Rescue You

by Elysia Whisler

  “I see.” Pete’s face clouded. “Is that where she went after dinner?”

  “Yes.” Sunny leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “But don’t worry about Cici. This is exactly what she needs. And I think she already has a thing for this guy.”

  Pete grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over Sunny’s legs. “A thing? What kind of thing? Cici never has ‘things.’ Even with Josh, it seemed like she was going through the motions. He was a business deal. Fit her needs and her life. She’s always been too busy taking care of everyone else to really know what she wants.”

  Sunny peeked up into Pete’s face. Oh, man. How could someone have such a strong, unrequited crush for over twenty years? He wasn’t wrong, though. Cici had spent her life taking care of both herself and Sunny, and then it was Daddy. “Yeah, I think you’re right,” she admitted. “Josh was always kind of like the guy that happened to be there, right? Good enough. But not anything special.”

  “Definitely not anything special.”

  Sunny giggled, which turned into a big yawn. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s not the company.”

  “I know that. It’s the hour, not me.” Pete glanced at the grandfather clock across the room. It was after midnight. “I’m too riveting to make a lady yawn.”

  Sunny giggled again. “I feel bad you’re still here. You should go home.”

  “Lay your head down, Sunny Skye.” He patted his thigh. “I’ll stay with you until you’re out.” Pete was the only person who ever used her middle name. “When that guy wakes up, he’s going to have a headache. If he calls the police, I want to be here.”

  “I’d rather you weren’t.”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  Only after Sunny had nestled her head in Pete’s lap, and he’d straightened the blanket out so that it covered her entire body, did it dawn on her that he had intuited her fear. A fear Sunny hadn’t even realized she felt—not until the huge relief hit when Pete insisted on staying. Never before had Janice caught her inside the kennel, taking the dogs. Tonight, a man had heard the commotion, and though it was dark, he might’ve seen her face. Sunny had no idea who the man was, or why he was there, but none of that mattered if he could identify her as the one who’d broken into the kennel.

  A hand rested on her shoulder.

  Sunny’s eyes drooped. Pete smelled like pine needles and wet dog. Comforting smells, which soon had Sunny breathing deep and even.

  “Go to sleep, Sunny Skye.”

  fourteen

  “A week’s gone by, and nothing’s happened.” Sunny hopped off her bike and stripped the seat of her gel cover. She had a small patch of sweat in the shape of a vee down her neck. “You know why? Because Janice clearly didn’t want those dogs. Not only that, what’s she going to say? ‘Hi, Officer. The neighbor stole my dogs. They were abused dogs, dehydrated and living in their own filth, but she stole them.’”

  “You’re getting too cocky.” Constance crossed her arms over the handlebars of her bike and laid her head there to catch her breath. She knew her seat, sans gel cover, was covered in sweat. But she’d finally taken Sunny’s spin class, so could officially check it off her list. “Janice is pissed. Trust me. We just don’t know what she’s going to do yet.”

  “I don’t care,” Sunny said, her face twisting into a grimace. “You didn’t see them, Cici. They were nearly dead. The Maltese is doing much better but the beagle is still with Dr. Winters. He’s going to make it, but he’ll probably never be adoptable.” Sunny waved at a few of the women as they left the class. “Good work, ladies!”

  The women dabbed their faces with the brightly colored towels. “Thanks, Sunny! Great class! As usual!”

  Constance didn’t dab. She mopped her face with the hem of her shirt. “I’m more concerned about Petey, to be honest. He could get taken in for assault.”

  “You should’ve seen him.” Sunny did some kind of made-up karate moves. “Who knew?”

  “Petey’s taken martial arts for years.” Constance shook her head. “Like, since we were kids. I swear, Sunny, you have tunnel vision most of the time.” Constance dropped her T-shirt down. It was no use. The sweat was going to keep coming for a while.

  Sunny’s eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute.” She reached out and lifted Constance’s shirt.

  “What’re you doing?” Constance smacked her hand down. “People will see.”

  Sunny cocked her head to the side and smirked. “See what? Have you looked at yourself lately? You look awesome. Different. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s working.” She went for another peek.

  Constance smacked her hand down again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t had time to go preening myself in the mirror. Like some of us.” Which was a total lie. Constance had actually done a double take in the mirror after stepping out of the shower last night. Nothing dramatic had happened to her body in such a short time, but something had stopped her. Something that, as Sunny had said, she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Whatever it was, she knew it had something to do with Semper Fit. With the way she anticipated the next workout as soon as she finished the last. The way she dreamed about the barbell, the cold steel in her hands, the chalk on her legs, the squeeze of all her muscles as she snatched weight over her head. For the first time in a long time she felt...strong. In control. Able to face down whatever came her way. Maybe that feeling, prickling and glowing beneath her skin, was shining out, making her look different, even if she didn’t really look different.

  Sunny took a sip from her pink water bottle, grinning slyly at the same time. “That Semper Fit is sure working for you, huh?” She reached out and tucked some of Constance’s hair behind her ear. “I notice your hair is growing, too. It’s almost a bob now.” She shrugged. “A really shitty bob that needs to be stacked and layered by a professional, but better than that hack job you had going for so long.”

  Constance ran her hands down the back of her hair. “Stacked and layered? Sounds like cake.”

  “And you like cake.” Sunny winked. They moved toward the exit and now stood in the foyer in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. “Have you done any running yet at the gym?”

  Constance zipped up her coat, noting her sister’s clever segue from gym talk to Josh talk. “Not yet.”

  “And what’re you going to do when running’s on the menu?”

  Constance had thought about that more than once. In fact, she’d been surprised that Rhett hadn’t programmed running after she’d rejected the beep test, as fond as he was of making her do things he thought she didn’t want to do. “I’ll tackle that road when I get there.”

  The cocky humor that often defined her baby sister melted away beneath the bright sunlight flooding the tall windows.

  “What?” Constance hated when that happened. Hated when Sunny lost her shine.

  Sunny stepped in a little closer. “It’s just that...you loved running so much. It was such a big part of who you were, as long as I can remember. One of my first memories is of you making me run up and down that big, grassy hill out back of the house. The one with the enormous dandelion patch, always full of bees. I can still see it. The green grass. The yellow flowers. The zillions of bees that I was scared of, but you weren’t. Your pale legs in those awful plaid shorts.” Sunny paused to chuckle but there was little humor in her voice.

  “What’re you saying, Sunny?” Constance’s voice went soft. Her throat tightened.

  “I’m saying—” Sunny drew a deep breath and bulldozed ahead, like she always did “—that running’s been a part of who you are since I’ve known you. Josh was only part of who you were for a few years. Don’t let him take that away from you.”

  Constance was quiet awhile, blinking in the sunlight and ready to blame it for her watery eyes. But then she sniffed deeply and cleared her throat. “C’
mon. Let’s go. I got stuff to do.”

  Sunny parted her lips, like she might say more, but then offered a weak smile. “Okay.” She pushed open the front door.

  Constance was glad to hit the cool air and leave spin class behind her. Now that she’d tried it, she could honestly say she hated it, and would never, ever go again. She’d felt trapped, like her legs were spinning but her body wasn’t really going anywhere. Nothing like the escape she once felt while running.

  “I’ve got paperwork to do.” Sunny stopped at the curb before they crossed to their vehicles. “You have clients?”

  “Yep. Just a few. Let me know when the beagle comes home. I’ll work on him.”

  “Thanks.” She leaned in for a hug. “When you going back to the gym?”

  “Tonight actually. At seven. I’ve never been in the evening.”

  “But you already worked out. Just now.”

  “I know. But I still haven’t technically joined, and Rhett told me I have to come in and do the paperwork. Might as well work out, too.”

  “All right.” Sunny’s brow narrowed. She looked like she was going to say more, but stopped herself. “Text me later.”

  “Yep. And, Sunny. Keep away from Janice for a while, now that you’ve got the beagle.”

  Sunny shrugged. “I can’t make any promises.”

  * * *

  Rhett ducked her right hook and blocked the kick from her left that followed. He’d missed his chance to sweep her feet because she’d seen it coming. If Angie had one thing going for her, it was speed. They were both drenched in sweat. Angie was the only woman Rhett had to entertain when he taught Semper Fit Combat. The rest of them did the moves solo or paired up and sparred without making contact. They got their heart rates up, learned some defense moves and nobody got hurt. Perfect. Until Angie came to town.

  The rest of the gym circled around, cheering.

  Rhett glanced at the clock. “One more minute and we’re calling it.”

  Angie took advantage of his distraction and nailed him right in the gut with the flat of her foot. He’d braced for it at the last second, so he didn’t lose his wind, but he stumbled, which sent a good roar through the gym, anyway. He laughed and gave her a high five. “Nice.”

  Thank God she only popped in once a year.

  As the class dispersed, Rhett noticed a flash of strawberry hair in the crowd. The gym was packed tonight, which happened every Thursday evening when he ran Combat. Stanzi had been watching for at least a little while; he could tell by the look on her face. It was the same look she got whenever he taught her something new: interested, a little bit afraid and a lot determined.

  “I don’t think we’ve met.” Hobbs stepped in front of her as Rhett took a few steps in Stanzi’s direction. “I’m Steve Hobbs. One of the coaches.”

  “Constance,” Rhett heard her say.

  “You’re new?”

  “Not really. I never come at night.”

  “That makes sense, then,” Hobbs said. “I’m mostly here at night. You taking the 7:00 p.m.?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s my class. Go ahead and hop into the warm-up. We’re running a little behind because of Rhett’s Combat class. Pain in the ass. Happens every week.”

  “Yeah, I was going to ask...what is that exactly?”

  Rhett popped up beside her. “I’ll tell you about it after your class, if you want.” He pointed at Hobbs. “This jerk bothering you?”

  Stanzi laughed. “Not yet.” The soft, half-moon dimple she had on her right cheek looked deeper than usual. It took Rhett a moment to realize it was just that she’d dropped some body fat, which seemed suddenly visible today versus a couple of days ago. Her hair was longer, too. In fact, this was the first time Rhett had seen it up in a tiny ponytail.

  “She was just admiring my chest,” Hobbs shot back with a grin. He made his pecs bounce.

  Rhett shoved him away. “Go warm up,” he told Stanzi. “We’ll do your membership later. And talk about Combat.”

  “Okay.” Stanzi’s gaze went back and forth between the two of them before she shook her head with a laugh and moved off to do jumping jacks.

  Hobbs turned to him with both eyebrows up in the air. Rhett had known him so long he knew what Hobbs’s brows were saying, no words necessary. Who the hell is that?

  “Not your type,” Rhett said. He watched Stanzi do kettlebell swings like a pro. Hard to believe My Pretty Pony had come so far in such a short amount of time.

  “Why not?”

  “Too smart.”

  Hobbs blew out a sharp gust of air. “Guess she’s more your type, then. Her whole body changed when you walked over. She was looking at me with that whole Keep your distance, dude. Guess I intimidated her with my good looks.” He flexed his biceps, one after the other.

  “Yeah, that’s it.”

  Hobbs ignored him. “Then you come strutting over and she opened up like one of those videos where the flower blooms at hyperspeed.”

  Rhett shrugged, even though he really liked Hobbs’s metaphor. Sometimes, Hobbs wasn’t a complete idiot. “She’s just familiar with me.” He wondered if Stanzi had really bloomed like a flower. He’d been too busy studying her new look to notice. Coincidentally, Stanzi’s T-shirt sported a bright red poinsettia, surrounded by presents—something like an Ugly Christmas Sweater pattern. It looked too big. Just as he thought it, Stanzi stopped her warm-up to knot the shirt in the back, making it smaller.

  “Hey, sugar.” Angie slid her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind. “You’re not mad at me for kicking your ass, are you?”

  “You wish. You got one hit.” Rhett grabbed her wrist and pulled her off him. “Look at you. Any excuse to cop a feel.”

  “You’re just too sexy to resist.” She rolled her eyes.

  “You two enjoy. I’m off to change the redhead’s mind about my pecs.” Hobbs flashed his big grin and gave the whistle he wore around his neck a trill, drawing everybody in for the seven o’clock.

  Angie smiled and pushed back her long, dark hair. Her face grew serious. “So, yes on Christmas? Since you aren’t going home? Come out to Ohio and join me and the boys. They’d love to see Uncle Rhett.”

  Rhett wished he had lied when she asked about Christmas, but then, with as good a friend as she’d become to Mel, he couldn’t risk her finding out that way. “I have to stick near the gym. Hobbs and Zoe are going out of town. My other two coaches are part-time. They can’t cover all the classes.”

  Angie planted her hands on her waist and drew a deep breath through her Roman nose. “We can come here, then. Stay with you. I don’t want you alone. Vic wouldn’t have wanted it, either.”

  Times like this Rhett was left to think on the depth of character that Victor Devon had possessed; he hadn’t exactly been a looker, but his widow was the stereotypical raven-haired beauty, complete with inky eyes and smooth, olive skin. She reminded him a lot of Mel, though Mel took after Papa and was a lot shorter. Angie had obviously married Devon for his dance moves and big smile—not to mention, he always had your back. Rhett had never worried about having Victor Devon in his foxhole.

  “I’ve got reservations,” Rhett blurted, the panic in him rising so high the words spilled out like they rode the edge of a big wave. “Mama got me this cabin. It’s close enough I won’t miss work and just a couple of days. There’s dinner and a party. The works.”

  Angie’s lips parted in surprise. “Really? And you agreed to that?”

  Rhett lifted his hands in surrender. “You’ve met Mama. She doesn’t take no for an answer.”

  Angie’s face softened into a warm smile. “Your Southern accent only comes out when you talk about your mama.” She reached up and squeezed his shoulder.

  “That right?” Rhett flinched a little, but tried to hide it with a forced shrug. “I hadn’t noticed.” />
  Angie’s smile fell. “I better get going. I’ve got a flight later. As always, it was good to see you. Thanks for letting me pop in here and kick your ass.”

  Rhett spread open his arms. “You know when you’re here, I’m all yours. Arlington Cemetery in the morning and Combat at night. You get to cry on me and punch me all in one day.”

  “Yeah. C’mere.” She slid into his arms and hugged him tight. After a long embrace, she tilted her chin up. “See you next year, then. But you know my door’s always open.”

  Rhett glanced over her head and caught an image of Stanzi, executing three perfect snatches in a row. Hobbs, who was checking her weight before they started the workout, gave a sharp whistle. “Not bad, Red. You say you just started?”

  Stanzi caught Rhett’s eye. Her gaze traveled down to Angie, who still had her arms locked around Rhett’s waist. Stanzi quickly turned back to Hobbs. “That’s right.”

  Rhett looked down at Angie and gave her a peck on the forehead. “Have a safe flight. And say hi to those boys for me.”

  * * *

  Sunny watched her sister go into Semper Fit around 6:55 p.m. The sky was dark, the gym was bright and the windows were tall, which gave her a good view of what went on inside, even from her car.

  The place was packed, and the clientele had a wide range of ages, genders and body types. Sunny got a glimpse or two of Cici’s coaches. One of them was so tall he literally stood out. Some of these people were in such good shape they belonged on the covers of fitness magazines, the tall guy most of all. Sunny wondered if he was Rhett Santos. If he was, that would make him one of Detective Callahan’s closest friends. While Sunny had no doubt he was a good part of the reason Cici was so into this place, it was obvious there was much more that kept her coming back.

  Her sister slid in easily and fit like a crayon in a very colorful box. Sunny could feel the vibe all the way out to the parking lot, with the thumping music, sweaty bodies and satisfied smiles.

  Once Cici had melted into the background, Sunny drove away. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling. Cici seemed happy, which was good, but Sunny felt guilty about spying. Even the sight of her house and grounds—newly decorated for Christmas, with Pete’s help—didn’t put a smile on her face.