The Homecoming (33 page)

“I’ve decided that deal isn’t going to work for me.”

“Oh?” Fortunately, that single syllable didn’t reveal the snap of nerves his statement caused.

“Here’s the deal.” The mattress sagged, just a bit, as he sat on the edge. “You and I aren’t teenagers anymore. We’re adults. Single, unattached adults who’ve shared the experience of being put through one hell of a crucible, and neither of us came out totally unscathed. But the thing is, we’re both stronger for the experience.”

When she opened her mouth to comment on that, he put his finger against her lips. “Can we at least agree on that?”

Since it was exactly what she’d been about to do, Kara nodded.

“When I kissed you? Out on the beach? The night of the prom?”

“The pity kiss.” Even with all that had happened, the memories had kept slipping back, like a thief from the mist, ever since she’d been called out here.

“Okay, there’s one thing we need to get straight. Sure, that pregnancy test coming up with the little pink plus sign put a hitch in your plans. And you had all the reasons in the world to be scared and worried, and I felt like hell about that.

“So, was I sorry for you? Sure. But it never was a damn pity kiss. It may have started out as an impulse to make you feel better, but I wanted you, Kara. I wanted you then, and I want you now. Before you were off-limits, because you belonged to Jared.”

She thought about telling him that she hadn’t
belonged
to anyone. But it would be a lie. There were times she couldn’t even recognize that love-struck girl she’d been back then.

“But now he’s gone, and I’m goddamn sorry about that; really I am. But there’s nothing either one of us can do about it. And the way I look at it, nine years is a hell of a long time to wonder about how things could be between us.”

“You’ve been thinking about me for nine years?”

“Not really.”

“Well, that’s brutally honest.”

“You were off- limits,” he reminded her again. “The problem with carrying a torch is after a while it burns down and scorches your fingers. So, yeah, sure, I wished you a happy life with Conway and moved on. But now you’re back home, and I’m back, and there’s nothing in my way, so I intend to have you.”

She angled her chin. “You think it would be that easy?”

“Hell, sugar, nothing about you has
ever
been easy.”

“I feel the need to point out that your attitude is un-attractively sexist.”

“I’ll cop to that. You can also throw in primitive and chauvinistic while you’re at it. But it’s also real. . . .

“There’s this SEAL philosophy we all memorize in BUD/S training: ‘I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I am
never
out of the fight.’ ”

“I wasn’t aware we were
in
a fight.” She rubbed her forehead, where the cut skin beneath the butterfly bandage was already starting to pull.

“Do you have anything on under that robe?” he asked.

He couldn’t be thinking about having sex. Now?

“Your T-shirt. Why?”

“Because I thought I’d help you out of it so you can take another pill and go back to sleep.”

“I don’t want another pill.”

“Tough. Your body heals better when it’s not having to fight pain.”

“You can’t let me oversleep. I have to take Trey to school in the morning.”

“Leave that to me. You need a day off.”

“I’m the sheriff.”

“Who has three deputies.”

“Two are green as spring grass. And John—”

“Is coming home tonight. I talked with him earlier,” he tacked on at her sharp look. “If a major crime wave hits town, I’ll let you know.”

“Excuse me for considering Danny being shot in the head and my being attacked sort of a crime wave for Shelter Bay.”

“All the more reason for you to be in full fighting form when you go back to work. So, here’s the deal . . . You’re staying here if I have to tie you to the bedposts.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“You’re right.” His grin was quick and wicked and managed to cause that now familiar sexual tug that, just for a moment, overcame the pain. “But I gotta admit it’s an intriguing scenario.”

It was so simple for him. So easy. He’d always been a wizard with flirtation. She’d watched as he’d flash that sexy smile that lit up his neon eyes, causing females from eight to eighty to fall under his spell. She’d also watched as he’d moved from girl to girl, yet he’d somehow always managed to stay friendly with his former girlfriends.

Her senior year, there were also those girls who’d formed various popular cliques who’d never have given a shy bookworm like her the time of day suddenly wanting to befriend her. Having spent three years being ignored by those very same girls, Kara didn’t need her four-point-six GPA to realize they saw her as a way to Sax.

“I can’t think about this now.”

“You’re right again. You’ve had a crappy day and my timing, as usual with you, sucks.”

His hands moved to her waist and untied the sash; then he boosted her into a sitting position while he helped her out of it. Although the oversize T-shirt covered her to midthigh, she felt uncomfortably exposed.

He pulled the sheet over her, then went into the bathroom. She heard the water run, a pill being shaken out of the plastic bottle. Then he returned with the glass of water, which he held out to her with the white oval tablet.

“I hate this,” she muttered, nevertheless swallowing the pill.

“And I hate this for you.”

He bent toward her. Surely he wasn’t going to kiss her? Not when she looked like the Bride of Frankenstein? When her son might come bursting in at any moment?

“Get some rest.” His lips brushed the lobe of her ear. Which was just about the only part of her that didn’t hurt. “You know what they say about things always looking better in the morning.”

Although she knew firsthand that wasn’t always true, Kara found herself comforted—not just by his words, but by his strong and steady presence.

“Could you do me a favor?” she asked.

“Anything,” he responded promptly.

“Could you stop by the house in the morning, after taking Trey to school, and see if the box of cold cases I picked up from John is still in the closet of my bedroom? It’s upstairs at the end of the hall.”

“You’re thinking whoever was in the house was looking for it?”

“It didn’t occur to me earlier,” she admitted. “But yeah. It makes sense.”

“Especially if one of those cases has anything to do with that skull and bone.”

“Exactly.”

This time his smile was slow and warmed her all over. “You always were one smart cookie. Want some help looking through them?”

“No. You really need to work on getting Bon Temps ready for Cole’s wedding reception. Trey and I have already taken up too much of your time.”

“Since it’s possible that pill’s starting to kick in, I’m going to assume it’s clouding your thinking and not tell you how ridiculous that statement is. But don’t worry. I hung out with the state cops for a while before catching up with you at the hospital, and there didn’t seem to be any sign the guy had gone upstairs. I think you surprised him by coming home when you did.”

“Well, that’s a silver lining.”

“Yeah. So I’ll retrieve the box and bring it back here.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Now get some sleep.” He took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle, comforting squeeze. The meds the doctor had given her were really, really good, because she was already beginning to float as he left the room.

There were two of him now, blurring in and out as he stopped in the doorway, looked back over his shoulder, and said, “You’ll dream of me.”

Was that a threat?

Or a promise?

Whichever, she considered through the mist clouding her mind, he was probably right.

“Remind Trey it’s lights-out at nine thirty. And even if the power does come back on, there’s no TV watching the last thirty wind-down minutes, though he is allowed to read.”

“Lights out. No TV. Reading allowed.” Sax snapped a salute. “Got it.”

“And don’t forget to make him brush his teeth before going to bed. He’s been cavity-free. I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Want me to stand over him while he flosses, too?”

“I may be drugged,” she said, “but I can recognize sarcasm when I hear it.”

Sax’s only response to that was a laugh.

Then he blew her a kiss and left the room.

It was only after he’d closed the wood plank door that she reached up, caught the air kiss in her hand, and touched it to her lips, which, although it was undoubtedly just her imagination, aided by prescription drugs, seemed to warm.

Kara didn’t know how long she’d been sleeping when she woke again, needing to get rid of all the tea and soup Sax had pushed down her earlier. Although a quick check of the lamp showed the power was still out, the storm had passed, leaving behind a full moon that lit the room nearly as bright as day.

She went into the bathroom, took care of business; then, checking her watch that was lying on the bedside table next to her broken wedding band, she saw that there were still five minutes left to say good night to Trey before lights-out.

She walked across the hall and, just in case he’d actually fallen asleep early from his own busy day, quietly cracked opened the door, and what she saw made her heart turn over in her chest.

He was sitting up in bed, wearing his Batman pajamas, Velcro sprawled at his feet. His stuffed bulldog, Chesty, which Sax had thoughtfully retrieved from the house, was propped up beside him; on the other side was Sax, his arm looking ever so natural around her son’s shoulders, while Trey read out loud from
Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy.

While he’d gotten hooked on the series about an elementary teacher turned into a superhero by two troublemaking boys with their 3-D hypno-ring, Kara had the feeling that part of the appeal of the books for Trey was that the irreverent tone and occasional bad word included in the stories slightly scandalized his grandmother.

Not wanting to disturb them, and not even sure she could speak without breaking down, she crept back to her bed. Sax’s bed.

But as she lay there, listening to the rain on the roof and watching the flash of the Shelter Bay lighthouse on the bedroom walls, Kara realized that somehow, when she hadn’t been looking, Sax Douchett had managed to infiltrate his way into her lonely heart.

“I don’t see why I have to go to school,” Trey complained the next morning.

“So you don’t become a third-grade dropout and end up living in a refrigerator box under the Shelter Bay Bridge,” Sax countered as he fried up some bacon to go with the biscuits and eggs the kid had settled for after being informed that no, Sax didn’t have any Pop- Tarts.

“I’ve never seen anyone living under the bridge.”

“That’s probably because every kid in town stayed in school and became a productive member of society.” Sax put the plate in front of him. “I don’t think your mom would be real happy about you being the first person in your family not to finish elementary school.”

Trey poured nearly half the jar of honey onto one of the biscuits, downed it in two bites, then scooped up a forkful of eggs. “I wasn’t going to drop out,” he said around a mouthful of scrambled eggs. “I was only talking about skipping today. To stay home with Mom in case she needs anything.”

“Your mom assured me she’ll be fine for a few hours. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t leave her alone.”

“There’s only another week of school before summer vacation, anyway.” Trey tried a different tack. “Since we already finished our end-of-school tests, I could probably miss the whole next week and no one would care.”

“I’ll bet your mother would. And if it were up to me, I might let you off the hook today.”

“You could write an excuse to my teacher.”

“And get my tail chewed off by your mother and grandmother?” Sax leaned against the counter and crunched a piece of bacon. “Sorry, pal. Not even for you would I put my butt on the line that way.”

“You can’t be afraid of girls. You’re a hero. And you’re going to find the burglar who broke into Grandma’s house and hurt my mom.”

“Your mom’s going to find the burglar,” Sax said. “With John O’Roarke’s help, because he’s her chief deputy.”

“But you’re a SEAL.”

“I
was
a SEAL. But your mom’s the sheriff. And she’s smart. And good at her job. So, like you said last night, the guy’s toast. As for being afraid of girls, believe me, when you get older, you’ll realize that facing down two angry females can be a lot more dangerous than a whole horde of Taliban.”

“I could help you with Bon Temps,” he wheedled.

“I have every intention of taking you up on that offer this afternoon.
After
you finish your homework. Which you can do at Bon Temps while us guys hang the new Sheetrock that’s being delivered.” He refilled his coffee mug. “Meanwhile, I have to go to the bank this morning to get some money to fix the place up. And believe me, that’s not going to be any fun.”

“Mr. Gardner’s bank?”

“It’s the only one in town.”

“He asked Mom out when we first got back to town. Before he married that rich lady from Portland.”

The biscuits, eggs, and nearly a quarter pound of bacon had almost disappeared, which brought back a memory of Sax’s mother swearing that every time that Jared Conway spent the night, he ate up the entire day’s profits. The more time he spent with Jared and Kara’s boy, the more of both parents he saw in him.

“Did he?”

“Yeah. She turned him down.”

“Your mother has always had great taste.”

“That’s what Grandma said when she told her about it.”