Nearly Departed in Deadwood (33 page)

      She hesitated at the sight of me, her eyes searching my super-sized smile for several seconds. “Where were you?”

      “Checking out the house.” And the inside of Doc’s mouth.

      “Natalie called.” She came down the last steps and handed me her cell phone.

      Natalie’s number showed as a missed call. Damn. Guilt slammed into my gut like a battering ram.

      “Where’s your phone?” Mona asked.

      “It’s on the fritz.” After colliding with a pine tree and then crashing onto a boulder, I was experiencing a few technical difficulties. I handed her phone back. “I’ll call Nat later.” Much later—after I’d washed the smell of Doc off my hands and rinsed the taste of his skin from my tongue.

       “You okay?” Mona asked. “You look ...” she wiggled her fingers in the air around her face. “Flustered.”

      Frustrated was more like it. My body wanted to finish what Doc started. “I’m fine, just thinking about Doc.”
Naked
.

      “You think he’ll bite?” Mona asked.

      I knew he would. I could still feel his teeth marks on my collar bone. I wanted a matching set on my inner thigh. However, about the house, I wasn’t so sure. “I hope so.”

      I headed back to the kitchen where Doc stood leaning against the counter, his smile lazy once again, his feathers all smoothed down and ruffle-free, his body looking finger-licking good.

      I turned my focus to the state-of-the-art kitchen, marveling at the high-quality accoutrements along with Doc. Next, we admired the multi-level deck and manicured backyard through a pair of French doors, peeked into a granite-tiled three-quarter bathroom, and then made our way back into the living room, where Mona waited for us. Drinks sweated on a silver platter next to the sandwiches.

      “So, Doc,” Mona said as I dropped onto the couch next to her and reached for my rum and Coke, needing it even more now than ever as guilt and desire arm wrestled in my belly. “What do you think of Deadwood summers?”

      “It’s colder than where I grew up and warmer than where I came from last.”

      I swished my drink, smiling. Nobody could dodge a question like Doc.

      A half-hour later, Doc had charmed more of Mona’s life history out of her than I had in three months, and I had finally collected all of my wits and X-rated thoughts and tucked them safely back into my underwear. We thanked Mona for the tour, drinks, and appetizers, and then headed to the car.

      “Well?” I asked as the Camaro rumbled to life, trying to remember I was still his Realtor first and foremost. Hashing out what happened in the back stairs could come later when I wasn’t just an arms-length away from reaching over and unbuckling his belt. “Did you like that one?”

      “What wasn’t to like?” Doc shifted into gear. “What’s the asking price?”

      When I told him, he didn’t flinch at all. Just nodded and steered toward Deadwood. I wasn’t sure if I should dance a jig at this point or not.

      “Hey, can you stop in front of that rundown house up on the left for a minute?” I asked as the Hessler house loomed in the front windshield.

      The night of Addy’s cast-fitting, I’d driven by Wolfgang’s place on the way home from the library and noticed a light on in the upstairs, violet-themed bedroom. I’d figured Wolfgang was in there, but later realized I hadn’t seen his car in the drive. The light was still on last night, when I purposely cruised by on my way home from Jeff’s. Again no car, no sign of life. Just the light, which made me wonder if I’d left it on when I was up there last week playing the creepy door game.

      Doc parked in front of the rusted gate and looked at me, his brows raised behind his sunglasses.

      “This is Wolfgang’s house,” I explained.

      His jaw tightened. “A bit of a fixer-upper, I see.”

      “Nothing a little paint and a lot of love couldn’t help.”

      “Or just a lot of paint.”

      “Right.” I grabbed the door handle. “You want to come in?”

      “Why?”

      Because I was too scaredy-pants to go inside on my own, even in broad daylight. “You could take a look around, admire the nineteenth-century details. You never know, maybe you’ll fall in love with it.” Especially the clowns. They were definite selling points.

      “All right, let’s go.” He shut off the car. “Listen, Violet,” he said as he pushed open his door, “about what happened back there—”

      “Not now, Doc,” I cut him off, avoiding eye contact. While I currently had a firm handle on my lust for the guy, my feelings about the whole shebang—or lack of shebang—still had my panties in a bit of a twist.

      “Okay.” He shut his door. “But it can’t happen again.”

      Natalie’s voice singing
he’s the one
replayed in my head. “Tell me about it,” I said and led the way.

      The squeaky gate made sure the neighbors knew we were opening it. Doc followed me up the walk. If he had any comments to make on the condition of the yard, he kept them to himself.

      After a glance for any looky-loos, I lifted the floorboard on the bottom step. “You don’t see this,” I told Doc. If it were anyone else, I’d make him turn his back while I fished the key from its hiding spot.

      “See what?” he replied, but his eyes confirmed he understood what I meant.

      Doc sniffed as I stuck the key in the lock, but said nothing. The tumbler clinked and the door inched open.

      “Let me put this back before I forget.” I returned the key to its hiding spot. When I stood up, I noticed how pale Doc’s cheeks were. “Are you okay?”

      He frowned at me. “What? Yeah, it’s just the heat.”

      “If you say so.” I led the way into Wolfgang’s front foyer. “Hello? Anyone home?”

      I didn’t expect an answer, but my chest felt tight as I listened, nonetheless.

      The floorboards creaked as Doc joined me in the entry.

      “I just need to run upstairs and shut off—” A choking sound behind me made me spin around.

      Doc stood just inside the door, his eyes rolled toward the ceiling, his whole torso convulsing as he gasped for breath.

      “Oh, my God!” I grabbed his arm, his muscles contracting spasmodically under my grip. “Doc?”

      His shudders grew violent, his body shifting as he started to tip backward.

      “Shit!” I tried to use my weight to keep him upright, but his knees gave out and we both tumbled to the floor, me on top of him. I scrambled up onto my haunches. “Doc, are you okay?”

      His legs were trembling now, but his eyes made contact with mine. “Outside,” he gasped.

      I didn’t waste any time. Grabbing him under the arms, I dragged him over the threshold, grunting and huffing the whole way, and out onto the porch. His shoulders had cleared the first step before I realized he was trying to tell me something.

      “What?” I asked, dropping onto my butt and holding his head in my lap. “What is it? Are you okay?”

      His nod was slight. His grin a ghost of its usual gusto. “S-sorry ’bout that.”

      “What happened in there? And if you try to tell me that you’re allergic to one more thing, I’ll drag you back inside and leave you.”

      He closed his eyes and sighed.

      My heart beat loud enough to hear down in Rapid City. “What is it? Is it terminal?” Brain tumor? Cancer? Epilepsy?

      “You could say that.” His dark eyes open again. He struggled to sit up, using my shoulder for leverage.

      “Christ, Doc. You’re killing me here. What is it?”

      He took another deep breath and then turned to me, the intensity of his stare making me sit back a bit. “Someone died in that house.”

      “How do you know about that?” Had he read about Wolfgang’s mom in the death registry?

      “She just showed me.”

     
Chapter Twenty-One

      When it came down to the nitty-gritty, nothing had changed. From the start, I’d thought there was something peculiar about Doc. Now, the only difference was that I
knew
it.

      Did I believe that he’d seen the ghost of Wolfgang’s mother? That she’d communicated with him from the
other side
? No. Not really. At least I didn’t think so. However, as I drove toward Aunt Zoe’s, his words replayed in my head. I was still trying to make sense of what I’d witnessed, of what he’d told me—which wasn’t much, seeing as how he was the same cryptic Doc he’d been before we’d stepped into the Hessler house.

      I swung into Aunt Zoe’s drive and cut the engine. Layne frowned at me from the front porch, where he sat scrubbing on a bone as long as his arm—using
my
foot scrubber. Damn it!

      I slammed my door and strode toward him. “Layne, didn’t I tell you to quit using my pedicure tools on your artifacts?”

      “Sorry, Mom. I forgot.” At least he had the decency to look sheepish for a second or two. “What are you doing home already?”

      Doc and I had decided to skip lunch after what had happened at Wolfgang’s place. His excuse had been exhaustion, mine a lack of appetite. We’d both avoided eye contact on the ride back to the office, the rumble of his engine the only sound in the car.

      “I decided to take the afternoon off.” I dropped onto the hard step next to Layne. The smell of bleach made my nose itch. I nudged his bucket of sudsy water a few inches away. 

      “Cool. You want to help me glue the spine together?”

      “Sure.” I could use an Elmer’s-glue high this afternoon to take the edge off. My hands were still shaky with adrenaline aftershocks.

      The screen door squeaked open.

      “Layne, where’s my chicken leash?” Addy did a double-take when she saw me. “Oh, hi, Mom. When did you get home?”

      “Just now.”

      She let the screen door bang shut and joined us on the top step, a small bag of M&Ms in her hand. Her pinkie toe popped out of the side of her yellow canvas tennis shoe as she sat down. “I called you earlier but you didn’t answer.”

      “What did you need?”

      “Kelly asked if I can go school shopping with her and her mom tomorrow morning.” She dumped some candy in her mouth.

      I still had a wheelbarrow full of doubts about Kelly in regards to the missing girls, but with nothing more than middle-of-the-night suspicions flapping around in my belfry, I knew better than to ban Addy from hanging out with her friend. Besides, what could possibly happen in a crowded shopping mall?

      “Sure. You can take the early birthday money your Grammy sent and buy some new tennis shoes.” I wondered if Kelly’s mom’s girlfriend would be joining them. I’d have to pump Addy for answers when she got home.

      “Sweet!” She rested her purple cast on her bent knees and smiled at me like we shared a secret. Her teeth had chocolate bits in them. “Are you excited about tonight?”

      I squinted at her. “What do you think I’m doing tonight?”

      “Going to dinner with a man.”

      Earlier this week, when I’d informed the kids I’d be absent for supper for two nights in a row, I’d blamed work. Tonight’s dinner was supposed to be a class on mold spores, tomorrow was an open-house party with Wolfgang. While lying to my kids would blow my chance of winning a World’s Best Mom award for yet another year, the last thing I needed was Addy finding out I was on two different dates. Next, she’d have me signed up for the Singles Bingo Night at the Elks.

      “Who told you I was going to dinner?”

      Addy picked at the hole in her shoe. “I accidentally overheard Aunt Zoe talking to Natalie on the phone earlier.”

     
Accidentally?
Right.

      “You’re going out with a man tonight?” Layne’s tone overflowed with disapproval.

      Layne was the other reason I’d lied about my dates. His man-of-the-house anxiety didn’t need any more fuel.

      “She’s going out with Wolfgang tomorrow night, too.” Addy told him, and dumped the last of the M&Ms into her hand.

     
Thanks, big mouth
. I stole a yellow M&M and popped it into my mouth. “Yes, but just to an open house. Remember?” I squeezed Layne’s wet hand.

      The wrinkles lining Layne’s forehead multiplied. “Mom, you’re not going to get married, are you?”

      I blinked, fighting back a grin. “Not this weekend.”

      “Do you love Wolfgang?” he pressed.

      “No.” Honest truth there. I wasn’t even sure if I lusted after him any more. I’d find out that answer tomorrow night. “He’s just a friend.”

      “Like how Doc is your
friend
?” Addy asked.

      Not really. Doc was a different beast all together—even more so after today. “Sure.”

      Layne’s gaze bounced back and forth between Addy and me. “Who’s Doc?”

      “He’s a client of mine, Honey.”

      “If Wolfgang is only your friend, how come you kissed him at the hospital?” Addy tossed down the last of her candy.

      I squirmed under her grilling. “Officially, he kissed me.”

      “How could you let him?” Layne accused more than asked.

      “Listen, sometimes friends kiss,” I explained to both of them. “It doesn’t mean they are in love with each other and going to get married. It’s just something adults like to do. It’s not a big deal.”

      “Do you and Doc kiss?” Addy asked.

      My neck heated up. “Uhh, no,” I lied, kind of. What had happened in that back stairwell had been too frenzied—too carnal—to be labeled a kiss.

      Addy leaned closer. “Why not?”

      Wow. As if I hadn’t chewed on that question over and over before today. “Doc doesn’t want to kiss me.”
At least he says he doesn’t
.

      “Do you want to kiss him?” Layne asked, his nose crinkled.

      “Okay, that’s enough of this Barbara Walters’ interview for today.” I grabbed my purse and stood. “Where’s Aunt Zoe?”

      “In the kitchen,” Layne answered.

      “Who’s Barbara Walters?” Addy asked.

      “I need to ask her something.” I kissed both of their foreheads. “Be good.”