Alice Carpenter

by McKay's Heroine (lit)

  "No. I’ll go. It was a long time ago. If it’ll help Briana, I’ll go see Sue." Nikki could feel her voice get warmer.

  "Nikki . . ."

  "No, Jarrod. I’ll go." Her voice was firm.

  "Okay . . . if you’re sure." Jarrod sounded as if he was the one who was unsure now.

  "I’m sure. I’ll be fine."

  "If you change your mind, call me. Okay?"

  "I won’t change my mind."

  Jarrod sighed heavily. "You sure are a stubborn woman."

  "That’s right. Don’t you forget it either," she said teasingly.

  "I can bet that you’ll never let me forget it."

  "You’re right." She smiled broadly. "I’ve always been bullheaded. Lainey always called it ‘single-mindedness.’ I think she just tried to be nice."

  "She tried to make you see the positive side of a character trait. Most character traits have good and bad points, you know." It sounded like Jarrod had a smile on his face too.

  "Yeah, I know. It’s usually easier to see the negative side of everything, though."

  "That’s true. You have to concentrate on the good things in this life or it will just get you down. If I thought too much about the crazy people in the world who would take my daughter away from me, or worse, it would be unbearable.

  "Instead, I try to think about someone who would risk her own life to save my daughter’s. Who doesn’t want credit or publicity and tries to minimize what she did. Even to herself." Jarrod’s voice had progressively gotten lower, with such a depth of feeling it seemed to go all the way to Nikki’s bones, which made her shiver and hold the phone tighter.

  "I want to get to know you better. Much better," Jarrod continued softly. "Is there someone else in your life right now? Is this a bad idea? Do you want to spend time with my daughter and I?"

  Nikki gave a little sigh. "No, there’s nobody else right now. I’m afraid to get involved. I don’t want to get hurt."

  Jarrod waited for the rejection when she paused.

  "And still . . . I want to know you better. And your daughter too. She’s a real sweetheart."

  He tried to hide his sigh of relief. "I’m glad. I would never hurt you. That’s a promise. Briana can be a rotten brat sometimes, like all kids. She seems to be better than most, though. At least so far." He paused again.

  "I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or anything, but my family would like to meet you. Peter and Tasha have talked about you just about nonstop and so has Briana. Actually, so have I.

  "What I’m trying to say is that we want you to come over for a family-type barbecue next Saturday afternoon. With Lainey, of course." Nikki didn’t reply. "Please," he coaxed.

  "It’ll be at Pete’s and Tasha’s place. They’ve got the biggest yard and a pool. Please say yes. They’ll blame me if you don’t come. I’ll probably get thrown in the pool," he added with a laugh, "because they’ll all gang up on me."

  She still didn’t respond. "Come on, Nikki. It’ll be fun. Briana won’t leave me alone, she asks at least four times an hour whether you and Lainey are going to come to the party. Do you want to break her heart?"

  "You don’t fight fair, do you?"

  "Use whatever works, my mama always said."

  "Well . . . what time would it be?" Nikki was still hesitant.

  "It’ll start about one o’clock, so Briana and I would pick you two up about half past twelve or so and drive you over. Will you come then?" he asked hopefully.

  "I can’t speak for Lainey, but I’ll be there. Please tell them not to make it a big deal or anything. Please. I mean . . . I really don’t want a big deal. Okay?"

  "Okay, I’ll tell them to put away the fireworks and the gold medal."

  Nikki sighed heavily.

  "I’ll tell them. No heroine speeches or anything. Oops. I think I hear Briana. She’s supposed to be asleep but she must have heard me on the phone and can’t wait to find out if you’ll come to the barbecue. She’ll be ecstatic when she hears you are." He hoped he didn’t sound too smug about

  She replied weakly, "Yeah, it’ll be a blast."

  He heard the trepidation in her voice and, since he didn’t want her to back out, his voice deepened as he coaxed, "You’ll enjoy yourself. I promise. Bring a swimsuit and I’ll pick you up next Saturday at half past twelve. Tell Lainey we hope she can make it too."

  Jarrod felt shivers run up his spine and knew that he could barely wait until next Saturday. Come what may, he had to spend more time with Nikki Kincaid. Just to see if the way she made him feel was just an aberration, a one-time thing.

  He reluctantly said good-bye and they hung up. Jarrod slept like a log that night, he dreamed dreams of what Nikki in his life would be like.

  Chapter 11

  The weekend and the next week passed slowly. Nikki finished the new proposal for Carl Jacobs, had another meeting with him, and started to make calls to fill the order.

  Saul called. He couldn’t find a door. He had found a fender, so they just needed the door, and then a paint job. She told Saul not to worry, to let her know when something happened. Too bad it was impossible to get the door new anymore.

  She and Lainey had a long talk and straightened things out. Sean came by several more times, much to Lainey’s delight. The two of them even went on a long picnic at the beach. Nikki had been invited, but she turned down the invitation to let them have more time alone.

  Lainey had hemmed and hawed about the barbecue with Jarrod’s family until Nikki had pointed out that Sean would be welcome too. She would call Jarrod to arrange it if Sean wanted to go. He wanted to go, so Nikki finally had her excuse to call Jarrod.

  Once she had the excuse, though, she lost her nerve. It took several attempts and pep talks, as she told herself it wasn’t that big of a deal, before she actually picked up the phone and dialed the number. Then, of course, he wasn’t in.

  She left a message with Kayla for him to call her back in regards to the barbecue. The minutes dragged by like hours. Finally, in desperation, she started to research Jarrod’s company then designed a new logo.

  The old one could use a little punch, so she tried a more stylish design with the use of more vibrant colors. She used background graphics and colors to design new business cards, stationery, and even envelopes. She printed them out, then wondered if she’d ever have the nerve to show them to Jarrod.

  She just printed out the last one when the phone rang, which made her jump. She let it ring twice more and then picked it up. "Hello?"

  "No. You can’t back out now. I won’t let you."

  "Excuse me?"

  "No. You can’t back out on the barbecue. Everyone’s already made plans and you will be there." Jarrod’s voice was his best no-nonsense tone.

  "Do you always jump to conclusions so quickly with so little to go on?" Nikki inquired casually.

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. "If I jumped to the wrong conclusion, I apologize. I’ve expected a call from you all week as you tried to back out." He sighed heavily. "Why don’t you just tell me why you called while I try to get my foot out of my mouth, okay?"

  "Lainey said she would go. But Sean wants to come too."

  "Sean? Who’s Sean?"

  "Sean O’Malley." When Jarrod didn’t say anything she added, "Officer Sean O’Malley. The policeman who helped me out of the car after the wreck and hauled all my stuff into the station house. That Sean."

  Jarrod still didn’t reply. Nikki had a photographic memory; even though she remembered Sean clearly from their first meeting, the odds were Jarrod had no idea who the man was. "He came over to the house to see how I was doing and he and Lainey hit it off. They’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since. The only way I could talk Lainey into going was to invite Sean too. Will that be a problem?"

  "No, no. That won’t be a problem. I’ll tell Tasha there’ll be one more. There’s always plenty of food so it won’t be a problem."

  Nikki tried not to smile as she heard the rel
ief in Jarrod’s voice. Good. That meant he was capable of jealousy too. "I need to call Tasha and see what we can bring. Lainey and I make it a policy to never show up empty handed."

  "She told me to tell you to not bring anything. Why don’t you just make one of your excellent desserts and I’ll tell her you insisted. Okay?"

  "All right. Any suggestions? Pies, cakes, cookies?"

  "Anything chocolate. My entire family would trample each other on the way to the table for chocolate."

  "Hmm. That bad, huh? I’ll have to see what I can come up with," Nikki said thoughtfully, already going through some of her favorite chocolate recipes in her head.

  Jarrod cleared his throat. "Did you ever call Sue or did you decide not to?"

  Nikki came back to earth with a thump. "I said I would and I keep my word. I have an appointment tomorrow." She was more than slightly annoyed and knew it showed in her voice.

  "I’m sorry. I phrased that badly. I just wanted to know . . . I think I’ll quit before I get myself in any worse trouble." Nikki could almost hear him run his fingers through his hair in agitation. "Thank you. For doing this for Briana. I appreciate it."

  "You’re welcome," she said softly. "How is Briana? Is she okay?"

  "All she talks about is you." Jarrod laughed. "Not that I mind, but her stories are limited and they’ve gotten a little old, even for me. She’s had a few nightmares and she doesn’t want to play in the front yard anymore, but Sue says that’s perfectly normal and she’ll get over it in time." He paused, reflectively. "I hope she’s right."

  "I’m sure she is. I used to have nightmares about my mother all the time. Now it’s only when I get really stressed out. At least I’m a little more able to handle them now that I’m older."

  "Have you been had them recently?" Jarrod asked quietly.

  Nikki paused, as she tried to decide whether she should tell him the truth or not. "You have, haven’t you?" Jarrod continued to probe gently.

  "Yes." Nikki finally relented. "A couple of times in the last week. But they’re not as bad as they used to be and I wake up sooner now. I seem to have a little more control over them."

  "I’m glad. What’s happened on your car?"

  Nikki filled him in and added, "Don’t worry about it. I have the truck and it’s fine. I’ll be glad to get my car back, of course, but there’s no big rush."

  "Listen, I hate to cut this short, but Kayla just waved frantically that my next appointment’s here. I’ll pick you up Saturday at twelve thirty, okay?"

  They agreed and hung up. Nikki sat by the phone for several moments and thought about Jarrod before she shook herself out of her trance. She put the newly designed logo and samples in a folder, then put the folder to the side on the top of her desk and forgot them. There were phone calls she needed to make about several of her other accounts.

  * * * * *

  Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. It would be a beautiful summer day. As long as there was a little bit of a breeze, the heat would be bearable. If not, there would be a pool to jump into when it got too hot.

  Nikki was up at first light. She was too nervous to sleep any longer. She had decided to make a double batch of chocolate mousse with mini chocolate chips. It was better fresh, so she would make it this morning.

  The thought of how incredibly chocolatey the mousse would be made her smile. It was her favorite and should satisfy the most severe chocolate craving. After she finished the first step of the recipe, she put the concoction in the fridge to chill.

  She showered and then tried to decide what to wear. The bruises on her neck and ribs had started to fade, but were still visible. The ones on her ribs, especially, were still brilliant colors.

  The problem lay in that she was too tall to find a one-piece suit that fit correctly. A two-piece suit would show off all of her bruises. She finally put on her most modest green and black spliced bikini. Over it she wore black shorts and a green cotton camp shirt, knotted at the waist.

  She packed a spare shirt in her capacious purse along with her sunscreen. She could leave the shirt on if she chose to swim and change shirts later, which would hide the bruises. There was no reason to flaunt her injuries in front of Jarrod’s relatives.

  She glanced in the mirror and made a face at herself. She still needed a scarf to cover the bruises. Since she didn’t wear scarves as a rule, she had borrowed them from Lainey.

  Since she knew her aunt had a jungle print scarf with shades of green, she opened the connecting door. That scarf would go perfectly with her casual outfit.

  Nikki stopped abruptly at the sound of voices. Should she retreat immediately or announce her presence? She had no desire to intrude if Sean had decided to stay the night. The way things were going, it was just a matter of time. Lainey was obviously in love and Sean looked totally besotted. When she recognized the voice of their elderly neighbor, whom everyone called Nana, she smiled and continued through the door.

  "Nana, how good to see you!" Nikki walked over to the recliner Nana sat in and gave her a hug. "How are you? How was your vacation? We missed you." She gazed fondly at the white-haired lady. She was in her eighties with brilliant green eyes, only slightly dimmed by age, and a sharp mind. She was a little overweight but looked wonderful.

  "What I missed was all the excitement," Nana said with an exaggerated frown. "The only thing of interest that happens in years and I’m in Arizona with relatives. Lainey’s told me all about it. How are you, my dear? Are you really okay?" Nana’s face held only concern now. "Those bruises on your neck look pretty nasty."

  "I’m fine, Nana, really. The bruises are much better now. Actually, that’s why I came over. I need another one of Lainey’s scarves, the jungle print one. It’s wonderful you’re here though, I’m glad I came over." Nikki gave her another hug.

  Lainey went and got the scarf, then arranged it to disguise the bruises. The three women talked and laughed until Nikki happened to glance at the clock on the wall. She gasped and jumped to her feet. "Oh no! Look at the time! I still have to finish my chocolate mousse!"

  Nana looked up with a gleam in her faded green eyes. "Chocolate mousse? The kind you make with chocolate chips?"

  Nikki paused and smiled at Nana. "Yes. I’ll bring some over for you before I leave." She kissed her wrinkled cheek. "I’ll be over in a few minutes."

  She turned to Lainey. "When will Sean be here? You two are still going aren’t you?"

  Nana pounced on the statement. "Sean? You didn’t tell me about anybody named Sean. Is he your new beau? I thought you looked like you were in love! Tell me all about him."

  Lainey shot a dirty look at Nikki. "I owe you one dear. Just wait," she whispered before she turned back to the elderly woman and started to tell her all about "her Sean."

  Nikki escaped through the connecting door before Lainey could bring either her or possibly Jarrod into the conversation. She smiled ruefully as she hurried to the kitchen. Lainey would find a way to get her back. Her aunt would probably tell Nana all about Jarrod in retaliation.

  She had just started to fold the two bowls of ingredients together when the doorbell rang. Nikki hurried to the door with the spoon in her hand and wished that Jarrod was a little less punctual today. "Hi Briana, hi Jarrod. I’m almost ready, come on in for just a couple of minutes."

  Briana was dressed in a ruffled white top, blue shorts and white sandals. Her hair was brushed neatly and the bruise on her cheek was almost gone. Jarrod wore a dark blue T-shirt, white shorts and tennis shoes with no socks. Nikki’s mouth went dry as a desert when she noticed how the T-shirt accentuated his huge chest and biceps. The shorts that showed off his muscular, tanned legs weren’t bad either.

  She looked up to see Jarrod’s eyes on her, more than a little amused. "Seen enough?" He asked quietly. She blushed bright red and motioned them to follow her as she retreated to the kitchen to finish her dessert.

  Briana was full of questions as Nikki folded the mixture together and carefully stirred in th
e chocolate chips. As she answered the questions and ignored Jarrod, she could feel her blush start to fade. Jarrod, however, didn’t like being ignored.

  "That looks good. Chocolate mousse?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, his eyes amused, letting her know he was aware of her evasive tactics.

  "Yes. It is." She finished with the chips and gave each of them a spoon to have a taste. They both raved about the taste and tried for another bite. She took their spoons away and put them in the sink. "Wait until after the barbecue."

  They grumbled good-naturedly about how mean she was as she dished up a small amount into another bowl.

  "Who’s that for?" Briana questioned eagerly. "Who’s gonna get that?"

  "Our next door neighbor just got back from vacation. I’m going to take it over before I leave." Nikki looked at Jarrod. "Could you please see if Lainey is about ready to go and Sean is here?"

  "Sean’s here. He drove up at the same time we did. We introduced ourselves since we hadn’t officially met. I’ll go check up on them. Briana, do you want to come with me?"

  "No. I wanna go with Nikki. Can I please?"

  "Ask Nikki. It’s okay with me if it’s okay with her."

  He looked at Nikki closely as Briana asked, "Is it okay?"

  "Yes, of course. We’ll make this quick so we can get going." She turned to Briana. "Do you want to carry this for me?"

  Briana nodded quickly and held out her hands. Nikki smiled, handed her the bowl and turned back to Jarrod. "This will just take a minute." She thought she saw the frown lines between his eyes deepen but couldn’t figure out why. She shrugged her shoulders mentally and turned for the door.

  Jarrod eyed them consideringly as they walked out the door. He noticed Nikki’s bare feet, her long bare legs, and her hips that swayed gently. Just who was this neighbor anyway? Nikki must like him a lot to give him chocolate mousse.

  He shook his head and started toward the connecting door. He would have to do something about this jealousy thing. He’d been jealous more since he met Nikki than he’d been in his entire life all put together! And she wasn’t even trying to make him jealous!

  He knocked on the open door and called Lainey’s name before he entered. He turned down the hall just in time to see the two adults separate from an embrace. He pretended he hadn’t seen anything. "Nikki and Briana took some dessert over to the neighbor. Are you two ready to go?"