Forever Eva [Sequel to When Kat's Away] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

He chuckled. “Yeah, this is a cell phone. I’ll explain that later.” He looked down at the phone and then back up at Eva. “Tony wants you to stay at his house.”

Eva felt her heartbeat speed up. “Why?”

“He wants to hear more about where you came from, and what happened to Anna and Katarina.” He shrugged. “He’s got a big house instead of an apartment. You’d have your own room, and it’d be more private.”

Eva licked her lips. “Will you come with me?”

Zach’s mouth fell open. “You mean you want me to drive you there?”

She shook her head. “No, I want you to stay there with me. Does he have room for you, too?”

Zach was quiet for a moment and then brought the phone up to his ear. “Tony, she’s agreeable to staying at your house, but she’s got one condition.” He glanced at Eva and grinned. “She wants me to stay there with the two of you.” He laughed. “Temper, temper, officer. The lady feels safer with the two of us. Would you take that away from her?” He got to his feet and glanced toward the window. “Okay, chief. I’ll pack a bag for myself, and we’ll be there in a bit. What’s the address?” He grabbed some kind of book from the table and pulled a small stick from his pocket. Quickly, he began to write. “Okay, I know where that is. We’ll be there in about thirty minutes.” He folded the phone and smiled at her. “Tony has graciously offered us the hospitality of his house.”

Eva laughed and leaned back in her chair.
Thanks, Great-grandmother. Everything just might work out after all.

* * * *

“Son of a bitch!” Tony slammed his phone closed. He slid the patio door open, letting in a gust of leaf-scented summer air. “I can’t believe that asshole. Does he really think I’m gonna believe it was her idea for him to tag along when she comes here?” He looked out over his yard. “What is it about her that makes me wanna keep her close? Hell, it was all I could do to keep from running my fingers through that glorious hair.”

Sighing, he walked down the hall and opened the door to his office. The room held a large desk, bookshelves, and a patchwork sofa in shades of rust and orange that gave it a homespun feeling. The shutters over the windows were thrown back to let the noon light flood in upon an enormous fern that hung above his desk. This was his sanctuary, the place where he felt the safest.

He’d never been comfortable around people, always being the loner. Living in the same house all his life, he’d bought it from his mother and father when they retired to Florida six years earlier. Their retirement hadn’t lasted long with his mother dying from cancer two years later, and his father following her within months from a broken heart.

His office was the only room he’d changed, wanting to carve out a space that was uniquely his. He glanced at the framed documents on the wall and smiled. His parents had been so proud when he’d joined the police force. They’d wanted him to marry and give them grandchildren, but he’d never found a woman he thought he could live with. Unwillingly, a vision of Eva jumped into his head. “Okay, she’s beautiful, I admit it. But, she’s clearly a nut. There’s no way she’s been travelling through time in some portal. And, if she’s staying here, I’ve got a better chance of proving her story to be a lie.” He turned around and went back to the living room. “That’s why I’m letting them both stay here. I don’t wanna see her take advantage of Zach.”

* * * *

Zach smiled at Eva and then turned his attention back to the road. Her head lay resting on the car seat back, her hair spilling down over her shoulders, a secretive smile covering her face. He knew she wasn’t sleeping because her foot slowly kept time to the music from the radio. He let his hand wander over and stroke down her arm when he spotted Tony’s house. “Wake up, sunshine. We’re here.”

Eva’s azure eyes popped open as she rose up in the seat. She blinked a couple of time glancing out the window. “He lives here?”

“Yeah, that’s his house off by itself at the end of the road.” Zach studied the place as he pulled into the drive. Apple trees, at the side of the house, hung heavy with fruit which shone like beacons in the June sun. He pulled around the circular drive and parked. Quickly, he slid out of the truck and walked over to open Eva’s door. Smiling, he held her hand as she jumped to the ground.

“Have you been here before, Zach?”

“No, Tony and I aren’t close friends. We see each other from time to time, and we’ve shared a few lunches since the women’s disappearance two years ago, but I wouldn’t call us friends.” He didn’t want to admit how much he’d wanted their friendship to deepen. He’d always felt an unusual closeness to Tony, but had sensed that the man didn’t feel the same way. Zach was bisexual and liked close relationships equally well with men or women. But, since meeting Tony two years ago, he’d found no satisfaction in any other relationship. He’d been celibate for the last six months because there was no interest in anyone else, at least until now. He definitely felt a pull toward Eva. But whether the pull was for her, or for closure on the disappearance two years ago, he couldn’t be sure. He just knew he wanted to get to know her better, and he wanted a chance to spend time with Tony away from work.

He grabbed the bags in the back of the truck and placed his hand in the small of Eva’s back, urging her toward the front porch. “Let’s go tell our host that we’re here.” Eva giggled and walked slowly toward the house, her eyes darting back and forth across the property. They climbed the steps quickly and rang the bell. The door was opened almost immediately by a scowling Officer Tony Grandy.

Eva stiffened and stepped back, colliding with Zach’s chest. “Is everything all right?” she asked timidly.

Tony sighed, ran his hand over his face, and smiled. Though the smiled didn’t reach his eyes. “Sure, I’m sorry. Please, come on in.” He stepped back and motioned them inside.

Zach followed Eva slowly, taking in his environment. Chocolate-carpeted stairs led up one level and down one. Following Tony, they walked up the stairs to be greeted by a great open expanse of space that ended in sliding glass doors on the far side of the living room.

“Follow me,” Tony said. “I’ll show you to your rooms.” He led them up another set of stairs and down a long hall and opened two doors across from each other. He pointed to the left. “Eva, you can stay in here. It has its own bathroom.” She stuck her head in the room and glanced around. Smiling, she moved forward slowly.

Zach watched her closely. “I have a sister that visits me every once in a while, and she left some clothes the last time she was here. I brought them for Eva to use until I can take her shopping.” Ignoring the frown on Tony’s face, he walked into Eva’s room and looked around. The room boasted a four-poster bed in cherrywood with huge ball legs and a headboard and footboard resplendent with carved floral motifs. A large wardrobe and two nightstands completed the room.

Curious, he glanced into an open door and switched on the light, revealing a spacious bathroom. It had a long vanity topped with gold-veined black marble sporting two sinks and a mirror the size of a bedsheet. The fixtures were almond colored, and the walls papered in a bold geometric of beige and brown with touches of silver foil, adding a richness for which he was not prepared. He glanced from the vanity stool to the shower stall, separate from the tub, with its opaque glass walls.

Tony cleared his throat. “I know what you’re thinking.”

Zach shook his head and backed out of the room. “I’m not thinking anything bad. Your house is beautiful.”

Tony glanced back to where Eva was running her fingers over the polished surface of the dresser, and lowered his voice. “This is the master suite of the house. It was my parents’ room, and I just couldn’t bring myself to use it except as a guest room. My mother decorated it a couple of years before they moved to Florida.”

Zach leaned against the wall. “Do they like it down there with all the tropical storms?”

Tony seemed to wilt right before his eyes. “They both passed away about four years ago.”

Zach put his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too, Tony.” Eva moved closer to where they stood in the doorway. “I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I lost my parents.” Then, she frowned and her eyes filled with tears. “I guess I have lost them, though. I guess they’ve been dead for a while now.”

Tony clapped his hands. “Okay, it’s time we all had a little sit-down.”

Eva’s forehead wrinkled. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s go sit down in the living room, and you can tell us your whole story. I’m not buying that you came from the past, but I’m willing to listen to what you have to say, and maybe you can convince me.” Tony nodded toward the bathroom. “Why don’t you freshen up and meet us downstairs in a few minutes. Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out the door.

Zach heard the soft shush of his footsteps going back down the carpeted stairs. He turned to Eva. “Are you all right?”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I’m fine. I just wish he believed me.”

Zach moved to put his arms around her shoulders and smiled when she snuggled up against his chest. “Honey, give him some time. Tell him whatever he wants to know, and he’ll start believing you.”

She pushed back far enough to stare into his eyes. “You believe me, don’t you?”

He stared deep into her eyes and felt himself moving toward her parted lips. He gave her plenty of time to pull away. Instead, she moved closer, holding her breath as her eyes slid shut. Softly, he pressed a kiss against her closed lips, breathing in deeply of her lavender scent. When he pulled away, he smiled, looking down at her puckered lips, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Bending, he kissed her forehead. “Yes, I do believe you, Eva. There are many things in this world that have no real or logical explanation. It’s not such a stretch to believe that you could have traveled here through time.” Holding her away from his body, he grinned. “You wash your face and meet me downstairs. We’ll convince the big, bad policeman together.”

Eva nodded, walked into the bathroom, and shut the door.

Zach walked across the hall and dropped the second bag on the bed and hurried down the stairs. He looked for Tony in the living room and then heard a noise coming from a room off the dining room. He walked over and glanced into the kitchen. The wood-grained Formica countertops contrasted well against the gleaming appliances.

Tony looked up from the open refrigerator. “You wanna beer?”

Zach shook his head. “I’d rather keep a clear head for this conversation. You got any pop?”

Tony handed him a cola and then grabbed a second one along with a beer. “Let’s take this into the living room. Something tells me it’ll take her a while to tell us her story.”

“Are you gonna keep an open mind, or is she already tried, convicted, and you’re ready for sentencing?”

Tony groaned. “Give me a break, will you? I’ll keep an open mind to a point, but I don’t believe in all that supernatural crap.”

Zach followed him into the living room and sat on a huge, overstuffed sofa. “Okay, Mr. You Need All the Facts. Where do you think she came from?”

* * * *

Eva paused at the top of the stairs and waited to hear what Tony would say. He’d made no secret of the fact he thought she was lying. Her mama had told her all about her arrival at the Silver Rush Saloon. Neither Papa Beau nor Papa Zeke had believed her story at first. But she hung in there, and everything worked out for the best.
I just have to believe that this will work out for me as well.

Tony snorted. “I think she’s some kind of reporter, hoping to put a new spin on the story since it’s the anniversary of the women’s disappearance.”

Eva took a deep breath and walked down the stairs. Both men stood when she came into the room. Zach smiled, while Tony frowned. “I didn’t know it was the anniversary of Mama’s disappearance. Until you told me the date, I had no idea where I’d been dropped off.”

Tony motioned toward a fancy, upholstered chair close to the window. “Why don’t you sit down and start at the beginning?” He handed her a small metal can. “I thought you might like something cold to drink.”

She looked at the label. “Cola. What is it?”

“It’s a soft drink with plenty of sugar. You’ll like it.”

She turned the can over and examined the bottom. “Do you have a sharp knife, or something I can open it with?”

Tony’s eyes widened while Zach snickered. He took the can from her hands and burrowed his fingers under a little metal tab at the top. He pulled it, and a whishing sound escaped from the can. He handed the cola back to Eva. “Here, try it.”

Dutifully, she put the can to her lips and took a sip. Taking in the cool liquid, she groaned. “It’s Brad’s Cola.”

“It’s what?” Tony asked.

“It’s Brad’s Cola, or I guess I should say Pepsi. Just last year they changed the name to Pepsi, but it’s still got that fantastic taste. Mama gets really upset when they short her orders from back east.”

Tony shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “Okay, please, Eva, start at the beginning and tell us everything.”

“Where do you want me to start?”

Zach leaned forward. “How about starting with what you know about Anna and Katarina’s disappearance.”

Eva sank back into the softest cushion she’d ever been on. “Damn, I’d have given anything to have seats like this on the buckboard back home.” Tony glared at Zach when he laughed. Eva sighed, placed the can on the table, and looked at the two men. “Okay, I can tell you what Mama told us when we were little.