One Hot Target
Page 20
“Such a pretty head,” he said, stopping and bringing her hand up to his mouth and kissing it. He watched the color rise on her cheeks. Good. She was still attracted to him; that amazing sizzle they’d shared for one night was still in the air.
She ducked her head and they resumed walking. And Carmen resumed talking. “So he went to the funeral hoping I’d show up there, which I did. But there were cops around, so he waited and he trailed me to the beach with you. And tried again. Nearly made it, too.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, I forgot. You don’t have your sling on anymore. How’s your shoulder?”
“Just fine. Go on.”
“Really?”
“Promise. It’s all better. Go on.”
“Okay. So Hausner, hearing how once again this stupid hired assassin failed, called him off. The kid was making all these mistakes and he was terrified that this doofus would be traced back to him. So he kind of put off dealing with the problem of my existence and was just, I don’t know, hoping it would all go away—talk about denial, huh? And then I show up in his office and he knows it’s all over. He’s done for.”
She shook her head and frowned. “I gotta say, JR, I didn’t get a whiff of this when I first met him. I mean, the man was good. Poker-faced, outraged at this intruder trying to pass herself off as an heir to the Kurtz fortune. Boy, I didn’t pick up on a thing—no panic, nothing. Although it was kind of a tip-off when he practically slammed the door on my back that he was not entirely in control. And the fact that he agreed to see me without an appointment. I mean, you lawyers don’t do that, do you?”
“Not often.”
“So then he called someone the minute I left his office and told them to follow me. I kind of sensed that, but whoever it was, was pretty good because I never even saw anyone. I’m kind of new at this being followed thing. Not very good at it.”
“May you never have to be good at it, ever.”
“Amen. So then whoever was following me called Hausner and told him where I was and he ran out of his office, jumped in his car, thinking to warn the Kurtzes about me, that I was some imposter pretending to be Phoebe’s daughter, stuff like that. And then he saw me walking up the driveway and he lost it, just lost it. His lawyer is suggesting he be charged with temporary insanity on that particular charge, which, of course, is not going to do him much good as he’s already been indicted for Peg Davis’s murder and attempted murder. Of me.”
They’d arrived at an ancient tree whose gnarled roots were above ground, affording ample, and familiar, seating area. The two of them had taken many a stroll in these woods over the past four years, and had talked under this very tree. Now Carmen plopped down on one of the roots, emitting a loud sigh as she spread her hands. “So that’s it. That’s what happened. End of walk, end of story. All questions answered.”
JR lowered himself onto the perch right next to hers. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he gazed up through the tree limbs at the sunshine. Dappled leaves, quiet. Birds chirping. Leaves rustling.
“May I ask you a question?” he said finally.
“Sure.”
“Are we still friends?” He held his breath waiting for her answer.
Which she did not offer right away, which made his heart begin to sink slowly down toward his toes. She avoided his eyes, instead picking up a stick and tracing patterns in the dirt between them.
At last she said, “Well, now, that’s kind of a problem.” She kept her gaze averted, busy with her dirt patterns.
“Why is it a problem?”
She shrugged. “Well, see, the thing is—” she looked up briefly, then right back down again “—I still love you.”
“And I still love you.”
“No, I mean I still—” eyes up again “—love you.” Down again. More patterns now. Circles. “You know. The other kind. What I told you. Back in Scottsdale.”
His heart, halted on its journey down to its toes, now soared upward, landing somewhere in the back of his throat. “You do?” He nearly couldn’t get the words out.
“Yeah. And so, I wanted you to know that. Before.”
Uh-oh. “Before what?”
As though deciding that avoidance no longer worked, Carmen brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She looked right at him. “Remember what I said about us not being equals? Well, I think I was right when I said it, but so much has gone down since then. I know where I want to go in life, what I want as my career. Did you know that there is a whole science devoted to low hydration and that Kurtz nurseries was a pioneer in the field?”
“No, I didn’t,” he said quietly. Waiting. She would get there, wherever “there” was, in her own time, on her own terms.
“The thing is, I like myself better, JR. There’s more work to be done. I might get myself a little therapy— Mom thinks it would be a good idea and she should know. But I feel like, well, kind of a grown-up for the first time in my life. See, it turns out that I am going to inherit part of Hiram’s empire. He insists on it, Barbara insists on it and hey, I’m not stupid. I mean, I want him to live forever, but it’s not going to happen. So I’m going to come into some money and some responsibility. I’ll need business help, because I understand my limitations.”
“You want me to help?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Not you. Definitely not you. You need to stop taking care of me, JR. And I need to stop depending on you to take care of me.”
“I agree.”
“You do?”
“Definitely. You were absolutely right about that.”
“Oh. Well, good.” She smiled. “But I would be a fool not to take advantage of the fact that between you and Shannon, I could get a recommendation. A referral, you know? To someone you trust? So I can get some sound advice. Get people to handle things I’m not good at, like Barbara said. Part of growing up is knowing what you’re good at and what you’re not, and when to ask for help.”
“A fine insight. Now will you please give me your hands?”
“Excuse me?”
“I want to hold them.”
“Oh.” She unclasped her hands from around her bent knees and offered them to him.
He held them in his. They were soft and pretty and warm. As was Carmen. “Now, can we get back to what we were talking about a topic or so ago? The part where you tell me you love me?”
“Well, yeah.” This time it was a small, shy smile. “I do. I really do. In fact, I can’t picture my life without you, JR. I haven’t had to, have I? You’ve always been there. And I want you to keep being there.”
“As friends?” he asked with a smile.
She nodded. “Well, sure, as friends. And as lovers, too. Now that I know you that way, heck, I’d be a fool to let you go.”
“Just lovers?”
“Doesn’t that about cover all the bases?”
“Does it?” He was teasing her now, because something tense inside him had just—finally—relaxed completely, and he could afford to.
“Oh, JR. You’re really going to make me work for this, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
She pouted for a moment, then sighed heavily. “And that’s only fair. You’ve worked so hard for me, haven’t you? Wore your heart on your sleeve, even when I pushed you away.”
“To the point that I wondered if I would lose you because I couldn’t pretend anymore.”
“Well, okay, then.”
She withdrew her hands from his, got down on her knees and clasped her hands under her chin in a position of supplication. “Stanton Fitzgerald Ewing, JR, will you please marry me and live with me and love me and be the father of my children?”
He sat back and gazed at her. “I’ll think about it.”
“Oh, you!”
She mock-punched him in the chest. He caught her fists and pulled her onto his lap, where she automatically curled up and rested her head on his shoulder. She’d been doing this for years, forever. The Carmen hug.
“The answ
er, Goldie Raquel Coyle, aka Carmen, is—” he kissed the top of her head, smelling the sweet, familiar citrus fragrance of her shampoo “—an emphatic, no-holds-barred, unambiguous, most definite, yes.”
She sighed. “Whew! Good. I’m so glad your shoulder is better,” she said, somewhat out of left field. She raised her head and gazed at him, humor and warmth and, yes, love, shining in her eyes. “JR Two Shoulders, would you please, please kiss me?”
“Glad to oblige,” he said, and brought his mouth down to meet hers.
This time he could hug her with both arms. He would have the use of both arms tonight and for all the nights to come.
Finally, he thought. After all these years, he’d been granted the only thing he’d ever really wanted. Carmen in his arms, in his bed, in his life.
Carmen all the time.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1132-2
ONE HOT TARGET
Copyright © 2007 by Diane Pershing
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12