by K. J. Emrick
Zane had made simple cards for everyone on red construction paper and black crayon. Darcy didn’t even mind that he spelled ‘love’ with a letter u. She wasn’t about to correct him. Not when her heart was this full.
The kids had gifts as well, because no way was Darcy leaving them out of a day that was meant to celebrate your loved ones. Both of them got little teddy bears and chocolates from their parents. Zane got a new frisbee as well, for him and Cha Cha to play with when the weather warmed up. Darcy had a little gold heart locket necklace for Colby. It was one of those ones that opened up to have tiny photos put inside. Her daughter loved it. She already planned to put a picture of herself inside, and one of Audrey.
Family and friends. After all, that was what Valentine’s Day was all about.
Darcy was making lunch when Grace called.
“Sis, I don’t know what happened at that dinner with Jon, but Aaron remembered Valentine’s Day! More than that, he’s got us tickets for a show at a little theater an hour away and dinner afterwards, and he gave me a diamond bracelet! Darcy, can you believe it? Aaron did all that. My Aaron! Can you believe it?”
Darcy had been trying to keep up with her sister’s every word. “Um. Believe what now?”
“He knew I needed this, Darcy. He knew that I needed some time with just him because, yeah, I’m a mother and I love my kids but every now and then I want to just be his wife. He knew that and he had this whole surprise lined up. I’ve never loved him more than I do this morning, Darcy, and I got to tell you what, that much love nearly knocked him out, if you know what I—”
“Grace!” Darcy laughed and held the phone closer to her face to make sure her very impressionable children didn’t hear anything her sister was about to say. “I’m happy for you, sis, but I don’t need the details. I guess Jon’s talk with Aaron worked, huh?”
“What? No. Are you listening to me? A play and reservations at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day? He couldn’t just whip this up last night in a couple of hours. Aaron had this set up for weeks. Jon must have known.”
Darcy turned a look toward Jon, spinning the kids in his new chair again. He gave her a wink. He knew what the sisters were talking about. He also knew this had already been set up and in the works before she ever told him to go set Aaron straight. Darcy could see it in his eyes.
“Know what Grace? Men are jerks.”
They laughed together, because neither one of them would change the men in their lives for anything at all.
“So you guys are watching the kids today, right?” Grace asked her.
Darcy took a minute to realize what she was asking. “We are? Hey, Jon? Are we watching Aaron and Grace’s kids tonight?”
“Yes.” He spun Zane to a stop. “Sorry, I would have told you, but it would have ruined the surprise for Grace if I had. You okay with that?”
She gave him a cockeyed smile. “A day with my family? What more could a girl ask for?” She loved him so much. She loved her kids. This was Valentine’s Day to her. They could do a night out like Grace and Aaron some other year. Or some other day for that matter. They had a whole lifetime together.
“Thanks, sis,” Grace told her. “No, seriously, after everything you just went through for you to put everything aside and give me and Aaron this time…thanks. I mean that.”
“Aw. You’re cute when you’re gushing.”
“Whatever. I can still take you in a fight, just remember that.”
Darcy smiled, knowing Grace couldn’t see it. Her sister was a tough cookie, no matter what day of the year it was.
“So tell me,” Darcy asked her. “What did Aaron think about your gift?”
“Huh? Well, I told you it pretty much knocked him out—”
“Not that! I’m talking about the gift we planned. The special one.”
“Oh! Heh. Yeah. A shadow box of little rocks from places where we had special moments. First place we met, first place we kissed, where we picked Addison’s name, a whole bunch of them. Each one labelled with the month and the year, and why it was special. He put it up on the wall in the living room where everyone can see it. Might be your best idea ever, sis. I swear to you, sis, he just about cried.”
“Yeah. Jon, too. Guess we married a couple of good ones.”
“They lucked out when they found us. See you later, Darcy. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Grace.”
Izzy stopped by not much later, with her boyfriend Kyle right beside her. They only stayed a few minutes, but the way they kept holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes, Darcy had no doubt Izzy had made her choice. She was in love with Kyle. Mark Franks was out of luck. At least for this year, he was. There would always be next year for him to find love. That was the way it went. Sometimes love took time to find you.
Other times, it was always right there with you all along.
Jon scooped her into his arms, late at night, after Grace and Aaron had picked up Addison and Emily, and the cousins had said goodbye to each other, and Zane and Colby had gone to bed. They were in the living room, just the two of them, and before she knew it, they were dancing slow circles around the couch.
“Jon?” She spoke his name quietly, so she wouldn’t break the spell.
“Yes, Darcy?”
“Where’s the music coming from?”
It was a soft instrumental song, beautiful and romantic, and it had started just as soon as she and Jon began dancing, called up as if by magic.
Tiptoe was watching them from the back of the couch, her eyes darting back and forth, obviously wondering how Jon was doing this, too. She was a smart cat, wise in the ways of animals and people both, but even she couldn’t figure out what was making the music.
“I downloaded a music player on my phone,” he explained. “It connects to the motion sensor and as soon as you start dancing, voila. Music.”
Darcy laughed. She couldn’t help it. Jon wasn’t stupid when it came to technology but simple things like downloading apps were usually beyond him. The fact that he did this, just to make this moment happen between them, meant the world to her.
“You didn’t have to do this, you know.” She swayed with him, her hand on his shoulder, her head against his chest. “Today was perfect just like it was. Tomorrow the kids will be back to school and we’ll get back to our normal routine. I love you. That’s all that matters to me.”
“And I love you,” he told her, tilting her head up with a finger crooked under her chin. “I love you so much. I love you for being brave. And I love you for the way you care about our family. I love you that you’re willing to settle for a dance around our living room instead of a night out with candlelight dinners and movies and flowers.”
“Well, I do like flowers,” she told him coyly.
“Hmm. I think you might like something else.”
“Oh? And what would that be, Mister Tinker?”
“I think you might like to go on a little romantic getaway to stay in a villa in the Hamptons with me for a week .”
She stopped, and he had to stop with her or risk stepping on her toes. When they did, the music coming from the phone in Jon’s back pocket stopped, too.
That was too much magic for Tiptoe. She threw herself off the couch and went racing up the stairs. No doubt she was going to be sleeping in Colby’s room tonight, where she was less likely to be assaulted by sounds coming out of thin air.
“The Hamptons!” Darcy asked. “I don’t…I’m not…I mean…”
Jon leaned in and kissed her on her cheek. “Take a breath, honey. I want to take you for a nice romantic week away. How does that sound?”
“But…for Pete’s sake, Jon, how are we going to be able to afford an entire week there?”
“That’s not a problem. I’ve kind of been planning this for a while now and have been saving up for the last three months.”
“Oh, that’s very sneaky of you, Mister Tinker,” Darcy said, with a smirk. “But wait, what about th
e kids?”
Jon’s confidence was obvious. “Grace and Aaron have already agreed to look after them for the entire week. It’s all taken care of.”
“Can you really take a whole week off? Won’t your officers need you?”
“Well, with how angry Mayor Andy was about me arresting his secretary, I might not even have a job anymore.” Jon said with a shrug.
“What! You can’t be serious?”
“You’re right, I’m not.” A twinkle appeared in Jon’s eye. “He wasn’t happy about it certainly, but in the end, he understood why I did it. Tobias wasn’t so forgiving, but he doesn’t decide if I get to stay as the Chief.”
“That’s a relief,” Darcy said. She smiled up at him. “I married a very smart man, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did. I know you love me, Darcy, and you know I love you. But I am smart, and I know that sometimes it helps to show you how much I love you.”
She hugged him then, just as hard as she could. He spun her around and when he did the music player on his phone started up again.
It was just about the most romantic moment Darcy could imagine. She was going on a romantic getaway with her husband. Not today, on Valentine’s Day. She would have to be patient for that, but that didn’t matter. Their love was going to last forever. Today, tomorrow…
And always.
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Acknowledgments
Edited by Adam C-S
Edited and formatted by L.E. Crase
Cover art by BookCoverMasterClass.com Copyright © 2020
About the Author
K.J. Emrick
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Kathrine Emrick writing as K.J. Emrick is the author of the popular Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery series and the Pine Lake Inn Cozy Mystery series.
Strongly influenced by authors like James Patterson, Dick Francis, and Nora Roberts, Kathrine Emrick dreamed of being an author for the majority of her life.
She never quite gave up on the idea of being a published author and at the age of 51, thanks to the self-publishing explosion, she finally realized her dream. Her maturity allows her to bring a variety of experiences and observations to her writing.
She lives in beautiful South Australia with her family, including several animals. Kathrine can always be found jotting down daily notes in a journal and like many authors, she loves to be surrounded by books and is a voracious reader. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at the local library.
Her goal is to regularly produce entertaining and noteworthy content and engaging in a community of readers and writers.
To find out more please visit the Kathrine's website at kathrineemrick.com
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