Darling opened her mouth to answer when a shrill alarm began blaring. Black smoke erupted from her kitchen window. The couple of firemen on scene jumped into action, running into her house. She backed up away from the structure, worried that a spark had somehow caught and the building would soon be engulfed in flames. She stood watching, worrying her bottom lip.
The alarm was silenced. One of the firefighters came out onto the deck and waved the all clear. The other followed him out, holding a smoking tray with charred black clumps stuck to it. Great, her éclairs were burned!
* * * *
Within ten minutes of crossing into lovely Uniontown, Ross had been pulled over for speeding and asked for an autograph by one of the town’s finest. Officer Kingston was beginning to seem like an old friend since he’d seen the guy so many times trailing after Sheriff Brickman to Darling’s lake house. The young cop thanked him profusely for the signature and still gave him a $200 speeding ticket. So much for celebrity special treatment.
He pulled onto the long gravel drive leading to the house only to be forced to park on the lawn. A fire truck, a hazmat crew, and every cop car except for Officer Kingston’s was parked in Darling’s driveway. Ross ripped the keys out of the rental car’s ignition and raced to the house, fearing the worst. Had somebody hurt Darling? It would be all his fault for not keeping her safe with him. He grabbed the first cop he passed. “Where is Darling Roberts?” he demanded, grabbing onto the man’s uniform.
“Hold up there, son. Everything is okay. Ms. Roberts is at the end of the dock, and the suspect is locked up in the squad car singing like a canary.” The cop pointed out toward the long dock to the small figure seated at the end, the drooping gazebo dipping into the water.
Ross took in a deep breath, struggling to slow his racing heart. “What the hell happened?”
“Seems Ms. Robert’s cousin thought she was still away and decided to try and burn down the house. She spotted him pouring kerosene around the perimeter of the house and called the sheriff. We caught him in the act, and the fool tried to run. Took him down myself and pulled a 9mm semi-automatic pistol off him. Likely that was what was used to shoot the windows out last week.” The officer smirked with pride over his takedown. Not that it was all that impressive since Logan wasn’t exactly a track star from what Ross could tell.
Ross looked over the man’s shoulder and saw a dark-haired guy who appeared to be crying in the back seat of a police car. Yep, that was Darling’s asshole cousin, Logan. That boy wouldn’t be able to shed a tear after Ross ripped his head off for nearly shooting Darling. He hoped the bastard made bail real soon.
The officer nodded solemnly. “That boy’s been crying for half hour now, claiming he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, just wanted his cousin to sell the house so his mom could clean up on a real estate development deal. I hate the greedy ones.”
Ross thanked the officer for the information and swiftly ventured out onto the dock. Darling didn’t even turn around until he was only a couple of feet from her. His shadow shaded her head from the late afternoon sun. “I just need to be alone right now.” Darling said, turning and pulling back from him. “What are you doing here?” she asked, surprise genuine in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I fucked up, and I was a total dick to you. I came here to apologize.” He stood waiting for her response, not wanting to crowd her too much.
“Well, now you’ve apologized, and you can go.” She turned her head, looking back out toward the other side of the lake.
“Please, Darling. I screwed up. I thought you had tried to play me with that whole delayed visa thing, and I got mad. I said a lot of shit I shouldn’t have.” He ran his hands through his long hair.
“You apologizing for being an ass doesn’t make everything all better. Sometimes sorry just isn’t enough.” She glared up at him before rising to her feet. “You really believed that I would connive a way to keep you around, hop into your bed, and fly off to Europe with you just so that I could have my own rock star? I can’t even begin to tell you how insulting that is to hear.”
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, not sure what to say next, but he’d beg and plead if she would forgive him. Hell, he’d get down on his knees and cry like her pussy cousin in the squad car if it meant getting Darling back. He twirled his car keys around nervously.
“I still need you to leave. I have a lot of calls to make, and hazmat is suggesting I stay somewhere else tonight until they can be sure to have all the fuel removed. I need to call my dad and figure out if my aunt put Logan up to this or if he came up with the plan all by his weasel self.” She tried to push past him, but he grabbed her arm and held her still.
“I don’t want to lose you, I just—”
She cut him off and wrenched her arm from his grip. “I’m sorry that I’m not enough for you to want to be with. I’m not going to risk putting myself out there for you again only to get hurt even more. There are plenty of girls in your world who will hop in and out of your bed with no strings, but I can’t be one of them.” She stopped her tirade, shook her head, and continued in a softer voice, “Not everyone is out to use you. I really hope someday you get over the loss of your wife and are able to let someone care about you for just you.” A tear slipped down her already tear-stained cheek, and she pushed past him.
“Darling, wait. It’s not like that,” he began, holding his hand out.
She shoved at his hand, sending his car keys flying into the water, and pushed past him down the dock. He watched her leave, hoping she’d turn around and at least look back at him.
Fucking great. Not even a quick look. Ross sighed, knowing that things couldn’t get worse today. He slipped off his boots, jeans, and T-shirt, preparing to dive in after his keys. The water was too deep to even see the bottom, so he’d have to hope they had fallen straight down over the side. That or he’d be calling the rental company and hoping they could get someone out here tonight. He sucked in a lungful of air and dove cleanly into the water, pumping his legs to send him to the bottom. He felt around the sandy bottom, picking up small bits of broken wood and rocks but no keys. He surfaced quickly to take in another gulp of air and returned to the floor of the lake once more. The water was getting murkier the more he stirred up the bottom, but he could still make out the giant pillars of the dock and gazebo. A glint of light off something metallic stuck under a rotting bit of wood caught his attention, and he pulled at it. He shoved back, his eyes widening. He shot up out of the water—a stream of curses flowed from his lips. His day had just gotten significantly worse.
Chapter 44
Darling went into the house determined to wash the tears from her face and pack an overnight bag. She needed some alone time to pull herself together before she called her father. How could Logan have done this to her? As much of a creep as she thought he was, she never would have suspected him of trying to drive her off her property. She started shaking again, thinking about how close she might have come to being burned alive this afternoon.
The tears started up the minute she looked out her bedroom window to the beautiful lake. She was no longer sure she could stay here, even after the kerosene was cleaned up. To make matters worse, Ross wanted to apologize. Madison had already spoken to her twice about the whole situation, so she wasn’t exactly shocked that he’d turned up. She just wasn’t sure she could stay strong and send him away. It was so damn tempting just to take whatever scraps of attention he would offer her and gather them tightly to her heart. She wouldn’t do that; she wasn’t that weak woman anymore. She’d learned that you can’t make someone love you, and you can’t fix someone who’s broken. She didn’t need to read one of those “don’t be an idiot, he doesn’t really love you” books to understand what was going on. Ross wasn’t interested or wasn’t capable of giving her a commitment. She wouldn’t just settle. Despite what he might have accused her of, she was no groupie and she didn’t use people.
She was proud of herself today. She didn’t fall apart or crum
ble. She reacted to the crisis, managed to listen to Ross, and walked away with her dignity intact. Now she would pack a few things and find a cheap motel. Maybe after a hot bath and a strong drink she would be able to call her dad.
She flicked off the hallway light and picked up her overnight bag. At the bottom of the stairs, she spotted Sheriff Brinkman standing with Ross in her kitchen. Ross’ hair was wet and his shirt missing. Now what? Sheriff Brinkman appeared uncomfortable, and Ross was watching her as if she was about to bolt out the door past him.
The sheriff was the first to break the silence. “Darling, I don’t know how else to do this other than to just say it. I think we just found your mom’s remains chained to the bottom of a broken dock post.” He pulled his hat off, placing it respectfully across his torso.
Ross took a couple of steps toward her and reached out. “I’m so sorry, baby. I dove in for my keys, saw something metallic, and—” She stumbled into his arms, dropping her bag. He stroked her back and tucked her head under his chin.
She turned her face sideways from his chest and looked at Sheriff Brinkman.
“Do you know how? I mean, was it an accident?” she asked quietly.
“We’ll know more after the coroner, you know, examines the remains, but it doesn’t seem accidental, not the way the body, I mean your mom, was weighted down. Darling, I’m sorry. I can only hope finally getting some answers will help you and your dad. I investigated fifteen years ago and can’t believe we missed this. Hell, we even dragged a good section of the lake and came up empty.” He dropped his shoulders and stepped back.
Chapter 45
“Ross, really I’m fine. I don’t need you to babysit me. I lost my mom a long time ago; today was just confirmation.” Darling picked up the remote, planning on clicking the hotel room television on only to have Ross pluck the device out of her hands.
“Baby, you’ve had a couple of huge shocks today. I don’t think anybody would be fine. You might finally find out what happened to your mom after fifteen years. Damn, that on top of me being an asshole, and your cousin trying to burn your house down—hell, I’d be real worried if you were fine.” Ross tossed the TV remote onto the other bed in the room and sat down. The mattress dipped a bit from his weight.
“Look, I appreciate you driving me over and getting me a room, but you really don’t need to stick around. I’m going to take a hot bath and pour a big drink from that five-dollar bottle of wine I shoved into my bag.” Ross winced a bit, but she continued. “After that, I hope to be ready to call my dad and go from there.”
He ran a tired hand through his dark blond hair and let out a long sigh. She really should have taken that moment to just get up and lock herself in the bathroom, but a big part of her was secretly pleased that he was sticking around despite her protests.
“Darling, I just flew seven thousand miles to apologize to you because I was a jerk, and I can’t stand the idea of not being with you anymore. That behavior was enough to make me run after you. So, woman, you must be out of your tree if you think after what you’ve been through today I’d leave you alone or go someplace without you.” His green eyes looked intently at her face, and she just wasn’t sure what to even say. In fact she had to remind herself to even breathe. “I wish that was true. I really wish you couldn’t stand to be without me, but I think…oh, I think it makes you feel guilty to be with anybody right now.” She dropped her gaze down, not wanting to watch how his expression would change. She needed to stay strong.
“Guilty? I don’t feel guilty about a damn thing we did, do you?” He reached over and gently pulled her chin up so she’d look into his eyes once more. “Are you feeling bad about something? Because I sure as hell don’t.”
“No. I’m glad about it. I take that back, I’m ecstatic about everything we did. I will remember those nights for how incredible they were. But I know I’m not your late wife, and maybe you’re not ready to move on.” Darling fidgeted with her fingers in her lap, willing herself to not start crying again.
“Baby, I think you’re really confused about something. I don’t feel guilty for being with you. I don’t feel like I’m disrespecting my late wife’s memory. I’ll tell you something nobody else knows. I wasn’t in love with my wife. I didn’t even know who she was anymore by the time she died. I’m sorry about what happened to her, but we’d grown so far apart. Hell, I’m not sure if we’d ever really been together in the first place. I didn’t love her—but I can’t imagine going another day without you.” He got off the bed and paced around the small room, reminding Darling of a caged animal at the zoo.
“It took me a stupid amount of time to figure it out, but I can’t get enough of you. You’re smart and kind and sexy as hell, and you act like a pushover, but you’re really not once you get your heels dug in on something. You make all kinds of good stuff that I don’t even know how to pronounce, and I think you care about me for me. You don’t look down on me for not being educated and coming from a trailer park. You accept people just the way they are. Hell, you’d probably be able to keep a straight face if my mama asked you to name our first daughter Lucy from her favorite TV show, Dallas.” He turned away from her, leaning his hands on the dresser and catching her reflection looking at him in the dresser mirror.
She ducked her face down, not ready to watch him and not sure she was ready to hear what he was saying. He turned around, stepped toward the bed that she was seated on, and sank down onto his knees. He grabbed her hands into his large calloused ones. He pulled her palms forward and pressed her hands against his warm broad chest. “You have my heart. I am going to stay with you, find out the full story on your mom. I’m willing to beg your father to accept me in your life, and I want to take you back to Europe for the rest of the tour and keep you safe and near me. Darling, I want you to marry me and have little babies with me and write cookbooks and complain about me drumming on things all the time and laugh at my country-bumpkin accent and never let me go.”
Darling’s eyes teared up again despite her best intentions. She looked around the room in the only motel in all of Uniontown. This was not exactly the way she’d always dreamed of being proposed to. She never expected to be in a run-down motel room with framed blown-up photos of other hotels in the same chain decorating the walls. She didn’t think she’d be so scared to say yes but even more terrified to say no. She was in love with Ross and loving him was far scarier than anything she’d ever experienced before. The shock she’d experienced earlier today was totally eclipsed by his proposal. He was waiting expectantly, and she was trying to give herself her go-to “pull up your big girl panties” speech once more. He looked miserable. He held her hands tighter against his heart, and the muscle in his jaw started to clench. She really needed to put him out of his misery.
“I have a few conditions before I could agree.”
“Conditions? You have some conditions? I just laid my heart out to you and asked you to be my wife, and you want to negotiate conditions?” His brow arched almost to his hairline.
“Umm-hmm.”
“Well, at least you didn’t say no. So what are they?”
“I still want to finish writing this cookbook, and I get to figure out without any pressure what to do with the lake house.”
He smiled and interrupted her with a quick, “Done.”
She shook her finger in front of his face. “Not so fast, there’s more. I don’t want to be dumped behind every time you go on tour.” She paused until he nodded his head, and then continued, “And I want to try and figure out what all those other toys are in that box, especially the really weird one with all the beads attached to it.”
He pulled her up to her feet and squeezed her body in a hug. He swung her around in his excitement. “You’ll marry me, you’ll become Darling Daniels, you want to cook, keep the lake house, and not be left home while I’m on tour. Oh, and you want to play with more sex toys, is that it?”
Darling bit her lip a bit and nodded. “Yeah, that’s about
it.”
He stopped spinning her and pulled her closer for a long, slow kiss. He was leaving her dizzier with his kisses than the twirling had. He broke off to whisper in her ear, “You’ve made me happier than a cat in a yarn shop.”
Huh?
Chapter 46
Ross escorted Darling into the small conference room where her father already sat. She glanced around the drab beige walls before sitting in the chair Ross pulled out for her. She’d never seen her father look so old and defeated. His eyes were red and had heavy bags under them; his pale hands lay clutched together on the conference room table. He acknowledged her presence with a quiet nod and Ross with a light scowl. Now was not the time to try and make them friends.
She had been called down to the station by Sheriff Brickman and was anxious to find out what was going on. They had only found her mother’s remains last night, so she knew a full medical exam had not yet been possible. Ross dropped into the seat next to her and reached across to take her small hand in his large warm one. He’d insisted on coming with her today rather than let her go alone. The three of them kept up a silent vigil in the room, only interrupted by Sheriff Brickman’s clumsy entrance. He was balancing multiple manila envelopes with all kinds of papers and what looked like photographs haphazardly shoved in.
He took in the crowd and went first over to Mr. Roberts, shaking his hand vigorously with a mumbled, “Good to see you, Frank. Sorry has to be under these circumstances, though.”
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