by Sara Davison
Chapter Forty-Four
Jude rapped on the front door of Nancy’s place. He didn’t have a hard and fast plan, but he needed to talk to Summer and Nancy before he could come up with one. The best idea would be for him to stay in the house, preferably on the main floor so if this guy came back he’d have to get past Jude to reach the second floor. He had no clue, though, whether either of the women would agree to that. He was a virtual stranger to Nancy and Summer wouldn’t like the idea of needing a man around to protect her.
Jude would do everything in his power to persuade them both. Failing that, he was looking at a couple of arctic-temperature nights in his car out on the street. Even then, he wouldn’t be able to cover both the front and back of the house. Slightly better than nothing, but not ideal. Footsteps sounded in the hallway before Summer brushed back the curtain and peered out. He was glad to see her taking minimal precautions, at least. And even gladder when she smiled, let the curtain drop back into place, and pulled open the door. “You came back.”
“Yeah, sorry I had to take off. I needed to grab a few things.” He held up the overnight bag he’d hastily shoved a few clothes into before leaving the motel to return here.
Her smile faltered a little. “Are you going somewhere?”
“I was hoping to talk to you about that, actually.”
She contemplated him for a few seconds before stepping back. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.” Jude kicked the snow off his running shoes before stepping into the front foyer and closing the door behind him. He flipped the lock with a decisive click. When he faced her again, Summer’s eyebrows had risen, but she didn’t comment on the action.
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Tea would be great, thanks.” Jude stripped off his coat and hung it on a chair in the hallway. After tossing the bag onto the seat of the chair, he followed Summer into the kitchen.
She plugged in the kettle and leaned against the counter. “So what’s going on?”
“I talked to the police.” Cash’s voice rang in his head, like it had done all his life. Jude lifted his chin. It wasn’t a lie. He had spoken to the police. If she assumed he meant the Elora police and not the Toronto PD, that wasn’t his fault. Entirely.
Summer regarded him with interest. “So did I. They said to keep the doors locked and they’ll drive past the place every hour or two all night. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“That’s good, but I’m still concerned. This guy was pretty brazen. And you likely had your back door locked last night, didn’t you?”
She bit her lip. “Actually, I’m positive we did. I remember checking it before I went up to bed. Which is weird, right? The police said there was no sign of a forced entry.”
“Does Nancy keep a spare key outside anywhere?” Even if she didn’t, a professional could pick pretty much any lock in seconds. Jude kept that thought to himself.
“Not that I know of. She’s gone to play bridge with friends of hers, but I can ask her about that when she gets home.” The kettle whistled behind her and Summer pushed away from the counter and poured the boiling water into the pot. She carried it and two mugs over to the table and sat down. “Are you going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“What the bag is for.”
Jude drew in a breath. “The thing is, I’m worried about you and Nancy. I’m sure the police here will do everything they can to track down the guy who came into your house, and hopefully they’ll find him soon. In the meantime, I was hoping you’d consider letting me sleep on your couch.”
She leaned against the back of the chair. “Why would you want to do that?”
Did she really not know? “Like I said, I’m worried about you. I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I wasn’t here. To be honest, if you won’t let me stay in the house, I’ll sleep in my car, but it would be a lot more comfortable in here.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly, as though trying to figure him out. “That’s a lot of trouble for you.”
“I don’t mind.” Throwing caution to the wind, he reached across the table and clasped her hand. “In case you haven’t figured it out, I care about you. A lot. There’s something powerful between us. I felt it the first time I came into the coffee shop.” No need to specify which one of those he was referring to either. “I hope you feel it, too. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”
For a few seconds, she didn’t move or speak. Jude felt the silence like the hush that fell over a courtroom right before the head juror delivered the verdict. When Summer did speak, her voice was low and quiet. “I do, actually.”
“You do what?”
“Feel it.” She tugged her hand from his and poured tea into both their cups. “Still, it seems like too much to ask you to sleep on our couch.”
“It isn’t. And you didn’t ask. I offered.” Jude wrapped his fingers around the mug she slid across the table to him. “I’m sure it will only be for a night or two.”
She chewed the inside of her lip, the way she always did when contemplating a problem. He didn’t have the time or patience for her to make one of her pros and cons lists, so hopefully that habit would help her decide on the spot. Thankfully, it appeared to as she eventually sighed. “I guess it’s okay. If you really don’t mind. And as long as Nancy doesn’t object. Only for a night or two, though. If nothing happens during that time, I think we can assume that whoever it was has moved on.”
Which wasn’t likely. “Great. Thank you.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you.” She lifted her mug in his direction. “I really do appreciate it. I’m sure Nancy will too.”
She must have connected the dots and realized the person who had strolled through the house while they were sleeping could very well be the same one who had almost killed her, and a genuinely serious threat, otherwise Jude was confident she’d never have agreed to him staying.
The muscles that had tightened while waiting for her response loosened a little. He couldn’t relax, though. Not until the guy who was after her was safely behind bars. If he let down his guard, Summer could pay the price, and Jude couldn’t let that happen.
Not to another woman he loved.
Chapter Forty-Five
So McCall had moved in. Díaz shifted on the seat, tired of being cooped up behind the wheel of his tiny car. Since he’d already been spotted once, he’d parked almost two blocks down the street today and had a hard time seeing exactly what was happening, but he’d been able to gather that much.
Something had happened the day before. When he’d driven by in the afternoon, three police cars were parked in the driveway and on the street in front of the place Summer was staying. He’d seen her outside, so nothing had happened to her. Not yet, anyway. Had Kendrick done something? Left her some kind of message? That was exactly the kind of thing he would do. Díaz still hadn’t seen any sign of the man. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean he wasn’t around.
If the boss hadn’t come up with the money for Mendoza yet, time was running out. This was day twenty-nine of the thirty-day extension Mendoza had offered. And if Díaz had learned anything from past experience, it was that Mendoza was a big believer in enforcing deadlines. After tomorrow, it was anyone’s guess what would happen, but if Kendrick was the one sent out to exact retribution for non-payment, it was more than likely that it was Summer who was in his sights.
Díaz snatched up his phone from the passenger seat and punched in a series of numbers. The boss answered after the third ring. “Dígame.”
“It’s me.”
“¿Qué pasó?”
“McCall has moved into the house with Summer. The police were here yesterday so something happened, but I don’t know what.”
“Kendrick?”
“Possibly. I’m going to stay here today, see if I can spot any sign of him.”
“Está bien.”
Díaz hesitated. At the moment, his boss had complete control of his future and the
future of his family. How could he ask if payment had been made without causing offense and possibly suffering the consequences? “Do you have any idea what might happen after tomorrow? It would help if I knew what I was watching for.”
His boss grunted. “Solo esté listo.”
Díaz frowned. Be ready? Be ready for what? “¿Para qué?”
“Te diré si necesito que la agarres.”
He massaged his temple with the fingers of his free hand. Okay. Grab her at the boss’s signal. He could do that. “And bring her to you?”
“Sì.”
“Fine. I’ll wait for your signal.”
“Muy bien.” The line went dead.
Díaz tossed the device back onto the passenger seat and grabbed the take-out cup of coffee he’d picked up. Not at the café—he hadn’t made the mistake of going there again—but at the far more anonymous chain coffee shop. He took a sip and nearly spat it back out. Cold. Grimacing, he forced himself to drink every drop. It was going to be a long couple of days and he needed to be alert and ready for whatever was coming. Whether or not he was able to carry out his orders, Summer Velásquez would likely suffer. But if he failed, or didn’t survive, his family would also suffer. And he would do whatever he had to do to make sure that didn’t happen.
Chapter Forty-Six
Jude set down his fork. “That was amazing, Nancy.” The ham and scalloped potatoes had been nearly as good as his mother’s.
She beamed at him. “Thank you. It’s nice to have people to cook for again. It’s been too long.” Her smile dimmed a little, as though memories of those past meals—or whoever she had made them for—carried hurt along with them. What was her story? Would he ever be able to sit and casually talk about life with her? Until she knew who he really was, it felt like a betrayal to ask her to share too much.
Summer pushed back her chair. “You cooked, so I’m on for dishes.”
“I’ll help you.” Jude stacked their three plates and carried them to the sink.
Nancy set the platter of ham and a dish of green beans on the counter. “I think I’ll head up and take a bath then, call it an early night.”
Was that a wink? What did she think he and Summer were going to do down here alone, make out on the couch? He shot a look in the direction of the living room. Actually, not an unappealing thought. At all. When he met her gaze, Nancy was watching him, a smile playing around her lips. “Well, good night then. Ryan, were you okay last night? Warm enough?”
“Absolutely. I was fine.” He had been. The big couch in front of the woodstove had been surprisingly comfortable, which wasn’t a good thing. He’d planned to stay awake as much of the night as possible, but ended up falling asleep around two in the morning and not waking up until Summer came down at six thirty, ready to go to work. Opening his eyes and seeing her had been a pretty great way to start the day. His chest tightened. If it were up to him, they’d get married so he could start every day like that, but he had no idea whether they would ever be able to get back to that place. Not after everything that had happened. And could happen still.
He gave Nancy a hug. When he pulled back, his eyes met hers. “Thanks, Nancy.” He meant for a lot more than dinner, which she seemed to understand.
She nodded. “My pleasure.” She pulled Summer into an embrace. “Good night, darlin’.”
Summer flung her arms around her landlady before pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Good night, Nancy.”
Jude watched the two of them. Obviously they’d grown close over the weeks that Summer had been here. It had been a stroke of luck that he’d seen Nancy’s ad online the day they had arrived in Elora. Jude shook his head. Luck? He knew better than that. Luck had nothing to do with it. God had clearly had a hand in bringing those two together. Summer’s mother was so cold and closed off that Summer had never really known what it was like to have someone like that in her life offering her unconditional love and support. Somehow she’d grown into a woman capable of offering her heart to others without reservation, as he’d been fortunate to experience first-hand before he’d blown it. She hadn’t learned that from the people who had raised her, though.
Maybe he’d had something to do with it. She was pretty guarded when they first met. Even though she’d been the one to call him, he’d still had to work extremely hard to break down her walls and get through to her. But it wasn’t until she’d given her life to God that they’d come tumbling down altogether.
He pulled open the door of the dishwasher and set their plates in the rack. God had obviously led Summer to Elora too, even though she couldn’t have remembered him telling her about his connection to the place. Not consciously, anyway. His chest squeezed. Was anything about him or their past together registering with her on any level?
“Ryan?”
He blinked, yanked from his thoughts of the past. Nancy had gone, and Summer was holding out a clean, dripping pot to him, a quizzical expression on her face. It took everything he had not to reach for her and pull her close. “You were a million miles away. What were you thinking about?”
Jude grabbed a towel hanging on a hook and took the pot from her. He was tired of keeping things from her, exhausted by the constant effort of remembering what he was supposed to call her, who she was supposed to be, who he was pretending to be. Trying to ascertain what she remembered about herself, about them. And worrying about what might happen next. He was pretty close to not being able to do any of it anymore. At least this he could be honest about. He set the pot on the counter and tossed the towel down beside it. “You.”
Her dark eyes widened slightly. “What about me?”
Jude stepped closer. “I was thinking about how blessed I am to have found you.”
“Oh.” She bit her lip but didn’t react as he took another step, stopping in front of her and resting his hands on the edge of the sink on either side of her. Summer swallowed. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes. Anything.”
“What does that word mean to you, exactly?”
“Blessed?”
“Yes.”
“It means that meeting you, having you in my life, is a gift from God to me. And not one that I take lightly.” Jude brushed a long dark strand of hair back from her face. How much did she remember about her faith? Was the spiritual level, a relationship with God, stronger and more real than any conscious memory?
Her face softened. “Good. That’s what it means to me too.” She tipped back her head a little, her eyes locked on his.
Given the clear invitation, Jude didn’t bother asking this time, but lowered his head until their lips met. Moving in closer, he took her face in his hands and deepened their kiss. Weeks of holding himself back, of being forced to be apart from her and then slowly, slowly inch his way back into her life, culminated in this moment. He poured everything he felt into the kiss, into the hands touching her soft, warm skin. Remember me. He begged her silently, calling to the person she was, to the love they shared and that had been lost down deep inside of her the day of the attack. Remember us.
Finally, reluctantly, he ended the kiss. When he pulled her head to his chest and wrapped his other arm around her, she didn’t resist, but rested against him, her cheek against his thudding heart.
They stood like that for several minutes, until she lifted her head and smiled. “Wow.”
Jude laughed and kissed her again, lightly. “No kidding.”
She ran a finger down his cheek, sending tingles of warmth shooting through him. “Who are you, Ryan Taylor?”
Good question. “Someone who is falling for you, Ana Santos. Utterly and completely.” He let her go while he still had the strength to do so and reached for the towel. “Should we finish up here?”
“We should, although you’re retreating so quickly I’m not sure we’ll be able to.”
He stared at her. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you have a tendency to be evasive when I start asking you questions about yourself. Why is t
hat?”
Because I’m scared of letting something slip that I’m not supposed to know about you but do because I know almost everything there is to know about you. Which was true, but it was a response that would cause the kind of trouble he’d been trying to avoid since he’d come to Elora after her. He sighed. “That isn’t intentional. What do you want to know?”
She turned around and dipped her hands into the water. “Where did you come from and how did you happen to arrive in town right around the time that I did?”
He gulped a little. Jumping into the deep end. Jude took the dripping bowl she handed him. “Like I told you before, I’ve been in Toronto for a few years. I grew up in a small town, though, and the big city finally got to me, so I came here.” Choosing each word carefully was a bit like navigating through a mine field. A wrong step could cause an explosion and who knew what kind of damage. He didn’t want to lie to her anymore, though, which meant telling the truth in a way that didn’t give too much away. He had to mentally test every sentence before saying it out loud to make sure it didn’t contain anything that would arouse suspicion.
“Why Elora?”
He studied her profile as she turned on the tap and ran another large bowl under the water. She spoke lightly, but the words carried more weight than she was letting on. This wasn’t casual conversation. “You know Cash, the guy I introduced you to when we had coffee a few days ago?”
“Yes.” She held out the bowl for him.
Jude took it and shook off the excess water over the dish rack. “I’ve known him a long time. Since I had a connection in Elora, it seemed as good a place as any to land.” It struck him suddenly, the next question she would ask. He needed to head her off at the pass. “Also, I have family here in town.”
She swung her head to look at him, surprise flashing in her dark eyes. “You do?”
“Yes, but,” he scrubbed the towel over the already-dry bowl, “I had a falling-out with them a few years ago. One of my reasons for coming back to town was to see if we could find a way to reconcile.”