Serial Love: Saints Protection & Investigation (26 page)

After a few minutes of Jeanette explaining some of the pictures that she had seen Bethany peruse, she stood saying, “I’m just finishing lunch. Jack, why don’t you show Bethany where the powder room is and I’ll have lunch on the table in a bit.”

Coming out of the small bathroom into the laundry room behind the kitchen, she could hear Jack and his mother talking low.

“All these years and you’ve never once brought a woman into this house, Jack. Does this mean what I think it does?”

She could not see, but she could imagine Jack’s grin as he answered, “Yeah, mom. I met her and everything I thought about how my life was going to go just changed. Almost fu—I mean messed it up, but found my way back to her and she was right there giving me what I needed.”

“Well, good, son. I like her.”

Bethany made a bit of noise closing the bathroom door behind her so that her presence would be noted. As she stepped into the large eat-in kitchen, with its table already loaded with food, she smiled warmly as Jack moved toward her. She walked straight into his arms and felt his lips on the top of her head. Tipping her head back, she gifted him with her smile before turning to Jeannette, offering to help.

“Oh, it’s ready,” Jeannette called out. “I hope you don’t mind if we eat in the kitchen. It’s usually just me so I eat in here and this seems more cozy.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Bethany replied truthfully. The room had strawberry print curtains on the windows next to the table and over the sink. From her seat at the table, she could see out of the window over the farmland that extended as far as she could see.

“All of this was your land?” she asked. “Your father farmed all of this?”

Nodding, Jack answered, “Yeah. Dad had some hired help back then and I would work after school and in the summers.”

As though to answer Bethany’s unasked question, Jeannette said, “It was never Jack’s destiny to be a farmer. His father knew that. He was so proud of Jack joining the military.”

Bethany caught the loving gaze passing between mother and son and, if possible, her heart warmed even more.

After lunch, they sat and looked at photographs of Jack throughout his childhood. When they came to the pictures that he had sent home from his time in Afghanistan, Bethany stared at the group of men, so similar to the men he had working for him now.

“That’s Tony Alvarez, our captain,” Jack pointed out. “He and I do some business together now. And these crazies work for him. That’s Gabe, his twin Vinny, and Jobe,” he said. Shaking his head, he looked down at her quizzical gaze. “Sorry, babe, it’s just that every one of them are settled down and married now. When I knew them back in the wild days, settling was the last thing on their minds.”

“And you?” she asked with a grin. “How wild and crazy were you back then?”

Jack had the good grace to blush slightly, but only said, “Not nearly as much as them, and now it looks as though I’ve found my one as well.”

As the afternoon sun began to descend into the west, they said their goodbyes with Jack’s mom, with promises to visit again soon. Driving away, Bethany settled back into the seat of his truck, a contented expression on her face.

“Happy, beautiful?”

“Absolutely,” she replied. “I love your mom and it was really nice to see the two of you together. Now that she doesn’t run the farm, has she ever considered moving closer to you?”

He shook his head and said, “We’ve talked about it. I know your family did really well planning with Ann’s needs and I hope to be able to take care of mom as well. For now, she’s happy in the old family house, but said that in a few years she’d consent to moving.”

With one more surprise up his sleeve, Jack continued past Mountville toward Richland. On the outskirts, he turned off the highway and within a few blocks pulled into the parking lot a large, luxury hotel.

She whipped her head around, looking at him in confusion. “What are we doing here? Dinner?”

“You’ll see,” he said, coming around to assist her down. Opening the back of his truck, he snagged two overnight bags. One, she recognized immediately.

“That’s mine! How did you get mine?” she asked, incredulously. Then it dawned on her. “Oh that sneak. You got Sally to pack, didn’t you?”

Throwing his arm across her shoulders, he pulled her in tightly. “Babe, you work so hard to take care of all of your guests. So tonight, you get to be the guest. And let them pamper you.”

Staring from his smiling face upward to the high-rise, she said, “My guests never get this treatment.”

Hours later, after a dinner in the upscale restaurant, drinks in the bar first listening to music and then holding each other closely on the dance floor, a long bath in the oversized whirlpool tub complete with candles and wine, Bethany found out just how pampered she could get.

As Jack toweled her off, taking his time over every inch of her body, he carried her to the king-sized bed, the soft sheets beckoning them.

The sight of her long hair laying across the pillows, her body glistening in the moonlight streaming through the their fourteenth floor window, had him eager and ready.

She lifted her arms, but he planned on taking the night slow. Leaning over, his bare chest brushing against her breasts, he kissed her. Long. Wet. Loving.

Sliding her arms around his neck, she tangled her hands in his dark hair, her fingers running through the almost-needs-a-haircut length, loving the feel of it.

His hands found their way skimming down her body, stopping to pay attention to her breasts before moving across her belly to the prize he was seeking. Then his kiss became longer. Wetter. And a helluva lot more loving.

And for the rest of the night, she discovered just how pampered she could be.

J
ack sat in
the bar, where Karen Solter was last seen, talking to the bartender and one of the waitresses. They were the two who noticed Karen had indeed been talking to the man in the picture.

“They were just standing there,” the bartender said. “The only reason I noticed them at all was because the man had on a coat and it was ninety degrees outside and probably over a hundred degrees in here with all the bodies.”

“Did you see them talking?” Jack prodded.

“No. I glanced up and saw this guy with a coat on and thought ‘what an idiot’ and the only reason I noticed her was because she was standing on the step below and, swear to God, this dude was leaning over looking down her shirt.”

Turning to the waitress, who had been eyeballing him since he walked in, Jack asked her the same questions.

“Well,” she said, leaning forward, “I only noticed him ’cause he’d been standing around not ordering any drinks and when I tried to get him to order, he glared at me. Seriously? Me? Like he could scrape me off of his shoe.”

“Did you see the two of them talking at all?”

“Never saw them talking, but he got what he deserved,” she groused.

Cocking his head to the side, he asked, “How so?”

“He must have said something to her because I saw her turn around and poke him right in the chest like she was trying to get him to stop doing whatever it was he was doing.”

“Do you remember which hand she was using?”

The waitress’ face scrunched up in thought before brightening. “Yeah, it was her right hand.”

That night he worked in the command center alone, knowing Bethany had her hands full with renters. She said she had been working on a new business plan but did not want to talk to him about it until she had done more research. But she swore it could bring in more money during the off season.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of Bethany, he re-focused on the files in front of him. He stared at the faces of the victims. Pale in death, their vibrancy snuffed out, bright futures taken away. Bethany was working right now on the future of Mountville.
Can her work include me?
He stood up quickly, cursing at his thoughts straying from the case.
Jesus, I can’t concentrate for thinking about her. How is this ever going to work?

He paced the floor for just a moment, the burden of the job he needed to do warring with the desire to simply be with Bethany crowded his mind. The gate alarm sounded and, irritated at the intrusion, he went to the monitor. Then stopped. And smiled. Her face, peeking out of the old car she drove, was grinning at the camera.

Buzzing her in, he jogged up the stairs and through the house to the front door. She must have flown down the driveway because she was out of the car and hurling herself toward him by the time he made it down the front steps.

He caught her in mid-air as she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him.

Finally coming up for air, she beamed at him and, seeing the questioning look on his face, said simply, “I missed you.”

Throwing his head back in laughter that she felt rumble against her chest, she tightened her grip, knowing she had done the right thing. As his eyes, still lit with pleasure, came back to hers, she said, “I know you’re busy. I…I just wanted to see you.”

“Oh, beautiful. I couldn’t concentrate for thinking about you,” he confessed.

“Can we talk for a few minutes?” she asked, shyly. “Then I promise I’ll leave and let you get back to work.”

“Abso-fuckin’-lutey,” he answered. “Can’t think of anything I’d rather do.” He paused on the top step, leered at her and quickly amended, “Well, yeah I can.”

Giggling, she said, “Not now, big boy.” Placing a kiss on the side of his neck, she whispered, “But hopefully later.”

He carried her inside and sat on the sofa with her in his lap. “So, what’s up darlin’?” Staring at her face beaming up at him, he was filled with the realization that he did not mind the interruption. Just having her here gave him a sense of peace. Of rightness.

“You know I’ve been thinking of ways to bring in more business during the off seasons and using my marketing degree at the same time.” Seeing him nod, she continued, “But I just couldn’t think of the right angle. One that fit for me. So, I was sitting the other day going through Gram’s old photo albums and came across the ones from when they were first married. And there was one where they were standing in front of the second cabin they had built and…” she paused for effect. “It had a
Welcome Honeymooners
sign in front. See, when they first started building, they advertised Mountville as a perfect getaway retreat for honeymooners.”

Seeing the interested look on his face, she said, “That wouldn’t work anymore because couples go to exotic places for their honeymoons nowadays, but…what if Mountville was advertised as a wedding venue?”

He caught her excitement, but hesitated. “Um, I can tell you’re excited, but I gotta confess I don’t have a clue what the hell a wedding venue is.”

“It’s where an outdoor wedding can be held. You know the grove on the west side of the lake, where the mountains in the background can be seen? It would be a gorgeous place for an outdoor wedding. The cabins would be perfect for the wedding party to rent since most have to be there the day before the wedding.”

His mind wandered to the place she was referring to. Green grass in an open field, the lake to the side and the Blue Ridge Mountains rising behind the tree line.
Beautiful. Hell, if we got married, that’s where I would want it to be.
The idea jolted him.
Married?
Suddenly, the rightness of the idea settled deep inside, sending a calm throughout him that he had not had in months. He realized that, no matter what happened with his business, he wanted this woman in his life. In his home. In his bed. With his name.

“So what do you think?” she asked excitedly. “I’ve been doing research and other places that offer a similar campaign do really well.”

Jolted out of his personal musing, he smiled, saying, “Beautiful, I think it sounds amazing…just like you. Whatever you want to do with Mountville is fine with me, as long as you’re
with me
.”

Her enthusiastic smile morphed into one focused directly on him. “I want that too, Jack.”

He slid one hand up her back, across her neck and into her thick hair, cupping her head as he brought her mouth to his. Taking her lips, he moved over them slowly. Feeling. Tasting. Savoring. Capturing her groan, he took the kiss deeper. For once, they did not take it further. Both just satisfied to let their lips do the exploring, they melded into each other.

Finally, pulling apart, she said, “I know you’ve got to work and I’ve got to get back. I’ve got another group to check in this afternoon.”

Hating to let go, he slowly acquiesced. “More families?”

“Yeah, everyone is trying to get in their last vacations. I’m going to be doing some checking into the wedding venue idea, so I’ll talk to you later.” Rising on her tiptoes, she grinned. “Well, hopefully, the next time I’m here I can give you other ideas that don’t involve work.” She poked him in the chest with her finger for emphasis. “Got that, big boy?” she teased.

Glancing down at her small, right index finger, he knew. The Saints were right. The girls had used their forefinger to poke the killer, probably for trying to come on to them. And it enraged the killer. Enough to cut off their fingers.

Bethany saw the strange expression crossing his face and said, “Okay, I get the hint. Your brain is on work. And honey?”

He looked down at her guiltily.

“That’s perfectly fine. Go solve crimes, Jack. I’ll be here when you’re finished.” With one last kiss, she headed to her car, giving him a goofy wave as she drove away.

*