Lost and Found (18 page)

A tank top and a pair of shorts were
all that covered her, and he only had on a pair of boxers. This
instant tantrum of hers had certainly thrown them into an
interesting situation.

However, Ed Keller was much too much a
gentleman to either have noticed or to ever take advantage of
it.

“
Darcy, I’d use every
resource I have to find your birth parents. If that’s what you
want, I’d do that for you.”

She sighed and shifted her arms so
they encircled Ed’s neck. His hands rested low on her hips as she
rose up on her toes to look him eye to eye.

“
Thank you, but I don’t
want to. I don’t care anymore.”

“
You don’t
care?”

She shook her head. “My parents are
Francis and George McCary. Whoever came before them…well, they
didn’t really have anything to do with me, did they?”

“
You’re sure about
this?”

“
Very sure. As far as I’m
concerned now, the desire to find out simply led me right here.”
She pressed against him tighter. “Right into your arms.
Otherwise…”

“
Let’s not think about
otherwise,” he said as he lowered his lips to hers and hoisted her
up.

Darcy wrapped her legs around Ed’s
waist, and he carried her to the bed and laid her down.

His mouth was hot on hers, and his
body pressed against hers. She’d never in her life felt so right
about anything, but Ed’s kisses stopped.

“
What’s wrong?” she asked,
her own breath caught in her chest.

“
How old fashioned are
you?”

“
I’m not.” She wanted to
laugh, but there’d been a seriousness to his voice.
“Why?”

“
Don’t get me wrong. I
could very much go through with this.”

That much she already knew.

Ed lowered his forehead to hers and
rested himself with his palms against the mattress. “Sleep in here
with me. Stay in my bed, and let me wrap my arms around you all
night.”

“
I will.”

“
For the rest of the
week—you belong right here, with me.”

“
Okay.”

Ed lowered himself down and rolled to
her side. He scooped her against him and held her tight. “I’ll make
love to you someday. For right now, I think I want to be a bit old
fashioned.”

She had to admit she was a bit let
down. How could she possibly want this more than he did? That
wasn’t typical, was it?

But the soft gaze from his chocolate
brown eyes said there was something different about this. This was
compassion, respect—this was true love.

Every woman’s dream was to find a man
and wait for the moment to be right. To be that bride who made a
wedding night special. Was this what Ed Keller was thinking? Was
that his plan?

Panic erupted in her chest.
Marriage?

They’d known each other for only a
week. Finding the right person was one thing. Falling in love with
them immediately was another, but this?

She cleared her mind. He hadn’t said a
word about getting married and there she was, her over active mind
playing tricks on her again. One thing she knew, Ed Keller was a
gentleman.

She rested her head against his chest
and listened to his breathing slow.

“
Ed.”

“
Yeah,” his voice rumbled
in his chest.

“
Thank you. You could have
tossed me out, and you didn’t.”

“
I believe in second
chances. My parents taught me that.”

“
You come from a long line
of good people.”

“
That I do,” he yawned.
“Consider them your family, too. They’ve really taken to you. That
says a lot about your character.”

Darcy closed her eyes. To be part of
the Keller family was a dream she didn’t know she’d ever wanted
until that day she’d bumped into Ed. Fate was a strange thing. But
it seemed to be on her side.

Waking up wrapped in Ed’s arms made
the week worth of meetings tolerable. Darcy had no idea insurance
was so boring.

As she and Ed sat on the wall of a
planter just down the block from the construction site, eating hot
dogs from a cart, she realized how happy she was.

Things were just as she’d always
assumed they’d be when she realized she was in love. The sun was
brighter. People were cheerier. And there was a peace that
resonated through her.

Ed had kept his word. They had shared
a bed for the past three nights, and a million kisses too, but he
never pushed the limit to where they couldn’t stop themselves. He
was absolutely a breath of fresh air.

Ed bit into his hot dog and looked
around. “I think we should be done here by tomorrow.”

“
Should I arrange our
flight?”

He nodded as he took in the scenery.
“Yeah, let’s make that a plan. It’s time to head home.”

Darcy bit down on her hot dog and then
quickly wiped away the ketchup that dripped down her chin. “I want
you to know that I understand your position in the company, too.
I’m not going to flaunt our relationship around in the office. And
by no means do I expect anything special.”

Ed nodded and sipped from his soda
can. “I am beginning to think you’re worried about working for me,
back in the office that is.”

“
It’s not playing out right
in my head.”

“
I don’t see any problems
with it.”

She knew she was making a bigger deal
out of it, but she couldn’t help herself. “Tell me again why your
uncle fired your aunt.”

He laughed. “You are worried, aren’t
you?”

“
They seem perfectly happy,
that’s all.”

“
They are perfectly
happy.”

“
They why would he ever
have fired her?”

Ed drank down the last sip of his
drink and then crushed the can. “Like I said, it wasn’t really that
she did anything.”

“
You said she’d lost him a
contract.”

Ed wadded up the paper his hot dog had
come in. Something about the subject she’d brought up was making
him uncomfortable.

After a few moments of silence, he
took a deep breath and dropped his shoulders. “My aunt was involved
with a man long before my uncle. I didn’t know him. None of us did.
In fact, I really don’t remember anything about her being with him.
They lived in Hawaii, and then he tried to kill her.”

“
He tried to kill her?” She
nearly choked on her words. “Why would he do something like that?
What kind of monster tries to kill someone as wonderful as your
aunt?”

Ed shook his head. “I don’t know. I
told you, I don’t really know anything about all this. She came
back and was in the hospital. But my parents kept us far from all
that. I didn’t see Aunt Regan for months after she moved back to
Nashville.”

“
Maybe they were afraid
he’d come after her family.”

Ed nodded. “Well, they did tell him
that she had died.”

Darcy covered her mouth. “Why would
they…”

“
So he’d go away.” He shook
his head. “I know it was wrong, but it was the first thing Curtis
could think to do. But the man found out that she was alive and
came back after her…after her family.”

Darcy reached for him. “Did he hurt
her? Did he hurt you?”

“
No. Not me, but he started
stalking Arianna and,” he cleared his throat. Something had choked
him up. “He knocked my sister around.”

A tear escaped her. This wasn’t at all
what she’d expected to hear. “Ed, I’m so sorry.”

“
Anyway, he tried to kill
John. Knocked him cold and then went after Clara, Arianna, and
Regan. He cornered them into her theater and set it on
fire.”

The tears streamed down her face now,
but there was no wiping them away. “But they’re okay. They’re all
okay?”

This time Ed smiled. “Have you ever
met three more stubborn, more amazing women in your life?” He
clasped his hands together. “In the chaos of the fire, Regan was
able to grab hold of the gun in Arianna’s purse.”

“
Oh.” She let the word
breathe out on her exhaled breath. “She…”

“
Yes. She shot and killed
him.” He dropped his shoulders. “No one knows the story quite like
that, so I’d appreciate if you kept it to yourself. I don’t know
why I told you.”

That stung. “I’m hoping you thought
you could trust me since you’ve said you love me.” Her words were
curt, but what did he think?

Darcy lowered her defenses. What else
would he think? She’d started their relationship on a lie—no wonder
he’d worry that she’d spread some rumor.

“
Darcy, it’s not that I
don’t trust you.” He ran his hand over her head. “That man hurt a
lot of people. That whole subject has been dead and buried for
almost twenty years. It’s just something better
forgotten.”

She nodded quickly. One thing about
being an only child, and a protected one at that, she needed to
learn that everything wasn’t about her. This was about Ed’s
family—his entire family.

She understood now that Zach hadn’t
fired Regan just out of spite. There was more, so much
more.

Darcy reached for Ed’s hand. “Thank
you for sharing with me.”

“
Are you quite convinced
that I won’t fire you yet?”

“
No, but I will certainly
keep my nose clean. I promise.”

He leaned in and kissed her softly.
“C’mon, let’s get this paperwork all wrapped up so we can head
home.”

Darcy had never been so glad to board
an airplane in her life. If she never had to talk to another
insurance person again, it would be too soon.

But the important part was that
Benson, Benson, and Hart’s reputation was still intact, and
Valerie’s company was able to stay in business, even if it was
their steel that had nearly killed someone.

As the plane touched down in
Tennessee, Darcy turned on her phone, and it beeped with a
voicemail almost immediately.

It was a message from her aunt asking
her to call as soon as she could.

“
Do you think everything is
alright?” Ed reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“
I don’t know. My aunt
lives in Florida. I can’t imagine why…” She felt the blood drain
from her face. “What if something happened to my
father?”

“
We’ll call the moment we
exit the plane.”

Ed had pulled her to a bank of chairs
the moment they were clear of the walkway. Darcy sat down and
dialed her aunt’s number.

“
Aunt Carol, is something
wrong?”

“
Your father had an
accident, but he’s okay,” she was quick to add. “He hit his head,
and he’s in the hospital. But they’re letting him go today, and
Uncle Tom and I are headed his way.”

“
I’ll be there when you get
there.”

“
Don’t you go being silly.
You have things going on. Your daddy told me you got a good job,
and you’re making your own way now.”

Darcy’s eyes stung from the tears that
welled up in them. “I am, but I’ll be there. I want to make sure
he’s okay.”

“
Darcy Ann, if you show up
there you make sure you tell him I told you to stay put. You know
that old fart. He’ll blame me.”

Darcy laughed through her tears. “I’ll
be sure to tell him. I’ll see you soon.”

She disconnected the call and stared
down at her phone.

Ed slipped his arm around her
shoulders. “Is everything okay?”

She nodded. “I need to go home for a
few days.”

“
Whatever you
need.”

“
He hit his head, and he’s
in the hospital.”

“
But she said he’s
okay?”

“
Yes.” She swallowed hard.
“He’s in his seventies and diabetic. Ed, what if he shouldn’t be by
himself? What if my mom being gone and my leaving set him into some
kind of downward spiral?”

“
You said he was a doctor,
right?”

“
Yes.”

“
Then wouldn’t he know if
something was wrong?”

Darcy knew that her father would never
neglect his health or let his diabetes get out of
control.

“
You’re right.” She tucked
the phone back in her purse and looked around. “I need to get on
the next flight to Kentucky.”

“
I’ll help you get that
situated.”

Ed had been more than gracious to sit
with her and wait until her flight had been called. He’d even paid
for her ticket, which she’d wished he hadn’t done.

She had, however, talked him into only
buying a one-way ticket. Perhaps now that she knew her way around
town, she could convince her father to let her use her mother’s old
car, and she could drive it back. She’d feel better if she had her
own transportation.

As she flew out of Nashville, Darcy
leaned her head against the seat and thought of the things Ed had
told her about his aunt. She couldn’t imagine a woman loving a man
who was that hateful. What had Regan seen in someone like that, she
wondered?