She grinned back at him, but a little bit of sorrow still lingered in her eyes. “I’d love that.”
CHAPTER
15
HANNAH
After leaving The Springs, Hannah headed home to change and get ready for dinner at the Davis house. David pulled his Chevelle into the driveway next to her and hurried out of the car.
“I don’t see why you have to change, you look fine.” He skimmed his eyes over her, tracing her body from head to toe.
Hannah felt more like he was picturing her without clothes, rather than with them on. She laughed and gave him a shove before heading to the door. “Because, I want to look better than fine, there is nothing wrong with that.”
“I guess.” He shrugged and leaned the porch railing while she unlocked the door.
While David waited in the living room, she hurried into her bedroom to change. After going over the pathetic inventory of her closet, she finally chose a white sundress with teal flowers scattered across it. It only took her a few moments to slip the dress on, twist her hair into a simple braid and finalize the outfit with a pair of white sandals.
Even though it wasn’t a real date with just the two of them, it was sort of like a date and she wanted to look like she halfway cared about what she looked like.
Maybe for a few hours she could forget the dead Reaper, forget her impending jail sentence, and have a little bit more normal before shit hit the fan.
She emerged from her room and found David examining her video collection. “Wow!” he exclaimed when he saw her. “You weren’t kidding, you look fantastic.”
Hannah felt the blood rise to her cheeks and offered him a small smile. “Thank you.”
He turned back to the movies and pointed at the stacks. “You know that this entire movie collection screams nerd, right?”
She shrugged. “So, I like being a nerd and those are all awesome movies. Why would you care anyway?”
David tilted his head and thought for a moment. “I don’t. I love you’re nerdish qualities.” He moved away from the shelf of videos, toward her.
“You can’t fool me, David Foster, I know that underneath that jacket and badge your own nerdish qualities have been repressed, and they are screaming to be let out.”
He threw his head back and laughed as he pulled her into his arms. “Oh, you think so?”
She nodded. “I know so.”
“Well, we’ll see about that. I am a hardened cop now, it may be hard to get that guy to resurface.”
Hannah grinned. “Challenge accepted.”
David rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Let’s go, nerd.
They left Hannah’s car and took the Chevelle out to the Davis Farm. It wasn’t far and took them less than five minutes to get there.
She hadn’t been out to the farm since before David left, so she stared out the window and happily recalled the past as they drew closer. White wooden fences lined the perimeter of the farm that was exposed to the road. Several horses roamed the field, grazing on the grass, and a few cattle occupied the field on the other side of the gravel driveway.
The moment they pulled up in front of the white Victorian with its wrap around porch, Mrs. Davis came running out of the house waving a pot holder in her right hand. The thin woman wore her gray hair in a short bob and a floral print apron covered her tee shirt and jeans. “David!” she called out as she approached the Chevelle.
He turned to Hannah and flashed her a smile before pulling the handle on the door and jumping out. He left the door of the car hanging open and hurried toward Mrs. Davis. When they reached each other he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground in a giant bear hug.
Hannah let herself out of the vehicle and watched them for a moment. The sheriff had come out onto the porch and watched his wife and David with a glint of happiness in his eye.
“Boy,” Mrs. Davis whispered tearfully, “Where have you been?”
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured into her shoulder.
“Well, you’re here now.” She swatted him on the back with her pot holder. “Now put me down.”
David set her back down on the ground where she immediately smoothed the invisible wrinkles out of her apron and then finally noticed Hannah standing beside David’s car. “Oh, hello dear.”
Hannah smiled and waved. “Hi Mrs. Davis.” Now that she and David were done with their moment, she felt more comfortable moving forward.
“Oh, good grief, girl, call me Darcy. We’re both grown women now.”
“Some habits are hard to let go of,” Hannah replied with a little laugh. She had grown up calling her Mrs. Davis. Her father never allowed them to address adults by their first names.
“Come on y’all. Let’s go in the house and have some supper. It’s almost ready.” Darcy turned and headed for the porch.
The sheriff, not in uniform, greeted Hannah and David. “Glad you two could make it over. I know how busy you both are.” He stared curiously at the two of them, which didn’t surprise Hannah at all. Everyone in town knew what happened between them when David left.
They followed Darcy into the house where they passed through the sitting room and into the kitchen. “I have to check the potatoes,” she explained and hurried over to the stove where a large pot was nearly boiling over.
The sheriff pulled out a chair at the wooden dining table and indicated that Hannah and David should do the same. After they were all seated, the sheriff switched his eyes back and forth between Hannah and David. “Yeah, I’m just gonna ask, are you two back together now?”
Hannah hadn’t really expected the question in such a direct manner, so she opened her mouth to answer and then shut it again, looking to David for help. He glanced at Hannah, giving her a gentle smile. “We are getting to know each other again.”
The sheriff lifted an eyebrow.
“You know,” David explained, “Dating. Well, sort of dating.”
Darcy appeared beside the table and set a tray of deviled eggs in the center. “Now don’t eat all of those. We have a huge supper to eat still. There are soft drinks and tea in the fridge, help yourselves.” With that she went back to cooking.
“I think dating is a good idea.” The sheriff leaned forward and plucked an egg off the tray. “But, you both know you are kidding yourselves, right?”
Confused, Hannah frowned. “Kidding ourselves about what?”
“You are one soul already. Aside from my own true love,” he looked over at Darcy, who met his gaze with a soft smile and light in her eyes, “I’ve never met any two people in my whole life who belong together as much as the both of you.”
David expelled a nervous laugh and pushed his chair out. “I didn’t expect such a deep conversation tonight.” He strode over to the fridge and opened it. After disappearing behind the door for a moment, he stood up with two cokes in his hand. He bumped the refrigerator door shut again and headed back to the table where he set one of the cokes in front of Hannah and opened the other for himself.
Hannah cleared her throat. “Sheriff …”
“Good Lord, do you see a uniform on me right now? Call me, Frank.”
“Sorry, um, Frank. But, I was just going to say that I think you are right about us belonging together, but we have a lot of issues to get past before we can make it official again.” She turned to David so he could confirm and she found him staring at her, his eyes bright with excitement.
“We belong together?” he asked softly.
She rolled her eyes and nervously sipped her coke. “Yeah, now stop acting like an idiot.”
He tore his eyes away from her and looked to Frank. “How do you know that about us?”
“I just know. You don’t need me to explain it. Bottom line is this, you’ve been apart for twelve years and the feelings didn’t fade. That means something.”
A short awkward silence followed. Hannah didn’t want to say anything, mostly because he was right about everything.
“Now, Frank,
you leave them alone and help me with this turkey.”
The sheriff rose to do as his wife asked. Hannah stood up as well. “Can we do anything to help?”
Darcy shook her head and pointed. “Absolutely not. You two just sit down and let us tend to this.”
Hannah lowered herself back down into the chair. Preparing the food was always a group effort at her family home, so it was strange to let Mrs. Davis wait on them. It wasn’t for long though. After a few minutes the table was loaded with all the traditional sides for a Thanksgiving dinner and right in the middle of everything was a small, perfectly roasted turkey.
“Tell us about L.A., David.” Darcy’s question received a scowl from her husband. She shook her head, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut.
David shrugged and finished chewing his turkey. “For a while, it was amazing. Well, not at first. When I first joined the LAPD I had to go through all the training and then be a rooky for what seemed like forever. After that, when I got to start working on big cases, was when I really started to love it.”
“Why did you leave then?” Frank asked.
“All right, fine. I know you aren’t going to leave it alone until I tell you.”
“It’s a simple question, son.”
David used the cloth napkin to wipe his face and sat there for a moment as if he were gathering his thoughts. Hannah saw the discomfort make its way to the surface of David’s demeanor.
“In L.A. I made detective, and after a few years of that I was given a case which required me to go undercover. I was in deep with a circle of big time criminals. Drug trafficking was their game. In the end, I blew my cover and they were gone by the time our raid took place. Chief blamed me and told me that he wasn’t going to fire me, but if I wanted to work somewhere else then I better hit the road.”
Hannah had known he didn’t really want to be working in Lake County, but she didn’t know why. So this was it, he was forced to find a job somewhere else.
“How’d you blow your cover?” Frank asked, his voice smaller than normal.
David shook his head, “You know I can’t talk about it.”
“Why? It’s over now.”
After closing his eyes for a second, he opened them and met the sheriff’s eyes. “Let’s just say that I see the good in people when I probably shouldn’t. I wasn’t the right man to send undercover.”
Hannah watched the interaction with the two men closely. Frank nodded and took a bite of mashed potatoes. “So, you trusted one of them and told them who you really were?”
With a nod, David silently agreed.
“Well, it’s a shitty situation, but I believe everything happens for a reason.”
“Frank, it was more than shitty. The entire operation failed because the man I confided in, told the others who I was and they up and moved. Gone. Basically wiped off the map. They are probably in Mexico now, hiding out and soaking up the sun on a beach somewhere.”
Frank shrugged. “Like I said, I think it all happens for a reason.”
Darcy, who had been quietly watching her boys and Hannah, apparently decided that it was time for a topic change. “Hannah, how is the family fairing since your father’s passing?”
Even though Hannah wanted to hear more about what David was involved in over in L.A., she was grateful that David wouldn’t be uncomfortable anymore. “Everyone is adjusting, it’s different not having him around.”
“I can imagine,” Darcy agreed.
“I think it was hardest for Dan to take, since his wife and all, he’s lost so much.”
It was the sheriff’s turn to look uncomfortable. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to find out who the killer was.”
Hannah finished the last of the food on her plate and took another swallow of coke. “It doesn’t matter now. I don’t think it would make things any better for him to know who did it. He just needs to cope with real life right now.”
Again, silence filled the room for a moment. It seemed like all they had to talk about was subjects that would depress them.
“Well,” the sheriff continued. “I miss your dad. He was a big part of my life too.”
“Thank you.” Hannah smiled because she meant it.”
The sheriff shifted in his seat. “I already told David, but I’m gonna say it again. There is always a spot for you here on the Summer Hollow PD, if you want to stay in town.”
Hannah watched David lower his eyes and wondered if it was because he didn’t want to move back to town. How would things ever work if he didn’t want to come back anyway?
“I’m not sure just how things are going to work out right now, but thank you, I’ll keep that in mind,” David answered, without making a solid commitment.
Once again Darcy changed the topic of conversation. “So, not to be nosy, but I just have to ask, who is that young man your sister Lucy has taken up with?”
Hannah laughed. “Oh, that’s Jack. He was drifting through town last month and he and Lucy fell in love. Now he’s here for good, officially part of the Estmond Clan.”
“So, all of your sisters and brothers approve of him?” Darcy asked. “He seems so … rough.”
“I know he does, and he really kind of is, but when it comes to Lucy he’s a puppy.”
The older woman nodded her head. “Well, I hope so. I’m happy for her if that is the kind of man she wants.”
Hannah resisted another grin. It wasn’t truly about Lucy wanting his type, it was about the fact that the two of them shared some sort of crazy bond. Lucy and Jack being apart had proven to be more dangerous than them being together.
A phone rang.
“It’s me.” David pulled his cell from the pocket of his jeans. “Oh crap, I’ve got to take this. I’m sorry.” He apologized as he stared at the screen and the phone rang again. He stood and left the room as he answered the call. “Foster.”
Left alone with the sheriff and his wife, Hannah stood and offered to help clean up.
“Oh, don’t worry about it, dear.”
Hannah began collecting some of the dishes. “Nonsense,” Hannah responded. “You cooked, we clean.”
Darcy smiled and shook her head. “Well, if you insist.”
Another phone rang, this time it came from Frank’s pocket. “That’s me this time.” He swiped at his phone and headed out of the room.
“Oh the life of a law enforcement officers wife. You know they never stop working? Being off duty is not really off duty for them.”
Hannah nodded. “I’m beginning to understand that.”
After a few moments of cleaning up the kitchen they heard raised voices from the other room.
“Good Lord, what is going on in there?” Darcy threw her dishtowel down and hurried out of the kitchen. Hannah dropped the dishes she had into the sink, following right behind her. She couldn’t think of any reason right off the top of her head why David would be arguing with the sheriff.
“I already knew this was going to happen,” David was telling Frank.
“Dammit kid, you can’t hide evidence like this.”
“It’s our case now, we can handle it however we want.”
The sheriff snorted. “You aren’t handling this one like a cop and you know it.”
“What’s going on?” Darcy screamed, shoving her tiny frame between the bodies of the two men.
“I thought you would understand,” David accused Frank in a sad voice, “you know why I didn’t say anything right away.”
“What?” Darcy yelled. “Say anything about what?”
Hannah had been watching the interaction between the two men and a sinking feeling began to grow in her stomach.
They knew.
Confirmation of her thoughts came when both of them turned their heads toward her.
Frank spoke first. “One of the seniors at the center called and said they saw Hannah running from the crime scene.”
Darcy furrowed her brows. “So, that doesn’t mean anything.”
“No, i
t doesn’t,” the sheriff shook his head, “but she still has to be questioned and she is now a suspect.”
“Well I don’t see why you guys are arguing about it.” Darcy stared at her husband, confused.
“They found a piece of fabric at the crime scene that matches the description of what Hannah was wearing that day. David knew from other evidence that she was there.”
Hannah’s felt her stomach flip flop. Okay, so he knew already. How come he didn’t say anything? David met her gaze and started toward her. “I didn’t want to say anything until I knew more about why you were there.”
Hannah moved her lips, but nothing came out. It was here. The time had come already. “He attacked me.” Hannah managed to get the words to stumble out of her mouth.
David nodded as did the sheriff. “We know, but right now, you probably shouldn’t say anything more,” David explained to her.
For some reason, she had thought she would have more time. She thought that maybe she would wake up and the whole thing would be a nightmare. But no, here was her long lost love telling her that the time was up.
David tore his gaze away from her and glanced at the sheriff, then Darcy and then back to Hannah. “I have to place you under arrest now, Hannah.”
CHAPTER
16
AIDEN
“Oh, fuck yeah!” The blonde Aiden had picked up at the coffee shop in town was now bent over the ugly ass desk in a cheap hotel room. She was a yeller, but that was all right with him, it wasn’t like he was trying to hide or anything, she could scream about how awesome his fucking was all day long.
He gripped her hair in his hand and thrust into her even harder, the more she cried out with pleasure the harder he pounded.
“God damn, yes! Fuck me harder.” she ordered, breathlessly.
He pulled out and hauled her up into a standing position, then reached down, gripped her legs and sat her on the desk. After her ass was safely on the desk, he pulled those gorgeous legs up and placed them on his shoulders.
She leaned back and braced herself with her hands. Her wavy blonde hair was no longer the perfect hairdo she had entered the room with, her skirt and button up blouse were laying on the floor by the door and her eye makeup was smeared underneath her eyes. This chick shouted fuck me, even fully clothed and waiting for a latte. All he had to do was wink at her and he’d had her within his grasp.
Keeper of the Peace (Graveyard Guardians #2) Page 13