Dreams Claimed (Warfield's Landing, #1) (17 page)

“I guess so.” There was a harsh rasp to his voice.

“In my defense, I had planned to tell you everything after that first night together, but Courtney called and your car was vandalized. Then... I was going to tell you when you got back from that last trip. I just couldn’t tell you over Skype.”

Nic picked up the sketch and carried it out of the studio. Daniel followed her and Bentley followed him. How absurd, he thought. Your life implodes and there’s a parade.

“Do you want coffee? Oh, you have some.”

Surprised, Daniel realized he still clutched his coffee. He moved toward the couch and sat stiffly, holding the mug between both hands. It was a bright, warm July morning, but he was chilled from the inside out.

Nic was rustling around in the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came out with a mug of her own. Gracefully, she folded herself into the mamasan chair and started talking.

“I met Max when I was in grad school. He’d attended VCU years earlier. I think the first time, he was in Richmond making arrangements for a show at the Virginia Museum. He saw me, I guess.”

Daniel was still in shock. He sat and prepared to listen to the confession he never wanted to hear...

Would he tell CeeCee?

No.

He couldn’t...

And he’d make sure that Nic never told her. His jaw tightened. He’d sit here and listen to this terrible confession, then he’d take his dog and leave. He never wanted to see Nic again.

“... my father?” Nic finished and looked at him expectantly.

He stared at her.

“Well?” she asked impatiently.

“Well, what?” Daniel realized that he’d been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t heard what she said.

“I was asking if you thought this was a good time to tell Courtney that Max was my father, or if I should wait until she’s less upset?”

“Max is your father?” Daniel sounded the words carefully. He was speaking English and Nic was speaking English, but nothing made sense.

Max was her father?

Then what about the sketch?

He must have asked the question, because this time she was the one parroting back.

“What about the sketch?” She sounded confused.

“What about that sketch of you?” Daniel pointed to it, on the coffee table between them.

Now it was her turn to look at him uncomprehendingly. “What...” she started, her eyes following his finger. 

She leaned forward and picked it up, flipping the cover back. “What about it?” She looked at it and frowned, then her face cleared and to his disgust, she began to laugh.

He scowled as her laughter chimed through the room.

Excited, Bentley got up from his spot on the rug and nudged at her. She petted the big golden head while she hiccupped to a stop.

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, and barked, “Explain, please.”

Her eyes widened at his tone, then narrowed. “I did just explain... but somehow you seemed to have missed it. I’ll explain again, and this time you can pay attention.”

She spoke tightly. “I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version... Maxfield Hayes was my birth father. I didn’t know about it until he found me when I was in grad school.”

She picked up the sketch and held it up beside her face, her finger pointing at it, like a pre-school teacher reading a picture book. “This is my mother. See the mole beside her eye? Max drew this more than 30 years ago... see the date under his signature?”

She flipped the cover closed and frisbeed the drawing to the coffee table.

Now she crossed her arms over her chest, and challenged him, “Any questions?”

Her tone was a slap across his face. Abruptly, he realized what an asshole he was being... again. Almost immediately, relief flooded his body. He hadn’t been wrong. She hadn’t had an affair with Max.

She was his daughter.

Holy shit.

N
ic was pleased... all things considered.

They had come through with flying colors after that rocky start and the discussion about the Maxfield Hayes sketch. Nic put mental air quotes around the word discussion.

She still wasn’t sure what had happened. Daniel had been so upset... Still, they’d managed to discuss the situation in a rational manner, so she chose to consider it a win.

Now, the two of them and Bentley were headed back over to the construction sites. Nic liked to stop by everyday... a luxury she could afford, now that she was living in Warfield’s Landing.

As they stepped outside of the condo building, they could hear kids shrieking. Daniel raised his eyebrows in question.

Nic smiled broadly, and led Daniel and Bentley around the building to the river side, motioning them to be quiet.

Madison saw them first and whisked around a trash can, out of range of her brother’s deadly stream of water. “Hey, Nic. Wanna play?”

“Hi, Madison.” Nic waved her arms. “Ceasefire. Ceasefire.” Both children dropped the barrels of their water cannons and came forward. Jaden seemed the most interested in meeting Bentley.

“Guys, this is my friend Daniel and his dog Bentley.”

“Hey, he’s big. What kind is he?” Jaden asked eagerly as he rubbed Bentley’s ears.

Daniel answered, “He is a Golden Retriever and he IS pretty big.”

Madison held back behind her older brother. “Does he bite?” Her question was elaborately casual.

Squatting down to her height, Daniel answered her question. “No, he doesn’t bite. In fact, he likes girls a lot.” He glanced over his shoulder at Nic. “Just ask Nic.”

As Madison looked at her, Nic grinned and reassured the little girl. “Bentley is a lover, not a fighter.”

That comment flew right past the child, so Nic explained further. “Bentley likes everybody, but especially kids.”

She stepped forward and showed Madison how to hold out her hand in a non-threatening way. “You did good to ask first. Always ask the dog’s owner, before you go up and pet a strange dog. Not all of them are as nice as Bentley.”

Madison mirrored Nic’s gesture and giggled when Bentley gave her hand a big lick.

While Jaden met Bentley, Madison checked to see that her brother was busy, then grabbing Nic by the hand, pulled her down the sidewalk.

To Nic’s amusement, Madison checked on the guys again. Jaden was busy discussing the traits of the Golden Retriever breed, man to man with Daniel.

Madison stood on tiptoes and whispered in Nic’s ear, “I hid a water gun. For the next time.” She glanced back to make sure her brother was still busy. “It’s over there, beside the building, under the bushes in the corner where the steps go up.”

Captivated, Nic nodded gravely. Madison pulled her closer. “I filled it up first, so it’s ready to go.” She winked at Nic, who winked back.

They walked back to man, boy, and dog. Daniel stood and finished what he’d been saying to Jaden. “I know I don’t have the best situation for a dog, living in an apartment, so Luke—my best friend, and I make sure that we take Bentley on a couple of long walks each day.”

He gathered up Bentley’s leash, finishing, “That’s why it’s so nice when Nic lets us stay here and we can walk around town. Having a dog is a big responsibility. I had to wait a long time until I had a good situation and enough time to take care of Bentley.”

Jaden nodded gravely, and watched as Nic, Daniel, and the coveted dog walked down the sidewalk toward the main road.

“I take it that someone wants a dog?”

“Yeah. He and his sister...” Daniel paused and Nic supplied the name.

“Madison.”

“He and Madison go to boarding school.” His voice was tight.

“And you’re remembering when you, Luke, and Courtney were in boarding school.”

“Yes. My big dream was to have a dog. It took years until I could, but Bentley,” The dog looked over his shoulder at the sound of his name. “Bentley,” Daniel repeated, teasing the dog, “Bentley’s the best.”

“He sure is.” Nic stepped forward and patted the dog on his head.

As the three of them passed the cafe, Nic’s new phone rang. She pulled it out. “It’s Thomas.” She said to Daniel.

“Yo!”

“Hey, Nic. What are you doing?”

“Daniel, Bentley, and I are heading down to look at the construction sites.”

“Can you put Daniel on, please.” It wasn’t a request.

Puzzled, Nic handed the phone to Daniel. “Thomas wants to talk with you.”

Daniel looked startled but took the phone. “Thomas.”

Although trying hard to eavesdrop, all Nic could hear was the buzz of Thomas’ voice at the other end of the call.

Daniel slowed and stopped, his conversation consisting of, “Okay. I can do that. What do they think?”

Nic found her frustration level growing.  At the point that Daniel said, “I’ll tell her.”, she tapped his shoulder and held out her hand.

She put it to her ear and demanded, “What’s going on.

“Daniel will fill you in.” Thomas hung up.

Daniel glanced around. They were about halfway through town on Tumpline Road, the main street of Warfield’s Landing. The school was just a few blocks ahead. There was a fair amount of foot traffic, mostly tourists.

Daniel put a hand under Nic’s elbow, and moved her along, gently. “Let’s get to the school where we can have some privacy and I’ll tell you.”

*****

A
t her suggestion, they were across the street at the picnic spot beside the river. Nic didn’t know what Thomas had said to Daniel, but she could tell that the news wasn’t good.

Daniel surveyed the lovely views from the empty lot and eyed the orientation of the school’s windows. “I’m glad you bought this, too. It would be a shame if someone built here and the condos lost these views.” 

She accepted the respite he offered. “I don’t think I mentioned it yesterday, but while we aren’t including gallery space in the school renovation, we will have classrooms on the first floor at this end of the building where the school offices were. The plan is to offer workshops with national teachers. If the co-op residents want to participate, they can... for free, but we’ll also open the workshops up for the public at large. Havre de Grace is close enough to provide housing. We’ll probably offer lunch and they can eat here if they wish. It will be good publicity for the co-op, as well.”

Daniel nodded. “How will you handle the meals?”

“We’re talking with Ruth Ann at the Riverside Cafe, as well as Willow, who owns the health food store. We want to provide as much business for everyone in Warfield’s Landing as we can.”

Now Nic scowled playfully at Daniel. “Stop distracting me. What did Thomas say to you?”

Daniel glanced around. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll tell you.”

Sitting on the picnic bench, Nic felt cold despite the July heat. “That bad, huh?”

“I’m afraid so.” He paused, then said baldly, “Someone threw a fire bomb into your apartment last night.”

Nic felt the color drain from her face. “Did the building burn? Was anyone hurt?”

Any fire in Old Town Alexandria had the potential to be catastrophic. Many of the buildings were very old and all were tightly packed, with no space between them.

“No. The firebomb fizzled. Your neighbors heard the crash and called for help immediately.”

He squatted down, putting himself at her eye level. He took both her hands in his. Bentley pushed a large reassuring head under their clasped hands and she gave a shaky laugh.

“Nic... this guy, whoever he is, is escalating. Thomas suggested that I stay here with you for a while. At least until they catch your stalker” He added... “I’d do it even if Thomas hadn’t asked. I love you, Nic.”

Before she could respond to his declaration, he went on, “They lifted prints and your neighbors were able to give some sort of description. Thomas said the detectives would be coming to talk to you, probably tomorrow.”

He released her hands and patted Bentley’s head. “I think the best way to handle things is for Bentley and me to stay again tonight. Tomorrow morning, the three of us can head back to Alexandria and pack for an extended stay.” He tugged one of the dog’s ears. “I’ll also get food for the big guy.”

“Unfortunately, I have an appointment tomorrow with the landscape architect. Time is tight and her schedule isn’t very flexible, so I don’t want to cancel.”

“Hmmmmm.” Daniel frowned while he considered. “Alright, I’ll go by myself but I’ll leave Bentley with you. If nothing else, he can act as a deterrent. Promise you’ll take him with you if you go anywhere and I’ll make my trip as short as I can.”

“Okay,” she said. “That sounds like a good plan.” She looked around, feeling vulnerable. “How long till they know who it is? If they have a fingerprint?”

“Thomas didn’t know. I gather the big issue is whether the guy is in any of the fingerprint databases.”

“Let’s hope he is. This is getting scarier and scarier.” Then she grabbed his hands and said simply. “And... getting back to the most important thing you said...”

He looked puzzled and she laughed. “Daniel, I love you.” The smile he gave her was one she would treasure forever.

He tugged her off the bench and pulled her up into a deep kiss, while Bentley danced around them, barking madly.

D
aniel fixed breakfast while Nic sat at the kitchen’s breakfast bar. She was sketching him while he worked, and he admitted to himself that having her attention on him was a turn-on. Unfortunately, they’d decided that he would drive back to Alexandria immediately after breakfast, so there wasn’t time to do anything about it... but when he got back... He grinned, and she caught it.

“What are you smiling about?”

He winked at her as he plopped the scrambled eggs onto plates. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and he laughed. “C’mon. Time to eat. What’s your schedule for today?”

“Bentley and I,” the dog looked up when he heard his name and they laughed. Nic started again, “Bentley and I have a pretty busy day. We’re heading down to Liv’s to check on my van.”

“Liv’s?”

Nic explained. “Liv owns the River Garage. She’s been spending time with Stevie, Karyn, and me this summer. She’s getting to be a good friend.”