mesmerized him.
A wary look crossed her face, but she squared her small shoulders and followed him inside to the den. A fire roared in the ancient brick fireplace, the rustic furnishings the same as they had been when Ray lived here years ago.
The manners Mama Mary had instilled in him surfaced. “Would you like some coffee?”
“That would be nice.” She clutched a patchwork homemade shoulder bag to her and sank onto the leather sofa in front of the fire.
He walked over to the sideboard in the adjoining dining area where Mama Mary always kept a carafe of hot coffee, then poured two cups.
“Cream or sugar?” he asked.
“Black,” she said, surprising him. Half the women he met wanted that froufrou fancy flavored coffee and creamer.
He handed her the cup and noticed her hand trembling. She wasn’t simply cold. Something was wrong.
“Now, you wanna tell me what this is about? Did my receptionist at McCullen Investigations tell you where I was?”
Again, she looked confused. “No, I didn’t realize you were a PI.”
Ray claimed the wing chair facing her and sipped his coffee. So, she wasn’t here for a case. “I don’t understand. If you don’t need my services, then what?”
She fidgeted. “I don’t know how to tell you this, except just to be up front.”
That sounded serious.
“My name is Scarlet Lovett. I knew your father, Ray. In fact, I knew him pretty well.”
Anger instantly shot through Ray. He’d been thinking how attractive she was, but he’d never considered that she might have been involved with his old man.
Well, hell, even from the grave, Joe McCullen kept surprising him. And disappointing...
He hardened his look. “Damn, I knew he had other women, but he was robbing the cradle with you.”
Those big eyes widened. “Oh, no, it wasn’t like that.”
“He was a two-timing, cheating liar.” Ray stood and paced to the fireplace as an image of his father in bed with Scarlet flashed behind his eyes. “How long was it going on?” And what did she want?
“Listen to me,” Scarlet said, her voice rising in pitch. “Your father and I were not involved in that way. He was nothing but honorable and kind to me.”
Yeah, I bet he was. He turned to her, not bothering to hide his disdain. “So what do you want?”
She set her coffee down and folded her arms. “He told me you were stubborn and resented him, but he didn’t say you were a jerk.”
Ray angled his head toward her. “You’re calling me names. Lady, you don’t even know me.”
“And you don’t know me.” Scarlet lifted her chin in defiance. “But if you’d be quiet and listen, I’d like to explain.”
Ray’s gaze locked with hers, rage and grief and other emotions he couldn’t define rolling through him.
The same emotions were mirrored in her own eyes.
Needing something stronger than coffee, he set the mug down, then strode to the bar and poured himself a finger full of scotch.
“I’ll have one of those, too,” she said.
He bit back a retort and poured her a shot, then carried the glasses back to the fireplace. He handed her the tumbler, then sank into the wing chair and tossed his back in one gulp. “All right. You want me to listen. Say what you have to say, then get the hell out.”
* * *
SCARLET SHUDDERED AT Ray’s harsh tone. She’d seen pictures of him and his brothers, and knew Ray was the formidable one.
He was also the most handsome. Sure Brett was the charmer and Maddox was tough, but something about that dark, mysterious, haunted look in Ray’s eyes had drawn her.
Maybe because she understood how anger changed a person. She’d dealt with her own share over the years in the children’s home.
But Ray had been lucky enough to have a father who’d wanted him. Even if Joe McCullen hadn’t been perfect.
“So, spill it,” Ray said. “Why are you here?”
“This was a mistake.” She stood, fingers closing over the edge of her bag. “I’ll leave.”
She started past him, but Ray shot up and grabbed her arm. “No way you’re leaving until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
Her gaze met his, tension vibrating between them. She gave a pointed look at her arm where his fingers held her.
“Take your hands off me.”
For a brief second, something akin to regret glimmered in his expression. But he released her and stepped back. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually manhandle women.”
She wanted to believe him, but she’d met too many men who did. So she refused to let him off the hook.
His loud exhale punctuated the air. “Please sit down. I’ll behave.”
He looked so contrite that a tingle of something like respect danced through her. But she refrained from commenting as another image taunted her. One of Ray’s hands on her, tenderly stroking her, making her feel safe. No, not safe. Alive.
Fool.
Ray McCullen was anything but safe.
And judging from his brusque attitude, he was going to hate her when he learned the reason for her visit.
Ray struggled to wrangle his temper as Scarlet took a seat again.
When he looked at her, he couldn’t help but think about those damn dolls his mother had loved so much.
Just like them, she was almost too beautiful to be real.
Like them, she looked fragile, like a piece of china that could break if you held it too hard.
Yet she’d stood up to him and had a stubborn set to her chin that made him suspect there was more to her than surface beauty.
He could easily see why his father might have been attracted to her. But God...she was so young...
“I realize what I’m going to tell you may come as a shock,” she said softly, “but it’s what Joe wanted.”
“How do you know what my father wanted?”
Her eyes flickered with uneasiness at his tone. “I
