“Where’s Jo?” he asked, sitting across from her.
“She’s in one of the outbuildings,” Mrs. Bosworth replied. “We’ll send for her in a moment.”
She closed her eyes, swaying slightly, and Danny asked her if she was okay.
“No, I’m not,” she replied. “In just the last few hours I have decided that either I’m getting sick or someone’s trying to poison me.”
That certainly wasn’t what Danny expected to hear. Had the woman gone a little nuts, or was he coming in on the tail end of something a lot more complicated? More than likely, it was the latter, considering all that he had learned so far, both from Luc and today from Eleanor on the phone.
“Have you seen a doctor?” he asked.
“Yes, and he wanted me to go to the hospital for some blood work, just in case.”
“Why aren’t you there now?”
“I wanted to be here when you got here,” she said, as if that were the most natural reply in the world. “So I arranged for a private nurse to come out instead. She just left with four vials of my best stuff.”
Danny simply shook his head, knowing that the very rich had their own ways of doing things, as bizarre as they may seem to someone like him.
“Could you please just tell me what’s going on here?” he asked. “I’ve come a long way to see Jo, and so far all I am is confused.”
“I’ll explain the best I can and as quickly as I can,” she said. “Then you can go to her. She’s out in the studio.”
Mrs. Bosworth proceeded to tell him a convoluted tale about how Jo met with Bradford on Wednesday after her doctor’s appointment, but that Bradford started telling her that her life was in danger. Sure enough, someone tried to kill her, but Bradford saved her and ended up getting hurt badly himself.
As she took a deep breath to launch into the next part of the tale, Danny tried not to think about the idea of Jo and Bradford together. Danny wasn’t necessarily a jealous person, but Bradford was a sore spot with him, a real Achilles heel.
He listened as the tale grew more complicated. The fact that Jo was on somebody’s hit list more than likely had something to do with Eleanor’s late husband’s trust and the strange distribution of company shares, depending on the order of who died when. By the time she finished explaining it, what he understood most was that both Jo and her grandmother were in grave danger, but that the possible list of people who would have something to gain from their deaths had dozens of names on it, far too many to ferret out the killer before he or she was able to try again.
“The only way I know to protect my granddaughter,” Eleanor said tiredly, “is to make sure that’s she’s married before I should die or become incapacitated. Her parents pulled a fast one in trying to get her to marry Bradford last fall—but Jo will have to tell you the details of all that herself. All I know is that the last time I saw you, you told me that you loved my granddaughter very much and that you wanted to marry her. I believe your words were something like, ‘I want to take care of her for the rest of her life.’ Is that still true? Because if it is, the best way you can start taking care of her is by marrying her as quickly as possible. She’ll be vested in her stock shares—and safe—the moment the two of you are declared husband and wife.”
Though her hands were shaking, for the sake of Alexa, Jo did not make a big deal of the toaster wire being scraped bare, put against the metal, and plugged in. She had a feeling this little setup probably wouldn’t have done more than give her a mild shock, if that, but that was beside the point. Someone without much knowledge of appliances had more than likely set this up hoping it would kill her, and that’s what mattered. Now, Jo suggested that they head into the house because she needed to talk to her grandmother.
“But what about cleaning the toasters?”
“We’ll work on them tomorrow. Do you mind? It looks like that one might have a short in it, anyway.”
Jo wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t want to mess with any of the evidence, but she didn’t want to leave this as it was in case someone else came along and was accidentally shocked instead. Finally, she realized that for the time being, they could simply throw the breaker. The bodyguard did that for her, plunging half of the room in darkness.
They all walked to the house together, Jo glancing around at the dark grounds as they went, sensing eyes in every shadow. Once Alexa was back in her room, Jo would talk to her grandmother and together they would call the police. Jo didn’t look forward to once again having to talk a cop into believing her when she said someone was trying to kill her, but maybe if the local cops interfaced with the Manhattan transit authority police, they would get the full story and pay a bit more attention.
Inside, the kitchen and dining room were dark, the only sound was that of Chewie’s toenails clicking on the tile floor as they walked through. In the foyer, as her bodyguard kept them safely away from underneath the chandelier, Jo asked Alexa if she would mind taking Chewie with her up to her bedroom for a while.
“I would put him in my room,” Jo said, “but even with that bone to keep him busy, he’ll still go nuts in there by himself, trying to get out. I’m afraid he’ll scrape the doors or eat a pillow or something.”
Alexa agreed to keep him for a while, as long as Jo would come and get him when she was ready for bed.
Once Alexa and Chewie were gone, Jo went looking for her grandmother. She finally found her in the study, talking to some man. Jo wasn’t sure who it was, but a quick glance at the back of his dark head told her it wasn’t her father, cousin, or uncle, who all had light-colored hair, and that’s all she cared about.
She stood in the doorway and tapped on the frame.
“Gran? If you have a moment, I need to see you in the other room. It’s kind of urgent.”
Both Gran and her gentleman caller turned to see Jo, and the funniest thing was, to Jo, the man looked just like Danny. Funnier still was when he stood up and took a step closer and Jo realized that it actually was Danny.
Danny?
Jo opened her mouth to speak, but her voice got lost—disappearing somewhere between the moment she took a breath and the moment she passed out from surprise.
Danny watched as Jo’s eyes fluttered and she began to collapse, but before he had moved even a foot, the big guy who was with her jumped forward and caught her under the arms. As Danny ran over to them, and Eleanor assured the bodyguard that he wasn’t a threat, the man gently lowered Jo down to the floor. Danny crouched down in front of her, slipping an arm behind her shoulders to hold her up. Her eyes fluttered back open, and as they did she gasped and then reached up with both arms and wrapped them around his neck.
Pulling her to him, they simply embraced, rocking back and forth there on the floor. Danny knew that nothing would keep him apart from her ever again.
He didn’t care what it would take. He would not budge from her side.
Alexa didn’t mind having the dog in her room. In fact it was kind of fun, but it put a big delay on her surveillance plan for the guest house. She wasn’t sure how much longer it would be before Jo came and got him, but she decided she’d use the time to scope out all of the upstairs windows, to see which one would have the best view if Winnie tried to pull her sneak-in stunt again.
Leaving Chewie happily settled on her bed, Alexa crept up and down the hall, peeking out the different windows, and finally settling on the bathroom at the top of the stairs. Not only did it provide a good view of the backyard, but it also had Jacuzzi jets in the tub. That way, if the bodyguard wanted to know what she had been doing in that bathroom down the hall for half the night, she could tell him she’d been enjoying the Jacuzzi and had fallen asleep by mistake.
Back in her room, she gathered up her robe and slippers and a towel and carried them down to the bathroom. Then she returned to her room and to Chewie, flipping on the television to pass the time until Jo came and got him.
Jo couldn’t let go of Danny, couldn’t stop holding on. Eventually, w
hen she lifted her head to look around the room, she realized that her grandmother and bodyguard had both left, closing the door behind them. Thankfully, Eleanor recognized the need for the two of them to be alone.
There was so much to say and yet nothing at all to say, so much to catch up on and yet nothing more important than simply sitting there on the floor together, Danny’s hands in Jo’s hair, his lips against her forehead. Jo lifted her face to kiss him, this man she had missed so desperately and loved so much. It was a kiss of reconnection, of claiming. Almost desperately, he kissed her back, gripping her head with his hands and pressing his mouth hungrily to hers. After the kiss, they simply sat there together, her hands on his shoulders, making sure he was real, his hands on her arms and back, making sure she wasn’t going to go away. She leaned against his chest and he kissed the top of her head and slowly she was able to believe that he really was here.
Finally, he spoke, his voice warm and tender and so familiar.
“I’m not sure we’ve been introduced. My name is Danny. You must be Jo.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she replied. “Though I apologize for only giving you my standard greeting. Next time, I’ll try for something a little more personal.”
She sat up then, facing him, drinking in the sight of his handsome face, his deep blue eyes. How had she ever gone six weeks without him?
“Danny, what are you doing here? How did you know to come?”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by.”
His sweet teasing brought tears to her eyes.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Hey. I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”
Jo blinked, twin tears forming a line down each cheek.
“I’m sorry,” she squeaked. “I just missed you so much and I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t know why I thought I could ever be apart from you for so long.”
He gathered her in his arms again and began rocking, cooing softly, saying, “Never again, Jo, never again.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Whatever it takes,” he replied. “We’re together from now on.”
As glad as she was to see him, she was confused. She didn’t understand how he got here or what happened between the last time she talked to him and now, or why he had been sitting in here with her grandmother like two friends having tea.
“We have a lot to talk about,” he said finally, releasing her. “First thing we ought to do, I suppose, is to get up off the floor.”
Jo allowed him to help her up and lead her by the hand to the couch. There they sat, side by side, fingers entwining.
They talked.
She told him everything, every detail of what had been happening.
He told her everything that had occurred on his end.
He apologized for ever going to France in the first place, considering how it had come so soon after her accident.
She apologized for keeping him in the dark about what had been happening with her, no matter that her intentions were honorable.
“I know you’re a very independent person, Jo, but I’m not taking my cues from you anymore. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. I need to be here every bit as much as you need me to. In fact, if being apart these past weeks has taught me anything, it’s that I need you too, more than I ever could have imagined.”
Jo agreed, saying that she wanted to learn to cleave to him, to be interdependent with him, that she wanted for them to be together forever.
“Speaking of forever,” Danny said, suddenly moving from the couch to the floor again. This time, however, he got down on one knee and held both of her hands in his. “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring to give you yet, but I can’t wait another moment to ask. I have to know you’ll always be mine. Jo Tulip, will you marry me?”
She put her fingertips to her lips, knowing this was the moment she had waited for all of her life.
Would she marry him?
“Yes, Danny Watkins,” she whispered, smiling through her tears. “Just try and stop me.”
Danny closed his eyes, so thankful to God for this woman. He knew that they had the basis for the kind of marriage he had always dreamed about: They were best friends and had been for years. Truly, between their solid friendship and their faith in God, nothing could give them a stronger foundation than that.
But he knew Jo didn’t really understand what he was asking. Gently, he explained he wasn’t talking about six months from now, a year from now, at a big church wedding with a long walk down the aisle.
He was talking about tonight.
They could have a church wedding later too, of course. But as her grandmother had said, the moment the judge pronounced them husband and wife, Jo’s shares would be vested and there would be no more reason for someone to want her dead.
“But I don’t understand,” Jo protested. “How could that be legal? We haven’t gotten blood tests. We haven’t filed for a marriage license.”
Danny gave her a rueful look.
“Apparently, the moment your grandmother knew I was coming, she made arrangements. With her pull she was able to work it out. Tonight she has a neighbor, a judge, waiting for a call if we should need him.”
“Of course she does,” Jo said, a darkness passing in front of her face. “It all makes perfect sense.”
“So, will you, Jo? It’s only a matter of time, anyway. Why don’t we just speed things along and make it legal now so that no more harm will come to you?”
“Danny,” Jo said, shaking her head sadly, “don’t you see how we’re being manipulated? We’re like a pair of puppets and my grandmother is holding the strings.”
“I know,” he replied. “That’s why I think we should talk to a lawyer first, and get a couple of matters out of the way.”
“Such as?”
“Such as, not only do I not want the puppet master in there to win, I also don’t ever want anyone to think I married you for your money. I think we should draw up a document that clearly lays out what happens to your future inheritance.”
“And what would that be?” Jo asked, truly intrigued.
“I’ve been thinking about this, and, knowing you, I believe I’ve come up with the right solution. What would you say if I suggested that your shares could go into the charitable trust anyway, with you named as trustee so that you can call the shots on how the money is distributed?”
“Would that protect me from harm now?”
“No, but it would give you the last word with your parents and your grandmother, basically snipping away the puppet masters’ strings. You could shock them all and become a philanthropist, Jo.”
Jo studied him, a new gleam in her eye.
“I love it,” she said. “But we are talking about a lot of wealth, Danny. To me, the money has always felt like a burden, but you might not think of it that way. I don’t know if that’s really fair to you, for me to give it all away. You could be a wealthy man, you know.”
He took both of her hands in his and kissed them.
“Yeah, the money would be nice,” he said, embarrassed that now tears were forming in his own eyes as well, “but having you as my wife would already make me the wealthiest man who ever lived.”
23
The next hour passed in a whirlwind. Sidney, the lawyer, came and handled the legal details, even snickering when Jo and Danny told him their intentions for her inheritance.
“You realize your parents are going to flip, don’t you?”
“Absolutely,” Jo replied, grinning, knowing the victory was even sweeter because she was marrying the one man her mother had told her not to marry.
Once the papers had been drawn up and signed, they got ready to have a wedding. Jo knew that they needed to call the police and report the incident with the toaster, but it seemed safer to get married first and act on that afterwards. The more she thought about it, she decided that in a way it was good that the whole toaster thing had happened, as it allowed the list of suspects to be narrowed down signi
ficantly. The people who had been in the studio today, alone, could be counted on one hand: Winnie, Consuela, Jo’s parents, and Ian. Considering that several of those suspects were on the property even now, she told her grandmother to leave everyone else out of the ceremony except the lawyer, the judge, and the two who were getting married.
“What about witnesses?” Eleanor asked.
“How many do we need? We’ve got you and Sidney and the bodyguard.”
Jo suggested that Sidney also serve as the best man, even though he had never met Danny before tonight.
“And Alexa can be my maid of honor,” Jo added, “though she doesn’t need to know what’s really going on here.”
“I’m sure that would please her,” Eleanor said.
Upstairs, Jo flipped through the clothes in her closet, trying to find something to be married in. She hadn’t exactly made plans for this when she was packing up at home. She had, however, made plans to go to her grandmother’s church, which was kind of formal, so she had brought along three dresses, any of which would suffice now. She picked the lightest-colored one, a soft beige tea-length summer dress with tiny pink roses along the neckline.
Before changing clothes, she went across the hall and tapped on Alexa’s door, eliciting excited barks from Chewie. As Jo stood there in the doorway, petting her dog, she told Alexa that she wasn’t going to believe this, but that her fiancé had just returned from Europe and they had decided to get married—downstairs, right now.
“Would you consider being my maid of honor?” Jo asked.
Alexa nodded, eyes wide.
“I didn’t even know you had a fiancé. You don’t have an engagement ring.”
“We just never had time to get one,” Jo replied truthfully.
Alexa said that it would only take her a few minutes to put on something nicer than a T-shirt and flannel pajama pants, so Jo told her to come down to the study as soon as she was ready. In the meantime, she left Chewie there and returned to her own room to get dressed.
Elementary, My Dear Watkins Page 28
