“How about if we get heart-shaped ornaments?” she said.
“Hearts?” He wrinkled his forehead.
“Sometimes I paint knights in shining armor and damsels in distress.”
“I don’t want a love tree, Allie.”
“That isn’t how I meant it.” Liar, she thought. Love was always on her mind. “Just think about what’s going on. I’m the damsel in distress and you’re my knight. The hearts aren’t just me. They’re us.”
“You’re too damn girly, you know that? But we’ll throw in a heart or two, along with exotic animals and fantasy creatures and whatever else strikes our fancy.” He laughed. “This is going to be one weird-ass tree.”
She laughed, too, enjoying his colorful description.
They got a cart and filled it with eclectic ornaments, twinkling lights, retro-style tinsel and an enchanted angel for the top. As for the tree itself, he stuck to his original selection: the artificial, six-foot fir.
Once they were home, they dived into their project, and she knew this was going to be her favorite Christmas ever.
Because she was spending the season with him. A season of the heart, she thought. Her heart. Trussed up on a tree and hopelessly in love.
Allie couldn’t sleep, but she knew what would happen if she went to Daniel’s room. She would give up the fight and make long, hard, emotional love with him. The passionate moment kept getting closer. They kept getting closer.
Needing a diversion, she decided to fix a midnight snack.
On the way to the kitchen, she stumbled across Daniel. He sat on the living room floor, staring at the Christmas tree. He must have gotten out of bed and come here, the way a small child would. Only he didn’t look like a holiday-eyed kid. He looked like the troubled man he was.
He turned and noticed her, and neither of them spoke. The lights on the tree blinked on and off, twinkling in the semi-darkness.
He checked her out, his gaze sweeping up and down. She didn’t know what to do, so she stood like a lingerie-store mannequin and let him devour the nightgown-draped length of her.
Self-conscious as she was, he made her feel like a seductress. All she had to do was reach for his hand and lead him astray. But that would mean leading herself astray, too.
She broke the ice and said, “I was on my way to get a snack.” She wanted him to know that her presence in the living room wasn’t purposeful. “But maybe I’ll stay here with you instead.”
“That would be nice. You look really pretty.” He turned away from her. “The tree is pretty, too.”
Talk about an abrupt transition. Clearly, he was in an odd frame of mind. She took a seat on the couch and waited to see what else he would say.
He continued, “The more I look at it, the more I like it. It’s not as weird as I thought it would be.”
“I like it, too.” But she hadn’t gotten out of bed to stare at the tree. Of course, now she was immersed in it, too. “We did good.”
“Yeah, we did. It still disturbs me, though.”
She knew he meant Christmas. “You’re still going to celebrate it, aren’t you?” They’d agreed to exchange gifts, but maybe that was as far as he intended to go.
“My dad would pitch a fit if I didn’t.”
She got a brainstorm. “Do you think we could spend Christmas here?”
“Instead of going to my dad’s?”
“I’m sure he would be glad to come here. He could help me with the meal. We could invite a few friends, too.”
“I suppose that would be all right. Will Olivia and West be back by then?”
“They’ll still be in Europe.” Nonetheless, she wanted to entertain with Daniel. She wanted them to seem like a couple.
He stood up, came over to the couch and sat beside her. He was wearing his typical nighttime attire: a pair of low-slung pajama bottoms. She imagined leaning forward to kiss him.
“I’ve been thinking about Glynis’s party,” he said.
So much for romance, she thought. Not that she was brave enough to make it happen anyway. “What about her party?”
“We should probably attend. Just to see what unfolds.”
“I agree. We should. We can RSVP tomorrow.”
They both fell silent, until he glanced up at the angel on the tree. “It isn’t the religious part of Christmas that disturbs me.”
“I didn’t think that it was.” She knew he was a devout Catholic. He went to Mass every Sunday. His faith had gotten him through the darkness they’d endured—the bewitched creatures, the tragic ghosts. He’d even brought holy water to the final museum showdown.
“It’s all the other stuff,” he explained. “The phony cheer.”
“It’s not phony to everyone. Some people genuinely love it.”
“Like you?”
“Yes, like me. You know what else we should do tomorrow?”
“Besides RSVP the party? I don’t have a clue.”
“We should make rock candy together.”
“The hard stuff that melts in your mouth?”
Her pulse jiggered. “Yes.” Rock candy had never sounded so sexy.
“Is that one of your usual holiday activities?”
“I make gingerbread houses, too.”
He smiled. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” He quit smiling. “Do you know why I came in here to look at the tree?”
She shook her head.
“I was trying to remember more about Susan. I was trying to feel more connected to her. Since she died during Christmastime, I thought the tree might help.”
“Did it?”
“Yes. I’ve been having this tight, secretive feeling, and tonight I realized it was a memory.” He paused, then added, “Susan wasn’t my girlfriend, but I was in love with her.”
Allie’s heart punched her chest. This was exactly what she didn’t want to hear. “You were awfully young, Daniel.”
“Not too young to fall in love. Or to keep my feelings a secret. I never told her. I just suffered through it.”
Talk about suffering. And keeping secrets.
“Not that it matters,” he said. “She’s been dead a long time, and I’m not ready to fall in love again.”
Was that a warning? Did he suspect how Allie felt about him? Or was he trying to talk himself out of feeling too much?
“I understand,” she said, even though she didn’t understand at all.
In the morning, Allie and Daniel went to the store and got the ingredients for the rock candy, and now they were in the kitchen, preparing to make the holiday treat.
Caught in the throes of last night’s conversation, she struggled to concentrate. All she could think about was Daniel not being ready to fall in love again. The more she obsessed about it, the more she feared that he’d never loved her in the past, that Susan had been the only one.
“Red and green.” He commented on the food coloring she’d chosen. “Christmas all the way.”
She gave him a distracted nod.
“Are you okay, Allie?”
She paused, then said, “I’m fine.” She wasn’t about to explain her emotions to him.
“No, you’re not. I can tell you’re preoccupied. But don’t worry about the stalker. The case is getting handled. I talked to Rex earlier, and he’s been interviewing the other Warrior Society guys about me.”
The stalker hadn’t been on her mind this morning, but she let him assume that was the cause of her preoccupation. “Has anything turned up that could be helpful?”
“Not yet. No one seems to know much about my personal life. But I’m sure something will surface. I couldn’t have been that secretive.”
“You were with Susan,” she said, before she could stop herself.
“That’s different.”
Because he’d loved her, Allie thought, the reminder kicking her in the gut.
He jumped back to their original topic. “Rex is going to investigate old Warrior Society cases, too. It’s possible that the stalker became
associated with me through one of my missions.”
“Your specialty was recovering lost and stolen artifacts.”
“It still is.”
“Yes, of course.” His amnesia hadn’t affected his ability to serve the Society. Daniel Deer Runner was still a warrior. And a justifiable thief. When all else failed, he stole back objects and returned them to their rightful owners.
He stole hearts, too. Hers was pounding like crazy. “We should get started on the candy.”
He glanced at the supplies: glass jars, pencils with strings attached, a thermometer. “Looks like a science experiment.”
“It can be.” She set two saucepans on the stove. “Pharmacists used to make rock candy as medicine.”
“Not for diabetes, I hope.” He grinned and reached for the sugar.
She couldn’t help but return his goofy smile. She knew he was trying to cheer her up.
Soon they were standing side-by-side at the stove, each stirring a pan of a sugar and water mixture, heating it until the sugar dissolved.
Gradually, they added food coloring. She gave him green and took red for herself.
The blood-colored liquid sent unexpected shivers down her spine.
Apparently the stalker was on her mind this morning. Or at least in her subconscious.
“Am I doing this right?” he asked.
“You’re doing fine.” She was the one having trouble.
He glanced at her mixture, but he didn’t remark that it looked like blood. His imagination probably wasn’t as distorted as hers. Either that or he was too focused on his green goop to notice.
“How long does the candy take to crystallize?” he asked.
“It will be edible within an hour. But it’s better to let the crystals form for about a week.”
“It’s quite a process.”
She nodded, and they continued working side-by-side. Following the recipe she always used, they poured their solutions into jars.
The red looked just as icky that way.
From there, they placed pencils over the mouth of the jars so crystals could form along the strings.
“That was kind of fun,” Daniel said.
“Really?” She relaxed a little. “You liked it?”
“Yeah, I did. Maybe I should experiment with real food, too.”
“You want to learn to cook?”
“My dad said I used to be good at it. So maybe it’s still inside me. Maybe I just need to spend more time in the kitchen and let it happen.”
“You want to go back to being who you were?”
“Not completely. Not the nerd with the glasses.”
“I liked him.” Loved him, she amended in her mind.
“Why? Because he was a nice guy? You know what they say about nice guys.”
“You never finished last.”
“Didn’t I? Maybe I was secretive about my love life because it sucked.”
“And maybe you were just being a gentleman and not talking about it. You know what I used to like? The way your hair smelled.”
“Because of the Brylcreem?”
“My dad used to use it, too. It was familiar. Comforting, I guess.”
“I don’t comfort you now?”
“Of course you do.” She reached out to smooth a strand of his naturally messy hair. “The night you held me was one of the most comforting nights of my life.”
“Then why haven’t you come back to me?”
She dropped her hand. “You know why.”
He leaned against the counter, but not in a casual way. His muscles were taut. “I still find myself waiting up for you.”
Her body went deliciously, fearfully warm. Regardless, she tried to make light of a conversation that had gone lust deep. “You’d stay awake, anyway.”
“Because I’m an insomniac? It’s not same as lying there, hoping you’ll come to me.”
“We shouldn’t be talking about this.” Not when she was on the verge of offering herself to him.
He cleared a raspy sound from his throat, a roughness that made him even sexier. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
She turned away to free her mind, to get her emotional bearings. But it didn’t help. She caught sight of the red jar, inciting the creep factor again.
Nothing was going Allie’s way today.
Nothing at all.
Chapter 8
On the night of Glynis’s party, Allie wore a new outfit, chosen specifically for the occasion.
She stood in front of the mirror and examined her appearance. Her long, body-clinging dress was crimson silk. Yes, the color of blood. To prove that she wasn’t afraid.
The side slits were for Daniel. He was a leg man. Or he had been before the amnesia. She could only hope that he still was.
As for her shoes, they were leopard-print pumps. Again, for Daniel. He was partial to faux fur.
Would Daniel say “wow” when he saw her?
Adding yet another wild dimension, she’d created a sexy mane out of her hair, pinning part of it up and allowing the rest to fall free.
The final touch was no underwear. No bra. No panties. Her braless look was evident, considering the hardness of her nipples, but no one, besides herself, would know that she was going commando. Still, it made her feel hot and lethal.
Glynis had nothing on her.
Not unless Glynis was the stalker. Allie frowned at her femme fatale reflection. The stalker had been lying low, whoever she was.
Would something threatening happen at this party? Or was getting dolled up and going out with Daniel the only danger?
She checked her makeup one last time. Smoky eyes, glossy lips. Allie was ready to take on the world. All she needed was a pearl-handled Derringer in her purse to complete the picture. But she didn’t own a girly gun. What she owned was a Dirty Harry-style .44 Magnum, the very gun her father had used to commit suicide.
Regardless, Allie had forgiven him for his horribly destructive act, especially since she’d communicated with his ghost. When Daniel had been in the hospital, Dad had appeared at his bedside, putting Raven’s talisman around his neck. By that time, Raven had already gone to the Apache underworld, sending Allie’s dad as his messenger.
Then, just seconds before Daniel had opened his eyes, her father faded away, moving onto the Lakota Ghost Road. The amulet had disappeared, too. Magic that had been powerful enough to release Daniel from a coma, but not strong enough to restore his memories.
Returning to the present and talking to a spirit who was no longer earthbound, she said, “I love him, Dad. I love him so much. But you knew how I felt. That’s why you helped him recover.”
In the silence, she thought about another dead person. Susan. The girl Daniel claimed to have loved.
“Should I be appealing to you?” Allie asked Susan. “To help Daniel remember his past? To help us catch the stalker? Or is it your sister doing those awful things? We don’t think it’s her, but we don’t know for sure.”
Once again, Allie was met with silence. But she didn’t expect an apparition. She didn’t feel the presence of Susan’s ghost.
A knock rattled the door, and her pulse beat against her body. She knew it was Daniel. They were the only people there.
She tugged at the scooped neckline of her dress. Now her nipples were even harder. “Come in.”
He entered the room, took one look at her and uttered, “Damn.”
“Damn” sounded far more delicious than “wow.” He was staring at her as if she were a sweet and creamy dessert.
She stared at him, too. He was dressed in a classic black suit, paired with a trendy shirt. He’d combed his hair straight back. She moved closer to see if he’d used tonic. He had. Not as much as he used to, but she could smell a faint aroma of Brylcreem.
Touched by his sentiment, she said, “A little dab’ll do ya,” mimicking the old TV ads.
He smiled and ran his hand through his slicked hair, messing it up a little. The result was beyond sexy.
“We’re going to be the most dashing couple at the party,” she said.
“I don’t know about me, but you look amazing, Allie. I couldn’t have dreamed a more beautiful girl.”
“Thank you.” If he knew that she was completely naked underneath, he would probably moan on the spot. Already he was sliding his gaze from her braless breasts to the high-cut slits on the sides of her dress. He even glanced at her bed.
Was he picturing her strewn upon it?
“Ready to go?” he asked.
She nodded, mentally preparing herself for whatever the night would bring. She didn’t expect Glynis to poison her. The other woman was too shrewd to do anything that obvious. But Allie was uneasy just the same.
Daniel looked into her eyes. Or maybe he was looking into her soul. He noticed her reluctance.
He said, “I’ll be by your side the entire time.”
Once again, she inhaled the familiar scent of his hair. She desperately wanted to touch it, to touch him, but she knew this wasn’t the time or place.
They had a holiday gathering to attend, and while they were there, they intended to keep an eye on Glynis and Margaret, along with other guests and anyone else who might be the stalker.
A short time later, they arrived at their destination. Margaret answered the door and gave them the once over.
“We were invited,” Daniel said, warning the bulldog not to block their way.
“I’m aware of who’s on the guest list. But I don’t have to like it,” she mumbled loud enough for them to hear.
Old biddy, Allie thought. Tonight she was attired in a maid’s uniform, a starched white dress, with a glittering Christmas tree pin attached to her lapel. But it wasn’t any old pin; it actually looked like the real deal. Allie suspected that the jewels were genuine. A gift from her eccentric boss? Payment for stalker services rendered?
Margaret granted them entrance and begrudgingly offered to take Allie’s wrap. If she was guilty of the crime, she wasn’t making any bones about it. Then again, Rex hadn’t uncovered anything in her background check that screamed “stalker!”
The party was in full swing, and the house looked spectacular. Daniel and Allie joined the other guests in a garden room filled with festive food and stocked with liquor. Scores of extravagant hors d’oeuvres were presented on a buffet table, and a handsome young man tended bar.
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