Guardian (The Guardian Trilogy) (24 page)

It’s
been about a week since the “Incident.”  That’s what I’m calling my run in with
Mrs. Davis.  Actually, that’s what I’m calling that entire day, including what
happened with Dane.  “Incident” is a vague, sanitary term.  That’s why I like
it.  Thinking about what happened that day in any detail brings on overwhelming
feelings of sadness, doubt, and guilt.  Especially guilt.

I did
end up telling my parents about Mrs. Davis – omitting a choice word or two –
just in case they happen to run in to her somewhere as well.  They were not
impressed to say the least.  My mother wanted to call her immediately and give
her a piece of her mind.  I begged her not to.  Who wants to make things
worse?  She eventually agreed, but made no promises if she saw the woman in
person.

Dane
and I have only discussed the “Incident” once, the day after it happened.  It
was a brief conversation.

“Do you
want to talk about yesterday?” he asked me.

“Not
really.”  I continued to empty the beverage cart.

“You’re
okay with it then?”

“Yep. 
Already forgotten.”

“Good. 
I’ll fake amnesia too.”

After
that, I had worried that he might start acting differently around me, but my
worries were unfounded.  He kept up the same old Dane routine.  Either he had
truly pushed it out of his mind or he was a great actor.

The
only unresolved factor regarding the “Incident” was James.  He hasn’t been back
to visit me since the morning of his birthday; which, as much as I hate to admit
it, makes it easier to bury what happened in my subconscious.  But, I still
wrestle with whether or not to tell him when I do see him.  On one hand, I want
to vent my frustrations regarding his parents and find out how long he’s been
lying to me about their acceptance of me in his life.  But on the other hand, I
don’t want to cause trouble.  What does it matter if his family hates me now? 
Would I like to vindicate myself?  Sure.  Will it solve anything?  No.

And
then there’s the matter of telling him what happened at Dane’s…

I sigh
as the thoughts that have plagued me for the last week swirl around and around
in my head.  I’m not looking forward to it, but I’m going to have to tell James
everything.  I don’t want to pull a Rebecca scenario.

My cell
vibrates in my pocket, interrupting my thoughts.  It’s Shel.

“Hey.”

“Uncle
Tom died this morning.”  Her voice is monotone and void of any real feeling.

“Oh,
Shel, I’m sorry.”

“Well,
the good thing is that it’s over and he’s out of pain,” she sighs.

“How’s
your mom?”

“She’s
doing well enough.  She’s on auto pilot right now.”

“How
long will it take to make arrangements?  When is the funeral?”

“He
didn’t want a funeral or a memorial, so that part is easy,” she tells me.  “We
do need to finish going through his things.  We’d already started last week
when he was moved to the hospital.”

“Ugh.”

She
suddenly perks up.  “But the good news is I’m coming home next week regardless!”

“Sweet! 
How’d you talk your mom into that?”

“It’s
getting expensive with the both of us staying out here and most of the
paperwork stuff is taken care of,” she says.  “Plus, we’ve already got a renter
ready for Uncle Tom’s place.”

I hear
someone ask her a question in the background.  Shel responds to them, “No, not
now.  Hold on.”  She returns to me.  “Listen, I have to go.  But my flight is
already booked, and I’ll be home for the Fourth of July.  Ask for it off now; I
want all of us to get together.  It’ll be fun.”  She sounds excited.

“’Kay. 
Just let me know.”

“I
will.”  I hear the person in the background again.  “Gotta go.  Can’t wait to
see you!”

“Me
too.  Talk to you soon.”  I smile as I hang up.  I’ve really missed having her
around.

“Why
are you grinning like that?” Dane asks when he returns to the counter.

“Shel’s
coming home next week, for good.”

“Oh
thank God!” he exclaims.  “I can’t take anymore of Matt’s whining!”

I
laugh.  “He’s that bad?”

Dane
rolls his eyes and exaggerates his nod.

“When
did he turn into such a girl?”

He
laughs.  “Memorial Day weekend.”

“Shel
wants us all to get together for the Fourth,” I say.  “I told her to let me
know the plans.”

“Right,”
Dane says, then hesitates.  “Maybe it should just be the two of them?  I’m not
down for watching the Matt-Shel love fest.”  He grimaces.

I make
a face too.  “Yeah, ick.”  I pause to think.  “I doubt I’ll be able to get out
of it though; I haven’t seen her since the birthday party.”

“Hey,
that reminds me.  I’ve been meaning to ask you about that.”

“About
what?”

“What
the heck went down between you and that girl?  She looked terrified of you
before you left.”

Oh,
that.  I haven’t told anyone about that.  When Shel had asked, I managed to
distract her with questions about her and Matt’s night together.  I weigh my
options – keep it locked up tight or discuss it with Dane?  It would be nice to
get an impartial opinion on the matter.

“If I
tell you, will you promise me that you won’t say anything to Matt or Shel?  I
don’t feel like fending off a ton of questions.”

Dane leans
against the counter and raises his hand.  “Scout’s honor.”

I take
a deep breath.  “The girl knew James, but didn’t know who I was.  I didn’t know
her either,” I share with him.  “She told me that she and James really
connected on the last night he was alive, that they’d met up at a bar.”

Dane
wasn’t expecting this and his eyes grow wide.  He frowns, but says nothing.  I
imagine his opinion of James heading south.

“James
and I…we’d had a fight that night,” I confess, as to defend James’ reason to go
out without me.  “Anyway, he went out with some guys, and she was at this bar. 
She had had a couple of classes with him and they started talking.  Turns out
they talked most of the night.  She started to spill some personal information
and got upset.”  Suddenly, I feel like I’m trashing James’ reputation.  I tame
down the story.  “James consoled her and it….” I pause.  “It really meant a lot
to her.  When she found out who I was she felt bad for telling me, that’s all.”

Dane is
still frowning.  “And?”

“And what?”

“There’s
more to this story,” he guesses.  “Go back and fill in the parts you left out.”

How
does he know?  I recall James’ voice –
“You’ve never been a very good liar.”

“His
words really helped her,” I shrug and try to play it off.  “She was grateful.” 
Extremely grateful.  I can’t help myself as I grimace.

Dane
looks as if he’s trying to figure me out.  He regards me for a moment, then
asks, “That’s all?”

“That’s
all,” I say and try to end the conversation by looking around for something to
do.  I grab a rag and decide to wipe down the counter.  For whatever reason, I
don’t want Dane to think less of James.  Telling him was a bad idea.

“Hmmm. 
With the way she was looking at you, I expected a juicier story.”

“Sorry
to disappoint you.”  I concentrate on wiping the clean counter, avoiding eye
contact.

Dane
opens the register drawer and starts to break open some rolled coins.  “That’s
too bad,” he says casually.  “I was hoping you’d give me a reason to dislike
her.  She was cute.  I got her number.”

I stop
wiping.  I clench the rag in my fist and slowly turn to look at him.  “You did
not.”  I’m not amused and it shows.  He knows he struck a nerve.

“Oh, so
you don’t like her?”

“I
never said I did.”

His
eyes light up.  “What’s your problem with her exactly?”

I know
what he’s up to.  He’s baiting me.  “I don’t have a problem with her,” I say
through clenched teeth and go back to cleaning invisible dirt.

“Oh,
okay.  Good.  Maybe I’ll invite her to the Fourth of July thing,” he eggs me
on.

“You do
that,” I say sarcastically.  I’m not falling for this.

He shuts
the register drawer.  “I wonder if she still needs consoling,” he pretends to
ponder.

“Humph,”
I grunt.  “Go ahead.  Knock yourself out.”

“Not
that I’d be able to do it as well as James did,” he concedes.  “It sounds like
I could learn a thing or two from that man.”

I stop
wiping and glare at him.  “Stop it.”

“Stop
what?” he asks innocently.  “I’m just thinking out loud.”

“Well
shut up,” I snap.

“Whoa. 
Touchy.”  He pauses for a moment.  “Is it that time of the month?”

Seriously? 
He did not go there!  “Fine!  You win.  I don’t like her.  Satisfied?”

“Maybe. 
Tell me why.”

“Why
what?”  I throw the rag against the counter in frustration.  “Why don’t I like
her?  Do I have to have one reason?”

He
raises an eyebrow.  “Ah, so there’s more than one reason?” 

So help
me…

I take
a few steps forward so I’m inches from him.  If I could punch him with any
effect I would.  “Stop pushing me!” I hiss at him and I mean it.

“Why
won’t you tell me?” He cocks his head to the side.  There is no way he’s afraid
of me.

“Because!” 
I look around.  There are only two golfers in the main area and they’re
watching TV.  “I’m done discussing this!”

Dane
looks around too.  “I don’t think they’re paying us much attention,” he
smirks.  “Lame excuse.  Keep talking.”

“Why is
this so important to you?”

“It
wasn’t important until you made it important.  I can tell when you’re lying, and
I don’t like being lied to.”

I
clench my fists and stare him straight in the eye.  “He kissed her, okay?  He
took her out to his car, he hugged her, he kissed her, and he gave her the
shirt off his back!  Happy?” I can feel my chest rise and fall under my labored
breathing.

Dane’s
face falls.  “No,” he says quietly.

I shake
my head in frustration and walk away from him.  I snatch the rag off the
counter and walk over to the sink to wash it.

“Emma…”

“What?”
I snap.

He walks
up behind me.  “I didn’t get her number.”

I
already figured that.  “That makes me feel so much better,” I say sarcastically,
while I wring the rag to death under the faucet.

“What
James did was lousy.”

“You
think?”  I turn the faucet off.  Giving the rag one last good twist, I turn to
face him.

“No, I
know,” Dane says.  “It sucks.”

“You
got that right,” I scowl and walk around him to start wiping the other end of
the counter.

“Would
you stop doing that?”  He follows me.

I scrub
the clean counter with the same force I would use to scrub a dirty dish.

“You’re
going to take the finish off the laminate,” he says and reaches out, grabbing
my wrist, stilling my hand.  I look up at him annoyed.

“Don’t
hold him up to be a martyr just because he’s gone.”

I stare
at him.

“You
can be mad at someone and still love them.”

Don’t I
know it.

Dane
releases my wrist.  “I’m sorry I pushed you.  It’s getting harder for me to
stop myself when it comes to you.”

I’m
surprised by his admission, and I don’t know what to say.

Dane backs
away from me.  “For what it’s worth, I don’t like her either.  And she’s not
that cute.  In fact, she’s hideous.  Frankenstein-esque.”

I can’t
help it as a snort escapes.  “Don’t be mean,” I admonish him.  Then I laugh.
“Frankenstein-esque?  That’s the best you can do?”

He
smiles and shrugs.  “It’s the first thing I could think of.”

I
relax.  “Sorry for being difficult.”

“What’s
new?  You’re always difficult.  You’ve been difficult since the day I met you.”

I pretend
to be offended.  “My apologies.”

A
golfer approaches the counter, momentarily distracting us.  “Don’t apologize,”
he says as he steps backward toward the register.  “I enjoy a challenge.”

A challenge? 
“What does that mean?” I ask.

Dane is
interrupted by the customer and I never get an answer.

Shel
decides she wants a pool party on the day of her homecoming.  Although it’s a
typical American thing to do for the Fourth of July, I wish she had chosen
dinner or a movie or anything else that doesn’t involve me wearing a swimsuit. 
I search through my drawer and pull out the two suits I own and sigh.  I can’t
remember the last time I wore one of these.  I hold in my hands a bright green
bikini and a sky blue one-piece with a white swirl design.  Maybe I can get by
with an old pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

“I’d
choose the green one.”

I whirl
around to see James standing on the opposite side of my bed with his arms
crossed.

“But
that’s just my opinion,” he smiles and winks at me.

My
heart nearly bursts.  A huge grin breaks out on my face and I drop the suits. 
I run around the bed to him.

He
wraps his arms around me.  “Hi,” he says softly.

I hug
him and place my head against his chest, sighing contentedly.  The cool feeling
of his body radiates through me.

“Happy
to see me?” he murmurs.

“Yes. 
Very.”

“I’m
sorry it’s been so long.”

I raise
my head and smile up at him.  “You’re here now.”

“I am,”
he smiles and leans down to kiss me.  When we part, he rests his forehead
against mine.  “I snuck away,” he confesses.

I look
up at him and frown.  “You did what?”

“I had
to see you.”

Worry
creases my brow.  “What if Garrett finds out?”

He
shrugs.  “This,” he kisses me again, “is worth it.”

I’m
still concerned.  “What if you get caught and he decides to keep you away
longer?”

James
shakes his head.  “He can’t keep me away forever.”

Raising
my hand, I trace the outline of his jaw with my finger.  “I don’t want to
chance another punishment or whatever our separation is.”

He
gives me a crooked smile.

“Do I
amuse you?”

“I’m
just happy you still want me around.”

“Of
course I still want you around,” I say sincerely.  “I want you around me
always.  That’s why I don’t think you should test your teacher.”

James’
smile fades slightly.  “I needed to see you.  I won’t stay too long.  Will that
make you happy?”

“No.  I
want you to stay.  But I don’t want you in any trouble either.”

James
releases me, running his fingers down my arms.  “Have I missed anything
exciting since I’ve been gone?  Fill me in.”

I study
our hands, so I know where to place mine in his without passing through his
form.  I don’t want to have the ‘Your-Mother-Thinks-I’m-A-Whore’ conversation
right now, especially since our time is limited.  I’m so happy to see him; I
don’t want to ruin it with crazy talk.  I opt to discuss something else.

“Shel
is home from Arizona.  She wants to have a pool party to celebrate,” I squish
up my nose, making a face.

“I take
it you’d rather not,” he grins.  Then his smile fades.  “Let me guess who else
will be at this party.”

Shoot. 
How do I diffuse this?

Honesty. 
That’s how.

I look
him in the eye.  “If you’re referring to Dane, yes, he will be there, but late. 
He has to work.  And you know Matt and Shel are all over each other,” I make
the squish-nose face again.

James
gives me half a smile.  “Still?”

I relax
a little bit.  “Still.  She just got back.  I’ll be the third wheel,” I
complain.

“Then
don’t go,” James says, like I should have thought of that sooner.

I give
him a look that tells him that’s not an option.  “It’s Shel.  I have to go. 
Plus, I haven’t seen her in a really long time.  I’ve missed her.”

James
moves to raise my hands and I lift them, since he can’t do it for me.  He
kisses my knuckles.  “You’ll have fun,” he says.  “Although it would be easier
for me if you two would just have a girls’ night out or something.”

“Because
it’s all about you,” I tease.

He
gives me a huge smile.  “Damn right.”

“Come
here,” I laugh and move my hand through his to wrap it around his neck.  He
knows what I want and he leans forward to kiss me again.  His other hand leaves
mine and I feel it wrap around my waist.  I move closer to him, enjoying this
time we have together.

James
lips leave mine and he plants another kiss on my forehead.  “Can you blame me
for sneaking out?” he whispers.

I shake
my head no.  “Can’t you bribe Garrett with something to make him release you
from house arrest?” I ask as he runs his fingers up and down my back, tracing
my spine.  I shiver, but not because I’m cold.

James
laughs.  He knows the effect he has on me.  “I wish.”

“When
do you think you’ll be able to come back and stay for awhile?”

“Garrett
recognizes my hard work and commitment.  I’ll have a talk with him soon.”

“Like
today?” I grin at him.

“Impatient
are we?”  He raises an eyebrow, but I can tell my question makes him happy. 
Then his expression changes.  “For you, anything,” he says seriously.  “I’ll go
talk to him.”

“Really?”
I ask surprised.

He nods
and kisses me quickly before releasing me.  “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“You’re
leaving?” I pout.

“Do you
want me to talk to him about us or not?”

“Yes,”
I respond without hesitation.

James
smiles.  “I love you.”

“I love
you too.”

I stare
at him as he fades away.  It makes me feel hollow.  I wrap my arms around
myself and pray that his conversation with Garrett goes well.

I walk
back over to where I dropped my swimsuits.  I hold one in each hand, deciding
which one to wear, then give up and toss them on the bed.

“Oh,
hey, Emma?”

James’
voice is behind me.  I turn around, but cannot see him.  I look into the room
and ask, “Yes?”

“I
changed my mind.  I like the blue one better.”

I roll
my eyes sarcastically.  “That’s only because you know where I’m going.”

He
chuckles.

I
lean over and pluck the blue suit off the bed.  “Then blue it is!”

Turns
out, blue it isn’t.  When I was putting the suit on, I heard a loud rip as I
pulled the left strap over my shoulder.  It’s just my luck that the seam would
split and leave a huge gaping hole that exposed most of my side.  I had no
choice but to put on the bikini.  There was no comment from James; hopefully,
he was in a deep, convincing conversation with Garrett.

I now
sit on Matt’s pool deck, still dressed in my shorts and t-shirt, brooding about
wearing the green suit underneath. Not necessarily because James would
disapprove, but because I’m incredibly self-conscious.  I am excited to be here
with Shel, though.  I think I’ve missed her more than I realized.

“You
can’t get a decent tan that way you know.”  Shel’s lying on a lounge chair
beside me on her stomach, her pink bikini straps undone to prevent tan lines.

“I’m
self-conscious, okay?” I defend myself.  “A good tan is not that important to
me anyway.”

Shel
squints at me because she’s facing the sun.  “Just take off your damn clothes,”
she chastises.  “Be a girl with me.”

I give
her a look.

“There’s
no one here, but me and Matt,” she grins.  “And he’s taken.”

I roll
my eyes and sigh.  “Fine,” I huff as I stand and pull my shirt over my head.  I
drop it on the pool deck and drop my shorts on top of it.  I plop back down in
my lounge chair.  I stretch out and lean back, closing my eyes to the blazing
sun.

“
Thank
you
,” she says dramatically.

I open
one eye and stick out my tongue out at her.

“Where
are Matt’s parents?” I ask.

“At a
veterinary conference in Chicago.  They’ll be gone till Saturday.”  She gives
me a sneaky smile.

“Ew,”
is all I can say.

“Ladies,”
I hear Matt approach.  I turn to look in his direction as he walks up the deck
steps with two drinks, one in each hand.  He steps up to us.  “For you,” he
hands me something frozen with a straw.

“What’s
this?”

“Daiquiri,”
he smiles as he holds one out to Shel.

“Awww,
you remembered,” Shel says in a mushy tone.  She reaches behind her back and
starts to tie her straps so she can sit up.

“I got
it.”  Matt hands me Shel’s drink so he can help tie up her suit.  He’s all
thumbs with the small strings, but manages to get them secured.

I watch
in amusement as I take a sip of my drink.  Yum.  Strawberry.

“Thanks
babe,” Shel says as she sits up.  Matt’s still leaning over her and she kisses
him.  What I thought would be a quick kiss turns into something deeper.

I choke
on my drink.

They
both turn to look at me.  “Are you all right?” Shel asks.

I try
to clear my throat and nod at the same time.  “You two...it’s going to take…” I
cough into my arm, “a minute to get used to…” cough, cough.  “Seeing you
together,” I manage to finish.  Cough.

“Wrong
tube?” Matt smiles as he takes Shel’s drink from me and hands it to her.

I hit
my chest with my fist and clear my throat again.  “Yeah.”

Matt checks
his watch.  “I’m going to go throw the chicken on the grill,” he nods toward
the patio.  “It’s going on five; Dane should be off work any minute.  That way we
can eat when he gets here.”

Shel
nods as she adjusts the back of her chair to stay upright.  “Whatever you say,”
she beams up at him.

Matt
rubs her knee as he stands and heads off the deck.  “Don’t think I’m not
throwing you in later,” he teases Shel over his shoulder.

She
says nothing, and I look at her.  She’s absentmindedly sipping her drink.  “What,
no snide comment?” I ask.

“I
meant you Emma,” Matt laughs as he glances at me before descending the stairs.

“Ha
ha.  Very funny,” I say sarcastically.  Cough.

“So
how’d you get today off so easy?” Shel asks me.

I
shrug.  “I asked and I received.  Why?”

She
looks at me like there’s something she knows but I don’t.  She sips her drink. 
“No reason.”

I pin
her with my eyes.  “What?”

“Nothing!”
she protests.

“Tell
me!”

“I just
think it’s funny that the golf course owner’s son is stuck working on a holiday
and you’re not, that’s all.”  She takes another drink.

I
frown.  “Are you telling me Dane is working today because of me?”

She
shrugs nonchalantly.

“You do
know.  Tell me.”

She
sighs sheepishly.  “Matt might have mentioned something about Dane volunteering
to work today, so you wouldn’t have to.  Don’t tell them I said anything.”

“You’re
the one who brought it up!” I scowl.  Why did he do that?  Now I’m going to owe
him.  One more thing to add to the list of nice things he’s done for me.  I
take a long sip of my daiquiri.  I may need more than one of these.

We sit
in silence for a few minutes, sipping our cocktails.  Water laps at the side of
the pool, and Katy Perry sings about being in love with an alien on the radio.

“So,”
Shel looks at me, her face serious.  “What is going on between you two?”

I stop
mid-sip.  “Us two who?”

“Emma!”
she groans and swings her legs off the lounge, so her whole body is facing me. 
“You know.  You and Dane.”

“Nothing!” 
I respond without hesitation.

She
eyes me suspiciously.  “I think I believe you,” she murmurs.  “I told Matt if
anything were going on you would tell me.  And you haven’t.  Yet.”

I look
at her incredulously.  “There is no ‘yet’!  There won’t be a ‘yet’!”

She
sips her drink again.  “You two have been spending a lot of time together.”

“Yeah,
at
work
,” I emphasize.  “And we all know the reason he works there,
don’t we?”

Shel’s
eyes get wide.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  She tries to look
innocent and turns around to put her feet back up on the lounge.

I
remember my promise to Matt, the one where I wouldn’t tell Shel I knew about
the favor she had asked of him, thus resulting in Dane’s Bay Woods employment. 
I’ve already said too much.  I decide to let the topic die.  I take another long
pull on my drink.  Something bothers me.

“Do you
really think I would jump into a relationship so soon after James?” I ask her. 
Unbidden, Mrs. Davis’ voice pops into my head. 
“Whore!”