This Time (The DeLuca Family Book 4)

by Amy Reece

  “It doesn’t matter. I know you can’t get off work for something as dumb as my house being burglarized. I don’t know why I’m so affected by it. It happens to everyone.”

  “Don’t downplay it, Nina. It’s not dumb, and you have every right to feel violated or whatever.” He brushed his thumb over her soft lips. “How are the girls?”

  “Confused, but otherwise fine.”

  A quiet cough from behind him interrupted their privacy. “Why don’t we get over to Nina’s house so we can begin the clean up?” Hugh asked from the doorway.

  Seamus refused to jump apart guiltily; he had nothing to hide or be ashamed of, and his family better get used to it. He turned but kept an arm around Nina’s shoulders. “We?”

  Hugh nodded. “I have a crew meeting us there, so we can fix the door at the very least. We’ll see what else needs done.”

  “Thanks. Some of the firefighters are coming by in a while to help clean up.” He looked down at Nina. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded. “Thank you all so much. I know that doesn’t begin to cover it, but—”

  “We’re happy to help, Nina. It’s not a problem.” Hugh ushered them all out the front door and to their separate vehicles.

  Nina handed Seamus her keys as they walked hand-in-hand to her SUV. “Do you mind? Now that it’s time to head over there, I’m freaking out again.”

  He squeezed her hand, then let it go to open the driver’s side door. “I don’t mind at all.” They drove in silence, but he held her hand loosely across the console. Once at the house, Nina unlocked the front door and led the party inside. The formal living room was largely untouched, but the den and kitchen area were trashed, with every book pulled from the shelf, torn pages and papers littering the floor. The couch cushions had been slashed and the stuffing covered the tables like mounds of snow. Seamus stepped carefully through the mess to examine the broken glass of the patio door, through which the intruders had gained access. It was a wooden framed single door with a solid glass insert—about the most insecure sort of door he could ever imagine as an outer door—and he would never have trusted it in his own home. Hugh was already scraping the remains away from the edges and measuring for a replacement piece of glass while Nina and Chris walked down the hall to check the bedrooms.

  “Can you recommend a different type of door than this friggin’ glass piece of shit?” Seamus gestured to the one Hugh was measuring and the double version of it on the other side of the fireplace. “Dumbest doors I’ve ever seen.”

  “They let the light in, though. This room would be a cave without them. I’d recommend security screen doors to cover them and an alarm system.”

  “Can you put those in?”

  “I can do the doors. I’ve got a guy who does alarms and owes me a favor. If Nina wants it, I can give him a call and get one installed pretty fast.”

  “I’ll talk to her. I appreciate it, Hugh.”

  “No problem.” He paused to answer his phone. “My crew is on their way.”

  Seamus left him measuring and went to find Nina and Chris. He paused to peer into the girls’ room, surprised to see nothing was disturbed. Weird, but good. They’d be upset if their toys and books had been damaged. Nina’s room was another story. It looked like a hurricane had swept though. Her slashed mattress was lying half on and half off the bed frame, the sheets and pillows ripped and strewn across the room. All her dresser drawers were empty, several broken into pieces. The contents of her walk-in closet lay in a heap on the floor. More books and papers coated nearly every surface. “Do you have any idea what they took?” Although how she would be able to tell in this mess, he had no idea.

  She stood, hands on hips, surveying the wreckage. “Um, other than the two laptops—mine and Neal’s—I’m not sure. They may have taken some of my jewelry, but it’s going to be awhile before I can tell for sure.”

  “We can track your computer, Nina, as soon as they turn it on. I’m not sure about Neal’s, but we’ll give it a shot,” Chris said as she took notes in a small notebook.

  Seamus’s friends showed up within the hour and joined Hugh’s work crew in the cleanup efforts. Nina directed, telling them where to put things and brewing endless pots of coffee. She agreed to let Hugh call in his favor for the alarm system and install the security doors. He promised to have the doors done before they left for the day and told her the alarm system would be installed the following day.

  “Thanks, Hugh.” She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. “I’ll call and cancel my classes for tomorrow. What’s one more day, huh?”

  “Don’t do that.” Seamus rubbed her tight shoulders. “I’ll be here, and I can take care of it.”

  She groaned softly and tilted her head to allow him greater access. “Why should you have to spend your precious time off making sure my alarm gets installed? It’s not your problem.”

  “I’m making it my problem. Stop whining.” He tweaked her nose and went back to cleaning.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Nina

  The hot water sluiced over her shoulders and she was grateful David had insisted on having the larger water heater installed when they bought the house two years before. She allowed herself to stand under the massaging jets for nearly fifteen minutes; only the promise of a waiting glass of wine eventually lured her out. Seamus had taken his shower hours earlier, while she had gone to pick the girls up from school. He’d been hot and sweaty from the manual labor he’d engaged in all day and had wanted to get cleaned up before dinner. The girls had been thrilled to see him, and even Iris had hugged him tightly. Both girls had taken advantage of Nina’s physical and emotional exhaustion to lobby for pizza and she’d acquiesced easily, although no one had eaten much. The sight of the heavy security screens covering the back doors upset the girls, as did the torn cushions and other changes. The construction crew and firefighters had done their best, but it was obvious something had happened. Seamus promised them he wasn’t leaving, and it seemed to help settle them down somewhat. She toweled off and slipped into yoga pants and a light sweatshirt before joining him in the den.

  “They’re finally asleep.” He handed her a glass of red wine as she sank into the sofa. They’d flipped the cushions, but she would need to purchase a new couch soon. “I couldn’t get them to sleep in separate beds, though.”

  “Thanks.” She accepted the glass and drank deeply—now wasn’t the time for lady-like sips. “I don’t blame them.” She frowned as she realized how her comment may have sounded and rushed to explain. “We all slept together last night in the big bed in Chris and Hugh’s guest room. They needed to be close to me.”

  “And you needed to be close to them. Come here.” He pulled her closer and wrapped his free arm around her.

  She went willingly and pulled the afghan off the back of the couch to cover her legs. “I’m so glad you’re here. I know I wouldn’t be able to sleep if you weren’t. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure. I wouldn’t be able to sleep, either, so it works for both of us.”

  “I really didn’t need this on top of everything else right now.” She chuckled then, surprising both of them.

  “Care to share what you managed to find to laugh about?”

  “Nothing, really. It’s just that this break-in certainly made for a distraction from obsessing about Neal’s murder, huh?”

  “That’s one way to look at it. I’m glad we already made a copy of the files from Neal’s computer to give to Izzy. Do you think you lost much of your writing from your laptop?”

  “I back it all up to a dropbox, so I’m sure it’s fine. I don’t want to think about it tonight.” She yawned hugely. “My brain can’t handle anything else.”

  “Chris called while you were in the shower. No news on your laptop or any of the jewelry you listed.”

  Once the top layer of debris had been cleaned up, Nina was able to find her jewelry box. Several pieces were missing, including a diamond tennis bracelet and her engagement and
wedding ring set from David. “Hmm.” She leaned against Seamus’s warmth and drank the last bit of her wine. Her eyes refused to remain open and she was barely aware of him removing the glass from her hands before she fell asleep.

  ***

  She woke to the enticing aroma of coffee and a warm hand brushing the hair out of her face.

  “Morning, Sunshine.”

  She pried her eyes open to see Seamus grinning at her. But he held a mug of coffee, so she forgave him and sat up. “Thanks.” She wrapped her hands around the hot cup and hunched over its life-giving magic. “What time is it?”

  He sat next to her with his own mug. “Six thirty. Sorry to wake you, but don’t the girls have to be up soon?”

  “Yeah. God, did we sleep on the couch all night again? This is becoming a habit. Did you get any sleep?”

  “I got enough. You crashed, and I didn’t want to wake you. Sleeping with you certainly wasn’t a hardship, Nina.”

  She laughed and leaned against him. “This wasn’t quite what I had in mind for our first time.” Oh, God, did I just say that? I don’t want him to think…well, that I…shit. “I mean, not that there will be…or that you want—”

  He slung his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “Of course I want, Nina. But I know that’s not what you meant. If I have anything to say about it, there will definitely be a real first time. But we can talk about that later.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Why don’t you go get dressed and wake the girls? I’ll scramble some eggs and make some toast.”

  ***

  “So, how bad is it?” Barb peeked around the door of Nina’s office.

  “Come in. It’s pretty bad.”

  Barb handed her the paper cup she’d brought from the student union building. “Here. I figured you needed this. If they had the good sense to sell booze over there, I would have loaded it up. I can run to my office for the vodka I keep in my bottom drawer, if need be.”

  Nina laughed and accepted the cup. “Vodka in coffee? I’ll pass. I’m not quite that desperate. Not yet.”

  “Yes, vodka in coffee. Haven’t you ever had a White Russian?”

  “Yes, but those are cold. Now, if you have a bottle of Bailey’s in your office, we would be having a different conversation.”

  “Duly noted. I’ll pick some up next time I’m at the grocery store.” Barb raised her cup in accord. “Tell me about the house.”

  Nina sighed. “It was awful. They completely trashed my den, my office, and my bedroom. They stole two laptops and some jewelry, but not much else. I’m so mad!”

  “Fuckers! I hope the cops catch them soon. Do you need help cleaning up?”

  “Thanks, but Seamus brought a bunch of friends and his brother brought a construction crew. It’s all done, except for buying new furniture and some wall repair. Seamus is there today while my new alarm system is installed.” She hated the thought of living in fear behind security doors and alarms, but what else could she do? She had to keep her kids safe. “He’s staying with us until…I guess until the police catch whoever did this.”

  Barb smiled. “He sounds like a good man. I can hardly wait to meet him. Sounds like you may need that sexy lingerie after all.”

  Nina remembered what Seamus had said earlier that morning: If I have anything to say about it, there will definitely be a real first time. He’d kissed her softly before she’d left for work and she’d wished they could shut the door, shut out the world, and prolong it, but the girls were watching, wide-eyed, and she had to get to work. “Maybe I will. I doubt I’ll ever have the guts to wear them, but who knows?”

  “Never doubt the power of lacy, skimpy underwear on a male of our species, Nina. Keep it in mind if he seems reluctant to take the plunge, so to speak.”

  “I’m fairly certain Seamus DeLuca has never been reluctant to ‘take the plunge’ in his life. And I’m definitely not some young, virginal maiden who’s afraid of losing her virtue.”

  Barb smirked over the top of her coffee. “Are you sure you’re not sitting in here writing romance novels instead of historical research papers?”

  Nina laughed. “I’m not, but it sounds like a lot more fun. Seamus’s sister-in-law, the one who just had a baby, writes romance novels.”

  “Really? What’s her name? I love to read them. The hotter the better.”

  Nina bit her lip to keep from laughing at the thought of Barb, a tenured professor of Latin American history with many academic accolades, reading romance novels at night. “She writes under her maiden name, Melanie Blythe.”

  “I’ll look her up.” Barb stood. “Gotta go, sweetie. I’m glad Seamus is staying with you. I’d worry like crazy otherwise.”

  Nina glanced at the clock and cringed. She quickly gathered up her notes and left to teach her Western hero seminar. It was her favorite class, as it allowed her to use all her dissertation knowledge, plus most of the students were graduate level and took it seriously. They had a lively discussion about Billy the Kid and whether or not he could be considered heroic in any sense of the word, leaving Nina feeling rejuvenated and newly in love with her chosen career field. She didn’t always feel that way after a 101-level lecture class. She stopped by the SUB for a quick sandwich to take back to her office with her and had to push aside the manila folder she’d shoved in her bag two evenings before in order to find her wallet. The break-in had completely erased the issue of Neal’s life insurance from her mind.

  Back in her office, the cellophane-wrapped sandwich lay forgotten on her desk as she dialed the number for the insurance company. The agent wouldn’t release much information over the phone, but was willing to schedule an appointment with her later in the week. She would need to bring two forms of identification and a death certificate. He absolutely refused to talk about the other policy for which Kira was apparently the beneficiary but relented enough to allow Nina to invite Kira to the appointment, provided she also brought the proper forms of identification. Nina thought for a few moments, then placed a call to her mother.

  “Mom, did you find any evidence in the papers Kira gave you that Neal had made a will?”

  “I don’t think so, dear. He was so young and had no children, so I think it very unlikely he would think of such a thing.”

  “Why would he think of life insurance then? It doesn’t make sense to me. What about anything with an attorney’s name on it?”

  “I didn’t see anything like that, but you’re welcome to come over and look through the files.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I’ll do that later this week. I’m a little busy right now with getting the alarm system set up.”

  “Oh? You’re having an alarm installed at your house? Is anything wrong?”

  Nina cringed as she realized the can of worms she’d opened. She’d been distracted and forgot she was trying to keep the break-in from her parents. Why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut? But it was too late now. She had to confess or risk an outright lie to her mother, something she knew would come back and bite her later. “There was a break-in, Mom. Two nights ago while I was at your house for dinner.”

  “What? Why on earth didn’t you call? My word, Nina! Your father and I would have come right over! What did they take? Are the girls all right? Oh, they must be scared to death!”

  Nina pulled the cell phone away from her ear as her mother continued to rant. This is why I didn’t tell you, Mom. This is why I try to avoid telling you anything. When her mother finally wound down, she forced herself to speak calmly. “They’re fine. Nothing of theirs was taken or disturbed.” She chose her words carefully, anxious to avoid telling her mother about the level of destruction at the house and how they’d spent two nights with Hugh and Chris. “They stole my laptop and some jewelry.” She neglected to mention Neal’s computer since her mother didn’t know Kira had given it to her. Less was definitely more with Nancy Braden. “I should have had an alarm system installed when we moved in, that’s all.”

  “Are you home now? Do you
want me to come over and be with you while they’re installing it?”

  Crap. I don’t want to tell her Seamus is staying there, for multiple reasons, not the least of which is her antiquated notion of a proper dating relationship. “I’m actually at work. Seamus had the day off, so he volunteered to go over and wait around while it’s installed. Thanks, though.”

  “Well, if you’re sure, dear. I’ll make up a few casseroles for you to put in the freezer and bring them by later, all right? I’m sure you don’t want to have to cook with all this going on.”

  “Mom, you really don’t need to worry about that. It’s sweet, but—”

  “No buts! It’s no problem at all. I’ll put a few together and take them over. Dear Seamus can put them in the freezer.”

  She’d better call Dear Seamus and warn him that her mother was coming over.

  ***

  “Your mom loves me, Nina, so stop worrying. It was fine. As soon as she left, I divided the big-ass casseroles she made into smaller, lunch-sized portions for you to take to work. I hope that’s okay, but Lily wouldn’t eat any of the stuff she brought. You do have a microwave at work, right? Because you now have approximately six months’ worth of lunches in your garage freezer.”

  Nina laughed and hugged him tighter. He’d pulled her into his arms as soon as she stepped in the door. I could get used to this: coming home to this man’s arms every day. If wishes were horses…we’d all be kings. “Cool. I’ll save a fortune by not buying every day.”

  “Let me show you how the alarm works before we go pick up the girls.”

  He turned to the new keypad next to the garage door.

  “In a minute.” She pulled him back and stood on tip-toe to press her lips against his. She kissed him briefly and whispered against his mouth. “It’s so rare that we have any time alone. Let’s not waste it.”