Luke’s already large eyes began to widen too, not from concern over Daniel’s stare, but from recognition. He knew this man. Or, at least, he knew of him. He remembered that arrogant face, those big, bright hazel eyes, that style about him that one female reporter said could charm a wino out of his wine. Daniel Crane. That was his name. The asshole big corporate boy with Dreeson, a company with one of the worse environmental records in the country. The enemy.
“Luke, this is Daniel Crane,” Nikki said, introducing the men and breaking both men’s stare. “He’s my boyfriend.”
Daniel glanced at Nikki. He never liked that term, and Nikki knew it. But he suspected that was exactly why she used it.
But Luke was still thrown. Daniel Crane was the boyfriend that he had suspected Nikki had? Daniel Crane of all people? Damn, he thought. He hadn’t expected this level of competition.
“You aren’t the same Daniel Crane who happens to be senior VP over at Dreeson,” he asked, being coy. “Are you?”
Daniel placed his hands in his pants pockets and continued to stare at Luke. Luke knew he was one in the same, and Daniel knew he knew. Why he wanted to play some game only heightened Daniel’s suspicions of the man. “Yes, that’s right,” he said.
“Yeah, you’re the VP at Dreeson. I remember you. You guys are major polluters, man, don’t you realize that? You’re killing our babies.”
“Daniel isn’t like that, Luke,” Nikki said, but Daniel cut her a look that disquieted her.
“Don’t you apologize for me,” he said harshly.
“I wasn’t apologizing for you. I was just telling him the truth. But forget it, okay?” Nikki frowned and looked away from Daniel.
Daniel regretted immediately that he had spoken to her in such a tone, especially when he knew she meant well. But the idea of her trying to appease some self-righteous, closed-brain punk like Luke Finley was more than he was willing to stomach.
“You all right, Nick?” Luke asked, capitalizing on the breach, and Nikki nodded her head. She wanted to fight back but she wasn’t about to give Daniel that satisfaction.
“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks.”
“And I’m not trying to down your boyfriend, I’m not about that and you know it. But Dreeson is messed up, man. They don’t care what they’re doing to this environment.”
“Luke, let’s just move on, okay? I’m kind of tired.”
“You’re right. You’ve been through hell and I’m standing up here preaching like some idiot. Forgive me?”
Nikki smiled. “There’s nothing to forgive,” she said, and Daniel looked at her.
“I’m just glad you made it out of there in one piece,” Luke said. “Lynn called and told me what happened. She said her own people trampled you.”
“They did,” Nikki said, still smiling. “I was knocked down by absconding activists.”
Luke laughed. “That’s a damn shame.”
“I’m sayin’. But all of them were okay, right? They all got away?”
Luke glanced at Daniel. He loved the fact that Crane, not him, seemed to be the odd man out. “Yeah,” he said. “They’re all good. It’s ironic, but nobody got hurt but you, Nikki.”
“Ain’t no irony in it,” she said to Luke’s laughter. “Don’t even trick that. It’s the story of my life.”
Daniel did feel like a third wheel as Nikki and Luke shared their moment of gaiety. He was still traumatized by that phone call from the hospital saying that Nikki was in an accident to make light of it. Which, he knew, didn’t endear him to Nikki at this very moment. She needed him to be understanding, not critical. And it was a weakness Daniel knew he had. While being understanding was a strength, Daniel was slowly realizing to his own dismay, Luke Finley seemed to have in spades.
Luke and Nikki continued laughing as a uniformed police officer, fortyish, white, tall, peered into the room. “Nikki Graham?” he asked at the door.
Everybody looked in the officer’s direction. “Yes,” Nikki said, and then the officer walked further into the room.
“I’m Deputy Morgan with the Fergus Falls P.D., ma’am.” He said this and nodded in Luke’s direction. “Sir,” he said to Daniel.
“What can I do for you deputy?” Nikki asked, already knowing full well what.
“I need to ask you a few questions about tonight.”
Nikki hesitated, as she and Luke exchanged a glance. “Okay,” she said cautiously.
“I’m going to get to the point, Miss Graham. I need some names, ma’am. I need the names of the violators.”
“What violators?” Luke asked, and both the officer and Daniel looked at him.
“And you are, sir?”
“I’m a newspaper editor. I’m her boss. Now what violators are you referring to?”
“The ones who were attempting to vandalize property at Oxidare, sir. Miss Graham knows what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t think I do know, Deputy.” Nikki said this and Daniel, surprised, looked at her.
The deputy hesitated. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy. “What organization was out there tonight, Miss Graham? Who spearheaded the event?”
“Organization? Event?”
“Yes.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It was FAN, wasn’t it?” the deputy asked.
“FAN?” Nikki replied.
Daniel unbuttoned the coat of his tuxedo and placed his hand on his waist. He knew better than this.
“Yes, FAN,” the deputy said to Nikki. “The Fresh Air Now organization, ma’am.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was hanging out on a public street, then the police came, and I was trampled. That’s all I know, that’s all I’m going to say.”
The deputy sighed and looked to Daniel. Daniel, however, was staring at Nikki. The policeman therefore closed his writing pad and shook his head.
“You’re tired, ma’am. Perhaps we can revisit this tomorrow.”
“Okay, but I’m not going to have anything further to say tomorrow or any other day.”
“That’s right,” Luke said, and the deputy glared at him.
“Look,” he said to Nikki, “I know you’re a journalist trying to do your job. But when they cut through that barbed wire and penetrated that property, a crime was committed. You’re more than a journalist now. You’re a witness, ma’am. A witness to a crime. And you’re interfering with a police investigation when you withhold information.”
“She said she doesn’t have any information,” Luke said, knowing full well how far the police department was willing to go when a journalist was involved.
But Nikki could defend herself. “I have a first amendment right not to reveal the source of any story I may or may not write, deputy. And I’m not about to say anything more than that.”
Nikki knew the drill too. And the deputy knew she knew it. That was why he looked at Daniel one more time, hoping for some support from the older man there, but finding a man consumed by his own rage. The deputy left.
As soon as he did, Daniel fumed. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.
Nikki expected his fury. “I’m doing my job, Daniel.”
“Why didn’t you answer his questions, Nikki?”
“I’m a journalist. I don’t have to answer those kinds of questions.”
“Like hell you don’t! Laws were broken tonight.”
“I didn’t break any laws. The people who were at that location tonight were my source for a story. And I’m not about to reveal my source.”
“And you’re exactly right,” Luke said, more than happy to take sides.
“And why don’t you shut the fuck up,” Daniel responded so harshly to Luke that Luke felt the sting on his face.
And he wanted to lash back. He desperately wanted to. But he decided against it. He was no fighter and wasn’t going to pretend to be. Besides, Daniel Crane would probably knock him into next week, and Luke knew it. So he didn’t lash back. His ability to manipul
ate situations to his advantage always carried him through the fires of life, and he was relying on that attribute now. He therefore decided to behave as if he was hurt by Crane’s outburst, because he knew Nikki would like that. Crane would be the bad guy, not him.
But Nikki, to Luke’s surprise, didn’t come to his defense. She, instead, seemed more concerned about Crane. She seemed more worried about the fact that Crane had gotten upset, than the fact that Crane had just word-slapped her boss.
“Settle down, Daniel,” she said. “You don’t need to be getting all bent out of shape like this.”
“This is serious,” Daniel said. “They committed a crime, Nikki. You heard that officer. A crime. They aren’t sources anymore. They’re criminals.”
“I have a first amendment right not to reveal my source. And you, the police, and nobody else can force me to reveal my source. I don’t care what y’all say.”
Daniel exhaled so harshly that he could instantly feel his stomach knotting up. To him the rule of law was sacrosanct, a necessity in all civilized societies, and what Nikki was doing was just flat wrong. He was up to here with her inability to think her actions through. He was up to here with her inability to count up the costs. Everything was a cause that she jumped on without reflection. And he’d had it.
He was so frustrated, in fact, that he felt he had to get away from her; that his anger was rising to heights he wasn’t sure he could control. He walked away, to pace the room again, but instead of pacing he left the room, and then the hospital, altogether.
They released Nikki hours later, a few minutes before one a.m., and Luke agreed to drive her back to Oxidare so she could retrieve her car. But only on one condition.
“What condition?” Nikki asked as they walked out of the ER.
“I want you to have one, just one drink with me before calling it a night.”
“I can’t, Luke.”
“Just one?”
“No, I can’t. I just want to go home.”
Luke didn’t like it, but he understood. “You’re right. Sorry again. Forgive me?”
“You’re forgiven,” she said with a weak smile as they walked along the long hospital corridor that led to the parking lot. She kept looking around, for Daniel, as if she still couldn’t believe he would have left her like this. But he had. He was no-where to be seen.
“Why him?” Luke asked.
Nikki looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“You two are so different,” he said. “And I mean in every way. You’re young and beautiful and understanding of people. He’s an old conservative tight-ass who just doesn’t get it. I mean come on, Nikki. Of all these guys out here dying to get your attention, and I mean dying, why on earth would you end up with a guy like Daniel Crane?”
Nikki closed her eyes. A million reasons. A zillion. “Because he’s good,” she said.
“Good?”
“Yes. He’s good.”
“You mean in bed?”
“No! I mean, he’s good there too.”
They both laughed. Luke also ached inside.
“But he’s not like anybody I’ve ever met, Luke. He cares about me, not just my body. He wants me to be the best I can be, that’s why he was upset at the hospital. We’ve been together for four years now, and I can honestly say there’s no other man I’ve ever respected more. He’s one of the good guys. He gives to the poor, he visits the sick, he goes to church like every Sunday almost.”
“Yeah, he’s a great Christian man. A Christian man who won’t marry you.”
This stung Nikki, as Luke knew it would. But she tried not to show it. “Who said I want to get married?”
“You do.”
“How can you say that? You don’t know me like that.”
“I know your type, Nikki. Yeah, you want to be a Sadie so bad you can feel it. But old man Crane won’t budge.”
“Stop calling him old. He’s only thirty-nine. Do you consider thirty-nine old?”
“Yeah, his ass old,” Luke said and laughed. When Nikki refused to join in, he turned serious again. “But after four years why won’t his old ass marry you, Nikki? That’s the question.”
“We decided early on that marriage wasn’t in the cards for us. He’s not the marrying kind and he told me so when I first hooked up with him. He’s a cautious man, what can I say?”
“Oh, yeah? So that’s what it’s called now?”
Nikki looked at Luke. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Where I come from it’s not called caution. It’s called getting the milk for free.”
Nikki shook her head. “It’s not even like that. He’s not using me, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Okay.”
“He’s not.”
“I said okay.”
Nikki gave up. She wasn’t thinking about Luke. Because it was complicated. Daniel loved her. She knew he loved her dearly. But they still had issues they needed to work out. Tonight at the hospital proved that. And she wasn’t about to let the likes of Luke Finley or anybody else rush her or shame her or dog her into anything. She wanted Daniel above any other man, but he had to learn to respect her independence more, and she had to stop centering her entire life around him. They still had issues. Neither one of them, in Nikki’s opinion, were ready yet.
Once they made it out of the hospital, the small parking lot was only half-full. “Where’s your car?” she asked him.
“That BMW over there.” They began heading in that direction. “So,” Luke said, “you actually think an elitist dude like Crane is good?”
“That’s right.”
“But in what way?”
“In every way, Luke. You just don’t know him.”
“Damn right I don’t. Don’t wanna know him either. He’s just another Mitt Romney as far as I’m concerned. He’s just another fat cat tight ass who doesn’t give a damn about the little people.”
Nikki smiled. “But you do, right? Mr. BMW? You do?”
Luke had to smile at that. “I care more than Crane does,” he said. “I’ll bet you that much. He doesn’t deserve you, Nikki. That’s what I’m trying to say.”
He glanced at Nikki when he said that. And Nikki glanced at him. He was a determined young man ready to sweep her off her feet. All she had to do was let him. Probably a good man who would be good to her, and who wouldn’t dream of leaving her in a hospital just because he didn’t agree with her. But she loved Daniel because of his high standards, not in spite of them. And although Luke probably had a lot of good, positive things going for him too, he was no Daniel Crane.
And Daniel Crane was staring at them. He was also in that parking lot, on the car phone inside his Jaguar, watching them as they walked out of the hospital. As they got closer, he exhaled. “I’ll call you back,” he said to the woman on the phone, said his goodbye, and hung up. Then he got out of his car.
Nikki was the first to see him as he began walking toward them. And she was as pleased as she was surprised. But she tried not to show either emotion. “There’s Daniel,” she said to Luke.
Luke, stunned, looked where Nikki was now looking. And sure enough, Daniel Crane was on his way. Looking big and rich in his imported suit. Luke hated the sight of him at that very moment.
“I thought you had gone,” Nikki said as Daniel approached.
“I had,” he said. “You’ve been released?”
“Yes,” she said.
Daniel placed his hand around Nikki’s waist. Luke knew he was marking his territory. He knew he was making clear whose woman she was.
“Thanks for agreeing to give Nikki a ride,” Daniel said to him. “But I’m here now.” Then Daniel looked at Nikki. “I’m parked over there,” he said to her.
Nikki looked at Luke and smiled. “Thanks again,” she said as she began walking away with Daniel. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“It’s already morning, but sure thing,” Luke said with a smile of his own, as if it was no big deal to him at
all. Only it was a big deal. A damn big deal. He wanted her for himself. He decided it just watching her with Crane. He wanted her.
But having her wasn’t going to be as easy a task as he had thought. Daniel Crane was the competition, not some smooth Joe he calculated would take a look at him and all of his attributes and easily leave the scene. And Nikki thought the world of her precious Daniel. He could leave her at the hospital, he could yell at her and neglect her, but he was still an angel in her eyes.
Luke watched as Daniel kissed her while they walked. He watched as Crane’s hand kept moving perilously close to her ass as they walked. He watched as Crane placed her in his fancy Jaguar, and then drove her straight to his bed.
Luke got in his BMW and slammed the door. He knew Daniel Crane was no lightweight. He knew he had a fight on his hands. But he also knew what he had to do. He not only had to convince Nikki Graham that he was the best man for her, but he also had to bring Daniel Crane back down to earth. Nikki had him on a pedestal so high his ass was above the clouds. He could do no wrong in her eyes. Luke had to change that. He had to figure out a way to knock that halo off of Daniel Crane’s head.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nikki drove her Lexus along busy Saint Germaine Parkway as if she didn’t know what a speed limit meant. Because she was late. Because Daniel didn’t take her home last night, but took her to his house. And then he had to take her to Fergus Falls this morning to pick up her car.
Last night was still sketchy to her. She remembered what happened at Oxidare, and she remembered Daniel leaving and then picking her up from the hospital. She remembered falling asleep in his car and then waking up to find that he didn’t take her home. As soon as they walked through his front door, he lifted her into his arms, carried her onto his terrace, and sat her on his lap. And they sat on that terrace, in his lounger, for hours.
DANIEL'S GIRL: ROMANCING AN OLDER MAN Page 13