Mint Juleps and Justice (11 page)

I
t had been a long day and it was starting to get dark by the time they headed back home. Mike and Brooke rode in quiet, not even turning on the radio.

“What are you all deep in thought about over there?” Brooke asked.

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” It had been a great day and the last thing he wanted was for it to end. He wanted her, but she didn’t seem to be picking up on his signals. Either that or she wasn’t interested. If she wasn’t interested, he’d be better off knowing now. Time to figure it out. He slowed and pulled off the road at the next red light, and put the truck in park.

Brooke turned to him. “Everything okay?”

He leaned across the truck and kissed her before she could ask another question. Her lips were as soft as he’d expected them to be. He moved his mouth over hers. He gazed into her eyes in the red shadows cast from the stoplight. Her lips parted. They still looked moist from his kiss, but she didn’t say a word.

The light turned green. He put the truck in drive and pulled back on the road, neither of them saying a word about it until they stopped at the next light.

“Mike?”

“Yep.”

“What do we have going on here?”

“What do you want it to be?” The car behind him tooted its horn when the light turned green. He cursed and gunned the engine.

“I had a great time today.”

“…but?” He braced himself for what he didn’t want to hear.

“But we barely know each other, and…” Oh, god, she didn’t even know what she wanted. Her heart and her head were like those angel and devil cartoons on her shoulder.
Do it. Don’t do it.
“I’m just not ready. Are you okay with that?”

“Sure,” he lied. Jackie’s memories were getting easier. The bad ones finally fading, the good ones a treasure to hold. He could thank Brooke for that. Whether they got together or not, something about this little lady had given him back what he thought he’d long lost.

“Mike. I’m sorry. I can tell this isn’t the conversation you wanted to have.” She turned and looked out the window. “I just need time. I don’t want to make another mistake like I did with Keith. I just don’t trust myself yet.”

“Take all the time you need.” Mike didn’t want to wait, but after spending time with her he also knew he would wait as long as it took to be with Brooke. Like when he fell in love with Jackie. It had been an immediate flip of a switch. Unexpected. Hell, he hadn’t wanted it. But here it was.

They rode in silence for so long it became awkward.

Brooke blurted out, “I’m going to the Tides game later this week. I was wondering if you’d go with me.”

“As friends? Or as your hired gun?” He sucked in a breath.

“I don’t need a hired gun, do I?” She shook her head. “Never mind. Does it matter?”

“I love baseball.” He turned and looked at her. “Yeah. I should go. You know, to check things out. Just in case. I can be sure Keith doesn’t show up and try anything. Keep you safe.”

“It should be fun too. Some friends I used to work with have the skybox for the doubleheader Tuesday.”

“And fun. Definitely.” Mike patted the steering wheel. “I’ll pick you up at the office.”
And if I still feel like I do right now, I’ll find a way to make sure you own up to how you feel too. That kiss was no friendly kiss.

“You’re always the perfect gentleman, aren’t you, Mike Hartman?”

Yeah, and look what that got me. Not the kind of home run I had my hopes on. Don’t count on that again.

Thank goodness, they were almost to her house now. He pulled in the drive and left the truck running while he walked her to the door.

“I had a great time,” she said, looking up at him under the cast of golden light from the front porch lamp.

And as she stood there looking into his eyes, he’d have sworn she was hoping he’d kiss her again. But he didn’t risk it. Instead, he gathered his wits and stepped down from the porch.

“Me too.” He walked back to the truck as she let herself in the house. He got in the driver’s seat and waited until he saw the living room lights come on, and then pulled off wishing it could have ended in a different way. With her in his arms.

He knew about not being ready, not trusting your heart. Hell, he’d been protecting his own for eight years.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

B
rooke and Mike had a great time at the Tides game. It was a very lopsided win to the Tides’ favor, so they slipped out in the middle of the ninth inning to beat traffic. There’d been no sign of Keith at the game and he hadn’t made any visits back to Brooke’s house since they’d installed the new alarm system.

On the drive back, Mike turned down the radio. “I’m going to be hauling some stuff up to Rick’s brother’s ranch as a favor. It’s just a couple hours away. I thought you might want to ride along. They have plenty of room for us to stay overnight.” Then he quickly added. “Separate rooms of course.”

“Of course.” Still caught up in the casual and easy afternoon at the ballpark, she didn’t even hesitate. “Sure. Sounds great.”

“I’ll have someone cover the surveillance while we’re gone. We’ll move your car and see if Keith tries anything. We might catch something on the tape if he’s still up to no good. Him going silent has me a little worried.”

“Do you think he might show up?”

“Guys like him don’t give up that easy,” Mike said.

That was Tuesday. Now that it was Friday she was wondering what the heck she’d been thinking at the time. What happened to not getting involved? A sly inner voice reminded her she was already involved. The time she spent away from him was spent mostly daydreaming about the next time she might run into him. If she was honest with herself, didn’t she wish they could spend even more time together? Every time he left, didn’t she wish he’d stay? Didn’t she wish she could see more of him? Preferably shirtless. She was doomed.

Her stomach swirled, and she could feel a headache threatening. She popped a couple Tylenol and chugged a bottle of water hoping it would go away. It was too late to cancel, and she really didn’t want to, but she was afraid what disaster another relationship might bring with it. Her only choice now was to go with the flow for a change. Jenny lived her whole life that way. It worked fine for her. Maybe she did need to loosen up a little. Was it possible to find her inner Jenny?

She caught a glimpse of her hands clenched into fists in her lap. She lifted them and shook them out. This was no way to start. She shimmied her shoulders, shook her hair back, closed her eyes, and did the “slow breath in, slow breath out” thing. And again one more time, just for good measure. Then she shut down her computer and pulled it from its docking station. She slid open the bottom-right drawer of her desk, tucked the laptop inside, then kicked the drawer closed with her foot. It would be the first time she’d left her laptop behind over a weekend in as long as she could remember.

She stood back and brushed her hands together, proud of herself for the first step to a wild, carefree weekend. Hoisting her overnight bag on her shoulder, along with her purse, she gave her office one last look to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, and headed out to wait on Mike.

When she stepped outside, she saw a gold pickup with a horse trailer behind it stretched across the front curb, taking up no less than twenty-five feet end to end. This was not what she’d pictured when he said he was hauling stuff.
What the heck are you up to now, Mike Hartman?

She pushed through the heavy wood doors of the old building. Mike was already in front of the passenger door by the time she got there. He tossed her bag behind the front seat of the extended-cab truck, and gave her a boost into the passenger seat.

“There are horses back there,” she said, gesturing to the big eyes peeking through the side vents of the trailer.

“You
are
good at your job.” He feigned surprise.

“Smart-ass. Why do we have horses with us?”

“I told you we’re doing a favor for Rick.” Mike closed her door, crossed to the front of the truck, and hopped behind the wheel of the rumbling diesel engine.

“You didn’t bring Hunter along?” she asked.

“No. He’s better kept on his schedule. The vet tech at Doc’s loves him. She was happy to come in and puppy-sit.”

“Whose truck is this?”

“Rick’s.”

She gnawed on her bottom lip. “Do you know how to drive this thing? It’s way bigger than yours.”

“Of course. I’m a man, aren’t I?” The truck jerked a little at the weight of the trailer, clanging as they bounced over the cobblestones back onto the paved road toward the interstate.

Brooke grabbed for the door handle, and pushed her foot to the floorboard.

“The brake over there doesn’t work.”

“Real funny.”

Mike clicked the CD player volume up a notch and began humming along to the latest Toby Keith cuts. Brooke tried to relax in spite of herself. By the time they got on I-95 northbound she was getting the hang of the “go with the flow” state of mind.

“How far away is it?” She was just making conversation, because she’d already googled and figured out where they were going, and mapped the route out of curiosity. The lister and planner in her couldn’t resist, and it never hurt to be prepared anyway.

“Not too far past Tappahannock. We should be there in less than two hours,” Mike replied.

“We’ve been friends for years. Rick’s brother has a pretty cool place.” He tapped the steering wheel for emphasis. “They have hills, not just the gentle roll like we have around here. Like Rick, Jack is an excellent horseman.” He shifted in the seat. “The main house was built in the seventeen hundreds.”

“Neat. You said Rick will be there too, right?

“Yep. He rode up with the big trailer of horses yesterday.”

“You mean this isn’t the big one?” They rode along without a lot of conversation in a comfortable quiet until they took the exit and slowed down to navigate the winding hillside path. Brooke enjoyed the simple scenery.

By her watch, they should be there anytime now. Brooke’s palms starting sweating, and her throat tightened when the truck moved from the pavement to a dirt road. Dirt kicked up under the tires in a billow of smoking dust that trailed behind them. The occasional drooping limb scraped across the top of the thoroughbred-height trailer, snapping the bough under the pressure of its own weight. The lane became wider and then suddenly everything opened up in front of them. It was like the trees all stepped aside and gave a celebratory “ta-da.”

“Oh, Mike, this is lovely.”

“I know.”

“Beautiful.” She scanned the lush green of the rolling pastures and outbuildings. “Where’s the house?”

Mike pointed by way of nodding his hat toward the northeast. “Just up the hill over there. That cluster of trees kind of hides it.”

“Oh, yeah, I see it. How do we get all the way over there? There’s no road.”

“We open the gate. Jack left the lock off for us.”

“I’ll get it.” She jumped out of the truck and swung the shiny red pole gate open as Mike pulled the wide load through.

“Watch the hot wire on the fence there,” he called out.

She swung it shut and shook it to be sure it was secured, then ran around to get back in. “I got this. I work with these things all the time.”

Finally, they pulled up to the main house. A paved road ran only a couple hundred feet from the front door. She flashed an accusing look Mike’s way as they got out of the truck. “Hey, why did you take me through the fields to get here when we could have just pulled in the driveway?”

“For your information, little Miss Know-It-All, it’s tough to make the turn into that driveway with this long trailer.”

“I guess I should just keep my mouth shut.”

“I think that’s going to be easier said than done for you.”

“Oh, you think you know me so well?”

“Don’t I?” He walked toward the house, leaving her in his boot-heeled dust.

He had a point, but she wasn’t about to admit it. “Hey, wait for me.” She ran to catch up. He grabbed her around the waist, took her hand, and walked toward the house with her as if they’d been a couple for years.

Rick stepped out on the porch.

Mike let go of Brooke’s hand and took the beer Rick had extended his way. “Thanks, man.” He pulled a long sip.

“What can I get you, Brooke? You the beer type or would you prefer a glass of wine or something else?”

“A beer would be fine. Thank you.”

Rick spun around to an old-style cooler box and took out another long-neck bottle. “Need a glass?”

“I can manage the bottle. Thanks.”

He tapped his bottle to hers. “My kind of girl.” Then he turned back toward Mike. “Jack asked me to have you go to the barn as soon as you got here. He has a stall ready for the horses, and he wants to show you his new pride and joy.” He turned to Brooke. “You can ride along with him, or if you’d rather stretch your legs after the ride I’ll give you the five-cent tour.”

“I’ll take the tour,” she said.

Mike jumped in the truck and started down the path toward the barn, disappearing down a steep slope.

Rick led Brooke through the backyard to an oasis he called “the garden.” Whitewashed fencing partitioned off a large space. The gate was nestled under a beautiful carved archway adorned by deep-purple clematis in full bloom climbing the intricate design. Next to the gate a cluster of three rural-size mailboxes sat atop an old tree stump. Each one was painted a different color.

“Tree-mail?” Brooke chuckled as Rick reached to open the big mailbox.

“Yeah. We recycled the mailboxes that the big farm equipment are famous around here for knocking them over. My brother, Jack, is so thrifty he never wants to throw anything away. These store garden tools to keep them from getting rusty.”

“That’s a fun idea.”

“I’m glad you came with Mike. He’s a super guy.”

He didn’t have to tell her that. “I know. He’s great.”

“I mean I guess I’m a little biased being his brother-in-law, but it’s good to see him with someone in his life again.”

“His brother-in-law? I thought y’all were just friends.”

Rick’s eyes snapped up to meet Brooke’s. “My sister was Mike’s wife. He hasn’t told you?”

“No. Well, I know he wears that wedding ring sometimes. I assumed he’s divorced. Why? Is there something else I should know?”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. He still doesn’t talk about her much, even after all these years. It’s still too painful. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I was shocked when Mike called and said he was bringing someone up here. He hasn’t dated or talked about anyone since…well…”

“What?”

Rick shook his head. “The way we lost Jackie was horrific.”

“An accident?”

Rick motioned Brooke to follow him to a table and chairs near the fence. He leaned against the table. “Mike hasn’t told you any of this?”

“No.”

“Jackie. That was my sister’s name. She was murdered. He was the one who found her. It was awful. She was bound to the pillar on the front porch of their house. He didn’t even know she was dead at first.”

“Oh, my goodness.” She suddenly felt like she could barely breathe. “What happened?”

“She was raped. Strangled.” His voice was distant. “There was a lot of press about the whole thing.”

Brooke’s body seemed to drop ten degrees from the sorrow in his eyes.

“It was awful. There’d been a couple of sexual assaults in the area. Everyone was aware and extra-careful because of it.” Rick looked a million miles away.

Brooke watched the black cloud of emotion cross his face.

“We all wondered how he had gotten to her, and why he’d targeted her. She was an angel. She didn’t deserve that kind of death. Not that anyone does, but you know what I mean. That happens to faceless people in the news. Not your friends. For damn sure, not your own family.”

“How awful. I’m so sorry that happened.”

“They hadn’t been married long. He’s carried the guilt for years; hell, he still carries it. He thought if he’d been home it wouldn’t have happened. He worked late that night. He half made himself crazy over it. He tried to work through it, but that’s why he left town and joined the service. We all did some serious priority shuffling after that.”

Rick’s pain was easy to see. She could only imagine what Mike carried around. “I’m sorry.”

“It was awful. It hit us all very hard.”

“Did they find the guy?”

“That’s just it. The police weren’t doing much. The case remained open and unsolved for the longest time. Without a lead, for months, Mike finally started gathering every detail he could find from Jackie’s case and from other unsolved cases with a similar M.O. That’s how he met Perry Von. Perry’s wife was murdered in a similar way. He and Von became close friends. Allies. They tracked every lead and eventually they hunted down the guy. They solved what the police hadn’t been able to. Of course, Mike and Perry had more invested in it. If he hadn’t found Frank Gotorow in a public place, I know Mike would have killed him. I wouldn’t have blamed him either.”

Brooke rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Her heart ached with pain for their loss. How awful for anyone to go through.

“If you’re from Virginia Beach, you probably remember the case. The headlines were ‘Goto Hell’; the bastard’s last name was Gotorow.”

Brooke’s jaw dropped. “I do remember that. I remember not going anywhere in smaller than a group of four.”

“It was an eerie time.”

“I’d forgotten all about that,” she whispered. It was easy to forget horrible events when they didn’t touch your own life. She couldn’t imagine having been wrapped up in that nightmare.

“He should’ve gotten the death penalty as far as I’m concerned, but that’s justice for ya.” Rick knocked back the rest of his beer. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a downer.”

“No. Don’t apologize. I’m glad you told me. It explains a lot, actually.”

“Mike was so distraught after losing Jackie. We all needed something to concentrate on. That’s when we started working on this place. We all needed a distraction. Mike spent the better part of a year out here working on it with us.”

“Thanks for sharing this with me.” No wonder Mike never talked about his late wife. His past was way worse than hers with Keith. Two wounded lovers. They were both a mess in their own way. Their own supersized baggage.