by SUE FINEMAN
“He’s adorable, but…” She shook her head. “Maybe I’ll change my mind someday, but for now, I’m content with my nieces and nephews.”
She saw the disappointment on his face. “Do you want a family, Steffen?”
“Yes, I do. I want a wife and at least two kids, maybe more.”
She’d begun to hope for a future with this man, but if they found a way to be together, he’d expect her to give him children. But she couldn’t stay home and cook and clean and tend to the children like her mother. She needed the challenge and satisfaction that came with police work. It was a dangerous profession, and she didn’t want to risk getting killed on the job and leaving her children without a mother. Better not to have kids to begin with than to put them through that kind of anguish. Her mother was only twelve when her father was killed in the line of duty, shot by a deranged man whose wife was lying wounded and near death in the front yard of their home. His death changed Mom’s life. Ginny couldn’t do that to her own kids.
That afternoon, while Steffen talked with Jerry about the upcoming trip to Florida, Ginny sat at the grand piano and ran her fingers over the keys. The rich, mellow tones filled the room. She settled in a classical piece she’d learned many years ago. Her musical skills weren’t great, but a piano like this made everything sound good. It must have cost a small fortune. Her parents bought her piano second-hand when she was a little girl. The people who’d once lived in this condo had probably never bought anything second-hand.
What would it be like to have enough money to buy anything she ever wanted, to live in a beautiful condo like this and have a loving husband like Steffen? It was a tempting dream, a dream that wouldn’t happen in real life. She couldn’t be what he wanted her to be.
Besides, he’d never said he loved her, and without love, what was the point?
After the trip to Florida, she’d return to work and try to find the man who was so obsessed with her he shot Steffen over a kiss. Her picture had been in the newspaper many times, often with a man, but none of her lovers had been shot because of a picture.
“What are you thinking about?” Steffen asked.
“The shooter. Did the pictures you saw all look recent?”
Steffen brought up a vision of the wall of pictures. Scanning the pictures, he said, “They all look fairly recent. Why?”
“It could mean he hasn’t known me long…. Or I haven’t known him long.”
“Could it be someone you arrested? Someone you dated? Someone you work with?”
“I don’t know, Steffen. It’s probably some sick stranger who saw my picture and decided he wanted me. What else do you see in that room? Is it small or large? Natural light from a window, or does it have a ceiling fixture or lamp?”
Steffen stared into the distance, clearing his mind to focus on the vision. He talked his way through it. “The ceiling is low and from the way the light glares on the pictures, I’d say it was from a bare bulb. No natural light, and the pictures are taped to a wall of dark wood, like old-fashioned paneling. Some pictures are blown up, as if he used a color copier. The big pictures are a little out of focus.”
“What am I doing in the pictures?”
“In one picture, you’re getting in your car in a parking lot. In another, you’re walking up the steps to a house with a white picket fence.”
“That’s probably my parents’ house on Livingston Avenue.”
“I saw him walk past a house on Livingston Avenue, but I didn’t see a fence.”
“The fence is around the backyard. We all go in that way.”
Steffen nodded. “Okay, that works. I saw him in front of the house. There’s a big porch with a swing, and a street sign on the corner.”
“Same house.” She hugged her arms. “Maybe I should go back home and try to figure out—”
“No, you should take some time to rest and have fun.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “We’ll figure it out in time, but until he’s caught, I don’t want you staying anywhere alone.”
She gazed into his eyes. “I’m not the one he shot, Steffen.”
“True, but my pictures don’t hang on his wall. Yours do.”
“Where? Where is the wall?”
“I’m not sure, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s in a basement, probably in his home.”
She groaned. “Most homes in River Valley have basements.”
<>
Phoebe called Roland Sunday afternoon, as she said she would.
Roland’s spirits lifted. “Are you still angry with me?”
“Not so much angry as disappointed. I thought I could trust you to tell me the truth.”
“You can, darling. I promise you I won’t lie to you again if you’ll come back to me. I love you so much, and I miss you.”
She sighed deeply. “What about the floor refinishing? Do you still want me to let the man into the house?”
“If you would, yes. I must return to work tomorrow. I’m already way behind on my work, and with tax season, I expect to be quite busy over the next two months.”
“I know. Okay, I’ll let the man in. Do you want me to come over and help you clear out the rooms?”
He smiled to himself. “I could use your help.”
“Then I’ll be over in a few minutes.”
He wanted to shout with joy.
Phoebe was coming over.
<>
Monday morning, Steffen and Ginny flew into the Melbourne airport, rented a car, and followed the map to Joseph’s winter home in Melbourne Shores.
Steffen opened the car door and smelled the fresh, salty air, heard the sound of the waves beating on the shore, and felt the warmth of the sun on his face. The house perched on the dunes looked like a Mediterranean style, single story, perfect for an old man to sit outside in the sunshine and enjoy the view of ships passing by.
He unlocked the door and walked inside with Ginny. She put her suitcase down and pointed at the windows across the back of the big living area, windows that overlooked a sparkling pool and the constantly moving ocean. At that moment, he didn’t care what the house looked like. “I could live here.”
She grinned up at him. “Let’s look at the house, Mr. Sensational.”
He set his suitcase down and explored the house. The master bedroom and study were on the right. The master bath had a huge slipper tub in the middle, perfect for soaking away the stress of the day. As if he’d be stressed in paradise. They wandered into the kitchen on the other side of the living area. There was a formal dining room and an eating area off the kitchen, but no family room. Not that they needed one. Three more bedrooms, each with a private bath, were strung along the side wall on the other side of the kitchen. Unlike the condo in Chicago, each room in this house was furnished with comfortable, contemporary furniture.
Ginny opened the refrigerator. “Looks like someone went grocery shopping for us.”
Steffen nodded. He’d asked Jerry to have the caretaker buy them enough food to get by for a couple days. He opened the sliding doors in the living room. They pushed into the wall, leaving the entire wall open to the deck surrounding the pool. “Nice.”
“Nice in the summer, maybe,” Ginny said, rubbing her arms.
He laughed and pulled the doors closed. In March it was still winter in Chicago. The balmy breeze off the ocean was pleasantly cool, not freezing cold. “I can see why Joseph lived here in the winter.”
“The house is beautiful, not as big as the condo, but more comfortable. Why did he need such a big house?”
“From what Jerry tells me, Joseph bought this house before his son was killed. He used to bring the whole family here.”
She nodded. “I could see Billy and Kayla and their kids here. They’d love it.”
“So send them down for spring break.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. No sense letting the house sit empty.” When he was a kid, he would have given anything to live in a house
on the beach for a week. He couldn’t remember his family ever taking a vacation. One summer he took the bus to the lake with his father and spent the afternoon playing on the beach, but there were no family trips, no vacation homes, no camping. No family bonding time.
They unpacked and settled in the master suite, then Ginny took a long, hot bath in the big slipper tub while Steffen rummaged in the kitchen to see what he could fix for dinner. He found everything he needed to make a chicken casserole and fruit salad. The caretaker had even provided them with a loaf of crusty French bread. A note by the kitchen phone gave the caretaker’s name and phone number.
Ginny came out wearing her robe, her skin pink from her hot bath. She looked relaxed and happy, and he wanted to keep her that way forever. But they could only stay on the beach a few days, then she’d have to go back to River Valley, where an unbalanced man secretly stalked her and took her picture.
Later that evening, Ginny and Steffen sat outside on the deck, listening to the ocean lap and suck at the shore. The three-quarter moon shone on the water, and a cruise ship went by out at sea, lights on brightly, making a puddle of light on the Atlantic. Ginny said, “I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with my parents many years ago. I had a great time, but being here with you is better than a cruise.” She put her head on his shoulder. “It’s heaven.”
His arm came around her shoulders in a gentle squeeze. “I could stay here with you forever.”
“It’s tempting, isn’t it?” she said on a sigh. She’d only known him a few weeks, yet the more time they spent together, the more she wanted to be with him. He could read her thoughts and manipulate her mind, but at that moment she didn’t care what he could do.
She was falling in love.
They went inside to the bedroom. Listening to the sound of the ocean outside, they undressed and crawled between the sheets of the big bed. His hands glided over her naked body, making her shiver with delight. His lips followed, and she moaned. Sensation after sweet sensation washed over her until she came in a magnificent explosion that made colorful lights go off inside her head.
“I love you, Ginny,” he whispered. “God, how I love you.”
She held him tightly, wanting to tell him she loved him, too. But she couldn’t say the words. If she told him how she felt, he’d expect her to move to Chicago to live with him, and she couldn’t do it.
Ginny felt a need to talk with her mother, to ask some hard questions about her parents’ marriage and her mother’s choices, but she didn’t want to have that discussion over the phone. They’d have that talk face-to-face after she returned home.
She needed to make some phone calls in the morning to check on Phoebe and tell Karen about Steffen’s vision of the wall of pictures. But the calls could wait until tomorrow.
Tonight, she wanted to snuggle in the arms of Mr. Sensational.
Steffen held Ginny in the aftermath of a thrilling bout of love-making. His heart still pounded from the excitement, but he felt wounded, too. He told her he loved her, and she didn’t respond. He knew she cared for him, but she had the same reservations he did about a future together. He should have fallen in love with a woman who wanted a traditional marriage instead of a hard-nosed cop. But it was too late to think about that now. He loved this woman, and he wanted a future with her.
Somehow, he had to make it happen.
<>
After Roland returned to work, a man refinished the floors in his home. Phoebe had the new furniture delivered, the wallpaper removed and the walls painted in the living and dining rooms, and the new drapes hung. The kitchen and master suite still needed work, but everything else was coming together quite nicely, thanks to Phoebe. What would he do without her?
He worked at least twelve hours a day in an effort to catch up on his work and take care of income taxes for his primary clients. Today, Phoebe moved their things from her mother’s home back to his home, and they were having dinner there for the first time in nearly two weeks.
Gazing at her pretty face across the dinner table, he felt fortunate to have her here. He knew he wouldn’t have gotten all this work done without her help, but the work didn’t matter as much as having her present in his life.
“What are you thinking about, Roland?” she asked.
“You, of course, and how lucky I am to have you in my life.”
She blushed a little, always shy when he gave her a compliment.
Since he told her about the lie, she wouldn’t sleep with him, and his bed felt cold and lonely without her soft, warm body. Despite his good intentions, he’d ruined everything between them. She might run away again, but he had to ask the question. “Phoebe, when I get through tax season, what would you think about getting married?”
“M-married?” she sputtered, obviously surprised.
“Surely you’ve thought about it. You know I love you, and I can’t imagine my life without you. Do you love me, Phoebe?”
“Marriage?”
“I know you’ll probably want to wait awhile before the ceremony, but we could get engaged, then we could plan the wedding together whenever you think it’s time. What do you think, sweetheart? Will you marry me?”
He dropped his voice. “Phoebe, darling, do you love me?”
“Well, yes, but it’s a little soon for… And what about… I don’t know about marriage, Roland. We haven’t known each other that long, and we haven’t even made love. What about children? Do you want a family?”
“I want whatever you want. If you want a family, I would be delighted to father your children.”
The blush on her cheeks darkened.
“Do you want children, Phoebe?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “One, maybe two.”
He grinned. “Does this mean you’ll marry me?”
“Well, I suppose—”
He jumped up, walked around the new dining table, and dropped to his knees in front of her. He reached up and kissed her. “I love you so much, my darling.”
“I love you, too, Roland.”
She slept in his bed that night, and they made love for the first time. Roland had read a couple books about sex, but it was the first time he’d ever done something that intimate. It was her first time, too, and although she flinched the first time he pushed inside her, she didn’t seem injured.
Later, she said, “Roland, you didn’t use a condom and I don’t use birth control. What if I get pregnant?”
“If you do, we won’t wait to get married. We’ll do it right away.”
She smiled and snuggled in.
If he wasn’t in the middle of tax season, he’d find a judge to marry them tomorrow. He had his darling back in his bed, but he wanted more.
He wanted them to make a permanent commitment to love each other forever.
<>
Ginny’s cell phone rang the next morning. Phoebe said, “We did it, and we’re getting married.”
“Did what?” Ginny replied, still half asleep after a long night of love-making with Mr. Sensational. And he was Sensational last night.
“You know,” Phoebe said.
Ginny’s eyes widened. “Oh, you mean you did that.”
Phoebe giggled like a little girl. “Yes. He loves me, and I love him, and we’re going to get married.”
“Wow! He must be a good lover.”
“I suppose, although it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be.”
“The first time is always a little disappointing. Next time it’ll be better.”
“Do you think so?”
“I know so.” Ginny looked up and saw Steffen standing in the doorway holding a mug of coffee and wearing nothing but a smile. Still looking at the magnificent naked man standing before her, she said, “The more you do it, the better it gets.”
Steffen’s eyebrows lifted and his eyes sparkled. His penis was growing before her eyes.
“I’m happy for you, Phoebe. When do you plan to get married?”
“I don’t know. He wants to wait
, unless I get pregnant, then we’ll do it right away.”
Pregnant. That meant they weren’t using birth control. Like she and Steffen the first time they were together. The thought slapped her in the face like a glass of cold water.
She could be pregnant.
Ginny talked with Phoebe a little longer. She couldn’t remember the last time her friend had sounded so happy. Steffen handed her his mug of coffee and she sipped. She felt happy, too, but she didn’t want to be pregnant.
<>
Two days later, Ginny’s vacation on the beach ended. They flew back to Chicago, where she stayed in Steffen’s condo for one night.
The next morning, while she was packing for the flight home, he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with me, Ginny?”
“Steffen, I love being with you, but I can’t stay. I have to work. I need the mental stimulation and satisfaction of accomplishing something, of taking the bad guys off the streets before they hurt other people.”
He sat on the side of the bed. “Your career is more important to you than me.”
Frustrated, she said, “Don’t you understand? If I stay, I might grow to resent you for making me give up my work, and I don’t want to resent you.”
“You wouldn’t be happy with me.” It didn’t sound like a question.
“I wouldn’t be happy with me. What are you going to do with your time now that you’re not touring and putting on shows?”
“I thought I might attempt to write a book. I may need a ghostwriter at some point, but I’ll try it myself first.”
“While you’re writing your book, what am I supposed to do?”
He didn’t answer.
She finished packing and zipped her suitcase. The box of tampons sat in the bottom of the bag, unopened, like a doomsday omen.
Maybe she was just late.
Please God, let me be late.
Steffen drove her to the airport and kissed her goodbye. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
“Goodbye, Steffen. I had a wonderful time.”
“Please be careful, and don’t stay alone until they catch the man with the wall of pictures.”
“Yes, all right.” She didn’t want that creep – whoever he was – following her out to her house on Honey Creek. She’d stay in town with her parents.