She's My Mom

by Rebecca Winters

  “Do you realize that until you and Brett found me, not one memory had come back to me? Since being with you, I’ve had three or four flashbacks. In time, more will come. I feel it. That’s another reason I couldn’t bear to be separated from you again.”

  A tense silence stretched between them for a moment. Then he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and made another call out of their hearing.

  She exchanged smiles with Brett, her fearless co-conspirator. There was no doubt in her mind that this was one of the few times Grady had ever been overruled when it came to a life-and-death situation.

  “All right,” Grady said when he’d finished his conversation. “I’d wanted to keep your existence a secret. However, circumstances have changed, making it necessary for some of my colleagues to know the whole story.

  “I could be wrong, but I believe the person who thought he’d killed you is still worried about being found out. He probably sent his thugs to see if I’ve kept copies of your accounting records, either on the hard drive or on disks. If my hunch is correct, then they have to be caught inside the house so they can be arrested and we can find out who sent them.

  “Since they need Mrs. Harmon, we’re going to accommodate them. She’ll be arriving soon with a couple of SWAT team members hiding in her car.

  “They’ll be living with us for as long as a week if that’s what it takes. Should the phone ring while Mrs. Harmon’s here, she’ll answer it. If it’s a wrong number or a hang-up, we can expect visitors.

  “If I’m right and they’re taking advantage of my supposed absence, they’ll show up. Other SWAT team members and undercover police officers will provide backup and round-the-clock surveillance, both here and at Mrs. Harmon’s home.”

  Susan stood up. “What do you want us to do?”

  “You two will stay in our bedroom from here on out. Brett’s room will be needed for the best view of the backyard. The officers will trade off vigils, both upstairs and down. We’ll let them use the guest room to take turns sleeping.”

  “Where will you be?”

  “Spelling them off. When it’s my turn to sleep, I’ll join the two of you.”

  That meant her first night alone with her husband would have to be put on hold. The idea that it might be a week or more before things returned to normal devastated her.

  Only now did she realize how much she’d been counting on tonight.

  I’m in love with a man I don’t remember.

  She turned swiftly to Brett. “Come on, darling. We’ve got work to do upstairs.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  “DAD?”

  “Shh. It’s only four in the morning. You’ll wake your mother.”

  Grady might have known he couldn’t sneak into the bedroom without Brett knowing about it. His son had inflated his air mattress, which he’d placed near the door. He was stretched out comfortably on top of it, covered by his sleeping bag. It touched him that Brett was prepared to protect Susan.

  “I haven’t gone to sleep yet. Come to bed, Grady.”

  His eyes closed tightly. In the dark she sounded like the old Susan who used to wait up for him when ever he was out at night dealing with some hellish situation.

  The moment he felt her arms around him, all the demons fled. It always used to happen that way. There was just this warm, soft feminine body melting into him. They’d make love and forget the world…. That seemed like a century ago.

  Grady crossed the room and lay down on the covers. He wore his shoulder holster and kept his cell phone in his pocket, ready to get up at a moment’s notice if the surveillance team detected any movement outside.

  “I didn’t hear the phone or the doorbell,” she murmured.

  “It’s been quiet, but the guys and I feel those two men will be back sooner than later. It could happen anytime.”

  “How’s Mrs. Harmon?”

  Grady turned on his side, craving her warmth. “She says she’s excited to be part of it.”

  “But you don’t believe her.”

  “I hate having to use her.”

  “Look at it this way, Grady. She came to work for you, helpless to take away your pain. Now she’s in a position to actually do something to end it. You wouldn’t deny her that privilege, would you?”

  The woman lying next to him reasoned the same way as the old Susan. Before the explosion, she always knew how to comfort, how to say the right thing at the right time. Right here and now, he couldn’t tell the difference between the two of them.

  He slid his hand to her shoulder. “No,” he murmured as he kneaded her satiny skin covered by the thin sleeve of her nightgown. His heart almost failed him when she nestled her head in the crook of his arm. The fragrance of her freshly washed blond hair assailed him.

  His breath caught. His emotions bordered on the primitive. It was providential that Brett was in the room; otherwise Grady would’ve started making love to her instead of being ready to deal with whatever lurked outside.

  Six months ago, he’d lost all sense of being a sexual entity. After her memorial service, he’d come back to this room with the sure knowledge that he would never love again, never know sexual pleasure again. Brett had been his only reason for drawing another breath.

  If he hadn’t had a son who’d needed him…

  “Everything’s going to be fine,” she whispered. In the next instant he felt her fingers brush the moisture from his cheek. “Go to sleep for a little while. I’ll listen for your phone.”

  “Maybe just a few minutes.”

  Those words haunted him when he awakened at eleven to the smell of coffee.

  He jackknifed into a sitting position and discovered his wife and son seated at a card table enjoying breakfast a short distance from the bed.

  “Whoa, Dad!” Brett grinned.

  “Good morning, Grady. Come and eat while your food is hot.” It looked as if she’d made his favorite, steak and eggs.

  He rubbed his jaw.

  “You can shave after,” she said, obviously reading his mind. “Officer Dutton said you’re supposed to relieve him downstairs in twenty minutes. We let you sleep as long as we dared.”

  Grady needed no urging to join them. Evidently nothing had gone on while he’d been out for the count. The respite from all his cares had done wonders for him. He was starving and ate quickly, and then, after his second cup of coffee, got up from the table.

  On the way to the bathroom, he kissed Susan on the side of her neck. “That food hit the spot.”

  “I’m glad.”

  A few minutes later he reentered the bedroom to discover Brett watching television while his wife made the bed. She was wearing a pair of white shorts with a violet top he particularly liked on her.

  Seventeen years might have passed, but she didn’t look much older than the day he’d first seen her, noticing her curvaceous figure and long legs as she raced for the volleyball. With her gossamer hair waving in the ocean breeze, the combination of brilliant blue eyes and radiant smile had stopped him dead in his tracks.

  Looking at her now, he felt exactly the same way.

  She stood up to catch him staring at her. “I made breakfast for the officers. They said it would be all right because everything was still quiet.”

  “You can be sure they appreciated it.”

  “More than anything I think they were in shock. Both of them attended my memorial service.”

  He picked up the breakfast tray to take downstairs. “A lot of people are going to be in shock when they find out you’re alive.” He ground his teeth just thinking about the murderer who’d blown their world apart.

  When Grady got hold of him…

  “Dad?”

  “Yes, Brett?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I couldn’t be better. How about you?”

  “Great.”

  “Thanks for guarding your mother. I can always depend on you.”

  Brett smiled at him. “Thanks, Dad.”

  Grady looked over
at Susan one more time. By now she was lying facedown on the bed with the accounting book open in front of her. She darted him a glance.

  “Take care, Grady. See you later.”

  He sensed there was an implicit message in those words. A surge of raw desire shot through him.

  “You can count on it.”

  As he started down the stairs, it hit him again how thankful he was that she and Brett had refused to be sent away. Heaven knew he hadn’t wanted to let them out of his sight.

  After he’d returned the tray to the kitchen, he headed for the den to take Bob Dutton’s place at the window. The burly officer got to his feet.

  “Your wife makes one delicious breakfast. You must be the happiest son of a gun around.”

  “That doesn’t even begin to cover it.” He knew what Bob was saying—what everyone in the department would be saying before long—Grady Corbitt’s wife had come back from the dead. Things like that just didn’t happen….

  Yet Grady had proof they did.

  His gorgeous wife was upstairs. She might not remember him, but she wanted to. After last night he knew that with everything inside him.

  Tonight—

  “There’s the phone.”

  Bob’s voice brought him back to the present. He waited until the ringing stopped, then picked up the receiver to hear the message.

  He nodded at Bob. “It’s a hang-up.”

  “All right! Someone’s gone hunting. We’ll get Mrs. Harmon over here on the double and take care of these wackos.”

  “I’ll let my family know what’s in store, then I’ll be back so you can get some shut-eye before things start to happen.”

  Taking the stairs three at a time, Grady hurried to Brett’s bedroom first, to inform Tony Garcia of the latest development.

  The other man lifted his hand in greeting. “I’m ready for them. When you have the chance, tell your wife thanks for the conversation and the meal. On top of everything else, she makes great coffee. I envy you, you know?” His eyes twinkled.

  Grady felt for Tony, whose marriage had failed because his wife couldn’t handle his line of work. She’d given him an ultimatum. When he’d explained that he loved what he did and wouldn’t be happy doing anything else, she’d divorced him.

  Susan had never questioned Grady’s choice of profession. Although it had upset her horribly when he’d gotten shot, she’d never once asked him to quit the force. To ease her worries, he’d become a detective.

  But for the first time, he was beginning to wonder if she’d decided to get a job outside the home as her way of dealing with fears she’d never expressed to him.

  Maybe, like Tony’s wife, she’d always hated Grady’s job. Yet unlike the other woman, Susan would never force him to choose between her and his career. So she’d found the kind of work that was so consuming, she could fend off her fears for part of each day.

  Had she been so determined to hide her fears from him that she hadn’t come to him first to discuss taking the job?

  “I’ll pass your message along, Tony.”

  With Bob waiting downstairs, Grady couldn’t do anything more than tell Susan and Brett to stay in the master bedroom until further notice.

  His wife sat straight up. “You think they’ll be coming this afternoon, then?” She sounded calm enough, but he saw the anxiety in her eyes.

  “We’re hoping.”

  “Be careful, Dad.”

  Shortly afterward, Grady was the only one in the den. He placed himself where he could see everything on the street immediately in front of the house. Twenty minutes later Mrs. Harmon pulled into the driveway. He heard the garage door open, then close.

  To Grady’s surprise, Matt Ross and another SWAT team member entered the house with her. The detective, his closest friend in the department, rushed over to give him a bear hug.

  “I still can’t believe what the captain told me. Thank God Susan didn’t die in that explosion. Even if she has amnesia, I’m beyond happy for you, Grady.”

  He cleared his throat. “Thanks, Matt. Now, tell me what you’re doing here.”

  “The captain called me in. When you scanned that picture from your camera and sent it to headquarters, I ran it through the computer. Nothing came up on the one guy, but the dark blond character has a number of violations on his record.

  “The name on his driver’s license is Sean Mills, thirty-one-year-old Caucasian. Last known place of employment was DeBeer Tile Company in Las Vegas. He was working as a journeyman at the time of the accident.”

  Tile?

  “Here’s the important part. One of his violations resulted in an arrest for alleged vehicular homicide, but the prosecution couldn’t prove its case for lack of evidence. It was thrown out of court.” He paused significantly. “I followed up on your suggestion to check the name of the person whose car ran into that accountant, Beck, last April.”

  The hair lifted on the back of Grady’s neck. “They were a match,” he muttered. “I knew it!”

  Matt nodded. “The man was driving a DeBeer van. It’s Mills, all right. Captain Willis said your instincts panned out. There’s no doubt in his mind of a relationship between that homicide and the explosion at the fireworks plant. Your wife is the link.”

  Grady nodded. “I knew they were after Susan’s disks,” he muttered. “We’ve got to take these guys alive and force them to spill their guts. Someone else is the brains behind all this. Every damn person involved is looking at a life sentence.”

  Matt started to say something when the phone rang. The line was tapped so they could trace the call. So far, the others had been out of area.

  Grady turned to Mrs. Harmon, who sat at the desk. When he nodded to her, she picked up the receiver and said, “Corbitt residence.”

  “HI, MRS. HARMON! It’s Mike Stevens.”

  “Hello, Mike. How are you doing?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Not that great. This vacation has been pretty boring without Brett around.”

  “Are you one of the good elves who mowed the lawn when I wasn’t here?”

  “Yeah. Dad and I did it.”

  “That was such a nice thing to do. I can’t wait to tell them when they get back.”

  Mike jumped off the corner of his dad’s desk. “Do you know which hotel Brett’s staying at so I can call him?”

  “They went on one of those four-day cruises first.”

  “Heck.”

  “I’m sure they’ll check in with me when they get to Disney World. I’ll find out where they’re staying and give you their phone number.”

  He frowned. “We’re going to Mexico this afternoon and we won’t be back till Sunday. I guess I’ll have to wait until we’re both home.”

  This was just great. School would be starting the day after they got back.

  “I’m sorry, Mike.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip.”

  “Thanks. Bye, Mrs. Harmon.”

  “Bad news?” His dad was finishing up business so they could leave. He always had last-minute stuff to do.

  “Yeah. They went on the cruise first, so I can’t talk to him.”

  “Well, it was worth a try.”

  “Yeah. Thanks for the suggestion, Dad.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m about through here. Why don’t you go in the house and help your mom with the rest of the packing?”

  “I don’t want to go to Mexico.”

  “You’ll be happy you went. I’m planning on us catching a trophy, maybe a swordfish.”

  That would be fun, but his mom would hate it. She got seasick.

  MRS. HARMON HUNG UP the receiver. “Mike wanted to get in touch with Brett.”

  Grady nodded. “You handled that perfectly. What I’d like you to do now is bring in the newspaper and the mail. Then come back in here and we’ll see if we get another phone call.”

  She returned a minute later, handing Grady the paper and a stack of letters. “Sit down
and make yourself comfortable,” he urged as he scanned the mail. “If we haven’t had visitors inside of ten minutes, then you can go.”

  “I’m willing to stay as long as you want.”

  “I know that, and I appreciate it. However, it’s not your routine to be in the house more than fifteen to twenty minutes a day while we’re gone. We don’t want that to change and send up a red flag.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Can I bring you something to eat or drink?”

  “No, thank you. I’m fine. I’ll just finish writing a letter to my daughter while I wait.”

  Grady turned to Matt. “I want to know everything there is to know about Sean Mills.”

  “If he doesn’t show up today, I’ll leave with Mrs. Harmon and get right over to DeBeer Tile. Even if Mills isn’t working for them now, they’ll remember him. Maybe the other guy was employed there, too. Before I’m through, I’ll find out which side of the bed they sleep on at night,” he vowed.

  “Thanks, Matt. If I didn’t have to pretend to be on vaca—”

  “It’s a masterful plan, Grady,” he said, interrupting him. “Finding Susan the way Brett did, without anyone knowing, is a detective’s dream. Your secret’s safe with the department.

  “Everyone involved has a personal interest in this case. We’re going to help you nail the bastard who did this to her. The only difficult part in all this will be keeping it from Jennifer.”

  “I know what you mean. Brett’s going to have a hell of a time staying in character once he goes back to school on Monday. The happiness in his eyes says it all.”

  “Tell him to wear sunglasses for a while.”

  “That isn’t a bad idea.”

  “I could have a pair express-mailed to your house from Disney World with their logo.”

  “Make that two pairs. He can give one to Mike as a souvenir.”

  “Done.”

  Mrs. Harmon put the letter in her purse and got up from the desk. “It’s been fifteen minutes.”

  “I know.”

  “Don’t be disappointed, Grady,” Matt murmured. “It’ll hap—”