Daddy's Home (27 page)

Holly thought it over for a minute. It did sound sort of inviting. She’d always loved the snow and mountains.

“Better yet, I could send Meg on ahead with you two and let her have some freedom from me. I’ve been promising a snowboarding trip because her grades are so good.”

“What about school?”

“Ah, what about it? As I said, Meg’s grades are almost perfect, so if she misses a few days, it won’t hurt her at all.”

“Wow, you are a really cool parent.”

“Tell it to my girls. I’m so lax because I’m an old surfer, remember? I missed countless days of school to hit the waves.”

“Okay. I’ll think about it.”

“It would be good, I’m telling you. I also want to get Meggie away from this boy she’s been hanging around.”

“Another boy?”

“Can’t keep ‘em away, I tell you. She’s too damn pretty for her own good, and she has flirting down pat. Not to mention this boy’s hair is too long for my liking.”

“And those words from the mouth of a surfer! Bet you never thought you’d say that.”

“No comment, other than I was a surfer, and every surfer knows there’s only one other thing that comes close to that perfect wave. Since you rarely catch it, you might as well shoot for that other thing, if you take my meaning. And I don’t want him looking Meg’s way for any of that.”

“The truth comes out. Daddy, the almighty protector. I hope Meg knows how lucky she is.”

“Please. To her I’m a curse.”

“Somehow I doubt it. I think Meg knows exactly how wonderful you are.”

“I’ll see you at seven, love.”

“Seven.” She heard him drive away and the mixture of bliss and loss were so intermingled it was hard to know how she felt.

Her mind turned to Chad; she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to forgive him. She glanced over at the files on the case lying on her dining room table. She wasn’t ready to glance through them yet. Maybe she would go to Mammoth, take them with her, get some fresh ideas. She was still determined to solve this case, on or off it.

She checked her e-mails and saw one from an address that she didn’t recognize. Probably spam mail. She opened it. It was from Daddyman. A cold shiver slid down her spine and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Was this who she thought it might be, or was this a joke? The brief message read, “You would make a perfect wife.” What the hell? No, not possible. It had to be a joke. So many people knew she was working on this case; it was broadcast all over the media.

She thought about picking up the phone to call the tech guys at work for a trace, but then thought better of it. If word got out, it would simply be food for fodder, and everyone would wonder if Holly wasn’t up to something after being pulled from the case. Worse, they might completely discount the e-mail as a prank, something she thought was quite possible. However, instinct told her to save it, just in case. Maybe if she went away for a few days, she could do her own investigating about where the e-mail originated. She knew a bit about computers. But for now it seemed prudent to discount it as a prank and get on with her day. Besides, she had a dinner to cook for five.

She went to her bookcase in the den and pulled down a couple of cookbooks that she hadn’t used in years. Something fun and different seemed like a good idea. Maybe it would feel good to be completely domestic for a change. Ah ha, there it was: Coconut Shrimp, a vegetable medley, and risotto mixed in a lemongrass broth. Thank God for her sister in Hawaii and her gift from three years ago—a cookbook of island favorites. Yep, sounded good.

Holly grabbed her purse off of the dining room table and headed out the door to drive down the street to Point Loma Sea Foods. As she closed the door behind her, the phone rang again. She heard it as she turned the key in the lock, hesitated for a minute, and then kept on moving. The important people were out shopping, and if it was her mystery caller, then she really didn’t want to be hung up on again.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Gunter did not want to go to work tonight. He was having too much fun watching Detective Holly Jennings and her comings and going throughout the day. What he couldn’t figure out was why she hadn’t been at work all day. That was weird. Didn’t she have a case to solve? Was he no longer important? It bugged him. What bugged him even more was when her boyfriend showed up. Creep. Loser. What was she doing with him anyway? That wouldn’t go on much longer.

Holly Jennings would soon find herself in the arms of a real man. Real soon.

Gunter checked his watch. Damn, almost seven. Maybe he would make one more phone call to his new obsession. He liked hearing the tension in her voice. There was some fear there, or maybe just aggravation. It would make her realize the need for strong arms around her. One can never tell who’s hiding in the shadows of the night. Cop or not, she still needed a man, and he knew that he was the man. He had accumulated quite a bit of information on her and knew everything available about her husband’s death. He knew about their daughter, and he even knew where the child went to school.

The face to face contact that he’d had with Holly and her daughter—soon to be his daughter—only a couple of nights before had been even more incredible. Poor little rascal, she’d been so sick, but now she must be feeling better since her mother had been shacking up with that insignificant man earlier in the day.

Things would be different with a competent daddy around—very different. If
their
daughter were ill, he’d be certain she was completely recovered before sending her back to school. He would have to teach Holly some important lessons about parenting.

Well, that’s what he was here for.

He lowered his binoculars. Lucky for him, he’d been able to park at such an angle that he caught a nice view of her kitchen. She’d been cooking in there all afternoon, going hog wild. She hadn’t even noticed him standing only feet behind her in Point Loma Sea Foods. He could still smell her perfume. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was Issey Miyake. Pure, sexy, good. Good enough to taste.

She’d ordered enough shrimp to feed a crowd and then headed back down to Rosecrans and into Vons where she’d spent about an hour shopping. Must be a special night. He’d remained slumped down in his car, his ball cap pulled slightly below his eyes, tipping it up occasionally to see if she was coming out. He knew he looked like the quintessentially well-bred husband waiting for his wife.

He waited several minutes after she’d loaded her groceries into the car and driven away before leaving himself. He knew where she was going. Anyone who bought groceries like that went straight home.

But now it seemed as if the day’s festivities were coming to an end. At least for him. He had to go to work. A good dad always paid the bills on time.

Holly had walked out of the kitchen and hadn’t reappeared during the past fifteen minutes. Must be showering, getting ready for her big night with the loser. Right now, Gunter ached to get out of his car and walk around the back of the house where he was sure her bedroom must be. The bulge in his pants insisted he do just that. But Gunter hadn’t gotten this far by only listening to one part of his body.

He was a smart man, and in due time, Holly Jennings and her daughter would be his.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Darla pulled into the festive town of Puerto Vallarta shortly after dark. She’d made a few stops for cold drinks on the way down, and at one point she’d had to take a beach towel out on a secluded beach and take a nap. She could definitely get used to this, to the sounds of the ocean, the warm sand, and the tranquility. It couldn’t be that hard to find herself a good man down here and start all over. The thought of a passionate Latino man warmed her loins. But how long could it last? Without Gunter, she wondered if it was really worth it at all. She knew she should forget him. He really was trouble, and contacting him could lead her into
really
big trouble. But he was an addiction worse than any she’d ever had, including the ones that she’d had to a few potent prescription drugs.

She still liked to party with booze once in awhile, like she had over these last few days, but she hungered for Gunter with everything inside her.

She drove around the town until she spotted what she was looking for—an internet café. Wouldn’t you know it would be closed? She supposed it would have to keep
until tomorrow. Maybe tonight it would be a good idea to try and find that passionate Latino, make her forget her troubles—her lover. Her brother.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Holly tossed and turned all night long after going to bed. The evening with Brendan and the girls had been great, but that dark cloud had hung over her. The girls had bounced around all night long, their energy never letting up. There was no way to relax around that. Even after tucking Chloe into bed, she couldn’t relax enough for the promised massage. She and Brendan both decided it would be better to delay anything heated between them for another time.

When the sun came up before six, Holly was already packing her clothes—the decision to take a hiatus and go to Mammoth was much easier to make today than it had been yesterday. The girls had all worked hard on convincing her last night. Both Chloe and Meg were all for missing school, but Maddie would have to drive up with her dad on the weekend. She was upset as Brendan reminded her that she had a dance recital that coming Thursday, and she was performing on her own. Maddie swallowed back her own tears when her softy old dad cheered her up with a bribe of Princess Barbie and her horse and carriage.

“You are so easy,” Holly said.

“I am. I know.” He winked at her. “I tell you, bribery is the secret to parenting.”

“Really now? And I heard it was about boundaries and discipline. Granted, love, too.”

“Don’t let them experts fool you. I guarantee they either don’t have children of their own, or if they do and you peeked into their perfect lives, you’d find plenty of bribes going on. She’s not crying anymore, is she?”

“Isn’t that called spoiling?”

He waved a hand at her and blew out a puff of air. “Hogwash. I call it well-loved.”

She had to agree. The girls were definitely loved, and she was impressed by his ability to parent them so well. There was nothing wrong with the occasional bribe. It made her think of own dad quite a bit. They both had a very
gentile
manner, and if truth be known, Holly had also been one of those well-loved children.

Thinking about Brendan and spending the weekend together invigorated her and took the edge off her worries. She even put a Sheryl Crow CD on and sang loudly to “Soak up the Sun,” stopping her packing for a minute to dance around the room.

But her unpleasant, complicated thoughts from last night remained locked away in the back of her mind. The dark and dismal ruminations about Jack alive, Jack dead, Chad, Brooke, and faceless child killers. All of it made it so much easier to pack up at the first rays of sunlight.

At six-thirty the car was packed, and Holly was on her third cup of coffee. She called Brendan’s house, and he answered in a sleepy voice on the third ring. “I’m going,” she blurted out. “I’m taking your advice and going to the snow. On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

She loved his sleepy voice. It was terribly sexy. If she could only sidle into bed with him right this instant, she would. “That you and Maddie come on Friday instead of Saturday.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

“Good. Now when can Meg be ready?”

“I’ll get her moving. When do you want to go?”

“Now. Everything is packed and all I have to do is wake up Chloe and load Petie into the car.”

“Wow. Okay then. Come on over. I’ll wake my daughter, but you know how teenage girls are. She takes a bit to get ready. And you know that dwarf in Snow White, the one they call Grumpy? She makes him look like St. Peter in the morning. Don’t expect much chatter from her on the drive until somewhere past ten. But come on, and I’ll make you some breakfast while you wait.”

“Lovely.” Holly hung up the phone and then woke Chloe who sleepily got dressed.

“Grab your pillow, baby. It’s gonna be a long ride.”

Holly got Chloe’s medication, put her and Petie in the car, and ran back inside to grab the unpaid bills. They had certainly piled up lately. She’d been so absorbed in the case that everything else had fallen by the wayside. She also grabbed the files that Chad had left her and the mail she hadn’t gotten out of the box the day before.

She noticed a priority letter. “Oh, good.” She put it in with the rest of the mail that she’d take a look at up in Mammoth. She knew what it was. Her sister’s husband who was a stockbroker had made some real estate investments on some apartments back in New York that she and all three of her sisters and dad were going in on. These were the documents that she needed to sign and return. Nothing that couldn’t wait until she got settled inside Brendan’s cabin and could take a breather. Right now she wanted to get on the road.

A few minutes later, she pulled up in front of Brendan’s house. She and Chloe walked hand in hand to the front door. Chloe, who was fully awake now and excited at the prospect of missing school and going to play in the snow, could hardly contain her seven-year-old energy.

The scent of bacon wafted outside the front door, and Holly’s stomach growled. She’d already been up for nearly three hours and was only filled on the caffeine. Some breakfast would do her good.

Brendan opened the door before they even knocked. “I thought I heard your car pull up.”

Boy did he look cuter than ever with a complete mess of bedhead and an emerald green robe that matched his eyes. He topped it off with a pair of leather worn slippers. This could be love, love, love . . . the song by Madness from her high school days sprung into her mind.