Danny's War (Rolling Thunder Series Book 3) (6 page)

“I know you’re not lecturing, but, please stop reminding me. I’ve worked so hard to forget, though, I never will. I…just…please.”

Denise’s lips turned down into a frown. “I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again. But, if you continue this relationship with Danny, you’ll need to tell him. It hurts to hide things like this and it usually comes out when you don’t want it to. Promise?”

Softly Tammy said, “Yes.”

“Okay, babe. Go soak in your tub and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

“Night, mom.” Tammy tapped her phone to end the call and set it on the bathroom counter. She turned to the tub and twisted the faucet to start the water. She sprinkled in her favorite bath salts and undressed. Gently easing herself into the warm water, Tammy leaned back and smiled to herself. Taking a deep breath and letting the tension float away on the water, she closed her eyes and smiled when visions of Danny floated into her mind.

“WANNA TELL ME
about your hot date last night?” Tammy smirked as she climbed in Molly’s car.

“Nope. We were both tired and didn’t go out. I made pizza at home instead.” Molly smiled as she stared out the windshield.

“Really?” Tammy looked over at her friend and waited for her to say something. Respond. Look at her. Nothing. “Really? That’s all?”

Molly’s cheeks bloomed bright red. She looked over at Tammy and they burst out laughing.

“Wow. Hot, right?” Tammy asked.

Molly put her car in gear and swallowed. All she could do was nod and smile. “What about you? Are you excited to see Danny today?”

It was Tammy’s turn to turn red. “I am. He asked me out for next week. It feels like it’ll take forever for next week to get here.” She sighed and turned slightly in her seat. “I just loved working with him yesterday, Mol. He’s precise, caring, and easy to talk to. We chatted little bits in between cutting boards. He’s smart, but not arrogant or full of himself.” Tammy sat back in her seat and stared straight out the windshield. “He’s…I’ve never met anyone like him, Mol. Never.”

Molly glanced over at her friend and saw the dreamy look on her face. She smiled and glanced back at the road. “Are you going to tell him about the video?”

Tammy curled her lip down and wrinkled her nose a bit. “I don’t know. It’s…ugh, I don’t know. It’s hard and I hope we can get to know each other a bit before I have to say anything. After all, maybe he’ll change his mind and not want to go out with me and then I won’t have to say anything at all.”

Molly bit the inside of her lip as she let those words roll around in her head. “I get it; after all, I’m doing the same thing.”

“It’s a different scenario Molly. What happened to you wasn’t your fault. Lancaster’s a pig.”

“What happened to you wasn’t your fault either. You didn’t know Scott was videoing you. Scott’s a pig, too.”

Both girls nodded and stared straight ahead.

***

Molly pulled her camera equipment out of her trunk while absently looking for Ryder in the crowd of people at Danny’s house again today. Things looked very different than they had yesterday, all the way around. Molly’s night with Ryder last night was, well, remarkable really. They fit together in a way she never dreamed she’d ever fit with anyone.

Tammy closed the car door and zipped up the hoodie she was wearing. She looked over the crowd finding Danny almost instantly. He stood next to Dog and Gunnar and he was watching her. Her heart fluttered and the butterflies in her tummy were flapping furiously to get out. Tammy walked toward Danny, leaving Molly to follow. As she approached Danny, Tammy’s lips quivered and then blossomed to a full blown smile. She thought she heard him huff out a breath, but wasn’t sure. But she did see him swallow a large lump in his throat, which gave her a thrill.

“Hi,” she said softly.

Danny smiled at her. “Hi.”

Two pair of brown eyes locked on each other, each feeling as though they were the only ones on the planet. Until they heard a throat clear and a male voice. “Ah, we’ll just run along and do something.”

Tammy blinked and looked over at Gunnar, who was smirking at her. She blushed profusely and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Sorry. Good morning, Gunnar. Dog.” Tammy leaned forward and shook hands with each of them.

“Morning, Tammy. Nice to see you again. Thanks for helping Joci out yesterday. We all appreciate it,” Dog said.

“Oh, I was happy to help her. She’s great. The interview at the end of the ride DVD is going to be awesome.” Tammy looked over at Danny, a broad smile splitting her face.

Danny ducked his head as he rubbed his hands down his thighs.

“She mentioned how much she enjoyed the interview. She’s very excited about the DVD. I am, too.” Dog smiled as he looked across the crowd at the food table where Joci was talking with some of the folks who were there to help out for the day.

“Okay, let’s get to it. See you guys around.” Gunnar waved and turned to walk toward the side of the house where the work was commencing.

Dog walked beside Gunnar, the two of them talking to each other as they walked.

Danny cleared his throat as he looked at Tammy. “Um, did you have a good night last night?”

“Yeah. I didn’t do anything. I stayed home, soaked in the tub and put together some drawings for a mural I’m painting. How about you?”

“Yeah. I had dinner with my brother and sister-in-law.” Danny said pointing to a beautiful petite blonde woman with a very round baby bump and a man who looked very much like Danny standing with his arm around her shoulders speaking with Danny’s mom, Janice.

“Oh, that’s nice. Do you get together with them often?”

“Yeah. I guess a couple of times a week. The past few weeks, not as much, but…you know.”

“Sure. I have a brother, but we aren’t that close. Molly’s my sister as far as I’m concerned. We grew up together. I see her about three to four times a week. I get it.”

Danny nodded. “So, if you haven’t changed your mind about going out with me, I thought we could go out to dinner and then maybe go to a bar and shoot some pool. Do you like shooting pool?”

Tammy giggled. “I do like it, though I’m not that good at it.”

“Neither am I, but I’m willing to try if you are.”

“Absolutely. Okay, now what do you want me to do today?”

They worked side-by-side all day, chatting when they could between jobs. By mid-afternoon, they were working inside, painting the bedroom walls a beautiful cocoa brown. Dog and Joci walked in, Dog explaining to Joci what was going where.

“Wow, the color is perfect. Do you like it Danny?” Joci asked.

“I love it. I never would’ve thought about this color, but, it’s perfect. Thank you for all of your designing. It’s better than I could ever have imagined.”

Joci smiled and glanced at Tammy. Tammy’s smile widened as she spoke. “It’s the perfect color with the light coming in the windows. You’re fabulous at interior design.”

“Well, I understand you’re the perfect person to paint this room, though, I understand we’re under-utilizing your talents,” Joci said.

Danny looked down at Tammy, eyebrows raised in question. Tammy blushed flicking her gaze to Danny and then to Joci. “Thanks. You should come to the home and see the mural I’m doing. It’s coming together nicely. Did Molly tell you about it?”

“What home? What are you talking about?” Danny asked.

Before she could answer, Dog said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted Joci’s ideas on a couple of things in the bathroom. Will you excuse us?”

“Of course.“ Tammy said, with a slight wave of her hand. She leaned down to refill her roller with paint.

“What home, Tammy?” Danny asked.

“Oh, I work at Stateside Home for Retired Veterans.”

Danny froze in mid-motion of laying paint on the wall. He looked over his raised arm at Tammy, a frown creasing his features.

“You work at a Veterans’ Home?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m an administrative assistant there. I work for the Director. She’s grooming me to take over for her when she retires in a few months. But, I’m also painting a mural on a wall in the activities room. I have all the wars depicted except this last one.”

Slowly lowering his arm, Danny looked at Tammy full on. Softly he asked, “Why haven’t you painted this war yet?”

Tammy, feeling uneasy, put her roller into the paint pan and stood facing him. “I don’t have a frame of reference for this war. I’ve spoken to each of the veterans in the home regarding each of the wars so I can get the mural correct. They help point inconsistencies out so the mural is accurate. We don’t have a veteran there who’s been in this current war.”

Danny’s breathing became choppy and his heart hammered in his chest. He just knew it was too good to be true. She only wanted to spend time with him so she could finish her damned mural. Fucking figures. He took a step back and then a second one. He gave his head a quick shake and turned and left the room without another word.

Tammy stared after him, confusion on her face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Dog and Joci walked out of the bathroom and seeing Tammy’s face, Joci asked, “Tammy, are you alright?”

Tammy’s bottom lip trembled. Her eyes were bright with tears. She looked at Joci, but she couldn’t say anything.

“Honey, are you okay? What on earth happened?” Joci wrapped her arms around Tammy and hugged her. The caring in Joci’s voice opened the flood gates and Tammy began crying. Joci looked at Dog over Tammy’s head and nodded slightly. Dog got the message. He turned and walked out. He never knew what to do with a crying woman.

When Tammy had composed herself, Joci walked her over to a bench and they sat side-by-side. Tammy wiped the tears from her face and swallowed.

Pulling Tammy’s hair over her shoulder Joci quietly said, “Are you ready to tell me what happened?”

Tammy nodded. “I don’t know to be honest. I told Danny I work at Stateside and he seemed angry and turned and walked out. He didn’t say anything and I don’t know why my working at the veterans’ home would make him mad. I don’t know what happened.”

“Okay.” Joci took a deep breath. “Well, maybe it hits close to home for him or maybe he knows someone who had a bad experience at a home or something. You need to go find out. If you want to forge a relationship, you need to talk things out, honey.”

Nodding Tammy wiped her cheeks with both hands and dried her hands on her thighs. She tucked her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll go see if I can find him.”

Tammy stood up and took a couple of steps before turning to Joci. “Thanks, Joci. I appreciate you talking to me.”

Joci smiled as she stood, her hand automatically rubbing her baby bump. “Any time, honey. Go find your man.”

WALKING ONTO THE
front porch, Tammy looked around the yard, finding Danny talking to his brother Paul. His posture was rigid, his jaw tight. As she watched them speak to each other, Paul looked up and saw Tammy watching them. He said something to Danny, who turned and looked at Tammy. She saw sadness. What on earth had caused such sadness?  Rubbing her hands on her thighs, she stepped off the deck to walk toward Danny and Paul. Her stomach was rolling and she was sweating, though the temperature was cool today.

As she approached, she swallowed and saw Danny do the same. She glanced at Paul and smiled. Holding her shaking hand out to Paul, she said, “Hi. I’m Tammy.”

Paul took her small hand in his and smiled at her. “I’m Paul, this lug’s brother. Nice to meet you.”

Tammy’s smile quivered and she nodded. Slowly turning to Danny, she said, “May I speak with you?” She looked into his eyes, though he didn’t move. “Alone. Please?”

Taking the cue, Paul said, “Great idea. I’m going to see what Grace is up to. Nice meeting you, Tammy.” With a squeeze to Danny’s shoulder, Paul walked away.

Tammy placed her hand over her stomach to try and stop the rolling. “Danny, is there somewhere we can speak privately?”

Danny huffed out a breath and looked around. There were about a hundred and fifty people milling about. Hard to find a private place to speak. Taking a deep breath, he said, “We can go sit in my truck. It’s about the only private place around right now.”

They turned and walked toward the garage, not holding hands, for the first time since the build had begun. Anytime they’d walked anywhere together, Danny always took her hand; her mood plummeted. Danny opened the service door on the side of the garage and opened the passenger door for Tammy to climb in. A running board dropped down to assist her.

Danny closed her door and walked around to the driver’s side. After climbing in, he placed his hands on his knees and looked straight ahead. So, he wasn’t going to just tell her what made him mad, she was going to have to drag it out of him.

“Danny. What happened back there? Why did you leave? Why are you mad?”

“You’re kidding, right? You only want to be with me because you need to finish your damn mural. You just need someone to talk to you about this war. That’s why you’re here, with me. I knew you weren’t interested in me for me. I was an idiot to think you could be. Look at me. I’m a cripple, for fuck’s sake.”

Tammy’s eyes grew wide. She stared at him in disbelief. Not able to form words she simply stared. After a long silence Danny turned his head to look at her. “Aren’t you at least going to admit it?”

Now she was getting angry. “You think I’m so damned shallow that I would go out with you to finish painting a stupid mural? That’s what you think of me? Thanks a lot. I’ve never, ever, been called shallow before. I’ll have you know, I’m a good person. I’ve never used anyone for anything. EVER!”

Tammy turned her head and grabbing the door handle, pulled it up unlatching the door. Turning quickly back to Danny, she said, “The only person who thinks of you as a cripple is you. I happen to look at you and see a smart, handsome, fascinating man who I enjoy talking to and working with. I see someone who has sacrificed for our country and the freedoms we enjoy. Honorable. That’s what I see. When I close my eyes at night, I see someone I can’t wait to see the next day. I see someone who, quite frankly, has taken my breath away. That’s what I see. I never even thought to ask you to help me with the mural. When I see you, I’m not thinking about the mural or Stateside. I’m thinking about…You!”