Imminent Affair

by Sheri WhiteFeather

  “All of us?” Daniel assumed that meant Allie, too. Rex wasn’t on speaker, so she couldn’t hear everything that was being said, but it was enough to make her curious. He could sense her looking at him.

  “Is that okay?” Rex asked.

  “It’s fine.” His stomach went tight. “Will this discussion involve a girl from my past?”

  “Yes, it will.”

  He focused on the road, the tightness getting tighter. He didn’t dare glance at Allie. “A dead girl?”

  Rex’s voice jumped. “How did you know that?”

  “I just did.” Daniel wasn’t clairvoyant, but apparently his instincts were strong. “I was having sad feelings about her earlier.”

  “Do you remember her?”

  “No. Just the sadness. Is there a connection between her and the vandal?”

  “I can’t say for sure, but there could be.”

  It must be complicated, Daniel thought. If it wasn’t, Rex wouldn’t have requested a face-to-face meeting. “What time do you want us to meet you?”

  “Around seven. Your dad offered to feed us.”

  Daniel frowned. His old man would probably put on a pot of spaghetti and make a batch of cheese-loaded garlic bread. He would probably try to keep things homey. But maybe that would be less stressful for Allie. She liked gathering around a table. She liked the domestic stuff.

  Daniel ended the call, and as soon as he hung up, he waited for her to comment on what she’d heard. She did, after about two beats of heart-thumping silence.

  “Rex wants to talk to us about the dead girl,” she said.

  He nodded. “Strange, isn’t it?” Daniel couldn’t decide if Rex’s timing was coincidence or fate.

  “I hope this isn’t going to get creepy.”

  “Me, too,” he responded, even though they both knew it was too late for that. It had proved creepy from the start, and it seemed to be getting worse.

  Chapter 4

  At precisely 7:00 p.m., Daniel escorted Allie into his dad’s house. She’d been here a few times before, and she always felt welcome.

  Ernie Deer Runner came forward to greet her. Daniel’s dad was a tall, slightly paunchy man with a kind and gentle nature.

  “How’s my girl?” he asked Allie, a smile broadening his face.

  “I’m fine.”

  She leaned in for a hug. She’d first met Ernie when Daniel had been in the coma. He’d asked the ICU staff to allow her to visit his son, even though ICU visitation was normally restricted to immediate family. He’d believed that Daniel would “sense” that Allie was there, and her presence would aid in his recovery.

  Allie had believed that, too, especially when Daniel had finally opened his eyes.

  But then he’d looked at her with a confused expression, and she’d known instantly that Daniel hadn’t recovered, at least not in a way that made it easy for them to resume their lives, to pick up where they’d left off.

  Daniel sniffed the tomato and basil in the air and said to his dad, “I knew you’d make a pot of spaghetti.”

  “It’s lasagna, son. I’ve got a big pan of it in the oven.”

  “Whatever it is, I’ll bet it’s going to be good.”

  “Always.” Ernie grinned. “You used to be pretty handy in the kitchen, too. The Deer Runner men have always been the chefs in the family.”

  “I cooked?”

  “I taught you everything I knew.”

  Daniel glanced at Allie, and they exchanged an amused look. He could barely boil an egg now. But the humor in his eyes died quickly, and Allie suspected that hearing about his old self made him feel like a stranger in his own skin.

  “I didn’t know you used to cook, either,” she said, offering what she hoped was comfort. “You never fixed anything for me. Of course we were too busy fighting witchcraft crimes to do much of anything else.” A strange time for all of them, she thought. She’d been cohabitating with Raven and hadn’t realized that she loved Daniel until he’d been shot, and the possibility of losing him became a reality.

  “And now you have a new crime to fight,” Ernie put in.

  “So it seems,” Allie responded. Daniel was still being quiet.

  Was he wondering about his past relationship with her? The things they’d never done? Never shared? Or was he thinking about the purpose of this meeting? The dead girl from his past?

  Daniel glanced at his watch. “Rex is late.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Ernie gestured to the kitchen, where a Formica table with chrome detail and red vinyl chairs made a vintage statement. “Have a seat, and I’ll pour some wine.”

  “I don’t want a drink, Dad.”

  “I do,” Allie piped up. Anything to take the edge off. She made a beeline for the fifties-style kitchen and a sullen Daniel followed.

  Ernie seemed happy to play the host. But Allie knew that he liked to keep busy. He also liked to keep things simple and having an amnesiac son appeared to be taking its toll on him.

  The older Deer Runner poured two glasses of Chianti, one for Allie and another for himself. He clanked her glass and flashed a troubled smile. “Here’s to catching bad guys. Or girls or whichever.”

  “That works for me.” She took a sip.

  Daniel kept glancing at his watch, obviously annoyed that Rex still hadn’t arrived.

  Ernie set a plate of biscotti on the table, offering Allie a nutty-flavored treat before the meal. She went ahead and indulged.

  “Dip the cookie in the wine,” Ernie coaxed. “I heard that’s what they do in Italy.”

  She tried it. “It’s good.”

  Daniel shook his head. “What are you trying to do, Dad, turn an Indian girl into an Italian? Look at her with all of that blue bling.”

  “Cut it out.” Allie swatted his shoulder. Blue bling was slang for turquoise jewelry. “Stop talking like a rez boy.”

  He shrugged, and they exchanged conspiratorial smiles. They’d both been born and raised in Los Angeles. She was a city-slick Native, and so was Daniel—even if he barely remembered his upbringing.

  Ernie relaxed, too, grateful, it seemed, that his son’s mood had improved.

  Then the doorbell rang, and everyone tensed all over again.

  Daniel stood up. “I’ll get it.”

  He probably wanted to ream Rex for being late, Allie thought. Or maybe he just couldn’t stand to sit there and wait for the P.I. to glide onto the scene whenever he so pleased. Rex possessed a nonchalant air. Allie assumed it was the playboy side of him. He was quite obviously a ladies man, a guy who took his God-given charm in stride.

  While Daniel went to the door, Ernie checked on the meal. As he prepared a pan of garlic bread to go with the main entree, Allie popped up to help. She couldn’t seem to sit still, either.

  Soon Daniel returned with Rex. The handsome Sixkiller shook Ernie’s hand and gave Allie a quick kiss on the cheek, drawing a scowl from Daniel.

  By the time they sat down to eat and discuss the business of the dead girl, Allie’s pulse ricocheted. Now she was nervous about Daniel’s past, too.

  To keep calm, she sipped a second glass of Chianti and complimented Ernie on the food. He’d made marinara sauce for the lasagna, creating a vegetarian dish for her, but he’d also cooked fennel-seasoned sausage for the meat eaters.

  Rex started the conversation, speaking directly to Daniel. “The girl was someone you were affiliated with during your senior year of high school. Her name was Susan Delgado. You were with her when she died, along with a group of other kids. You were all swimming in the L.A. River and the current pulled her under. Several of you tried to save her, but…”

  Daniel made a pained face and looked to his father for the rest of the story. “Did I ever date her? Was she ever my girlfriend?”

  “Not that I know of. But her drowning affected you something fierce. I think she’s the reason you enlisted in the army and set about saving the world, so to speak. You weren’t much of a fighter before then, but you tu
rned into a warrior after she died.”

  Allie sat quietly, toying with her food. At this point, she didn’t know what to think, what to feel, except a deep pit of sadness. She could tell that Daniel had more questions.

  “Did she drown near Christmastime?” he asked.

  Ernie nodded. “It had been a rainy season that year. The water was dirty, as it normally is, and the current was strong. There were signs. No Wading. No Swimming. But you know how teenagers are. You dared each other to jump in anyway.”

  “I should have saved her.” Daniel pushed away his plate. “I was—”

  “What?” Rex pressed. “You were what?”

  “The best swimmer of all of us,” Daniel said. “I was, wasn’t I, Dad?”

  “Yes. But don’t start blaming yourself all over again, son. You did enough of that when it happened.”

  “Did she have long dark hair?” he asked. “Like Allie’s?”

  Ernie scooted to the edge of his chair. “Yes, she did. She was about the same height, too. And she had the same slim build. I never really thought about it, but I suppose if you look deep enough, there could be a resemblance.” The older man watched his son. “Are you starting to remember her?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.” Daniel gazed at Allie, and a pin could have dropped. Or a fork or a spoon, she thought. He bumped the table, and she nearly knocked her silverware onto the floor, catching it before it fell.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “It’s okay,” she responded, as they stared at each other for a drawn-out moment. Was he looking at her and trying to see Susan?

  Finally he broke eye contact and turned to Rex. “Why do you think this could be related to the vandalism?”

  “Because Susan has a younger sister, and when you were in the hospital, she sent a get well card. Your dad was surprised to hear from her, but he sent her a thank you note in return. From what he recalls, she blamed you for Susan’s drowning. You and all of the other kids who were there.”

  Daniel blew out a breath. “What’s her name?”

  “Linda. I ran a quick background on her. She’s divorced with a couple of little kids, and she seems normal enough, but that bit about blaming you makes me suspicious.”

  Daniel squinted at the plate of food he’d pushed away. Allie quit eating and so did Ernie, but Rex maintained an appetite. He poured sauce over bite-size pieces of sausage and added it to his lasagna.

  Finally Daniel said, “Maybe when Linda discovered I was in the hospital, it triggered the past and she got remorseful. But maybe later, when she learned how I became injured, she shifted the blame onto Allie. A girl with a resemblance to her sister, a girl I saved instead of her sister. Maybe that’s what ‘this is for Daniel’ meant.”

  Rex responded, “That’s as good a theory as any. I’ll give you Linda’s contact information so you can pay her a visit. That’s what you plan to do, isn’t it? Go see her?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Daniel glanced at Allie, and her heart skipped a beat. Now he seemed more protective than ever. He even reached for her hand beneath the table and held it as if he never intended to let go.

  When Daniel realized what he’d done, he snapped to attention and released Allie’s hand. What was he thinking? Grabbing on to her?

  Somewhere in the back of his befuddled mind, he was comparing her to Susan, to a girl he was struggling to remember. Or at least remember in some sort of detail. All he knew was what he felt: a sense of guilt, a sense of grief, a sense of…

  Panic.

  Of…

  Reaching for Susan’s hand.

  Oh, God, he thought. He did remember. Not enough to recall it clearly, but enough to know that he’d gotten close to saving Susan, until the current had dragged her away from him.

  He hoped that Susan’s sister wasn’t the vandal. He didn’t want Allie’s torment to be related to Susan’s drowning. It was bad enough that he was comparing Allie to the dead girl.

  “Was Susan Native?” he asked suddenly.

  His dad answered. “Yes, from a California tribe.”

  Had Susan’s heritage made him feel even more responsible for her? Was that part of what had prompted him to become a warrior? To fight for Indian causes?

  He questioned his dad again. “Are there any old pictures of her around?”

  “I imagine there’s one in your senior yearbook. But for the life of me, I don’t know where any of that stuff is right now. In the attic, maybe.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I was just curious.”

  The conversation lulled and dinner ended. Rex thanked his host for the meal, bid everyone goodbye and jetted out the door, probably to meet some hot blonde in a bar.

  Allie offered to do the dishes, but Papa Ernie wouldn’t hear of it. He shooed her onto the front porch instead, insisting that Daniel join her, and brought them both bowls of ice cream.

  Daniel felt as if he were a teenager all over again. Clearly his old man wanted him to hook up with Allie. But the Rocky Road made his dad’s interference seem innocent somehow. They sat side by side in wicker chairs.

  “This is a nice house,” she commented. “It’s warm and homey.”

  “It seems to be.” The modest dwelling had been painted a mint shade of green, and wooden white banisters complemented the porch. “But my memories of living here are sketchy.”

  She looked out onto the grass. “I like the way your dad decorated the yard. I noticed how cute it was when we first got here.”

  Christmas crap, Daniel thought. An inflatable Santa sat up high atop a reindeer-driven sleigh, and a slew of animated elves were scattered about like cheap lawn art. Shrubs twinkled with multicolored lights, and big plastic candy canes lined the walkway. “It seems kind of corny to me.”

  She spooned into her ice cream. “You don’t like this time of year, do you?”

  “No, I can’t say that I do.”

  “I’ll bet it’s because Susan drowned near the holidays.”

  “That’s what I was thinking.” Up until tonight, he hadn’t understood how significant his holiday sadness was. “Dad should have told me about her before now.”

  “Maybe he didn’t want to upset you. Your mind is still fragile.”

  He frowned at her. He didn’t like being called fragile—in any shape or form. “I was only in a coma for a few days. My recovery hasn’t been that difficult. I’m well enough to handle this thing with Susan.”

  “Then you should stop brooding over Christmas and get a tree at your house.”

  “I will.” He tasted his dessert, and the chocolate was cool upon his tongue. He wondered if Rocky Road had been his favorite ice cream when he was a kid. “I’m not that much of a Scrooge. But I’m not putting goofy things in my yard, either.”

  She shot him a sly smile. “You will if I have anything to do with it.”

  He smiled, too. He figured it was better than sparring with her. “Yeah, well, you won’t. I’m not getting conned by a pretty girl.”

  “A Christmas con. I like that.”

  “You would.” They laughed, and it felt good to play, to flirt, to be this close to her. But his merriment ended when a tight, secretive feeling came over him.

  Secretive how? He honestly didn’t know, and that made the feeling worse.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, noticing his mood swing.

  “Nothing.” Except that he hated not remembering his own life. He’d lied about his recovery. It was difficult.

  “Maybe we should go home.”

  Home? She made it sound as if they lived together. Well, hell, he thought. They did, at least for now.

  As a strand of hair blew across her shoulder and feathered down her arm, he reached out to touch it. Allie’s hair. Susan’s hair. It tickled his fingers before it left him feeling tight and secretive again.

  “I don’t want to go home. Not yet.” He needed to sit here and try to catch his breath.

  “Okay,” she said, and focused on her Rocky Road.

&n
bsp; As always, she indulged his dark mood. But she’d probably gotten used to the cloudy man he’d become. Versus what? The nerd he used to be? Daniel had seen old photographs of himself and it was tough to relate to the images, especially his superhero glasses.

  Fearless Fly indeed. What kind of guy welcomed a nickname like that? A desperate one, no doubt.

  When it got too quiet, she said, “It shouldn’t be this warm in December. We should be drinking hot chocolate instead of eating ice cream.”

  “Maybe it will get chillier in the next few weeks.” Not that it mattered to him. All he cared about was keeping Allie safe from the person who was using him to get to her. He’d never imagined a scenario like this. He’d never fathomed putting a woman in danger by being the object of another woman’s whacked-out obsession.

  Or whatever the hell it was.

  She clanked her spoon against her bowl. She finished her dessert, as did he, without even realizing it.

  “Maybe we should go home now.” He wanted to get away from the fat, happy Santa and the motorized elves. Their pointed ears and sparkly green suits were creeping him out, especially now that dusk had turned to night. “Did we ever fight elfish monsters?”

  “No. But just about everything in a witchcraft museum came to life.”

  “As long as it wasn’t a Christmas museum. I wouldn’t want to have to kick Santa’s ass.” Or have those little elves gnawing on his flesh.

  “Cut it out, Daniel. Quit trying to ruin Christmas.”

  Was that what he was doing? “Sorry.”

  She accepted his apology, then stood up and took his empty bowl from him. He followed her into the house and watched the way her body swayed as she walked. She had a natural gait, like a wild creature, he supposed.

  Was it any wonder she’d attracted a shape-shifter lover? Daniel didn’t remember Raven, but he was able to imagine her in the other man’s arms. Most likely, Daniel had been hungry for her when she’d been warming Raven’s bed.

  It wasn’t a comforting thought.

  He wanted to pull her tight against him, back to front, like an animal, until he was hard and ready to mate.

  That wasn’t a comforting thought, either.