by Joleen James
"Is Kaiden upstairs?" Danielle asked.
"He was."
"I'll talk to him before I call Peter back." Danielle went upstairs. The door to Kaiden's room was open. He lay sprawled out on the bed. "Hey."
He glanced up from his handheld game. "Dad called to talk to you."
"I heard." She sat down beside him on the bed.
"He wants me to come." For once, Kaiden turned the game off and set it aside.
"I know he does," Danielle told him.
"You have to let me go." Kaiden rolled off the bed. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his legs spread wide. The Peter stance. "I hate it here. I want to go home."
His words pierced her heart, hurt her soul. No mother wanted to see her child unhappy. "I know you do, honey, but we can't go, not yet. Staying here for the ninety days means a lot of money for us."
"I don't care about the stupid money."
Danielle stood. "I do. The money will make our lives easier. Money means good schools, a nice house, food to eat."
"I like my old house and school."
He wasn't going to give her an inch. "We talked about all of this before we came here. We can't leave now. It's not an option."
"Maybe you can't leave, but I can." His belligerent tone saddened her. "Dad wants me. Why can't I live with him?"
"Kaiden, get real, do you really believe you'd be happy with your father full-time?" She regretted the question the minute it slipped out of her mouth.
Kaiden's lower lip trembled. "Being with Dad is better than being here with –- "
"With me?" She could barely get the words out, the hurt in her chest so powerful.
He flopped back on the bed. "I hate it here. There's nothing to do. It's dumb."
"Honey." She sat beside him again, touching him, trying to rub his arm, but he yanked it away. "I know the divorce has been hard on you. It's been hard on me, too, but you belong with me. And whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. I love you too much to let you go."
"Why can't I visit Dad?"
"You can," Danielle assured him. "Your father and I just need to put a legal document into place that gives us the rules for visitation. Give me a little time to do that."
"But he's my dad," Kaiden said. "Why do we need rules?"
"The rules are for your father and me." This time when she touched him, smoothed the hair from his forehead, he let her. "We need to find a way to share you. We both love you so much. I don't want you to feel like you're caught in the middle. It's hard for us. I know it's hard for you, but we'll work things out. I promise."
"How long will it take to make the rules?" Kaiden asked, his eyes wide with hope, breaking her heart all over again.
"Not long." Not long at all if Peter had his way. She expected formal papers from him any minute. She'd bet money that he'd contacted his attorney before she'd contacted hers. "As soon as the parenting plan's in place you can go visit your dad. Okay?"
"Okay." He sniffed.
"Are we okay?" she asked him, dying to hug him and kiss him like she had when he was little.
He shrugged, but didn't slap her hand away. She took that as a good sign.
"Can Maria sleep over tonight?" Kaiden asked.
Right now, she couldn't deny him anything. "If it's okay with her dad."
Lightning flashed.
"Count to ten with me," Danielle said quickly. "One, two, three, four, five, six . . ."
". . . seven," Kaiden said, brightening up, "eight, nine, ten."
Thunder rocked the room. A huge smile broke across Kaiden's face. And that smile gave Danielle hope.
***
The crack of thunder jerked Danielle awake. Rain pelted the house. Water rushed down the rain chains, a constant thwack as it hit the ground. She worried about the grapes. Were they being damaged by the rain? Another flash of lightning illuminated the room, the glow reminding her of another night long ago, when she'd been in this very bed, a storm raging outside. But the storm outside was no match for the storm between her parents.
She'd been about eight. Like tonight, the thunder had woken her. Afraid, she'd run to her parents' room. Her mother was screaming at her father as he threw lit matches at her. And although the flames had extinguished before hitting the ground, she'd been so terrified the house would catch fire, she'd wet her pants. Even now, she could feel the shame, the embarrassment, the fear.
The relationship between Phillip and Jean Whitney had been sick and twisted.
Needing to clear her mind, Danielle went to the window, opening it. The heavy air washed over her. She sucked the air into her lungs.
She didn't want to be alone with her memories anymore.
She needed Nico, needed him to take her mind off the past and drag it back to the future.
A glance at her bedside table told her it was too late to call him. He'd probably gone to bed early since Maria was here, sleeping over with Kaiden.
When had she begun to need Nico? And what was it exactly she needed from him? Sex? Yes, she wanted sex, even though she didn't trust his motives for spending time with her, her father had seen to that. But maybe sex was enough. She didn't plan on sticking around anyway. Nico was a loose end. He was something she'd started as a young girl and never finished.
She wanted to finish him now, close the chapter before she moved on.
Outside, the rain drummed, the wild tempo increasing her agitation until she felt the beat of the rain inside her chest, urging her to find a release. She wanted to crawl outside her skin. She needed to move.
Shrugging into her terry robe, she crossed the hall to Kaiden's room, and checked on the kids. They were both asleep, Maria snoring softly.
On bare feet, Danielle crept down the stairs, stopping by the mudroom to grab an old yellow slicker, the coat held together by duct tape in more than one place. She tried to slip the coat on over her robe, but it wouldn't fit. Dropping the robe, she put the coat over her nightgown, and took the backdoor key from the peg in the mudroom. She let herself out, locking the door behind her.
She ran across the grass, down the path to the cottage and knocked on the door. Rain ran in rivers down her hair, to soak her nightgown inside the slicker.
After what seemed like an eternity, the door yanked open.
"Danielle," Nico said his voice groggy with sleep. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said. "Everything."
Without another word, he pulled her inside the cottage.
***
Her skin felt cold to his touch.
"What's happening?" Nico asked, sure Danielle wouldn't be at the cottage if something weren't terribly wrong. "Are the kids okay?"
"The kids are fine. I just checked on them. They're sound asleep." She spun away from him. "I don't know why I'm here."
Confused, Nico flipped on the light.
"No, shut it off, please," Danielle said, obviously upset.
He shut the light off, plunging the room back into darkness. "You're dripping wet. Let me take you back to the main house to dry off and you can tell me what's wrong."
"You're right," Danielle said. "I shouldn't have come here. I'm not thinking clearly. I just had to get out of that house, away from the memories."
"Memories of what?" he asked, almost afraid to hear her answer.
"My father. My parents. Their fights."
Compassion filled him. Nico reached for her, took her into the circle of his arms. Even the shock of the wet slicker meeting his warm skin wasn't enough to make him let her go. He held her, waiting for her to speak again. Her arms tightened around him.
"I can't live there," Danielle whispered, her lips close enough to his neck he could feel her breath. "I don't want to."
"Then don't. Leave when the ninety days are up." He knew how that sounded, like he was trying to clear the way so he could run the vineyard himself, but that wasn't it. Seeing her unhappy bothered him, a lot.
"That doesn't help me now." Danielle tilted her head back to look at
him.
"No," Nico agreed. "I don't have any easy answers for you."
"What am I doing here?" she asked, glancing around, as if realizing for the first time where she was. "This isn't like me." She turned out of his embrace. "I'm sorry I woke you."
She brushed past him on her way to the door.
"Danielle, wait."
"Go back to bed, Nico." She left the house.
Nico followed, wearing only a pair of old sweats. Warm rain coated him completely as soon as he stepped out from under the covered porch. Lightning flared and he could see Danielle running down the path ahead. He took off after her.
"Danielle."
She kept moving.
"Danielle, stop," he called again, but the rain swallowed up his words, washing them away.
He caught up with her just as she reached the back door of Whitney House. She fumbled with her key.
"Stop." His hand closed over hers. He took the key from her wet fingers.
"Go home, Nico," she said, sounding tired. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"I'm glad you woke me." He inserted the key and opened the door.
She went inside. He followed, closing the door behind them.
Nico turned on the light on. Danielle blinked against the brightness. Her soaked hair dripped everywhere. A puddle of water was already forming at her feet. Bare feet, covered with wet grass and dirt.
"You're crazy, lady," he said with a shake of his head. "No one goes out on a night like this, especially with bare feet."
She glanced down at her feet, then smiled. "I am nuts." She ran her hands down the wet slicker. "I'm afraid I made you a victim of my pity party. I'm sorry. You're as wet as I am."
Nico grinned back. He opened a drawer near the sink and produced a couple of kitchen towels. "Here." He tossed her a towel.
She caught it, using the towel to take some of the moisture from her hair.
Nico did the same, towel-drying his hair, face and chest.
"I'm such an idiot," Danielle said. "Here I am lost in the past, and I should be thinking about the grapes. We've had a lot of rain. Are you worried?"
"Yep." He passed Danielle a second towel. "Here, get that coat off. It's dripping everywhere."
She bent to pick up a robe, a robe she must have dropped earlier on her way out the door.
A vision of her naked under the slicker flashed in his mind.
"Just what are you wearing under that slicker?" he asked, unable to help himself.
"My nightgown." Her tongue came out to wet her lips.
"You shouldn't have told me that."
She dropped the robe.
Nico closed the gap between them, his hands fisting into the front of the slicker. "That's not playing fair, Danielle." He half expected her to shrug him off, but instead she rose up on her toes and kissed him.
And he kissed her back. Her mouth opened to him, sending a jolt of lust through him, making him forget everything but her hot cave of a mouth. His hands tightened on the slicker, and he pulled, ripping the snaps open. He pushed the coat from her shoulders, the raincoat landing in the puddle at their feet.
He broke the kiss, needing to see what the coat had been hiding. A pink nightgown molded to her body -- her naked body, the fabric damp, transparent in some places. The dark circles of her nipples jutted against the gown, hard and ready for him. His stare roved lower, over her woman's place, the gauzy fabric neatly outlining what he wanted to see. And he looked lower still, to her legs, bare and gorgeous.
He wanted all of her, wet and glorious, dirty feet and all.
When he raised his eyes to hers, he saw an answering fire in her eyes, lust, and a desire that equaled his own.
"I have an idea," he said, his hands bracketing her hips. "Let's make some new memories, good memories, right here in the kitchen."
"If you don't kiss me, I'm going to die," she said, the words a whisper.
"Honey, I'm going to do more than kiss you."
He cupped her face, kissing her, doing all the things to her mouth he'd dreamed of since she'd returned to the vineyard. Her hands touched his chest, his back, his butt. She pulled him to her and Nico moved against her, fitting himself to the V between her legs.
At the exquisite sensation, he moaned; and breaking the kiss, he stared into her eyes as his hands moved between them to cup her breasts. The hard nubs of her nipples poked into his palms. Her breasts more than filled his hands. They were round, beautiful, perfect.
He had to taste them.
Nico bent low. Danielle's hands tunneled into his hair as he licked her nipple through the silk of her nightgown.
"Nico," she breathed, his name a caress.
"You're beautiful." He tasted her other breast through the fabric. It wasn't enough. He needed to feel her skin against his tongue, hot skin, and he swore steam rose between them. Straightening, he hooked the thin straps of her nightgown over his fingers, gliding the straps down over her shoulders, sliding them down her arms. Taking the bodice of the nightgown down, he exposed the creamy tops of her breasts, and lower, to her nipples.
"Oh, Lord o'mercy!"
Lola.
Even fully aroused, Nico knew enough to yank the straps of the nightgown up to cover Danielle.
When he spun around, Lola was gone; the only evidence she'd been there was the swinging kitchen door.
"Oh, no," Danielle said with mortification, but just as quickly, she smiled, a bubble of laughter escaping her kissed lips. She pushed her hands through her hair, trying to restore order. "Do you think she saw anything?"
Nico's sex fried brain tried to focus, but his lower regions were still on fire. "Enough."
She started laughing. When he didn't join in, she said, "What? It's funny. Being caught makes me feel sixteen again."
Her laughter was infectious, and he smiled, his hands on her waist. He gathered her to him. Their foreheads touched, and their laughter faded. Instantly, heat burned between them.
"Let's take this back to my place," he said.
"I want to," she whispered against his mouth, "you know I do, but just knowing that Lola's awake is enough to remind me I should behave. At least for tonight."
He knew she was right, but that didn't make it any easier to step away from her. Heaven help him, he'd never wanted a woman the way he wanted her.
She tried to pass him, but he moved his body to block her. "I'm not ready to let you go yet."
She met his stare then, and he knew she felt the same.
"I know," she said simply.
"Just one more taste, one more memory." His arm snaked around her waist and he brought her full against his body. She met his kiss, giving as good as she got -- she was hot, wet, and wild. As much as he wanted to finish what they'd started, the timing wasn't right. He didn't want her worried about Lola intruding, or the kids. No, when they made love he wanted her to focus on him, on them.
Reluctantly, he released her. "Go back to bed, Danielle."
She nodded before bending to pick up her bathrobe. At the door, she turned and gave him one last look of regret.
Then she was gone.
The only thing left of her, the old, yellow slicker.
Chapter Nine
"Well?" Jacques asked the minute Nico came into the barrel storage facility. "Any damage from the storm?"
Nico had been in the fields all morning, checking the grapes, assessing the possible damage. Thankfully, the sun was back with its healing warmth. Nico prayed Mother Nature would do the trick. He didn't need a bout with mildew, not this close to harvest.
"It's too soon to tell. There are some downed grapes, but things look okay; I'll know more in a few days. It could have been worse." Nico pulled his gloves off and tossed them on the worktable. "What's new here?"
"I'm working on a new cold filter technique, looking for a purer taste." Jacques pushed his research across the table to Nico. "Take these with you, look them over. I'd value your opinion."
"Okay." Nico gathered up the notes. He'
d take them to his office and read them there. The slam of car door pulled him around. A dark sedan was parked in the drive at Whitney House.
A middle-aged man wearing a gray suit rapped on the front door. The door opened, and Danielle appeared. She talked with the man. He passed her an envelope, then went back down the steps, got in his car, and drove away.
Danielle moved to the porch swing. She worked to open the envelope. What was inside? Had Danielle's wildest fears come to pass? Had Peter served her with some type of custody papers?
"What's going on?" Jacques asked, joining him at the doorway.
"I'm not sure," Nico said. "I'll check it out."
"Good idea," Jacques said. "Let her know you care." He winked.
Damn it, he did care. More than he wanted to admit. He wasn't about to sit by and let Peter walk all over Danielle. He crossed the drive.
"Everything okay?" he asked, taking the porch steps two at a time.
Danielle glanced up, worry in her eyes. She held the papers in her hand out to him. "It's Peter. He's gotten a court order for visitation with Kaiden for this weekend."
"I thought you contacted your attorney?" Nico glanced at the paperwork she gave him. It was all there, the date and time for visitation.
"I did." She leaned back in the swing and sighed. "He's working on the parenting plan. Peter told me he'd wait, but in my heart I knew he'd pull something. I'm sure he had this in the works before he showed up here the first time. He's such a rat."
"How upset are you on scale of one to ten?" he asked, trying to gauge her mood.
"A seven." She set the swing to rocking with her foot. "I can't keep them apart. Kaiden wants to see his dad. At least these papers give me dates and definite times for visitation. If Peter violates these dates and times he'll have to answer to a judge."
"Scoot over."
Danielle moved to make room for him.
"Okay," he said. "You'll survive this. You're a great mother. And speaking from personal experience, mothers usually get custody. Liz did. Try not to worry."
She frowned. "I'm trying."
Wanting to change the subject, he asked, "Did you survive Lola this morning? Did she give you an earful about being half-naked in the kitchen?" He grinned.
