Page 62 of Roark
“I know,” he replied and continued staring out the window.
The countryside whizzed by, hills and small houses, wooden fences that held back healthy growing gardens, creeks that broke through the landscape. During the time he’d been on the phone with his attorney, she’d stared out the window, wondering how so much chaos could be happening in such a gorgeous place. “It’s their job to be thorough, and when they don’t find anything, this will further clear your name.”
“Whose side are you on?”
“Yours. Always. But I know how it feels to have a job to do, to have to ask the hard questions. I’ve had family members sic their dogs on me when I showed up to ask them questions. Businesses have banned me from entering their buildings, and I’ve been cursed out by more than one firefighter who didn’t agree when I found something in my investigation that said they’d been negligent on the job.”
“But I bet you weren’t an asshole about any of that. You weren’t rude or disrespectful in any way.”
“Um, maybe not all those things all the time, but there were situations where I had to clap back at a few people. That wasn’t because I disliked any of them or held a personal grudge, it was just because I had to stand my ground.”
“Yes, I understand,” she continued. “Gibbons has an ax to grind. He doesn’t like rich people.”
“Huh. Well, there’re a lot of people suffering from that affliction.”
“Not you.” She looked at him then, saw the sincerity and question in his gaze. “No, not me. I mean, to be honest, you’re the first rich person I’ve known personally. I’ve had occasion to deal with a few businessmen who were clients of the insurance company, but that was just business.”
“Did you judge me by my portfolio before you met me?”
That was a heavy question considering, she had done her research and she’d known just how much Roark Donovan was worth—the man, not the companies he ran. That only added more. But at no point had she considered how that would affect the answers she’d sought. “I didn’t plan to become personally involved with you, so there was no need to make any judgments. But if you’re talking about now, I can tell you I’ve never known a family as loyal and dedicated to each other, and your family seems to be. That’s why you’ll get over people like Gibbons and all the others who think they know you, but really don’t.”
He reached across the seat to take her hand. “You’re good for me. Really good.”
They were pulling up along the side of the church now so Tamika didn’t have to reply, or rather she took that as a cop-out to replying, because she didn’t know how to explain the way Roark’s words had made her feel.
Minutes later, they were out of the truck and being seated on a row that’d been reserved for them. Tamika wasn’t even surprised the Donovans had called ahead to the church to let them know they’d be coming. It was actually a pretty preemptive move, since they had to have security there as well. She was still thinking about Roark’s words and the comfortable feeling she’d noted before the police had shown up at the clubhouse when the choir stood up to sing. On one side of her, Sandra clapped and sang along, and Tamika was instantly taken back to her days as a little girl in church. She remembered the music, the lyrics and felt an entirely different meaning to them now. It was a surreal moment, but she found herself enjoying it throughout the service. She’d also stopped thinking about Kaymen Benedict, mysterious letters, arson and what was going on between her and Roark.
That was until she felt him move beside her. When she looked over at him, she watched him reach into the inside pocket of his jacket and pull out his phone. The screen lit up, and he swiped it to pull up a text message. Tamika looked away then. She refocused on the pastor’s sermon and what, if anything, she could take from it that might help her in life this coming week.
There’s something I need to tell you that I should’ve told you before. Please call me back, or at least answer when I call.
Roark stared down at the phone screen, reading Katrina’s message for the third time.
What the hell was she talking about? There was absolutely nothing else they needed to say to each other. The divorce papers she’d served him four years ago had said it all. She wasn’t happy with him, and she’d wanted to leave. He hadn’t known what to say at the time, and so he’d said nothing. And frankly, he hadn’t felt overly bad about that decision. He stuffed the phone back into his pocket and turned his attention back to the service. Katrina was the last person he planned to deal with today.
The first, when he returned to the clubhouse, would be Detective Gibbons and the ridiculous warrant he’d pursued even after his commanding officer had informed him about the information Pierce and Cade had found. During his call with Ed Burrows on the ride to church, he’d learned that little tidbit and had been even angrier about the search currently going on at the clubhouse.
Roark had instructed Geoff to call him the moment they were gone. That was why he’d answered the vibration of his phone, because he’d thought it was something about the search, not his ex-wife.
Tamika stood beside him, and Roark realized the service was over, so he stood too.
“Is everything alright?” she asked.
Roark nodded. “Yeah. It’s fine. I think we’ll go out for lunch.”
“They’re still at the clubhouse.”
“Yeah. Let’s go out and treat the family to a lovely lunch and not think about that for a while.” He knew that was going to be easier said than done, but Roark had to try.
He wanted to try. These fires, the killing, it was all taking a toll on him. Every day he was away from the office, he was playing catch-up. His assistant was great and she was attempting to stay on top of things, but Roark knew it was difficult because he wasn’t there.
Putting himself aside, he could see Aunt Birdie was stressed, because she was more irritable than normal. Sandra had moments where she’d cry silently, and Roark knew she was thinking about the secret she and her friends had kept and all that it had led to. Suri seemed to be dealing the best, remaining her upbeat self as she attended to not only Aunt Birdie, but the other two elderly women as well.
So yes, he wanted to treat them all to lunch, to give them a glimpse of normalcy if just for a little while.
Two hours later, after they’d returned to the clubhouse, Roark was in the library checking, as he’d already done with each room in the house, to make sure the police hadn’t left anything out of place. Of course, they hadn’t found anything to prove he was involved with the fires or the explosion, and Burrows had contacted the chief of the department at the MPD to let him know the detectives’ behavior was dangerously close to harassment, which would not be tolerated in the future.
Roark hadn’t found anything out of place yet, but he was certain that was because Geoff, Lily and Dorianne had been here and had probably put everything back in place before their return. As far as staff went, those three were the best, and once this was over and they were ready to leave, Roark would have to think of a way to repay them for how helpful and attentive they’d each been in the past weeks.
