“You’re killing me.” He pressed down on his raging hard-on and grabbed his gym bag from the closet. “We may never make it to your parent’s house at this rate.”
“I’ll sic Skipper on you if you try anything.”
“That’s a terrifying thought. I’m on my way.”
He’d barely scratched the surface with this woman. Every day she said or did something that caught him off guard. Wow, maybe he’d have to take up drinking after all.
He knocked on her front door. She opened it a crack and peeked out. “Yes?”
“Is the lady of the house home? I have some free samples she requested.” He winked.
“Oh, please come in.” She stepped behind the door and pulled it open. He couldn’t see her until she closed it.
“Sweet Jesus, Marla.”
She wore panties and bra, thigh-high nylons and high heels. “You can leave the samples in the bedroom. The lady of the house will be out this evening. I’m sure she’ll want to try them as soon as she returns.”
He stood with his mouth hanging open as she walked down the hallway, hips swaying, Skipper trotting alongside.
He caught her and threw his arms around her waist. “Oh, no you don’t. Come back here and kiss me. You must think I’m a man of steel.”
“Oh, I think you are.” She pressed her breasts against his chest and ran her hands up the sides of his face and dug her fingers into his hair. “Oh, yes. You are. See?”
He wiped the wicked smile off her face with a bruising kiss. Then another. “What time to we have to be there, because late or not, we are having a quickie.” He walked her backward to the bedroom, fell onto the bed, and pulled her on top.
She unsnapped her bra. “Oh, if you insist.” With her knees on either side of his hips, she put her face close to his. “You do realize you’ve turned me into a wild sex-crazed harlot, don’t you?” She unzipped his work pants.
He arched his back and dug his head into the pillow. “Get out of those panties quick, Danaher, or you’ll have to call the paramedics.”
She swung a leg over him and made quick work of the lingerie. When he went to nudge her over she said, “No. Stay right there. I memorized a couple of the pictures in my new book. I want to try something to see if it’s possible.”
Oh, it was possible, and then some. They lay panting like a couple of tri-athletes at the end of an endurance trial. Marla was comfortably spread across him like hot fudge. All he could manage was a silent prayer for his unbelievable good fortune.
“I’ll tell you something,” he gasped. “At this point, I’m so vulnerable I’ll agree with anything Brad asks. I’m at your mercy. I’m your slave. I’m…” He chuckled. “…exhausted.” He smacked her bottom. “I’ve still got my work boots on, Danaher.”
She stretched languidly and grinned. “You’re a pig, Dempsey.”
He nipped her silky shoulder. “Oink.”
Silvia opened the door. “There you are, right on time. Brad just dropped the steaks on the grill. Come out back. We’ve got the gas heater going on the patio.” She put her arm under Dwayne’s elbow and led him across the living room to the sliding doors.
He looked over his shoulder at Marla and grinned. “We thought we might be late.” He tugged the slider and waited for Marla’s mom to step outside ahead of them.
“Welcome!” Bradley Danaher waved a pair of long-handled tongs. “What’s your poison? There’s guacamole and chips on the table. Silvia whipped up a batch of her frozen margaritas.”
“Got anything soft, Dad? Dwayne doesn’t drink.”
“It’s all soft tonight, sweetheart, nothing but O’Doul’s and virgin margaritas. We’re off to Catalina Island early tomorrow morning.”
“Mom! You’ve talked about going over there for years.”
“I know. We watched a TV special on the island and wondered what we were waiting for, so Brad called and booked tickets for us on the boat and two nights at the best hotel.”
Dwayne enjoyed the mother-daughter chatter for a minute then took an O’Doul’s and strolled to join Brad at the grill. “Those steaks smell terrific. What’s in the foil pan?” He twisted the cap off the bottle and dropped it on the table.
“Grilled peppers and asparagus. Marla’s favorite.”
Dwayne waggled the bottle of alcohol-free beer. “Can I get you one of these?”
“I’m halfway through my margarita.” Brad leaned in for a close look at the steaks. “How do you like yours?”
“Medium rare.” The sizzling aroma went right to his stomach and it growled with hunger. “But I’m easy to please when it comes to food.”
“Good man, that’s what we’re all having. Saves a lot of shuffling on the grill.” He peeked under the foil on the pan. “Perfecto.” He called, “Sil, bring the salad. These’ll be ready to come off any minute.”
She fluttered her hand and went inside. “Marla, carry the garlic bread for me.”
Dwayne put down his fork and sucked in a contented breath. “Brad and Sil, that was fantastic. You could open your own steak house.” He glanced around the table. Memories of past barbeques and picnics at the Danaher house when they were kids were many and varied. Brad and his dad had maintained their friendship since they were students at Royal High School, back in the 70’s.
Except for several months during his dad’s marriage-divorce blips, the Dempsey boys had considered the Danaher place a second home. The pool they’d tried to drown one another in every summer sat sparkling with reflected moonlight.
“You use the pool much anymore?”
“Oh, yes,” Silvia answered. “Especially the spa. Now that Brad installed the solar panels on the pool house roof, it’s warm year round. We couldn’t afford to heat it except in summer when all of you were children.”
Brad nodded. “That pool was what sold us on this house. We knew our kids and their friends would get a lot of use out of it.”
“I certainly recall the good times. Charlene would jump right in with the boys, but Marla sat in the shade scowling and reading all summer.”
“I did not!”
“You’d chase the twins and make sure they had their water wings on, but I don’t remember ever seeing you in a bathing suit. I can’t imagine why not, either.” He directed his next words to Silvia. “In Coronado she looked sensational in that red number she wore at the hotel.”
Silvia brightened. “Oh, I bought her that suit.” She smiled at her daughter. “See, I told you it was perfect on you.”
Dwayne smiled at the memory of rubbing sunscreen on her back and legs. “You’ve got great taste, Silvia. Every man at the hotel had their tongues hanging out ogling her.”
Marla poked him. “They did not!”
“Oh, yes they did. And I was loving it because you were all mine.” He pecked a quick kiss on her cheek and enjoyed her furious blush.
She stood abruptly. “I’ll help you clear the table, Mom. It’s late.” She stacked dishes and carried them inside. Silvia did the same and followed her.
Brad put his hand on Dwayne’s shoulder. “Could we have a word while I wipe down the grill?”
Here it comes. Marla wasn’t kidding. How…quaint.
“Sure, Brad. What can I do to help?”
“Just pick up the disposables and put them in the bin over there. Put the lid on tight. Raccoons have been menacing the neighborhood lately.”
Dwayne cleared up the napkins, plastic glasses, and bottles. He bundled them in the heavy paper tablecloth and carried them to the side of the house, speculating on how Brad was planning to broach the subject of his daughter’s honor.
“Look, Brad, let’s cut to the chase. I’m very fond of Marla and we’re having a great time together. I’d never do anything to deliberately hurt her. I consider myself a fortunate man that she’s even interested in me. So don’t…”
Brad put up a hand. “Understood. That’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
“It isn’t?”
“No, I wa
nted an update on what your ex-wife’s been up to and ask if there’s anything I could do. My partners and I have used the services of a very good private investigator for some insurance fraud claims. I’d be happy to put you in touch with her.”
He clapped Brad on the shoulder and laughed.
They were halfway to Marla’s house when she asked, “So was it terribly embarrassing when Dadley laid down the law about his daughter?”
He glanced at her and grinned. “No. I hate to break it to you, but he’s not the least bit interested in your chastity. He wanted to offer me the services of a private dick that does investigations for his firm.”
“You mean all the agonizing I did this afternoon was for nothing?”
The fact she wanted to spare him embarrassment warmed his heart. He laid his hand on her knee. “He as good as turned on the green light, Danaher.”
“He did?”
“We’re good to go.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Friday afternoon, Marla waved to Dwayne and Jack when they pulled the big trailer off her lot. They got out of the way just before the pavers arrived to begin work to resurface the parking lot. She breathed a sigh of relief that her project would be fully completed in less than a week.
“Buenos días, señora.” A burly Hispanic man approached her carrying a clipboard. “We ready for begin.” He reached over and petted Skipper on the head. “Yo quiero Taco Bell?” He winked and guffawed at his own joke then wiped his eyes with a large red bandanna.
She giggled and hugged Skip then walked through the job with the man and pointed out the areas she was particularly concerned with. “The landscape contractor is scheduled to begin next Tuesday. Will there be any problem with him parking here? Will that be long enough for the surface to…um, be ready?”
His face broke into a dazzling grin. “No problema, we gone tomorrow sundown. Plenty time, okay?”
She returned his smile. “Okay.” Nodding, she went inside the building to do a final check of Miss Emmaline’s apartment. It had to look perfect for the old woman she’d come to love.
Before entering the elevator, she checked to make sure all the shiny new mailboxes in the lobby had keys in the locks. As soon as the elevator doors opened on the second floor, Skipper trotted down the hall and stood waiting for her at Emmaline’s door. “You’re a smart doggie, Skippy.”
She took her time. Adjusted a picture frame here, moved a lamp there. Kneeling, she ran her hand over the new, short-pile carpeting. “Look, Skip, isn’t this nice?” She was amazed at what a good job Dwayne had done putting the place back together just the way Emmaline had it. “She’ll love her new home.”
Lifting Skipper, she slid her purse over her shoulder and opened the front door. She jumped back and gasped at the man standing in the hall blocking her exit. Skip barked and bared his teeth in a low, menacing growl.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Momentarily paralyzed with indecision, she held her keychain with the apartment key gripped firmly between her fingers in case she needed to use it as a stabbing weapon.
“Mean little bastard, ain’t he?” The wiry, unshaven man with dead black eyes stared back. A faded rattlesnake tattoo wound around his ropy neck.
She had no idea who he was. “Get out of here, whoever you are. You have no business in this building.” She prayed the pulse pounding in her throat wasn’t betraying her fear.
“I came to tell you to keep your nose outta my wife’s business. You’re asking for trouble.”
What in the name of all that’s holy was this thug talking about? “I don’t know you, and I’m sure I don’t know your wife. Now, please leave.”
“You’re the bitch fuckin’ Dempsey, aren’t ya?”
A blow to her stomach wouldn’t have robbed her of her breath as much as this evil man’s evil words. Unable to breathe or speak, a cold wave of nausea built in her throat, sweat bloomed on her forehead.
He sneered with satisfaction. “I see we understand each other.” He turned on his heel, his retreating steps snapping loudly on the hard surface under battered, black cowboy boots.
Tears of raw shock flooded Marla’s eyes. She sucked in a ragged breath, backed into the apartment, and flipped the lock. Leaning her back against the door, she slid down and landed on the carpet with a thump, dislodging Skipper from her arms.
He whimpered and stared into her eyes, silently imploring her. “It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” But was it?
She rose and crept to the window overlooking the parking lot. No sign of him, but he wouldn’t have parked where the paving crew was working. She moved to the corner window with a view of the street and spotted an old, battered blue car disappearing down the road.
Hadn’t Dwayne or one of his brothers said something about a blue car the night Francine showed up on her dad’s birthday? The man must be her husband, Luke Henry, the convict. A cold chill raced down her back and she hugged herself for warmth.
Should she call Dwayne? Marla paced and nuzzled her dog for comfort. “What should I do, Skippy? I feel like a coward for allowing that bad guy to scare me. You were ready to defend me, weren’t you, baby? And him a Goliath compared to you.”
On a sudden inspiration, she took her cell phone and called Rosie. She answered on the first ring.
“Hi, girlfriend. What’s up?”
“Rosie?” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. “Rosie, is Dylan in the factory?”
“He just walked in. Do you want me to find him?”
“Yes, please.”
“Hang on.” Rosie said something to someone. Marla couldn’t make out the words, but she got the sense Rosie was walking through the showroom into the factory. “Dylan! Marla Danaher wants to talk to you. He’ll be right here.”
“Hey, babe. What can I do for you?”
To her shock and embarrassment, she was unable to answer.
“Marla? Hello? I think I lost the call.”
“No! Um, Dylan.” She swallowed. “Did I overhear you say Francine was in a blue car the night of my dad’s party?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong? I can tell from your voice that something is wrong.”
She cleared her throat again. “Um, give me a minute.” After a calming breath she said, “I’m at my building, Dwayne left almost an hour ago. I think…I’m not sure, but I think Luke Henry was just here.”
“What did that bastard want?” His voice took on an angry quality that reminded her of Dwayne.
She closed her eyes and took a breath. “I’m not sure it was him, but he threatened me. He told me to stay out of his wife’s business. And something else I won’t repeat.”
“Did he touch you? Are you hurt?”
In the background, Marla heard Rosie say, “What happened, Dyl. Is she okay?”
“He didn’t hurt me! He scared me.”
“She’s not hurt. Where are you, Marla? Are you in a safe place?”
“I locked myself inside Emmaline’s apartment. It’s probably okay for me to leave. I saw a blue car drive away toward Simi.”
“No! You stay right where you are. I’m coming over there. Give me half an hour.” He clicked off.
The phone rang before she had a chance to put it back in her purse. “Hello?”
“Marla, it’s me, Rosie. What happened?”
She dragged herself across the room and slumped into Emmaline’s recliner. Skip jumped to her lap. “I got a scare, but I’m okay. Here’s what happened…”
She told Rosie the whole story including the part she wouldn’t say to Dylan. Rosie insisted on staying on the phone with her until he got there. Talking to her friend calmed her to the point where her breathing went back to normal and tears no longer threatened.
The doorbell buzzed. “Rosie, there’s somebody at the door.”
“Don’t open it until you know who’s there. I’ll stay on the line.”
“Marla, open up, it’s Dwayne and Dylan.”
“Rosie, it’s…”
“I heard.
I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay, thanks. It was a big help talking to you.”
“Marla!”
“Coming!” She opened the door and in an instant Dwayne had his arms around her.
“Are you okay, honey?”
“I am now.” She rested her forehead against his neck where the pulse in his throat tapped rapidly.
“I’m going to find that sonuvabitch and strangle him with my bare hands.”
A nervous giggle escaped her. “My hero.” She hugged him hard and said, “I don’t want you to kill anybody for me, but I wouldn’t mind if you scared the pee out of him.”
The brothers laughed.
When Dylan’s van pulled into Big D Construction and his brother hailed him, Dwayne knew something was wrong. Heart pounding, he met his brother at the front of the building and prayed that nothing had happened to Amber or their mother.
After Dyl related Marla’s phone call, his vision was blurred by a haze of red rage. The thought of anything bad happening to her was more than he was prepared to consider. “Let’s find them. Enough is enough. I’d like to kick the shit out of both of them.”
He laid a hand on Dwayne’s shoulder. “Me too, but that’s not gonna happen. Marla wasn’t hurt. We’ll take her home, then see if we can find Francine and Luke. Like your lawyer said, your next step is to file a complaint.”
Jaws clenched so tight his teeth ached, Dwayne hadn’t felt this level of tension since his last combat mission in Iraq. “I know, I know. I don’t want to do anything stupid. I’m glad she called you instead of me. God knows what I would have done.”
“She’s a very smart lady.”
“I’m in love with her.” He paced in a circle and clutched the back of his neck. “Francine created this shit storm. I want to be rid of her.” He hadn’t realized his fist was clenched so hard. He deliberately relaxed his hands and flexed his fingers.
Heart of a Marine Page 18