Copper (17 page)

“You know your ex better than any of us,” he gritted his teeth at just how well she’d known the SOB at one time.  “Got any suggestions?”

She took a deep breath and looked at the five men gathered around the table.  “Tomorrow is the eighth anniversary of my miscarriage.”  The hands resting in her lap twisted together.  “I didn’t have any remains to bury.  It was too early in the pregnancy for that.”  She sniffed and was silent, lost in painful memories for several seconds.  A hand darted up to wipe her eyes. 

Copper’s heart felt like it was being wrung right out of his chest.  The pain in her voice was his undoing.  He couldn’t stand to hear and feel the anguish radiating from her.  He remembered the first time she told him about her loss and how heartbroken she sounded.  The memory made him shudder.

“You don’t have to talk about this in front of everyone if you don’t want to,” he whispered.

Marla took a deep breath, wiped her eyes one more time, and shook her head. “Yes, I do.  It might be your best opportunity to stop Rob once and for all. And I need you to do that, because you, Christopher “Copper” Ellison, are worth living for.”  She brushed her lips across his mouth for a quick and airy kiss.

This woman with her soft words and even softer kisses humbled him.  He was going to make everything right in her world no matter what it took to get the job done.  “Just remember, I’d do anything to protect you. You might find me worth living for, but I find you worth dying for.”

Mercury was never much for mushy scenes.  He heavily cleared his throat.  “The two of you can make your declarations to each other in private later on.  Let’s get on with finding a way to eliminate her stalker, preferably without involving Luke or any other law enforcement agency.  I trust Luke, but if we make his job too difficult we might lose our in with the local law, and we don’t want that.”

Marla took a deep breath and finished laying out her plan. “As soon as I was up to it, Natalie and I bought a small memorial graveside plaque for baby Taylor and placed it next to our parents’ gravesites. I always visit the cemetery on the anniversary of my miscarriage.  As I mentioned earlier, it’s tomorrow.  There’s a good chance Rob knows about that habit. He might try something at the cemetery if none of you are there,” she said with a shrug. 

“Planning an ambush while you are distracted by grief sounds like something that coward would do.” Copper tightened his hold on Marla to silently convey the message that he was never letting go.

“Such a low blow would be right up his alley,” Marla agreed.

“Where are the graves located?” Iron wanted to know.

Marla gave him the name of a nearby cemetery, one of the larger ones in the county. Iron started tapping away on the tablet in front of him. He carried it everywhere he went, always looking for some kind of technological advantage. 

“Got a satellite view,” he said after a few seconds.  He handed the tablet to Copper who studied it for a few minutes before passing it on to Mercury.  

  “The wooded area on two sides of the cemetery gives us plenty of places to set up a stakeout and wait for Storey to make his move,” Copper pointed out.  “If he approaches Marla, it’s a violation of the restraining order. If he’s in possession of a weapon, taking him out will be an open and closed case of self-defense.”

“Luke would make sure of it either way,” Chrome pointed out. “He may not be a Metal Cowboy, but he’ll have your back.”

“Agreed.”

“He better,” Marla said with a frown.  “I want Rob dealt with, but he’s not worth your life or even one minute of time spent in jail.  I don’t want any of you taking unnecessary risks,” she insisted.

“We’ll get the job done, and there won’t be any mistakes,” Copper said. 

“I know how well trained all of you are, but it doesn’t matter, I’m still going to worry until it’s over.”

“We’ll walk you and Natalie through everything before going to the cemetery,” Copper promised. 

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Chrome spluttered. “Who said anything about Natalie being there?”

“If things look off, Storey might not make a move,” Steel said.  “Even a total idiot knows there is no way Copper would let Marla go anywhere by herself, not with an outstanding threat against her.”

“I don’t like it,” Chrome interrupted with a snarl.

“Deal with it,” Copper ordered. “Natalie should be here to hear this too.  Marla, wake up your sister and have her come help you with breakfast while we run through the preliminaries and map out a plan of action.  After the meal, we’ll go over everything and make sure you and Natalie know what to do.  There are several scenarios we should plan for,” he said with a tired sounding sigh.

****

Dinner was an ordeal for Marla.  She only uttered three words during the entire meal.  Her head stayed low, her eyes not budging from the dish in front of her.  The extra attention to the plate didn’t help her appetite. She only ate five bites of food before giving up.  The rest of the meal was spent aimlessly pushing food around her plate, until she excused herself, dumped the leftovers in the trash, and hurried upstairs to Copper’s bedroom.

Obviously, Copper noticed her discomfort.  He showed up in the bedroom about forty-five minutes after she retreated from everyone else.  She roughly wiped away a few stray tears and took a deep breath.  “I know I wasn’t very good company tonight.  I hope I didn’t ruin everyone’s dinner.  That wasn’t my intent at all.” 

Marla rapidly rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She bit the inside of her cheek to help keep her rollercoaster emotions under control.  She didn’t want to break down in front of Copper.  He made her happy, but it seemed like she was always crying around him.

“When I was in the military things always got a little tense before a big mission.  I imagine you’re experiencing something similar.  This is personal so that makes it even more stressful. Under the circumstances, I think that you and Natalie are handling everything quite well. But if I let you, you’d dwell on it all night. I came up with a surprise to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

She finally noticed that his arms weren’t empty.  Excitement bubbled up inside of Marla, trying to overtake the worry and dread of the unknown that took up residence that morning.  She craved the alone time and special memories that were sure to be made with Copper, but she was also hesitant and fearful.  If things went horribly wrong tomorrow, this might be the last night they spent together. The morbid thought was enough to make her quiet and withdrawn.

“That’s a mighty tall order, but all distractions are welcome. I can’t wait to see what you have in mind.”  He walked toward her, getting closer until he filled her vision. “It’s already working,” Marla whispered before her breath caught in her throat.   “The only thing I can think about right now is you and me.”

“I hope so.  You deserve to be romanced. I’m not the best at romancing a woman. Flowers, candy, and all that stuff have never been my normal mode of operation.  For you though, I’m willing to give it my best try.”  He held out his hand and entwined his fingers with Marla’s.  “This was spur of the moment, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

“I’m sure I won’t.”  She gave him a sweet smile that lit up her eyes.  Not one single boyfriend ever went out of his way to do anything spontaneous and romantic for her, and she was loving the special way it made her feel.

“You’re always beautiful to me, but when you smile like that, it’s the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen.”  He opened up the French doors that led out to a small covered balcony, and guided her outside. 

Marla breathed deep, taking in the sultry smells of the evening. The scent of pine and magnolia hung heavy in the air.  Ripples of clouds stretched across the sky, reflecting light from the sun as it sank closer to the horizon.

“It’s breathtakingly beautiful out here,” she whispered.  Marla gazed into the distance toward the silhouette of a lone towering windmill.  “I can’t believe I haven’t bothered to come out onto the balcony before now.  The view is gorgeous, being on the second floor gives you a different perspective than the ground view.” 

“Being surrounded by four walls gives the illusion of safety. I breathe easier when you’re well hidden from your psycho ex.” 

She shrugged at the reminder of the danger dogging her and quickly changed the subject. “The sun’s getting ready to set, and from the look of things it’s going to be glorious.”

Copper sighed before wrapping his arms around her from behind and pressing her back into his front.  “We’ll be perfectly safe out here tonight.  Mercury, Steel, and Iron are taking turns watching the security camera feeds from the perimeter of the property twenty-four-seven from now on, until Rob is shut down.  And Chrome and I are keeping a close eye on you and Natalie.  It’s as safe as we can make it.  He’s not getting back on this property ever again.”

“I love the way you keep an eye on me,” she whispered.  “My parents and Natalie are the only other people in this world who have ever made me feel as treasured as you do.”

“Then my plan must be working.  Glad to know I don’t suck at this romance stuff.”  He spread a thick quilt onto the balcony and helped her sit down.  “Take this.”  He handed her the basket he was holding and sat down directly behind her.     

He placed his legs on either side of her body and wrapped his arms around her middle, pulling her back tight against his front.  Marla relaxed into him, taking some of his strength before eagerly opening the picnic basket and looking inside.  “A bottle of my favorite wine,” she said pulling out a bottle and two glasses.  How’d you know?”

“I asked Natalie, and she gave me the heads up.  I’m not much of a wine drinker, so I wanted to be sure to get one you would love.  I would have been in to see you thirty minutes ago, but I had to go out to buy the wine.”  He took the bottle from her, uncorked it, and poured some of the sweet white liquid into the two glasses. 

“A colorful sunset, good wine, and your embrace, what more could a woman want or need?” Marla asked with a seductive smile.  She took a sip of the chilled wine before putting down the glass. “It’s perfect,” she told him.  She laid back, propping up her upper body against his chest. “This part of Texas is so beautiful.”

Copper rested his chin on top of her head.  “I can’t remember when I last took the time to admire a sunset.  It seems like most days I work right through them.”  He brushed aside her hair and kissed the side of her neck.  “Now I have a reason to leave work at a reasonable hour, maybe we can savor many more sunsets together.”

“I’d like that.”  They fell silent. Their eyes were glued on the horizon, where the sun slowly disappeared.  Mother Nature didn’t disappoint. The display of color was incredible. 

The black silhouette of the windmill served as the focal point for Marla’s gaze.  The legs of the tower were surrounded by bands of blazing color reminiscent of fire: orange, red, and yellow. The wheel and tail were surrounded by the cool colors of night.  Light blue darkened to indigo, which deepened to midnight blue, before completely fading to black.

The overall effect was calming.  Marla sipped her wine and enjoyed the sensation of being held in Copper’s embrace.  They watched the night sky until all the color faded, the clouds disappeared, and thousands of twinkling stars appeared. 

“From sunset to moonlight,” she turned around and kissed him soundly on the lips.  She ended the kiss and traced his jaw and cheek with her fingers.  “I think you’re pretty good at this romance stuff.  I’ve never experienced a more romantic date.  No matter what happens, I’ll always remember tonight,” she promised.

TWELVE

The stage was set, and the supporting actors were cast.  Marla was ready to give the performance of her life.  Their plan hinged on word getting back to Rob and making him overconfident enough to show his hand and make a move.  The fight needed to appear real.  She took a deep breath and put as much emotion and power in the words as she could muster.

“I don’t care what you say,” Marla made sure to pitch her voice so that it carried all around the grocery store to any listening ears. She felt several pairs of eyes on her. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling.  The more gossip the better if their plan was going to work. 

“I said you’re not going, and that’s final.” Copper crossed his arms over his impressive chest and glared at her.  He reached out and grabbed her arm.  “I’ve got to get back to work.  Whatever you want to do at the cemetery can wait until another time when things are more settled,” he insisted.

Marla vigorously shook off his grip.  She made sure to loudly protest his highhandedness.  “Just watch me!”  She put her hands on her hips and matched him glare for glare.  “For the record, I’m sick of you following me everywhere I go!” Marla moved her hands from her hips and crossed them in front of her heaving breasts. She fried Copper with a furious scowl. “I won’t let you keep me from the cemetery on this of all days.  I have to be there, and if you can’t understand why, there’s no room for you in my life.”

She pointed toward the parking lot and the car that was just pulling up. “Fantastic timing, there’s my sister. I’m out of here, and you better not follow me either.”  Marla took off running for the door, knowing that her hasty departure would send more tongues to wagging, which was exactly what they wanted.

“How did it go?” Natalie asked as soon as Marla slid into the car and shut the door.

Marla blew a stray wisp of hair out of her face.  “Maybe I should have gone to drama school,” she said with a theatrical sigh.  “I think everybody in the store heard our heated argument, and I’m pretty sure they bought it. I don’t think the real thing could have been any more convincing. There were several pairs of prying eyes and nosy spectators, including Tina!”

Natalie arched a brow. “I never thought I’d be saying this, but here’s hoping her first call is to Rob.”  She slowly turned onto Main Street and parked in front of the florist’s shop.  “I never would have accused Tina of being the sharpest tack in the box, but I thought she had more sense than to get tangled up with Rob Storey.”  She shook her head in amazement.