by Sandra Kyle
Vanessa’s head pounded from the adrenaline and anxiety. She and Daniel sat inside one of the ambulances after having been checked out by a medic. They were now going over the events with Detectives Howard and Langlon. The officers stood at the back of the ambulance, impeding any chance of Daniel and Vanessa getting any time alone together. They had been glued to them since they arrived at the site.
“That was a dumb thing to do.” Detective Howard directed his disapproval at Daniel.
“It got what you needed, didn’t it? Dumb or not, you can tie her to all of this now.” His knee bopped in a telltale signal of impatience. “I believe it’s called involuntary manslaughter.”
“What evidence will be admissible and what the Fitz-Davis’ lawyer will try to have thrown out isn’t my concern,” Howard shot back. “The safety of Savannah citizens is.”
“Could have fooled me,” Daniel mumbled.
Vanessa reached out across the tiny aisle and placed her hand on Daniel’s dribbling knee. It stopped moving. Their eyes connected. Her gaze hoped to impart a silent attempt to calm him. She looked at Detective Howard. He had the appearance of a disappointed and disheveled high school teacher with some years to go before retirement. “We understand it was reckless, Detective. Will it help?”
Howard softened his tone. “We’ll know a bit more once we get a chance to talk to her, have a lawyer review the recording, and corroborate your stories.”
“Better get on that, then,” Daniel countered.
It was Langlon’s turn to calm Howard. He placed a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “Detective Waterman has offered to drive you both back to the station so we can get your full testimonies.” Langlon waved over the presence of a large male. An incongruent thought passed through the hyperawareness of her current situation. So, that’s Nate’s ex. I’ll have to commend him on his good taste—and find out what the hell happened for them to not still be together—once things have settled down.
“That sounds fine. Thank you,” Vanessa responded.
“I’m afraid you won’t be getting your phone back right away,” Langlon added.
Vanessa shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting to. It’s probably going off every second. I suggest not answering if you see an incoming call from ‘Dad.’”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Langlon gave them a nod. “This is Detective Waterman.” With the brief introduction complete, he whispered in Howard’s ear. They both walked away, but not before Howard stared down Daniel one final time.
“I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, Ms. Barnes.” Robert offered his hand in polite courtesy. “Nate has told me a lot about you. All wonderful, by the way.”
Vanessa smiled and shook the hand in return. “Thank you for all that you did.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Is it all very under wraps?”
He placed a hand against his cheek in a motion for privacy, grinning the entire time. “You might say it’s overwrapped,” he whispered back. “No need to worry yourself about any of that. Just keep it on the DL, if you would.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Am I going to get a reprimand from you, too?” Daniel scratched the back of his head. He looked exhausted, drained. His blue eyes were hidden by heavy-looking lids.
“I’m just glad to hear that no one got hurt,” Robert concluded. “The sooner we get to the station, the sooner you both can go home.”
*
With hours of sitting at the station, shuffled about with nothing to occupy themselves and filled with worry, Vanessa compared the whole ordeal to a long, exhaustive wait in an emergency room.
Detective Waterman, who insisted they call him Robert by the end of the night, drove them to their trucks once they were officially no longer needed by anyone. Out of the station, time ticked away and gained its regular speed. The dashboard clock signaled midnight was minutes away. They pulled up to Vanessa’s ride first, in the public lot by the beach.
Robert cocked his head toward the back seat of the sedan to make eye contact with Vanessa. “Here you are. If there’s anything you need, you have my card.”
She nodded.
He pointed to Daniel, who sat in the passenger seat. “You’re next.”
“I can drive him,” Vanessa interjected. She noted surprise on both their faces. “Unless you need to ensure we don’t tamper with the crime scene?”
“Investigators are still on the scene, so you couldn’t.” His gaze slid from Vanessa to Daniel and back again, his head motionless. “Tell you what, you give your husband the ride. I’ll drive ahead. Let the boys in blue know you’re on your way.”
“Has it been dusted for prints like everything else was when we left the scene?” Daniel queried.
Robert shrugged. “It wasn’t sent to the compound, so you should be fine to take it home. I’ll see what I can do if there’s a problem.”
The two men exchanged a hearty handshake. Daniel popped out of the car and grabbed the door handle to allow Vanessa her exit. Robert wasted no time and drove down the road to the beach house. Vanessa and Daniel strolled in silence in the dark to her truck.
They climbed into the cab. Daniel melted into the passenger seat. His eyes closed. He huffed and exhaled.
The leather wrap over the steering wheel squeaked under Vanessa’s tightening grip. “Are we going to be all right?” She turned to stare at her husband. His slumping posture gave him a much smaller appearance than usual.
“I think so.” His eyes didn’t open. “If we never leave this truck, that would be absolutely fine by me.”
The key turned in the ignition. The engine roared to life. “You don’t want to go home?”
His eyes opened. He turned to lock eyes with her. “I want to go home with you.”
Vanessa smiled. “I’d like that.”
*
“So, explain to me how this makes any sense, for me? I was almost killed by Mabel, only to be driving with you to meet my judge, jury, and executioner.” Daniel slipped in and out of consciousness in the passenger’s seat. The latest concern escaped from his mouth as Vanessa drove into Virginia. “Did you drug me, too?”
Vanessa shook her head. “How can you even joke about that?” She peeked over at him. His large body leaned in her direction, crumpled into a reclining position, arms crossed, hands tucked under his armpits. It made her realize how much she had missed watching him sleep.
He burrowed his cheek against the headrest. “Aren’t we supposed to stay in Savannah?” he asked, ignoring her question.
They barrelled down the highway in the early morning darkness. “No one said we couldn’t leave,” Vanessa surmised. “Besides, police have my phone and wouldn’t let you take your truck home. I say we’re owed a little leeway. You let Nate know we were heading to Maryland. He’ll fill everyone in, including Robert I’m sure.”
“Bruce is not going to want to see me,” Daniel moaned.
“You wanted to go home with me. That’s the only place that will feel like home right now. Reporters are probably already on the front lawn of our house.”
“You exaggerate.”
“You underestimate people’s thirst for scathing stories… and your celebrity status.” Vanessa nodded to his phone in the cup holder. “Who else called?”
He grumbled and picked it up. “Who hasn’t? Four from Jack. Six from Monica.” His eyes squinted. “Four voicemails.” The phone dropped back into its cradle. “You don’t think anyone called Bruce in advance of our surprise visit?”
“Who knows?”
“He’s going to kill me.”
“He’ll only kill you if I ask him to.” Vanessa smiled.
Daniel grinned. “Are you going to ask him?”
A slight shake of her head answered.
“Not a very convincing no.”
“Go back to sleep.”
*
“Daniel.” Vanessa woke him with a slight shake of his forearm.
“What?” He blinked at the surprising sunlight greetin
g him. When he adjusted, the familiar exterior of Bruce’s home filled his sight.
“Dad’s truck isn’t here,” she stated.
“Maybe he’s out getting breakfast.” Bones creaked and popped as Daniel sat up straight.
“Maybe. But his garage door is padlocked shut. He never does that unless he’s out of town.” She frowned. “And I don’t have my phone to track him.”
“He could be getting overly cautious in his old age with security.” Daniel hopped out of the truck and stretched by the open door. “Do not repeat that to him.”
Vanessa’s giggle made his heart skip for a quick second. God, I missed that. “The overly cautious part or calling him old?”
“Both.”
She grabbed his phone in the cup holder. “All right if I call him?” Her eyebrow arched in wait.
“Call him.” The door clicked shut. He walked around the front of the truck, eyeing the surroundings, and wandered to her driver’s side.
She rolled the window down. Her elbow poked out. “Dad? Hey.” Bruce’s deep voice responded in surprise. “Yes, I’m using Daniel’s phone. No, Dad, everything’s fine. Where are you? No, you’re not. You aren’t home, Dad. How do I know you aren’t home if you turned off the tracking app? Who taught you how to do that?”
Daniel chuckled.
“Well, I guess I should be impressed with your new tech skills. We are outside your house. Yes, we.” She rolled her eyes. “Would you just tell me?” There was a minute of silence on Vanessa’s end as she listened to the explanation.
“Wow. Um, okay. No, no, you don’t need to head back home. Can I still use my key to get into the house, or did you change the locks, too?” The question, laced with sass and sarcasm, was met with a louder tone from Bruce. “All right. Well, I have a lot to fill you in on, but it can wait. Yep. Love you, too.”
Daniel stepped back to avoid the door as it swung toward him. “What’s going on?”
A slam indicated irritation. “My father is in Pennsylvania. Visiting a lady friend.”
His mouth opened. “No.”
She nodded then marched to the porch. “Apparently, this has been going on for months.”
“’Bout time he got himself in some trouble,” Daniel offered, attempting to catch up with the pace of a woman on a mission.
Vanessa jammed the key into the lock. “I guess. You lucked out. No Bruce. And it didn’t sound like he’s gotten word about anything yet.” Knowing the resistance the door would give, she leaned a shoulder into it and pushed.
“I may want to reach out to everyone and let them know we’re here before someone takes it upon themselves to—”
“Holy shit.” Awe washed over her face. “Look at this place. It’s… clean.” She inhaled. “Smell that?”
Daniel inhaled. “What?”
“Disinfectant. Bleach, even.” She inhaled deeper. “Lady friend has been here.”
“Or maybe Bruce did it.”
“Dad doesn’t touch the stuff. He wouldn’t even know where to look for it in the house.”
Daniel found relief in the focus of Vanessa’s ire landing on someone else for a change. “This is bothering you big time.”
“No.” The one word eased out with little convincing.
“Yes.” Daniel circled the open area between the living room and kitchen. “Coming home to your dad’s house, spick and span... should make you smile.”
“He’s been keeping something important, really important, from me.” She dumped her purse on the couch then followed with her body.
He joined her. “He was probably waiting until things had settled down to tell you.”
“I just wanted something to stay the same.” She shrugged. “After everything…”
Daniel hesitated for only a second. He enveloped her in one of his sturdy arms and pulled her into an embrace. “Things will be all right. He needs someone, too, Vanessa.”
“I know. I’m being selfish.”
“Hey.” He tipped her chin up so she looked up at him. “You are the least selfish person I have ever met. You’ve always been there for your dad. Nothing wrong with wanting some of that back every once in a while.”
Her eyes welled up. A contradictory chuckle released from her mouth. “I almost lost you last night to some crazy, rich stalker bitch.”
Daniel grinned. “I know. I say you’re allowed to feel whatever the hell you want to right now.”
Without warning, a cry burst out. “I’m so sorry.” The words came out in spurts. “You’ve been through so much, and all I’ve been worried about is myself. Running away from it all. Not being there for you.”
He whispered into her ear. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
*
They ended up in her old twin bed, snuggling the morning away, drifting in and out of sleep. The mix of their distinct odors—residual effects of the stress and environment they had been exposed to over the past twenty-four hours—was familiar, comforting to Daniel. He had missed it, them together.
He had called those who needed to know—Jack, Monica, and Nate—to let them know where they were before their retreat into Vanessa’s childhood bedroom. Jack had been the most annoyed at their decision; Monica, the most detail gathering of the conversations; Nate, the most informative of all of the news reports. Their names were all over the local news stations in connection with the Mabel Meltdown, as he endearingly phrased it.
And then, he had turned off his phone. And laid in bed with his wife.
She roused at the brushing of his fingers against her soft cheeks.
“Are you hungry yet?” he asked.
She pulled him closer. “No.”
“The grumbling your stomach’s been making says different.”
“My stomach always grumbles.”
“True, but it’s been in overdrive for the past half-hour.”
She stared at him. “Did it keep you awake?”
“No more than your snoring.”
Her fingers tapped at his chest. “I don’t snore.”
“Hm.”
“I’ve been thinking…”
He waited.
“We never really talk much about having kids.”
“Whoa.”
“What?”
“Not what I was expecting. Especially now.”
“I know. My mind has a way of not staying on a logical trajectory.”
He kissed her forehead. “I disagree. But go on.”
“I…I used to think I always hesitated about the idea of kids because of what I grew up in. Not wanting to make a mess of another person’s life if my plans didn’t work out the way I thought they should.”
He listened in silence, recalling her mention long ago of Brian wanting kids and her putting off the whole discussion even during their engagement.
“Then, I met you, and we became this. And I thought, oh, well, I guess I’ll feel different about it soon. Having kids, I mean. We joke about it every once in a while. Or your parents will ask why we aren’t giving them another grandchild yet. You never seem to pick a side.”
“And?”
“And I still don’t want them.”
He smiled. “You want to know if I do now?”
She shrugged.
“I want whatever life has planned for us. If that means kids, great. If that means no kids, great.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded.
“I love you, Daniel.”
His lips tasted hers. No more worry or wariness. She moaned into the kiss, letting him explore her with his tongue. His hands tugged at her T-shirt, lifting it over her head. The skin he ached to touch fired up under his fingertips.
He made quick work of the removal of her bra next. His hands tangled up into the strands of blonde hair, pulling her head into the pillow as his lips traced the curve of her breasts. He suckled on one nipple then the other. She writhed under his control.
He slid off the edge of the bed, pulling her feet with him.
His shirt was off. She unbuckled her jeans, and he did the same. Grabbing the hems of her pant legs, he tugged as she worked the fabric past her hips, removing her panties in the process. He licked his lips at the sight of his naked wife on the bed.
“I’ve missed you, baby.”
“I can see that.” She smiled and pointed to the bulge concealed by his boxer briefs.
He dove back onto the bed, between her legs. She worked the waistband down past his erection and cupped his length. A moan of appreciation escaped from Daniel.
“Show me how much,” she whispered.
He pushed his erection against her wet entrance. “Can you handle that?”
She grinned and clamped her hands over his shoulders in preparation. “Probably not. But do it anyway.”
He watched her expression of excitement and anticipation transform into painful pleasure as he drove into her core, hard and fast and eager. She whimpered in approval with each stroke. Her thighs wrapped around his waist, securing their connection.
“Don’t stop,” she begged. “Don’t ever stop.”
He let out a chuckle along with a grunt of bliss. “I can’t promise that.”
“You can try.” She grinned.
“For you, Vanessa”—he kissed her nose—“I’ll try anything.”
THE END
READ MORE FROM SANDRA KYLE
DIY Romance Series
Read A Building Passion (Book 1)
Vanessa moves to Savannah to pick up the pieces of her once very certain existence after her fiancé cheats on her. An independent and self-sufficient accountant, Vanessa also has a knack for DIY. When she purchases a ramshackle property in need of repair, she crosses paths with Daniel, a sexy and skillful carpenter. Daniel is a ladies’ man who plays the field and has his own romantic issues to conquer. As Vanessa embarks on a journey to embrace her new community and rehab her new home, she enlists Daniel’s help. Tackling the house is the easy part, but can two do-it-yourselfers find a way to work together to fix their love lives as well?
Read Passion Project (Book 2)