she’d stopped by to talk to Curious George, Gabrielle had learned that the Wave was more than a nightclub. It was a place where people congregated at lunch hour, too. So Gabrielle had made it her mission to set up shop at a table in the corner, where she worked on her book, while at the same time, interviewed George, his staff and many of his customers.

At first people were wary about talking to her. But it was obvious George trusted her, so by the third day, the barriers had come down and people were sharing stories. She learned more about the Corwin Curse and its effect on the people of both towns; she heard tales of older women who’d been afraid to date the males of Hank Corwin’s generation; and she began to renew friendships with people she used to know.

More important than incoming information was the fact that people in town left talking about Gabrielle and her book. People hoped they’d get their names mentioned in print. And because of their piqued interest, they were discussing Gabrielle publicly. She hoped word would make its way to Mary Perkins that Gabrielle Donovan’s newest book would reveal-and dispel-all the towns’ secrets.

Gabrielle wanted Mary to be nervous. On edge.

She wanted the mayor to feel cornered and act on impulse. She wanted to catch the mayor in wrongdoing and put an end to her reign of terror once and for all.

Her plan was going well, too. Until Derek stormed in, all his frustration aimed her way.

He walked in and braced both hands on her table, looming over her and her laptop. “Please tell me there’s a reason you’re here, making a public spectacle of yourself, that won’t have me wanting to throttle you,” he said.

“I like the food?” She gestured to the plate of sliders George had made especially for her.

He shook his head. “Try again.”

“I enjoy the company?” She pointed to George, who waved at Derek from behind the bar.

“Gabrielle,” he said, drawing out her name through clenched teeth.

“You know exactly what I’m doing here. If I’d told you what I was planning, you’d have tried to talk me out of it.”

“You’re damn right I would have-”

She stood up to face him. “And I’d have come here, anyway. Then you’d be upset, and we wouldn’t have had such fantastic, amazing sex the past few nights,” she said, her voice dropping to a husky purr.

Her body reacted to her own words; the memory of his lips on her-all of her-flooded her mind.

She cleared her throat.

His gaze darkened with sexual desire. But his scowl remained. “You lied to me to protect our sex life?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“I did not lie. I told you I was going to work. I just didn’t say where.”

He curled his hands tighter around the table. His knuckles turned white. “You said you were going to the library.”

She shook her head. “As I recall, you said, ‘You’ll be at the library with Sharon?’ And I didn’t answer.”

“You led me to believe it, dammit.”

Gabrielle nodded slowly. “Well, yes. But…wait. You went to the library to find me? Is Sharon still in one piece?”

He rolled his eyes. “She’s in better shape than you’re going to be in when I’m finished with you,” he muttered. “Let’s go. We’re meeting my father and Holly for lunch.”

Gabrielle knew when to retreat. With a curt nod, she closed her laptop and gathered her things.

His cell phone rang and he grabbed it. “Hello?” he barked into the phone.

He listened.

His frown deepened, the lines in his forehead growing more pronounced. Clearly this wasn’t his day.

“What’s wrong?” she asked when he’d hung up.

“What isn’t?” he asked. “That was Hank. Seems Marlene decided to come today instead of tomorrow. She’s waiting for me at the house.” He turned and started for the exit.

With a shiver caused more by the idea of meeting Derek’s ex than by his current mood, Gabrielle followed him out the door.