Under A Harvest Moon (25 page)

She glanced over at Nico, his strong hands on the steering wheel. Looking at those hands sent a thrill through her. Those hands had been on her, had touched the most intimate parts of her body. He had sexy hands.

She was falling for him and in a big way. What would happen when she left? Could they carry on a long distance relationship? Would Nico still want her, or was part of her allure her connection to the place he loved and would do anything to keep?

"What are you thinking about?" Nico glanced at her.

"What I need to do when we get back," she lied.

Owning the vineyard was a powerful motive for Nico to keep her happy, and while she didn't want to believe he'd used her to get what he wanted, in the back of her mind she couldn't trust him completely and that saddened her.

He gave her a gentle smile. "Try not to worry. Everything will be fine."

"I hope so." She checked on the kids. For once, they weren't playing video games. They both stared out the window at the scenery.

Back at Whitney House, they all helped with the unloading.

"Thanks for everything," Danielle said when they were ready to part.

"My pleasure," Nico said warmly.

The kids had disappeared inside the house.

"Will I see you later?" she asked, knowing she'd need her Nico fix.

"Try and keep me away." He stepped close to her. "I want to kiss you."

An alarm bell went off in her head. She wasn't ready to go totally public. "Someone will see." She placed her hand against his chest to hold him back.

"So?" His hands found her waist. "This is a small place. Everyone here already knows we're seeing each other."

"The kids..."

"...will survive." Nico kissed her, shutting up her protests, shutting off her mind.

The purr of an engine signaled an approaching car. They broke apart. Sheriff Anderson.

Nico frowned.

"I wonder if he's found anything out?" Danielle asked.

"Come on." Nico took her arm and they walked to meet the sheriff.

"Good day," Sheriff Anderson called. He removed his sunglasses as he walked toward them.

"Hi," Danielle said. "Any news?"

"No." He shook his head. "We did lift some prints from the paper, but judging from the size of the prints, I'm pretty sure they belong to the kids. We could fingerprint them. I'm sure that would scare the bejesus out of them and get a confession."

"No," Danielle said, a mix of relief and disappointment filling her. Kids meant it was an inside job. She and Nico could deal with Maria, but it was disappointing to think Maria wanted her gone. "I don't want to do that." She looked to Nico. "Do you?"

Nico frowned. "No. Let me talk to Maria first. If it's her, and she thinks we're on to her, I doubt there will be any more pranks."

"Fair enough," Sheriff Anderson said. He glanced up at the upper windows of Whitney House. "Maria's watching us. If she is responsible, she's probably scared to death about now."

Danielle regarded the window. The curtain had been dropped back into place. Was it Maria? She had to find a way to reassure Maria that she wasn't a threat, that she wouldn't be staying on once she was free to leave.

"Thanks for coming by, Sheriff," Nico said.

"I'll check back soon," Sheriff Anderson replied. "Call me if you have any more trouble."

"Thanks," Danielle said. "We will."

Nico's hand found the small of her back. They watched the sheriff until he turned out of the driveway.

"I'm sorry," Danielle said. "I want to help. Do you want me to talk to Maria? Maybe we can sort out her feelings for me together."

"No. Come on," Nico said. "I want to talk to Maria. Obviously, she's more unhappy than I thought."

Danielle took his hand. Together, they headed for Whitney House.

***

Maria slumped down on the couch. "Why did you make me come home? Kaiden was finally letting me have a turn with the game."

Nico sat down next to Maria. She'd crossed her arms over her chest, her lower lip stuck out in a classic pout. This wasn't a good start to their conversation. She was already mad at him and he hadn't even asked her any questions.

"We need to talk," he said.

"About what?" she shot back.

"About Sheriff Anderson's visit."

That got her attention. The defiance left her eyes. Her face went white and for a second, Nico thought she might throw up again.

"I saw you peeking out the upstairs window," he said in a calm tone.

"So?" The word lacked her earlier defiant tone.

"So, Sheriff Anderson has brought up some interesting observations. I'd like to run them by you."

She didn't reply.

"Sheriff Anderson thinks, and I agree with him, that the pranks: the roses, the spray paint, the note, are all on the childish side. Since only two kids live here, that really narrows down the list of suspects."

"You suspect me?" she asked with wide innocent eyes.

"Should I?" Nico countered.

"No!" Maria shot of the couch. "I would never do anything like that."

Her cheeks held high color: because she was guilty or because she was angry he'd accused her?

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, Dad," she said with an adamant shake of her head. "I swear. I didn't do it." She glanced away.

Nico wished Liz was here. Liz was so much better at sensing Maria's moods. He had no doubt that Liz would know in a glance if Maria were lying.

"Okay," he said, playing his last card. "In that case, I'll tell Sheriff Anderson to go ahead and analyze the fingerprints. Of course, that means he'll be taking prints from everyone who lives at and works for Whitney Vineyards."

He studied Maria, looking for signs of alarm, but didn't see any. Either the kid was telling the truth, or she was an accomplished liar.

"Is that it?" she asked. "Can I go now?"

He didn't have to ask where. "I'm going to work for a while. Stay with Lola until I come and get you."

"Fine." She flounced past him out the door, the screen door whacking shut behind her.

Nico watched her run down the path and disappear into Whitney House. A minute later, Danielle left the house, doing a fast walk down the path to his place.

Nico waited for her on the porch.

"Well?" she asked when she was within earshot.

"I don't know." He sat in the rocker.

Danielle took the opposite chair. "How did she react?"

"So cool it scares me. What if I've raised a pathological liar?"

"Maybe," Danielle said softly, "she's innocent."

"My gut says otherwise," Nico admitted.

"What do we do now?" Danielle asked.

"There's not much we can do," he said. "Let's hope the interaction with the sheriff has brought an end to the harassment." Changing the subject, he asked, "How did the call to your attorney go?"

Her mouth tightened. "Not good. He asked me to document everything Peter said and did, but it's basically Peter's word against mine. He still thinks I have an excellent chance of being awarded full custody. He's faxing me over the parenting plan so I can take a look at it beforehand. The hearing is a week from Thursday."

"Try not to worry," Nico said.

"I'm trying. I'm hoping that when I get full custody, he'll go away. But the side of me that really knows him believes he'll do everything he can to harass me every time he has visitation with Kaiden. It would be so much easier to pay him to go away."

"I don't agree," Nico said. "I'll never agree with that. Peter is a bully. Don't let him bully you. I'm on your side. Everyone here is on your side."

"You're a nice man, Nico." Danielle smiled. "I can see why my father loved you so much."

"He loved you, too," Nico said, wishing he could take away her pain and convince her of Phillip's love.

"Maybe," she said. "You've helped me remember some of the good things, and for that I'll always be grateful."

Were her bad memories receding? He hoped so. Nico reached for Danielle's hand. "I want to be with you. How can we get away, just the two of us?"

"Hmmm." She released a sigh of pleasure. "I don't know. It's hard with the kids."

"I want a real date with you." He leaned over, kissing her. "Friday? We could ask Lola to baby-sit."

Danielle smiled. "A date would be wonderful."

"Friday it is." Nico smiled.

Chapter Thirteen

Danielle shined the flashlight on the path in front of her. She'd looked forward to this date with Nico all week, but she'd never imagined the two of them out walking in the dark. "I can't get used to the darkness out here."

Behind her, Nico said, "We're almost there. In a few minutes your eyes will adjust."

She should know the path to the river well by now, but the darkness disorientated her. Following the beam of the light, she stayed on the path, putting one foot in front of the other. Tall wheat grass whipped at her legs. Ripening grapes mixed with the clean scent of fresh water. The air had a sultry, heavy feel, upping her awareness of Nico on every level.

"Can you see okay?" She glanced over her shoulder at him, causing her pace to slow.

He bumped into her, his fingers tangling in the back of her sweater. "Well enough." He leaned in, stealing a kiss.

Danielle laughed. "Come on." She began walking again. When she broke through the trees, she stopped. Danielle shined her light toward the river, the beam grazing the water. The river looked still and deep and black.

"No moon tonight," Nico said beside her. "Perfect."

"The entire evening has been perfect," Danielle said. The past few days had been stressful. She'd spent most of her time worried about the kids, wanting to reassure both Kaiden and Maria that they were loved. Both she and Nico had spent extra time with the pair, shirking some of their duties with Whitney Vineyards, but she felt it had been time well spent.

One day they'd even traded kids, with Nico taking Kaiden fishing, while she and Maria had a spa day. They'd painted each other's toenails and had facials. Girly things. Maria had even talked to her a little about Liz and the new boyfriend. She'd been surprised by Maria's maturity, a maturity that far surpassed Kaiden's. She knew Nico thought Maria was an emotional wreck, but she hadn't seen any signs of damage, leading her to believe the counseling had helped, making her wonder if counseling would be good for Kaiden, too.

As much as she'd loved spending time with the kids, she was ready for a little adult time, more than ready. She'd missed being alone with Nico, missed the way he looked at her, touched her, missed the way he made her feel. Soon their time together would be over and she'd be left with only memories. She wanted to make as many memories as possible.

He moved a few feet from her and spread out the blanket he'd brought along, then sat. Danielle joined him. She held the flashlight as he uncorked the wine.