by ANDREA SMITH
“I see,” she said, nodding her head. “So, that’s all it was and you’re down with that?”
“Of course,” I replied. “I feel very cosmopolitan about it, actually. I’ve had a sexual fling with an older guy who is totally hot, and he taught me some tricks along the way. It was a win-win situation for both of us.”
“Well, who am I to knock holes in that? So, then I need to ask who is on the horizon for relationship sex?”
“Kyzer Stanfield.”
“Are you talking about that rich dufus who was escorting you to and from class right before holiday break?”
“He is not a dufus, Darce. He is extremely intelligent, cute, and is even a jock.”
“He is? What sport?”
“Golf,” I replied.
“Oh, please,” she replied with a full eye roll. “That’s not a jock-type sport.”
“Oh, really? Why don’t you tell Tiger Woods that?”
“Okay, so you seriously want to start dating Kyzer, for real?”
“Why not? He’s kind and considerate. I told you about him sending his father’s private jet up to bring my grandmother to us. We’ve been talking a couple times every day since then.”
“Uh huh,” she replied. “Did he happen to call while Taz was fucking your brains out?”
She started with the laughter again and, by this time, it was getting on my nerves.
“You know what? I’m just not going to tell you a flipping thing anymore if all you want to do is poke fun at me.”
“Hey, I’m sorry. You’re right. If Kyzer is the one you’re attracted to, then by all means, pursue the relationship. But, if you’re simply looking to get laid on a regular basis, it seems to me that you might be better suited to someone like Taz.”
I whirled around from where I’d been staring out the car window to face her. “You have got to be kidding! He and I have nothing in common. That’s insane.”
“Okay,” she said, “Just sayin’ that’s all. It doesn’t just have to be about the sex forever.”
I wanted to get off of the subject of Taz with her. She was clueless as to how Taz operated. I couldn’t imagine Taz ever being a one-woman man, for starters. For another thing, Taz made no bones about his career and where he wanted to take it. That would never fit into the path I’d chosen for myself.
“So Darce, tell me what’s going on with you and Darin.”
She smiled big. “He’s so fine,” she said. “And I gotta tell you, what that ‘G-Man’ can do with his tongue is totally, freaking amazing.”
“Really? So are you guys like fuck-buddies or what?”
“I think it may be more than that. He’s pretty busy with his training and stuff, but we made plans to see each other when we can.”
“That’s great,” I replied, feeling a bit envious of her.
Darcy had broken up last year with the guy she’d gone with all during high school and through her first year of college. It had been difficult, but he went to the University of Wisconsin and the distance had been too much.
“Hey,” I said, “have you talked to Jill over the holidays?”
“Yeah, she called me yesterday, as a matter of fact. She’s not getting in until tomorrow night. Apparently, some drama went down with her and her boyfriend Michael out there. She tried to break things off and he didn’t take it well.”
“You’re kidding. What happened?”
“From what Jill said, he got fairly wasted and totaled his car. He broke one of his legs pretty bad. He’s having surgery today so they can put pins in it. She said she didn’t feel right not staying there through his surgery.”
“Oh, my God,” I said. “I bet she’s really in love with Gabe.”
“It appears that way. I hope she sticks to her guns. Jill’s soft-hearted. This thing with Michael has laid a gigantic guilt trip on her.”
We spent the rest of our ride talking about Jill and Darin mostly. I was happy for Darcy. I was hopeful that Jill would stick to her guns.
Darcy dropped me at the main police station when we reached Charlottesville. She waited to make sure there were no snags in getting my car.
Once back at our apartment complex, I pulled my VW in the space right next to hers. We unloaded her trunk and trudged across the bridge-way towards our building.
Once inside our apartment, we dropped our baggage to the floor.
“God, I hate unpacking,” she said, collapsing down on the overstuffed sofa. “I’ll go check our mailbox,” she offered, getting back up on her feet and heading out.
Our mailboxes were located on the ground level of the building, off from the lobby entrance. I fumbled around in my purse for my new phone and called Kyzer.
“Hey, you,” he answered. “Did you make it back?”
“Just now came through the door,” I said, smiling. “How about you?”
“I’m just now heading from the airport in my car. Are we still on for dinner tonight?”
“Absolutely,” I answered. “Casual dress okay?”
“Perfect,” he replied. “I’ll pick you up around seven, okay?”
“I’ll be ready.”
“I really missed you.”
“I missed you too. See you soon.”
I felt happy and content. I was looking forward to spending time with Kyzer this evening. I suppose this was our first official date.
I lugged my suitcase to my room and placed it on the bed. I might as well get the unpacking over with. I was fairly certain Darcy would put off her unpacking until tomorrow or the next day. She was known to procrastinate.
I unloaded my suitcase, perching Robespierre at the head of my bed on one of my pillows. He was a bit worse for wear. The purple velvet ribbing around the poodle’s neck was a bit frayed. Maybe I would buy some ribbon and spruce the old boy up a bit.
I’d finished unpacking when I heard Darcy come back into the apartment.
“You wouldn’t believe the stack of mail we had,” she said. “I had to go to the office because there was a note in our mailbox that a package had been delivered for you that they were holding.”
“Really?” I asked, coming down the hallway to the living room.
“Yep. Looks like flowers,” she commented with a sly grin. “They were delivered just today, so someone knew you’d be back.”
She handed the long white box over to me. It was tied with a gorgeous purple silk ribbon. Someone knew that purple was my favorite color.
I sat down on the couch with it in my lap, untying the large bow ribbon, letting it drop to the floor in my excitement.
“I bet it’s from Taz,” she said.
“I bet it’s from Kyzer,” I replied. “He’s extremely thoughtful that way.”
I managed to get the ribbon off and carefully lifted the lid off of the box. My eyes widened as I saw a dozen, long-stemmed black roses inside.
Black roses? What the hell?
“Black roses?” Darcy asked. “Who would send you black roses?”
I lifted the stems up and saw there was a small envelope with a card underneath. I pulled it out and opened it. The message on the card was typed. It read:
‘The unfortunate death of Sidney Banion may be the end for him, but a new beginning for others. That which is hidden must be found and protected.’
“What the hell?” Darcy said, as I handed the card to her. “Is this a condolence or a threat?”
“I don’t know what to think of it,” I sputtered. “It just seems like a weird message for me.”
There was no way to tell what florist had delivered it. The box had no markings whatsoever on it. Darcy and I both jumped when my phone rang. I reached over and saw that it was Slate. He was probably wondering why I hadn’t called him yet.
“Hey, Slate,” I answered.
“I was just checking to see if you were still on the road. I was watching traffic on the interstate on my iPhone and saw that there was a major accident about te
n miles north of your exit. Where are you?”
“Oh, uh we’re home now. I’m sorry. I was getting ready to phone you. I’ve got my car now, so everything is fine.”
“Well, that’s good,” he said. “We’re going to be taking off for the airport in about an hour.”
“Slate?”
“Yeah?”
“I had a dozen black roses delivered here today with a weird note inside. I’m not sure who sent them or what the message means, but it has something to do with Granddaddy.”
“Read the note to me.”
I did has he instructed. I heard him curse at the other end.
“Listen,” he said, “I need to call this in to my superior. Since I’m leaving town, someone needs to investigate this. Make sure you keep those roses in the box and don’t touch them anymore, okay?”
I nodded.
“Lindsey, did you hear me?”
“Oh, yeah. I will.”
“I want you to go and immediately wash your hands with hot water and anti-bacterial soap. If Darcy touched them, have her do the same.”
“Do you think they were poisoned?”
“At this point, anything’s possible. This is some crazy shit. Just please, do as I say. I’ll call you back as soon as I can. In the meantime, do as I instructed.”
I got off of the phone and told Darcy what Slate had said. We both made a beeline for the bathroom and scrubbed our hands with scalding water and plenty of soap.
Afterwards, I returned to the living room with a pair of rubber gloves covering my hands. I gingerly lifted the cover of the flower box that was still on the sofa and placed it back on the box. I couldn’t bear to look at those roses ever again.
It was about forty minutes later when Slate called back. He was just getting ready to leave for the airport. He said that someone from the department would be at our apartment within the next few hours. He told me to sit tight and relax. He said the feds would be handling this and would involve the local authorities on an “as needed” basis.
I promised him that I would. He said he would call later when he got to Indianapolis. I asked him to not let Mom know what was going on. I knew how she would worry. He agreed that, for now, we would keep her in the dark.
chapter 21
Kyzer picked me up right on time, dressed in designer casual. I’d opted for a new pair of tight jeans with a white V-neck sweater Mom had bought me for Christmas.
“You look great,” he greeted me, as I opened the door for him.
I grabbed my leather jacket and told Darcy I would see her later.
“Can I talk to you for a sec, Linds?” she asked.
“Sure,” I replied, looking over at Kyzer momentarily. “I’ll be just a sec.”
I followed her into our small kitchen, curious as to what she needed to say before I left.
“What am I supposed to do when whatever G-man your stepdad is sending gets here for Chrissake?”
“First off, why are you referring to them as G-Men? This is starting to sound like something in a bad Edward G. Robinson movie.”
“Who?” she asked, her brow furrowed.
“Never mind,” I replied brusquely. Darcy had no clue about my passion for old black and white movies. She was all about old horror flicks.
“I mean, don’t you think you should stay here until he gets here?”
“Look, I haven’t seen Kyzer in a couple of weeks. I want to spend time with him. I’m safe,” I assured her. “When whoever it is gets here, you know just as much as I do about those freaking roses, so whatever.”
Darcy studied me for a moment. “Okay,” she shrugged. “I’ll see you later then.”
I was sick of feeling like a prisoner. The whole time I was at Mom and Slate’s, I had no car to use, and half of the time I didn’t even have a phone at my disposal. I wasn’t about being some paranoid lunatic tonight. I was going to have a nice and casual dinner with my date.
Kyzer took me to a local restaurant called “Spoons.” I loved the atmosphere there. It was quaint, yet trendy. We ordered white chicken chili and burritos.
“So, I really want to thank your father so much for his generosity with dispatching his private plane for the benefit of my grandmother. That was extremely generous and compassionate. Would it be appropriate for me to call him personally? I just want to make sure he knows how much it meant to me.”
He took the lemon off of his fresh glass of water, and took a sip. “There’s no need; trust me. I know we don’t know each other well, so you don’t know the specifics about my family.”
I bit into my burrito, waiting for him to continue. I figured all families had their idiosyncrasies. After all, my family was a perfect example of that. I hadn’t shared any of that with Kyzer.
“I’m an only child. My mother died when I was only four years old. I was basically raised by household staff and a nanny. My father was extremely busy with his company, The Stanfield Group. It’s headquartered in Miami. Even though our home is in Naples, my father always preferred the gulf side of Florida as opposed to the Atlantic side. So, it meant that my father spent the work week in an apartment in Miami and then came home to Naples on the weekends. Essentially, I didn’t have the normal, day-to-day interaction with him that’s typical growing up.”
I could empathize with that. Even though my father had been a busy executive, climbing his way up in my grandfather’s company, he was home as much as possible while I was growing up.
Still, I knew how it felt to participate in a spelling bee, or a soccer tournament and not have my father there watching me. Kyzer’s situation was even worse, being that his mother passed away when he was so young.
“Wow! I’m so sorry. That must have been really tough on you.”
He looked down for a second, hiding the look in his eyes. “It was,” he replied, “but I understood. He provided extremely well for me. He always made sure that I knew he only wanted the very best for me.”
I nodded my head. I understood how he felt, to a certain extent.
“About four years ago, my father remarried. I was away at military school at the time. It caught me by surprise, because I couldn’t figure out how he had the time to even cultivate a relationship as much as his business kept him busy.
“His new wife had worked at his corporate office. That’s how they met. My stepmother is not the type you read about in fairytales. She is actually a very nice, compassionate, and caring person. I don’t remember much of my mom, but I know that she would approve of my father remarrying a woman like my stepmother.”
He paused, collecting his thoughts, and then continued.
“Anyway, my father started showing signs of dementia about a year after they married. My stepmother would not put him in some institution or nursing home. He’s still at home with nurses and my stepmother watching over him. I guess what I’m trying to say is that my father is way past the decision-making stage these days. So, if you want to thank anyone, it would have to be my stepmother, Sue Ellen. She pretty much is running everything since my father is, well, incapacitated permanently. She has managed his business, plus the household responsibilities. She’s adamant that I need to focus on my studies and not worry about anything.”
“Oh,” I said, “that’s so sad, but I’m so glad that your stepmother has stepped up to the plate and understands the importance of you continuing your education. I imagine, at some point, you’ll be taking over your father’s position at his company.”
“That’s the plan,” he replied, reassuring me with a smile that didn’t sit quite right on his face. “I’m interning this summer at one of his pilot facilities in Atlanta. It was the last start-up facility he oversaw before he got ill. I don’t even like to think about it, though, because that means my dad will be gone forever.”
I reached across the table, capturing his hand with mine. I hadn’t shared with him anything about the situation with my father, except that he was absent from my li
fe.
To be honest, I felt ashamed. I knew Kyzer wasn’t the type to pass judgment, but it was difficult for me to articulate the events, as painful as they were.
“You know,” I said hesitantly, sweeping off a stray crumb on the table with my free hand. “I should probably fill you in on the situation with my father. I hope when I tell you this it doesn’t change the way you feel about me.”
For the next hour, he sat across from me and listened intently as I spilled my guts about what had transpired over the past year and a half with respect to my family…right up to the delivery of the black roses this afternoon. He was riveted as the story unfolded.
“Wow,” he said when I finished. “I mean, I had no idea what you’ve been through. I’m so sorry. I guess that saying is true about bad things happening to good people.”
I nodded, shrugging my shoulders. “I definitely have some nasty baggage, that’s for sure.”
“Hey,” he said, rubbing his fingers over mine, “this changes nothing about the way I feel about you. I admire your strength and integrity. I can see that you’re nothing like how you described your father.”
“The thing is, I still love my father. I don’t like the person he turned out to be, but he is still my dad, you know?”
“I think that’s very understandable. It’s that unconditional love that parents have for their children and vice-versa. So, what do you think that message meant?”
“I have no clue,” I said, biting my lip. “My roommate said that black roses signify death or the end of something. The message definitely wasn’t one of condolence. It almost seemed as if it was a warning of some type.”
“Do you think your father sent them?”
“I don’t see how that’s possible. If he is, in fact, back here in the country, I can’t see any reason for him to want to spook me like that.”
“Yeah, I agree. But if he is back in the U.S., don’t you think he would try and contact you, if for no other reason than to let you know that he’s okay? Of course, you’d have to keep that confidential from everyone.”
My only answer for him was another shrug. “I truly don’t know how my father thinks. He certainly turned out to be someone different than the man who raised me. The note mentioned my granddaddy, but he was pretty much out of the day-to-day activities there. I don’t know, but my stepfather is on it.”