Embracing Danger

by Olivia Jaymes

  Crossing her arms over her chest, she lifted an eyebrow in question. “Fun?”

  “That’s right. And might I say that you seem to be in desperate need of some. When was the last time you had fun, Arden? I mean real belly-laughing, gut-busting, I almost peed my pants fun.”

  The bravado she’d been displaying seeped out of her like air out of a balloon, and she sat there shoulders slumped in defeat. “I don’t remember.”

  He couldn’t stand on the sidelines and let that sad state continue.

  “Task number one. Have fun. Task number two. Talk to witnesses. So put on your coat and we can get going. We have a full day ahead of us.”

  He didn’t know what they were going to do yet but it was going to be something to remember. At least for him. One more chance to have a wonderful day with the woman he loved.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‡

  Arden was having the time of her life.

  When Shane had explained where he was taking them she’d been dubious but the reality certainly surpassed any of her expectations. He’d found what was known as an “escape room” where people paid for the privilege of being locked into a themed room and had to find a way out with puzzles and clues. Their room had been Sherlock Holmes’s study and it had been quite a challenge.

  She and Shane had been grouped with a few other people and the “host” explained that there were four different puzzles, each color-coded – yellow, blue, green, and red. Participants had to find all the clues in the room for each puzzle and they were marked with a colored sticker. Then they would use the clues to solve the puzzles and unlock the door. All in sixty minutes.

  Except it didn’t quite work that way.

  First, because they didn’t know the people they’d been grouped with, working together was a bit difficult. They tried but the fact was the others didn’t seem all that thrilled to even be there, let alone rip apart every nook and cranny of a room for clues.

  Second, and this part was rather humiliating, Arden found out she sucked at puzzles. Shane’s ability was top-notch but her own was severely lacking. She had always considered herself an intelligent person but when standing in front of those puzzles with those vague clues she’d been stumped. If it hadn’t been for Shane, it would have gone quite badly. Luckily they managed to solve two of the puzzles completely and almost finished the other two.

  Which meant the host had to let them out of the room and tell them what they missed.

  “I want to go again,” Arden pouted as they scarfed down a couple of burgers shortly afterward. “I’ll do better next time.”

  “Now that you know where all the clues are and what they mean?” Shane smirked. “I think we’d both do better. You didn’t do all that bad. I’ve been to one before but in a different city, so I had an idea as to what to expect. You did well for your first time.”

  Arden giggled as she remembered bumbling through the puzzles. “I did a terrible job but it was still fun. When did you do it before?”

  Streaks of red painted Shane’s cheeks and his gaze dropped to his burger. “During a trip to Los Angeles.”

  Her own heart dropped to her feet before she mentally gave herself a slap. If he’d gone on a date with a woman it wasn’t any of her business. She ought to be happy for him. She was the one that left, after all. She should be thrilled he hadn’t spent the ensuing years pining for her.

  Craptastic.

  Except that she didn’t like thinking of him with another female. Holding her, kissing her. Maybe even telling her he loved her. The last one hurt the most of all.

  It was best to divert the conversation before they treaded on shaky – and personal – ground.

  “This was a wonderful break. Thank you for taking me. I do feel better.”

  Shane looked up and grinned, showing off that Anderson dimple in his cheek and looking more handsome than anyone had a right to.

  “We’re not even close to being done today. There’s more magical fun to come.”

  She should have known. Shane always took things to extremes. He wouldn’t be happy with an hour of games and then a cheeseburger.

  “What do you have up your sleeve?” Arden shook a fry at him playfully. “I’m actually kind of scared right now.”

  Waggling his eyebrows, he picked up one if his fries and pretended it was a sword, dueling with her own until he popped it in his mouth. “You can never have too much fun, so prepare yourself, darlin’.”

  Arden was scared but not of having a good time. She was afraid of falling even further in love with the grown-up Shane Anderson. That would be a tragedy she could never come back from.

  * * *

  “It’s cold out here,” Arden hissed, zipping her jacket all the way to her chin. “I think you’ve officially lost your mind, Shane Anderson.”

  It was a distinct possibility but he’d had too much fun today to care. After they had spent a delightful afternoon trying to escape from Sherlock Holmes’s study, he dragged her to a burger joint where they’d filled up on hamburgers and fries. They’d barely digested their dinner when he’d driven them to a miniature golf course with a shipwreck theme.

  And Arden was beating the pants off of him. And smiling.

  The sun had set and the temperature had dropped quite a bit, especially for this early in the season but they were still enjoying themselves.

  “Stop whining and just putt, woman,” Shane chuckled. “I think this hole is where I’m going to make my comeback, so be prepared.”

  Swinging her club playfully, she lined up the shot with the red golf ball. Shane’s was blue and he could have sworn he heard her mutter something under her breath about that.

  To make the shot, she had to swing the ball through a narrow passage on the left so it would glide down a steep hill, bank off of the far edge and then hopefully land right in the hole. So far, she’d managed less than three strokes on each of the eight holes they’d played so far, including two holes in one. She was some sort of mini-golf savant.

  “Watch and learn, Anderson. Watch and learn.”

  She was awesome but that didn’t mean he had to make it easy for her. He was an Anderson boy and that meant he was competitive as hell.

  “You aren’t nervous, are you?” he asked as she addressed the ball. “You’re not feeling the pressure, are you? Because it’s just a game. It’s not like the PGA championship is on the line or actual cash money.”

  She had been staring at the ball but now she lifted her head slightly to look at him. “God, you’re annoying. I’m not nervous or feeling the pressure. Why would I?”

  She bent her head again but then quickly looked up. “What do you mean about money? We’re not betting here.”

  Shane leaned casually on his putter and shrugged. “Of course not. Unless…you want to. Make a bet, I mean.”

  Straightening, she pushed a stray curl behind her ear. “A bet? For money? How much?”

  He had her distracted; now he needed to go in for the kill.

  “Money…or something else.”

  Her gaze narrowed and she shook the putter in his direction, causing him to have to hide his laughter. She was cute when she was intense.

  “What did you have in mind, Anderson? I’ll kick your butt from here to Tremont, so make it something good.”

  He hadn’t actually had anything in mind. He just liked messing with her and getting her all feisty.

  “If I win, you provide maid and chef service every day for a week. If you win, you can choose whatever prize you want.”

  She wouldn’t choose what he’d like to give her – himself and a whole lot of pleasure – but if she had him as her maid then he’d get to spend more time with her while spoiling her a little.

  She’d needed fun today but she could use some tender loving care as well. Not to mention a break from all the melodrama in her life.

  “A maid and chef,” Arden smirked. “You are so going down. I can’t wait to see your big macho self do the laundry and scrub t
he floors. You’re on.”

  Getting back into position, she pulled back the putter and gave the ball a controlled smack. It veered instantly to the left, sliding through the passage and down the hill before hitting the wooden side of the putting green and rolling toward the hole. He heard Arden’s swift intake of breath as it moved ever closer…closer…and then…stopped.

  Two inches from the hole.

  “Horse poop,” she muttered under her breath, her shoulders slumping slightly before whirling around and showing off a dazzling smile. “Beat that, Anderson. If you can.”

  “You are an evil woman, baby girl. You’re enjoying watching me squirm, aren’t you? That’s not the action of a sweet little school teacher.”

  She pursed her lips as if angry but her cheeks were rosy with mirth. “I’m going to squash you like a bug. My grout needs cleaning, slave boy.”

  Whistling a lilting tune, he gently elbowed her out of the way. “My turn to dazzle and amaze. You might want to talk to someone, sweetheart. You have a real aggression problem that you should be worried about.”

  She coughed a few times. “Dazzle.” Cough. “Amaze.” Cough. Cough.

  Shane lined up the shot and gave the ball a firm hit, but it must have been with the tip of the club and not the middle because it careened to the right, hitting embedded rocks before coming to a sad halt at least twenty feet from the hole.

  How do you clean grout anyway?

  He gave Arden a hard look and wagged his finger. “Not a word, do you hear me? Not a damn word.”

  Pressing her lips together to keep from laughing in his face, she waltzed past him, her hips swaying and pulling his attention from his imminent defeat. They had nine more holes to go but if he was able to walk right behind her while she wore those snug blue jeans, it would all be worth it.

  “Do you want me to go again so my ball is out of the way?” she asked.

  Shane eyed the shot he needed to make and it wasn’t pretty. He was getting his ass royally kicked but it was totally worth it.

  “Fine, but you’re buying ice cream when we’re done here. Hot fudge and whipped cream too.”

  He wanted to make this day last as long as possible.

  * * *

  Tucked into bed again, Arden strained to hear any movement from Shane upstairs. She’d heard the thump of his boots when he’d kicked them off, and the sound of running water when he’d taken a quick shower and brushed his teeth. But now that they were both in bed, the silence in the room seemed to stretch on forever.

  Today had reminded her of all the reasons she’d fallen in love with Shane to begin with. Charming and fun, he radiated complete acceptance of whomever he was with. It had been such a change from her day to day life with her father. Ben had pushed her to achieve in school and in extra-curricular clubs to the point she’d almost mutinied several times. Her teen years had been filled with angst at never being good enough for her father. It had been a breath of fresh air to meet Shane and be told she was enough just as she was.

  She’d also seen the keen intelligence today that had surprised her when they first started dating. He’d been known as something of a playboy, so she hadn’t expected a guy who could spout Shakespeare and help her with her physics homework. Combined with a soft heart and buckets of kindness, he’d seemed like the world’s most perfect boyfriend.

  Here we go again.

  Somehow, these last fifteen years she’d managed not to think about him every single day, although it hadn’t been easy. So many things reminded her of him and each time it felt like a dagger to the heart when a memory or image had taken up residence in her brain.

  They say time heals all wounds but hers had never quite gone away. She’d compared every man to Shane.

  They’d all came up wanting in some way, even her husband. Both she and Michael had known they weren’t a great love affair when they’d married but she’d thought they could make something of their life with respect and friendship. How wrong she’d been. Respect and friendship had quickly turned to something else as he’d turned to woman after woman to slake his need for constant attention. One woman simply hadn’t been enough for him. He’d craved the admiration of a thousand female gazes and Arden didn’t want to be one in a crowd when it came to her own husband.

  She’d known she’d never stopped loving Shane. Not really. But what she hadn’t expected when he agreed to help her was that she would start falling for him – as an adult – all over again.

  Like every other female in Tremont. And that was something she simply couldn’t allow herself to be.

  Chapter Fifteen

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  The next morning Shane drove down the residential street and checked the address again before pulling over. He pointed to the large, two-story Tudor with a circular driveway and large shade trees on the front lawn.

  “That’s where your mother and father lived.”

  Arden didn’t know how she was supposed to feel. She didn’t have any memories of that time in her life so there was no emotion as she stared at the home. There was only the strange feeling anyone would get when staring at the location of a gruesome crime.

  “Do you think the new owners will let us in?”

  Shane shrugged and exited the rental car before coming around to her side to open the door. “I’m not sure, but I’d like to get a look at the scene since there weren’t any photos in the police file.”

  They walked up the path and Shane rang the doorbell as Arden looked around, not sure what she thought she might see. It had been over thirty years and any clue would be long gone. Maybe she simply wanted something to remember her mother by but this was probably not the place for that if she wanted it to be a pleasant memory.

  “They’re on vacation.”

  A woman’s voice came out of nowhere and Arden did a three-sixty trying to find where it came from. A tiny older female popped out from behind a rose bush wearing gardening gloves and a kind smile. Shane stepped forward and held out his hand.

  “Hello, I’m Shane Anderson and this is Arden Hollis. You must be Delilah Ward, the next door neighbor.”

  Delilah Ward had been on the list of witnesses in the police file, which was good. But Arden wasn’t sure it was good that he’d referred to herself as ‘Hollis’ since that wasn’t her name any longer, but there wasn’t much sense in keeping her identity a secret. When Aunt Lydia had her party everyone would know.

  The old woman’s face lit up and she clapped her hands together. “Arden! Look at you, all grown up. You’ve become such a beautiful woman and so like your mother.” The smile fell immediately. “Such a sad thing. I have to ask what you’re doing back here. This can’t be a happy place for you, dear.”

  “We’re hoping you can help us, actually.” Shane gave Delilah his most charming smile. That one that had females’ panties dissolving in seconds and it appeared to work on women of all ages, if Delilah’s blush was anything to go by. “Arden and I are trying to find out a little more about her mother’s untimely passing. Were you home that night? Do you remember anything?”

  Delilah slowly took off her gloves and sighed. “I think that conversation needs to be had sitting down. How about a glass of ice tea? I made some oatmeal cookies this morning and they’re still warm.”

  “That’s my favorite cookie,” Arden offered. “We appreciate your time, Mrs. Ward.”

  “Call me Del. Everyone does.” She waved them forward. “Let’s go in the house then. Just ignore Sammy. He doesn’t know he’s a cat, thinks he’s a puppy.”

  It was love at first sight when Sammy laid eyes on Shane. As soon as they were seated, the feline jumped into Shane’s lap and curled up for a nap. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind and scratched the tabby cat behind the ear while Del went into the kitchen.

  Arden tried to relax but it was difficult when she was unsure as to what Del was going to say. She’d had so many shocking revelations in the past week she wasn’t sure her heart could take one more, but she had a nasty suspicion
that was she’d learned was only the beginning.

  “Can I help you, Del?” Arden stood and reached for the tray, setting it on the coffee table in front of the sofa where she and Shane sat.

  “Thank you, dear. You’re very kind.” Del perched on the edge of a chair to Shane’s right and held out a plate of cookies. “Please help yourself.”

  They both took one and a glass of tea but refreshments weren’t uppermost in Arden’s mind. She wanted – no, needed – to know if Del had any memories of that night.

  “These are good.” Shane had taken a big bite and groaned with pleasure. “I’m going to have to have a second one.”

  Del smiled with happiness. “There’s plenty. I just love a man with a hearty appetite. My George could put away a big dinner and a slab of chocolate cake in the blink of an eye. Nowadays, he doesn’t eat so much. We just have the one big meal midday and snacks for dinner.”

  Arden looked around but didn’t see anyone else. “Is he here?”

  “Down at the center playing chess with some of his friends. He’ll be home soon. Now you wanted to know about the night your mother died? Such a sad affair. And they never found who did it either. So tragic.”

  Shane stroked the cat and its furry tail curled around his hand. “Can you remember anything about that night, Del? Anything at all?”

  Del laughed and set down her glass. “The funny thing about getting older is I sometimes don’t remember why I went into the kitchen but I can remember Christmas when I was eight years old. So yes, I do remember that night. George and I were sitting here after dinner watching ‘Dallas’ on television. That J.R. Ewing was such a rascal. Anyway, when we were sitting here we heard what sounded to me like the backfiring of a car. But George said right away that he thought it was gunshots and he would know as he was in the Korean War. I couldn’t believe there could be anyone shooting in our neighborhood so I walked out onto the porch, which of course got me yelled at by my husband.”

  “George was correct. If there was an active shooter situation then being outside wasn’t a good idea,” Shane said. “Best to stay indoors and call 911.”