Summer Vows

by Rochelle Alers

  “I told you before. My house, my phone and my rules.”

  Ana knew arguing with Jacob would prove fruitless and she chided herself for even attempting to engage him in conversation, because invariably he would pull rank and remind her that he controlled her life.

  “Thank you for reminding me,” she said facetiously. Pushing to her feet, she picked up her plate, then Jacob’s. “You cooked so I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

  Jacob stood up, gathering flatware and serving dishes. “I thought you told me you didn’t know how to clean.”

  “I don’t do housework and laundry, but I do clean up after myself whenever I cook.”

  “You can help clear the table, but I’ll put everything else away.”

  Together they made short work of bringing in everything off the deck. Jacob rinsed and stacked dishes in the dishwasher while Ana went back outside. Sitting in front of the crate, she stared the large dog that lay with his muzzle between his paws.

  “Hey there, big boy.” The shepherd’s erect ears moved in response. “I know you don’t want to be in there, but it’s not going to take too long before we become good friends.” She continued to talk to the dog, unaware that Jacob was watching the interchange when he stood peering through the screened-in door.

  He went completely still when she stuck her finger through the grating to touch Baron’s paw. The canine responded by licking her finger. Jacob couldn’t believe the dog hadn’t growled or bitten Ana. Either she was a dog whisperer or Baron had sensed she didn’t pose a threat to him. The large powerful dog belonged to a security expert hired by wealthy businessmen to safeguard their families when traveling on vacation. Brian had taken a week off to go on a fishing expedition and had asked Jacob if he would take care of Baron.

  “He likes you.”

  Ana’s head popped up, she staring at Jacob watching her. “He’s magnificent.”

  Jacob nodded and smiled. “That he is.” He slid back the door, stepped out and closed it behind him. “You like dogs.” The question was a statement.

  “I love them. I grew up with dogs, cat, birds, fish, guinea pigs and a few lizards and turtles. The only things my parents wouldn’t let us have was snakes.”

  His smile grew wider. “It sounds as if you had a menagerie.”

  “It was more like a zoo.”

  Jacob thought about his own childhood growing up in Miami. He’d always wanted a dog, but because of his mother’s allergies that wasn’t possible. “I’m going to take Baron for a walk. Would you like to come with me?”

  “Yes!”

  Reaching down, he cupped her elbow, assisting her to stand. “You’re going to have to wear a hat and sunglasses and hopefully no one will recognize you.”

  Tilting her chin, Ana met his eyes. “I can think of a better disguise.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A wig.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Jacob angled his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t happen to have any hairpieces lying around,” he teased.

  Ana assumed a similar stance, bringing his gaze to linger on her chest. “There has to be a beauty supply or wig shop somewhere around here.”

  “I’m certain there is. But where, is the question.”

  “Do you have a computer?” Jacob nodded. “There’s your answer. You can go online and search on Google to find shops in the Keys that sell wigs and costumes.”

  “I’m certain we’ll find a few in Key West.”

  Ana’s eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. “When do we leave?” she asked. Her voice was filled with a lightness that hadn’t been there in days. And despite her always wanting to visit Key West she couldn’t forget the events that had brought her to this moment.

  Smiling, Jacob shook his head. Her dimpled smile took his breath away. “Do you really want to visit Key West that much?”

  “Some people want to climb Everest. Others want to see the pyramids, while I want to hang out in Key West.”

  “Why didn’t you come down once you were emancipated?”

  Ana lifted her shoulders. “After a while I shrugged it off as some form of childish rebellion. Maybe I’d wanted to prove to my parents I could make it on my own.”

  “Even if you’d managed to live on five thousand dollars for nine years what do you think was going to happen after the money ran out?”

  “I would’ve come into my trust fund at twenty-five.”

  Jacob’s expressive eyebrows lifted a fraction. “Your life would’ve been quite different from what it is now.”

  “I know that,” Ana said wistfully. “I doubt whether I would’ve become involved with the record company. But now that I am I’ll never forgive myself if Tyler doesn’t make a full recovery.” Closing her eyes, she combed her fingers through her short hair. “Basil Irvine lied through his teeth when he said there was no bad blood between his company and Serenity. If I’d been interviewed I would’ve let the world know exactly what went down between us.”

  Reaching out, Jacob held her shoulders firmly. “Stop beating up on yourself. There was no way you could know or stop what happened. Just be grateful that your cousin wasn’t killed. Judging from what I know about your family, I’m certain they’ll use every resource they have to uncover who’s behind the shooting. But if I had to play devil’s advocate, then I’d say it could’ve been a random incident where someone decided to use that parking lot for target practice. After all, there are a lot of crazies roaming the streets.”

  Ana’s eyes met his. “If you find out anything about the sniper will you tell me?”

  “I will tell you whatever Diego wants you to know.”

  “You didn’t answer my question, Jacob. I’m asking whether you intend to withhold information from me.”

  “And I repeat—I will tell you whatever Diego tells me to tell you.” When she tried extricating herself from his loose grip his fingers tightened. “Have you thought maybe you don’t need to know everything that may take place?”

  Her brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

  He didn’t want to tell her that her family had hired men who were trained to extract information from the most recalcitrant captive before turning them over to the proper law enforcement agency. His hands moved from her shoulders to her waist, slightly taken aback at her body’s fragility. Lowering his head, Jacob rested his chin on her head. The floral fragrance clinging to her hair wafted in his nostrils.

  All of his protective instincts surfaced when he said softly, “I don’t want you to worry about anything. Let the professionals do what they do best. What you and I are going to do is have some fun. We’ll drive down to Key West on Friday and spend the weekend.”

  Easing back, Ana flashed a bright smile. “Can we take Baron with us?”

  “Sorry, Princess. Baron’s going home Thursday night.”

  Her smile vanished quickly. “But that’s tomorrow.”

  Jacob’s arms fell away. “Then you’ll have to make the most of your time together. Are you ready to take him for a walk?”

  “Yes, but I’m going to have to borrow a hat from you.”

  “Come with me.” Reaching for her hand, he led her into the house, up the staircase and into his bedroom. He opened the top drawer in a chest of drawers and took out a brand-new cap with a Miami Dolphins logo. He placed the cap on Ana’s head, adjusting it low on her forehead, and peered under the bill. “Perfect.”

  Tilting her chin, Ana smiled up at him. “I have to get my sunglasses and change into a pair of running shoes, and then I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  Ana suggesting a wig was a stroke of genius. A different hair color and/or length would work well in temporarily altering her appearance. Jacob knew staying inside the house would eventually grate on both their nerves. He would take her to Key West as promised and spend a couple of days in Old Town as their home base. Although it was mid-June and tourist season, he knew he would be able to secure lodgings with his aunt and uncle.

 
; Anyone looking at them would’ve thought Ana and Jacob were out for an early-evening walk with their dog, but looks were definitely deceiving. She’d become a prisoner, exiled from her home and family. Baron was a highly trained dog that would attack on command, and Jacob a federal police officer trained to protect witnesses and prisoners. She’d exchanged her shorts and flip-flops for cropped jeans and running shoes, while Jacob had put on a loose-fitting shirt over his tee to conceal the holstered handgun at the small of his back.

  “Have you made reservations?” she asked Jacob.

  “Reservations for what?” he asked, answering her question with a question.

  Ana gave him a sidelong glance. Walking alongside him made her aware of the differences in their height. She was five-four and he had to be several inches above the six-foot mark because her head only came to his shoulder. “You said we’re going to spend the weekend in Key West.”

  “My aunt and uncle have a house in Old Town and they’ll put us up.”

  She hesitated, almost tripping, but Jacob reached out, caught her arm and steadied her before she fell. Her heart was beating so fast Ana felt suddenly lightheaded. “Thank you.” The two words were a breathless whisper.

  “We’re not going to share a bed, Ana. Not only are there enough bedrooms in the main house, but there’s also a guesthouse on the property.”

  Ana was certain he could hear her sigh of relief. Her life was complicated enough without her having to share a bed with a man she hadn’t known twenty-four hours. And even if she were forced to live with Jacob for more than a week or two, sleeping with him was not an option.

  “How are you going to introduce me?”

  Jacob stopped when the muzzled shepherd slowed to sniff tufts of grass growing between cracks in the sidewalk. “I’m going to tell them the truth.” He held up a hand when Ana’s jaw dropped. “My uncle is a retired undercover DEA special agent, so your true identity will not be compromised.”

  “How many family members or friends do you have in law enforcement?”

  He thought about her question. “My father was a Miami-Dade cop and—”

  “Was?” Ana asked, interrupting him.

  “Dad was killed in the line of duty when he’d attempted to arrest a carjacker. What he didn’t know was that the man’s accomplice had come up behind him and shot him point-blank in the head.”

  Ana gasped, her eyes wide behind the lenses of her sunglasses. “What happened to the men responsible for his death?”

  “Both were executed last year after they’d run out of appeals. And before you ask me, no, I didn’t witness their execution. I’m not a proponent of the death penalty because it’s not a deterrent. I believe life without the possibility of parole is much more profound psychologically than putting someone to death.”

  Again she wondered if he were a mind reader, because that was what she intended to ask him. “How’s your mother?”

  A wry smile twisted Jacob’s mouth. “She remarried a widower with four young sons. I tried to tell her Henry was looking for a mother for his kids, but she wouldn’t listen to me. His boys have been nothing but trouble for her, but my mother is one of the most soft-hearted people I’ve ever known. Dad used to tease her about feeding the neighbor’s kids. They would come to the house because they liked Miss Gloria’s cookies. It’d begun with cookies, and then graduated to sandwiches, and there were times when it wasn’t unusual to find some of them sitting down with us at Sunday dinner.”

  Baron, finished with his exploration, started walking again. Ana slipped her hand into Jacob’s, gently squeezing his fingers. She found it warm, the palm slightly callused; the roughness indicated he wasn’t a stranger to hard work. “You say you know everything about me.”

  “I know enough,” Jacob confirmed.

  “But I know nothing about you,” Ana countered.

  “There’s not much to tell.”

  “Then tell me how you met Diego.”

  He stared through the dark lenses at ripples of water in the canal. “I was sixteen when I met your cousin for the first time when he’d come down to Miami for spring break. My father and I had just come back from a baseball game and we were heading downtown when without warning bullets started flying. Rival drug gangs stood in the middle of the street dueling like in the Old West. My father stopped his car when he saw Diego on the ground covering his head. Several bullets had landed inches from where he lay. Dad pulled out his off-duty service handgun, shot one of the perps and managed to pull Diego inside the car to safety. I was in shock because it was the first time I saw my father shoot someone. Once Dad had driven a safe distance, he got out and went back. Diego and I sat motionless. We stared at each other for what seemed like an hour when it was only ten minutes. Once Dad returned uninjured, both of us started crying like babies. I tease Diego when I say that he cried more than me, but he counters saying that at least he wasn’t slinging snot. I wish I’d had a camera phone, because then I would show him just how much snot he was not only slinging but also souping.”

  Throwing back her head, Ana laughed until she had to hold her chest. “That really must have been a sight. I can’t believe my big bad boogeyman cousin was crying like a baby.”

  Jacob sobered. “It wasn’t funny at the time. Not when you didn’t know if you were going to have to take your last breath. Diego stayed with us that night and the next day Dad drove him back to where he’d parked his car. He told Dad that he owed him his life and if he ever needed anything he was to get in touch with him.”

  “I’m surprised Diego never mentioned the incident.”

  “I’m certain it’s not something he’d want to relive. The three of us were sports fans, so every once in a while we’d get together and go to baseball, basketball and football games. When it came time for me to go to college, the bursar called my father and told him an anonymous donor had underwritten the cost of my tuition and room and board for all four years. We knew it was Diego, and it was only after my father passed away that he admitted to me it was the least he could do to repay him for saving his life.”

  A long silence ensued until Ana said, “It’s always been that way with the Coles. You save one and the family will be indebted to you for life. It was that way with Matthew Sterling who helped save my uncle’s life when he was left for dead in Mexico. Uncle Matt also helped rescue my father when he was kidnapped and held hostage in Costa Rica. Daddy came home with a scar on the left cheek and a woman whom he’d managed to get pregnant while in captivity.”

  It was Jacob’s turn to laugh, the unstrained deep sound coming from his chest. “I’ll be damned. When did he find time to do that?”

  “That’s what my uncles wanted to know. My mother was three months pregnant with my brother Gabriel when she and my father married.” A beat passed. “If you get me out of this situation without incident, then I’m going to owe you.”

  He shook his head. “No, you won’t.”

  “Yes, I will. After all, you’re giving up your vacation to look after me.”

  “The only thing I’m giving up is female company, because I still intend to go fishing.”

  Ana stopped again, turned and faced him. “What the heck am I if not female company?”

  A slow smile touched his firm mouth. “Not the female company I’m thinking about. But that can change if you decide to sleep with me,” he teased.

  Her mouth moved but no words came out. It wasn’t often that Ana was at a loss for words, but this was one of those times. “You are disgusting.”

  “Wrong, Ana!” Jacob spat out. “I’m not disgusting. I am a normal man with normal urges and making love with a woman just happens to be one of them. You can’t be that naïve not to know what goes on between a man and a woman.” He remembered her telling Sam that she loved him, and he didn’t want to believe that she and Sam weren’t sleeping together.

  Heat flooded her face. “¡Yo no dormiría con usted si fue el último hombre en la tierra!”

  He flashed a Ch
eshire cat grin. “Never say what you won’t do, Princess. I bet if I was the last man on earth and you needed some you’d change your mind. But then you’d have to stand in line and wait your turn.”

  Her eyes grew wider. “¿Comprende español?”

  He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Sí, Princesa. My best friend’s grandparents had come to the States from Cuba and whenever I went to his house they would speak to me in Spanish.”

  Although fluent in the language Ana rarely got to speak Spanish. She never spoke it in the office and none of her friends spoke Spanish, leaving her to act as translator whenever they visited a country where it was the official language. “¿Cuánto tiempo lleva antes que fuera con soltura?” she asked Jacob.

  “I was about ten before I realized I was fluent,” he answered in English.

  Ana narrowed her eyes. “Inglés o español. Es todavía asquerosamente egotista.”

  “I’m sorry if you believe I’m disgustingly egotistical, but I’ve never had any complaints.”

  “Do you mind if we change this conversation?”

  He executed a mock bow. “Of course, Princess. Your wish is my command.”

  “Please don’t call me that.”

  Jacob wanted to tell Ana that she was a modern-day princess. Not only was she born into wealth, but she’d grown up surrounded by people who took care of her every need. At twenty-five she wasn’t faced with having to repay students loans because she had her trust fund. And she’d had a plum position waiting for her when David Cole stepped down as CEO of Serenity Records. Ana probably may not have thought of herself as spoiled, but there was no doubt she was privileged.

  “I don’t want to treat you as if you are on house arrest, and that’s what you’ll be if I call you Ana. With a wig, sunglasses and as Princess we should be able to go out in public and minimize the risk of someone recognizing you.”

  Ana knew Jacob was taking precautions to keep her identity under the radar but whenever he called her Princess his voice took on a patronizing tone. And she knew he was taking a risk whenever they left his home because there was the likelihood that someone could recognize her. High-profile performers who sought anonymity resorted to all types of disguises to avoid paparazzi, and most times they were unsuccessful.