Tangled in Tinsel: The Celebration Series, Book 1

It was after eleven when I finally pulled into my driveway. I’d meant to get Casey’s phone number earlier to call and check on Tommy, but in the rush to get out to the scene, I’d forgotten about it.

The living room lights were bright, and a slightly-tilted tree blinked its winter welcome. Oh, poor Casey! She had decorated the tree with Tommy. Man, did I owe her big.

As I trudged through the snow in her front yard, I got a good look in the front window. She needed to make sure she pulled her drapes; it was like looking into a fishbowl.

I stopped in my tracks as I caught sight of her curled up in a chair, glittering tinsel all over her head and shoulders. She was so freaking beautiful.

I’d made it three weeks on the friend side, but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep it up. Every night, I dreamed of her, and every time I saw her, I wanted to crush her to me and never let her go.

I kicked the snow off my boots on her front porch and knocked gently before trying the doorknob. I wasn’t surprised when it opened. She needed a reminder on how to be safe living alone.

I pulled some tinsel from her hair and fought the temptation to pull her into my arms. She looked so damned tired and sexy at the same time. “Why are you all tangled up in tinsel?”

The next set of words out of her mouth froze me in place for a few seconds. “Because your son thought it was more fun to decorate me, rather than the tree.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said, ‘He thought it was more fun to decorate me than my tree.’”

How had I missed that? How did she not know that Tommy was my nephew? “You called him my son.”

She shrugged and began to look uncomfortable, “Yeah, so?”

“That’s what this is all about. You think Tommy is my son.” I thought my face would split in half as I grinned at her. “Casey, he’s not my son. He’s my nephew. Corrine is my sister.”

If that was what had been holding her back, well that excuse just got shot to hell—and I for one was going to take advantage of it—well, not right this second—but soon.

I pulled back from the kiss, “I can’t believe you didn’t know.”

“No one ever said anything.”

“But I’m not wearing a wedding ring.” I held up my hand to show her, and she snorted in contempt.

“Believe me, a lot of men don’t wear wedding rings, cops especially.”

“Well, the day I put one on, is the day it will stay on.” I pulled her closer and kissed her one more time. “You have no idea how much I want to stay here and kiss you all night, but I need to get Tommy back home and to bed, and by the looks of it, you could use some sleep, too.”

Her voice was husky when she next spoke, “Okay.”

“But we are going to pick this up again tomorrow, right where we are leaving it.” I raised an eyebrow to ask for confirmation.

She smiled shyly and nodded. “I’d like that.”

After gathering Tommy up, I paused to kiss Casey one more time, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep and thank you for tonight.”

“You’re welcome. You get some sleep, too. Sweet dreams.”

I winked at her, “They’ll be sweeter than you know.”

She closed the door behind me, and I didn’t hear her lock it, but she might have been waiting a moment before she did so.

I got Tommy settled into his bed and took a shower, grinning like a fool the whole time. She’d thought I was married. No wonder she’d kept pushing me away. She must have thought I was a complete dog. I chuckled to myself as I dried my hair with a towel. Damn, I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see her again and finally start to get things going between us.

I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until Tommy jumped on my bed at seven-thirty. “We decorated her tree. Did you see it?”

“Yes, I did,” I replied as I propped myself up on the bed. “Did you behave for her?”

He shook his head, “No, I broke a mirror and then spilled my milk on the sofa and dropped spaghetti all over my pants.”

I ruffled his hair. “At least you’re honest.”

Corrine called a few minutes later to tell us she was going to be on her way home in about an hour. That would get her home a little after nine, and I couldn’t wait to get next door when she arrived. Casey and I had a lot of things to catch up on. It was a few minutes after nine when I glanced out the window and did a double take. There was another car in Casey’s driveway. Had a friend stopped by?

I studied the car and saw that there was an inch of snow covering it. Someone had arrived late last night because the snow didn’t stop until around three in the morning. Was it Brandy?

Shit!

My mind was in turmoil as I paced back and forth, waiting for Corrine to get home. The moment she walked in the door, I threw my coat on and bolted next door.

I paused and took a deep breath. Please let her open the door and throw herself into my arms, I prayed before I knocked.

I heard muted voices behind the door, but a few moments later it opened, and I stepped back as I stared at a man. “Can I help you?” he asked as if he had the right to do so.

“Who are you?” I queried back.

The man glared at me while he ran his eyes up and down my body, taking stock. I did the same to him and found him seriously lacking.

“Thad,” Casey’s voice broke our glaring contest, “what are you doing here? Is everything alright?”

The man put his arm casually around her neck, a gesture that was supposed to have appeared intimate but screamed property instead. I glanced between them. His eyes were hard, and hers…hers looked scared.

“Everything is fine. I came over to check on you. I didn’t recognize the car in your driveway, and I was concerned.”

She didn’t get a chance to reply, as the man did it for her, pulling her closer to his side. “Everything here is fine. I surprised my fiancée, that’s all.” He gave me a smile that was anything but friendly.

“Fiancée?” I gawked at Casey, and she averted her eyes.

“Yeah, and who are you?” he stated rudely.

Casey found her voice and looked up at the guy, “Kevin, this is Thad, my neighbor. I babysat his son last night.”

What? Wait a second, we had already cleared that up, or wait! She wanted him to think I was a married man, just doing the neighborly thing by checking up on her. “Yeah, I wanted to apologize for getting home so late, and I believe my son stated he broke something yesterday. If you tell me how much it was, I’ll be sure he pays you for it.” I seethed the words “my son”.

Was this the real reason she didn’t want to get involved with me? She was already in a relationship, with a man? What happened to being with Brandy? Jesus, I had too many questions.

“It’s alright, Thad, it was no big deal.” The man, Kevin—isn’t that what she had called him?—began to close the door.

“Casey, can I talk to you for a second?” I was getting a really bad vibe here, and it wasn’t just that she hadn’t told me she was engaged. Casey looked freaked out, and this jackass didn’t seem to be making her feel any better.

She opened her mouth to speak, and the Kevin guy pulled her closer and nuzzled her neck, letting his hand slide down her chest and brush her breast. “Sorry, but she can’t talk right now, we were just trying to make up for lost time.”

Casey slammed her eyes closed, and I could have sworn that she shivered, but I couldn’t tell if that was a good shiver or a bad one.

“Thanks for checking on me, Thad,” Casey whispered just loudly enough for me to hear as Kevin began to close the door again.

Shit! What the hell was going on? I stared at the closed door for a few seconds before I returned to my house.

Was Casey just embarrassed that she had been caught in a lie? Or was there something else going on? My bullshit meter was dinging off the charts with the thought that Casey and that man were really engaged.

What if they were? That would also explain why she had been pushing me away.

When I got back home, I dropped into a chair at the table. “What’s wrong, Thad?” Corrine asked as she looked up from the paper she was reading.

“Casey is engaged,” I said flatly.

“What? She’s marrying her friend? That’s great.” Corrine giggled.

“No, not her friend, a man.”

Corrine looked immediately confused. “A man? I thought she was a lesbian,” she set the paper on the table, “and why are you so upset?”

I shook my head, “I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about you start at the beginning, but let me pour us some coffee first.”

I waited until Corrine had filled two mugs, and then I began to tell my sister everything that had happened between Casey and me, not that I went into great detail about the wall incident or making out in the parking lot, but I shared enough that she got the gist.

“I don’t understand it.” She shook her head, “She pushed you away because she thought you were married, but then she ends up being engaged?” She paused, “That doesn’t make sense.”

“I know that, Corrine. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” I spun my coffee mug absently in front of me, “I guess I just need to wait until I can talk to her alone and find out what’s going on.”

“Maybe you can catch her at work,” Corrine suggested.

“Yeah, that would probably be my best bet.” In the meantime, I would keep my eye on that vehicle and wait to see if it leaves.

I stewed over the situation for a few days, torn on wanting to find out what was going on, and angry that Casey hadn’t told me about the guy. Instinct said something was wrong, but my annoyance ignored what my sixth sense was trying to tell me.

Five days later, the car was still parked in front of her house, and she had yet to go to work. I’d called the hospital a few times to see if she was working, but they always said she was off. I happened to be at the hospital on official business on Christmas Eve and cornered one of the nurses I knew was friends with Casey.

“Hey, Linda, where is Casey?” I asked as I approached her.

Linda looked up from the report she was working on and smiled, “She came down with a bad stomach bug she said.” She cocked her head to the side, “I’m surprised you didn’t know that. I thought you were her friendly neighbor.”

I ignored her second comment. “How long has she been out?”

“I think since she went home from the storm. I haven’t seen her since then.”

“Have you talked to her?” My instincts were getting itchy.

“Yeah, I called her about something yesterday.” She stood up. “Why?”

“Did she sound alright to you?”

“Thad, what’s going on?” Linda looked spooked, but I was getting a really bad feeling.

“Did she sound alright to you, Linda?”

“She seemed reserved, but I figured that was because she didn’t feel well.”

“Has she ever said anything to you about a fiancé?” I clenched my jaw as she wavered and glanced away. “Linda, come on. I’m concerned for her safety. Please tell me. Did she ever say anything about a fiancé?”

“Actually, she did. She said that she was engaged once, but it ended really badly, and that’s why she moved away, to get away from him.”

Son of a bitch! “Did she tell you why it was so bad? Did he abuse her or anything?”

“No,” she shook her head, “she said she broke it off because she found out he was married. Thad, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

I had already spun around and was heading out of the emergency room when she practically yelled the last sentence. I didn’t bother to answer her; I had to find out what was going on.