Divorced, Desperate and Daring

by Christie Craig

  She fisted her hands and stared daggers at Danny. “The next time I’m base jumping, you just stay the hell away!”

  “He could have been a hit man!”

  “You told him we were seeing each other.”

  “You told me I wasn’t competent!”

  That’s when she realized her best friend and her husband were sitting there, mouths hanging open, trying to follow the conversation as if . . . as if it could be followed.

  Nope. This wasn’t followable.

  It was insane. Bat-shit crazy.

  Just to be sure, she pinched herself one more time.

  Chapter Four

  Sheri popped up and walked into the kitchen. And when she did, she saw Taco licking up the chocolate milk. On top of that, he’d ripped open the bag of dog food on the island, and dog food was scattered all over the floor. She lost it.

  “No!” she scolded. “I won’t be able to be in the same room with you.”

  Taco, completely submissive, rolled over, right in the puddle of milk, his tail swiping the floor and sending splashes of chocolate milk and watered-down dish soap all over the place. She got paper towels, dropped to her knees, gave the dog a belly rub and started cleaning up the mess.

  All of a sudden Chloe appeared beside her. “I’ll get the mop.”

  Ten minutes later, the floor was clean, the dog food had been emptied into the large plastic food container and Taco was pouting in the corner.

  When she turned around, Sheri met Chloe’s gaze and saw the questions there.

  “Don’t ask me,” Sheri pleaded.

  Chloe didn’t say a word, but her gaze said plenty.

  Oh, hell. Sheri might as well spill it. Chloe would get it out of her sooner or later. “Patrick had today off. We had just come in from buying dog food. We were . . . he was . . . kissing me and maybe . . . hoping to get lucky. But I was stopping it. We’d left the front door open. Danny charged in, his gun out, and . . . it went downhill from there.”

  “Wow,” Chloe said. “You’ve had quite a day.”

  “Tell me about it!” Sheri sat down in the kitchen chair, folded her arms on the table and dropped her head down. She waited a good minute before lifting it back up. When she did, she looked at Chloe and her worry-filled eyes.

  “You know it’s not me. I’m not the Sheri Thompson someone wants dead.”

  “It seems unlikely,” Chloe said.

  “No, it seems impossible.”

  “Wait. What about Mark?” Chloe leaned in a little.

  “He hasn’t called me in over a month,” Sheri said.

  “But he wasn’t happy.”

  “Who’s Mark?” Danny asked, walking into the kitchen with Cary right behind him.

  “An old boyfriend,” Cary offered the answer when Sheri didn’t. “He wasn’t happy when Sheri called it quits. Called her every day for over a month.”

  Sheri looked at Chloe. “You told him?”

  “I was worried,” Chloe said. “He was getting scary.”

  “Okay,” Danny said. “We’ll start with Mark. Who else?”

  “Who else what?” Sheri fought to keep the fury from her voice.

  “Who else could be doing this? Any enemies. Clients who haven’t been happy with your work?” Danny asked. “What other guys have you dated?”

  Sheri frowned. “This is ridiculous.”

  “What about Kevin?” Chloe asked.

  “That’s the fiancé, right?” Danny asked.

  The fact that he knew her ex-fiancé’s name had her mind putting on the breaks. Then she remembered telling him about Kevin that night. Before she could answer, Cary spoke again.

  “Yeah. Ex-fiancé.”

  Sheri finally realized what they were saying. “Kevin wouldn’t . . . He broke up with me, and he’s getting married next month.”

  “Next month? How do you know that?” Chloe asked.

  Sheri didn’t offer the answer but kept looking at Danny. “He’s not like that.”

  “He’s a jerk,” Chloe offered. “He had to have been cheating on you to have gotten engaged less than two months after breaking up with you.”

  “Yeah, so I’m the one who was scorned and should be hiring a hit on him. Not the other way around.”

  “He’s still an asswipe,” Chloe said.

  “He’s not that bad,” Sheri defended him. After all, she’d loved him.

  “Didn’t you tell me he moved out of state?” Danny asked.

  He remembered that, too? “He did. But . . . he moved back. But I’m telling you he wouldn’t—”

  “He moved back?” Chloe asked. “You didn’t tell me.”

  “It’s wasn’t important,” Sheri said. “I ran into him at Starbucks two weeks ago. They offered him his old job back at D.K. Enterprise. He mentioned the wedding.”

  “Are you seeing him?” Danny asked.

  The I-can’t-believe-you-asked-that sound escaped her throat. “Did you miss the part about him getting married?”

  Danny shrugged as if it hadn’t been an insult. “Just checking.”

  “What about the speed-dating guys,” Cary asked.

  Sheri slowly turned to look at Chloe.

  Chloe’s shoulders shrank with guilt. “I thought it was funny.”

  “What about them?” Danny asked, his tone deepening.

  Sheri leaned back in her chair. The last thing she wanted was all of her recent failed relationships and dating fiascos being played out in front of the biggest fiasco of all.

  Especially when her involvement with any of them could partially be blamed on the man asking the damn questions! Oh, sure, Kevin had messed her up, but Danny . . . Danny had done a number on her, too. That one night with him had made her hunger for what she thought they’d had. A connection. That feeling of sharing something so right. Add great sex to that, and she’d been swept away.

  If not for that one night, she’d never have tried so hard with Mark. She’d never have gone on that speed-dating adventure. And she probably would’ve called it quits with Patrick weeks ago. But no. That taste of what she’d had with Danny set her heart on a mission.

  God help her, but she wanted what Chloe had. Someone she told all her secrets to—even when she shouldn’t.

  She wanted love.

  “I’m telling you,” she insisted, “this isn’t about me. You need to go talk to the other Sheri Thompsons.”

  “And I told you I’ve got people on that,” Danny said. “But we’re starting with you.”

  “Who?” asked Cary. “Who’s checking on the others?”

  “I called Paul Manning in homicide,” Danny answered Cary and then focused back on Sheri. “What happened with the speed-dating guys?”

  “Nothing happened. I never went out with any of them.”

  “Didn’t one of them track you down and call you?” Cary asked.

  “Seriously?” Sheri shot Chloe another glare. Her friend made a face and mouthed the words, I’m sorry.

  Sheri looked back at Cary and confronted the question. “We talked for less than five minutes, I nicely told him I wasn’t interested and I never went out with him! I don’t think I managed to piss him off bad enough to want to kill me!”

  “You’d be surprised,” Danny said. “Some guys don’t take rejection well.” He continued to stare at her, making her want to squirm.

  “Anyone else?” Danny asked.

  Yeah, there was one guy who really screwed me over, then kept texting me and showing up at my place. A cop!

  “What about work-related?” he asked again. “Any clients who aren’t happy? Any tiffs with neighbors? Is there a grocery clerk freaking you out?”

  “No, no and no!” Sheri said.

  “Family disputes?”

  “No.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Where’s a pen and paper?”

  “Why?” She leaned forward.

  “You’re writing down names, phone numbers and addresses of all the guys you mentioned and even a few you dated before your fianc�
�.”

  Oh, but this is so wrong! “What are you going to do?”

  “Go talk to them. See if any of them are harboring any grudges against you.”

  Sheri looked at Chloe and then Cary. “Would one of you pllleease tell him he’s being totally unreasonable?” Her raised voice must have made Taco nervous. He moved out of the corner and rested his face on Sheri’s lap.

  “He’s not being unreasonable,” Cary said.

  “It’s not me.” Sheri petted her dog and looked at Chloe, begging for her to speak up.

  “He’s just going to talk to them,” Chloe said. “And until then, you can stay with us.” She looked at her husband.

  “Of course she can!” Cary said.

  “No. I can’t—”

  “Just to be safe,” Chloe said. “For a few days. It’ll be fun.”

  “I have Taco.” She eyed her dog, still standing beside her. Still looking apologetic. Or maybe his lactose intolerance already acting up.

  “You can bring Taco,” Chloe said.

  “Please. You know Pooch terrorizes him. And you don’t want drool all over your freshly painted walls.”

  “What?” Danny looked at Cary.

  “We just painted,” Cary said.

  “No. I mean . . . about Pooch. That guinea pig you call a dog terrorizes . . . Taco Grande here?” He pointed to her dog.

  “What can I say?” Cary grinned. “My dog’s a badass.”

  “Your dog’s a bully,” Sheri said, pissed at the world right now.

  “No, he just has a Napoleon complex,” Cary offered. “Taco intimidates him.”

  “I don’t care what it is. I can’t bring him.”

  “Then leave him here, and we’ll come and feed him,” Chloe said.

  “I can’t just leave him alone. He gets nervous.”

  “I’ll stay with him,” Danny spoke up. “I’ll be in and out, but I’ll sleep here.”

  Sheri looked at Danny, her mouth dropped open. “Bad idea.”

  “No, it’s not,” he argued. “If anyone shows up, I’ll be waiting for them.”

  “No one is going to show up,” she seethed.

  “You’re right,” Cary said to Danny. “That’s actually a good idea.”

  “There. It’s solved.” Chloe glanced at Sheri.

  Sheri moaned and dropped her head on her table.

  “Oh, crap!” Chloe’s tone had Sheri looking up.

  “Crap what?” Sheri asked.

  “What time is it?” Chloe pulled out her phone. She met her husband’s eyes. “We’re supposed to meet my mom for lunch. We have to be there in half an hour.”

  “Go,” Sheri said.

  “No, I’ll call her,” Chloe offered.

  “Go. I have to get my stuff together before I can come. It’s gonna take me a while.”

  “I’ll stay,” Danny said. “Then I’ll follow her over to your place.”

  Since when had he become her personal bodyguard? “You don’t have to do that,” Sheri said.

  Danny’s gaze cut to her, his baby blues no longer blood red, but his expression dead serious. “Yeah I do. It’s my job.”

  • • •

  Danny walked outside with Cary while Chloe hung back inside with Sheri, who was writing her list of names. The door hadn’t completely clicked shut when Cary faced him. “What is homicide doing with this?”

  “Manning said he’d have someone contact the other two Sheris. Either have them come in or go see them.”

  “There’s two more? You already did a search?”

  He almost said he’d done it six months ago, but decided not to go there. “Yeah.”

  Cary stood frozen, staring at him, as if mentally debating something. “You know, she’s probably right. It’s not her.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Danny said. “And until we do, we go at it like it’s her.”

  Cary rubbed the side of his face. “What else is going on?”

  “What do you mean?” Danny asked, but he knew damn well what his friend was asking. He just wasn’t ready to answer it.

  “Don’t bullshit me, Danny. You’re on this a little too hard.”

  “Oh, so you just want to risk that it’s not her?”

  “No, I don’t want to risk it, but . . .”

  “But what?” Danny asked.

  “Don’t go there again, okay? You’ve already done enough—”

  “Stop!” Danny took in a pound of frustrated air. “Since when is it your business who I can or can’t get involved with?”

  Cary’s jaw tightened. “She’s practically Chloe’s sister. They went to kindergarten together for God’s sake.”

  “I knew Sheri before you ever met Chloe. For that matter, you knew I liked Sheri before you and Chloe worked things out. The only reason I hadn’t made a move yet was because she was engaged. And while we’re on the subject, maybe you could try not bad-mouthing me to her.”

  Cary looked confused and shook his head. “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is that either you or your wife has convinced Sheri that I’m some womanizing bastard.”

  “And you’re going to argue with that?” Cary asked.

  “Damn it!” Danny seethed. “I haven’t done anything you didn’t do when you were single.”

  “Not true,” Cary said. “You’re out with a different woman every—”

  “That’s crap! When’s the last time you heard me talk about a woman?”

  Cary paused. “When I called you a couple of weeks ago, you said you were at the bar buying some hot brunette a beer.”

  “So buying a chick a beer makes me a womanizer?”

  Cary scratched his chin again. “You didn’t take her home?”

  “No, I didn’t take her home.” He’d almost done it though. He’d been tempted. Until he realized why. She looked a little like Sheri. “I haven’t gotten lucky in months.” Six, to be exact. And right now it pissed him off, too. Because while his and Sheri’s night together had been the last action Danny had seen, it hadn’t slowed down Sheri’s love life one bit. Between this Mark guy, speed dating, and Patrick, she hadn’t missed a beat.

  “But . . . when I was first dating Chloe, you had a date every weekend with a different chick.”

  “I dated a lot, but I didn’t sleep with them all.”

  “You acted like . . .”

  “I never said I got lucky with them. You just assumed I did.”

  “Why would you let me assume?”

  “Probably because I was tired of hearing you and Turner boast about finding the perfect women. It felt like it sucked to be me, so if I let you two assume things, so be it.”

  “You were jealous?” Cary asked, his tone jam-packed with disbelief.

  “No,” Danny snapped. But it was only half the truth. Part of the time, he wanted what they had. The other part, just wanting it scared the shit out of him. How could it not? After the lesson Tanya had taught him.

  • • •

  “Tell me you’re not back sleeping with him,” Chloe said, her best-friend tone sharp and direct.

  “Why would you think that?” Sheri asked.

  “Because . . . he’s here and . . . he seems genuinely worried. As if he . . . cares.”

  “Ucch! Please. It’s his job. He even said that. Or did you miss that part?”

  “You sure?” Chloe said in a voice that implied she wasn’t.

  “Positive. It’s been six months.”

  Chloe stood there, as if pondering. “So it happened at my wedding?”

  Sheri sighed. “Do we have to talk about this?”

  “Yeah. That’s what friends do.” Chloe said, sounding fourteen and frustrated. “We talk about our mistakes. And this one’s a doozy.”

  Sheri slumped back in her chair. “I’m not sure I want your husband knowing the intimate details of my life . . . or my doozy mistakes.” No sooner had the words left her lips, did Sheri regret them. There had been a time she’d told Kevin everything. Heck, she’d al
most told Danny things. One night, and she’d felt that comfortable with him. Look how wrong she’d been!

  Sheri held up her hand. “Forget I said that.”

  Chloe still appeared chastised. “I don’t . . . I don’t tell him everything.”

  “I said forget it. I understand. Really. I do. I used to tell Kevin stuff.” She used to think Kevin was her soul mate. And you told your soul mate everything. It was just . . . well, the way things were.

  “You know you are my best friend for life,” Chloe said.

  “I know,” Sheri said. “And I love you, too.” Sheri hugged her. “You’d better go, or you’re mom’s gonna have a cow. She hates when you’re late.”

  “I won’t be long. We’ll open a bottle of cab this afternoon. Hey . . .” She smiled. “I just realized we can celebrate your birthday together tomorrow.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Sheri said.

  “Please, you don’t even look twenty-five. And twenty-nine is still a kid.” She went back in for another hug. “And you’re going to have plenty more birthdays. Cary won’t let anything happen to you. He’s that good.”

  Sherri pulled away. “I really think everyone is overreacting.”

  “Let’s hope we are.” Chloe stood up as Danny walked back in.

  Chloe gave him the stink eye. “Behave.”

  He muttered something under his breath.

  Sheri walked her friend out and stood beside the open door. She even watched her and her husband drive off. A cool wind whipped her hair around her face. The thought of going back into her condo and facing Danny right now caused her palms to itch.

  Only after Cary’s truck disappeared around the corner did she turn to go inside.

  “Is everything okay?” a voice came from the sidewalk.

  Sheri looked back at her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Lamb. “Everything’s fine.” A couple of bags of groceries hung from the old woman’s arms. “Do you need help with that?” Mrs. Lamb had shoulder surgery just a month ago. Sheri had done some grocery runs for the woman when her granddaughter couldn’t make it.

  “No, it’s light as a feather.” She held up one arm as if to prove her point. “Tomorrow’s our birthday,” Mrs. Lamb said, childlike excitement added pitch to her voice.