Total Control Read online

  “Yeah,” Benjamin said. “Phoenix. That’s pretty close to California.”

  But Phoenix was weeks away, and when Todd looked at the boy’s mom, he could tell she was thinking the same thing he was.

  Linda Koch stood, turned away, ostensibly to look out the window, but Todd knew better.

  “Listen,” he said. “I know you can’t do anything this weekend, but I think there’s a camp or something coming up, one that’s for kids just like you.” Todd remembered reading about it a few weeks back. He’d been invited to attend, but he’d turned it down. He always turned that kind of stuff down. Too depressing. Only now did he realize how selfish an attitude that was. “It’d be a perfect place for you to visit because there are doctors on staff. And I won’t be the only driver there. You could meet Lance Cooper and Adam Drake and who knows who else.”

  “But, it’s not a race,” Benjamin said, sounding like every other ten-year-old who wasn’t getting his way.

  “And I don’t know that his doctors will allow him to go anywhere,” Linda said, facing them again.

  Todd leaned toward Benjamin and said in a low voice, “I’ll be right back.”

  The boy nodded, hope still shining from his eyes.

  “I know this is short notice,” Todd said. He could tell Linda had been doing her darnedest to hold back tears while she’d been studying Richmond’s tree-studded skyline. Her red-rimmed eyes gave her away. “And I know that Benjamin has a really bad cold right now, but if he starts to get well, maybe he can make it.”

  “That’s the problem, Mr. Peters—”

  “Todd,” he quickly corrected.

  “Todd,” she whispered back, her voice equally low. “He’s not getting better. Chances are this cold will hang on, or turn into something worse. God forbid it should settle in his lungs. Damn it. We shouldn’t have come.”

  But they had. And it was his fault they’d had to fly all the way out here. They were supposed to have met up in Sonoma, but he’d stood the kid up. And now they would have to fly back home.

  “If he starts to get sicker, I will personally see to it that he has the best care.”

  “That’s very kind of you, but it’s not necessary. I already have the name of a local pediatric oncologist.”

  God forbid it should come to that. “Good. But I don’t think we’re going to need him. Or her. He’ll get better with the right motivation,” Todd said, echoing what Jen had said earlier. “And you won’t have to fly on a commercial airline to get him home. I’ll fly him home myself.”

  “Excuse me?” Linda said.

  “I have a jet. We can fly him back when he gets better. I’ll fly him to the camp, too.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  Todd reached for her hand. “I want to do that.”

  He saw Linda’s lip tremble. Saw her eyes flick away for a second. When she looked up at him there was a glut of pain in her eyes. And sorrow. And flagging hope. “I don’t know.”

  “Talk to his doctors.”

  She thought about it for a moment, then said, “I will.”

  Todd released her hand. “Good.”

  They heard someone at the front door. Indi, no doubt. Todd was surprised when Linda took his hand and said quickly, “In the meantime I want you to do something for me.”

  “What’s that?”

  But before Linda could answer, Indi asked, “What did I miss?” She gave Benjamin and Linda a wide smile, but her eyes pointedly avoided him.

  Linda dropped Todd’s hand and turned away, Todd watching in puzzlement as she moved toward her son. What could she want?

  “Todd wants me to go to another race,” Benjamin announced.

  “Really?” Indi said, glancing in his direction, her eyes rebuking him for ignoring her directive.

  “And a kid’s camp.”

  “Really?” Indi repeated.

  “I know you didn’t want me to say anything, but I really think this is doable. It’s a camp geared toward kids just like Benjamin,” Todd said. “It has doctors on staff.”

  “Oh, wow. Great,” she said, shooting Todd another false smile.

  “But we’re not going to the track tomorrow,” Linda said.

  “No?” Indi said, looking at Benjamin and then Linda. “Well, that’s a bummer.”

  “But Todd offered to show you around tonight,” Linda said.

  Todd’s attention shot to Linda. The woman smiled sweetly. This, he realized, was what he could “do” for her.

  “Yeah,” Linda said. “Just because we can’t go anywhere doesn’t mean you have to stay behind. What’s on your schedule tonight, Mr. Peters?”

  “Oh, but Linda,” Indi said. “I’m tired, and I was hoping to catch up on some paperwork—”

  “I have a cocktail party to go to. It’s a sponsor thing—”

  “You should go,” Benjamin interrupted. “You can tell me all about it.”

  “But I don’t think—”

  “You’re going,” Linda said. “Don’t think you’re not. You never have any fun, Indi. I’ve been telling you that for months. Todd’s offer is a generous one. Go. Have fun with him.”

  But he hadn’t offered, Todd almost said. Only, as he watched the way color filled Indi’s face, he couldn’t stop himself from feeling a surge of self-satisfaction.

  “It’s a cocktail party,” he said. “Snappy Lube is sponsoring it. There’ll be a few other drivers there, maybe even some celebrities.”

  “I still don’t think—”

  “Please,” Benjamin said. “Will you go? If I can’t make it, at least one of us can.”

  And that, Todd realized, was a plea Indi couldn’t refuse. Her eyes narrowed just before she said, “All right.”

  But I don’t have to like it, she seemed to silently add.

  Todd would just have to see about that, he thought, feeling anticipation run through him. That and something else.

  Interest, he realized. Indi challenged him.

  And he never could resist a challenge.

  CHAPTER SIX

  SHE WANTED to kill Todd Peters.

  Indi paced the lobby of the hotel, the heels she’d been forced to don catching in the hotel’s plush carpeting. It was a Friday night and so the lobby was packed, people coming and going, most of them wearing T-shirts bearing the car number of their favorite driver. She’d seen more than a few eighty-twos. In her formfitting red cocktail dress, Indi felt more than a little out of place.

  “Mmm-mmm-mmm,” cooed someone walking by. Indi glanced in the man’s direction, her eyes narrowing when she spied the salacious grin on his face.

  “Lookin’ good,” he drawled, nodding his head in approval as if she might have missed his meaning.

  She turned on her heel, hissing under her breath, “This sucks.”

  For the past two hours she’d been forced to undergo a makeover at the hands of Linda and Benjamin Koch. Thanks to Linda’s generosity, Indi now found herself the proud owner of an overpriced dress that Linda had found at a boutique located in the hotel lobby. Indi had tried to refuse Linda’s generosity, but it had been impossible to say no to a woman who had the determination of a dog with a new chew toy. Benjamin had decided that Indi would be his emissary, and that nothing would do but that she look “hot” for his favorite driver. Indi hadn’t had the heart to tell the boy that she’d rather dress herself in a paper bag and bunny slippers than the ankle-length dress and the slinky, rhinestone encrusted heels that Linda had picked out for her. But that she couldn’t do and so here she was.

  She paced in front of the mirrors that framed the hotel’s lobby. She was just turning around when she caught sight of Todd in the mirrors, the man who’d been ogling her earlier just about colliding with him thanks to his head being turned as he checked out Indi’s rear.

  “Oh, excuse me,” he said, and then straightened. “Hey,” he all but yelped. “You’re Todd Peters.”

  “Hi,” Todd said, eyes scanning the lobby.

  “Damn. Wher
e’s my camera?” the guy asked. “Shoot…up in my room. Are you going to be here long?”

  “Nope. I’m meeting someone.”

  “How about an autograph then?”

  Todd’s expression grew more perplexed. His gaze caught on her for a second, or more appropriately, her rear end. Indi stiffened, waiting for recognition to dawn.

  It didn’t.

  She began to turn, thinking that she couldn’t look that different with her hair swept atop her head. Then again, she never wore her hair in tight curls. But Linda had curled it like a poodle’s, all before stuffing it atop her head. Indi felt ready for a dog show.

  “You’re meeting that blonde, aren’t you?” the guy asked.

  Todd looked at the man in askance.

  “She was just here,” the man said.

  Indi readied herself, surprised to realize she had to resist the urge to pat herself in place. She turned around.

  “There she is,” he said, pointing.

  Todd followed the direction of the man’s finger. She smirked, her lips pursing in derision as she waited for his reaction.

  “Wow,” was all he said.

  “Todd,” she said with an inclination of her head.

  “Man, she’s hot,” the race fan said, as if Indi wasn’t standing right there. Todd glanced back at the guy before heading toward her. “You think maybe I can get a picture with the both of you?” the guy asked when Todd stopped in front of Indi. “Really. It’ll just take a second to go get my camera.”

  “Let’s go,” Todd said.

  “What about my autograph?” the guy asked.

  “Stop by the front desk tomorrow,” Todd said, motioning toward the reception area where more than one hotel worker stared in their direction. “I’ll have my PR rep leave a signed race card.”

  “Cool.”

  “Come on,” Todd ordered again.

  Indi followed, but only because she needed to speak to him alone.

  “I’m not going with you,” she said the moment the glass front doors slid closed.

  “Excuse me?” he asked.

  He stood on the red carpet that some industrious hotel manager had strategically placed to make a guest feel special.

  “Let’s just part company right here. I’ll go hide out in the hotel bar or something. Linda and Benjamin will never know.”

  “I would know.”

  She felt her body tip back in surprise. “Don’t tell me you’re suddenly developing a conscience?”

  He ran his hand through his hair, or he would have, if it hadn’t been slicked back. Actually, he didn’t look half-bad. The jacket he wore made him look fitter than she’d thought him to be. And the white shirt set off his tanned skin.

  “Look,” he said. “I told Linda I’d take you out. I’m taking you out.”

  “We’re outside,” she said, splaying her hands. It was a warm night. The clear sky had turned a molten pink thanks to a setting sun. A crescent moon could be seen in the sky—like a sideways smiley face.

  Indi didn’t feel much like smiling.

  “Yeah, so?” Todd asked.

  “Well, you can now officially claim we went out. No need to go anywhere.”

  She heard him expel an impatient breath. Saw him tip his head sideways and forward as if to chide her for something. But then he shook his head. “We’re going to this event. Once we get there, you can do whatever you want. But I’m taking you there, for Linda and Benjamin’s sake, and that’s that.”

  Indi watched him walk away, envisioning Linda and Benjamin’s disappointed expressions if they caught her returning to her own room. But maybe they wouldn’t catch her. Maybe she could just pretend to have gone to the event.

  “You coming?” Todd asked, pausing by the side of a car that…

  Whoa! What was that thing?

  A MINI Cooper, she recognized, but one painted to look like a rolling billboard, complete with an orange roof, yellow sides and a white bottom. Across the doors and hood were the words Snappy Lube—a company famous for doing oil changes “in a snap”—the words done in a speedy-looking script. But what made her pause, and all right, bite back a smile, was the roadrunner on the roof. It wasn’t like the one in the cartoons. No, no, no…this bird sat down, leaning over like a drunken sailor, long legs splayed out in front of him like Big Bird, wingtips down as if he were propping himself up, and the silliest, goofiest grin she’d ever seen on his long-beaked face.

  Todd opened the passenger side door.

  Realization dawned.

  “Oh, no,” she said before she could stop herself. “I’m not riding in that thing.”

  “Come on,” he said. “Where’s your spirit of adventure?”

  He couldn’t be serious. Could he?

  “But I thought…”

  “That we’d be riding in a limo?” he finished for her. He shook his head in mock commiseration. “’Fraid not.”

  “I was actually kind of expecting a rental car.”

  “This is better than a rental car,” he said with a wide smile.

  Indi glanced back at the hotel. The night just kept getting better and better.

  “You coming?” he asked, and when she glanced back at him, his eyes were bright.

  Todd Peters laughed at her. He also didn’t expect her to ride with him.

  “I refuse to wear an Elmer Fudd hat,” she said, sauntering by.

  “I don’t blame you,” he said.

  And as she slid inside, she realized she had a choice. She could enjoy the night and all the surprises it might bring, or she could continue to be a party pooper. She watched Todd cross in front of the car, his hand lifting as he waved to yet another fan. But who was she trying to kid? The guy really was trying. He could have blown them off again. Heck, he could have completely ignored her. She’d met more than her fair share of celebrities who did exactly that. Todd hadn’t done that at all. In fact, there might even be hints of a hip-hog in him.

  “All right,” he said, sliding into the driver’s seat. “Let’s see if we can get to this party in a snap.”

  He had a sense of humor, too. She’d always been a sucker for a man with a funny bone.

  She stiffened because she couldn’t actually be starting to like Todd.

  Could she?

  When he opened his mouth and did a perfect Roadrunner, “Beep, beep,” she realized she was.

  And that wouldn’t do. That wouldn’t do at all.

  SHE LOOKED HOT.

  It was all Todd could do to keep from staring at her as they drove to the event. Every time he glanced in her direction his eyes hooked on her legs, the sculpted length of them so tanned and toned and smooth—they looked like polished marble—he felt an inexplicable urge to reach out and run his hands up the sinewy cords of her calf. Man, he’d been without a woman for too long.

  “Look, Todd. You really don’t have to do this,” she said when they stopped at a light, the driver of the car next to them doing a double-take when he caught sight of the bird atop the car. Todd hid his smile.

  “You could just drop me off at a local restaurant,” she added. “I’ll have dinner there and then take a taxi back to the hotel. Linda and Benjamin would never know.”

  “I would know,” he said again.

  She frowned. Todd found his gaze settling on her legs again. “Besides,” he admitted, “I want to spend time with you.”

  The sun might be sinking beneath the horizon, but he could still see the surprise on her face. When her lashes widened, it turned the color of her eyes the same hue as freshly sprouted leaves. “Why?”

  “Because your job fascinates me.” And because he wanted to know what motivated a person to do something so remarkable as to work with terminally ill children.

  “But I’ve been such a—” She bit the words off.

  “Brat?” he finished for her.

  “I was going to say something else,” she admitted with—could it be? A wry grin.

  “Yes, you have. And I’ve been a self-center
ed ass. So why don’t we just bury the hatchet?”

  She stared at the hand he held out. “All right,” she said, clasping his fingers lightly.

  Todd expected her to be cold, perhaps because of the ice that was usually in her eyes, but her grip was warm and surprisingly firm.

  “Tell me about Linda,” he said. The light turned green and he was grateful for the distraction of driving.

  “Linda? She’s great,” Indi immediately answered. “She’s devoted to Benjamin.”

  “He’s a good kid.”

  “I know,” Indi said.

  “But he’s pretty sick, isn’t he?”

  “He is,” she admitted. “This cold is a sign of his weakened immune system.”

  “I’m sorry I put off meeting with him.”

  “So am I,” she said, and Todd realized that with Indi, he’d always get the truth. She said exactly what was on her mind.

  “Spending time with him today,” he said, “it changed things. Helped me to realize that the little everyday stresses were nothing compared to battling for your life. I’ll admit I was torqued that Linda arranged for me to take you out. And I’ll admit that I planned to use tonight as a way of getting back at you.”

  She jerked toward him. He could see it out of the corner of his eye. “How?”

  “I was going to flirt with you.”

  Then she laughed for the second time that day. Todd felt the strangest urge to stop the car, pull her to him, and kiss her…really kiss her. Make her moan and sigh and maybe touch him back…

  Drive, Todd.

  “I think you’ve bumped that head of yours one too many times.”

  Yeah. He’d been thinking the same thing, too. “It wasn’t anything personal,” he said, and yet, still, the aftereffects of his minifantasy tingled through him. “I just thought it might be fun to rile you.”

  “You’ll find I’m impossible to rile.”

  Yeah, he sensed that about her.

  “Why is Benjamin in a wheelchair?” he asked, trying to change the subject. They were on a freeway, trees and buildings speeding by, the darkened sky shrouding everything in gray.

  “He’s weak. The chemo’s taken almost everything out of him. It’s not uncommon for kids at his stage of CML to be in chairs. Sometimes they’re almost too tired to hold their head up.”