by Tiffani Lynn
“I mean, I’ve been in your bed and back in your life for almost a week now. I’m going to take advantage of every second of it until you either say you’ll take me back forever or kick me out for good. I’ve never been a man to squander an opportunity to get what I want, and I want you back more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. We were great together once and I want it again.”
Before she can argue or say something that will piss me off, I cup her cheeks and kiss her with all I have. By the time I pull away, the apprehension in her eyes is gone and I know I’ve won the battle for the moment.
“Come on,” I encourage as I grab her hand and pull her out the door.
When we arrive at the ranch, there are cars and trucks lined up in the driveway. We get out and I reach for her hand and lead her to the back porch, where everyone enters the house.
“This property is beautiful,” she gushes.
“Yeah, you should see it in the spring and summer. It’s perfect.”
When we enter the house, it’s pure pandemonium. Loud talking and laughter fill the space, along with the squeals of little children playing.
“Hey, Wes!” Marina, who happens to be standing closest to the door, greets me first, with a tiny baby in her arms. This week she has purple streaks in her dark hair. Every time I see her, it’s a different color. It fits her colorful and vibrant personality.
“Good to see you, Marina. This is Jess. Jess, this is Dex’s wife, Marina, and their newest baby.”
Marina leans in to hug me and then Jess. She’s always so warm and welcoming. She was the perfect person to meet Jess first. “This is Belinda and my other two rugrats are twins, Andrew and Amanda, who are running around here somewhere. So nice to meet you. Jasen told me we’d get along great. Come on in. Let’s get you something to drink and introduce you to the rest of this crazy clan.”
Dex comes over before we can move forward and shakes my hand and then leans in and kisses Jess’s cheek. “Good to see you both, especially outside of uniform.”
Jess’s cheeks turn pink with embarrassment.
“Did you see my newest addition?” Dex gestures to the baby in Marina’s arms.
Jess speaks up. “Yes, she’s beautiful. Congratulations.”
He smiles fondly at his wife and runs a knuckle gently over the baby’s brow. “Do you want me to take her? You probably need a break.”
She smiles up at him with complete adoration. “No, I’m good. Besides, there are plenty of people here who want to hold her when I’m willing to give her up.”
Dex breaks away to grab me a beer, and Marina turns to Jess. “Come on, let’s introduce you to everyone. I hope you don’t mind if I steal her for a few minutes,” Marina says to me.
I glance at Jess to gage her response. “That’s up to her. Jess?”
She nods and flashes me a soft smile. “I think I’ll be okay.”
“Okay, I’m here if you need me.” Jess turns and follows Marina through the crowd so she can meet everyone. It’s not long before I hear laughter break out and realize the women have congregated on the living room furniture and are entertaining each other.
“So, how’s it going, man?” Victor moves over next to me and takes a swig of his beer.
“In some ways great. In others, it’s terrible.” What else am I going to say? The time I’ve spent with Jess is more amazing than I ever expected after all we’ve been through and our five-year separation. However, dealing with all the stress of finding Darrien’s killer is almost too much. It’s opened up old wounds, allowing the blood to spill all over again.
“It’s been all over the news and Colby and I saw what they are trying to do by dragging your sister-in-law’s memory through the mud. I’ve prepared a warning letter that you can send to the news stations about slander, if you want it. I don’t know if it will help, but if they get it and see it’s on my company letterhead, it may scare them enough to shut the hell up since Dex says there is no credible evidence to back up what the news outlets are claiming.”
I turn to stare at him, shocked that he would even think to do this. “That will be a huge help. I can’t thank you enough. I need to call you about a few other things, but I need to run them past Jess first.”
“No problem. You helped us when we needed it most and a hundred times since then. You’re as much a part of our family as those related by blood.”
“Thanks.” I tip my chin up at him. He does the same and moves to the living room, leans over the couch where Colby is sitting and kisses her forehead. I follow him in there and drop down to a hip and elbow on the carpet, ready to play with the kids.
Thirteen
Jess
I’m pleasantly surprised when Wes not only joins the women in the living room, but plops down on the floor by where little Lila is playing with some giant Lego blocks. Thea, Javier and Valerie’s teenage daughter, is sitting across from me with a baby asleep in her arms. “Which one you got there, Thea?” Wes asks her.
“Max. He’s so cute that I never want to put him down.”
“Yeah, he’s a good-lookin’ kid. Let me know if you get tired and I’ll take over.”
She lifts her gaze from Baby Max and laughs at him. “Mr. Wes, you say that every time I have one of the babies and I never give them up to you.”
“I know, but it’s worth a try.” He chuckles and his deep voice must have snapped Lila out of her Lego-induced trance because she pushes herself up to stand and runs over to Wes to jump on him. He tickles her until she squeals and screams to stop, then she tugs on his wild beard and runs away laughing. Every few minutes the ritual repeats itself.
After about fifteen minutes, the twins come racing into the room and stop right in front of Wes. He grins up at them. “What’s up, kids?”
“Mr. Wes, when are we playing Candy Land again?” the girl twin, Amanda, asks. “Last time you said I could try to beat you when we saw you again.”
“Does Ms. Quinn have Candy Land here, Mandy? I feel like I could give you a whoopin’ in that game today,” Wes replies, and Mandy squints angry little-girl eyes at him.
“You won’t beat me again!”
“Betcha I will!” he taunts her, and I can tell by the crinkle in the corner of his eyes that he’s doing his best not to laugh.
Quinn pipes up from the chair she pulled over to our group a while ago. “Yeah, I’ve got Candy Land. Drew, go ask Carlo to get it out of the top of Lila’s closet for you. Don’t try to climb up there yourself, okay?” He nods and races away. A couple minutes later, he returns with the game.
“Go set it up on the game table over there and I’ll be there in a minute,” Wes tells the kids.
In the meantime, Lila runs back in and pounces on Wes again. Her little-girl giggles and laughter ring out until she’s off running again. Then he sits up and asks me, “Feel like playing a game?”
“I didn’t know you played board games.”
“I didn’t before, but I do now. Come on, I’ll kick your butt too,” he taunts me, knowing that I never back down from a challenge.
“Count me in. Let me get another drink and I’ll meet you over there. You want anything?”
“Nah, I’m good. I’m your driver today.”
An hour later, we have finished several rounds of Candy Land and the only one who never won was Drew, the boy twin. He was a good sport until his sister started taunting him about losing. I was about to intervene when the shadow of Dex appeared over the table and Mandy quieted down. “Let’s talk in the other room, Amanda,” Dex commands. Her chin drops to her chest and she leaves the table. Drew smiles a wicked smile and Wes and I die laughing.
I love seeing this side to Wes. He’s always been quiet, an observer, but here with these people and their kids, he’s so much more. Him making the kids laugh, playing with them and watching them seek him out because he gives them his undivided attention is amazing to watch. Getting to know Wes again in this whole new light is like adding a new chocolate layer to an already
favorite dessert. All the layers you already love are there, but the new layer is something both beautiful and amazing.
As we drive back to my place, I’m quiet as I contemplate why I sent him packing five years ago.
It was a couple of weeks after they found Darrien’s body. My moods were all over the place. I varied between sadness and anger, and my mood could shift at the drop of the hat. Wes was no better. His usually calming demeanor was nowhere to be found and I couldn’t keep up with his moods any better than mine.
Neither of us were sleeping. He had nightmares that had him waking up drenched in sweat and yelling for his guys. I just couldn’t close my eyes without thinking of Darrien, imagining what she went through. I would lie in bed for hours thinking of everything, and Wes, once he woke up from the dreams, would get dressed and run for hours. He was losing weight like crazy, whereas I was gaining it. He never ate and I always ate. It was like neither of us could see past our own grief to get the other through the worst times in our lives.
We got in a hellish argument one night, one of many, and I finally told him to get out. I was done. My words hit him like a physical blow and I watched him take a step back, his face shifting from anger to pain in an instant. He stood there silent for several moments and then asked in a super-spooky quiet voice, “Is that what you really want? Me, gone?”
I lifted my chin defiantly and looked him straight in the eyes. “Yup.”
He didn’t say another word. He turned on his heel and stormed out. Two days later, while I was at work, he came and got his clothes and toiletries but left everything else. I didn’t see him again for months. He was still mowing the grass while I was at work, but he was never there when I was there. Him leaving was the final blow to my anger and depression. I spiraled further into the hole I had been heading into when he was there. There was nothing anchoring me to the surface any longer. I don’t know what he did after that. I just knew he signed the divorce papers and left everything to me. He didn’t ask for anything. He just took his Bronco and his tools.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” he inquires, bringing me back to the present.
“The past.”
“What about the past?”
“I don’t really want to talk about it. Today was such a good day, I want to keep it that way.”
He nods and keeps quiet for a couple of minutes. “Victor is going to send a warning letter on his law firm’s letterhead to the news stations, telling them to cut the shit in regards to slandering Darrien’s name. I don’t know if it will work, but it’s worth a try.”
“Did you ask him to do that?”
“Nope. Didn’t get a chance. He already did it and just asked permission to send it. He and Colby were pissed when they saw what was being said on television. I told him it was okay to send it.”
“Maybe that will help. I need to thank him for trying. What do we owe him?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he confirms but doesn’t elaborate.
“I’m glad I went today. They’re all really good people.”
“Yeah, I like ‘em. I knew you would be okay once you got there and started talking to everyone. They each have their own stories to tell and none of those are what you’d call normal.”
“We didn’t get into anything too deep today. When they came to the hospital to help me I heard about the drug dealer that came to Quinn and Judson’s house. I know they also adopted Carlo, but I didn’t hear anything else while we were there.”
“I’ll give you the condensed version. I’m sure you’ll hear everything over time though. Judson was almost killed while protecting Carlo from a drug dealer who also almost killed Carlo’s birth mom. She’s in a long-term care facility and not in good shape still.
“Marina and Dex met in a foster home as kids and reunited when Dex tried to arrest Marina while her best friend was dying of a drug overdose on the ground next to them.
“Rosie is Marina’s sister and she was a victim of child sex trafficking. Marina thought she was dead. Dex hired Javier to find her and when she moved to Colorado, she helped to save Cy, who was a homeless veteran at the time.
“Victor met Colby outside the graveyard where his first wife was buried.
“The stories could all be made into movies, they’re so interesting, but my point is that I know with all that we have going on, none of them would look at us sideways or throw out a bunch of uncomfortable questions. I knew it would be okay to bring you with me today.”
“You’re right and I’m so glad we went. It was nice to get out and be around people and do something other than stare at the television. I was thinking on one of my next days off I should have Steph over for dinner. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her and I know she wants to get together. She will understand why I don’t want to go out into public.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Fourteen
Wes
The last two days since going to Quinn and Judson’s have been good. The press found something else to occupy them, except a few stragglers, and Jess hasn’t asked me to leave yet. Our time spent before and after work has been eating, sleeping and having more sex than we had when we were young and newly in love. To say that it’s been pretty near perfect is an understatement.
Three hours after I drop her off at work, I’m elbows-deep in a black beat-up 1966 Shelby Cobra. The owner is doing most of the restoration on the vehicle’s interior and exterior elsewhere, but I’m rebuilding the engine. I’ve taken care of three of his previous restorations and now I’m his go-to engine guy. I love taking these dilapidated beasts and restoring them to their former glory.
“Hey, Wes! You got a visitor!” Shaunda yells from the door leading into the office.
I raise my head up high enough to make eye contact. “Give me a second to wash up and I’ll be in.”
It’s probably someone that wants to talk to me about a restoration. That’s been an increasing business here lately and people seem to be asking specifically for me more and more.
Moments later, when I push through the door, I’m surprised to find Rajesh standing there with his hands in the pockets of his slacks, staring at the monster truck pictures of Colby on the wall.
“Rajesh, what’s up, man?”
“Oh, hey, Wes. Sorry to bother you at work, but I wanted to talk to you in person.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not. Vogler got out on bail.”
“Why the hell did they allow him out?”
“Honestly, they thought he couldn’t afford the bond.”
“Then how did it happen?”
“We’re digging, but basically he has a friend we didn’t know about with deep pockets.”
“What the hell? Who could that be?”
“We don’t know, but we are looking into it. I need to share something with you that can’t go past you, me and Jessica. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”
I glance up at Shaunda, who is behind the desk, doing her best to look busy. “Hey, Shaunda, is it okay if we use the back office for a few minutes?”
“Of course, take your time. I don’t need to be back there today.”
I lead him down the hall to the old, wood-paneled office that hasn’t been updated in all the years this building has been standing, and close the door behind us.
“Okay, the suspense is killing me.”
“One of the things we found in Vogler’s house was a stalker wall.”
The little hairs on the back of my neck rise. “What the fuck do you mean?”
“There were pictures of Darrien, an excessive amount. There were also an alarming number of pictures of other girls that went missing and haven’t been found. Then there are just as many recent pictures of Jessica and another woman up there too.”
“What do you mean there are recent pictures of Jess as well?”
“Darrian and all the women who went missing look alike. Same hai
r length and color, same eye color, same body type, all professional women. All are described as having that natural charisma that draws people in.”
“Jess and Darrien don’t look alike.”
“They didn’t. Jess had short hair at the time of Darrien’s death. Now, with her hair grown out and worn in a similar fashion, she’s a dead ringer for her sister. I’m on my way to the other woman’s home to warn her and suggest she get out of town for a little bit or hire security. We can make more frequent drive-bys and check-ins but we don’t have the manpower to provide someone round the clock. If this other woman doesn’t have the ability to leave, I at least want her more vigilant. I figure for Jessica, with your history, you’ll want to be her security. My suggestion is to take a trip, get her out of town. Until I can get a better idea of if this guy is working alone and who the person is that bailed him out this morning, I want to make sure these women are safe.”
“I’ll head to the hospital now, explain everything to Jess and see what she wants me to do. I’ll let you know what’s going on. Call me if anything changes.”
“You got it.”
“I’d shake, but my hands still have some grease on them.”
He lifts his chin and smiles a little before exiting the office. I stay where he left me, almost frozen to the spot. Jess has been in the eye of a stalker for who knows how long with no one to watch out for her. She could have been the next victim and I was keeping my distance on purpose. Now, there is no way I’m letting that guy get anywhere near her. He’ll have to get through me and I’m willing to die to keep him away. I’m not sure he feels as strongly as I do.
I linger a little too long and Shaunda pokes her head in the door. “You okay, Wes?”
“Yeah, but I may need to take some time off. I have to talk to Jess first.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“I can’t, confidential case shit, but thanks. I’ll let you know what we’re going to do after I talk to her. I need to head out though. I’ll call Duncan and let him know that the Shelby is on hold for a bit. I’m sure he’ll understand.”