She wished she could edit their pasts as carefully as Eliot had edited the videotape.
Jake stroked her arm. “None of that with Derek was your fault.”
“Did he really kill himself over me?” She thought of the man in the photo. So handsome, apparently wealthy. And so alone.
“No. He had a problem with drugs before you ever met him. He let them take control. You tried to help him, but he couldn’t help himself. I remember several times after we were married, he’d call in the middle of the night and you’d try to talk to him, to convince him to get help, but he didn’t realize he had a problem. In some ways, I think he and Darcy had a worse childhood than you did. They had different fathers and their mother had a drug problem of her own.” He smiled and said, “Hey, what are we doing talking about the bad stuff? I didn’t make this to depress you.”
“Jake, I’m sorry!” Nikki said, horrified.
He’d gone out of his way to show her something special about their past and here she was, questioning him about her ex-lover.
The tape closed with a few moments of Jake and Nikki dancing at last year’s Winter Ball.
Nikki laid her hand on top of his. “That was wonderful.”
“But it didn’t bring back any memories?”
She shook her head.
“Well, we’ll just have to make new ones, then.”
***
So many emotions swirled inside Jake. The tape brought back other memories, the first time they’d made love, the look on her face when he slipped the engagement ring on her hand. He wanted to touch her, taste her, reclaim the passion they once shared. At night, he’d lie awake in the bed down the hall and think about her. Her kisses were so sweet now, so tender. Kisses that promised forever. All of it was still surreal to Jake. And scary.
He already knew this new Nikki posed even more of a threat to his heart than the old one did.
Things were so different now. Lines of communications were open now. They could say the things they always needed to say. Slowly, his fear of what Nikki would do when she got her memory back was dissipating. He had come to the place where his faith in her was stronger than his fear. They were building something here – something good, something solid. Maybe his mother had been right. This accident might have been the only thing that could’ve saved them. It had taken almost losing her for him to realize what he had.
He couldn’t lose her again.
“Come on.” Jake stood and reached out his hand. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Nikki took his hand and they climbed the stairs. She stopped as they reached her bedroom door and turned to him.
“Someday, somehow, I’m going to make things right with you,” she said and reached to rub a cool hand across the back of his neck.
Jake bent to kiss her, but it wasn’t the chaste goodnight kiss he knew she was expecting. He pressed her against the door with his body and she melded into him, taking as much as he gave. She gasped when one of his hands slipped underneath her sweater to cup the fullness of her breast.
“What do you want, Nikki?” he whispered in her ear, then kissed the throbbing pulse in her throat.
“I want you.”
He lifted his eyes to meet her green ones and saw a desire that mirrored his own.
“I want my husband back. Make love to me, Jake. Give me back the life I’ve lost.”
Jake carried her to the bed and gently removed her clothes. His heart beat a crazy rhythm in his chest as he yanked his shirt over his head. The sight of her lying beneath him—naked and glorious and looking at him with such anticipation—was almost more than he could bear.
He made love to her as if it were the first and last time he’d ever know her. It was an experience so powerful he knew somehow he would never be the same, that his relationship with Nikki would never be the same.
The first time they made love, they had been so young and idealistic that they thought nothing could ever hurt them. This time they knew differently, but they also knew their love was strong enough to survive in spite of the fact. That first time, Nikki had claimed his heart.
This time she claimed his soul.
***
November 10
Sunlight peeked through the blinds, waking Nikki the next morning. She propped up on her elbow and squinted at the clock. Jake was still sleeping. With a contented sigh, she settled back on her side to face him. Lightly, she rubbed her palm down his stubbled jaw, then brushed a soft kiss across those perfect lips. He looked so dangerous, so exotic, lying against the stark white sheets. She couldn’t resist a little exploring in full daylight.
Tugging the sheet lower, she ran her hands across his chest, then his abdomen, tracing her finger down the thin line of dark hair leading to his navel. Jake groaned and shifted in his sleep. Nikki smiled.
She reached around him to rake her nails down his back and felt his arousal stir against her bare hip. Grinning up at him, she was startled to find those blue eyes staring at her in amusement.
“Good morning to you, too.” Reaching to grab her waist, he pulled her astride him. “How long before your therapist gets here?”
Nikki shivered as he trailed his fingers along the tops of her bare thighs. “We’ve got an hour.”
“How about that?” Jake smiled. “A whole hour.”
They were just getting dressed by the time Theresa arrived.
***
Today wrapped up her therapy. They even finished a few minutes early and Nikki was baking a batch of cookies. She had the oven door open, checking on them when the telephone rang. Shutting it carefully, she went to answer it.
“Hey, Nik. This is Eliot. Did you see a spare set of keys lying around anywhere? I can’t find my house keys anywhere and thought I might’ve left them there yesterday.”
“Hang on and I’ll check.”
She was back in a moment. “Yep, here they are. They were lying on the bookcase.”
“Great,” he said. “Mind if I come get them?”
“No, come on over. I’ll be here.”
He arrived a few minutes later and Nikki invited him in.
“I love the tape, Eliot. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.” He cast her a shy glance and said, “So how’s it going?”
“Better, I think.” She handed him his keys. “Good days and bad days, you know?”
He nodded and then said, “I gotta ask. What is that smell?”
“Chocolate chip cookies. Fresh baked.”
Eliot lifted an eyebrow and pretended to look over her shoulder. “Oh, yeah? Who baked them?”
“Ha, ha,” she replied. “A comedian. Come on.”
She walked into the kitchen. Just when she thought he wasn’t coming, he appeared in the doorway. Eliot made a show of looking at his watch as Nikki held out the cookie plate.
“Ah, Nik. Maybe I shouldn’t. Lunch is only – what, four hours away? I hate to spoil my appetite.”
“Shut up,” she said, and shoved a cookie in his mouth.
“Hey, this isn’t bad.” He looked so surprised that Nikki folded her arms over her chest and glared at him.
He glanced at her and laughed. “Sorry. It’s just that I don’t believe I’ve ever known you to cook before.”
“Never? No wonder the roast freaked Jake out. Do you want some milk?” she offered.
Eliot nodded and swiped another cookie as she retrieved the jug from the refrigerator and poured.
“Hey, Nik, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about—”
Nikki didn’t know what made her look through the doorway as she passed, but something in the den caught her eye. The glass she held slipped from her hand. It crashed to the floor and cold milk splashed over the top of her bare foot.
“Nikki?” she heard Eliot say, but she ignored him as she stepped over the broken glass and entered the den.
One of the rose globes was back on the mantel, but it was different.
Instead of a colorful blossom, a perfec
t black bloom floated inside the glass bubble.
“Nik, you’re bleeding,” Eliot said.
Numbly, she looked over her shoulder to see the bloody streak she left behind on the kitchen tile.
Eliot scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the kitchen. He deposited her in a kitchen chair and held up her foot for inspection.
Nikki winced as he dug a piece of glass from her heel and pressed a paper towel to it to the stop the bleeding.
“Nik?” He waved a hand in front of her face.
“He’s been here again.”
Eliot looked at her, and then stepped inside the den.
“Are you sure?” He reappeared in the doorway with a poker in his hand. “Why do you think he’s been here?”
“The globe,” she said. “He brought back the globe.
Eliot shot her a confused look and said, “Call the sheriff. I’m going to search the house.”
“No!” she said and limped toward the hall closet. “Just take me to Jake. I’ll call Catherine and tell her not to come over.”
More than anything, she just wanted to be out of the house. She wanted to be with Jake.
They could call Matt later. Nikki already knew it was pointless. He’d find no prints on the glass.
The morning had been unseasonably warm and she and the therapist had walked around the neighborhood. She wondered if that was when the intruder had gotten in.
Maybe he was still here.
Eliot insisted on searching the house, then bandaging her foot. He put a pair of Jake’s thick socks over that and Nikki barely squeezed her foot into her boot.
Eliot called Catherine and then they were on their way.
“What are you and Jake into, Nikki?” Eliot asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied and stared out the window at the pale winter sun.
***
Jake didn’t look up when the office door opened. Nikki limped over to him, and placed her cool hands over his eyes.
“Guess who?” She tried to keep her voice light, but immediately Jake grabbed her hands.
“Nikki, what’s wrong?”
“Can I hang out with you awhile? I promise not to get in the way.”
“Of course you can.” He stared at her with questioning eyes. Nikki hobbled to the door and waved at Eliot, who returned her wave and backed out of the driveway.
“What happened to your foot?” Jake demanded.
“I stepped on a piece of glass.” She sank into one of the chairs in front of his desk. She told him about the globe, hating the look of frustration on his face.
“How does he keep getting in our house? I was home all day yesterday.”
“Maybe he did it this morning,” she suggested.
Jake’s mouth set in a hard line. “You can’t stay there by yourself anymore, Nik, not even for a few minutes.”
Glancing at his cluttered desk, she said, “Give me a job. Looks like you could use a good secretary.”
Jake laughed and bent to kiss her. Nikki’s hand stole up to wind in his dark hair, pulling him closer.
“Um, I’m not sure I’ll get anything done with you around,” he murmured. “But that’s not such a bad idea. Sure you wouldn’t get sick of me?”
“I think I can handle it.”
Nikki finally figured out Jake’s recordkeeping system, which was a little haphazard and by noon, the top of his desk was clear. Finally, she found a way to make herself useful and Jake’s compliments pleased her.
Jake glanced at his watch. “Want to go to lunch with the boss?”
“Love to.”
“Let me get this order to Hank and we’ll head out,” he promised.
As he pulled the office door shut behind him, Nikki eased out from behind the desk. Her heel ached when she put pressure on it, so she did a little hopping to get to the coat rack.
She heard the office door open behind her.
“I’m ready,” she said and turned, expecting to see Jake.
Elaine sagged against the doorway. Her face was covered with blood.
Chapter 12
“Elaine!” Nikki shouted, then hobbled over to her.
“What are you doing here?” Elaine demanded. “Where’s Jake?”
“He’ll be right back. What happened to you?”
“Wha—” Elaine asked, looking dazed. She touched her nose with a faltering hand and her fingertips came away with blood.
She cursed, and stumbled toward the small bathroom.
Nikki grabbed her when she almost fell.
A small cut slashed its way through Elaine’s left eyebrow. The eye below it was nearly swollen shut. Nikki wet a paper towel and reached for her.
Elaine batted her hand away. “Leave me alone. I can do this.”
“Just shut up,” Nikki said and, surprisingly, Elaine did.
“Nik, you ready yet?” Jake called.
“In here!” Nikki yelled. “Hurry!”
Jake stepped inside the bathroom, and then recoiled when he saw Elaine’s face.
“What happened?” he demanded. “Brandon?”
“Yes,” Elaine said and Nikki watched Jake’s hands ball into fists. “No! It’s not what you think. I did this to myself, trying to get away from there.”
With a shaky voice, she told them about coming home from work for lunch. Her ex-boyfriend, Brandon, had been sitting at her kitchen table.
“I ran,” she said. “I couldn’t wait on the elevator, so I took off down the stairs. I tripped and fell down a flight. That’s how I hurt my face. I didn’t know what to do, so I just came here.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” Jake muttered.
“Call Matt,” Nikki said, and taped up the cut by Elaine’s eye. Tossing the soiled paper towel in the garbage, she pressed a clean washcloth to Elaine’s nose and tilted her head back.
“She’s right, Jake.” Elaine’s voice was muffled through the cloth. “Call the police.”
“Tell him to meet us at the hospital,” Nikki added.
“I’m not going to the hospital. Nothing’s broken,” Elaine said stubbornly.
“Well, tell him to meet us at the house, then. Elaine can stay with us until they pick him up and she can get her locks changed,” Nikki said.
Both Elaine and Jake gaped at her, but Jake did as she said.
“Why are you doing this?” Elaine hissed.
“Because you are Jake’s stepsister.” Nikki looked at her. “His friend. And he cares about you.”
Nikki climbed in the backseat of the loaner car from the insurance company and watched Jake help Elaine into the passenger seat.
They rode home in silence.
After she got Elaine settled on the sofa, Nikki filled an ice pack in the kitchen and carried it back to her. Elaine accepted it with a grumbled ‘thanks’ and pressed it to her eye. They both watched Jake as he stepped back into the room, his new cell phone pressed to his ear.
He covered the mouthpiece with his hand and said, “Matt’s at your apartment now. Brandon’s gone. He’s sending a car by his house to see if he’s there.”
“Be right there,” he said into the phone and clicked it shut. “I’m going to get a few of your things. If you don’t want to stay here, you can stay with Mom or Eliot, but I don’t want you to be alone until they pick him up.”
“Thanks, Jake,” she said.
He kissed the top of her head, and then kissed Nikki before he left.
Nikki set the alarm behind him and went back in with Elaine. Neither spoke. Then Nikki noticed that blood saturated the shirt Elaine wore. Wordlessly, she turned and went upstairs, gritting her teeth as her heel throbbed. Her foot made a horrible squishing sound when she walked.
She retrieved a fresh pack of gauze from the bathroom medicine cabinet and a clean T-shirt and pair of jogging pants from her closet.
Downstairs, Nikki tossed the clothes to Elaine and then sat down in a chair to pry off her boot.
“Thought you might want to change. It might be
awhile before Jake gets back.”
“Why are you doing this?” Elaine asked again, but she sat up and began unbuttoning her shirt.
“I told you.”
Finally, Nikki got the boot off. She grimaced at the coppery smell of blood seeping through the sock.
Elaine pulled the clean shirt over her head and stared at Nikki’s foot. “What happened to you?”
Nikki briefly outlined the events of the morning and they both stared at the black rose on the mantel.
Frowning, Elaine said, “I’m sorry. I know what those meant to you.”
Nikki raised an eyebrow and Elaine actually smiled. “We were having one of our…‘discussions’ one day and I reached for one. You told me Jake had given you those for your anniversary, and you’d claw my eyes out if I touched them.”
Amused, Nikki said, “These discussions…we had them often?”
“Every time we got together.” Elaine pushed a lock of auburn hair behind her ear. “But Jake tried to make sure we didn’t get together often.”
Nikki finished wrapping her heel and hopped to the kitchen. She returned in a moment with a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water. Handing the glass to Elaine, she said, “Want some?”
Elaine nodded. Nikki shook a couple out in her palm and handed the bottle to Elaine. Nikki chewed hers dry as the other woman watched.
Making a face, Elaine asked, “Why didn’t you get some water? How do you do that?”
“You get used to the taste. As many headaches as I have…And I could only carry one glass at a time. Didn’t think you’d want to share.”
Elaine snorted. “Wouldn’t be the first thing we’ve shared.” She glanced up at Nikki. “I didn’t mean Jake,” she said quickly. “I was thinking of Derek. Jake and I are just friends.”
“I know.”
Folding her arms across her chest, Elaine gave her a skeptical look. “So now you just magically trust me?”
“Wouldn’t say that,” Nikki said mildly. “But I trust him.”
Elaine laughed. “Okay, I’ll give you that one. It’s about time. Jake is a good guy.”
Something vulnerable passed over Elaine’s face. “Jake loves you. He always has.” Her brown eyes filled with tears. “They all love you.”
She quickly looked away. Nikki thought about comforting her, but decided against it. Elaine wasn’t ready for sympathy from her.
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