Ring Around the Rosy (20 page)

Susan was raring to go. “Hard to believe
it’s cold back home. No wonder people retire down here. They get the best of
both worlds — summer in the North and winter in the warm South.” Susan could
picture herself living like this when she got old. Of course, that was a long
way off, and by then, who knew where she’d be. Probably still chasing
ambulances and police cars.

At the hospital, Susan wasn’t
surprised to see Mr. Morgan already at his wife’s side. Susan didn’t like the
way Mrs. Morgan looked — even paler than yesterday, if that was possible. She
didn’t have a good feeling about this. Apparently, neither did Dave.

“You don’t mind if we skip the
sightseeing, do you?” he asked when they went out for a minute while the nurse
straightened Mrs. Morgan sheets.

Susan shook her head. Of course
she didn’t mind. She’d feel horrible if something happened while they were
gallivanting around Florida. That wasn’t the purpose of the visit. Dave needed
to be with his mother. She followed him back into the room.

“Aren’t you going to show Susan
some of the sights?” Mrs. Morgan took Dave’s hand and held it.
 

Dave brought his mother’s hand to
his mouth and brushed his lips over it. “We thought we’d just visit with you.”

“Nonsense, I’m fine. You go enjoy
the day.”

Dave shook his head.

“Susan, talk some sense into this
boy, will you?”

“But we came to visit you, Mrs.
Morgan,” Susan said.

“That’s right,” Dave said.

Mrs. Morgan shook her head. “I
insist. Besides, I sleep most of the day, anyway, and your father is here.” She
slapped his hand away. “Go on, now.” She shooed them away.

Dave laughed. “Okay, okay. We’ll
be back this afternoon.”

“Good. Now go and have fun.”

Dave leaned down and kissed his
mother goodbye. “Want to walk out with us?” he asked his father.

Mr. Morgan followed them out.

“You have my cell phone number,
right?”

“Yes, I have it.”

“You call me if there’s any
change. I don’t like the way she looks.”

“She’s just tired. She had a bad
night.” Mr. Morgan’s lips held a smile, but concern filled his eyes.

“We’ll be back in a couple of
hours.” Dave hugged his father. “Don’t forget — anything. Any change
whatsoever, you call me.”

Mr. Morgan shook his head. “Go on.
Listen to your mother and have a good time.”

* * *

Susan loved the furnishing and
architecture of the rambling buildings at the Edison Estate. “I can imagine
myself living in this era. I swear if I lived in a past life, it had to be the
Victorian era. Of course, I was probably the mean old nanny, not the beautiful
lady of the house wearing those fabulous, expensive dresses.”

Dave laughed and kissed her nose.
“You, the mean old nanny? Never.”

She liked his playfulness. “Look
at that!”

“Ah, the inventive genius of
Edison, evident throughout. That’s the electric chandelier called the
electrolier.”

Walking through the botanical
gardens, which, Dave informed her, contained over a thousand varieties of
plants imported from all over the world, gave Susan the feeling of returning to
another century. Not that she was into gardens, but these offered an especially
peaceful setting.

“That Banyan tree is approximately
four hundred feet wide. It was a gift from Harvey Firestone,” Dave said.

Susan looked at the huge tree.
“Strange way of growing.” Okay, so she wasn’t all that impressed with it. Trees
did about as much for her as flowers. And flowers brought the memory of the
roses too much to her mind.

They left the tour and went back
to the hospital. She looked forward to meeting Emily and Michael, knowing
they’d be as friendly and warmhearted as Dave, Rudy, and their parents. At
least, she hoped they would.

Dave introduced them, and Susan
immediately saw that Josh and Jake idolized their uncles. It was hard to tell
which one, if any, was their favorite. Of course, they all claimed to be.

Emily was a photocopy of her
mother, petite, with reddish-brown hair and gray-green eyes with the same
sparkling gold flecks as the males in the family.

Emily gave Dave the thumbs-up sign
while she hugged Susan, which caused Susan’s cheeks to burn. What had Dave told
his family about her? They all acted like things were serious between them.
Granted, she was falling in love with Dave, but what about him? Still she
wasn’t ready to settle down.

Besides, they really didn’t know
each other. They were only now getting acquainted during this trip. They had
spent their time at home discussing the murders or making small talk to help
take her mind off of it. Susan wasn’t stupid enough to think Dave couldn’t live
without her.

He only brought her to Florida
because of his concern about the phone calls. Of course there was the physical
attraction, and his touch and kisses sent sparks through her body. But he had
never attempted to make love to her. She wondered why.

How would she respond if he did?
In this day and age, most couples engaged in casual sex, but she didn’t feel
that way. She was bound and determined to wait for the “right” man to come
along before she gave herself willingly. Dave might be that man, but for the
time being, it didn’t bother her that he restrained from pushing her further
than their few passionate kisses.

The good news was Mrs. Morgan had
improved by that afternoon, and surgery wasn’t necessary at this point. The
doctors warned that it was inevitable, but they wanted her to get stronger
first. The family, elated at the news, celebrated. They all wanted her home for
the holidays, and couldn’t be happier. To their surprise, the doctor said she
could leave the hospital the next day. She’d have to take it easy. build up her
strength, and hopefully wait until she got home to have the surgery.

“Since you’re coming home, I’m
going to leave, and we’ll see you tomorrow. Right now, you need to rest.” Dave
kissed his mother’s cheek. “I’m taking Susan to the beach. We’ll meet you guys
later for dinner. Three Fisherman’s Seafood Restaurant, right?”

After they left the hospital, Dave
drove to the beach. “Want to walk?”

“I’d love to.” Basking in the warm
sun and sandy beach, she walked along barefoot. With her shoes in one hand and
Dave holding the other, she wished this could last forever. She hated for it to
end. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this happy and content. It
was like a different world here. All the problems ceased when they got off the
plane. Well, all but Mrs. Morgan, and now that had worked out, too., Thank
goodness she was allowed to go home. Susan loved this place, loved being with
Dave. It was like being in a tropical paradise.

“We have to go back Friday,” Dave
said as if he read her mind. “We’ll spend tomorrow with Mom, and then it’s back
to the mill.” He smiled, touched her cheek, and kissed her. “I’m glad you had a
chance to meet my family. I’d like it if we spent some time with them up
north.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“I’d like that,” she said. “I like
your family. They’re fun to be around.”

He pulled her close to him, and
they walked arm in arm. Her heart thumped so hard in her chest, she thought it
would explode. The idea of getting to know Dave and his family better appealed
to her. It was a shame they had to go back and face the world of horror filled
crimes.

* * *

Even though Dave was off the case,
he had been in touch with his precinct, and no murder had been committed while
they were gone. No contact had been made. “Maybe you should stay gone,”
Greenwood joked.

“Wish I could.” Dave said. “What’s
going on with the investigation?” He hated to ask, but he needed to know.

“Almost done. So far, no problems.
Should finish up tomorrow. Just waiting to interview Hill.”

Right. Hill, the bastard that
started this whole mess. What would he have to say? He’d never reveal his
source about the bracelet. Not that it mattered. What he wanted to know was why
Hill wrote all that shit about Susan. Jealousy more than likely. “Okay,
thanks.” Dave hung up and got ready for dinner. No point telling Susan about
that conversation — nothing new to report. Let her enjoy her last day here.
He’d never seen her so relaxed and calm.

Damn, Dave snapped his fingers.
The roses, why didn’t he think of that before.

He redialed his cell phone.
“Greenwood, listen. Check out the florists around the area. See if someone has
been buying up a lot of roses lately. One or two at a time, maybe a few more.”

“Good idea. I’ll get somebody on
it right away. Uh, Dave, you know you’re not supposed to be involved in this
case.”

Like they were going to keep him
out of it. Not when it involved Susan, they weren’t. “Yeah, I know. Consider it
a tip from a good citizen.”

“Yeah, right, good citizen.”
Greenwood laughed.

“Okay, let me know what you find
out.”

* * *

As Susan expected, dinner was
lively and entertaining. The brothers, competing to outwit each other, kept her
and Emily in stitches.

“You have to order the Florida
stone crab,” they told her. She took their advice and ordered it. The menu
described it as the succulent meat to be pure ambrosia, the food of the gods.
Susan didn’t know which gods the menu referred to, but she had to agree the
meat was succulent.

Dancing after dinner made for a
late night, and sheer exhaustion forced the lively group to retire. Jake and
Josh had stayed with Grandpa and begged to spend the night.

Grandpa, like the rest of the
family, spoiled the boys, and agreed. “You young people go out and have a good
time,” he said.

Before they went back to the
motel, Dave arranged to meet the family for breakfast. Susan retired to her room
more satisfied than she thought she had a right to be. The evening had been
fun. She was in love with Dave’s family as well as him. No point trying to deny
it. She’d only be fooling herself.

Their warm acceptance of her was
something she had never experienced before. Of course, she had never seriously
dated anyone before. Sleep came easy when she got into bed.

Morning came early, and the
ringing phone once again woke her. Stretching lazily, smiling, eager to meet
the day, she jumped out of bed and into the shower.

Half-hour, Dave had said, and true
to his words, half-hour later, he knocked on her door ready for the day. Her
heart caught in her throat at the sight of him — handsome as ever in his snug
shorts and knit shirt that hugged the muscles of his chest.

For two cents, she’d throw caution
to the wind and invite him in for a quick romp. Never, in all her life, had a
man turned her on just by looking at him. Sure, she’d been physically attracted
to men before, but never had her body quivered, never had just looking at a man
caused the sensation deep inside, never had she experienced the intense heat
between her legs before. Already, her face burned from the thought. She looked
away, afraid her eyes would betray her thoughts. It was bad enough her hands
trembled and her legs threatened to collapse.

Fortunately, Dave took her arm and
led her to his car.

After they picked up Jake, Josh,
and Grandpa, they met the others for breakfast. It was another easy, fun-filled
meal. Jake and Josh joined in the playful banter, dishing out as much as they
took.

Mr. Morgan left shortly after to
pick up his wife from the hospital while the others planned a dinner for them.

“Emily, you and Susan shop while
we go back and clean the house and change the sheets,” Dave said.

Susan noticed how he took charge,
and no one challenged him.

When they came back from the
grocery store, it amazed Susan how everyone chipped in, ready to do his or her
share. Not that they didn’t bicker about it. Seemed everyone wanted to do what
the other brother was doing. Dave handed out the jobs, but Susan noticed Mike
and Rudy switched. Rudy vacuumed while Mike washed the kitchen floors. Dave
changed the sheets and did the laundry.

If she hadn’t seen it with her own
eyes, she would never have pictured these masculine men vacuuming and doing
dishes.

Emily assured her they had been
raised doing chores, and the boys were as well equipped to clean as she was.
“Mom wasn’t a women’s libber,” she said. “Her theory was everyone made the
mess, everyone was darn well going to clean it up, and Dad backed her up.”

Mrs. Morgan couldn’t hide her
pride when she came home to a sparkling-clean house. Windows had been washed,
floors scrubbed, and laundry done. Fish was ready for the grill, salad
prepared, and potatoes baking.

With a kiss for each of her
children and grandchildren and an equally hardy kiss and hug for Susan, tears
welled in the old woman’s eyes as she took in the cheerful faces.