“If he’s still carrying some kind of torch for me, I could understand it. But we’re divorced. He was angry when I filed for divorce, but he didn’t contest it. He was very agreeable to all my terms.”
“Almost too agreeable?”
She snapped her gaze at him as she lightly kicked nervously at a worn patch of linoleum on the floor. “How do you mean?”
Kevin took a small step toward her. “Maybe he’s planned this all along?”
She drew in a deep sigh, stared at the spot on the floor she’d been worrying. “I don’t know. And I don’t think crows are quite that color,” she said, pointing to the kitchen door.
She wasn’t making sense, Daria knew. The hidden meaning of the bird only made sense to the two people who gave it meaning.
“So you do think George did this?”
She tossed her hands in the air, wanting to cry. Yet, she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to cry about. She was divorced. She’d moved on with her life. Why were these memories of her life with George suddenly crashing around her? She didn’t want to spend her days picking at the significance of every moment they’d shared to see if George had been plotting her murder all along? Wouldn’t she have known?
“Officer Montgomeryââ
âDylan.â
âHas had George ‘under his nose’. Wasn’t that how you put it?” she asked. “Unless Dylan is sitting on the next block, I find it hard to believe George could possibly be involved.”
“He’s stood on dark corners soliciting help before. Why not this?”
Daria folded her arms across her chest, felt her pulse easing and her heartbeat growing steady. The more time had passed since she’d first set eyes on that bird, the less her nerves rattled. Her mind was racing, but even she was stretching now.
She was going to be okay. She definitely was not leaving. And she wasn’t going to allow herself to be rattled by every little incident of mischief.
“You’ve been watching him. You mentioned that between your buddies at the station you’ve had George’s every move watched. Has he shown up on any dark corners since that first night?”
Kevin’s face twisted. “No,” he said in a low voice.
“George’s reputation is something he values above everything else. I find it hard to believe he’d use his business phone to contact some hoodlum to come hang a bird on my door. And what would something like that prove? It’s not his style.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself of his innocence.”
She shook her head. “Maybe, I am. Do you blame me?”
âNot really.â
“But you have doubts.”
He looked around. âItâsâ¦too clean. I donât know anything about flowers and birds butâ¦â
“I’ve been doubting a lot of things lately,â she said. âWhat I do know is that the problems with neighborhood kids causing trouble around here didn’t start when I moved in. It’s been going on for years.”
âAnd youâd rather believe that than believe George had anything to do with this.â He wasnât asking her. He was merely stating the truth.
Daria didn’t need or want to drag on this conversation about birds and flowers any more. The day had been long, full of needless worry. And it was needless. The bird was just a light colored crow, for God’s sake. Daria only had one quick glance at it and she was far from being a bird expert. Her wild imagination was getting the better of her.
“I guess I’m just tired. Today’s worn me out. You must be exhausted yourself. You should go home and get some rest.”
Kevin stood rigid and tall in the middle of her floor. This game the two of them were playing, pretending that what was going on between them was all business and that there were no feelings flowing between them was ludicrous. Seeing the heat in his eyes set her soul on fire. He could lie to himself and pretend that he was here to be her savior, but Daria knew the truth. No man could look at a woman the way Kevin was looking at her without his thoughts being know. And a woman would have to be a moron not to understand those silent words of longing.
He wanted to kiss her. And Lord how she wished he would. She’d thought of nothing else but Kevin taking her in his arms and kissing her breathlessly in one of those soul searching kisses you see in the movies. She didn’t live in a movie, nor did she want to. But she did want to feel Kevin’s strong arms around her again. She wanted to see the desire in his eyes as he bent his head and pressed his mouth to hers. She wanted to burn with that fire, feel that strength. As frightened as she’d been on the back porch when she discovered that bird, she wasn’t lost to the power Kevin’s embrace had over her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he finally said.
Daria swallowed. “Well, I am.”
Kevin lifted an eyebrow, emotions she couldn’t quite decipher racing across his face. “You’ve decided to leave?”
“No,” she said resolutely. “I’m going to go into my bedroom, Iâm going to find a nice, comfortable pair of sweats and then go take a long, hot bubble bath. It’s been a long day. I think I’m due.”
Kevin’s crystal eyes were heated as he stared back at her. She’d give anything to know he was thinking, whether he was imagining her sitting in that huge claw foot tub naked beneath a riot of bubbles, maybe even imagining himself there with her. The thought had crossed her mind.
Daria dragged her eyes away from his penetrating stare, knowing her thoughts had betrayed her. She knew that as she sat naked in that big, old tub, Kevin would be out front watching her window from his car. She wanted to know what he was thinking as his eyes grazed the windowpane. Would he be angry with her for the position he was in now, feeling as if his life was out of control because she refused to leave? Or would he be thinking about what it would be like if he were in there with her, flesh on flesh, hot and slick.
Daria swallowed as the images assaulted her. It was a dangerous thought. One she’d allowed herself to indulge in too many times since yesterday morning at the market. She couldnât remember a time when a man had commanded so much of her thoughts this way.
Kevin’s jaw was tight as he spoke, but his voice was remarkably low, and smooth. It wasn’t the sound of a man who was annoyed that she wouldn’t play nice and do as he said. It was the sound of a man in need. A raw need Daria felt herself.
“You may want to hold off on that bath until the boys have had a chance to dust the porch.”
Cocking her head, she said, “You may be right. I wouldn’t want any peeping Tom’s watching my window.”
His lips tilted to one side as he held her gaze. She did the same in turn until she could no longer stand it. With the thoughts sheâd had still fresh in her mind, she wasn’t as strong as Kevin. Daria turned on her heels and stalked to the bedroom.
Damn George. She paced silently in her bedroom until the anger that suddenly engulfed her subsided. She’d divorced him. He was her past. And yet, he was the only reason Kevin was here now.
As she closed her bedroom door slowly, she saw that Kevin was still watching her as the door shut. Such fortitude, such strength. As irritating as this situation was, it was something she admired about Kevin. Qualities she’d hoped to find in a life partner some day in the future. If it weren’t for this mess her ex had created, she’d be thinking of the possibility that this man could be her future.
Chapter Six
The “boys” had come and gone. And Kevin had left the house along with them. Scrubbed clean from her bath, Daria paced her bedroom in her slippers as sleep eluded her again. It was hard enough to handle the idea that someone had come to her house with the express purpose of trying to scare her. But knowing the man outside was there to protect her from that same danger was the same man who evoked such stirring thoughts invading her dreams, wasâ¦unsettling.
The wind rattled through the rafters of this old house. The spring days teased of warmer weather to come. But at night, the temperat
ure dropped, and the wind howled like a lone wolf in the distance, searching for a mate and a place to belong.
Daria wasn’t a wolf. She knew exactly where she belonged. No matter what happened, she wasn’t going to be run off her little piece of the earth by anyone. After six months, she was already dug in. This was home. This was where she was staying.
Still, the night wind, the quiet creak of the floorboards beneath her feet, and the drafty rooms that had been so quaint now made her restless. Who was she kidding? Not herself, that was for sure. Although she’d desperately tried hard to convince herself otherwise. It wasn’t the cold night or the howling wind. It was Kevin Gordon’s startling blue eyes and his commanding presence that had kept her up last night and now again tonight.
After slipping into an old comfortable terrycloth robe, Daria pulled the trunk at the foot of her bed open and grabbed the extra blanket she kept stashed there before heading to the kitchen. She quickly mixed together some hot chocolate and then poured the mixture into a thermos. She screwed on the lid, sealing it tight and capping it off with a cup. There was nothing like a good strong cup of hot chocolate to keep a cold and sleep deprived person warm.
Terrific, Daria. The man will probably collapse in the middle of roll call if he has to endure one more sleepless night. And all she was doing was giving him a thermos of hot chocolate. She couldnât deny she felt more comfortable with Kevin being so close by. Maybe his being here, however annoying it was, would be a deterrent for anyone who may wish her harm.
Besides, Daria couldn’t stomach looking at her finances again. Her head ached from running numbers and coming up short every time. A walk in the fresh air would do her some good. Maybe even help settle her nerves so she could sleep.
It was nearly one AM and if sleep didn’t come soon she’d be a zombie come morning. Marla would throw a million and one questions filled with innuendos her way and Daria wasn’t quite prepared to deal with that another day. She’d had her fill today every time Marla came into her office and ogled over that stupid bouquet of flowers.
From the beginning, Marla had always liked George, a fact that had been evident during her marriage, but more so after Daria had filed for divorce. Daria had always known that George’s flash and position was not only something he prided himself on, but something that drew women to him. Many women. And she had to admit that at one time she even liked being the envy of other women when she was on her ex-husband’s arm.
Thinking back, Marla hadn’t been all that broken up about Daria filing for divorce. Sure, she’d been a good friend and colleague while Daria had gone through her emotional and legal trials. Being an outgoing woman, Marla had always had her pick of men. But it was more than just envy over the flowers this morning that had Marla gazing longingly into Daria’s office. Daria had always suspected that all it would take was a tiny nudge from Daria and Marla would make the move on George.
The sour feeling that churned in her stomach wasn’t jealousy, it was deep concern. If these things Kevin had told her George had done were true, and Daria no longer believed they weren’t, then no woman was truly safe with him. It would be easy for Marla to get caught up in a web from which she couldn’t untangle herself.
She couldnât think about it. Marla was a big girl and Daria neither had nor wanted control of the men her assistant chose to date. Daria had her own troubles.
After fastening the sash of her robe a little tighter, she threw open the front door, and stepped outside into the chilly night clutching the blanket in her arms as she moved down the porch stairs. Tonight was colder than it had been the last few nights. She only hoped the bulbs that sheâd planted didnât die before they were able to bloom. The silence of the night was eerie, giving her imagination just enough fuel to explode to life. A lone dog barked on the next block, and she practically jumped out of her skin.
She glanced at the dark SUV and quickened her step, deciding the best thing to do was give Kevin the blanket and hot chocolate and then lock herself inside the house. She strode down her driveway in just short of a run, expecting to find Kevin sitting uncomfortably in the driverâs seat. His vehicle was empty.
“Kevin?” she called out in a heavy whisper. A chill rocketed through her as she swung around, searching the darkness with widened eyes.
At the heavy bark of the dog on the next block, she twisted her body yet again, her arms nearly dropping the blanket and thermos she held. From inside Mrs. Hildebrand’s house, Spot came to life, adding in what sounded like a round robin between the two animals. In the distance, another dog howled to add to the chorus.
“What are you doing out here?”
Even knowing the sound of Kevin’s voice, Daria nearly flew out of her skin and yelped. He had to have been walking on air because she hadn’t heard his approach. She’d been distracted by the dogs and her own overactive imagination.
Clutching the blanket and the thermos to her chest, she said, “Don’t sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“You shouldnât be out of the house this time of the night. It could be dangerous. For a minute, I thought you were a prowler.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. Sorry? Well that was a first. What did she have to be sorry about? This was her property. She could do anything she damned well pleased here.
Kevin appeared oblivious to her annoyance. He waved the flashlight he gripped in his hands back and forth through the yard, sometimes looking at her, sometimes seeming to look through her as if she weren’t even there.
She cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
He glanced at her then and his gaze held. “You didn’t,” he said quietly. “I heard the dogs barking and thought I’d check the yard. You must have come out the front door while I was in the back yard.”
The image of the dangling bird on a wire flooded Daria’s mind. The dead bird was long gone, taken away by the police officers who’d come by to take her statement and file a report. While she’d been in the bathtub, she’d heard Kevin cleaning up the remnants of the shattered vase.
Still, it was as if the bird and its fear had a permanent imprint on her house, warning her of impending doom. She’d have to get over this fear if she ever planned on using her back door again.
“Are you okay?”
Taken aback by the sudden concern in his voice, Daria shrugged and said, “Yeah, fine. I was just having trouble sleeping. The house has a lot of drafts and the wind gets pretty loud at night.”
Kevin went back to panning the surrounding yards with his flashlight, not really paying attention to Daria at all. The dogs continued their chorus of barking as if carrying on a conversation with each other.
“I thought you might be cold out here. Tonight is a little more frigid than it’s been the last few days. I had the eleven oâclock news on and they said it may even get down to freezing.”
“Yeah, well, that’s spring in New England for you.â
âTonight doesnât feel all that much like spring. It feels more like January.â
The mist from Kevin’s breath escaped his mouth as he spoke as it hit the beam from the flashlight. Then it evaporated instantly. The collar of his leather jacket was flipped up to protect his neck from the wind. He had to be cold in that SUV, but he didn’t let on any discomfort.
He glanced at her hands, then took in the robe she’d wrapped around herself before walking outside. It was a heavy white terry cloth material and fell nearly to her ankles, keeping her relatively warm despite the evening’s temperature. It had been a present her mother had mailed to her this past Christmas. She hadn’t seen her mother in well over a year since her parents had moved out of the country. Daria had thought of flying out to their place in Mexico to spend the holidays rather than face them alone for the first time.
But this year was another first. Her first year in her own home and she’d wanted to spend it here, no matter how much it still was in disrepair. She’d passed the
time Christmas morning by volunteering at a local soup kitchen, and then spent the afternoon alone in her house, drinking eggnog and listening to Christmas tunes while she painted her bedroom walls.
Of all the rooms in the house, her bedroom was the first to be completed. As a child, she’d always envisioned a bedroom of her own. Even married, her bedroom wasn’t her own because her own style clashed so harshly with George’s.
She recalled how she’d waited until evening to sit down in front of the small tree she’d set up in the corner of the living room, which at that time housed her bed, and opened up the few presents she’d received from her parents. She hadn’t been sad or lonely that day as her mother insisted she might be. She’d been content to finally be home.
Daria hiked up the collar of her robe, aware that Kevin was now staring at her.
“If you’re planning on going somewhere you might want to consider putting on some clothes,” he said harshly.
“No, I just came out… I have clothes on,” she said, suddenly annoyed. “I brought you a blanket and a carafe of hot chocolate. If you insist on freezing your butt out here like this, it’s the least I can do.”
As if he only just noticed the items in her hands, Kevin let out a slow sigh and reached for the carafe. “Oh, man, I love you.”
Daria blinked, lifting her chin a little higher. A silly thrill shot through her with his choice of words.
They were nothing. Just words. Kevin had probably been shivering all evening since sheâd left him, not that he’d let her see it. In fact, he hadn’t yet uttered a word of complaint.
“The blanket should keep you a little more comfortable,” she said as she shoved it at him.
Kevin’s smile was so bright it had her heart beating rampantly. That smile alone did things to her, making her insides hum to life.
“Just for the record. My giving you a blanket and a little hot chocolate doesn’t mean I like the idea of you camping out on my doorstep. Iâm locked inside my house. Thereâs no reason for you to have to stay here. In fact, I think itâs a little ridiculous.”
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