“No offense, but has the doctor given you a checkup lately? I mean, he hasn’t found a lump or given you a date of death has he?”
Her dad shook his head and smiled. “Nope. Never felt more alive. Nick’s talk and Millie’s accident have brought me to my senses.”
Emily fanned her face. “I still don’t get this. I don’t believe I’m talking to the same man I’ve known all my life.”
He shook his head. “I’m not the same person. Since your mom died, I’ve been dead too. I never thought, when you were little, you cared to be cuddled and played with by your father. I let your mom do it. But after she died, that’s when it was especially crucial. I should have taken over when she died, and I failed, honey. Let you down. Nick told me that outright.”
Emily opened her eyes wide in surprise. “No you didn’t. I understood.”
He shook his head. “A six-year-old girl shouldn’t have to understand.”
“I learned how to deal with it.” She looked away.
“Not good enough.” He pulled her back, watching her eyes.
“It’s ancient history.”
He shook his head. “I dug it up.”
She paused. “Nick actually had the nerve to say that to you?”
He nodded and laughed. “Gutsy. I like that. He’d have been a good Marine.”
“Dad….”
“Daddy,” he corrected her.
She rolled her eyes. “Daddy.” She burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. That feels so strange.”
“So does standing in front of you, baring my soul.”
She sobered at his words all traces of laughter leaving her. “Daddy, it’s okay. I love the fact you told me this.”
His eyes reddened. “I love you. So much I can’t tell you. In fact it hurts. I want to know you hear me. Please let me be a part of your life.”
She couldn’t stop the tears or the emotion. Her chest heaved. “Daddy, you’ve always been a part of my life. But now you’re a part of my heart.”
****
Much later that night Emily lay on Nick’s bare chest, her legs splayed over his. “Does it keep getting better?”
“With you it does.”
His voice poured over her like syrup.
She stroked his chest, thinking she’d never tire of seeing him nude or rubbing the masculinity of his chest hair. “I hope it always will. As long as you’re here, anyway.”
His body tensed. “You know, we could work this out. I can come see you. You, me. Not that it’s an immediate concern. I mean, not only do I have to build the center, which seems to be a difficult task unto its own, but then I have to run the damned thing until we get all the personnel in place.”
She closed her eyes. Nick leaving. That was not something she even wanted to consider. Best to place it far out of her brain. “That’s true. Probably six months. Knowing your drive to complete tasks, the time will probably be less.”
“Wait a minute,” he said, stroking her arm, “when it comes to going away from Climax and not seeing you every day, my drive gets stuck in neutral.”
“What are you saying?”
He wrapped his arm tighter around her. “That I’m not in any mad rush to move on.”
She snuggled closer to him. “That makes me feel warm and contented. Especially after what my dad, excuse me, daddy said tonight. It’s wonderful knowing he loves me.”
Nick clutched her arm. “He’s not the only one.”
She craned her neck up and kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t think you have to tell me that. And you don’t have to be valiant about not being in a rush. I’m not flaking apart. I already told you that.”
“I’m not telling you that because I think you’re on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I’m telling you because I really love you. I’ve never loved a woman like I love you. And I never want to love another woman like this again. Believe me when I tell you, this is where my heart stays. In your hands. No matter what.”
She stared into his eyes, in shock. “You don’t know how much I’ve waited to hear those words.”
“And?” he asked.
She laughed nervously. “I don’t know how to answer you. I need to think it out.”
“Think it out?” His eyes stared at her, his jaw set.
Emily saw his body quiver as his face grew red. His eyes dropped as he cursed under his breath and then looked back up at her, his eyes showing how injured he was.
“Damn it, Emily, love isn’t thought out. It strikes like lightening.”
She unlocked her legs from his and felt like a chump. Still, she didn’t know what to say. One thing she knew was she didn’t want to be clingy and she didn’t want him to think his leaving would cause her to make a huge scene. For now she wasn’t sure what to say. She’d try the truth—sorta.
“Look, I’m sorry. We haven’t known each other but a couple weeks. This is going too fast. I mean, all of a sudden I’ve had sex multiple times, been hit, in the hospital, arrested, in the national news, gawked at, and my aunt’s been seriously injured. Then, unbelievably, her house is drastically disfigured. Not to mention I now have a foster child coming back to live here, I just have to sort it all out in my mind.”
Nick socked the pillow and for a minute she thought she saw tears threatening at the corners of his eyes. Then he set his jaw again. “Right. Are you sure you’re the woman and I’m the man?” He stood up and grabbed his clothes. “Go ahead and think about it. I’m going to my appointed guest room. No need to give special favors to somebody Taylor made you host.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Blue stared at Emily standing on the threshold of his cabin. “Are you here by yourself, and if so, why are you here?”
“I had to talk to you.”
He opened the door. “Come on in. Maggie’s not here. So it’ll be just me.”
Emily nodded. “That’s what I wanted. No offense to Maggie, but I need a man’s opinion, and you’ve been a mentor for me all my life.”
He sat down in his chair as she flopped on the sofa. “You’ve got a father, you know.”
She nodded. “And he’s really trying now. He visited me last night and asked my forgiveness for ignoring me and told me how much he loved me. But Daddy, that’s what he wants me to call him, is a military man and reserved. Plus he just met Nick. So, I thought you might be able to help me more.”
A faint smile crossed his lips. “So, this is about Nick, is it?”
She nodded. “I think I made a critical error last night, and I don’t know how to fix it. I’d like to try before Nick brings Carlos home from school this evening.”
“I see, so that’s why you’re not at work.”
She nodded. “I told Sheriff Bingham I had to take a couple of hours to sort through some insurance business for Aunt Millie. A little white lie is better than telling the truth this time.”
“What did you do, child?”
His eyes softened as he looked at her. He’d called her child all her life and she guessed he always would, even when she became a senior citizen. “Nick told me he loved me.”
He nodded, leaning on one arm of his chair. “I see. Do you wanna elaborate? So far, I don’t have a clue what the problem is.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t know what to say. So now he’s mad.” She looked down at her hands.
Blue shifted in his chair. “Ah, now we’re getting warmer. Emily, you were always the one who spit out every detail about what happened in every incident, painting a picture better than an artist. Since you’re not giving me any details, but, instead, sort of the Cliffs Notes of speech, I’d say you’re embarrassed to paint this picture.”
She felt her face burn. “You’re right. We were in bed.”
“Picture is a bit more focused but still blurry.”
She felt her body tremble, and she quickly spilled out everything Nick said. “His last words of his declaration were, ‘Believe me when I tell you, this is where my heart stays. In your hands. No matter what.’”
“How did you mess that up?” Blue asked, leaning forward his hands clasped.
“I told him I had to think it out.”
He grinned broadly. “I bet I can tell you what Nick said.”
“What?” She crossed her arms.
“He asked if you were sure you were the woman and he was the man.”
She jumped up. “Has he already called you about this?”
Blue shook his head. “It’s just a normal male response when a woman takes on a role most men are famous for. It also tells me he’s angry at himself for being vulnerable enough to expose his feelings before you.”
He stood and walked over to her. “Emily, here’s my suggestion. First of all, I’ll tell you that it’s a man few and far between who’ll say his heart lies in a woman’s hands. That being said, I’d run like hell, find that man and apologize. Then tell him you love him so much you were having a hard time getting yourself to believe it.”
“What if he won’t listen to me?” she asked, on the verge of tears.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. “He’ll listen to you. Use these words. ‘My mind was just all messed up, but now it agrees with my heart.’”
****
Nick turned as he heard footsteps behind him. A shock traveled through his body as he saw her standing there. “Is something wrong with Millie?”
She shook her head. “This isn’t about my aunt. This is about us.”
He looked down at his Blackberry. “There isn’t any us.”
She stomped her foot. “Will you put that damned machine down and listen to me?”
Nick cupped his hand under her elbow. “Let’s go over to the shed and out of earshot of the workers, hmm? I don’t want someone selling a story to a member of the paparazzi.”
She gasped. “Oh my God, oh my God! What if that Peeping Tom was one and was a news reporter for the National Liar, one of those awful tabloids? Couldn’t I sue if they printed nude photos of me? Shit! My father and the sheriff’s office….”
“Sit down.” He pointed at a chair. “I was exaggerating. I don’t think we’re such a big story right now that there are snoopy people with cameras chasing after us. I just don’t want to cause a scene at a job site where I’m in charge.”
She nodded. “Okay, you’re right. You were also right about how you told me off last night.”
“What?” he stared down at her, his eyes narrowing.
She nodded, trying hard to deliver her carefully memorized words. “My mind was just all messed up, but now it agrees with my heart.”
His jaw twitched. “Go on.”
She bit her bottom lip and dug her hands into the chair bottom. “I had resigned myself to thinking I’d never hear those words in this lifetime. I have so many defenses against saying them because I’ve always felt like anyone who made the first move, like you did, was playing a practical joke on me. Because,” she laughed nervously, “no one would say it unless he planned to humiliate me.”
“Has anyone ever done that to you?” he asked.
She shook her head back and forth. “Not showed up for a date, walked out the back door in the middle of one, passed out drunk. But never said the words. I just don’t have a very good track record.”
“You do with me.” He jerked her out of her chair to a standing position. “So what do you want to tell me?”
She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a silver Claddagh ring. She held it up. “This belonged to my grandfather, Aunt Millie’s and Daddy’s father. He wore it on his left ring finger, and I always asked him to tell me all about it again. He explained it was his wedding ring, and my grandmother, who died before I was born, gave it to him when they first fell in love and told him the symbol means my heart is in your hands.” She stared up into his eyes. “You already said I have yours. I wish you’d wear this to show you have my heart too.”
He took it from her and grinned. “Since we’re not married, at this juncture anyway, I’ll wear it on my right hand.” He slipped it on his right third finger. “Wow. Fits perfectly.”
She grinned. “That’s because you’re a perfect fit. For me.”
He scooped her up into his arms and kissed her, bending her slightly over. She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him tenderly in response. The shock of electricity exploded through her body as it always had since the first kiss.
He stood back, his breathing slightly erratic. “I expect that’s all I better do in public.”
All the guys in the background exploded into applause.
“So,” he said, ignoring them. “Does this mean we can have make-up sex tonight?”
She smiled. “What is it exactly?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. But I hear it’s the best kind.”
****
Emily was still on Cloud Nine when she got to work and eleven in the morning. She sat down at her desk and started arranging her work in the order she was going to tackle it. As she was getting ready to start her first memo on the computer, Cal walked up.
“Hey, Em, I’m finally getting off for the day.” He yawned. “I didn’t get to talk to you about it yesterday. I have to say it was a long night for me a night ago and I’m still trying to get over it. You and Millie provided a lot of scares and excitement.”
“Well, Cal,” she said, as she adjusted the sheriff’s written scrawl so she could type from it, “considering you were busy, it should have made the night go faster.” She paused. “By the way, I made the cheesecake and have it in the fridge. With all the stuff going on, I forgot to bring it over. But feel free to come pick it up tonight. I’d bring it to you, but we’re going to have a little celebration for Carlos to welcome him home.”
“Thanks, Em.” He grinned. “I just may do that. Listen.” He sat down on the side of her desk. “There was something squirrely about the way everything happened that night.”
“What do you mean?” She stared up at him. “Of course, everything was squirrely. Who’d think a Peeping Tom and an arsonist who likes to knife people would both be on the loose the same night, or any night for that matter. Do you know anyone who works in astrology? Maybe the stars weren’t aligned right.”
“Yeah, well both those dudes are scary. But that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s about Quent getting there so fast.”
“What about it?” she asked. “He’s Mr. By-the-Book, Walk-the-Straight-and-Narrow.”
Cal nodded. “Exactly. That’s why it’s weird. He was supposed to be on the other side of town investigating a domestic dispute. He called it in himself and reported it. Even called back to say both husband and wife were calm and he wasn’t going to write it up.”
Emily popped the call report up on the screen and read the calls where the officers radioed in. She searched for one on the other side of town. “Which one was it? Mr. and Mrs. Norton or the Jarrads?”
“Oh hell, Em,” Cal smacked his leg. “You know it ain’t the Jarrads. They’re always fighting. We go out there once a week. This was the Nortons. Now he gets a little feisty at the little league games, but never heard of a rip-roaring fight out there requiring the law.”
“I don’t know,” Emily said. “Chuck Norton has been known to consume way too many beers in one sitting. He may be escalating.”
He nodded. “You’re right, but he goes to sleep. He just ain’t a mean drunk. You may have to pick him up when he falls asleep at the ballpark and take him home, but he’s harmless.”
“Are you accusing Quent of having something to do with what happened to Aunt Millie and me?” Emily turned in her chair.
“Not you,” he said. “Quent was with me then. But after that he was gone a good while. Then he showed up over at Millie’s, taking her off that porch to get her away from the fire.”
“Well,” Emily said. “I think your wild imagination’s got the better of you. Quent was in the police department in Danville for more than year, and he’s been here for more than six months. Why would he want to do anything to Aunt Mi
llie, and what would he have to do with all the shit that’s been going down around here?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. I just have that funny niggling in the back of my brain. Look, we got a report that Quent was over in Danville. But did we ever check to see if he, our boy, was Quent?”
“I don’t know,” Emily said. “But he had to have a background check and get fingerprinted.”
Cal shook his head. “Not if he was already in the system. I mean, this guy could have found out the real Quent had left Danville. Shirley gets in a mite of a hurry sometimes processing stuff in HR.”
Emily slapped her arm down on the desk and rolled her eyes. “You are way out there. How does he know all the police procedure otherwise? To the T.”
“Yeah.” Cal nodded. “That’s true. I guess he couldn’t. Oh well, I still think it’s weird how he got all the way across town.”
Emily smiled. “At least you were using your noodle.”
****
Andy turned Carlos over to Nick in front of the school. “The social worker said I had to deliver him in person.”
Nick nodded. “Thanks, buddy.” He looked at Carlos standing there. Rigid, his eyes not meeting Nick’s, he got into the car with his rucksack. Andy closed the door and waved.
“Hello, amigo,” Nick said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you at the house instead of your having to go to social services.”
“Ees okay, Señor Nick.”
Nick cringed at the word Señor. “What happened to just calling me Nick?”
He sighed. “The social worker says ees not proper to call you by your first name alone. I should give you respect.”
“Well,” Nick said, grinding his teeth. “I’m sorry, but the social worker’s wrong.”
“She ees?” Carlos stared up at him with those huge sad eyes.
Nick’s gut constricted, and he fought back the urge to grab the child and squeeze him. A man could get lost in those eyes, buy thousands of dollars’ worth of toys and fill the kid’s pockets with chocolate bars, just to get him to look up again with those peepers. “She is. I’m Nick and Emily is Emily. What did Millie ask you to call her?”
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 142
