Mountain Peril (13 page)

His gaze raked her face. “And you, too.”

He whirled and strode from the office. She stared after him
for a moment before she turned back to April. “Come on. Let’s go. There’s nothing else for us to do here.”

April nodded and started for the door. She stopped and pulled off Jack’s coat, which she still wore. “I forgot to give Detective Denton his jacket.”

Danielle grasped the back and held it while April shrugged it from her shoulders. “I’ll hang it on his chair,” she said to April, who was already stepping into the hallway.

Danielle pressed the jacket to her chest as she stopped behind Jack’s chair. Slowly she raised the coat to her nose and inhaled. The smell of his aftershave drifted up, and her heart thudded like a bass drum. She tucked the scent away in a corner of her mind for a memory, hung the jacket on the back of the chair and straightened her shoulders.

Jack was one more loss she would mourn, but there wasn’t time for that now. She had to inform Jeff and Nathan about Landon’s arrest and see what the school’s response to this scandal would be.

J
ack stumbled into the kitchen and groaned when he saw the remains of yesterday’s coffee still in the pot. Muttering under his breath about how he had to do better with his housekeeping chores, he washed the pot, spooned fresh coffee into the filter and poured water into the tank.

He dropped into a chair at the kitchen table and glanced at the clock on the wall above the sink—8:00 a.m. He’d been at the station all night and had just come home to shower and have a cup of coffee before returning for another full day of duty. He hooked his foot in the chair next to him and pulled it away from the table far enough to prop his feet on the seat.

The steady rhythm of the dripping coffee relaxed him, and his eyes drooped. In his mind he could see Danielle as she looked last night when she thanked him. He’d wanted to grasp her shoulders and pull her to him, but he’d known better. He wondered what she’d meant when she added “for everything” as if it were an afterthought.

He nodded and drifted on the edge of sleep. His cell phone rang, and he jerked upright, almost turning over backward in his chair. He grabbed for the edge of the table with one hand
and steadied himself while pulling the phone from his pocket with the other.

“Hello.”

“Jack, this is Danielle. How are you this morning?”

Her voice drifted into his ear like the sweetest music he’d ever heard. “I’m fine.”

“Did you get to go home last night?”

“No, I just got here a few minutes ago. I’m going to shower, then it’s back to work.”

“I’m sorry, but I suppose that’s the life of a policeman.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“I’m already at school and getting ready to meet with Jeff and Nathan.”

“I see.”

His fingers tightened on the phone. Why was she calling him? He waited for her to continue.

She cleared her throat. “Uh, I suppose you wonder why I’m calling, especially after the way we parted on Saturday night.”

He closed his eyes and swallowed. “I’m sorry about the way I acted, Danielle. I said some harsh things, but I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know, Jack. When I was getting ready for work this morning, I was thinking about how you helped April last night. And I came to a conclusion.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t want that night to be how I remember you. I’ve lost too much in my life, and I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

He flinched as a knifelike pain pierced his chest and he bit down on his lip. “I don’t want that, either.”

“So…”

He waited before he spoke. “What?”

“You know next week is Thanksgiving. I’m not going to see my parents, since I’ll be moving there in a few weeks. I wondered if you would like to celebrate the holiday with me.”

His heart fluttered, and he wished he could see her face. He knew it had taken a lot of courage for her to call knowing she risked the possibility he might reject her offer. He took a deep breath. “I can’t.”

There was a rustle of movement on the other end of the line. “Oh, I see. Well, if you don’t want to I understand. I’m sorry, I…”

He sat up straighter. “No, wait. It’s not that I don’t want to. I can’t, because that’s my only day off, and I need to go to Asheville to see my mother.”

“Oh, then I understand. Being with your mother is very important. I hope she’ll know you’re there.”

He gritted his teeth and warned himself about speaking the words that lodged in his throat. It was no use. He had to be with her again before she left. “Would you come with me to Asheville?”

She gasped. “Do you really want me to?”

“Yes, I’d like for you to meet my mother. I have to warn you, though, it won’t be a happy visit. She won’t understand who I am and why we’re there. If you’d rather not go, it’s okay.”

“No, I want to go. What time will you pick me up?”

“I’ll be there about nine o’clock. We’ll drive over to Asheville and get there in time to visit before lunch.”

She laughed, and the sound flowed over him like a warm breath of air. “I’ll see you then, Jack. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Danielle.”

He sat staring at his phone after he’d disconnected the call. His mind told him he should never have invited her, but
his heart knew differently. Even if his mother didn’t recognize him, he wanted to spend Thanksgiving with someone he cared about. With his mother hidden in the shell of the woman who sat in the nursing home, Danielle was the only other person he could share that with.

Danielle placed the telephone on the handset and buried her face in her hands. What had she done? She’d practically thrown herself at Jack. Never in her life had she been so brazen. When she’d gotten home last night, she realized she couldn’t leave Webster Falls without making an attempt to heal the rift between them.

She leaned back in her chair and smiled. He didn’t seem upset, so maybe he had been waiting for her to make the first step. Now that she had, all she could was pray that their trip to Asheville would turn out all right.

She scooped up the stack of file folders containing the plans for the fundraiser, stood and walked to her office door. Jeff and Nathan would be waiting, and she needed to get this meeting over. There were still many details to be worked out, and she had little time left.

When she entered Jeff’s outer office, Betty peered over the glasses perched on the end of her nose and waved her on through. “They’re waiting.”

“Thanks,” she called over her shoulder and entered Jeff’s office.

Jeff rose from behind his desk, and Nathan pushed up from the chair where he sat. They both smiled, but Danielle could see lines of fatigue around their eyes. Nathan pointed to the chair next to him. “Sit here, Danielle.”

She smiled and slipped into the wingback chair. Crossing her legs, she positioned the folders on her knee and opened the first one. “I know you have other things on your mind this
morning, so I’ll be brief. Who do you want to take over Landon’s duties for the fundraiser?”

The words had no sooner left her mouth than Nathan jumped up and began to pace back and forth beside Jeff’s desk. “This latest scandal could be the ruin of the school. A stalker! Who would have thought Landon Morse would stoop to endangering our students? I can imagine half our students not returning after Christmas break.”

Jeff sighed, and Danielle thought the two had probably discussed the situation at length before she arrived. “Please, Nathan. We’ve been through all this.”

Nathan stopped and stared at Danielle. “Jeff’s right. We have to look at this in a positive way. We’ve suspended Landon with pay. If the charges are proved, he’ll be terminated.” He spread his hands and shrugged. “That’s all we can do.”

Danielle nodded. “Of course it is. Nobody here is responsible for Landon’s actions. I’m sure the students and their parents will realize that you’ve done what’s required by the school.”

Jeff dropped the pen he held to his desk and stood. “Danielle’s right, Nathan. There’s nothing else we can do at this point.” He turned to Danielle. “With a student’s murder and now a teacher accused of stalking and assault, we’ve never had such a year. There’s more riding on this fundraiser than ever, and we’re looking to you to make it the best ever. We have to assure our donors they have nothing to worry about.”

A shiver ran up Danielle’s spine at Jeff’s ominous tone. He seemed to be telling her that the survival of the school rested with her. “I’ll do my best to make that happen.”

“We know you will,” Nathan said. He glanced at the
folders and settled back in his chair. “Now let’s hear the final plans for the evening.”

Thirty minutes later Danielle entered her office, dropped the folders onto her desk and breathed a sigh of relief that Jeff and Nathan had approved every detail. Although the meeting had gone well, she still had many last-minute details to address.

Just as she reached for her desk calendar, someone knocked at the door. “Come in.” Nathan stepped into the room. “Did you need something else?” she asked.

He smiled and nodded. “I wanted to speak with you privately for a moment, if it’s all right.”

“Of course.” She pointed to a chair. “Do you want to sit?”

He shook his head. “No. I need to stand for what I have to say.”

Danielle’s face warmed, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. In all the years she’d known Nathan, she’d never seen him the way he looked now. His dark gaze flitted over her and left a trail of fire across her face. His dark hair, usually combed in place, tumbled over his forehead. His chest rose with the short puffs of breath he exhaled. Only one word described how he looked—tortured.

He reached out and caressed her cheek. “Why are you leaving, Danielle?”

She took a step back against the front of her desk. He moved forward, making her a prisoner between him and the desk. She smiled, but her lips trembled. “I want to work with my parents, Nathan.”

He shook his head. “Please don’t go. I can’t bear for you to leave.”

She wiggled past him and walked behind her desk. “I’m sure you’ll find someone better to fill my job.”

He leaned over and flattened his palms on the desk. “I’ll never find anyone to replace you, Danielle. I love you.”

Danielle gasped and stared at him in disbelief. “You’re not serious.”

He nodded, and then his face hardened. “I am. I’ve loved you since the day you walked into that interview room as an aspiring student. We’ve been through a lot together, and I’ve always tried to be there for you.”

“You’ve been wonderful to me, Nathan.”

He smiled. “Then marry me and stay at Webster. You may not love me now, but you’ll come to after we’re married. I’ll make you happy. I promise.”

Danielle stared at the man who had been like a second father to her ever since she came to Webster as a student. She’d never guessed how he felt, and she didn’t want to hurt him after all he’d done to help her. Walking back to him, she took his hands in hers.

“Nathan, you are one of the dearest friends I’ll ever have, but I can’t marry you. You need a woman who loves you with passion, not someone who thinks of you as a friend. Besides, I don’t think I’ll ever marry.”

He pulled his hands free and stepped back. “Is it that policeman? Are you in love with him?”

She hesitated before she answered. “If I am, it doesn’t matter. There’s no future for Jack and me. I’m going home to try to forget all the bad memories from here.”

His shoulders slumped. “Am I one of those bad memories?”

“Oh, no. You’re one of the best ones of all my years at Webster.”

He smiled. “Then maybe there’s hope for me yet. Would you mind if I visited you in Atlanta after you leave?”

“I’d like that very much, and so would my parents.”

He smiled and reached for her hand. Bringing it to his lips, he squeezed her fingers and kissed the back of her hand. He straightened as the office door opened.

Danielle glanced over his shoulder as Flynn Carter stepped into the room. His eyes grew wide. “Oh, excuse me, Dr. Tyler. I didn’t know you were busy.”

She pulled her hand from Nathan’s grasp and smiled. “It’s okay, Flynn. Can I help you with something?”

His gaze darted from Nathan to her. “I just wanted you to know I’ve decided not to go home for Thanksgiving. I’m going to stay on campus and try to catch up on the classwork I missed the week I was absent. If you have anything you need me to work on, I’ll be glad to do it.”

Danielle nodded. “There’s lots to do with the fundraiser coming up. I’ll put together a list and leave it on your desk.”

He nodded. “Thanks. Now I’ll get out of here. Like I said, I’m sorry to interrupt.”

When he’d closed the door, Danielle let out a long breath. “I have trouble every time I’m around Flynn.”

Nathan frowned. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged and crossed her arms. “I know it’s silly, but I keep thinking if it wasn’t for him Tricia might still be alive. I know she made the decision to pose for that Web site, but he shouldn’t have put her in that danger. I’ve spent many sleepless nights trying to overcome my feelings about him, but it’s been difficult.”

Nathan glanced in the direction of the door and stood in thought for a moment. “Maybe I made a mistake in letting him come back to school.”

Danielle’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, no. I’m glad you did. I’ll work out my feelings about Flynn in time.”

Nathan smiled. “I’m sure you will. And maybe you’ll also work out your feelings about me. At least I hope so.”

Before she could answer, he turned and walked from the room. Danielle stared after him. This morning had certainly been surprising. She’d practically thrown herself at one man and rejected another. Of the two she suspected Nathan might be the better choice. With him there’d never be any worry about money, but she’d never cared about wealth. Nathan’s kind nature made him look almost angelic when compared to Jack’s remote and at times sullen approach to life.

She had to admit that Nathan had a lot of characteristics that would make him a wonderful husband. Knowing all this made no difference. Jack was the one she wanted.