Jake immediately responded with his deep voice, “Yes. I believe I spoke with you over the phone during the investigation of Caroline O’Sullivan’s baby. But this is our first time meeting in person.” Delaney recognized the look of subtle surprise and then sadness in Chris’s face. “Yeah, you’re right, we did talk. What’s going on now? Are there any new leads?”
Again Jake took the floor and told Chris they were just trying to answer some concerns and tie up loose ends before officially closing the case. Chris stated the case had already been closed, but Jake interrupted and clarified, “The case was closed by you, the local police who had jurisdiction, but when the FBI became involved with the possibility of a child being taken across state lines, whether by medical error or not, we had to open our own investigation and only we can formally close it.”
Chris had started to ring his hands together. “Well if I can answer any questions for you or be of assistance in any way, Delaney knows where to find me,” and then he turned toward the direction of his own cubicle. Jake returned to his seat and quietly asked, “Is he always that nervous?”
Delaney smiled and said, “Yes, but he’s a nice guy once you get to know him. He has children of his own and this case really shook him up. What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”
She couldn’t believe she allowed those words to slip out. All at once she felt terrified and embarrassed, and irrationally wondered if Jake could read her mind. She had dreamt of him the night before, the first time she ever dreamed of any man. Sensing her humiliation, Jake was quick to respond, “No, happily single, never married, and no kids. But my mother calls every week with a list of potential wives. From clerks at grocery stores to the woman who dyes her hair. It’s horrible, and if I don’t answer she leaves a long list on my voice mail that fills it up. It’s a no win situation. What about you?”
She let out a chuckle and was relieved to learn he was straight. He leaned in to hear her answer and she felt his shoulder brush against her body. There was a sudden heat between her legs and a dampness that made her tingle. She didn’t understand the control he had over her body but it felt good. Now Delaney found herself in the predicament of having to admit her failure as a wife in front of the hottest man on the planet. She waited a second, then said, “You already know I was married once; it didn’t last long, only eighteen months of wedded bliss, but it felt more like torture. I finally ended it when I discovered he was sharing his crown jewel with my best friend and her friends. I guess you could say he was a busy man.”
Together they spent the day reviewing the time line and taking notes. Breaking only to eat and drink, they were able to determine that a medical resident, John Wu, had worked on baby Andrew and declared him dead. They also had the names of three nurses who were the last people to draw blood and take vital signs on the baby. Jake added their names to his legal pad before closing its cover. It was getting late, Ginny the secretary was gone for the day and second shift was already on the clock. They packed their laptops into their respective bags and headed out. Delaney remembered the DVDs sitting on her living room desk and suggested they view them together. In a case like this two sets of eyes were better than one. Jake agreed and climbed into his truck to follow her home. Delaney didn’t think the man in the neatly pressed suit and clean cut features looked right behind the wheel of such an old beat up truck, but who was she to judge.
Fifteen minutes later they were pulling into her driveway and eagerly greeted by Fetch. Unsuccessfully she tried to keep the dog from jumping up and shedding all over Jake’s suit but it was too late. In only a matter of seconds the man was covered in blonde fur again. He laughed and grabbed his bags from the front seat, patting Fetch on the head the entire time. “I grew up with a golden; they’re the friendliest dogs on earth. I went to school with fur on my clothes. My mother always said she was amazed the dog wasn’t bald. I swear my earliest memories are of her vacuuming and sweeping.” Delaney felt a sense of relief that at least he understood with what she was dealing with.
Once inside she politely showed Jake the bathroom and excused herself as she went upstairs to change. She was feeling more relaxed around him now and decided to just throw on a pair of denim shorts with a white tank top. She adjusted her ponytail, brushed her teeth, and applied a fresh coat of shimmering clear gloss to her lips. When she finally came downstairs she was surprised to find Jake in the backyard throwing a tennis ball for Fetch. He was no longer in his suit but in shorts and a tight fitting t-shirt. He was barefoot and holding onto a glass of wine. “Hope you don’t mind, I found this in your kitchen and took the liberty of opening it up. I poured a glass for you too,” and gestured to the small plastic table next to her lounge chair. “I always keep a bag of workout clothes in my truck; never know when you’ll have the opportunity to go for a run. Plus it just feels good to get out of that monkey suit.” She didn’t mind at all. She only wished she could take her eyes off of him. He turned to throw the ball and Delaney wanted to die.
She picked up her wine and took a sip. The bottle had been sitting on her kitchen counter collecting dust next to her iPod docking station. Kevin had bought it to celebrate her birthday but she had thrown him out of the house a week before the celebration. Now here she was, almost three years later, sharing it with a man she just meant eight days ago. Carrying her glass into the house, she opened up the refrigerator and stared at the Diet Coke and yogurt. She then opened the freezer and in the back corner hidden behind the chocolate chip ice cream she spotted a box of French bread pizza. Feeling desperate, she held the box over her kitchen sink and scraped the frost from the box. She couldn’t find an expiration date so she tore it open and heated up the toaster oven. After setting the timer for twenty-five minutes she walked back outside. Jake was walking along the edge of the tree line with Fetch at his side. She watched as he walked the perimeter and would occasionally stop to pick up a large stick and throw it into the woods. Delaney picked up the box of matches she had left outside a few nights before and walked around lighting citronella candles. She heard the toaster oven alarm and went inside to plate the pizzas. Balancing dinner and her glass of wine, she opened the screen door and headed toward the table.
Within seconds, Fetch had smelled the food and came sprinting across the yard with Jake close behind. “Stouffers French Bread Pizza, I could recognize that anywhere,” he commented with that already familiar crooked smirk on his face.
“Well, it’s this or you starve to death. I strongly suggest you sit and eat as fast as you can before Fetch takes it right off the table. Trust me, I’ve seen the dog eat a rack of ribs in under five minutes.” Topping off both of their drinks, she sat down and crossed her long thin legs and was thankful for having had a recent pedicure. She could feel Jake’s eyes on her and was enjoying every bit of the attention. It had been so long since she had feelings for a man, and Jake was the first since her divorce. Eating their dinner in a comfortable silence, she felt full and placed the leftovers on Jake’s plate. Without hesitating he broke off a piece of the crust for Fetch and ate the rest followed by the remainder of his wine.
Jake cleared the table and carried the dishes inside. Delaney stayed outside enjoying the evening air and soft breeze. She heard her kitchen window being pushed open and the music of Chris Isaak flowed out. Seconds later Jake appeared and offered his hand in a gesture to dance. He pulled her closely against him with one arm wrapped around her waist and the other holding her hand. With her head against his bare chest she could hear the thumping of his heart. His hardness was pressing against her stomach and it felt electrifying. She opened her eyes just long enough to see the sky lit up in shades of pale reds and purples as the sun went down. It was perfect, and she wanted to remember every second.
Leaning his forehead against hers and looking directly into her eyes, he gently said, “Delaney, Delaney, Delaney. I can’t get my mind off of you. I want every inch of you.”
Leaning down and cradling her face in his huge hands, he gave her
a deep opened mouth kiss and ended it with a kiss on the bridge of her nose. He wrapped his long arms tightly around her and took in the smell of her hair. She wanted so badly to jump into his arms and wrap her thighs around him but instead she pushed him away. “Jake, I feel the same way. But I have some feelings to sort out first. I’ve only been with one other man and you know how that ended. I just want to get to know you better before we take this any further.”
Letting his fingers run down the side of her beautiful face, all he said was, “I’ll wait however long it takes.” He kissed her again then turned and walked towards his truck. He could feel his rod of pleasure pressing against his pants and he thought it would surely explode if he didn’t get out of there. She could hear the sound of the engine turning over and the gears shifting into reverse. She hesitated then ran to the end of her driveway to catch him but it was too late. His brake lights were already fading in the distance. Fetch was standing at her side now and started whining. “I know girl, I’m a complete idiot. I just turned down the hottest man I’ve ever known.” As she walked into her house, she saw the stack of DVDs sitting on the desk. She considered watching them but decided to go to bed instead. It was a restless sleep.
Chapter Twelve
After she set up her morning coffee and dressed for her run, she stepped out onto the porch to stretch. Her cell phone was chirping but she didn’t feel like walking back into the house to get it from its charger. She ignored the call and took off in a sprint from her top step. Running hard and fast, she didn’t even notice when Mike and Cecily passed from the opposite direction. She didn’t notice anything, not the birds singing or turtles crossing the road. She didn’t see William opening the store and carrying in the newspapers. She only had one thing on her mind and that was Kevin. Growing up she always listened to her parents, she was a good kid, even a good teenager. There were some intense times of typical teen rebellion but nothing extreme. As her mind wondered she thought about their wedding night.
She had some boyfriends during high school and college but Kevin was her only serious one. She could still hear her mother’s voice, “If you give the milk away for free no one will want the cow.” Where did the comparison to a cow come from? She always hated it when her mother said those words but she listened and didn’t have sex until her wedding night. Kevin was rough, he had been with a lot of women and didn’t want to take things slow. She recalled laying in the dark staring at the glow of the bright digital red numbers on the alarm clock next to the hotel bed. His large hands lifted her hips from the mattress as he tore at the string of her silk panties. Her thighs were trying to squeeze together as hard as they could, trying to stop the inevitable. Kevin was going to take what he wanted, and give nothing in return. Holding her hands over her head, he pushed his way into her canal and over the next four minutes pounded the virgin out of her. His grunting and thrusting became faster and faster as the smell of beer on his hot breathe lingered around her face. Attempting to push him off only seemed to turn him on more and he banged away with more force as she was being crushed by his weight. He gave one final prolonged thrust with a deep moan. She could feel his poison filling her and knew the marriage was doomed before it had started. Eventually he rolled off and passed out, not waking until the morning. She laid there and cried for the loss of her innocent self, the throbbing pain between her legs, and the realization he had never even kissed her. Still wearing her lacey push up bra and stilettos, she climbed out of bed and into the shower where she scrubbed the scent of her drunken pig of a husband off of her until she was raw.
Slowing to catch her breath, she checked her time and realized it was the fastest she had ever run. She cooled down in the driveway, doing a series of stretches and breathing exercises. Walking into her garage she searched around for a hammer until she found the heavy one with the claw on the back. Returning to her front yard she took the hammer and tore the thermometer from the oak tree. She walked to the side of the house and dropped it and the hammer into the trash can. Now she was completely rid of Kevin. She silently promised herself not to think about him again. She wouldn’t replace the thermometer either; what difference did it make if it were ninety degrees or one hundred degrees? At a certain point, hot was just hot, the number really didn’t matter.
Chapter Thirteen
Scanning the employee parking lot, she didn’t see Jake’s truck. Feeling disappointed, she walked into work and wondered if he would show. Sitting behind her desk, she pulled out her cell phone and remembered the call she ignored from the morning. She clicked on the display and an unfamiliar number was shown. The small voice mail icon was glowing and she clicked on that next. After entering her numeric pass code, a woman’s voice sounded on the other end. “Detective Davenport, my daughter Caroline told me about the conversation you had. I think I may have some information you could find helpful. You can reach me at this number. Thanks, Susan O’Sullivan.”
Delaney was curious to find out what Susan had to tell her. She scrolled through her caller ID and added the number to her list of contacts and gave her a call. The woman answered on the second ring and Delaney could hear the anxiety in her voice. “Detective Davenport, I’m happy you called back so soon. I hope you can come over today, I have something to give you.”
Delaney’s ears perked up and she wondered what she could have for her. “I can be right over. I have your address. See you soon,” and then she hung up.
Before leaving she went to the break room and took a Diet Coke from the refrigerator. She turned to leave and Jake was in the doorway. He looked so good, freshly shaven and bright eyed with a beautiful smile. “Late start today?” was all she managed to get out before she found herself standing within inches of his body. He looked down at her saying “truck issues” and left it at that. On the way back to her desk she told him about the phone call from Susan O’Sullivan and that she was on her way to find out what the woman had. She also brought up the DVDs they didn’t watch, but didn’t invite him over to watch them. She decided to let it hang in the air to see what he would say, but when he was silent she didn’t push the topic. Delaney grabbed her Coach bag from under her desk and checked her cell. She shoved the piece of paper with the address into her pocket and followed Jake out to the parking lot, watching his cute butt the entire time. Halfway through the parking lot she saw his truck parked caddy corner in the far back of the lot. A trailer was attached with a sailboat in tow. “Jake, what the heck is that?”
With a sarcastic tone he replied, “I believe it’s called a sailboat. And it took me three hours and probably five years off my life towing it down here. Crossing the Walt Whitman Bridge in morning rush hour traffic was a nightmare.”
“You live in Philly and own a sailboat?” was the next thing that came out of her mouth.
“I rent warehouse space to keep it. I don’t get it out much but when I do I love it.” He then turned and reached for her hand. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I plan to do with my sailboat?”
Holding her breath, all she said was, “What?”
Stepping closer and taking her other hand he said, “Delaney, come sail with me.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jake looked kind of silly with his long legs scrunched up in her Mini Cooper. She pulled up the long driveway and parked. Looking over, she announced to Jake this was the place and when he opened the door he all but fell out. She chuckled at the sight and grabbed her bag. Together they walked up the porch steps and rang the door bell. Susan had a surprised look when she opened the door and Delaney quickly introduced Jake and apologized for not making her aware an FBI agent would be coming with her. Thankfully she didn’t mind at all and seemed quite pleased to have someone of federal status working on the case. She led them through the foyer and into a formal room which sat off from the kitchen. The furniture felt like it hadn’t been sat on in years. There was an oblong-shaped coffee table with a closed box sitting on top. Susan offered iced tea and in unison Delaney and Jake both accepted.
When she left the room they both looked at each and knew what the other was thinking. What was in the box? She returned a few minutes later with the cold beverages and placed them on matching coasters.
Jake broke the ice and got right to the point. “What new information do you have that you think will help?” Susan straightened up and told them before she offered what she had she wanted to tell them a little on Caroline’s history. Delaney told her that was fine, that she had a lot of questions and this would be very helpful. She reached for her bag and placed a recorder on the coffee table. Susan gave a nod of approval and then started talking.
“Caroline has always been a great kid. She never gave us any problems. She attended undergraduate school on a full academic scholarship. Going right to graduate school just seemed like a natural progression. The summer in between, Phillip, her father, had a massive heart attack and died in his sleep. I became depressed and made Caroline feel guilty for returning to school so quickly. In hindsight, it was the best thing for her. Eventually I saw the doctor and he prescribed Lexapro, which I’ve been taking regularly for depression. When Caroline came home to visit during Christmas break she told me she wouldn’t be returning to school. I assumed she was having difficulty with the passing of her dad, and told her I would help her work through it. By the end of the week I knew she was pregnant.”
Sail With Me Page 5
