Breaking Hearts (16 page)

“Why are you doing this?”

His other personality--the angry one--made its appearance. “You stood before God and said we would be a family.”

Had I not been choked by anguish, I may have actually laughed aloud at the irony of his words. “I stood before Elvis. And you hurt my son.” Every time I said the words, my heart shifted in my chest and my stomach clenched. Hearing Sean, though, having him laugh at me the way he did when we fought, before he hit me, had my knees trembling as I walked to the house.

“He’s my son too.”

“No, no he’s not, and if you think I would ever let you near him again, you’re crazier than I thought.” And that would have been a tough achievement.

He huffed out a drunken puff-puff through the phone speaker.

I pictured his face contorted in anger, his eyes bulging, the veins of his neck straining against his skin.

“You talk really big, like I won’t get to you. Do you really think your little boyfriend can stop me? Do you really think I couldn’t kill you if I wanted you dead? Stupid bitch.” He blew another breath out in my ear. “This is your last chance to come home. I will go a lot easier on you if you do it on your own than if I have to come and get you.”

“I’m not coming back there, Sean.” As a footnote to the sentence, I lowered my voice. “Ever.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll see you soon.” His hiss chilled me from the inside out. He hung up.

I glared at the phone and unlocked my front door. Simon tried to stop me from going into the house with a hand around my wrist. I shook him off, stalked to the kitchen, and flung open the door to the cabinet, housing my newly acquired cleaning supplies.

“Dani, someone could be in here.” I glared over my shoulder and he disappeared, presumably to check for an intruder who would be long gone by now. By the sound of things, he opened every cabinet, closet door, and curtain in his search for the mystery vandal. The lack of scuffle assured me he’d found no one.

“You okay?” His voice fell in soft curved tones, and his hand caressed my back as I stared into my cabinet.

“Do you know why I’m still here when he knows exactly where I am?” I slammed a mop bucket onto the counter and a bottle of pine cleaner. Next, I extracted a sponge and scrub brush, then smacked them on the counter.

“My charm? My amazing good looks? The idea that if you play your cards right, I will willingly lie down and be your love slave?”

I flung the door shut, ready to pounce on the way he made light of my very real danger, but when I looked up at him, the anger faded away. His smile was powerful enough to melt the panties off of a ninety five-year-old blind woman. The honesty in his eyes dispelled all other thoughts. “Love slave, huh?” I leaned against the granite counter top and crossed my arms.

He nodded and wiggled his eyebrows. As he took a step closer, he held out his hand and used it to pull me against him. Death could literally come knocking at my door, but I snuggled closer, drinking in the feel of the contours of his chest and the sound of the beat of his heart. He released the clip holding my hair, then ran his fingers through it, releasing the curls to flow over his arm. When he finished, he rested his hand at the nape of my neck and gently pressured my face to his. Our lips touched and the world stopped. Sound, light, danger, nothing existed but me, Simon, and one long rush of feeling.

Our mouths fused together as though welded by fire. After a few minutes, he drew away. “Why don’t you let me clean the mess off the front of your house, then we can finish this?”

My senses always came to me at the worst times for my hormones. Further kissing, or touching, or being in the same room together could potentially get him killed. He’d been through enough, and I couldn’t be the one who risked his life.

“Simon, I can clean it up myself. You should go home.”

He cocked his head to one side and regarded me with eyes as full of promise as question. My resolve weakened. Sean hadn’t left California as far as I knew. I hung on to the thought for a full minute before I decided hormones had no place making decisions in this situation. This being responsible business caused an ache in my chest no one ever warned me about, but I’d never survive if something happened to him because of the mess I’d gotten myself into. “Look, you already checked the house. I’m safe. Go home now.”

“Danielle--”

“Please, Simon?”

“I can’t just leave you here.” He shook his head and crossed his arms. “I won’t.”

“Because what I want doesn’t matter?” Didn’t he get it? I couldn’t stand to lose him again, especially if it turned out to be my fault.

“Because what you want is dangerous.”

“I know what’s best for me, and right now, it isn’t having you here.”

Hurt flashed through his eyes. “Fine.” He stalked to the front door, flung it open, and slammed it shut behind him.

I ran hot water into the bucket, and in my evening gown, carried the cleaners and the bucket to the porch. The front of my house had been covered in a light stone in various sizes and textures. As the bright pumpkin-colored paint sliced through the different textures, the water did nothing to fade the color, only spread it into a blob.

This time, I went with a mixture of Tide and bleach. I scrubbed and scrubbed, until my arms ached and the detergent bleach mixture splotched my dress with an irregular polka dot pattern. Still, the stain remained. Three and a half hours later, I dropped the scrub brush into the bucket and gave up.

I left my supplies and went up to bed. Sleep came slowly in bursts of bad dreams. By the time the sun rose, every bone and muscle in my body screamed with each move I made, but I managed a shower and a cup of coffee before my phone rang. I checked the caller ID and threw the phone into the sink, not owning the kind of energy required to deal with Sean. Unfortunately, he had other ideas, and seven consecutive calls later, I snapped into the phone. “What do you want?”

“Rough night, Dani?” Sober, drunk, or stoned, his voice still inspired a round of shivers.

“Actually, I had a pretty nice night. I went to a birthday party. Had a little to drink, a few kisses in the moonlight.” I summoned a bit of courage, and the bite to my tone softened by the real memories of my night.

“Slut.”

I hung up.

He called back.

I put the phone in the drain and turned the water on.
Another new phone. Another new number.
I walked out to the front porch and leaned against the porch rail to stare at the ugliness of the neon colored brick while sipping my coffee. It wasn’t hard to imagine glee on Sean’s face as he thought of me and his plans for destruction.

I’d been standing for about twenty minutes when Kelly, Gatlin, and Simon arrived dressed in all manner of cleaning attire. A bandana matching the neon green of her T-shirt and spandex shorts held Kelly’s hair away from her makeup free face. Gatlin’s overalls, polo shirt, and straw hat gave him the appearance of a preppy farmer. Behind Kelly and Gatlin walked a musculature extravaganza--Simon in a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top, his arms bulked by years in the gym.

He shuffled from one foot to the other, and I wondered if he could possibly be as happy to see me as I was to see him. My stomach did a funky little dance when his tongue slipped across his bottom lip.

Without any fanfare or discussion, they attacked the front of my house with spray bottles, scrub brushes, and sheer determination. I helped as best I could, but my overnight exertions left me weak. Every lift of my arms higher than chest level caused a groan.

Kelly frowned, her fingers brushing against my shoulder. “Come on. Show me your house. I need a bathroom break and a beer.”

I nodded and led her through the front door.

Before we’d made it three steps inside, she put a hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”

“Just a little sore.” I rubbed my shoulder, wishing for a deep muscle massage, or a steaming hot bubble bath, or a tall glass of whiskey.

“Simon said you were out there until three-thirty in the morning.”

How the hell did he know how long I’d been outside?

She smiled. “He has it bad, Dani. He isn’t going to leave you alone here until he knows you’re okay. He sat outside in his car last night to make sure no one bothered you.” She plopped down at the counter. “Simon is afraid someone is going to get to you, and he won’t be able to save you in time from across town.”

For a guy who was supposed to be in love with me, Simon shared an awful lot with her. I squashed down a bubble of jealousy. “Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“He wigged out when your phone went straight to voice mail this morning.”

“I gave it a bath so it quit working.” When her eyebrow cocked, I finished with, “Sean is a psycho caller.” I shook my head, digesting what she’d said. “Simon sat out in his car staring at my house all night?”

“If you were outside, he was going to be there too, sleep or not.” She smiled the slow Kelly Devlin smile that made men drop at her feet. “Plus, he has a thing now, since his accident. He doesn’t sleep like the rest of us.”

I couldn’t keep Simon without putting him through more than he’d been through already. Pulling beers from the fridge, I wondered how many second chances God handed out. He’d already given one to Simon. What if God meant for him to only have the one? What if Sean got to him? What if…

When they finished, only a blob of smeared light orange (rather than bright orange) remained. We piled inside to drink another six-pack.

“So what are you going to do about this guy?” Gatlin had his hat splayed across his chest. He held his beer against his forehead.

Since I had no clue, I shrugged. “Isn’t Jocelyn going to kick you all out of the club for talking to me?” I’d tried to smooth our rocky relationship somewhat. Joss refused, her grudge bigger than my apology.

Kelly chuckled. “Keaton’s working on it as we speak. He’s at home working on her honey-do list so he can talk her into coming out with all of us tonight.” Her wide-circle arm wave included me, but I had no illusions left of my safety. Unpredictable as he’d always been, Sean could show up at any moment. Their safety would be compromised by being near me.

“I can’t go out tonight.” I stood to clear the empty bottles.

Kelly, a whirlwind of courage and energy, scoffed. “Oh, come on. Take Kieran to your Momma’s--you know he’ll be safe there--and come along.” When I ignored her, she continued. “Do you have any idea how many single girls in this town are rubbing their grubby little mitts together, waiting for the first indication Simon is a free man? It’s shameful really, the way they keep throwing themselves at him.” She kicked Gatlin.

“Yeah. Pretty boy has a Facebook following that puts Brad Pitt to shame. Chicks love the scar.”

Another bout of jealousy in my stomach warred with the idea of keeping him out of the line of Sean’s long-armed fire. “Yeah, well, getting him killed is not my idea of showing my love for him.” I shrunk a couple inches under the well-meaning gazes directed my way. “We have to be realistic here. I have so much baggage even my carry-on screams psychopath. He’s better off with someone else.”

Simon tilted his head to one side. “Maybe I should have some say in all this. I know exactly what I want.” Softer he added, “What I’ve always wanted.”

I’d made up my mind. “Simon, I’m not going out tonight or any night until this thing is cleaned up with Sean. He’s got friends who’re apparently here. Being with me is dangerous. Someone could get hurt.” The zip in my tone should have warned him off. “
You
could get hurt.” I sounded more like a mother warning a toddler away from the street than a girl who cared about someone she loved being killed.

“He already knows about me, already thinks I’m your boyfriend, so what difference does it make?”

Logic didn’t help my turmoil. It added to it. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you. I appreciate what you all did with the front of the house, but it’s too dangerous for you to be here. Go.” I hadn’t meant for it to sound so harsh, but he sat back as though my words had given him a good hard chest shove.

“I’m not leaving. You can make me go outside if you want, but I’ll still be here.” He pointed beyond the front window. “Right out there.”

My body warmed at the sight of Simon digging in his heels. Oh my. I had it bad. Unfortunately, one of us had to be the voice of reason.

Gatlin raised a tentative hand. “As enjoyably uncomfortable as it is to watch your little lovers’ quarrel, I think I’m going to go sit in the peaceful quiet of a bubble bath.” He patted me on the head as he passed. “Good luck, Simon.”

“Thanks, G.”

Kelly followed before he got his first foot out the door.

Simon and I stared at one another, neither willing to back down. Finally, I looked away. “Simon, do you have any idea what it would do to me if he hurt you?”

“Dani.” He took my hand between his, brought it to his lips, and kissed my knuckles. “Do you have any idea what it would do to me if he hurt you?”

“I just think it would be better if we stayed away from each other until this is all over.” My chest burned as the words hung in the air.

He gave me his best come-hither smile. I couldn’t do anything but watch him--breathing seemed beyond my capabilities.

“I don’t care for that idea.” His lips brushed against my ear.

“I suppose you have a better plan?”

“Naturally.” He pushed an errant strand of bottled blond off my forehead. “I believe we should spend all of our time together. Eat together. Sleep together. Hell, even the shower can be a very dangerous place, so we’ll have to shower together.”

I crossed my arms between us.

“The point is I can protect you.” He grinned. “In return, you can entertain me.” Mischief glinted in the adorable grin he used to get his way.

“What do I look like? A magician?” He wrapped me in his arms, then aimed his whiskey colored eyes into mine. Forgetting everything but him came easily. When his lips hovered within even a few feet of me, I didn’t find it at all necessary to continue thinking.

“There is definitely something magical about you.”

Ten minutes later, we were still wrapped around each other when my mother rang the bell, then poked her head in the door. We sprung apart like two teenagers caught at third base. Kieran burst inside chattering at lightning speed. “Grandpa said I can be a hobbit this weekend for the story festival. He said you can make my costume, and I can ride a pony in the parade. Will you make my costume? A hobbit with long, hairy feet?”