She hesitated before answering, not sure if that was an observation or criticism.
"I don't." Dori glanced at Gavin to see if he was listening. But he was talking to Cef, his fingers now tapping the tablecloth. "But I'm getting better at it."
"So, are you going to stay in National City?"
"I'm looking for a place closer to work."
"You might have to wait awhile. It's probably going to be hard to sell a place like this."
Maybe she wouldn't say yes if he asked her out. "I just have to find the right owner."
"You've had offers?"
"I have and none of them were the right fit."
"Seriously, I don't get it. Why buy it, patch it up and sell it? Cops make pretty good money. You could work on it bit by bit."
She looked for a resemblance to Vicente in Victor, but couldn't find it. "I'll always love this house but I don't think I'm the right person for it."
"I should go," Gavin said, abruptly standing out of his seat.
She watched him shake Cef's hand, kiss Grammy's cheek and then he paused to nod his head at Dori. His eyes glowed, and he seemed to want to say something to her. She held her breath, forgetting her mother watching and Victor's flirting.
"Good night," Gavin said and then was gone.
"Looks like we ran out of wine," Victor said, starting to rise from his seat.
"I'll get it," Dori said. She caught Meg's smile and her head tilt in the direction Gavin had gone.
"I'll help you," Meg announced, throwing her napkin on the table and then nudging Dori along into the house. Dori grabbed one of the bottles off the counter and nearly turned into Meg.
"What are you doing here?" Meg suddenly asked.
"I'm getting the wine."
"Like hell you are! Go after him."
"But-"
Meg grabbed the wine, and they had a brief tug of war before she said, "Go or I'll fetch him for you!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"We might need some water," Dori said and retreated into the kitchen to fill a glass pitcher.
Even with Meg's blessing, she held the pitcher under the running water, wondering what she would say to him without making a bigger fool of herself. She'd had her chance, and she blew it. The gulf between them was too vast. It would take nothing short of her showing up naked on his doorstep, which she would've done when she was seventeen and ten pounds lighter.
He'd probably driven away by now. It was time to go back and see through the rest of the dinner party. She patted down her hair and then froze when footsteps approached behind her. Her heart leapt, and she spun to see Gavin standing in the kitchen door.
He handed her a folded-up piece of paper. She almost didn't take it, but he flapped it at her impatiently. When she took it he gave her a lopsided grin and then left.
Meg never saw that he'd been there. "Ready?" she asked from Dori's office.
"In a minute," Dori called out, impatient to read the note in her now shaking hand.
"Come out when you're ready."
Dori waited for Meg to step outside, and then she walked into the dining room and sank into one of the chairs. She unfolded the paper and for a moment took in his bold handwriting. She could see where he'd pressed the pen deep into the paper.
Dori-
I'm the one who made the offer to buy your house. I came with another letter much different than this one but I can't give it to you. All I can say about buying your house is that you know I'll take care of it with my own two hands. Yes, I've loved this house the same way you do and you were pretty suspicious of me in the beginning. But I'm also buying this house because I couldn't drive by it knowing someone who wasn't you lived in it.
Call me crazy but I'm still that pathetic kid in school who wants you to be his girlfriend. At first, when your grammy came to me asking for help, I was hoping to make some money and possibly make you jealous. I even thought you might make the first move and then I'd get the chance to turn you down. But there's no way I'd be able to do that to you. The plain truth is that I wanted to be around you. I wanted to see if you were just something I'd made up in my head.
I'm probably embarrassing us both by writing this. I understand that if you saw me at the store, you'd pretend you didn't see me to avoid a really awkward moment.
Then again, there were times when I thought I saw something in you. When you said you were planning to leave for good, I couldn't risk losing this chance, slim as it probably is. If this was the wrong thing to do, I'm sorry. But if I'm right in feeling what I feel, give us a chance.
Yours, Gavin
With the note still clutched in her fist, Dori found him sitting in his truck across the street. He rested one hand on the steering wheel while staring out the window.
She stopped at the curb, perched on the very edge. The fading sunlight turned purple and blue. On stiff legs, she crossed the street.
Gavin turned when she came to his open window, resting her hand on the edge. He stared at her, not sure what to expect. When she smiled, he opened the door. She slipped her arms around his waist and held on. Wrapped in his warmth, she shivered and then settled in to listen to his heart beating.
The train, April 1932
"More coffee, Mr. Sorolla?"
Vicente looked over his shoulder at Andy Munemitsu, who like him, had been recruited from the orange groves to transport product from the midnight deliveries along the coast. Now Vicente was James McClemmy's personal secretary and Andy the butler.
For some reason, he was overjoyed to see him as if it had been decades not minutes since they'd last spoken. Tears burned his eyes, or maybe it had been the bright sun that blinded him. All he could make out was Andy's white coat and his silhouette against the open windows facing the hazy ocean.
"Go to hell."
"Very good sir," Andy replied and then snorted.
Vicente fought to keep from smiling.
"Good thing he's not here to see this," Andy said, whipping out a towel and then mopping up the spilt coffee.
Rubbing his aching forehead, Vicente asked, "When are you heading back?"
"Right after I make sure you're fed and diapered."
Andy finished with the coffee and returned to the private car's kitchenette.
Vicente stared across the new airport tarmac at the San Diego Bay. It was a hazy blur of blue, but he could almost smell the brine and hear the crunching sand under his shoes. If he closed his eyes, he might feel the wind and see her-
He staggered when the train pulled to a stop.
"Here," Andy said, holding the camel hair coat open for Vicente to slide his arms into the sleeves.
"Give it over."
"Let me do my job while I still have it."
Vicente gave him a dirty look and then yanked his coat free. He nearly caught his watch on the satin lining. Andy sighed. "At least let me open the door."
He had this feeling he'd done this before. Vicente shook it off and started for the door that Andy held open.
"See ya later," he said, about to step out into the sunlight.
"Not this time, Vince."
Vicente stopped, grabbing the railing. He turned to Andy, who was gone.
When he touched down on the wood floor, he looked up and froze. He was in the front parlor again. Confused, he looked for the two men who beat him to death and the thing that whispered rage in his ears. A fancy rug was underfoot and conversation drifted in from the back. Nothing moved.
Unlike the last time, he remembered everything: James McClemmy's betrayal, Anna and Dori.
Vicente spun when the front door opened. Its hinges groaned, and he moved to a spot where he could see who walked in without being seen.
Footsteps sounded and then stopped. She appeared in the doorway, smiling right at him as if she'd known he would be waiting there.
Vicente didn't dare blink as she crossed the room to him. Just like the night in her basement, she wore the white button-down shirt, pants and brown l
ace-up shoes.
"You're not real," he said, his voice choked off by the emotions that made him shake like a leaf caught in the wind.
Anna reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. He grabbed her hand and pressed his lips against the warm skin and thin bones.
"But this means you're dead," he managed, not hiding his tears from her.
Anna blinked. "Do I look dead to you?"
He laughed and cried at the same time. Her eyes shone with joy. He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her.
She pulled away and then kicked him. "You said you'd come back!"
He welcomed the pain where she got him in the shin. "I know. But Anna, I-" He choked and then said, "I've been waiting here for you the whole time."
The house, present day
Dori had just made the decision to go home with Gavin and make up for all the years they'd missed when she heard them shouting her name.
"Ignore them," he said when she broke the kiss and looked over her shoulder.
"What if the house is on fire?"
He pushed her backwards, trying to get out of the truck.
They had just made it across the street, when Dori slowed to a stop. The front door was open.
"Come on," Gavin called after her.
She shook her head and veered off towards the porch. Dori's heart pounded and hands went slick with expectation. She walked into the shadowed hallway and froze in place when she saw the flare of gold light in the front parlor.
"Vicente?" she called.
She vaguely heard the panicked group outside. Dori walked into the front parlor. The smell of candy and cologne lingered in the air.
Dori pressed her hand to her heart banging against her chest. She looked frantically for them in the dark corners when the smudges in the mirror caught her eye. The group chattered that all the candles flared up and nearly burnt the tent down.
Ignoring them, Dori stepped up to the marble hearth and saw that the smudges were words. She read in the waning light: She came for me.
-The End-
Please turn the page for the excerpt from the next short story in the Dori Orihuela Paranormal Mystery series, Girl in the Mist.
The Dori Orihuela paranormal mystery continues with
GIRL IN THE MIST
Copyright 2013 Mary Castillo
An excerpt of what happens next…
After driving under the redwood shadows, the crescent-shaped beach seemed to burst before them in shocking white and heavenly blue. In that moment, Dori forgot to be suspicious of Gavin poking into her personal stuff to plan their first romantic trip. She was mesmerized by the ocean that sparkled as if diamonds had fallen from the sky
"Is this is my surprise?" she asked.
"Part of it," Gavin said, leaning over the steering wheel to get a better look at Carmel River Beach. "Wow. It's usually fogged in."
She rubbed her goosepimply arms to warm them up, welcoming the heat of the late afternoon sun. A month ago, Gavin told her he had set up a surprise just for the two of them.
Dori's first instinct was to demand how he knew her work schedule when she hadn't told him. But he had been so full of glee and mischief that she stretched her lips into a grin and asked if she should pack for warm or cold. He replied both and then during these past weeks left her clues throughout the house – a pine cone, beach sand in an antique glass bottle and this morning a vintage tea cup hand painted with a fairytale cottage.
"It's been killing you hasn't it?" he asked, cutting into her thoughts.
"What?" she asked, stalling.
Laughter made his lips tremble. "Don't what me." In such a short time, he knew her too well. "You've been dying to know how I knew you'd have this week off."
"It crossed my mind."
"Okay I'll tell you. You left your work calendar on the kitchen table."
"When?"
"A couple of months ago. You didn't think I'd poke around your stuff did you?"
Yes, she had but opted to keep it to herself. In her experience, men didn't react well when challenged. One wrong word and they'd be yelling and then all the jugging he'd done to make sure his daughter was taken care of and his work calendar rearranged would be ruined.
"Come on admit it," he said, sneaking his hand over to grab hers which she held balled tight in her lap.
Dori took a deep breath and then admitted, "Okay I did. But I didn't make a big deal of it because it's not like I have anything to hide."
He squeezed her hands. "I know my limitations. I just wanted this to be special."
He then let go of her hands to hold onto the wheel. Dori uncurled her fingers. She rolled down her window, breathing in the cold air tinged with ocean, pine and cypress.
The road took them by the 18th Century Carmel Mission and whimsical cottages with thatched roofs, stone chimneys and diamond-paned windows tucked into the forest. Eventually they turned and headed down Ocean Avenue that cut through the center of the small downtown. Couples and families, almost all with dogs, strolled in and out of the boutiques and cafes. After seven hours in the car, she wanted to walk up and down these streets, with Gavin's hand in hers.
Gavin pointed out his favorite restaurants and the bookstore he wanted to show her. Her eyebrows lifted when he pulled into the porte-cochere at the Del Mar, a Mediterranean resort built in the 1910's. It was a few streets away from the shops and restaurants. The ocean's roar could be heard through the trees.
A bellhop took them out of the lobby and across the street to a cottage hidden by overgrown hedges. A crooked river rock chimney reached up to the sky and green moss decorated the shingled roof. Adirondack chairs with colorful pillows were grouped around a brick fire pit. A path meandered alongside the cottage to a second, smaller one in the back.
The bellhop opened the Dutch door.
"Go on, check it out," Gavin said.
Dori walked inside while he tipped the bell hop and sent him away. Burning logs snapped in the fireplace and a bottle of champagne waited in an ice bucket. A bouquet of her favorite flowers, sweet peas that were so dark they were almost black, rested on the giant bed.
Her chest went hot and tingly as she stood there taking it all in. He did this for her. The long drive. The lucky break finding her schedule and juggling his work crew and his daughter. He'd worked late last night. But he brought her here. No man had ever done something like this for her before, because, well frankly she never let one get past her defenses. When she hadn't been paying attention, Gavin saw the romantic heart she kept hidden, and had known just what would make her eyes fill up with tears.
The door shut. She turned and saw that knowing grin of his stretched proud and unrepentant.
"Oh shut up," she said, looking away when her voice cracked under the strain of not crying in front of him.
He got to work on the champagne while she stopped being such a girl. It only took 36 years for it to happen, but with one letter from him, Dori tripped and fell deeply, truly, completely in love. He had offered to buy her house and when she told him she was keeping it, he just smiled like he'd known she would do that. They spent every other weekend together unless Dori was on duty, or he had his six year-old daughter, Bella, whom she still hadn't met. Gavin respected her job and his laid back, creative mind was the antidote to long days on the job. He even survived a cop barbeque without getting intimidated by her male colleagues who initially froze him out. He started talking with her sergeant's wife and, before Dori knew it, Gavin was like an old friend of the family. Now when her colleagues invited her to barbeques, they always asked if Gavin was coming too.
As happy as she'd been these three months, she also lived in terror. There were nights she'd jolt awake that it had all been a dream like Bobby Ewing's death on Dallas. She always screwed up. But as Meg told her, maybe she wouldn't this time. She cleared her throat and joined him by the fire.
When Gavin handed her the flute, glittering with golden bubbles, she trusted herself to talk. "Thank you," she said, sinkin
g into the impossibly comfortable sofa.
"I did good, didn't I?" He clinked his glass against hers then nudged her over so he could sit with his arm around her shoulders.
After a few sips of champagne, she let her head rest on his shoulder. "This is all-" she choked up again.
"We have an hour and a half before sunset," he said easily as if her tears were safe with him.
The fire warmed her face. She could fall asleep to the sound of his heart beat.
"You know, I'm worried about something," he said, putting his flute on the table.
"What?"
He took her drink and set it next to his. He then looked down at her lap. "Your jeans look too tight."
The warm fuzzy bubble in which she had been floating popped. "What?"
"Mmm hmm." Just when she was about to get good and offended his fingers traced the inseam up her thigh. His hand cupped over her, fingertips pressing ever so slightly to make her squirm for more.
"I don't want you to be uncomfortable," he said quietly, just before he sucked her ear lobe into his hot mouth.
With a hiss of surprise, she arched up from the sofa, loving the feeling of being teased by those strong, dark fingers. He then firmly took her chin and turned her face to him. His eyes met hers and then he kissed her. Holding her in place, his tongue invaded her mouth, mimicking what he'd do once he got undressed. She grabbed onto him and he made a dark sound that sent a vibration from her mouth straight to where his hand played her.
With Gavin rhythmically stroking her, she lifted her hips in a silent plea for more. He smiled against her mouth before catching her bottom lip between his teeth. Her zipper hissed down.
"Lift your hips," he said.
She did and for a fleeting moment, realized the curtains were wide open. Gavin yanked her jeans and panties down in one pull and she forgot all about the windows.
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