Almost Forever (13 page)

“It was awful.” Lori leaned her head back against the white leather seat of the Mustang and stared at the stars overhead as they headed back to the winery. “I've always believed that if a person is innocent, they wouldn't have anything to worry about. Wrong!” She held out her hands. “They even fingerprinted me. Thank God Casey showed up when she did or they would have made me change into jail clothes.” She turned to Justin. “Thanks for calling her and that wonderful bail bondsman.”

“No problem. I couldn't stop the arrest, but I wanted to get you out of there as soon as possible.”

“This is real, isn't it? They really think I had something to do with Mark's death.” She studied Justin's masculine profile, sharp against the streetlights. “Why do you believe me?”

He glanced over at her and smiled. “I would have said it was my gut, but Grammy said it was my heart.” He reached over and captured her hand in his. “You're a nurturer, not a killer. I could tell that from the start.”

“How can I convince them? There can't be any evidence left that would exonerate me.”

“Hey, I'm damn good at my job, remember. I'm going to find the killer. Then you can go back to your life.”

She managed a weak smile. It sounded like he was a man on a mission. Was it all about the chase? Once he found whoever had actually murdered Mark, would he just move on to the next challenge? Was she simply part of the scenario? Another damsel in distress? He had mentioned listening to his heart, which sounded promising, but he'd also left himself out of her future life. Tonight she was too exhausted to figure it all out. She had to trust him and hope he didn't break her heart in the process.

Once they arrived back at the winery, he let her out in front of her house. Lori went inside while he parked the Mustang. Raquel jumped off the couch and ran forward.

“Are you okay? Did your interview go well?” she asked, true concern on her pretty face.

“I'm fine. How is Kenzie?”

“We watched a movie and made some popcorn. She went to bed around nine.”

“Good. Thank you, Raquel. I appreciate your help.”

“You know I'd do anything for you.”

The screen door opened and Justin walked in, carrying a duffel bag.

Raquel looked back and forth between him and Lori, then smiled. “I'll see you in the morning.” She turned to go.

“Would you like me to walk with you?” Justin asked. “It's pretty dark out there.”

“No, I'll be fine. There's nothing to be afraid of now.” Raquel opened the door. “Good night. I'm glad…everything turned out okay.”

“What did she mean by
now
?” Justin asked as they stepped out on the porch and watched Raquel walk along the cobblestone path until she disappeared into the darkness. She shared a house with her brother on the other side of the winery.

“I'm not sure. We had a mountain lion in the area a few months ago, but the Wildlife Department came out and hauled him out to Big Bend.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I'm going to check on Kenzie. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

Mackenzie was asleep in Lori's bed. Lori bent over and kissed her daughter's soft cheek and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. She didn't stir, so Lori slipped back out of the room and shut the door quietly behind her. Her stomach growled, and she remembered that she hadn't had anything to eat since a half sandwich at lunch, which was—she glanced at her watch—about twelve hours ago. Hoping there would be some pizza left, she went down to the kitchen.

Lori noticed that the front porch light was on, and before she reached the kitchen, Justin called, “Out here.”

She pushed open the screen door and saw that he had reheated the pizza and brought it, two plates, and two glasses of wine outside and put them on one of the wicker tables. Maybe she was just tired, but she was so touched by his thoughtfulness that she felt her eyes fill with tears.

Justin must have noticed, because in one smooth move, he pushed out of the swing and crossed to her. Once again he pulled her into that protective embrace that immediately made her feel safe. He backed up a couple steps, sat down on the swing, and pulled her onto his lap. She curled against him like a child, with her legs pulled up and snuggled against his chest. He hugged her close and pushed the swing into a gentle gliding motion with his feet.

She tried not to cry, but for the first time in a long time, she was terrified. If Justin couldn't find the real killer, she could go to jail…for a long time. What would happen to Mackenzie? The winery? This house? But Justin had told her to trust him, and here in his arms she could almost believe that he could fix this. Almost.

But the longer she stayed there, the more she relaxed. Slowly she became aware of the hard planes of his chest and the gentleness of his touch. His chin rested on top of her head, and she could hear the steady pumping rhythm of his heart beneath her ear.

She lifted her head and leaned back enough to look up at him.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much. You're really good at taking care of people. You don't have any kids, do you?” It struck her that she really didn't know anything about his personal life other than that he had a couple brothers and a grandmother.

“Nope. Never been married. And no kids, but I'd like to have some someday.”

“Your brother Nick was really nice. Sounds like he and Jamie are in a happy place.”

“It took him nearly dying for them to realize that they loved each other. You'll meet her on Sunday, along with his two sons. I think they're about Kenzie's age.”

“She'll like that. She can't talk about anything else.”

“We'll just have to get you through the next few days. The wake isn't going to be easy.”

“It'll be easier with you there,” she admitted softly.

One of his hands moved up to cup the back of her head, threading in the long blond strands of her hair. He bent over until his lips touched hers, gently, tenderly. Her mouth opened, returning his kiss with a passion so intense it shocked her. She realized she didn't want to live her life as it had been before. She wanted this man to be in it. She wanted to feel his arms around her every day and to be able to kiss him and make love to him every night.

But she had no idea if he shared even a particle of the emotion she was feeling for him. He was a kind and caring person, and he probably treated a lot of his clients with the same level of attention. She remembered the hot sex in the hallway and hoped he wasn't quite as intimate with all his clients. To her it had been special. She hoped that it was at least a little bit meaningful for him.

She shifted in his lap so that she was straddling him on the swing. His kisses became more urgent, and she felt the bulge of his erection rubbing against her through their clothes. She wanted him inside her. She wanted to forget about all her fears about the charges, her responsibilities at the winery, and even that she was a responsible mother. She just wanted him to fuck her brains out.

He groaned. His hands gripped both sides of her waist, and he picked her up, then twisted around and placed her next to him on the swing. “You're killing me,” he said and scooted as far to the end of the swing as possible to put a few inches of space between them.

She knew he was right, but damn it, she wanted him so much she was almost willing to sneak upstairs and crawl into bed with him in the guest room.

He handed her a glass of wine and picked up one for himself. “Here's to proving your innocence and putting all this behind us.”

Lori wasn't sure about the putting it behind them part, but she clicked her glass against his and took a drink. Then she reached for the pizza and satisfied the other hunger that was burning inside her.

Lori and Justin were sitting at the bar, enjoying delicious blueberry pancakes, when Lori's cell buzzed. She glanced down at it, then passed it to Justin.

I know about ur husband's death. Meet @ noon, historic marker near winery.
Justin read it through twice, then looked up at Lori.

“For real?” Justin asked.

“Don't know,” she commented. “Any way to trace who sent it?”

“Not quickly. It would take a court order.”

“We can't afford to ignore it.”

“Nope.” Justin stood and took his dishes to the sink. “How do you know which marker? There are over sixteen thousand in the state.”

“I'm guessing it's the closest one, actually just about five miles from here. If it's not that one, then I hope they'll text me back.”

“Let's check it out, then.”

“I'll drive,” she said as she grabbed her keys and purse. “Kenzie, are you going to Ali's today?” she asked, referring to her daughter's best friend.

“Ali's mom said she'd take us to the mall to look at school clothes.”

“I'll drop you off there, and if you find any clothes you like, see if they'll put them on hold. Then you and I can go buy them on Monday, okay?”

“Okay.” Mackenzie ran upstairs to finish getting ready.

A few minutes later, they were all loaded into the winery's pickup truck with Lori behind the wheel. She had stopped off at the restaurant and picked up the bank deposit and the grocery list from Raquel. “I've got a few things to buy for the wake tomorrow,” Lori told Justin after they'd dropped Mackenzie off at her friend's.

“Are you nervous about that?” he asked.

“Terrified. I don't know who will turn out or what will be said. Ali's mom said she'd come by and pick up Kenzie at four. Even though Mark was her father, I don't think she should stay past the memorial part.”

Justin nodded. “I think that's a good idea. Wakes can get a little rowdy. Definitely not a place for a child.”

They drove toward Fredericksburg for several minutes, then turned off onto a county road.

“Is that it?” Justin pointed to a marker up on the left.

“Let's hope.” She steered her pickup truck into the small parking area. As she had said, there was a historical marker. But there had been minimal maintenance, and weeds and wildflowers grew tall around the edges of the asphalt.

“And now we wait.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned in the seat so he could see her but still have a full view of anyone approaching. “Thanks for breakfast. I usually survive on takeout during the week.”

“That's awful. I try to have something fresh every day for Kenzie and me before heading out to work. Then we usually eat lunch at the restaurant if I have time.”

“Did you sleep well last night?” He was wearing aviator sunglasses, so he knew she couldn't see his eyes as he watched for her reaction.

An attractive pink colored her high cheekbones. “Not really. It's nice having you down the hall. On the other hand, it's kind of driving me crazy,” she admitted.

“I know what you mean.” He grinned. It was good to know that she too felt the sexual attraction that had kept him tossing and turning since the day he met her.

Their attention was drawn to an old pickup truck bouncing down the road.

“Recognize it?” Justin asked.

“No…I don't. They're slowing down.”

“Some people search out and take pictures of these markers,” Justin commented as they watched it pull up and stop next to the monument.

It was a midcentury Ford with either light green or blue paint. The surface oxidation and layers of dirt made it impossible to tell which. Slowly the tinted driver's-side window rolled down with the characteristic cranking noise of a well-exercised mechanism with over fifty years of use in the dry Texas air. Inside there were two middle-aged men with graying beards and mustaches. Both were wearing T-shirts and camouflage baseball caps advertising fishing in the Texas Hill Country. The exposed portions of their faces were pockmarked and wrinkled.

Justin whispered out of the side of his mouth, “Anyone you know?”

Lori hummed without moving her lips, “No.”

“Who the fuck are you?” the driver asked as he stared at Justin.

“A friend of Lori's,” Justin answered. “But more important, who the fuck are you?”

The driver obviously wasn't thrilled at the unexpected guest, and he glanced around nervously.

“Billy Grand. And this guy here is Jimmy. We're Johnny's brothers.”

“Right. Johnny Grand.” Her voice was calm, but Justin could see the knuckles on her right hand turn white as she clenched the steering wheel. He rested his arm on the back of the seat and, out of sight of the strangers, he squeezed her shoulder in silent support.

“Listen,” Billy continued, “no one knows we're here talking to you.”

Jimmy leaned forward and added, “We'll deny it, got it?” His eyes darted rapidly back and forth between Lori and Justin.

“Right,” Justin said. “So how's Johnny?”

“Who the fuck knows or cares?” Billy inserted himself back into the leadership role.

Justin already knew from his research that Johnny Grand was serving fifteen to twenty in Huntsville for attempted murder after a bar fight in Houston.

“We can help you.” Again Billy looked around to make sure no one could overhear the conversation.

Jimmy leaned forward. “But we're not going to testify or sign anything, got it?” His eyes bugged out as they shifted constantly from side to side.

“Why would you help us?” Justin asked straight-out.

Billy hesitated for a moment as if having second thoughts. Then he looked at Lori and continued, “Johnny told the feds that you told him to push the debris onto the grave. They've promised to give him an early release if he'll testify to that.”

Lori gasped, and her face went pale. “But I didn't—-”

“We know. We were there. And we're both very sorry, ma'am. Really we are.”

“But why are you telling me this?”