Unforeseen Danger (17 page)

The doorbell rang as they rose from the table.

“I have a feeling today’s going to be a busy day,” Jake said as he helped Kelly with her coat.

“Ah yes.”
 
Eliot gave a low bow and kissed Nikki’s hand.
 
“All of Princess Nikki’s royal subjects will be by to pay court.”

“We’ll be
back
soon, guys.
 
Call if you need anything,” Kelly said.
 

Darcy waited on the front steps.
 
Jake ushered her in and Nikki caught Kelly’s frown.
 
She wondered what that was about.
 
After giving Darcy a perfunctory greeting, they left.

Jake’s prediction was right.
 
By lunchtime, a steady stream of visitors had invaded their house.
 
Nikki lost track of all the people Darcy introduced her to.

When a client arrived, Jake excused himself to his home office and left Nikki under Darcy’s watchful eye.
 
Nikki watched the closed door and wondered if this was the client whose building had burned.
 
They emerged nearly half an hour later, laughing.
 
Jake caught Nikki staring and gave her
a thumbs
up behind the man’s back.

They disappeared through the doorway.
 
Nikki turned her attention back to the group of women surrounding her.
 
When she felt eyes upon her a moment later, Nikki lifted her gaze and smiled, assuming it was Jake.
 
Elaine smirked back at her.

Jake entered his office and Elaine trailed behind him.
 
She blew Nikki a kiss as she shut the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, she stormed out of the office with Jake on her heels.
 
Nikki stood as Elaine approached.
 
From the fury on the other girl’s face, she wondered if she was about to be attacked.

“Don’t you think you’ve carried this Pollyanna act far enough?” Elaine demanded.
 

“Elaine!” Jake said.

Elaine ignored him.
 
“Quit being so selfish, Nikki.
 
Jake is in danger.
 
Don’t you even care?
 
Tell him who’s after him.”

“Elaine, shut up,” Jake said.
 
His voice was low, but there was no mistaking the warning in it.
 

Tears sprang into Elaine’s brown eyes.
 
“What is wrong with you people?”
 
She raked a hand through her auburn hair.
 
“You know who she is, you know
what
she is.”

She glared at the girl beside Nikki.
 
“Kara.
 
Was it even two weeks ago that you told me how miserable it was to work with Nikki on that charity board?
 
And Darcy!
 
You of all people…Nikki killed your brother.
 
You know it, I know it.
 
How can you just sit here and pretend nothing’s wrong?
 
I was there when you had her thrown out of his funeral service
..”

“Elaine!” Jake roared.
 

He seized her arm and said quietly, “You and I are friends.
 
Family.
 
I know you’re upset and I know you’re worried about me, but I won’t allow anyone to talk to Nikki like this in her own home.
 
Please leave before one of us says or does something we can’t back down from.”

“Fine.”
 
Elaine jerked her arm from his grasp and swiped at her eyes.
 
“I’ll leave, but I promise you one thing, Nikki.
 
If anything happens to Jake because of you, you’re dead.”

A tearful Elaine pushed past Jake and ran for the doorway.
 
She collided with Catherine.

“What’s going on?”
 
Catherine reached to steady her, but Elaine wrenched her arm away.

“Don’t
touch
me!” she hissed, and fled from the room.

Jake stood in the middle of the living room, looking torn.
 
Nikki could see the anxiety on his face as he looked at the doorway Elaine had disappeared through.
 
No matter how Elaine felt about her, Nikki knew she cared for Jake, and vice versa.
 
She thought of her conversations with Jake about their marriage and determined that one thing, at least, would be different this time.

She would trust him.

“Go after her,” Nikki said.
 
“She’s too upset to drive.”

Jake shot her a grateful look and ran out the door.

Nikki glanced at Darcy and saw the tears streaking down her face.
 
When their eyes met, Darcy jumped to her feet and ran upstairs.

The woman on her left, Kara, began talking in a rush.
 
“I’m sorry, Nikki.
 
Elaine misunderstood.
 
I didn’t mean it like that—”

Nikki rubbed her forehead and laid a hand on the woman’s arm to try to halt her frantic apology.
 
“It’s okay.”

“I was just frustrated that you were holding up things—”

“
It’s
okay, no hard feelings,” Nikki repeated.
 
“Excuse
me,
I have to check on Darcy.”

Nikki found Darcy sitting on her bed with her face in her hands.
 
She sat beside her.

“I’m sorry,” Nikki said quietly.
 
“People have mentioned Derek to me, but I didn’t know he was your brother.”

“It’s been so hard,” Darcy sniffed.
 
“I miss him so much.”

“Elaine’s told me twice it was my fault he died.
 
Is that true?”

Darcy’s head jerked up.
 
Her
gray
eyes brimmed with tears.
 
“What she said, about the funeral service.
 
I was upset – I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.
 
We got past that.”

Nikki reached to grab a tissue box off the dresser and handed it to Darcy.

“Derek was—
”
 
Darcy
swiped at her nose.
 
“He was a kid in a man’s body.
 
We had rotten childhoods, like you did, and Derek started using cocaine when he was sixteen.
 
I tried to get him off it, but it was you who finally did, at least for a while.
 
From the moment he met you, Derek was crazy about you, but you told him there was no way as long he was on coke.
 
He went to rehab.
 
I’d begged for years, but he finally went for you.”

Darcy blinked at the ceiling through her tears.
 
“He looked so good when he came home.
 
He’d been through one of the intensive programs, not these little weeklong deals.
 
And he stayed clean for about two years.”
 

She raked a hand through her thick wave of blonde hair and stood.
 
Nikki watched her as she drifted over to the window.
 
“Then I don’t know what happened.
 
Maybe it was that week he spent with Mother in
New York
– but he got hooked again.
 
You found out and dumped him.
 
He went back to rehab, but by then, you’d met Jake.”
 
Darcy trailed off as she parted the blinds with her fingers and said, “Looks like he caught Elaine.”

Nikki walked over to her and stared down at the couple below.
 
Jake had his arms around Elaine, who was sobbing against his shirt.
 
Nikki forced away a pang of uneasiness and turned from the window.

“Watch out for that one, Nikki.
 
She’ll do anything she can to break the two of you up.”

“Derek dated her, too, didn’t he?” Nikki asked, remembering what Catherine had said.

Darcy turned from the window.
 
“Yes.
 
He broke up with her to date you, and they got back together after you and Jake married, but Elaine never had any control over him.
 
His drug problem got worse and his feelings for you never changed.
 
They didn’t last a year the second time around.”
 
She cleared her throat.
 
“In a way, I feel sorry for Elaine.
 
The only men she’s ever loved were both in love with you.”

***

“Still friends?” Elaine asked.

“Always.”
 
Jake kissed the top of her head.

“I’ve got to go.
 
And you’d better get back in there.
 
I bet Nikki’s fuming.”

“Actually, she told me to go after you.”
 
Jake noted Elaine’s surprised look and said.
 
“Nikki’s not faking this.
 
She’s really changed.”

“I know you want to believe that—”

“It’s true.”

“For your sake, I hope so, but promise you’ll be careful.
 
It scares me to death that some psycho is after you.”

“I shouldn’t have told you all that stuff.”

“No, I’m glad you did.
 
I want to know if anything else happens, too.”

Jake watched her drive away.
 
A little blue Subaru pulled into her parking spot and the physical therapist from the hospital climbed out.
 
He’d forgotten all about therapy and bet that Nikki had, too.
 
He gave the woman a cheerful wave and walked her inside.

Nikki’s company cleared out when the therapist arrived.
 
Jake caught Darcy and Catherine as they were leaving and asked if he could speak to them in the kitchen.

“Guys, I hate to ask, but I’ve got some problems at work.
 
My foreman will probably be out another day or so, and I have to get some things done.
 
Could one of you stay with Nikki tomorrow?”

“I’m free tomorrow,” Catherine said.
 
“I’ll stay with her.”

“I don’t have to work tomorrow.
 
I could—” Darcy said, but Catherine shook her head.
 
“I was going to offer anyway.”
 
She looked at Jake.
 
“I know you have to work and we’ll arrange a schedule where I can come over here, or you can drop Nikki at the house.
 
I don’t think she should be alone for awhile.”

Jake frowned.
 
“I don’t either.”

“I can help on my days off,” Darcy volunteered.

“And Kelly probably will, too.
 
We’ll work it out.”
 
Catherine opened the kitchen cabinet.
 
“Right now, I’m going to the grocery store for you, unless you plan to live on peanut butter sandwiches?”

Jake laughed and Darcy said, “That reminds me.
 
Kara and some of the others brought casseroles.
 
I set them in the fridge.”

“Good.”
 
Jake glanced at his watch.
 
“I’m sure
Nik’s
starving.
 
I know I am.”
  

“Let me heat a plate for you,” Darcy said.
 
“Nikki will probably be in with the therapist for awhile.”
 

She stuck her head in the refrigerator.
 
“Okay, looks like we have fried chicken,
chili
, green bean casserole,” Darcy paused and peered doubtfully inside another dish.
 
“Don’t know what the hell this is—”

“I believe that’s my chicken casserole,” Catherine remarked and glared at Jake when he snickered.

“Oops!”
 
Darcy grinned.
 
“I was thrown off by the…uh – is that cornflakes?
 
And pecans?”

“It’s an old family recipe.
 
Very good, I assure you.”

Jake clutched his throat behind Catherine’s back and Darcy’s lips twitched.
 
She quickly ducked behind the refrigerator door.
 
Catherine whirled, but he dropped his hands in time and gave her an innocent look.

“Ah, heat me up some of Mom’s casserole,” Jake said.
 
“I feel lucky.”

Two minutes later, Darcy set the plate in front of him.
 
Jake took a bite and smiled at his mother.
 

“Not too bad,” he lied.
 
“Crunchy.”

Something was different about it.
 
Was it the nuts?
 
An unusual taste—

The telephone rang and Catherine went to answer it.

“Whew.”
 
He made a face as he crunched through another bite.
 
“Worse than I remembered.”

“My sympathies.”
 
Darcy smiled.

“Jake, it’s for you,” his mother called from the other room.