Touch Me and Tango (18 page)

Like a schoolboy called in from recess, Mark sulked his way
outside onto the front driveway with Tanya. They meandered slowly along under
the trees.

“Hey, no guilt for a flirtation, okay, Tanya? You’re the one
who said you didn’t want things to change just because we’re getting married.”

“Agreed. But I’ve finally made my decision. I can’t marry
you.”

“You don’t want the million bucks?”

Now there was a wounded lover’s response if she’d ever heard
one. “No.”

“With all your mother’s debts?”

“Nice of you to be concerned, but I have other
alternatives.”

“You’re as insane as your wacko mother.”

“Leave my mother out of this.”

“She told me you didn’t need my wedding gift because you
know how to find your Great-great Uncle Harry’s diamonds.”

Thanks, Mom
. “How
we’ll deal with her debts has nothing to do with us and the fact that I don’t
want to marry you.”

“Don’t bullshit me. If you didn’t have those diamonds, you’d
be begging me to marry you.”

“Keep your voice down. You’re drunk.”

“All those frikken diamonds he buried away. But now that you
know where they are, thanks to some stupid ass map, guess I’m not that
important to you anymore. Am I?” He was practically shouting.

Tanya looked over her shoulder and saw the lone figure of a
tall, gaunt man leaning casually against a car smoking a cigarette. Looked like
one of the parking valets hired for the party. Great. She was more embarrassed
than worried. Had he heard what was she said? Who was he? Did it even matter?

She turned away and walked off with Mark following behind
her.

It was one of those intoxicating early May mornings when the
sunlight had a special glow. It also happened to be a Sunday, and Parker always
gave himself Sundays off no matter how much work he had. After sleeping late,
he’d made a big breakfast and shared it with Reef and Skip. Good company, those
two mutts.

But they couldn’t ease the loneliness. Or the burning rage
that simmered beneath the surface of his being on a routine basis now. That
first day when he saw Tanya, finally back home after so many years, he’d sworn
he wouldn’t let her make a fool of him again. How many conversations did he
have with himself about getting the upper hand on her this time around? About
showing her he didn’t care anymore, that he was over her.

Restless and filled with self-loathing, he took his mug of
coffee and marched outside to a picnic bench beneath an old oak. Unable to
remain still, he started down a pebbled path, enjoying his gardens, taking
pride in the profusion of flowers and flowering bushes. Yellow coreopsis and
deep purple bugleweed. Orange day lilies and pale blue Walkers Low. Pale pink
sprite, deep pink carnations. Violet bellflower, green hosta, Shasta daisy and
hyacinth.

The dogwoods looked good this year. The magnolias, too. And
the flowering cherry trees and quince. He’d put in new rhododendron bushes. And
a bright red azalea. Beyond the paths he had large beds of impatiens, pansies,
petunias, snapdragons… you name it. He wandered through his rose garden and
lily pond and knew he was headed to the stand of lilacs.

Lavender, white and pink. Some of the blooms had faded
already. Others were hanging on. But their intoxicating fragrance that took him
back to some of his happiest days remained strong.

Reef and Skipper suddenly burst into a barking spree. Had to
mean a visitor. They took off toward the road.

In a few minutes he saw her. Tanya. Coming toward him.
Looking like a vision from a dream. Her hair was tied back and her exquisite
cheekbones glowed with a rosy sheen of sweat. A tiny pink dress hugged her
torso and covered only the very tops of her glorious legs. He wanted so badly
to hate her. He might be able to control his male reaction to her striking
beauty, but he still got snared by that strange power she had over him.
Something he couldn’t name. Something that made his heart melt and his knees
weak.

He used the strength of his anger to fight against it and
kept his tone as cold as possible. “What can I do for you?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“So talk.”

“First of all, I’m sorry that you were misinformed about my
relationship to Mark Litchfield. We are not engaged.”

“Save it. I really don’t care.”

Reef, the shepherd-collie mix, licked her hand and pushed it
with his head until she stroked him.
Yeah.
I know what it’s like, buddy
.

“The other thing is that you can stop searching Rubikoff
Island. There are no diamonds.”

“You’re certain?”

“Is there anything in this world that’s completely certain?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, a passage I read in Stella’s diary said the steamer
trunk was brought back home and they splurged with the diamonds.”

He let out a low whistle.

“I’ll see that you’re compensated for all the time you put
in. Although, it would have been less if you had answered my phone calls.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a
large sycamore. “That wasn’t the deal. I accepted the risk of finding nothing
and being paid nothing. We’re square as far as I’m concerned. What’s Eva going
to do now?”

“I-I’m not sure. I haven’t told her this yet. Mom had a
dream that she totally believes in and I just don’t have the heart to…”

Her voice cracked. She broke down in tears. Parker was there
in an instant, holding her. Tanya sobbed, clutching him and pressing her face
into his chest.

Having her in his arms felt so right. But who was this
tempest of a woman who tore his life to pieces? “You know, Tanya, you’re two different
people. One burns with love and fire, the other is as cold and cruel as ice.”

Her arms stayed around his waist, she looked up at him, her
dark eyes so large and dewy he had to force himself not to kiss her. “I know I
was spoiled and horrible when I was young,” she said. “But it wasn’t only that.
What happened between us terrified me. I’d never felt such a desperate need for
anyone. I wanted you constantly. It made me weak and vulnerable. I hated you
for it. But I’ve grown up now. I’m different.”

Parker’s brows knit. “Sounds like the same thing I felt.
Except I never outgrew our puppy love. You better give me some pointers on how
to do that.”

He tried to step back, but Tanya gripped him tightly,
refusing to let go. “You think I’m over you? That’s never gonna happen. What
I’m saying is that I’ve grown up enough to accept the terror of loving someone
that much.”

Was Tanya actually saying she loved him? “Then how come you
were planning to marry Mark?”

“I never agreed to marry him. And I had no idea he was
coming to North Cove that day you met him. I was waiting for you, floating on a
cloud after that fantastic night we spent together. And no, it was not just
puppy love we had in the past. It was a real love that lasted ten years. I
dated lots of men during those years, and not one ever came close to casting a
shadow over that spark of love.”

He was afraid to believe her. She was saying everything he’d
wanted to hear for so long. While his mind whirled, Tanya reached up and cupped
his face in her hands. “I love you, Parker. I could never love anyone but you.”

He buried his face in her neck, kissing her throat, her
face, her mouth. “I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you
watching me from your bedroom window.”

Tanya giggled. “Aren’t we standing in a lilac garden?
Remember the one on my parents’ property?”

“Yep. Our favorite secret meeting place.”

“Our favorite place to make love.”

In their youth she’d been the one to seduce him and lead him
into delicious trouble. Now she teased him, pressing her breasts against his
chest, running one hand over his back, the other moving to cup his arousal.
Parker groaned and sank with her to the ground where they made love on the soft
grass.

Afterward they walked hand-in-hand through his field of
wildflowers and made love amid the anemones. They lay beside the lily pond and
hugged beneath the cherry trees. Every time Tanya decided it was time to go,
Parker’s kisses convinced her to stay.

That night she slept in his small room and awoke to birds
singing, Parker’s adoring gaze, and the scent of lilacs drifting through the
window.

Tanya sat with Eva, Joel and Parker around the kitchen table
doing a late night round of coffee and banana-blueberry pie from Natalie’s
Coffee Cove. It was the perfect spring evening and a gentle, cool breeze flush
with the scent of apple blossoms drifted through the screen door behind them.

Joel was in the middle of describing his recent dinner at
Nick & Toni’s in East Hampton where he’d sat across from A-Rod. The playboy
Yankee slugger naturally was accompanied by a female beauty that Joel could not
readily identify.

“So how was the food?” Eva asked.

“The best,” Joel replied. “They cook everything there to
perfection. My favorite chicken dish is the…”

A strange voice broke the conversation. “Always leave your
back door unlocked?”

All heads turned and stared in disbelief at the tall,
unshaven visitor with the gun in his hand.

“Peterson,” Parker said, rising from his chair.

“No need to get up on my account,” said the intruder.

Parker stood there, eyes riveted on the gunman. “Let’s you
and me take this matter somewhere else. But leave these people out of it. They
have nothing to do with what happened between us.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

So this was Parker’s longtime nemesis and current stalker,
Jesse Peterson. She recognized him as the man she’d seen outside the hospital
fundraiser. The one who’d overheard her argument with Mark. No doubt he’d
followed Parker to the event.

He slurred his words as if he were drunk. His brown hair was
unkempt and scraggily. His clothes, crumpled and sweaty as if he’d slept in
them. Even his ratty looking polo shirt appeared to have food stains on it. Not
exactly the personification of a slick professional hitman from New York or Philly.

“I don’t have much money,” Eva said. “But it’s yours if you
want it.”

“Give me the diamonds.”

Tanya remembered now. Mark had been so angry about her
refusal that he went on a rant over Harry’s diamonds. In front of this lurking
dude.

“There aren’t any diamonds,” Tanya said.

Peterson snarled, “Don’t play with me. Just give’m up.”

“Honestly,” Eva chimed in, “we don’t have—”

“Let’s go!” he yelled, grabbing Eva by the hair and putting
the gun to her head. “Which one of you bitches has ’em? Hand ’em over.”

“If you’re talking about my Uncle Harry’s diamonds,” Tanya
said, “we never did find them.”

“Then give me the fuckin’ map.”

“The map’s all wrong, but you can have it anyway. Except
it’s upstairs in my dresser drawer.”

“Good. It’ll just be you and me in your bedroom. ‘Cause
first I’m gonna kill everybody else here at this table. Starting with my old
friend Parker Richardson.” He walked over and aimed the revolver at Parker’s
face.

Cold fear crept up her spine, a hard knot gripping her
stomach. A nightmare was about to unfold into a gruesome reality. While Tanya’s
mind raced for a way to stop it, Eva hands, hidden beneath the table, pulled
her gun from her fanny pack and fired.

Crash!

The bullet missed Jesse, obliterating the glass-enclosed
cabinet of dishes next to him.

China and glass went flying. Joel ducked behind the table.
Tanya crouched low as Parker took advantage and tackled Jesse to the floor. The
two wrestled about the kitchen for the gun.

A frantic Eva closed her eyes and fired two more shots in
their direction. The first blowing a hole in the dishwasher, the second
striking Parker in the shoulder. He rolled back on his side bleeding profusely.

Tanya screamed and began scrambling toward him, but Parker
growled, “Stay there.”

Eva aimed and squeezed again, only this time all they heard
were metallic clicks. She’d only loaded it with the three bullets.

Knowing Eva, she hated the idea of filling anything to max
capacity. It was an odd habit of hers. Whether it was a gas tank or putting
clothes in the drier. She always believed in “allowing a device to have some
spare room.” A completely nonsensical concept from the bizarro world of a
goodhearted but nonetheless bona fide loon. And lucky for Tanya, Joel and
Parker, she was out of ammo.

Meanwhile Jesse had rolled to his feet and now stood over
Parker, both hands clasping his gun in a marksman’s stance.

“I’m gonna love this,” he said with a sick laugh, taking
point blank aim at his favorite subject.

“No!” Tanya grabbed the iron frying pan off the stove and
lunged for Jesse. She cracked him with the pan on his curly-haired dome like
she was Roger Federer returning a volley. Their uninvited guest collapsed in a
heap.

She snatched up his fallen gun and turned to kneel over a
wounded and bleeding Parker.

His voice a strained, he said, “Tie him up. And did anybody
call—”

“I’m on it,” Joel said, emerging from under the table with
his cell to his ear.

“Not just the police,” Tanya said. “We need an ambulance.
Mom, where’s the clothesline?”

Eva searched kitchen drawers, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I nearly killed Parker.”

Tanya pulled him into her lap, covering his face with
kisses. He looked about ready to pass out. He scolded her in a weak, but stern
tone. “Don’t you ever go playing hero like that again. He could’ve turned the
gun on you.”

“Too bad. Your life is worth more than mine any day. Don’t
you know how much I love you? Don’t you dare die on me.”