Embracing Danger (27 page)

Well, shit.

“I don’t want this,” he finally said, not able to hold the truth back. “I hurt when I’m not with you. We spent fifteen years apart and it felt like a part of my heart and soul were missing. I don’t want to feel that way again.”

“I don’t either,” she said softly, standing and pulling him into her embrace. Her ear rested on his chest and he was sure she could hear the heavy thud of his heart. He wasn’t as sure it would keep beating if she left. “I felt the same way, missing you every single day. I don’t want to leave you but circumstances have dictated something we didn’t plan. I will seek a professional to talk to but I think I need some time to just…be. I need some space to wrap my head around this and make sense of the new reality of my life. I still love you and that won’t change.”

He rubbed his chin on the top of her head, her curls silky against his skin. “I don’t want to lose you again.”

She pulled back and brought up her hands to cup his face. “Never. That’s never going to happen. We can talk every day on the phone, or Skype, or text. I’ll be available to you twenty-four hours a day. I’m yours and you’re mine. I’m just going off for a little while to get my head together.”

“How long?”

He was terrified of her response.

She gave him a watery smile. “I don’t know. If I had that answer I probably wouldn’t need to go at all. But I do know one thing that’s absolutely, unequivocally true.” She lifted his hands to her lips and pressed kisses on his rough knuckles. “My love for you is so strong there’s no way I could stay away for a long time because every day apart from you will be sheer torture.”

Then don’t go. Stay with me.

“If you need anything—”

“I’ll call you right away,” she cut him off, already knowing where he was going. “You’ll be the first person I talk to in the morning and the last at night. I promise.”

He could argue with her all night long but he wouldn’t win, and he didn’t want to waste the little time they had together at odds. He’d rather be making love.

“Don’t stop loving me,” he said instead. “Don’t forget that we have a future to live.”

More tears spilled from her eyes and slid down her beautiful face. “I’m counting on that. I know this sounds stupid but I couldn’t have come this far without your love, and I couldn’t go off and do the work that needs to be done if I was alone. Don’t stop loving me either.”

“I guess if I’ve waited this long, I can wait a little longer. I just want to lodge my formal complaint about this. We were supposed to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after.”

It was one more hurdle and Shane was damn tired of jumping. When did he get to relax and be happy?

‡

S
hane growled and
scowled at the stack of file folders on his desk. He hated paperwork more than he hated spinach or Brussel sprouts. He helped run a multi-million dollar diversified portfolio of holdings including a ranch, oil, and mining, but for some reason he was still stuck with a pile of papers on his desk.

Wyatt Stone stuck his head into the office. “Is it safe to come in? I thought I heard a bear or maybe a puma.”

Snorting at the man’s feeble attempt at humor, Shane waved him in. Wyatt settled in the chair opposite and stretched out his long legs. For the last few weeks, he’d been digging into Elaine Graham’s business dealings so they could turn any findings over to the federal investigators.

“Very funny. You’re a laugh a minute.” Shane stood and walked over to the small refrigerator located in the corner of the office and pulled out two bottles of beer. It was well after quitting time and the only other people about were the cleaning crew. “When did you get back into town?”

Wyatt checked his watch. “About an hour ago. I haven’t even been to the apartment yet but I wanted to come by and give this to you. I’m heading to the farm in the morning.”

Stone had a small farm in the middle of nowhere that had been in his family for generations. From what West had said, Wyatt had retreated there after the Army but had been lured out with the promise of work a little more exciting than feeding chickens. But he still liked to go back and spend large swaths of time there away from the hustle and bustle of…people.

Stone was a loner.

Not the crazy, psychotic variety of loner but the kind that didn’t have much patience for the stupidity of the human race. Wyatt laughingly said that the older he got the less tolerance he had for people who were hateful or close-minded.

Retrieving a file from his messenger bag, Wyatt traded it for the beer.

“Anything good?” Shane asked, perching on the edge of the desk and taking a drink from the icy bottle.

“It’s a mixed bag. I’d recommend a forensic accountant to really dig in and follow the money trail. I think she was the bank behind most of Cavendish’s business schemes, both legal and illegal.” Wyatt leaned forward, his brow knitted in concern. “You do realize that if we find dirt on your girlfriend’s grandmother we’re probably going to find it on her daddy too. They could both end up going to jail. Are you sure you want us to keep digging?”

Shane had asked that very question to Arden, but she wrinkled her nose and crossed her arms over her chest with a harrumph as if the very query disgusted her. She’d assured him in no uncertain terms that she wanted to continue. Let the chips fall where they may.

“She and I are both certain this is the right thing to do. She wants the truth known and is well aware it’s going to get ugly. Well…uglier than it already is.”

“Murder ain’t pretty. Is she hanging in there okay? Are you?”

That was the problem. Shane didn’t know how Arden was doing. Not really. He talked to her several times a day and they even Skyped, but unless he was there with her, he couldn’t truly know if she was getting along well. He missed her and he needed her but she’d asked for this time and dammit, he was determined to give it to her.

Even though it was stupid. They should be working through this together. She wasn’t alone anymore and she didn’t have to do this all alone like she had the last time she’d left. This time she knew he loved her more than his own life. That had to count for something.

“She seems to be doing well, and spending time with David and Lydia really seems to help. She’s growing closer with them and that’s a good thing, especially if we send Elaine and Ben to jail.”

Wyatt’s lips tightened and he heaved a long sigh. “I’ll be honest with you. I’m a little torn about sending an almost eighty-year-old woman to jail. I know she’s a murderer but she kind of reminds me of my grandma.”

Shane wasn’t happy about the turn of events either. He vacillated between feeling really shitty and feeling justified. It depended on his mood and the time of day.

“I don’t feel great about it myself but she wasn’t eighty when she shot Arden’s mother. Hell, she’s probably right anyway. Her lawyer is already filing motion after motion and trying to block the investigation. She’ll die in the comfort of her own home. Her real punishment will be losing Arden. I know that bothers her whether she lets on or not.”

“It’s not much to pay for taking a human life,” Wyatt observed. “Seems like there’s no good answer here. Someone will always think we were too tough or not tough enough. Can’t win for losing.”

Wyatt levered to his feet and set the half empty bottle on the desk. “I should be going. If you need me for anything I’ll be at the farm. Where will you be?”

Shaking his head, Shane didn’t understand the question. “Here—where would I be?”

“With that pretty girl, of course. According to your brothers and cousins, you’re about as useless as tits on a bull these days. Might as well go get that girl and let her know you love her.”

Shane had been fighting that urge for weeks. “She asked for time to deal with it herself.”

Chuckling, Wyatt picked up his leather messenger bag from its spot next to the chair.

“And you have. How’s that working out for you?”

“Fuck,” Shane said before he could stop the word from popping out. “Fuck, I’m miserable.”

“Are you going to sit on your ass or are you going to do something about it? I haven’t known you long, Shane, but the one thing I’ve noticed about you – all the Andersons, really – is that they don’t sit around and complain about their life. They go out and do something about it. Until now, that is.”

Shane didn’t like the picture of himself as a bellyacher, bitching and moaning about how unfair things were and sitting around with his thumb up his ass. Stone was right. That was not how he lived his life.

Grinning, Shane reached for his cell phone. “Looks like I have a few calls to make.”

The first one would be to David and the second to Travis to let him know Shane was taking the jet to Indianapolis. He had a future and he’d put it off long enough.

She might hate him but he couldn’t wait any longer.

‡

D
avid Hollis held
up the newspaper. “Do you want part of it, sweetheart?”

Arden was sitting in David’s home in Hemingdale having breakfast. After he’d recovered from his gunshot wound, he’d decided he wanted to return to his hometown. Arden had gone with him so they could spend some time together and in addition get to know Aunt Lydia even better.

“No, I’m good.” Arden shook her head and dug into her waffles. “What do you have planned for today? I was thinking we could go see a movie or something.”

It had become too cold for a walk around the town but she didn’t like the idea of David sitting at home either. He was too used to being alone and was having a hard time breaking the habit.

“Lydia mentioned lunch.”

David’s attention was trained on the sports section but Arden could see the ruddy tone that had taken up residence in his face.

He was smitten with Aunt Lydia and she appeared to be quite taken with David as well. The two were flirting up a storm whenever they were together and Arden couldn’t help but hope they might fall in love and get together. After struggling with addiction for so long, he finally had his life under control and it would be wonderful if he could find a woman to share it with.

“You should go then.” Arden sipped her orange juice and tried to look nonchalant. “Maybe I’ll stay here and call Shane or something.”

David’s brows shot up and then he laughed, his eyes lighting up with mirth. “My darling Arden, never take up playing poker. You couldn’t bluff your way out of a nursery school, but then you get that from me. I lost my shirt at cards and at pool too. Do as I say, not as I do.”

She didn’t call him dad or father but he’d turned into a loving friend. She was his daughter but she wasn’t looking for another parent to replace Ben.

Ben…who was currently not speaking to her because she wanted to get to know David. Her father was acting like a spoiled brat and he’d finally showed how desperate he was to get her home two days ago when he’d told her that she was going to lose Shane if she didn’t get back to Tremont. Ben Cavendish had never cared one iota if Shane was in her life or not. He’d simply been trying to manipulate her. Again.

She loved her father but she wasn’t going to be his puppet ever again.

“I usually stick to Go Fish,” Arden teased, shaking her fork at him playfully. “I just wanted to give you and Lydia a chance to be alone, that’s all. You both make a nice couple.”

David smiled and shook his head. “You’re a sweet girl. You remind me so much of your mother. She’d be so proud of you, honey.”

Tears pricked behind Arden’s eyes but she welcomed this rush of emotion. Talking with David and Lydia these last three weeks she’s learned so much about her mother. It wasn’t the same as actually knowing her, but it was closer than she’d ever been and she was damn grateful for this chance.

“I’m not sure why. I’m divorced with no real job. I was a teacher and a pretty decent one but I don’t have many accomplishments to call my own.”

David folded the paper and set it down on the table. “You found Susie’s killer, honey. That’s a big accomplishment and one that I am very grateful for. I was a suspect, after all, and I always thought Ben did it. Of course Elaine made sure to drop little hints that she agreed while doing the same with Ben about me. You did the world a service revealing the truth about her. I’m ashamed I let her convince me to run away. She said that I’d be suspect number one and that no one would believe me. Hell, it’s probably true. She bought and paid for me but no more. I’m my own man now and I have you to thank for that.”