"You aren't helping, Joley." Sarah flashed her rebel sister a stern look meant to repress. "Motorcycles are dangerous."
"So are airplanes and cars and mountain climbing. Walking across the street can be dangerous," Joley said, clearly not impressed by Sarah's reprimand. "Heck, going out on a stage to sing can be dangerous."
Sarah swung her attention instantly from Libby to Joley. "What does that mean?"
"It means life can be dangerous, Sarah, but we don't go through it sitting in a closet because we're afraid of every little thing."
"Tyson Derrick is a crazy man. Do you really want Libby racing around on the back of his motorcycle? That's nuts."
Libby drew up her knees and glanced at the clock. The argument was moot as far as she was concerned anyway. The man had kissed her senseless and somehow she'd agreed to try a small slow run on his motorcycle to "really see the beauty of the coast." She sighed. It sounded like something a bad girl might do. Her own small rebellion against always doing the perfect and right thing. The responsible thing. Now, what did it matter?
She could feel tears burning close. The man made her cry twice now. Wouldn't it be really horrible if he was right? If she was completely emotional? He was over an hour late and all of her sisters were acutely aware of her misery. It was making them edgy. Both Sarah and Joley were trying to protect her, each in their own way. But she didn't need it. She could protect herself from the idiot with the brilliant brain. How dare he stand her up?
"I'm certain Ty would be very careful with Libby," Joley said. "He obviously cares about her." She glared at Sarah, willing her to back off. Libby looked so miserable that if Tyson didn't show his face in the next five minutes, Joley was personally going to see to it he didn't date anyone for a very long time.
Libby stood up abruptly. "I'm going over to his house. He's already over an hour late. I'm not sitting here waiting for him. I'm going to tell him what a jerk he is and not to ever call me or come by again."
"Just call him," Sarah advised. "Why put yourself through seeing him in person? Just stay away from him and save yourself the heartache." She wanted to gather her younger sister into her arms and hold her until that look of rejection and hurt was gone forever.
"No, I have to do this in person, Sarah," Libby said. "He's different. I know you have a hard time with him, and at times like this I can't tell you why I've always been drawn to him, but I have. I like talking to him and I understand him even when he's not saying things right, which is most of the time. We mesh when we're together."
"He needs you," Elle said in a soft voice. "And you need him. I'm sorry he hurt you, Libby. I know it can't be intentional. I wouldn't have let him near you if he wasn't sincere in his feelings. He has the most analytical brain I've ever come across and he computes at a very rapid rate of speed. It must drive him crazy sometimes. But not with you. He wasn't being analytical no matter how hard he tried. You tap into the human side of him and he's very aware of it and aware of how much he needs you."
"Then why is he trying to change her?" Sarah asked.
"He's uncomfortable with emotion, Sarah," Elle said.
Elle sounded tired and Libby put her arm around her youngest sister. At once a soothing warmth flowed from one to the other. Elle rested her head briefly on Libby's shoulder.
"Well, he'd better get comfortable with it a little faster," Sarah bit out between her teeth. "Damon was uncomfortable with emotion but he didn't stand me up or dislike my family because they were a little different."
"A little?" Joley echoed. "We're freakin' weird and you know it. You can't blame the man for not believing we do what we do. Face it, Sarah, he had every reason to think we're a family of con artists and yet he still wanted to see Libby. That should tell you something about the way the man feels about her. It has to be genuine."
Libby caught up her purse. "We don't argue and fight with one another as a rule. I'm not letting Tyson Derrick ruin the way we are with one another."
"Libby, honey." Sarah hurried to throw her arms around her sister. "No one could change how close we are. If Tyson Derrick is your choice, I'll not only accept him, but I'll come to love him. You have to know that. I'm just worried about you and how he makes you feel about yourself. I'm overprotective, that's all. You're not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. You don't see it in yourself but you light up a room just by walking into it. If he doesn't see that, he doesn't deserve you."
Libby hugged her back and stepped away. "I know I at least deserve more than a man who stands me up on a date."
Libby could feel her sisters watching her as she slid into her car and closed the door with controlled violence. She did have a temper that flared up as strong and as passionate as her sisters, she just couldn't sustain it for any length of time. She always made excuses for everyone. She thought of herself as strong. When it was necessary she could stand up to anyone for her patients or her family. Even for herself. She just always was able to see other people's point of view. But that didn't make her a doormat and if Ty thought she could be walked on simply because he had a brain and was the hottest kisser in town, he was sadly mistaken.
She drove straight to the house Ida Chapman had bequeathed to her son and her nephew. It was a huge home on a beautiful piece of property, high on a bluff so the residents could see the rolling ocean from the long bank of windows in the front. She parked at the entrance to the double garage and stalked up to the front door. Leaning heavily on the doorbell didn't do her much good.
Libby walked around to the garage entrance to see if Tyson's car was parked in the building. The door was slightly ajar and she slipped inside. The lighting was dim and she took two steps before her eyes adjusted and she became aware of two men at the far end of the garage near Tyson's car. Both straightened up and turned to face her. Neither man was familiar to her and the way they turned suggested stealth or guilt.
Libby's heart fluttered wildly. She took two cautious steps backward. She could never get into her car and drive away before they could stop her so she whirled and ran back up the steps to Tyson's house, praying the front door was unlocked. She heard the pounding of footsteps behind her as she yanked open the door, slamming it behind her, trying to lock it quickly.
"Wait!" Libby heard the hoarse cry behind her. Visions of Jonas's body lying on the side of the road and the threat of Edward Martinelli were enough to keep her self preservation alarm shrieking.
"Tyson! Sam! Help!" She screamed the names at the top of her lungs. "Call nine-one-one. Tyson!" The doorknob twisted before she could engage the lock and she sprang away from the door, running through the living room toward what she hoped was the kitchen. She had no idea of the layout of the house, but nearly everyone had a phone in the kitchen.
She found a door, tore it open, hearing the men running through the house just behind her. A lighted staircase led to the basement below. Tyson's laboratory. Libby ducked inside and closed the door, running down the stairs just as Tyson came rushing toward her. He caught her in his arms and held her tight. "What is it? What are you doing here? Tell me what's happened."
The door at the top of the stairs opened and the two men began to descend cautiously. Tyson thrust Libby behind him, his body shielding hers. Sam stepped into view, trailing behind the two men. "I heard Libby scream and ran downstairs to find these two in our house, Ty."
"Harry Jenkins and Joe Fields." Ty identified them, his voice low and furious. "What the hell are you doing in my house? And what did you do to Libby?" He took a step forward, his fingers curling tightly into two hard fists.
Harry and Joe exchanged a long nervous look. Harry took a slight step toward Tyson, one hand coming up in a conciliatory manner. "We didn't mean to scare her. She startled us, Ty. We were having a look around and she walked in on us."
"What do you mean 'having a look around?' " Sam demanded. "You just thought you could walk into our house unannounced? Who are these two idiots, Ty? Should I call the sheriff?"
&n
bsp; "There's no need for that," Joe said. "We wanted a word with Ty and we inadvertently frightened the lady. It was unintentional."
"And we weren't in the house," Harry added. "We were in the garage."
"So you were skulking around my garage?" Tyson asked. "And then you chase Libby into my house? What the hell is going on?"
"We knocked for half an hour, Ty," Harry said, running a finger around the collar of his shirt. "No one came to the door, so I checked inside the garage to see if your vehicles were there, but I couldn't find a light switch. I could see the car but not your motorcycle so we went all the way in. We drove all this way to talk to you in person and we didn't want to just turn around and go back. You told me a year or so ago that you had a laboratory in your home. You're deaf in your lab so I just figured if you didn't answer you might still be here."
"So you chased Libby?"