by Jill Sanders
Resting his head against the cool fridge door, he realized that he’d just been wrecked for any other woman.
Later, after taking a quick shower and laying Maggie down in her playpen, they ate ice cream and stuffed themselves on cookies as they watched a very bad movie they’d rented.
When it was time to feed and bathe Maggie, they took a break and enjoyed the task together. He loved watching how Savannah was with their daughter. She was like a completely different person, like the one he’d seen helping that woman at the Grocery Stop.
It was funny that she’d willingly give five grand to a stranger but put her foot down when it came to paying blackmail to his father.
Just one more reason he was quickly falling deeply in love with her. Not to mention the hot kitchen sex and that sexy body of hers. He smiled as he watched her bend over and pick up one of Maggie’s toys she’d tossed on the ground.
“Mmm mmm, mmm,” he said, shaking his head and causing her to turn and look at him.
“What?” She frowned at him.
He laughed. “That ass of yours.” He shook his head, causing her to frown more and turn to try and get a look at her butt.
“What?” she said again. This time he could hear a little more urgency in her tone.
He stood up and walked over to her, putting his arms around her. “We have got to do something about how it controls me,” he said just before he took her mouth with his again.
He felt her relax a little as her arms wrapped around his shoulders. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled back and shook her head.
“Oh, no. It’s play time.” She smiled down at Maggie, who was staring up at them with a funny look on her face.
“She’s too young to know what we’re doing,” he said, trying to go back in for another kiss. Savannah laughed and sidestepped him.
“She may be, but I’d know. Besides, I have to do something after eating all those sweets.”
He nodded and could feel all the sugar pumping through him as well. His idea of working it off and hers were completely different.
Frowning down at his daughter, he walked over and picked her up. “What do you say to another walk?” He looked over at Savannah. “Just a short one. How about around the block.”
While on their evening walk around the block, he spotted the patrol car slowly following them again. He’d noticed there had been one earlier, but doubted Savannah had noticed. If she had, she hadn’t mentioned it.
Knowing it was still back there assured him that they hadn’t found his father yet. Something else for him to worry about. He tried not to frown as he thought about it since Savannah was watching him closely.
“I asked Carmen about preschool,” she said, wrapping her arm in his.
“And?” He looked down at her.
She sighed. “We don’t have to worry about it for two more years.” She smiled. “Until then, Carmen and a few other mother’s suggested day care.” She frowned, then stopped and looked up at him. “Do you think I should get a job?”
He laughed quickly, and when he saw the anger flash in her eyes, wished he hadn’t. “It’s not that I don’t think you can find work, it’s just…” He closed his eyes and wished for a magic watch to go back to a minute ago and slap himself. “No, I don’t think you should get a job. I had hoped—” He broke off when the police cruiser flipped on its lights and blared past them quickly.
Instant awareness shot through him as Maggie started crying because of the loud sound.
“Come on, let’s get back to the house,” he said, his eyes darting everywhere. He doubted his father was around, but he didn’t want to chance it. As they made their way back to the house, his mind was whirling. Did that mean they had found him? Or had they been called away for something else?
It ate at him and when they made it back to the house, he’d totally forgotten about their earlier conversation. He watched out the front window for any sign and made sure his cell phone was tucked into his jeans.
Savannah busied herself with getting Maggie fed and dressed for bed. When she walked back out and stood next to him, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and felt her stiffen beside him.
“If you want to work, work. I’d hoped that you’d want to stay home and be with the kids.” His eyes focused as he watched the sheriff’s cruiser stop in front of the house.
“Kids?” Savannah said quietly.
He turned and looked down at her. “Later,” he promised and leaned down to place a kiss on her lips. “We’ll talk.” She nodded and he thought he saw some of the anger leave her eyes.
Walking over, he opened the front door just as the sheriff raised his hand to knock.
“Evening.” He took off his hat and nodded to Savannah.
“Evening. Come on in.” He motioned for the man to enter. “Any news?” he asked after the sheriff walked in.
He watched the older man nod and then shake his head. “I hate to tell you this.” He sighed. “We found Bill out by Matt Coby’s lease.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Billy, but he’s dead.”
Chapter Fourteen
Savannah stepped closer to Billy and wrapped her arms around his waist as the sheriff explained how Matt had found him.
“Now, we aren’t ruling anything out yet, so I’ll need a detailed agenda of where you’ve been since you last saw him.” He pulled out his notepad and frowned. “Sorry about this.” He looked towards her with a nod.
She walked Billy towards the couch and pushed on his shoulder until he sat down. His face had gone a little pale, so she rushed into the kitchen and grabbed him a glass of water.
When she handed it to him, he took a big drink and nodded to her, and then set the glass down.
“I hadn’t known he was in town until Savannah told me. I found Coby and nagged him until he told me my father was staying at his lease. When I drove up there”—he shook his head and closed his eyes—“the place was empty. The front door was locked and there wasn’t a vehicle. So I left, thinking he’d gone into town. I met Wes on the way back into town.” He opened his eyes and ran his hands through his hair and over his face.
“When was the last time you saw him?”
He shook his head. “The day they sentenced him.”
The sheriff’s silver eyebrows rose. “Savannah told me you paid him some money a while back.”
Billy nodded. “Wired him ten thousand.”
The sheriff nodded. “But you didn’t see him?”
Billy shook his head no.
“Okay.” The sheriff frowned and stood up. “I’ll let you know how our investigation goes.”
Billy stood up quickly. “Does this mean he was murdered?”
The sheriff didn’t answer him for a moment. “I’ll let you know what I can, when I can.”
Savannah rushed over and took his arm, stopping him from leaving. “Steve?” She looked up at him and he shook his head.
“Sorry, Savannah. I can’t tell you anything more during an ongoing investigation.”
“How?” she asked softly.
He sighed. “He was shot in the head.”
She gasped and turned to see Billy storm out of the room, heading back towards Maggie’s room.
“Thank you.” She turned and leaned up and kissed the sheriff’s cheek.”
He nodded. “Between you and me, I don’t think he had anything to do with it, but you know how it goes.”
She nodded. “Thanks.”
He looked towards the back and frowned. “Keep him in town for the next few days.”
“He doesn’t leave for work until next Tuesday. Then he’ll be gone for two weeks.”
“Fine. We should have more answers by then.” He turned and put his hat back on and walked to his car.
Savannah locked the front door and rested her head against the cool wood for just a moment.
She knew how she’d felt her junior year after she’d heard her parents talking about her uncle and how he’d been found stabbed to death in h
is cell—relieved. But there had been an underlying sadness for her father, since it was his only brother.
She didn’t know how Billy was going to take the news. She walked to the back and slowly opened Maggie’s door just a little.
Billy was sitting in the rocking chair, holding Maggie and rocking her. Tears were streaming down his face as he looked down at his daughter.
“Billy?” She pushed the door open even more.
He looked up at her and shook his head. “I’m okay.” He smiled a little. “A little relieved, I suppose.” He stood up and walked over to her, then wrapped his arm around her as he held onto Maggie. “We won’t have to worry about him coming around anymore,” he said into her hair.
The next few days they had more visitors than she knew what to do with. For starters, the house was too small to fit everyone who came to pay their respects to Billy. Some people just stopped by to make sure everyone was all right, usually dropping off a dish of homemade food or sweets.
Gossip traveled fast in Fairplay, and she could tell that everyone already knew that the sheriff was questioning Billy. Lauren had told her that there was a rumor going around that Billy had killed his father because he’d assaulted her on the bridge. It was strange since in the past, she’d been the kind of person who had spread those kind of lies herself.
The sheriff had stopped by only one other time since that first night. He’d been dressed in his best suit and Jamella had been on his arm. Jamella had brought a huge pan of her stuffed chicken and a homemade pecan pie. They’d sat in the corner in the small room and talked to a few other people who had shown up at the same time.
When Savannah asked the sheriff some questions, he just shook his head and told her he wasn’t there on official business, but rather to show his support for them during their time of loss.
Finally, the house emptied. She was in the kitchen cleaning up when she felt Billy’s arms wrap around her.
“So much for date night,” he whispered in her hair.
“Hmm?” She turned around after drying her hands.
“It’s Friday. Remember? We were going to go into Tyler.”
She nodded. “Next time.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.
“Why does it seem like life keeps getting between us?”
She brushed her lips against his and nodded. “We’ll have plenty of time.”
He opened his eyes and looked down at her. “Will we?” His arms dropped as he started walking back and forth in the small room. “I mean, so far we haven’t committed anything to one another.”
He turned and looked at her. She was speechless. He was right. He had proposed twice now, and each time she’d not only turned him down, but had gotten mad at him.
“We have a daughter together,” she said, trying to ease her mind.
He laughed. “A lot of people have kids together. That doesn’t mean they are committed to one another.”
She leaned against the sink and rubbed her forehead. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want,” he barked out, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I can’t give you something I don’t have,” she said, feeling weary.
“What?” He stood across the small room and waited.
“I can’t love,” she blurted out.
He looked at her for a moment and then busted out laughing.
She stood there and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling tired and chilled.
“Of course you can. All anyone would have to do is watch you with Maggie for one minute to know that.”
She shook her head and closed her eyes. “I can’t love men.”
She opened her eyes again when she felt his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t understand.”
She sighed. “I’m broken. I’ve been broken since I was six years old.” She closed her eyes again and knew that she needed to tell him. Then he would understand and stop demanding something she couldn’t give, would never give to any man. Ever.
“Savvy?” Just hearing the softness of his voice had tears rolling out of her eyes.
“I was abused,” she said quickly. “When I was six, by my uncle. It lasted for a little over a year. I lost that part of me, the part I had to love a man. It’s gone.” She pushed away and started to walk out of the kitchen.
She made it to the living room before he spun her around and engulfed her in a hug that said more than any words ever could. She stood in her tiny living room in the small green house and held Billy as he cried for lost innocence.
“You’re wrong, you know,” he said later as they lay in the darkness.
“Hmmm?” she asked against his chest.
“One doesn’t simply lose the ability to love.” He brushed his hand down her hair, enjoying the softness of it, of her. She shook her head and he pushed back to look down at her. “It’s inside there, somewhere.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “And I hope to someday see it.” He brushed his lips against hers, and then he deepened the kiss as he felt her soften in his arms.
Then the fierceness of his desire slammed into him and he pulled her underneath him, settling between her sweet legs. He rained kisses over every inch of her as he pulled the silk she’d come to bed in off her soft skin, inch by inch. Finally, when they lay there without any barriers, he took his time and explored every inch of her, enjoying the feel, the taste of her skin against his.
When he pushed her legs wide and explored her nether lips with his mouth, she arched up and cried out his name, pulling on his hair as he pleased her.
“More, give me more,” he growled as he tongued her. He pushed a finger into her heat and lapped up her sweet cream when she screamed. When he felt her drifting back down to the mattress, he moved above her and slid slowly into her, enjoying the softness that welcomed him.
“You’re wrong,” he repeated. He knew that he was right as he felt her tighten up around him again, as she let herself go for him.
The next morning, he woke to pounding and turned over and pulled his pillow over his head to drown the noise out.
When the pounding stopped, he started to drift off again. Savannah walked in and sat next to him. “The sheriff’s here.” For a moment, he thought he’d dreamed it. Then she put her hand on his shoulder. Tossing the pillow aside, he sat up.
She was already dressed. Just the sight of her caused his mouth to water. Running his hands over his eyes, he tried to focus on something else, anything than what she’d told him last night.
If her uncle wasn’t already dead, he’d have hunted him down and—
“Billy?” She shook his shoulder again, causing him to focus again.
“Yeah, I’ll be right out.”
She nodded and walked out, shutting the door behind her. He wanted nothing more than to fall back into the bed and sleep the day away, but instead he got up and walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, he frowned. His eyes were bright red and he looked a little paler than normal.
Popping two aspirin, he pulled on some clean clothes and walked out to see the sheriff standing at the oven flipping pancakes as Savannah sat at the kitchen table feeding Maggie mashed bananas.
“Morning,” the sheriff said over his shoulder.
“Morning.” Billy walked over and placed a kiss on Maggie’s and Savannah’s cheeks. “What’s for breakfast, dear?” He chuckled as he walked over and stood next to the sheriff.
“Ha ha.” He pulled the pan off the oven, flipped the last pancake onto the plate, and then turned towards him.
“I just thought you’d like to know that we’re formally charging Albert Rothschild for your father’s murder.”
“Rothschild?” The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Then his blood chilled and his vision grayed a little. “Rothschild?”
The sheriff nodded. “The son of the man your father killed in th
at bar in Houston. Rothschild’s car was seen in the area a few days before your father’s murder. The kid even posted stuff on social media sites about how he was going to do it.” He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, looking comfortable in the small space. Billy remembered that the man had lived here, in this house, for over twenty years.
“How old is he?” Savannah asked.
“Twenty two. He was just a kid when his father died. From the sound of it, he was better off without the man, but ever since, he’d become obsessed with paying your father back.”
Billy shook his head. “So young. What will happen to him?”
“Well, he’ll be tried. Probably be put away for a few years. You know how it goes. Life equals ten to twenty.” He shook his head.
“Thank you.” Savannah stood up and walked over to place a kiss on the older man’s cheek. “For everything.”
Billy watched the sheriff blush a little and nod. “You know, you don’t have to thank me.”
She smiled and nodded. After the sheriff left, they sat at the small table and ate their breakfast in silence.
“You’re wrong you know,” he said, causing her to look over at him, her eyebrows raised in question. “You can love a man. You love your father and…” He nodded towards the door that the sheriff had left just a few minutes earlier. “You love him.” He shook his head. “Lucky bastards.” He meant it to lighten the mood, but she just continued to frown at him. “Listen…” He reached for her hand.
“No.” She stood up suddenly. “I…I’m sorry, I need to…” She looked around and, without another word, walked out of the kitchen. He heard the front door open and close and sighed as he looked across the table at Maggie, who just looked at him and mushed banana between her fingers and then smiled and laughed.
He chuckled. “I think your mother needs some time to think about stuff.”
“Stuff.” Maggie repeated, causing him to stop and stare at her.
“Stuff,” he repeated and he was delighted when she mimicked him. Over the next hour, he tried hundreds of words and was disappointed when the only word she would say was stuff. Even the standard Mama and Dada, the usual words that developing babies picked up first, weren’t in Maggie’s vocabulary.
