WILDER DAYS

by Linda Winstead Jones

Noelle disengaged herself from Del slowly, as if she really didn’t want to let him go. This was so unfair. They hadn’t had a chance.

  Noelle stepped away from Del, but she didn’t leave the room. She stopped, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at Parvin. “You’re Ryan, right? Grandpa’s friend? I have to warn you, you’re standing too close to my mother. Wilder here has a very jealous streak, and I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side, if you know what I mean.”

  “I’ll take that into consideration.” Parvin took a step back, but stood behind Vic so that the gun remained pointed at her and Noelle would still not be able to see the weapon.

  If Parvin wanted to marry Noelle off in a few years, he wouldn’t want to alienate her now. And if he ordered her from the room, she’d remember that when everyone in the room but him ended up dead. He had to be the good guy, the smiling, agreeable victim who would save her, in a few minutes or a few hours.

  Vic took a nice long blink, letting her eyes remain closed for a couple of seconds. She trusted Del, she loved him, and she believed he would get them out of this if he could. She only wished she could read his mind, so she’d know what he wanted her to do.

  “It’s okay, kiddo,” Del said calmly. “You go on to bed. I’ll check on you later and make sure there are no more bad dreams.”

  Noelle didn’t smile, but she did nod and shuffle from the room. At the archway between the foyer and the living room, she looked back at the man seated on the couch. “Oh, yeah. Good night, Dad.”

  Preston muttered a coldly disinterested good-night, and Noelle disappeared. She didn’t immediately go upstairs but padded into the kitchen. A cupboard opened, the faucet ran for a moment. They all listened as Noelle got herself a drink of water and then climbed the stairs. The door to her room above opened and closed.

  “It’s not going to work,” Del said, his voice low. “Walk away now, while you can.”

  Parvin shook his head. “No. If things don’t go well and I have to kill you all, Noelle included, so be it. Ryan Parrish can disappear in a heartbeat, and no one will ever be able to find him.” He smiled crookedly. “But trust me, Wilder, if I have to kill the girl tonight, it won’t be quick and it won’t be easy. I was planning to wait a few years, before stepping in to relieve Ricky of a husband’s duties, but if tonight is the night… I’ll bet she’s not as meek and cold as this one.” With the hand that didn’t hold a weapon, he caressed Vic’s cheek.

  “No,” she said, seeing red as her blood pounded harder and harder. This man was not going to touch her little girl. She hadn’t spent years protecting her child just so someone like Parvin could come along and harm her. She planted her feet, her elbow swinging up and directly into his gut. Surprised, Parvin yelped. The weapon he held swung to the side, and she turned and swung at his face with the heel of her hand, striking him in the nose.

  Parvin recovered quickly, angry and hurting, and he raised his weapon again.

  Del stepped forward, one hand reaching behind his back. Parvin’s target changed in a heartbeat to cover the threat. As Parvin took aim at Del, Vic rushed at him and knocked his gun arm to the side. The weapon discharged as it swung away. Preston cried out, and Del ran forward, placing himself between her and Parvin.

  Del had a small gun in his hand, a weapon she knew he hadn’t had tucked at his spine when Parvin had arrived. He kicked the gun out of Parvin’s hand; the weapon went flying. It landed on a table by the window and knocked over a vase of flowers. The vase cracked and rolled to the floor.

  Del held the muzzle of the revolver he sometimes carried in his boot pressed to Parvin’s forehead. The muscles in Del’s jaw twitched, his neck was corded with tension. “Give me an excuse,” he said softly. “Breathe the wrong way so I can shoot you.” Parvin didn’t move.

  “He shot me,” Preston whined.

  Vic glanced at her ex-husband. He had one hand pressed against his thigh. A trickle of blood marred his pants.

  Noelle came running down the stairs, called, no doubt, by the gunfire. “Daddy!” she cried before she reached the entryway. She came to an abrupt halt in the archway, and her eyes landed on a moaning Preston.

  A new expression flitted over Del’s face. Pain. Not physical pain, but the pain of hearing his daughter call another man Daddy.

  “Daddy?” Noelle said again, and this time her eyes went to Del. “It worked?”

  Del grinned. “Sure did. Call the police.”

  “I already called Shock,” she said, staying in the foyer, well away from Parvin. “He should be here any minute.”

  “I’m here,” a voice called, and Shock sidled up beside Noelle, gun in hand. He’d apparently come in through the back door without making a sound. “It looks like I missed all the fun. Again.” He grinned at Noelle. “Thanks for unlocking the kitchen door for me, kid.”

  “No problem.”

  Del and Shock handcuffed Parvin, and Vic went to her daughter. “Are you okay?” she asked, hands on her daughter’s soft face.

  “I’m fine.”

  “What did you do?” Vic asked, taking hold of Noelle’s arm and holding on tight. “Did you slip Del a gun?”

  Noelle grinned widely. “Yeah. I went into your room to call Shock, and I saw the gun on the dresser and—” she shrugged “—seemed like the thing to do.”

  “She’s good,” Del said as he left a wounded Preston and a handcuffed Parvin to Shock. Through the curtains, blue flashing lights broke the night.

  Del’s smile was soft and real. “My first hug from my daughter and it’s a ploy to slip me a weapon.”

  “Complaining, Wilder?”

  His smile faded, just a little. “No way. I kinda liked the daddy part,” he said softly.

  Noelle blushed. “Don’t get used to it. I was caught up in the moment.”

  “I’ve been shot!” Preston complained indignantly.

  Shock was not impressed. “That? That’s just a scratch. You’ll live.”

  “Victoria!” Preston called. “Help me!”

  Del opened the door for the police, and then the three of them stepped into the kitchen while the uniformed officers, who’d already spoken to Shock by phone, took custody of Parvin and took charge of a moaning Preston.

  “We just have a few minutes,” Del said, his voice low and quick. “It’ll take me all night to get this straightened out, and dammit, I can’t wait all night for this.” He grabbed Noelle and hugged her. “You’re brave and beautiful and if you ever touch one of my guns again, you’re grounded.”

  Noelle laughed lightly and hugged him back. “Gee, Wilder, you’re tough to please.”

  “I really do like the daddy bit. I know you said it was a ‘moment’ thing, but maybe we can work on that a little?”

  “Sure... Daddy.”

  Del kissed Noelle on the forehead and turned to Vic.

  No matter what happened between the two of them, Del was going to be a great father to Noelle. He was going to make up for all the indifference Preston had shown her. He took her face in his hand and kissed her, long and hard and slow. It was a good kiss.

  “Gross,” Noelle said, and she started to leave the room.

  Without taking his eyes from Vic, Del ordered Noelle to wait. Amazingly, she obeyed. She stopped in the doorway and leaned there, waiting.

  Del dropped down to one knee. “Marry me, Vic.”

  She shook her head. She wouldn’t marry Del just so he could be with Noelle, no matter how much she wanted to say yes, no matter what his reason for asking. “You don’t have to marry me. You can see Noelle anytime. You can stay here, you can—”

  “I love you,” he said, his eyes on her face as he knelt before her. “I want to be here every morning, I want to be a husband to you and a father to Noelle. We’re family. We became family the minute I saw you at the warehouse and I’m not giving you up. Not ever again.”

  She wanted to believe him, she really did. But there was a niggling doubt.... “Maybe we should think it over for a few days.”
>
  “Mom!” Noelle protested. “What’s wrong with you? Say yes!”

  Vic reached down and brushed at Del’s hair, her fingers tender. “It’s too fast.”

  “Too fast! I’d say I’m sixteen freakin’ years late!”

  Noelle giggled. “Daddy!”

  “Sorry,” Del mumbled. He didn’t get up.

  “Cops are coming this way,” Noelle said, turning around. “I’ll keep them occupied for a few minutes.”

  “I can tell you everything!” she said as she walked toward the officers. “It was really, really scary.” Her voice faded as she led the police away from the kitchen.

  “Stand up,” Vic said, brushing her fingers across Del’s cheek.

  “I love you,” he said again, staying on his knees. “Why won’t you believe me?”

  “Tomorrow morning, when the adrenaline rush is over, you’ll come to your senses. I don’t want you to regret asking me to marry you in the heat of the moment. Maybe this thing you’re feeling isn’t really love, it’s just relief and… and lust.”

  Del didn’t move. “Dammit, Vic, you make everything difficult.”

  “Why now?” she whispered. “Why not before Ryan... Parvin... whoever he is, showed up? Tomorrow morning, when everything’s a little calmer and you’re thinking straight, we’ll talk again.”

  “I don’t want to wait until tomorrow morning!”

  “Del, please.”

  He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. “You said you were angry at me for not believing, sixteen years ago, that you loved me. You said I should have been able to look into your eyes and see the love. Look at me, Vic,” he whispered. “Look at me and tell me that I don’t love you.”

  She did. She looked deep into his eyes and saw not adrenaline, not lust, but love. For her and for Noelle. It had been there for a while. It had been there this afternoon when they’d made love, while they’d been sitting on the couch holding hands, days ago, when he’d been angry and confused… the love had always been there.

  Vic dropped to her knees to lay her hands on his face. “I love you,” she whispered.

  “Marry me.”

  “Yes.”

  He kissed her, long and deep, while they knelt face-to-face. She didn’t want to ever let him go, but she was going to have to. Soon.

  When he took his mouth from hers, he grinned. “I don’t have a ring.”

  “That’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not.” He removed his earring, placed it on her palm, and closed her fingers over it. “This will do for now.”

  Noelle came running back into the kitchen. “They want to talk to Wilder, and I can’t keep them back anymore. Are we getting married?” she asked breathlessly.

  Vic and Del turned their heads to smile at their daughter, and for the first time in her entire life, Vic felt as if her life was complete.

  “Yes.”

  Epilogue

  Sweet sixteen and Christmas Eve. Del had insisted that there be no Christmas theme or talk at Noelle’s birthday party. He’d missed too many special occasions. He didn’t want any of these wonderful days merged together in the name of expediency.

  So the cake was decorated with pink roses, not red, and no Christmas wrapping paper was allowed on the table laden with gifts. The balloons were pink and yellow, and there would be no Christmas carols sung at Noelle’s party.

  Sixteen. He hadn’t admitted it to anyone, but he was a little terrified.

  He and Shock had managed to get assigned to a North Alabama task force. The assignment kept him home most of the time. When he was away for a few days, he missed his family so much it was physically painful. He had never expected to need Vic so much.

  He wasn’t complaining. He was home, and he was unbearably happy.

  The new house was bigger than the old one, and had a large den just perfect for entertaining. Just perfect for birthday parties. His mother was here for a few days, with Sheriff Timberlake in tow. She loved being a grandma, and she and Noelle had really hit it off. Louise was determined to spoil her granddaughter, no matter how late the date.

  Wanda and her three boys were here, and so was Shock. These days, wherever Wanda was, Shock was right behind. Those kids adored Shock, they listened to him, and when no one else could get the Freeman boys to behave, Shock could. The only real bump in their relationship had come when Noelle got them all to call Shock “Uncle Albert.” He had not been amused. Noelle had laughed for a week.

  The birthday girl sidled up to him. “Can I see it again?” she whispered.

  Del lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt and Noelle grinned at his new tattoo. A small ladybug with Noelle inscribed beneath it. He’d gotten it to celebrate not her birthday, but the fact that the papers had come through and it was official. She was now legally Noelle Wilder, a name she insisted was infinitely cooler than Noelle Lowell.

  “It’s smaller than Mom’s,” she said.

  “I’m older and wiser,” he said. “And it hurt.”

  She grinned. “You mutilated yourself for me.” He knew she wanted something by the twinkle in her eye. “I’m sixteen now. Can I get a tattoo?”

  “When you’re thirty. Maybe.”

  She stuck out her tongue. “According to you, I shouldn’t have a life until I’m thirty.”

  “You can have a life before you turn thirty. Just no tattoo. Or drinking. Or smoking. Or—”

  “Okay,” she interrupted. “Jeez. Can I at least borrow the car? You are going to take me to get my license next week, right?”

  “Of course. And as soon as I’m sure you’re a good driver, you can borrow the van.”

  “The van? What about the Jag?”

  He shook his head.

  “I know,” Noelle deadpanned. “I can borrow it when I’m thirty. Now that I think about it,” she said with a grin, “my thirtieth birthday is going to be wild.”

  The doorbell rang; Noelle and Del headed for the door at the same time. “I’ll get it,” Noelle said, casting him a smile. She was more beautiful than ever, her hair its natural black, the cut symmetrical, the strands softly curling around her face. “It’s probably Jody.”

  “I don’t know her.”

  “Him!” Noelle rolled her eyes. “My new boyfriend. Be nice!” she added.

  “Where’s my gun?” Del mumbled.

  Noelle spun around. “Daddy!”

  “I’m not going to shoot him. I just want him to know I can if it becomes necessary.”

  Noelle shook her head and resumed her walk to the door. “I swear, I’ll be thirty before I get so much as a decent kiss.”

  “Works for me.”

  Noelle grunted, but she was smiling when she opened the door to a too-tall, too-cute, too-old young man. Jody had to be at least seventeen, just like the last boyfriend Del had run off.

  Someone unexpected sauntered up the walk behind Jody. The kids walked into the living room, Del giving the boy his best glare as they passed.

  Instead of following his daughter and her new boyfriend inside, Del waited in the doorway.

  “Wilder,” Archard said crisply.

  “Pops,” Del said irreverently.

  Archard shook his head. “I brought by some Christmas presents.” He stopped there on the porch as if he intended to hand the gifts over and then leave.

  “Sorry,” Del said. “We’re not doing Christmas today. That’s tomorrow. Today is Noelle’s birthday.”

  Archard’s lips tightened. “I know that.” He shifted the stack of presents, and Del saw a small box wrapped in blue. Good for the old man. “Do you think I would forget my only grandchild’s birthday?”

  Del leaned against the doorjamb. “She won’t be the only one come next Christmas,” he said.

  Archard paled. “Really.”

  “June,” he said. “The baby will be born in June.”

  “Congratulations,” Archard said, his voice low. “If you would just...” He attempted to hand the presents over.

  Del leaned forward,
just slightly. “I’m going to ask you to come in and stay awhile, Pops, but I have something to say first.” Vic still hadn’t forgiven her father for his many transgressions. Del couldn’t guarantee that she ever would. “My wife needs a father, and my daughter needs a grandfather. Up to this point, you’ve been pretty lousy at both jobs.”

  Archard’s lips thinned and tightened, but he didn’t argue.

  “I’m giving you one more chance,” he said. “If you hurt either one of them, if you insult my wife or my daughter or make them unhappy in any way, I will kick your ass out of here and you won’t come back. Not ever.”

  Del saw something he hadn’t expected in the old man’s eyes. Fear. Did he finally realize what he’d done? Did he have any regrets in his heart?

  “Why would you give me a second chance, as you call it, after what I did to you?”

  “I have a daughter now. What you did was wrong, and it ruined a good portion of my life and Vic’s, but in a twisted sort of way, I understand.” He thought of the skinny kid who had walked into the den with Noelle. He would do anything to protect his daughter, to keep her safe.

  Archard sniffed. “I would like to see Victoria. It’s been a long time.”

  “It won’t be easy,” Del said. “She’s pretty angry with you.”

  “I’m aware.”

  “You’ll have to attend softball games, art shows, school plays, and birthday parties regularly.” Archard nodded, and Del smiled as he leaned slightly forward. “You can start by going into the den—” he pointed in the right direction “—and asking everyone what they’d like to drink. We have punch, a couple different kinds of soda and apple cider.”

  The old man looked taken aback, but he didn’t refuse. Del took the Christmas gifts and left Archard to carry the birthday present into the den. “My mother will show you where the kitchen is so you can get all those drinks fixed,” Del called as he walked in the other direction.

  He took the stairs two at a time. Vic was in the bedroom, finishing the last of her wrapping. He placed the packages in a chair by the door and walked up behind her and place his arms around her waist.

  “Almost ready,” she said. “I would be finished by now, but you let me nap too long.”