Red Red Rose (7 page)

 “Well,
I think after the last one, I’ll swear off men for a while.”

“That
bad, huh?”

“You
could say that–” I was about to fill him in on my humiliation at walking in on
Nathan, pants around his ankles, in the act right in the middle of his living
room, when the door to the shop was pushed open and another familiar face
walked in. My face broke out in a smile when his eyes landed on me.

“Hey
beautiful,” he greeted affectionately, walking toward us. I rounded the counter
and cut him off, wrapping my arms around his middle.

“James.
It’s good to have you home.” His smile lasted only a second longer before it
faded as we were both reminded of the reason he was back. I pulled away and
turned to introduce him to Shaw, but he wasn’t where I left him. I caught his
back just as he slipped out the door. There was a ten dollar bill on the
counter. I frowned, but then brushed aside his hasty exit.

“Can
I get you something? A hot coffee? Hot chocolate? Hot tea?”

A
soft chuckle fell from his lips. “A plain cup of coffee is fine.” It had to be
a tough guy thing, but maybe there was something to be said for a plain cup of
coffee. James was almost as easy on the eyes as Shaw, though slightly leaner
and fair haired like Em. For a brief moment in time after Em introduced us, I
had a little crush on him. And by little I meant huge, but then Em squashed my
dreams of making us sisters. James was as committed to his military career as
her father had been. While she and I both held immense respect for that
commitment, we also knew it wasn’t the life for me, and she knew her brother
well enough to know that he wasn’t anywhere near being ready to settle down.
According to her, his flings never lasted longer than his leave.

“Reggie,
this is Em’s brother, James. Can you get him a large black coffee on the house?”

“Sure
thing. Nice to meet you,” he gave James one of those guy chin lift things
before getting his coffee. James answered with his own, and then faced me
again.

“You
don’t have to do that Nora. I can pay for my coffee.”

“Not
here. Em’s family, which makes you family. You’re money is no good here.” Once
Reggie brought James his coffee, I made sure he could handle the counter and I
led James over to one of the small couches against the wall.

He
commented on how happy he was that it looked like business was going well, but then
shifted the conversation to his sister. Even though his parents had been giving
him regular updates, he wanted to hear everything from me, mostly about the
guys she saw. It wasn’t a conversation any guy wanted to have about his sister
and it certainly wasn’t one I wanted to have about my best friend to her big
brother, but I told him as much as I could, ending with last night and the
maybe prowler snooping around the house.

That
didn’t sit well with him. He insisted on going to collect his things from his
parents’ and moving into Em’s room temporarily. My objections that he should be
with his mom and dad were dismissed. He argued that they would take his side on
this, which was true because they were the ones who raised him to watch out for
his little sister, and as her best friend, big brother protection extended to
me.

Once
it was settled that I would have a house guest, he finished his coffee and took
off. I gave him my spare key and informed him I wouldn’t be home until after
eight, but he could let himself in. On his way out, he passed Will and Cassie
on their way in.

“Damn,
where do you find these superhero looking sex mandroids?” Reggie grumbled once
James was out of the shop.

I
laughed.

“What
sex mandroids?” Cassie asked enthusiastically as she and Will approached the
counter.

“Did
you see the one who just walked out?” Reggie asked her.

“Mmhmm,”
Cassie grinned and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Will’s face was pinched in a
scowl, and I had to wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have discouraged Cassie from
going there. I’d have to make it my mission to find out if he had a little
thing for the cute, sassy barista.

“Em’s
brother, James,” I told them. “He got leave to come home and be with his
parents, but I don’t know how long he’ll get to stay before they call him back
to duty.”

“Maybe
I should have signed up for the army,” Reggie muttered under his breath and we
all chuckled.

The
perks of being the boss meant that once Cassie clocked on, I was able to take
another break and I sat and chatted with Will for a while. Either he was
completely oblivious, or knew exactly what I was doing because not once did he
take the bait when I subtly brought up Cassie. I didn’t need him to say anything,
though. Gauging his reaction when she stopped by the table was enough.

“So,
with Captain American in town, does this mean you will be moving on from Shaw?
Because, if you are, I’d like to throw myself at him shamelessly in hopes that
he’ll drown his rejection sorrows in me. If not, I wouldn’t mind having a go at
G.I. Joe.”

Will
didn’t like that if the scowl on his face was any indication. I had to bite
back my smile.

“So,
you tell me which one is yours.”

Instead
of answering her, I gave her butt a shove toward the kitchen. “If you put as
much effort into this job as you do fantasizing about the men that come in here,
you’d be employee of the month.”

“You
don’t even do employee of the month, but we both know if you did, I’d have that
shit in the bag. I got you his name, didn’t I?”

I
shook my head. “Work. Go. It’s what I pay you for, not to be my pimp.”

She
snorted and I was unable to make out what she mumbled under her breath as she
sauntered off.

Will
didn’t stick around after that and made his excuse to take off.

 Cassie
pounced the second I re-joined her behind the counter. “Sooo . . . does he want
me?”

“What
was all that about Shaw and James?”

“To
see if it made Will jealous, obviously. So did it work?”

“I
don’t know, maybe. He’s hard to read,” I admitted. I didn’t want to give her
false hope if I was wrong.

She
let out a deep sigh. “But we would be so perfect together. You know? It’s like
destiny.”

Before
I could tell her just to pull up her big girl britches and ask the guy out,
Danny appeared at the counter.

“Actually
it’s a combination of pheromones, responses within the immune system and
chemical reactions in the brain.”

“Whatever,”
Cassie shrugged. “Who cares whether it’s pheromones or fucking Aphrodite? My
point is that Will and I would be so good together,” she whined dreamily.

“If
you don’t take into account the height difference,” Danny unwittingly
blundered. I cringed as Cassie’s features transformed into an intense scowl
directed at him. He wasn’t wrong that Will towered over her, but at
five-foot-two, with shoes on, just about everyone did and she didn’t especially
appreciate people pointing out her short stature. Danny quickly picked up on
that.

“Of
course that doesn’t matter. I’m sure you two would be, um, very happy
together.” The scowl didn’t leave her face. “I’ll, uh, just take my napkin and
go sit down now.”

“Ignore
him,” I laughed. “If you want something to happen with you and Will, then maybe
you should make the first move.”

“But
I don’t want to make the first move,” she groaned. All I could do was shrug. I
wasn’t Cupid. Fortunately, work kept us busy through the rest of the day and I
didn’t have to listen to her love woes.

Not
only did we open an hour later on Sundays, but we closed an hour earlier, so
when eight o’clock came around, Mitch, who was on closing tonight, and I were
both eager to get out of there. He walked me out to my car and made sure I was
safely inside before heading toward his own pickup. I took a minute to check
messages on my phone and listen to a voicemail from my mom.

After
listening to her message, I slid my phone into the cup holder and then lifted
my hand in a wave as Mitch pulled out. I started up my own car only to remember
that I’d left the deposit for the night sitting on the front counter when I put
my coat on and hit the lights. I weighed the risk of leaving it there until I
came in tomorrow. It wouldn’t be smart, especially since Reggie was opening and
he didn’t have the safe code to toss it in.

I
grudgingly slipped back out into the cold and hustled inside, going through the
hassle of disengaging and resetting the alarm. The whole thing couldn’t have
taken more than two minutes, but when I came back out, I stopped short. There
was a figure leaning on the hood of my car.

“I
thought you went back to Redmond last night.” I didn’t take another step toward
him, but he pushed off my car and ate up the distance between us with cocky
strides.

“I
told you I would give you more time, but I also said I wasn’t giving up.”

“One
day is hardly more time.” I folded my arms across my chest.

“I
needed to see you tonight. It’s important. There’s something I need to tell
you.”

Already
he was keeping me from getting home; I didn’t want to stand out on the street
arguing with him. “Then say whatever you have to say, Nathan. You’ve got one
minute.” Then I was probably going to pull out my pepper spray and use it on
him just for the fun of it.

“Look,
I was thinking about the roses you said someone has been leaving, and it didn’t
sit well with me.” Of course not. On top of being an arrogant prick, he was
also a jealous, possessive one.

“Well,
it’s really not any of your concern who is sending the flowers.” I started to
brush past him, but his fingers wrapped around my bicep, gripping it just
tightly enough that I wouldn’t be able to pull free without bruising my arm.

“What
if they’re not for you?”

“Who
would be leaving flowers for Emily when she’s missing?” I retorted, my
irritation growing. Even Emily’s asshole ex-boyfriend wouldn’t be that callous,
and as far as I could tell, he was the only one with a reason to apologize to
her.

 “Think
about it, Nor.” The annoyance in his tone further grated on me.

“I
don’t need to. I need you to let go and leave me the hell alone.”

He
let out a little huff of indignation. “Look, you need to listen to me. I was
talking to Elizabeth–”

I
snorted and, not caring about a bruise, tried to yank my arm free. His grip
tightened. “Let. Go. Of. Me. Nathan.” Elizabeth was his ex. Yeah, that one.

 His
features tightened in frustration. “Just stop and hear me out. She works in the
King County Prosecutor’s office. She let it slip to me that the FBI is being
brought in on the case and that they requested Emily’s file.”

For
a moment, I forgot all about his hand on me and stilled. “They think it’s
connected?” It had been in the back of my mind these past few weeks, but I hadn’t
really wanted to accept that it could be the same guy.

“I
don’t know, and she didn’t either, but they’re going to be looking into it. I
thought at the very least you would want to know that. If it is connected, then
you need to be careful. Especially staying in that house by yourself. You should
let me stay with you.”

And
there it was; his angle. My anger returned and I jerked on my arm again.
“That’s not happening. And fuck you for trying to use my fear for Emily to
weasel your way back into my life.” I shoved his chest hard when he still
wouldn’t give up his hold on my arm. He stumbled back a step, releasing his
grip.

 “Dammit,
did you hear anything I said? You shouldn’t be in that house alone. Whoever
took Emily could still be around.”

“It
doesn’t matter. I’m not there alone anymore.” I turned my back to him and hit
unlock on my key.

“What
do you mean you’re not alone anymore?” His hand came down hard on my shoulder
and he jerked me back around.

I
shoved his hand away. “It’s none of your damn business.”

“It
is if you’ve got some fucking guy staying with you.” His jaw clenched and his
eyes narrowed. Nathan rarely lost control, but I could see he was losing it
now. Maybe it wasn’t smart of me to push him further, but I couldn’t help it
when I was so pissed off.

“I
can have whoever the hell I want stay with me. I can have a fucking orgy if I
want and it would still be none of your business!” I shouted.

“You’re
wrong. You’re still mine, Nora, which makes it very much my business,” he said
tightly, regaining a small measure of his control.

“That’s
what you don’t seem to get, I’m not a fucking possession. I don’t belong to
anyone, least of all you.”

“I
didn’t mean it like that. If you would stop overreacting to everything–” he
didn’t get to finish that statement, and it was probably a good thing, because
his tone had turned patronizing and I was about two seconds away from whipping
out that pepper spray, but another voice sounded from the street.

“Is
there a problem, Nora?” I knew that deep voice, and its rough-and-tumble owner.

Shaw
stood near the rear of my car, his stance aggressive, his expression fierce and
his eyes regarding the two of us carefully.

“Who
are you?” Nathan demanded, but Shaw dismissed him with a glance and fixed his
eyes on me.

“What
do you want me to do here?”

“Nothing,
because Nathan was just on his way out of town. Weren’t you?” I turned to him.

His
glare bounced back and forth between me and Shaw before he leaned in close.
“When you get over your petty games, call me.” He turned on his heel and
stalked toward the Porsche I could see parked across the street. I knew it was
hardly the last I’d hear from him, but I was relieved to be done with him for
tonight.

“Thank
you. I’m not so sure I could have gotten him to leave without more of a fight.”

“That
the asshole ex?”

“I
never called him an asshole.”

“I
deduced that part all on my own.”

“Yeah,
well it took me a little longer to figure out and I’m having trouble shaking
him off.” I leaned against the side of my car and Shaw took a few long strides
closer.

“Remember
what I said about having the right man in your bed? It’d take care of that
problem real quick.” He jerked his head toward Nathan’s retreating Porsche, and
once again I wanted to ask him if that was an offer, but I wasn’t that bold.

“For
tonight, you did the job just fine.”

He
took another step toward me and then our personal space bubbles were getting
all up close and intimate. I had to tilt my chin up slightly to keep my eyes locked
on his. “It’s a good thing I’m not in your bed. I was, I’d break his damn arm
for putting his hands on you like that.”

I
swallowed. “I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me.”

“Doesn’t
change that I want to break his arm to teach him a lesson.” He brushed his knuckles
along my cheek, sweeping back the strand of hair that had come loose from my
bun.

I
ducked my eyes briefly, before lifting them back to his. “You wouldn’t want to
do that. He’s a big-shot lawyer. He’d sue you.”

Shaw
let out a short laugh. “I don’t give a shit who he is.” And that’s what made
him so different from Nathan. Shaw preferred to solve problems with action. His
hands, and possibly his fists, while Nathan used words and maneuvering and
manipulation to get what he wanted.

“Well,
I should probably get home. Thank you again for stepping in, but sorry that you
had to.”

“Don’t
ever apologize for that asshole.”

I
gave a short nod.

“Drive
safe, Nora.” I loved the way my name rolled off his tongue.

“You
too.”

I
climbed into my car and Shaw disappeared into the night as suddenly as he’d
appeared, like freakin’ Batman. Then I heard a loud engine rumble to life. In
my mirror I caught the truck pulling out onto the street. Because what else
would he drive but a big, black, bad-ass truck? I shook my head.
Boys and
their toys.

James
was kicked back and stretched out on my couch when I got home, a box of pizza
opened on the coffee table.

“Oh
good, food.” I didn’t bother to fetch a plate. I grabbed a slice and started
shoveling it in my mouth.

“Help
yourself,” he chuckled and then sat up, making room for me next to him.

“Sorry.
Lunch was hours ago.”

“It’s
alright. I got the extra large pie for a reason.”

Between
the two of us, there wasn’t even a scrap of crust leftover when we finished.
James closed the lid on the box and we both kicked our feet up. Some History
Channel feature was on and it didn’t take long for my eyes to drift shut.

My
mother’s ringtone woke me sometime later. The same program on ancient Rome
still held James’ attention. I grabbed my phone up from the coffee table and
answered, shuffling into the kitchen.

“Hey
Mom, sorry I forgot to call you back. I got home and had dinner and fell asleep
on the couch.”

“That’s
alright. You know I just like for you to check in with me at the end of the
day.”

“I
know, and you’ll be pleased to hear that Emily’s brother got leave to come home
and he’s staying at the house so I’m not here by myself.”

“Oh
good.” Her relief was audible. “You know how I worry about you in that house.
Even when it was the two of you girls, I worried,” she said solemnly. Now, it
seemed, her worry wasn’t unfounded.

“I
know. I promise I’m keeping the doors locked and paying attention when I get
home at night and I always carry my pepper spray on me.” I left out the part
about almost getting to use it tonight.

“That’s
good. Still, I like the idea of James being there when you get home at night. With
him there, are you going to have room for your father and me when we come up,
or should we book a hotel? We’re going to try and head up on Wednesday, but
maybe not until the weekend, depending on how your dad is feeling. He threw his
back out trying to show up the neighbor kids at football this afternoon. You
know how your father is,” she sighed and I chuckled.

“Yeah,
I know. Still doesn’t want to accept that he’s getting old.” My father had
worked all his life in construction. Now he ran his own contracting company,
but all the years of hard labor had been tough on him. Now that he was nearing
sixty, he was supposed to be leaving the heavy lifting to the young guys that
worked for him, but I couldn’t tell you how many times I’d listened to my
mother fuss about going to take him lunch on a jobsite and finding him swinging
that hammer or hauling sheetrock and lumber.

“Still
thinks he’s got the body of a twenty-five year old,” she muttered and then I
heard my father’s voice in the background.

“I
might not be twenty-five, but there are still some things I can do just as well
as ever. Get off the phone, and I’ll show you.”

“Oh
please, right now you can’t even get off the couch.”

My
father grumbled something in return that I couldn’t hear, and then Mom’s voice
came back over the line, speaking to me. “I swear I raised two children, not
one, and I’m still raising this one.”

I
laughed. “Well, it sounds like I better leave you to him, just let me know what
day you decide on. John and Elise offered for you to stay with them.”

“Oh
no, we couldn’t impose on them during this time.”

“I
really think they’d be happy to have you there. At this point, anything to
distract from having a quiet house would be good for them.”

“Well,
I’ll discuss it with your father. We really wouldn’t mind getting a hotel.”

“Just
let me know whatever you decide.”

We
said goodnight and I realized it was after ten; past my bedtime when I had to
be up before five. I walked back into the living room.

“I’m
headed to bed. Another early morning for me,” I told James.

He
looked up from the TV. “Do you work all day again?”

“No.
Tomorrow I have someone closing for me, so I should be able to get out of there
around three. Do you have plans for tomorrow?”

“I’ll
probably get up and go for a run, maybe hit a gym, and then head to Mom and
Dad’s. I’m thinking about swinging by the police station first, though. They
see that the family isn’t going to let this go, might light a fire under their
asses on this investigation. I’m damn sure going to make sure they don’t try to
sweep Em’s disappearance under the rug. It’s doubtful, but I’ll see if I can’t
at least get them to share what leads they’re chasing down; that is if they
have any.”

“Do
you think I should have called them last night?”

“Honestly,
from what you said, the second that dog came over the fence, if there was
anyone out there, they were long gone. Without any evidence or proof that you
had a prowler, I’m not sure they would have believed you. But I’ll make sure
before I hit the sack tonight that I take a look around out there.”

“Just
be careful.”

He
grinned and tugged up his pant leg to reveal the ankle holster there. “Got my
other piece in the bedroom, so you don’t gotta worry.”

I
nodded, knowing that James was very capable.

“How
long has it been since you shot a gun?” he asked.

“Not
since the last time you were home and took me and Em.” That was last summer.

“If
we get time tomorrow, I’ll take you again. Did you ever go get your concealed
carry permit?”