“Mrs. Bentley?” Jess looked at him, realizing he must have tried to get her attention before this, and she was embarrassed. She’d zoned out and missed what he’d been saying.
“I’m sorry. What?”
“Our waitress wants to know if you’d like some dessert.”
“Oh. No, I guess not.”
“Are you sure?” She mulled the offer over for a moment.
“Well, they don’t have brownies here, so no thank you.”
“We do have fried ice cream,” the waitress suggested, impatience in her tone. Jess wondered how much she made in tips if she took an attitude with all of her customers.
“Thanks, but no.” For some reason an almost overpowering urge for brownies hit her the moment she’d said the word, and now she could hardly wait to get home and make some.
“Just give us the check please.” Dan leaned across the table and said, his voice low, “I know a place not far from here. I promise you, they have the best brownies I’ve ever tasted. We’ll stop on the way home.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Jess protested, but knew her eyes were glazing over at the thought. Dan laughed again.
“I think I do.”
Westside Deli? She was puzzled when Dan pulled in to the strip mall across the street. Jess thought they only sold pizzas, but that was where he stopped, leaving her in the car while he ran inside. He was a trusting soul, letting it run so she could stay warm. Luxury cars weren’t cheap, and someone less law-abiding than she was might take it in to their head to steal it.
After waiting several minutes, she wondered what was taking him so long? Through the window, she could see that he was the only customer in the store – were they making the darned things from scratch? She wanted one so bad she could hardly stand it, and wished he’d hurry up. When she saw the employee hand him a pizza box, along with a small sack, she was a little irritated.
Did he think she had nothing better to do than wait while he picked up food for someone else? Because it certainly couldn’t be for him. He’d eaten enough chicken enchiladas to hold him for a while. Besides, now that she’d seen the box, pizza sounded good, too. Ham, with lots of gooey, chewy cheese.
“I cleaned ‘em out, Jess,” Dan said with a sheepish grin, sliding behind the wheel and handing her the box. Somehow, before leaving the restaurant, they’d gotten on a first name basis. Jess still wasn’t sure how, or even if, she liked the idea.
“Cleaned them out?”
“These,” he held up the sack, “are for now. Those are for later.” He lifted the lid on the box to reveal a dozen or more large squares of the frosted chocolate confection. “You can eat brownies to your heart’s content.”
“These are for me?” Jess stared at him, awed that he’d done something so sweet and thoughtful. And she’d gotten angry with him for taking so long-
“Every one,” he said, still grinning foolishly. “Here.” He handed her one from the bag, and took the other for himself. “I guarantee you they’re the best in town.”
“Oh, they are,” Jess groaned a moment later, rudely talking with her mouth full.
She closed her eyes, savoring the rich chocolate flavor while Dan watched, looking pleased with himself. He was probably realizing it didn’t take much to make her happy. Happy? No, these were so good she was downright ecstatic, and she’d finished the entire thing before he’d driven a mile down the road.
“That was wonderful. Thank you.”
“Then have another.” She glanced at the square he held in his hand, the one he hadn’t taken a bite of yet.
“No, I shouldn’t.” Eying the box, she told herself she could wait until she was alone.
“But you want one, don’t you?” he asked. Keeping his eyes on the road, he reached over and lifted the lid again. “Don’t pass it up on my account.”
“I’ll probably gain ten pounds.”
“So what? Isn’t it better to gain weight eating something you love, instead of something you only like?”
“Good point, I think.”
Jess blushed and took another, thumbing her nose at good manners. At least this time she forced herself to eat it slowly enough so it lasted the rest of the way home.
“Oh for crying out loud,” Dan muttered, pulling into the parking lot at Jess’s apartment. Three vans, sporting the names of local television stations, were parked near the building, and a small mob of reporters waited at the foot of the stairs.
“Oh no,” Jess whispered, recalling how relentless they’d been after the shooting.
Stopping at the foot of the drive, she watched him as he studied the situation. After the briefest of hesitations, he said he was going to drive her directly to the stairway, so she could get out there. If they were lucky, maybe he would run over a few of the jerks in the process.
“When I stop, you hightail it up the stairs,” he told her, his tone low, even though no one would have been able to hear him. “I’ll be right behind you. And, Jess, get your keys out now.”
“Right.” She fumbled through her purse, thankful that he was able to keep his cool. Even on such short acquaintance, she’d discovered that Dan Mulholland was a man who could be counted on, and she felt a little more guilt over the way she’d treated him the night before.
Amid many loud complaints and curses, Dan eased the car through the throng, finally stopping with the passenger door at the foot of the steps. He urged her to go, sliding across the seat to follow her, but he wasn’t fast enough. Two of the men had already scrambled over the hood, and were right behind her. Dan caught up quickly, his long legs overtaking them, and then he was shoving them back so he could stay directly behind her.
“Jess- Thank God you’re okay.” Ty and Emma waited anxiously in front of her door. With all the commotion, she hadn’t noticed them until now.
~~~~~
“Get out of the way,” Jess hissed, jabbing the key in the lock, and opening the door. They hurried inside, and Dan slammed the door behind them.
Jess sat the box on the cocktail table, and whipped the lid up. “Oh good. They’re okay.”
“What?” the woman asked, peering over her shoulder. She burst out laughing, and looked at her companion. “Brownies.” The man laughed, too.
“Well, I had to upend it when I was running,” Jess said, planting her hands on her hips. “I was afraid I might have ruined them.”
“With all the mess out there, you were worried about cakes?” the man asked, his tone incredulous.
“This isn’t cake. And I was worried about the reporters at first.” She cuffed him on the arm. “But these are so good, I didn’t want to ruin them.”
Dan watched the goings-on with no small amount of amusement. He knew just how upset she’d been when they’d arrived, but little did he know how much she loved the sweet treats in the box.
He turned his attention to the couple at her side. The woman was gorgeous. Tall and lithe, her hair falling to her shoulders in hundreds, maybe thousands of ringlets. The man beside her looked like a mountain, capable of offering all the protection she, or anyone else, might require.
“Well, if they’re that good, can I have one?” the woman asked. Her amusement, it seemed, had given way to curiosity.
“I don’t know if I want to share them with someone who’s laughing at me, Emma.” Ah. So this was Emma.
“I’m sorry, but even you have to admit it was funny.”
“Apparently your husband thinks so.” Emma cuffed him this time, and it was Dan’s turn to laugh.
“Shut up, Ty.”
“You two,” Ty said with a chuckle. “My girls love their chocolate.”
“Do tell,” Dan said with a grin, holding out his hand for a firm-gripped shake. “Dan Mulholland.”
“Ty Lanning. The drooling one over there is my wife, Emma.” Emma shot him a scowl.
“I don’t drool. Come on, Jess. I’m sorry. Now are you going to share or not?”
“I don’t know. You don’t sound very so
rry to me.”
“I’m sorry, all right?” They sounded just like two bickering children, and the men grinned.
“Oh, I suppose. If you guys can quit laughing long enough, you can come out to the kitchen with us.”
“I’ll make a quick call to the police to see if they can get rid of that bunch outside,” Dan said, trying to wipe the smile from his face, as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
“You can try, but I don’t know that it’ll do any good. It was a policeman who caused the problem in the first place.” Jess carried the box, Emma at her heels, while Dan and Ty brought up the rear.
While Emma got the milk, Jess took four glasses and dessert plates from the cupboard, paying more attention to Emma’s fingers and the brownies than she did to Dan’s call, although she did wonder how he knew to ask for Detective Winslow. Then she recalled one of the reporters had mentioned his name, and she marveled at the man’s memory for details. By the time Dan hung up, everything was on the table.
~~~~~
“He’s sending a car over now,” he said, sighing as he sat in one of the chairs. “But that won’t keep them away forever.”
“Probably not,” Ty agreed, sobering up enough to look irritated.
“He also said to tell you he didn’t leak anything to the press.”
“Well, how did they find out then?” Jess wanted to know, looking at her full table. Dan didn’t miss the sadness that flashed in her eyes before she glanced down at her plate. He couldn’t begin to imagine what the past few months had been like for her, without the husband who should have been sharing meals with her here.
“I guess he told his captain about what happened yesterday, and how happy he had been to hear about the baby. He figures someone overheard and made some calls.”
“I’m glad,” she said, lifting a forkful of chocolate to her lips. “He seems like a nice man. I’d hate to think he could do something like that.”
“Well, we should probably think of some place to stash you for the time being,” Ty suggested.
“She can stay with us,” Emma volunteered.
“No. If they bother to check their records, they have our address.”
“I forgot.” Not surprising as her attention was on the treat in front of her. “These are amazing. Where did you get them?”
“Westside Deli,” Jess told her, grimacing when she cut in to what would be her third.
“You’re kidding! I thought they only sold pizza and subs.”
“That’s what I thought, too. Aren’t these the best?” Dan just managed to suppress a chuckle, though Ty laughed again.
“She can stay with me,” he offered hesitantly, not sure how it would go over. “I’ve got a huge house about fifteen miles from here. None of the press knows where I live, so she’d be safe for a few days. Until I find her another apartment anyway.”
“I hardly know you,” Jess murmured, taking a long drink of the ice-cold milk.
“I hope you know I’d never hurt you.”
“I do. I know that.”
“Then it’s settled,” Ty decided, looking from his wife to Jess, both too busy eating to pay them any mind. He shrugged his shoulders when he glanced at Dan.
“Can I have another?” Emma asked sweetly.
“Sure. I’ll get it. Anyone else?” Ty held up his plate. Dan shook his head.
As she headed toward the counter, the telephone rang, and she let out a long sigh, turning around and walking to where it hung on the wall. “Hello?”
Dan’s back was to Jess, so he couldn’t see her, but he turned when Emma’s expression changed to one of concern. Jess stood there, her hand over her mouth, her face white. He went to her side, took the phone from her trembling hand, and demanded to know who was calling.
“Phillip Bentley. Who is this?”
“None of your business. What did you say to her?”
“None of your business,” the sarcastic voice mimicked. “Put the little tramp back on.” Dan’s fingers tightened around the receiver. Bentley had a reputation around town as a ruthless, oftentimes cruel businessman, so it wasn’t surprising to find it seemed to carry over into his personal relationships, too.
“I don’t think so.”
“Fine. Then you tell her that if that child is my son’s, and I doubt that very much, I’ll have it taken away from her and raise it myself. She isn’t fit to be a mother to any child, let alone a Bentley.”
Jess must have heard the threat because she began to cry. Dan wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close to his side.
“And just how do you propose to do that?” he asked, his voice quiet and controlled. It wouldn’t do to give in to his anger, not when dealing with someone like this man.
“Easily. I’ve already talked to my attorney. Trying to kill my boy’s murderer at the jail? Suicidal? If a paternity test shows that Frank is the father, we’ll have her declared mentally incompetent.”
“In your dreams,” Dan said, scoffing.
“I’m an important man, and I have friends in high places. If she carries my grandchild, I’ll have it soon enough.”
“Then I’m afraid you’re going to have one ugly fight on your hands.”
“Oh really? Just who do you think you are?” No one that mattered, if his tone was any indication.
“Daniel Mulholland.” There was a moment of tense silence, then he heard a growl of rage, and had to move the phone away from his ear when Bentley shouted,
“You murderous animal! How did you get out?”
“I’m afraid you have me confused with my brother who, I assure you, is still safely in jail.”
“I want you out of that hovel now. And I mean this minute.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I won’t have you around my grandchild.”
“There are two problems I can see with your demand. First, you don’t even believe the baby is your grandchild. And second, there’s just one little issue with my leaving,” Dan said, willing himself to shut up, but he already knew it was too late. He wasn’t going to be able to stop the words that were on the tip of his tongue from bursting out of his mouth.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, Jess will be marrying me a week from today, and I’ll be adopting her child. Funny how things work out, eh?”
CHAPTER 5
Dan felt all eyes on him as he hung the phone up, effectively cutting off Bentley’s foul-mouthed opinion of his announcement.
Jess was perfectly still beside him, and the silence in the room was palpable. He had no clue where the idea had come from, but it had seemed like the perfect way to irritate the arrogant bully. There was no way he’d let him get his hands on Jess’s baby. Not a chance.
He turned around to face Ty and Emma, and swallowed hard. Ty had gotten to his feet, a scowl on his face, as he held a loosely balled fist in his other hand. Dan hadn’t realized just how huge those hands were when they’d first met. Or how big Ty was in general. With the sleeves of a snug blue tee shirt stretched over bulging biceps, his arms looked as big around as small tree trunks.
Dan couldn’t recall seeing muscles like that on anyone before. At least not on anyone this up close and personal. He swallowed again, trying to resist a sudden urge to insert a finger in his collar, which seemed to have shrunk a couple of sizes in the past few seconds.
“I don’t suppose you’d care to explain why you just told Philip Bentley that you and Jess are getting married?” Ty asked, his eyes trained on Dan’s face like it was a target. He reminded him of a Doberman he’d once encountered. To this day he was grateful he’d managed to escape in one piece, and he could only hope he was as fortunate today.
“Because Bentley is a jerk,” Dan said, trying to keep his tone calm and reassuring. He led Jess to her chair, waited until after she sat down, and then he knelt before her. “Do you think he’ll follow through with what he said?”
“What did he say?” Emma demanded, rising to stand by her husband,
who was still glaring at Dan.
“That he’s going to have me declared insane, and take the baby,” Jess whispered, brushing a tear from her cheek.
“Do you think he’ll do it?” Dan repeated softly. Jess shrugged her shoulders helplessly but he could see from her expression that she thought he could. He looked at the floor.
Bentley seemed to have the Midas touch when it came to business, but word had it that his success was due, in no small part, to his ‘friends in high places.’ Friends like elected officials – including a judge or two. Of course, there was no way to prove it, but corruption was too common these days, and he seemed like a corrupt kind of guy.
“Let him try,” Emma muttered, reaching out to clasp Jess’s shoulder. She couldn’t have been angrier if the threat had been directed at her. “Just let him try.”
Jess was staring at the canisters on the counter, her eyes glistening with tears, her lips pressed together.
On one hand, Dan wished he’d offered her financial help, then run far away. But no, he’d let his temper, his need to fix things – as Jon had said – get the best of him.
On the other, looking at her now, afraid of the man who would try to ruin her life, to steal her baby, all he wanted to do was help her, no matter what he had to sacrifice to do it.
“He’ll try,” he said, taking Jess’s hand in his. “When would you like to have the ceremony?”
“There has to be another way,” she whispered.
“Any suggestions?” Dan looked from one stricken face to another. No one said a word. Wishing Ty would relax that fist, he turned his attention back to Jess.
“I-” was all she managed to say, then shook her head.
“Maybe he was just blowing off,” Ty said, though he didn’t sound as if he believed it. When he sat back down, Dan let out a sigh. He wouldn’t want to know Ty Lanning as anything but a friend. “Trying to scare you. He’s old for crying out loud. What would he want with a baby?”