Truth and Humility

by J. A. Dennam

  Austin held up a finger, indicating he needed a minute, and sank his forehead into her chest. Her hands threaded through his hair while he recuperated. It was nice. He took comfort in her touch...until her fingers twisted and yanked.

  “Ow!”

  “Why the hell did yhe hell ou go rushing her like that? She was shooting bullets dammit, you scared the shit out of me!”

  His angry eyes came up, narrowed on her flushed face. “She wasn’t aiming at me, she was aiming at you!”

  “You still could have been shot,” Danny snapped, all business. “I can handle myself, but if I’m distracted...”

  “You’re saying it’s my fault you fell out of that tree?”

  “Damn right it is! I was worried!”

  His eyes softened. Such pride. “You can’t admit you aren’t invincible, can you?”

  “Just like Derek,” Melanie piped in behind him, delicate, dripping and shaken. “There’s this whole mortality lecture...” she waved a hand, caught her breath. “You’ll hear it a few times if you should – heaven forbid – express worry.”

  Danny shot off the bed leaving Austin alone on his knees. She took her friend by the arms. “Mel! Oh, crap, I’m so sorry I threw you out of that tree, but I couldn’t think of...”

  Melanie silenced her with a black look as she shook off her nerves. “I feel like I’ve been slapped all over!” Her friend looked miserable, so she gentled her expression and relived the scant seconds of interaction before finding herself plummeting toward the water. “Sometimes I wish you weren’t so much like your brother.”

  Danny shrugged helplessly, pulled wet tendrils from her friend’s shoulders. “At least you’re in one piece. For a few minutes I thought...” she couldn’t bare to voice it.

  That’s when Melanie smiled, backed up a step. Her mouth snapped shut for a moment when she backed into Austin’s chest, sputtered and warily put distance between her and that intense gaze of his.

  “Oh, Danny...” she continued, refusing to lose focus. “I don’t know how this all happened...I didn’t do anything to cause this. I swear.”

  Melanie looked oddly giddy for having just survived a near death experience. “No, you didn’t,” Danny reassured, “but we’ll tell you all about that later. What’s got you so goofy?”

  “It was Derek! I saw him!”

  Danny’s eyebrows came down and she glanced warily at Austin, who’s expression was completely blank.

  “I was pacing in the tree house,” Melanie charged on, “waiting for you to text me back. And when I thought you did, I looked at my phone. But it wasn’t a text from you.” Her eyes got wide. “It was from Derek. He told me to look up.” The skepticism on her friend’s face didn’t diminish her enthusiasm. At this point, she didn’t care who believed her. “So, I did. And I kid you not, Danny...he was there, reaching for me...through the trap door!”

  Danny’s jaw slackened as she tried to find words.

  “And when I looked down to climb the ladder, POOF! He was gone. But I know what I saw...I know what I saw.”

  “You say he texted you?”

  “Yes! Right here!” Melanie fumbled in the pocket of her sodden shorts and produced a thoroughly waterlogged phone. “Oh, no! No!” Maybe if she shook the damned thing, removed the battery, wiped it dry...but the phone was toast. Melanie’s shoulders slumped right along with her spirits. “I lost it,” she uttered pathetically. “It said, ‘Look up, love.’ I remember it. He told me to look up. And he called me love. And he was there. It was him.”

  A pair of large, gentle hands closed over her shoulders, gave a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, Melanie,” Austin stated, sending Danny an I told you so over the woman’s fair head. “I believe you.”

  Melanie, spooked by his gentle words, turned under the hands, looked up at him in doe-eyed fashion. “You do?” she asked meekly.

  But he wasn’t looking at her and he didn’t answer her. Melanie’s curious gaze went from Austin to Danny.

  Finally, Danny’s shoulders came up. “Okay. Maybe you were...‘called’ to the river.” At his triumphant smile, she reiterated, “but not by a bottle of twenty-year-old bourbon.”

  He nodded once. “Agreed. And that bed didn’t just happen to place itself in the perfect spot to break your fall.”

  Her eyes sparkled and her mouth split into a cocky grin. “Nah. That was all skill.”

  Austin’s hands came up and the man pleaded with the heavens.

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” Melanie said, shaking her head, allying herself with him for the first time ever.

  “What?” Hurt shown in Danny’s eyes. “Derek knew I wouldn’t need help. And after all we’ve been through, Cahill, you should know better.”

  “Maybe we should find her a support group,” Melanie offered helpfully. “‘I Am Human Anonymous’ or something.”

  His agreement came all too quickly.

  Great. Humor at her expense. Luckily, the conversation veered when Herb finally huffed into the small circle.

  “Everyone okay?” All three nodded. “Cops want to question you before they leave with that nut-job you almost married.”

  The look was accusing, aimed directly at Austin.

  To break the old man’s focused glare, Danny tugged on her father’s bathrobe. “And how did Rena manage to get a hold of a firearm, Pop?”

  Suddenly, Herb was the recipient of an accusing look. Affronted, he sputtered, “My only misstep was putting my trust in those Keystone cops! I had her until they forced me to drop my shotgun, then they bought her innocent act long enough for her to grab one of their own firearms! But, I’ll tell you, they figured out who-was-who after that.” He paused, struggled with composure. “Of course, it almost cost me my daughter...”

  Her father became suspiciously shaky, continued to grumble even after Danny wrapped herself tightly around his middle. His arms came around her shoulders and squeezed painfully.

  “You will never lose me, Pop,” she promised, fighting tears. “No matter who I’m with or where I live, I won’t ever leave you and Mom. Not in the way that matters.”

  Herb blustered, glared at Austin through the sheen of moisture in his eyes. “So, I guess you’re still going to go through with it? Even after all this?”

  Her answer was absolute. “For better or for worse.”

  The personal war raged behind Herb’s eyes, plain for all to see. “Just so you know, girl, you can come home any time. No questions asked.”

  Instead of a nod, she shook her head against his chest. “I won’t need to.”

  “And more women in this day-and-age are keeping their maiden names...”

  “Not happening,” Austin challenged beneath fierce eyebrows.

  “You know, Cahill,” Herb fired back, “you might want to take some time to absorb the fact that all this was your fault. You’ve caused my family great pain over the last year, and for what?”

  “Pop,” Danny warned through clenched teeth.

  “It was your lunatic fiancé that did all this! And with all your anger and false accusations, you’ve put my boy and my daughter through hell!”

  “Pop, that’s enough!”

  “Well, he needs to hear it, Danny. If you won’t put it out there, I will.”

  Melanie stepped forward and threaded her arm through Herb’s, gave him a gentle pull. “Come on, Mr. Bennett. Let’s give them some time alone before the cops question them.”

  “But they want to do that now.”

  “We’ll stall them. You and me. This way.”

  God bless Melanie, Danny thought, expressing as much when the two women exchanged looks. But before Melanie turned away, the woman jerked her chin indicating Danny focus her attention behind her. Danny swiveled her head and watched dolefully as Austin walked to the bed and sat down.

  His shoulders were tense as he scrubbed his face with his hands, bent over to lean on his knees. Her father’s words had affected him...

  Danny sighed and padded over to h
im, just stood for a while, staring down at his broad back and blood-streaked side.

  “You aren’t responsible for her actions, you know,” she said softly.

  Austin rubbed a palm over his eye. “But I’m responsible for mine.”

  “Well...you were hurt the most when Rena ‘supposedly’ died. I can understand that and, of course, it was water under the bridge for Derek when he passed.”

  For a while, they were silent. Austin sat on a bed in the outdoors, surrounded by nature and pieces of what used to be Danny’s dream.

  Danny wasn’t sure what was going through his head, or how to proceed. Did he need to be alone? Was he confused? After all, he’d just found out his old love was alive and insane. Had tried to kill him.

  As if he sensed her thoughts, Austin reached out and tugged at her waist, pulled her to him. He put his forehead against her belly as he stared at her dirty bare feet. “I don’t deserve you,” he said woefully after a moment, “but I don’t care.” His face turned up to hers. “You’re mine, Bennett. I’m still going to steal you from your family.”

  Possessive. It suited her just fine. Emotional, she bent, fitted her mouth over his for a long, equally possessive kiss. “Good thing,” she whispered, holding him close to her heart. “Because this is one Bennett who’s all too willing to defect.”

  “Even knowing how my poor judgment cost you your brother?”

  He was blaming himself for Rena’s actions and Danny’s heart spilled into her eyes. “Don’t do that,” she begged softly. “A lot could have been avoided, sure...but the bottom line is that we’re together...and we love each other. And no matter how much we’re hurting over our regrets and losses, we’ll help each other get through them. Right?”

  After a moment, his hold on her tightened and he burrowed into her chest. His voice was muffled against her clothing. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I told Derek as much just before he died.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “And what did he say to that?”

  “He called me a pessimistic asshole.” When he looked up, there was sadness. “He was right, but I think it was a ‘those who live in glass houses’ kind of moment.”

  Danny nodded, glanced over her shoulder to look out over the pond. She could almost see her brother sitting on the rock ledge, his spirit ever present in her life. “He was hopeful after your last visit. Whatever you two talked about, it had a great impact on him.”

  Austin placed his hands on her hips, thought about it. “It was Melanie. He decided he was going to marry her when he got better.”

  Slowly, Danny tore her gaze from the bank of the pond and searched his eyes for confirmation. “Really?” At his nod, she swallowed hard. Oh, jeez. Not the tears. “I think you should tell her that. She’s been impossibly sad since his death and she feels cheated because she never got to find out why he finally wanted to see her.”

  “I’m positive he was going to tell her he loved her.”

  Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “He could never say it before.”

  Austin shrugged. “He told me easily enough. Ever since she first batted those eyelashes at him.”

  After the initial shock, Danny thought back, winced. “She was fourteen. How very disturbing.”

  It was more sobering for Austin than disturbing, to realize that Derek had so easily confided in him his deepest secrets. Something he never confessed to anyone, not even Danny. After their history, the years of heartbreak and anger...how effortless it was to fall back into their old patterns. And to think of all the years they had wasted. Well, no more. Never again. “I don’t want to waste any more.”

  He’d mumbled it as he pressed his lips to her breastbone. The tenderness of the gesture was not lost on Danny. Her breath hitched. “What?”

  “Come home with me.” Another kiss produced delicious goose bumps on her bare skin. “I don’t want to wait. Defect now.”

  With a gentle tug, he took her with him as he laid back. Her hair surrounded them and he reached up, pushed the soft tendrils back with his hands. Her body was warm, nestled perfectly over his as if they were made to fit. Now that he had her back, the thought of leaving her for a second was inconceivable, ev

  en though the danger had passed.

  “Now,” he said with a concentrated frown. “Bring anything you want...except the posters of what’s-his-name.”

  The thought of e thoughher toothbrush in the holder next to his was every bit as appealing to her, but his adorably stern expression prompted her to tease. “I don’t know if your closet is big enough for the both of us, Cahill.”

  “You can build us a bigger one.”

  She hesitated, struggled not to laugh. “You sound awfully eager.”

  “I’ll help you pack as soon as the cops leave.”

  She slanted him a look. “Are you sure you don’t just need a ride? Because if that’s the case, all you gotta do is ask.”

  His expression morphed into one of deep exasperation and he quickly rolled them over. Now on top, he held the advantage. “Okay, how ‘bout this. If we wait much longer, I’ll be forced to ravage you in your cute little room, in your cute little bed, regardless of whether or not there’s a shotgun aimed at my backside. I’d prefer it to be in the safety of my room, in my bed where there’s plenty of space for what I intend to do with you and your lovely body.” He grinned wolfishly. “That is, if you have the backbone for it.”

  The man was irresistible. Danny laughed and met his look adoringly. “Bring it, Cahill.”

  Epilogue

  The garage door lifted and Danny pulled the Jeep into her space between the white Lincoln Mark LT and the black Challenger. Austin was home and it was a damned good thing because she had missed the man to distraction.

  It had taken two days of Columbia to realize she wanted nothing to do with the campus...or any campus that kept her away from the Bennett/Cahill homestead for too long. Online courses were perfect, and as long as she only stayed away a few days at a time, she tolerated the classrooms only when needed. Like during finals.

  As always, the garage was impeccably clean, and now cooled by the winter air. Danny turned to retrieve her duffel bag from the back seat and when she faced forward, there he was. Hands in pockets, leaning against the door jam all sexy and fresh from a shower after work. Her breath caught. The sight of him never failed to stir her blood. Could her feet move fast enough across the concrete?

  “Hey, Cahill.”

  “Hey, Cahill.”

  The duffel bag plunked to the floor and she jumped into his arms.

  Austin crushed her to him, pulled deeply on the intoxicating scent of her shampoo. H“God, I missed you.”

  For a while, she couldn’t respond as they devoured each other in the doorway. Mouths joined, he backed into the house, kicked the door closed behind him.

  “What about my...”

  “I’ll get it later.”

  He set her down and backed her through the long hall, holding her gaze with a lopsided grin. “So, how’d it go?”

  Trusting him to keep her from immediate danger, she stepped with him Ginger Rogers-style and focused on that full bottom lip. “I won’t know until next week. But I think I kicked ass.”

  “Any college guys I need to wipe the floor with?”

  Her smile was wide. “None this time. The wedding ring does the trick, I think.”

  In fact, it was a rock. Effective in blinding any man or woman if angled toward the sun in just the right way. When Austin had slipped it on her finger four months prior in front of a minister, a fair amount of family and a throng of friends, her mother had simply swooned. Indeed, Mary was the biggest supporter of their union, but Patricia had dabbed at her fair share of tears according to Ruth. Herb...well, he made it to the ceremony while the shotgun stayed at home. He even managed to walk his only daughter down the aisle. It was a good start.

  “Besides,” Danny cocked her brow, “you left quite an impression last time you came with me. I ju
st might have to wipe the floor with a few obnoxious, horny college girls.”

  “I’ve already scored the only horny college girl I’m interested in.” His hands traveled beneath her wool-lined suede coat and the heavy hide slid from her shoulders, was left abandoned in their wake.

  The Christmas tree in the family room bathed them in a festive glow and Danny stopped, lifted on her tiptoes to seek out his mouth again.

  “But,” Austin stopped her regretfully, “we have company. And I’ll trust you to get rid of them so I can get your pants off ASAP.”

  Disappointment put a pout on her mouth.

  A familiar voice floated from the kitchen. “Enough of the ooey-gooey crap already!”

  Danny gasped in delight, clapped her hands...and promptly left him in her dust. Shoulders slumped, head hanging, Austin followed her into the kitchen.

  “Melanie!” Danny wrapped her friend in a fierce embrace, careful not to hurt anything. But the hug only lasted so long before she plunked to her knees and showered the woman’s rounded belly with adoring attention. “Oh, and if it isn’t my baby nephew! How is our little climber doing today?”

  “The baby talk is a little premature, Danny,” Melanie laughed, enjoying the antics. “Maybe in a couple of months.”

  Danny’s head fell back and regarded her with a knowing look. “He can hear me. And he’ll know exactly who I am well before he’s born, isn’t that right baby!”

  Back to the belly again. Melanie rolled her eyes, laughed when she caught Austin and Mac doing the same thing from their barstools.

  “Have I told you lately,” Danny said, standing to take her friend by the chin, “how glad I am that my brother knocked you up?”

  A cheeky grin. “A million times.”

  “I never thought getting my ass kicked could produce such wonderful results. I’d gladly do it again.”

  Austin’s expression darkened behind her. He hated the reminder, but his wife was almost gushing over the beating she took at the hands of an abusive coward. “Danny.”

  She recognized the tone and brushed it off, spotted Mac sitting at the island for the first time. “Well...we wouldn’t have this bundle of joy if Mel hadn’t been so traumatized and missed her pills.”