Today's Promises (12 page)

“Yes,” she hisses.

“Mmm…” I let my fingers roam, with a verbal promise of “Let’s make you even wetter.”

Minutes later, all I hear are her cries of, “There, Flynn, there… Yes, touch me like that.”

Smug in the knowledge that I know Jaynie’s body as well as my own, I bring her to where she needs to be in no time at all.

But I’m not done yet.

I then trail kisses down her body till I reach her heat. And then it’s wet on wet—me licking, tasting, and just straight-up loving my girl.

Her hands find purchase in my hair, where she grabs hold and pulls at the strands. Hard, then harder, she tugs, her hips quivering under my hands as I give her what I have to offer—pleasure.

“Almost, Flynn,” she chants. “I’m… almost… there.”

And then she is there, quivering and quaking. I move up her body afterward till we’re face-to-face.

One shift of my hips and we’re joined.

But it’s not enough.

I press my hips to her and push myself in as far as I can. “I want you, I love you, I need you,” Jaynie pants in response.

I want and need her too. “I love you,” I say as we move as one. It’s smooth, so smooth, because we’re good at this.

I am close, so close. So, when Jaynie pleads, “Harder. Go harder and faster, Flynn,” I fall over the edge.

Afterward, I hold her in my arms, this beautiful girl, this love of my life.

The snow continues to pile up outside, leaving our little bedroom window painted in streaks of powdery white.

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” she tells me as we both peer out the window. “I like being snowbound with you.”

Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head. “I know what you mean. It feels like…” I search for the right words. “I don’t know… I guess it kind of feels like we’re the last two people on the planet.”

“It does,” Jaynie agrees, laughing lightly. “And I like that.”

“Me too,” I reply.

I decide then and there that this is another one of those moments I’ll need to hold on to—this beautiful memory of how Jaynie and I played and loved on a late-season snowy night, a night where it was only us.

We had the world to ourselves that evening, if only for a few blissful hours.

The snow stops the next day, but our little world of Lawrence is still a wintry wonderland. The ground, blanketed in white, sparkles and glows under the sun of a new day. Like woodland creatures emerging from too-long hibernation, people venture out, bleary-eyed.

They’re weary at first, but soon they come to life. By afternoon, the sandwich shop is flooded with customers. It’s so busy that I have to grab an apron and help Jaynie.

“This is a first,” I remark.

“It is,” Jaynie agrees. She then hands me an order pad and pen. “Now get to work.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Things eventually slow down, and when we finally have some time to ourselves, Jaynie says, “Wow, I think that was finally the last customer.”

“We must’ve sold thousands today,” I reply.

“That doesn’t happen often. Bill will be happy.”

“Yeah” I agree, “he will.”

She then wants to know, “Did you make a lot in tips?”

I fish out a handful of bills and some coins from my apron pocket. Depositing the money on the counter, I say, “Between this, your tips, and the money I’ve been bringing in from my other job, we should be able to buy a car real soon.”

“Damn.” Jaynie shakes her head. “I can barely believe it.”

“Believe it, babe.”

“Flynn, this is great.”

Smiling, she nudges me out of the way so she can reach the coffee pot on the shelf behind us. As she pours herself a well-deserved cup of java, and me one as well, she states, “Let’s celebrate with some good strong coffee.”

“Sounds good to me,” I laugh.

As we hit the caffeine, Jaynie remarks, “It’s been a long time since we’ve worked side by side like this.”

“It has,” I agree.

“It was fun… Whoa, hold up a minute. This coffee is way too strong. Can you hand me two of those.” She gestures to a bowl of creamers.

I hand her what she wants, and then say, “Back to what we were talking about. I like working side by side with you. It’s how we work best.” With a wicked grin, I amend, “But then again, we also tend to work pretty well with you on top…or me over you—”

“Flynn!” She smacks my arm, but she can’t hide her grin, or her blush.

Just as I’m about to pull her in for one hell of a hug, someone comes up behind us and clears their throat. Turning simultaneously, we find ourselves face-to-face with Detective Silver.

“Hey!” Jaynie exclaims, still cheery from our goofing around. “What brings you over to our little neck of the woods? Good news about the excavation, I hope.”

Sighing, the detective takes a seat at the counter. “More like no news,” he replies solemnly.

I watch as my girl’s face falls. “Oh,” she murmurs.

The detective asks for a cup of strong coffee, which we have plenty of. I pour him a huge serving, ’cause he sure looks like he could use the pick-me-up.

“You want cream or sugar?” I ask, holding the mug aloft.

“No. Black is fine,” he tells me.

I set the coffee down in front of the him, then grab a stool out from the corner behind the counter. Once I’ve plopped my ass smack dab across from him, I rub my hands together. I have questions for this man, and lots of them. The first of which is, “How in the hell can there be no goddamn news on the case?”

I’m riled now, and Jaynie sidles up beside me to calm me down. Placing her hand on my arm, she says softly, “Flynn, please. I’m sure the detective is doing all he can.”

Peering across the counter, she surprises the hell out of me when she puts him on the spot. “You
are
doing everything possible to solve this case, right?” she asks pointedly.

I resist the urge to laugh. Jaynie sure has come a long way. Watching her challenge the detective proves just how much progress she’s made. We both have really made giant strides lately.

“Of course I’m doing everything I can to wrap up this case.” Detective Silver clears his throat. “We all are. The state wants the Debbie Canfield case closed as soon as possible.”

He takes a quick sip of coffee, all evasive-like, and Jaynie frowns. “Don’t you mean the state wants the case solved? Not just closed, right?”

“No, I’m afraid ‘closed’ is what they’re asking for now.”

“That doesn’t inspire confidence it will
ever
be resolved,” Jaynie mumbles.

Tiring of all this double-talk, I set down my cup with a clatter and say, “Just lay it on the line, Detective. What are you trying to tell us?”

He takes a sip of coffee, then releases this long, drawn-out sigh. “I’m sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news, but the sad fact remains that we’ve excavated every inch of that old barn. And as of this afternoon, we’ve found absolutely nothing.”

I raise a brow. “And that means…?”

“It means, Flynn, that if we don’t find some evidence soon, this case is in real danger of being closed for good. Pretty soon I’ll be forced to write up a report. I’ll have no choice but to state that the girl, Debbie, must have run away, despite her last known whereabouts being at the Lowry house.”

“Crap,” Jaynie mumbles.

Taking another sip of coffee, and following a thoughtful pause, Detective Silver continues. “Perhaps this girl did indeed meet an untimely end. But without some kind of hard evidence, there’s no way to build a case against Allison Lowry. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

“Come on, though. We can’t just give up.” Jaynie’s voice is verging on panicked. “I just know… I mean, I actually
feel
like it was Allison who hurt that girl.”

Eyeing her intently, the detective says, “Remember what we talked about last time we were together. We can still build a case against Allison, for whatever it is she did to you. Assault and battery may not keep her behind bars forever, but it’d certainly tie things up and preclude her from an early release this summer.”

Looking away sharply, Jaynie murmurs, “I still need time to think about it. I just don’t know if I can do it.”

The detective stands and places his hands on the counter. “Please, Miss Cumberland,” he says, his tone pleading. “Give this some serious thought. I can take a statement from you at any time. You still have my card, right?”

Jaynie’s lips are pressed together tightly. I can tell she’s striving to stay composed.

“Yeah,” I say, answering for her, “we have your card.”

“Well, call me when you reach a decision. In the meantime, I’ll keep you abreast of any new developments at the Lowry property. But, let me say again, it does not look promising.”

And with that downer, he walks out the door, taking all the peace and solace of the wintry weekend along with him.

Jaynie

“W
hat do
you
want to do?” Flynn asks me after the detective leaves the sandwich shop.

I shrug, unsure of where to go from here. I know what I
should
do. But talking about what I went through is easier said than done. Plus, will it even matter?

Nonetheless, Flynn insists, “I think we should try and get back to Detective Silver as soon as possible. You have to decide whether or not you want to give him a statement and let him know either way.” He stops and runs his hands through his hair. “I have to say, though, that it’s not looking good up at the Lowry property. The old barn is apparently nothing but an old barn. Not a burial spot, after all.”

I sigh. “Yeah, seems not. Still, Flynn, I don’t know. I hate the idea of Allison being released early, but I really can’t imagine how much help a statement from me will be in keeping her locked up.”

“Detective Silver told you it could keep that bitch behind bars for quite some time. That should be more than enough motivation, I’d think.”

“It’s not you who has to talk,” I snap.

Shit, what am I doing? I’m not really mad at Flynn. He’s only trying to help. I know he just wants me to reach a place where I feel comfortable telling my story—the
whole
story—to strangers.

But the truth remains that I’m scared as hell.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” I say.

“It’s okay, Jaynie.”

He looks so dejected, and I know it’s because of this one thing I keep bottled up. In any case, I at least owe him an explanation as to where I’m at.

“Look, Flynn.” His eyes meet mine, and I try to smile so he knows I’m not mad at him. “Part of me wants to give a statement,” I go on, “but I’m terrified it’ll send me reeling backwards. You know, like back into a total funk?”

He nods. “That is always a possibility,” he concedes.

I appreciate him not bullshitting me, and I add, “What if that does happen, and I can’t get out of it this time? Flynn, seriously, things were so bad when you were away that some days it took all I had to get out of bed.”

“But you did,” he reminds me.

“Yeah, I kept going, but I wasn’t, like, really
here
. I wasn’t living, not at all. I only existed. I went through the motions of life, but with no heart in any of it.”

“You
were
living, though,” Flynn insists.

“Barely,” I counter.

He takes a tentative step toward me, compassion clear in his sad, gray eyes. “I know it felt impossible back then, but that feeling never beat you.” He scrubs a hand down his face. “Christ, it kills me that I wasn’t here for you. I feel responsible. You should never have had to go through all that shit alone.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I say, shaking my head. “You
couldn’t
be here.”

“I know, but still… I’ll never forgive myself for failing you.”

“You didn’t fail me, Flynn.” I go to him and give him a hug. “God, we’re so broken,” I whisper.

“We’re doing much better, though,” he mumbles into my hair. “You especially are. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”

Leaning back, I ask him, “Do you really believe that?”

“I do. You’ve made great progress lately, Jaynie.”

Warming up to the idea that I may be able to do this statement thing, I say, “If I talk with the detective about what happened, you’d be with me every step of the way, right?”