Daniel (2 page)

“No, ma’am.” Not that he would share
with her anyway. “I have everything I need. Like I said, we’ve been
practicing.”

Benton followed her out, and they got
into the car. He waited for her to start it, but when she laid her head back
and closed her eyes, he thought maybe she’d changed her mind and he could be
free. But she turned to him.

“I’ll have to drive us back. It’s not far,
but it’s far enough. Is there anything you need? Food, anything that I can get
you now before we leave?” He shook his head, and she started the car. “I might
as well have bought this thing for the mileage it’s going to cost me.”

He watched her drive for a long while.
Then she reached into her bag and pulled out an electronic tablet, telling him
to watch movies on it. He followed her directions and was soon watching an old
movie he and his mom used to watch. After the movie, he asked if he could get
in the back and take a nap. He then crawled over the seat, curled up on the
floor, and closed his eyes.

He woke a couple times. Once when he
heard her talking to someone. He didn’t need to raise his head to realize she
was pumping gas at a station. The second time, she’d woke him to ask if he
needed to use the bathroom. He did, and as soon as he came out of the dirty men’s
room, she was waiting. Neither of them spoke again until they were in the car.

“I think that…no one but your mom calls…
called
me O’Reilly. I use it for work but nothing else. What are you supposed to call
me, do you know?”

He had to clear his throat twice before
he could speak. It was suddenly real. His mom was gone, and now he was with
this woman. And even though he’d heard about her all his life, he didn’t know
her.

“Mom. I’m supposed to call you mom so
nobody knows.” He stretched out on the seat this time. “I’m really sorry about
this. I really am.”

“Me too kid. Me too.”

Chapter
2

Four
years later

Daniel Hunter wasn’t happy. In fact, he
was pretty close to being really pissed off. He’d been waiting on this woman to
see him for over a month, and now that he had it all set up, she’d bailed on
him. Again.

“I’m so sorry, Daniel. You must think
I’m a real ninny.” Not ninny, he wanted to scream at her, but more like an
inconsiderate bitch. But he only smiled. “I have completely forgotten about
Pogo’s vet appointment. He’s getting f-i-x-e-d, you know.”

The dog in question looked up at him
with confused eyes. He knew just how the mutt felt. But Mrs. Elisha Pressman
was old, ninety-four on her last birthday and not getting any younger, and her
family wanted her to get settled before it was too late.

Too late for what he didn’t know. She’d
be around when he was kicking up daisies. He smiled at her as she settled in
his car. He’d have to get the sucker fumigated when this was done. He didn’t
care for little dogs in general, anyway, and this one stank.

“No problem at all, ma’am. I have some
errands to run while you’re inside, and by the time this is finished, I can run
you back home. We can set up an appointment some other time.” Over his dead
body. So far he’d been to her house four times, and every time he’d taken her
somewhere; the doctor, the grocery, and once to the cemetery when she’d forgotten
to put flowers on her friend’s grave last month. Now the vet. Nope, he was
done.

Daniel was going into the drugstore when
his phone rang. He almost didn’t answer it, sure it was someone he was
avoiding. He’d been avoiding a lot of people lately. Especially his family. But
he answered, and as soon as Kasey started talking, he wondered if she’d notice
if he closed the phone on her.

“…he said it’s too much for him, and the
opening is in two weeks. I don’t have time to find another potter between now and
then. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

It took several seconds for his mind to
catch up with her. Potter. Okay, no clue. Then he remembered the grand opening
of the Artisan’s Way Foundation. The grand opening? The place must have been a
lot further along than he’d realized. Of course, having nearly the entire state
involved in the thing was a way to get a project from conception to completion
in just under seven months. He realized she was waiting for something.

“Can’t you just go to some studio and find
somebody to fill in until you find something more permanent?” Her laughter,
bitter and cold sounding, made him want to strangle her. “I’m trying here,
Kasey. Cut me some slack.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve tried everyone I
know. I don’t have a clue, and the guy who wanted to work with us no matter
what had designed the place to take up almost all the ground floor.” He didn’t
have a clue.

“Listen, I’m supposed to drop this woman
off at her house in about an hour. Once I get rid of her, I’ll come by your
office. I need to talk to Royce, anyway.”

“Who are you getting rid of? That Mary
person? Oh Daniel, I told you not to see her. She’s bad news.”

“It’s Mrs. Pressman. And this is why I
stay away. You guys are trying to sell me off to the first female you see.” He snapped
his mouth closed. He’d not meant to say that out loud. “I’m sorry, Kasey. I’m
frustrated and tired.”

She was quiet, and he felt worst for it.
He was nearly ready to tell her again how sorry he’d been when she spoke. His
heart hurt more.

“Don’t worry about it. And I’m sorry
about the matchmaking. I guess the rest of us are so happy we wanted to…I hear Lee
crying. I have to go.”

He closed his phone and his eyes.
Way
to go asshole
. He walked over to the greenhouse that his family owned and
saw Joey on the phone. When she hung up as he walked in the door, he knew she’d
already spoken to Kasey. He started for the counter when a kid walked in front
of him.

“Can I get this filled with some
flowers?” The kid laid the beautiful vase on the counter and then took out some
cash. “I have forty dollars to fill it this time.”

“Sure. What are we filling it with, do
you know?” Joey asked, and the kid shook his head. “Okay. You said this time.
Have you filled this vase before?”

Joey picked up the vase and looked on
the bottom. She nearly bobbled it before she sat it gently on the counter again
and took a step back. The kid looked at her strangely.

“Where’s that other lady? The one that
always helps me with this? She knows what to fill it with. I like her.” Daniel
wanted to laugh at Joey’s expression. The kid obviously didn’t care much for
Joey’s kind of help.

“Where did you get this vase,” she asked
him sharply. “This is a Harlequin vase, and it’s very expensive. And Patty
doesn’t work here anymore. She’s…she died last winter.”

The kid looked at Daniel as if to say “what
the hell” before he turned back to Joey. “I know what it is. I just want it
filled with pretty flowers like the other lady did. She knew what to do with it
and all.”

His voice gave the impression that he thought
Joey wasn’t all there. Daniel could see her start to bristle. She had a fine
temper when she was pissed off. He decided to save the kid.

“She’s just trying to find out where you
got the vase. Why don’t you simply tell her? Then she’ll take your order.” He
smiled, and the kid took a deep breath. He looked at Joey as he picked up the
vase.

“I should get going. Mom will wonder
what’s taking me so long, anyway. It’s just that…look I’m sorry, but could you
please just fill it with pretty flowers for me? Then take it to the hospital or
somewhere and give it to somebody who doesn’t have any?”

Daniel looked at Joey, then back at the
kid. “You want her to fill it with flowers and give them to a stranger? Kid,
that doesn’t make sense. I don’t know a lot about vases, but that one is
probably worth five grand. And you want Joey here just to give it to someone
who doesn’t have any? Why?”

“I can’t give her flowers anymore on her
birthday. And every year that other lady helped me give them to her cause
she’s…‘cause she died.” He looked at Joey. “I can’t give her the flowers, so I
want you to give them to someone who can smell them and stuff.” He shoved the
vase and the money at her again. “I’ll have my mom come in and tell you I
didn’t steal the vase. It’s mine. I earned it.”

He went out the door quickly. Before
Daniel could gather himself up to go after him, the kid was gone. Looking down
both sides of the street, he shook his head. The kid was fast. He went back
into the shop to find Joey gone and her helper at the register. He went to the
back to find her.

“Help me look,” he told her. “Patty
helped this kid for some time and I’m going to find out who he is. Then I’m
calling his mother and finding out what the hell he’s doing with a five
thousand dollar vase to give away.”

He had to leave, but he promised her
he’d return to help when he took Mrs. Pressman home. On his way out the door,
he stopped and ordered roses for Kasey and a very heartfelt apology note. He
was sticking it with the flowers when his phone rang again.

“Mrs. Pressman just called. She said you
abandoned her at the vet, and Pogo is spending the night.” Jesse, his brother
and partner, laughed. “I take it you didn’t get her to sign the power of
attorney.”

He got into his car as he told him what
had happened. Ten minutes later, he was in front of the vet and still talking
to Jesse. His mood wasn’t getting any better. “And after pissing off Kasey, I went
to get some flowers, and this kid nearly runs me over with this vase that cost
more than my first car. He claimed somebody died and he sent flowers to people
who didn’t have any to make up for it. I call bullshit. Kid is probably some thief
and will more than likely claim Joey stole it from him.”

But Daniel didn’t think that was true,
either. The kid looked clean-cut and well mannered. He’d been frustrated yes,
and a little short, but who knew why? He opened the door just as the rider was
coming out of the office.

“I’ll see you for dinner. Tonight. Mom
said if you don’t show she’s hunting you down and making you come. I don’t
think I’d fuck with her. She said she was tired of you ducking out all the
time.”

He knew he’d been, too. He just couldn’t
stand all the lovey-dovey shit that went on between him and his brothers and
their new wives. He couldn’t even hang out with Alex or Jared anymore because they,
too, seemed to be trying to get him married off. He wasn’t fucking getting
married. But he knew he’d been away long enough. It was time to appease his mom
until he could skip them again. Sighing, he told Jesse he’d be there.

After dropping off Mrs. Pressman, he
went back to the shop. Joey had just figured it out when he walked in the back
room. He was glad. He needed to go home and girth up before the family pounced
on him.

“His name is Benny Harlequin…oh shit,
you don’t think he’s related to the old buzzard, do you?”

~~~

Reilly looked at the pot she’d just
thrown and frowned. It was nice, but it didn’t look like she’d thought it
would. She was cocking her head to the side to get a better angle when she
heard a voice at the door.

“Might as well start over. When you get
that look in your eye, it means it’s not what you dreamed or what the clay told
you it would be. So toss it.” Benny grinned at her. “Or you can let me have it.
I can make it work.”

She smashed it down and cut it off the
bat, then put another hunk of clay on the next bat and leaned down to center
the clay on it. The “bat,” or a large piece of laminated wood, served as her
wheel. When she was finished throwing, she’d pull the bat up and set it on the shelves
next to her before repeating the process. She’d never really understood why it
was called a bat other than when the wet clay hit it when she put it together
it made the sound of a ball hitting a bat, a real wooden one.

“How was school today? Did you have any
problems with that math quiz?” She had the ball centered and now leaned upright
to get her sponge. “We’re having pizza for dinner if you want.”

“Sure.” He walked around her studio, and
she knew something more than his mom’s birthday was bothering him. “This lady
might call. There is a new person that owns the flower shop we go to, and she
didn’t like that I had the vase. I didn’t think about checking first. I’m
sorry.”

Benny took the seconds. Sometimes she’d
mark them with her stamp, but it didn’t matter. Most of the time they ended up
in one of his projects, anyway. But this time it did.

“I’ll call her. What did you tell her?”
He shrugged. He looked at her for a second and then shrugged again.

She finished pulling the vase up and
then finished it off by putting a foot on the bottom. She made this one curved,
like she did sometimes, and wiped the inside of extra water with her sponge. She
stood up, leaving the vase where it was.

They were in the kitchen, putting
together supper, when the house phone rang. They only gave it out when they had
to give a number. He and she were the only two people with their cell phone
numbers, so the house phone was for everything else. She’d learned from him to
be careful over the years, and she’d been working on keeping them safe any way
she could…including finding people to train her how to fight dirty. But her
work had to stay.

“Hello, Mrs. Harlequin. My name is Joey
Hunter. I own Patty’s. I think your son was in today, and I wanted to talk to
you about it.” Reilly didn’t correct the woman in her thinking that Benny was
her son or that she was married.

“He told me. I gave it to him. I picked
it up at a second-hand shop a few weeks ago and told him he could have it. No
harm. Did you fill it for him?” She looked over at Benny when he seemed frozen
in the spot. She reached over and pulled his stiff body to hers and held him
for as long as he’d let her.

“No. I will, but not…it’s a second? I
couldn’t see a single thing wrong with it. It’s one of the more beautiful
pieces I’ve seen of his work. Do you know him?”

“No, just the same last name. That’s
kind of why I collect them.” Reilly rolled her eyes. “Well, if there’s nothing
else, I have supper to put together.” She hung up.

They were sitting down to salads and
pizza when he finally spoke. “He didn’t scare me.”

Reilly looked up from her bite that was
nearly to her mouth. “Who? What man didn’t scare you?”

Her heart was pounding. Ever since the
two of them had packed up and moved to Ohio soon after she’d gone back to New Jersey,
he’d shied away from people. It had only been recently that he’d let her hug
him, but men still terrified him.

“There was a man at the shop when I went
in. He was coming in as I was putting the vase up. He didn’t touch me or
nothing, but he didn’t make me sweat, either.”

“Anything, he didn’t touch you or
anything.” She put her slice down and took a deep breath. “Did you hear his
name? Do you think he was…I don’t know, looking for you?”

She still had nightmares about seeing
her sister. She knew that Benny had seen her, too, had actually seen them
hurting her. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through with that
knowledge. And even after all this time, she still had to try and not scream
out in the middle of the night. She knew that he had dreams, too, but she
wasn’t allowed to go to him.