Watch Over (The DeLuca Family Book 1)

by Amy Reece

  “Yeah, so much better than Tittyana,” Cara muttered. “Ow.” She flashed a dirty look at her sister, who must have kicked her under the table.

  “Who?” Mel hadn’t missed the whispered words.

  “She’s talking about Tatiana, Finn’s ex-girlfriend,” Izzy explained.

  “Oh.” Mel had known there was someone, and had wondered what happened to her. It was probably the blonde beauty she’d seen going in and out of his house when he’d first moved in. “Ex?” The word slipped out completely against her will.

  Cara and Izzy exchanged knowing glances. “Definitely ex,” Cara said and then paused to give their order to the waiter, who had returned. “She apparently couldn’t handle the stress of Finn being in the hospital and took off. She didn’t even wait until he woke up.”

  “That’s terrible! Were they together long?” Mel hated herself for asking.

  “More than a year.” Izzy paused to take a sip of water, which the waiter had brought. “They were practically living together. I think he was planning to ask her to marry him. God, talk about dodging a bullet! I’m sorry he got hurt so bad, but it did mean the end of her. If we had ended up with her as a sister-in-law, I don’t know what I would have done.”

  “We would have had to poison her,” Cara said nonchalantly as she sipped her water.

  “Probably,” agreed Izzy. “We could have done it slowly over several months while we built our own immunity to the poison. They never would have caught us.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s a better movie plot than a real-life option.” Mel paused as the waiter delivered their drinks. They all spent a few moments tasting each other’s and getting to know one another better, chatting about what each did for a living. Mel knew Cara was a high school English teacher, but she hadn’t known Izzy, short for Isabelle, helped their oldest brother, Hugh, run the family construction company.

  Mel finished her margarita, realizing it had slid down way too easily. Her lips were feeling pleasantly numb and she wished she had eaten before she came. “Do they have food here? I’m going to be drunk if I don’t eat something.”

  “Me too, and I want another margarita. You’re the designated driver tonight, Cara, by the way.” Izzy caught the waiter’s attention and ordered another margarita apiece for her and Mel and a club soda for her sister.

  Melanie decided to throw caution to the wind and enjoy the evening with these two women who seemed to want to be friends. It had been an awfully long time since she’d had anyone close to her own age to simply hang out with.

  ***

  Finn

  He heard the key in the lock and turned the TV volume down. He would usually take issue with his brother entering his house without permission, but he knew Hugh was simply trying to save him the trouble of answering the door from his wheelchair. All his siblings had been making liberal use lately of the keys he’d given them. God, he was ready to ditch this thing. “Hey, Hugh. Pizza’s not here yet. You better have brought the beer, cuz I’m out.”

  But it wasn’t Hugh who appeared around the corner. It was Seamus, his next youngest brother. “I not only brought beer, I brought wings.” He grinned as he held up the bulging bag and the twelve pack. “And none of that fancy imported shit Hugh likes, either. How you doin’ Finn? Sorry I haven’t stopped by for a few days.”

  “No problem. It’s not exactly a barrel of laughs around here, so I don’t blame you.”

  “I heard it’s a lot more fun since he got a new girlfriend.” Tony, the youngest member of the DeLuca clan entered on Seamus’ heels, holding a grocery bag and a six-pack of PBR.

  “I don’t know where you’re getting your information, brat. I don’t have a new girlfriend.” The doorbell rang at that moment, waking Fluff, who had been snoozing in his lap.

  “What the hell is that?” Tony stared at the yapping dog in disgust.

  “This is Fluff, Mel’s dog. I’m dogsitting while she’s out painting the town with Cara and Izzy. Here. Go pay for the pies.” He handed his little brother several twenties.

  Hugh came in holding the pizzas. “I got it.” He set them on the coffee table along with the beer he’d brought. “I got something decent since I knew these two hipsters would bring that PBR swill.”

  Seamus and Tony laughed delightedly. “God, you’re old, Hugh!” Tony added.

  “Shut up,” Hugh said softly as he opened a bottle of the Belgian lager he’d brought. “Not too old to kick your scrawny ass.” Since Tony was six foot two and anything but scrawny, he took no offense.

  They settled in to watch the baseball game and devour the pizza, wings, and chips, along with a fair amount of beer. It was the first time since the accident the four of them had gotten together for a game night and Finn had missed it—had missed spending time with his brothers. He’d almost lost it all thanks to some damn driver not paying attention. He was determined to never take his family for granted again. He reached up to quickly wipe the start of an angry tear away, hoping to God none of his brothers had noticed. No such luck, of course.

  “You okay?” Hugh was always hyper-aware of what went on with his family members.

  “I’m fine. It’s time for more painkillers, that’s all. Be right back.” He wheeled into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and a couple ibuprofen. It was important to stay ahead of the throbbing pain in his ankle. If he let it get ahead of him, he’d be in for a bitch of a night. The alcohol would help, but it was times like these he almost wished he wasn’t a cop because a little pot would certainly do the trick and take the edge off the pain. It wasn’t worth it, though. If he wasn’t willing to take the narcotics legally prescribed to him, he wasn’t about to risk his career to smoke a joint.

  “So, you ever gonna tell us about this new girl who is definitely not your girlfriend?” Seamus lobbed a decorative pillow at him as he returned to the living room. Finn caught it before it could hit Fluff. “Cara and Izzy took her out for a girls’ night? You sure you want them getting their hooks into her before you’ve sealed the deal?”

  “Can you ‘seal the deal’ with that big ass cast on your leg?” Tony said with a laugh. “This new girl may have to do most of the work.”

  “Shut the fuck up! Don’t ever talk about Mel like that!” His sudden hot anger even surprised him. The mere thought that they might be thinking about Mel in a sexual way infuriated him. His brothers were staring at him, shocked. Except Hugh. He had a small, somewhat wistful smile on his face. “Sorry, guys. Just don’t—I don’t know.” He ran his hands through his hair, unsure of what he wanted to say. “Mel’s off limits, that’s all. And we’re just friends.”

  “Uh huh.” Tony and Seamus exchanged amused glances, which made Finn grind his teeth. “So, tell us about her. Cara was stingy with the details. She’s pretty, I assume? You never go for anyone less than stunning.” Seamus passed him another beer as a peace offering.

  “She’s beautiful, of course. And smart. She’s really shy, so you guys take it easy, okay?” He realized they would almost certainly still be here when the girls got back and didn’t want them scaring her away.

  “Smart, huh? Well, that’s new and different for you.” This from Seamus.

  “No, Tatiana was wicked smart.” Hugh leaned forward for another slice of pizza. “She was just a shallow, cold bitch. Good riddance.”

  “Don’t hold back on account of my tender feelings.” Finn took a swig of his beer, irritated, but silently in agreement with his older brother. He had definitely misjudged his former girlfriend and realized he was probably a bit gun-shy. “Can we please watch the game and stop talking about my love life?”

  “Sure. Doesn’t sound like there’s all that much to talk about, anyway.” Tony laughed, but thankfully stopped talking.

  The game was in extra innings when the girls came back. Finn, using his finely honed cop skills from years of DWI checkpoints, could tell Mel and Izzy were definitely buzzed, but Cara seemed fine and he assumed she’d been the designated driver. He wa
s suddenly eager to see what a buzzed Mel was like, so he made every effort to get rid of his unwanted siblings as soon as possible. His efforts were for naught, however, and it looked like his brothers were settled in for a while. It was probably best she met the whole fam damily while she was drunk; they were a lot to handle at one time, even for the strongest of constitutions. His brothers, unexpectedly, took his warning to heart and asked her only the simplest of questions and let Cara and Izzy carry most of the conversation. They finally began cleaning up and left, Cara promising to make sure Izzy got home safely. The guys had all been careful not to go over their limit, so Finn felt fine about them driving. Mel was dozing on the couch, so he went to the kitchen to get her a bottle of water from the fridge. She was still asleep, her head propped in her hand.

  “Mel? Hey, wake up and drink some water. You’ll have a hell of a headache in the morning if you don’t hydrate.”

  “Huh? Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Did everyone leave?” She pushed her hair behind her ear and twisted the top off the water bottle. Finn wondered if that gorgeous hair was as soft and silky as it looked. He entertained a very masculine fantasy of seeing her hair spread out across his pillow for about ten seconds while she drank half her water. Okay, enough of that! Down, boy! He was grateful he still held the dog on his lap.

  “Yeah. How was your evening with my sisters? They can be a handful.”

  “It was really nice. It’s been…awhile since I went out for an evening like that. It was fun.” She smiled sleepily and Finn was launched straight back into his fantasy.

  He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. “How long?”

  “What?” She looked adorably confused.

  “How long since you went out for a girls’ night?”

  “Um, since college, I guess.” She shrugged as if it didn’t matter. Finn had a feeling it mattered quite a bit.

  “Why? I know you’ve been busy taking care of your aunt for the last year or so, but what about before that?”

  She shrugged again. “I don’t have a lot of friends. I just…I don’t make friends easily. Pathetic, huh?” She laughed lightly and drank more water.

  “Mel.” He didn’t know what to say. She was so amazing. Why couldn’t everyone see that? She should have people beating down the door to be her friend. He hated to see the sad smile on her face so he changed the subject. “How are you feeling? Why don’t you stay here tonight?”

  “Oh, no! That’s not necessary, Finn. Thanks, but I need to get home. CJ will be waiting.”

  “The cat will be fine. Mel, I think you should stay. I’ve got a bed made up in the guest room. You won’t be any trouble.”

  “Thanks, but I am perfectly fine to walk the thirty or so yards to my house.” She stood, a bit wobbly, and gathered her bag. She held out her arms for Fluff.

  “He can ride in my lap.” Finn rolled toward the door.

  “What? You’re walking me home? That’s not necessary.”

  “Technically, I’m rolling you home. Let’s go.” He ushered her toward the front door.

  “Oh, Finn,” she sighed. “You don’t need to—”

  “No arguments. I can be as stubborn as you. I’m perfectly capable of escorting you home. It’s late and you’re tipsy.”

  “I’ll text you when I get home.” She shrugged when he refused to agree. “Fine. Be stubborn.” She marched out his front door, ruining all her righteous indignation by stumbling on the wheelchair ramp, barely catching herself before she fell.

  He wisely said nothing and simply followed her down the walkway to the sidewalk. It was an older neighborhood and the sidewalks were raised at the seams in several places, making it difficult for a wheelchair. Finn had plenty of upper body strength to compensate, but he realized an elderly person, such as the neighbor between his and Mel’s house, would find it impossible. He decided to make a call to the city in the morning.

  “Looks like we’re getting a new neighbor.” Mel’s soft voice broke into his thoughts.

  “Huh?”

  “Across the street.” She pointed to the house directly across the street between theirs. “The ‘For Rent’ sign is gone. Either they took it off the market or rented it out.”

  He hadn’t been outside since he got home for more than quick trips to and from the doctor and certainly hadn’t paid any attention to what was going on in the neighborhood. “Great. All we need is a rental property on our street. Our property values just plummeted.”

  “Okay, Mr. Glass-Half-Full. Maybe we’ll get a responsible renter who will take care of the house and yard.” She smiled at his disbelieving look. “It could happen.” They reached the bottom of her porch steps and she turned to him, her hand reaching to steady herself against the railing. “Thanks for rolling me home, Finn. You are a true gentleman.”

  “And you’re a bit of a smart ass.” He held his breath as she leaned down to scoop Fluff off his lap. Her loose hair fell into his face and he inhaled the delicious fragrance of her shampoo—peaches, if he wasn’t mistaken. He couldn’t stop himself from tucking the right side behind her ear. He was right—it was every bit as silky as he’d dreamed. She froze as his hand caressed her cheek, her eyes darting to his, panicked. He reluctantly let his hand fall away, realizing he would have to take anything with her more slowly than he was used to. Wait, what was he even thinking? He wasn’t ready for another relationship. Whoa, slow down, buddy! “Goodnight, Mel. I’ll wait ’til you get inside. Don’t forget to lock up, okay?”

  Chapter Six

  Mel

  Her cell phone vibrating on the nightstand woke her. She was shocked to see it was nearly eleven o’clock. She usually rose by nine at the latest. The nasty taste in her mouth was something she hoped never to experience again and she made a vow on the spot to severely limit her tequila intake in the future. The margaritas were fine, but why on earth had she allowed Cara to talk her into the shots? She grabbed the cell phone and saw that Finn had messaged her.

  Finn: Morning, Sunshine! How’s your head?

  Mel: Not sure yet.

  Finn: Did I wake you up? Sorry.

  Mel: No, of course not. I’ve been up for hours.

  Finn: Liar. How about I make it up to you by fixing you a gourmet lunch? And by gourmet I mean sandwiches.

  Melanie laughed and pushed the hair out of her face. She knew spending more time with him was probably a bad idea, but she couldn’t help herself. She liked him. She also liked his sisters, and it had been so long since she’d had any friends her own age. So, although it was likely to do nothing but strengthen the silly crush she’d already developed, she agreed.

  Mel: What about if I come over later this afternoon and make you dinner? I’m a little worried all you ever have is pizza and beer.

  Finn: Vicious rumors! I’m not a bad cook when I’m not in this %$@# wheelchair. How about both? Unless you have a hot date for lunch? Bring Fluff. CJ’s already here.

  “Oh, Fluff! Why does he have to be so nice? How am I supposed to not fall in love with him?” Fluff refused to answer, so Melanie dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. She refused to consider why she chose to dress in a casual sundress rather than her usual yoga pants/t-shirt combo. She gathered the ingredients for chicken spaghetti into a wicker basket and scooped Fluff under her other arm, along with her tote bag full of her work paraphernalia. As she locked the kitchen door behind her, she paused. The door hadn’t been locked. She could have sworn she locked it the night before when she went to bed. Hadn’t she? Finn had reminded her before she went inside and she’d locked the front door behind her, then immediately gone through to lock the kitchen door. Was she going insane? Her heart began to pound as she considered the alternative: someone had somehow unlocked it and come into her house. No. That was crazy. Wasn’t it? She shook off the disturbing thoughts and walked to Finn’s house, waving to Mr. Taylor as she passed.

  A strange woman answered the door, causing Melanie to do a double take. “Hi. I’m Anna. I’
m Finn’s physical therapist. He said to come on in. We’re just about done.” She left Melanie to follow and shut the door.

  “Hey, Mel. You can go on into the kitchen and make yourself at home. I’m just about done with the daily torture. I’ll join you in a few minutes,” Finn’s voice called to her from the living room to her left.

  “Good God, Finn! It’s not like I’m water boarding you, you big baby! If you want to get out of that chair, you better stop whining and finish this set!”

  “Jawohl herr kommandant,” Finn muttered. Mel caught a glimpse of him lying on a mat, pushing with his good leg against the physical therapist.

  She decided to take him at his word and made herself at home in his kitchen, preparing lunch for both of them so it would be waiting when he finished with his session. He would surely be exhausted, and fixing lunch was probably something he didn’t want to even think about. She found cold cuts and sliced cheese readily enough, along with the bread and some baby carrots. She put some potato chips on his plate, but left them off her own. They represented a slippery slope she was all too wont to slide down, crunching all the way.

  She heard the front door open and shut, then Finn rolled into the kitchen. He immediately reached for the bottle of Tylenol on the table and swallowed three capsules, dry. She bit her lip, worried at the way the lines around his mouth and between his eyes were deeper than she’d ever seen.

  “Here.” She handed him a bottle of water from the fridge. “I can clear out, Finn. I don’t mind.”

  He smiled tiredly. “Nah, I’m good. PT’s a bitch, that’s all. Thanks for fixing lunch. That was really nice.”

  “No problem. I didn’t know physical therapists made house calls.”

  He chuckled as he recapped the water bottle. “I’m sure they normally don’t, but the police department arranged it since it’s so hard for me to get around with this cast. Shit pay, but they take care of their own. Once this cast is off she’ll stop coming to me. That’ll be fun since I can’t drive yet. Good thing I have so many siblings.”