Love or Justice (21 page)

Dante looked at her with a small smile. He watched her tuck a strand of sunshine laced hair behind her ear as she reached for a few more apples. He wanted to reach out to her, to touch those silken strands. Her face glowed in the sunlight of the late afternoon. Her eyes were the color of the sky at dusk as she concentrated on reaching those last few pieces of fruit. He swallowed, his mouth dry as sand. He wanted to touch her so badly his skin tingled from it.

“And why is that?” His voice sounded husky in his ears. He cleared his throat.

Laurie looked him over with half-veiled eyes and a coy smile.

“Because I don’t.” He moved closer to her, reaching up just above her head to take hold of an apple. Then he met her gaze.

“The armed forces, police work, and the Marshals Service aren’t that easy on relationships. I’ve done all three.”

“How many?” Laurie crossed her arms, doubt in her eyes.

“I’m telling the truth. I’ve had two girlfriends. The longest relationship I had was for two years. What about you?”

Laurie jutted out her chin. She looked him up and down, trying to decide if she believed him or not.

“Three.” She uncrossed her arms. “Two years was about the longest for me, too.”

They stared at each other. Electricity passed between them, a friction created by wanting to kiss and knowing they shouldn’t. He reached down, brushing a leaf away from her hair. Then he took a step back. Dante knew he wouldn’t be able to resist her much longer. He walked over to their bin and laid the apple in. When he turned back around, she stood in the same spot. She wore an amused smile. He smiled back.

He spotted his parents coming toward them, so he nodded to Laurie who turned around.

“I think we’ve about had it today kids.” Emma clasped her hands together.

“Okay! I think we’ve got plenty.” Laurie gestured to their line of baskets.

When Emma drew closer, she could see full, heavy baskets loaded with apples.

“Oh, my goodness! You two have been quite busy. Look at all they’ve picked, Albert!” Emma grabbed his shoulder.

“I might have to keep you two around to finish the apple harvest.” Albert surveyed their handiwork.

“We’d be happy to help.” Laurie shrugged. “It was a lot of fun.”

“Don’t be too happy to help. We won’t get a day’s rest if you start telling them that.” Dante nudged her.

Laurie slapped him on the arm.

“Ignore him. We’re happy to help.” Laurie tossed a final apple into the nearest bin. Dante rolled his eyes.

“Great. Now you can carry your own apple baskets.” Dante gave her a devilish grin.

“I will then.” Laurie jutted out her chin.

“Dante don’t you even dare!” Emma wagged her finger at him.

“No, I can take them back. He can just stay here.” Laurie strutted over to one of the baskets, but it took a couple of tries to get it off the ground.

“Give me that before you hurt yourself.” Dante closed the couple of steps between them. He lifted the basket up from the bottom.

“Just put one of the baskets in the truck, the rest can go in the barn. Why don’t both of you carry it back before you both hurt yourself?” Emma grimaced as the basket almost slipped out of their fingers. Dante nodded.

“She has a point.” Laurie shifted her grip on the basket. Dante laughed. They carried the heavy basket back to the truck.

The next basket they took into the barn, where Emma and Albert were waiting. There were several large wooden crates for the apples. Each side was almost long enough for Laurie to stretch fingertip to fingertip, and they reached up to her hips. Dante and Laurie set the basket down in front of the crate, so Emma and Albert could transfer the apples from basket to bin. It took a few trips, but soon the surplus apples were all in the crate, the barn locked, the apple baskets were back in the truck, and they were all driving back to the house for dinner.

Dinner was a full roast, with mashed fingerling potatoes and corn on the cob. Dante spent a little time on his parents aging computer, trying to get it to work, while Laurie watched TV with Emma and Albert. It was early when Laurie and Dante both excused themselves to go up to bed.

“That was a great day.” Laurie sighed as they entered her room. “I loved the orchard.”

“Yeah, that was amazing.” He grabbed her by the elbow, pulling Laurie back toward him from the dresser.

She giggled.

Dante turned her around and kissed her. The kiss turned deep, passionate. Before long, they were lying beside one another, shimmering from their very languid lovemaking. Dante buried them both under the covers. They drifted off, exhausted, peaceful, and happy.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Dante woke up disoriented. He forgot where he was, and why, until he realized Laurie lay across his chest. He held her for a while, stroking her back. When the sunlight grew to a level he could no longer ignore, he got up. He slipped out from underneath his lover’s sleeping form. He went to take a shower. When he came back, she was still fast asleep, curled on her side. He kissed her on the forehead with a smile, and decided to venture downstairs. When he entered the kitchen, his father sat at the table, reading the paper.

“Morning. Where’s Mom?”

“Upstairs.”

Dante nodded and headed to the cupboard to grab a coffee mug. He reached for the coffee pot. He was about to pour when his father’s voice made him pause.

“How long have you been sleeping with her?”

Dante froze. His heartbeat did a triple step. Blood rushed in his head. How did his father find out? How did he know? Dante steeled himself for the conversation he’d dreaded since he got off the plane. He finished pouring his coffee.

“Why does it matter?”

“Did you start sleeping with her before you started the assignment or after?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He turned toward his father slowly. Albert wore a stern expression Dante was all too familiar with. Dante stayed by the counter, determined not to let his father bully him.

“Son, you have responsibilities you swore—” Albert began.

“I know what I swore. I know what oath I took.” Dante slammed his coffee cup down on the counter.

That was all it took for Dante’s blood to turn from ice water to lava. His hands curled into fists, and his jaw clenched. His muscles vibrated with unspoken anger.

“You could lose your job. Your career!” Albert rose from the table. “Everything you’ve worked for!”

“It’s my choice, Dad. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but now it’s my choice.”

“If this gets you fired, every case you’ve ever been involved with could come into question.” Albert placed his hands on his hips.

“I’m not a cop anymore. I don’t do casework. If you even knew anything about my life then you would know I only do protection.”

“You’re not protecting a witness if you’re sleeping with them! When your emotions are involved, it compromises your work. You know this Dante.”

“Look, I didn’t mean for this to happen. But it did, and I’m glad. I wouldn’t take it back for anything in the world. I care about her.” Dante knew he was shouting, but he couldn’t control it.

“Then you shouldn’t have taken this kind of risk. What happens when the agency finds out? They won’t let you protect her. What happens when someone else has to ensure her safety from Kaimi?”

Dante fumed silently. His father hit a mark, a mark he hadn’t even thought of before. He knew his father was right, but he couldn’t give him the satisfaction of admitting it.

“You were supposed to be the best man for this job, Dante. You were supposed to protect her. You might as well have tied her up and delivered her to Kaimi yourself. Now you’ve destroyed your career as well. Everything you’ve worked for!”

“You didn’t take that risk, Albert?” Emma appeared at the hallway entrance. “You didn’t put your career on the line?”

Albert flinched and turned toward her.

His father recovered so quickly Dante thought he might have imagined it.

Albert clenched his fists. He set his jaw a fraction of an inch higher in defiance.

“That was different, Emma.”

“How is it any different? How is it any different at all?” Emma entered the room, crossing in front of her son like a mother bear protecting her cub.

Dante furrowed his brow, his gaze turning from one to the other. Albert’s eyes followed her, his face darkening in anger.

“Tell me, Albert, are you yelling at your son or a younger version of you?”

“This is NOT the same thing.” Albert backed up a step.

“It’s exactly the same. You fell in love with a woman you weren’t supposed to be with. How did that end?”

Albert let out a cry of disgust and began to pace.

“He hardly knows this woman!” Albert gestured to Dante.

“You hardly knew me!” Emma moved toward him.

Emma stood tall, her shoulders thrown back. Her eyes challenged her husband to dare contest her. Her face, lightly wrinkled and tan, held a gaunt tension as she closed on her pacing husband.

“Wait, what’s going on here? What are you two talking about?” Dante folded his arms across his chest.

“Your father and I were working together when we met. It was against agency policy, but it happened anyway, didn’t it Albert?” Emma didn’t even look at Dante when she answered.

“It’s not at all the same!” Albert spoke from the corner of the room opposite them. He had run out of room to retreat. Emma kept closing in.

“No, of course not. Unlike your son, you started an affair with one of your subordinates! Now don’t you think that’s just a tad bit worse?” Emma put her hands on her hips.

“She’s supposed to be under his protection.” Albert stood his ground.

“Wait, wait.” Dante pointed to his mother. “You were a secretary.”

“Yes, for many men who were friends with terrorists. I handled all of their calls, and their contacts. Why do you think I never brought you into work with me?” Emma tossed him a sharp look over her shoulder. “Albert, do you really think you are in any position to chastise him?”

“He lied to us.” Albert pouted. He stood in the corner, defeated. His fists hung meekly uncurled at his sides. His shoulders rounded in toward his chest, as he stared at his wife with a pained expression.

“Oh, he did no such thing. He just didn’t tell us everything. He told us what he thought we needed to know. That’s no more or less than what you would have done.” Emma raised her eyebrows at him. “Besides, all I had to do was take one look at her and I knew. If you were even paying half as much attention to your only child, you would have noticed the way he looks at her a lot sooner.”

“You knew?” Dante shifted on his feet.

“Honey, I’m your mother. Of course I knew.” Emma glanced at him askance.

“He’ll lose his job, Emma.” Albert lifted his shoulders.

“You didn’t lose yours. That will just be a decision the Marshals Service will have to make. Not you. Now apologize to him.” Emma nodded at Dante.

“I will not—” Albert started.

“Apologize to him right now.” Emma enunciated every syllable. Her voice was a low, hissing rumble Dante had never heard before.

Albert stared at his wife.

Emma stared back, not even blinking, her hands on her hips.

Albert sighed.

“I’m sorry.” Albert ran his hand down his face.

Those two tiny words hit Dante like gunfire. His body shuddered from the shock. His father had never apologized to anyone for anything before. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“I accept,” Dante choked out.

“Good.” She pivoted on her heel and moved toward the stove.

Dante didn’t move. He wasn’t sure what had happened. It took him a minute to realize Laurie was hovering outside the doorway. She caught his eye. He walked over to her with halting steps.

“Hey, how long have you been standing there?” He touched her elbow.

“A while. I’m sorry,” she whispered back.

“No. It’s not your fault.” He placed his hands on her shoulders.

Her face contorted with embarrassment. She looked fresh and clean, with her face scrubbed and free of make-up. Her blonde hair was a tawny brown and dripping wet from the shower. In the soft morning light, she looked sweet enough to be his personal piece of heaven. He told his father he was glad that his relationship with Laurie had happened. That he cared about her. While that had been technically true, Dante realized it had been a vast understatement.

“Laurie, honey, you don’t need to hover outside the doorway,” Emma called from the stove. “Don’t you pay either of these men any mind.”

Laurie looked to Dante for help.

He placed his hand on the small of her back to lead her into the room.

Laurie took halting steps toward the coffee maker, and then realized she didn’t have a mug, so she tiptoed toward Emma to grab one from the cupboard.

“Laurie, what do you want for breakfast?” Emma turned toward her with forced cheerfulness.

“Whatever everyone else is having.” Laurie froze mid-way to the cupboard.

“How about some crepes? Do you know how to make them?” Emma gave her a smile.

“I haven’t made it since I was kid.” Laurie gave a nervous smile back.

“Oh, good. I’ll show you.” Emma plucked a bowl from the cabinet.

Dante saw Laurie relax as she breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down at the table. His father sat down across from him, looking weary. Dante almost felt sorry for him—almost. Dante stared into his coffee cup, lost in thought. He had just learned so much about his parents and their marriage. Now so much of his childhood made sense, the constant moving, the aliases, the secrecy, drilling him on what to do if a stranger approached him. His mind turned it over all through breakfast.

After breakfast, his parents asked if he and Laurie would work in the orchard for the day. They said they just weren’t able to handle harvesting apples and pears as well as they did with the berry season. That was the reason they said anyway. His mother gave them the keys to the other farmhouse. A little while later, Dante and Laurie were in the truck driving down the road.

“My mother was a spy.” Dante was trying to wrap his head around it.

“Well, it does make sense, I guess. But you wouldn’t ever identify her as one.” Laurie glanced at him. “I’m sorry I caused that fight with your dad.”

“It wasn’t your fault at all. It was him.”

“I know, but it was about me. I should have pushed you to tell him.”

“Would have been the exact same fight no matter which way it went. To have the nerve to tell me I shouldn’t be involved with you when that’s almost how he met Mom. I can’t believe that either.”

“He just doesn’t want you making the same mistakes he made.”

“What? Like finding the woman he married and not letting anyone else’s rules stand between them?”

Laurie laughed, giving him a small smile. “Didn’t know you were such a romantic rebel.”

“Guess it’s in my genes.” Dante smirked back at her.

Laurie laughed again.

Dante pulled up to the farmhouse. He switched off the truck engine. He sat, shaking his head for a couple of minutes.

“You told him you care about me.”

Dante smiled and turned to her.

“You heard that, huh?”

“Yes.”

He reached for her hand.

“Must have been the heat of the moment.” He looked her up and down.

“I care about you too.” She bit her lip, as if she wanted to say more.

Dante leaned forward, taking Laurie by the chin. He kissed her, slow and sweet. When he pulled back, he ran his fingers through her hair. It grabbed at his hand in damp tangles, but he didn’t care. Then he sighed.

“Come on,” he said finally. “Let’s go take care of these apples.”

She laughed, opening the car door. They grabbed the apple picker, heading out into the orchard with baskets in hand. They worked until well past noon, scooping up apples dangling from above. The sun was high. The day got warm enough to burn off the morning dew on the leaves of the trees. It was just turning into fall, and some of the apple tree leaves were beginning to yellow. As they walked back toward the farmhouse, Dante and Laurie could almost feel the seasons changing.

When they got to the front porch, Dante unlocked the door. They entered into a large sitting room that still had an assortment of antique wooden furniture. There were two matching end tables and a coffee table, all made out of deep mahogany, with ornate golden accents. The room was painted a light green, with dark green trim. To their right was the entrance to the hallway. They saw the base of the staircase leading to the second floor. At the back of the sitting room, a door led to the kitchen.

They headed toward the kitchen. The room had pristine, tiled floors with a blue and white pattern. There was an oak kitchen table in front of them, with six matching chairs. Beyond it, was a door leading to the back yard and several windows with views of the grape vineyard out back. The walls were painted a light blue with dark blue trim, which matched the floor tiles. To their right was an island in the center of a large kitchen. The island was tiled to match the floor, but the rest of the kitchen counter top was a polished oak, like the kitchen cabinets.

“This kitchen is so amazing.” Laurie sucked in a breath as she took it all in.

“Nicest kitchen I’ve ever seen.” Dante set their lunch down on the table. “Mom said their neighbors just remodeled it. They did a good job.”