Sunshine and Daisies
Secrets at Midnight
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 65
Checking on Katie, Jenn found her sleeping with the teddy
bear Matt and Monica had given her after they’d returned from their crazy
adventure. It had her name embroidered on one paw, and $1,000,000 on the other.
“I’d do it again, and pay twice that much—out of my own pocket—for her. And
you,” Matt had explained. If Katie didn’t love it so much she’d throw the reminder
away. Which reminded her—the kitchen trash needed hauling out.
Nick paid the babysitter—Linda Jo’s daughter—and walked her out
to her car. When he returned Jenn nodded toward the kitchen trash. He took a
hint and hefted the bag over his lean shoulder and headed out the back door
where the handle easily worked because he’d replaced it.
Jenn surveyed the clean kitchen, checked to make sure the
front room was perfect, then headed to her bedroom and flipped on a lamp. She
pulled her nightie from the closet shelf and slipped into it. Turing, she found
Nick leaning against the doorway watching her. “You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Katie’s sleeping—everything’s fine.” Seeing his face,
her gut flip-flopped and she froze. “Something’s wrong.”
He shrugged and pulled off his shirt and tossed it in the
hamper. As he reached for his sleep pants she grabbed his arm. “What’s wrong?”
He pulled her into his arms and his embrace tightened. “I
saw the newspaper in the trashcan.”
Jenn had never thrown anything away separately or individually—until
that stupid newspaper. All household trash collected in the kitchen trash until
hauled out in one massive load. It never occurred to her that Nick would glance
inside the can and notice something unusual. But then, wasn’t he trained to notice
everything?
“The reporter got every detail,” she sarcastically said. “And
I don’t want to talk about it.”
He gently stroked her cheek. “The office provides therapy.
There are support groups. I’ll ask for information about it.”
“I just wish I knew why my
yard?” She sighed in frustration. “No support group can tell me why Adams
killed his girlfriend and hid her behind my
trash.”
Nick pressed a finger to her lips. “We may never know why. If
he could talk, he’d probably lie. Sometimes—most of the time—we don’t get all
the answer. Some mysteries remain mysteries. Real life is like that—full of
spaces and gaps remain open no matter how hard we try to close them.”
“Someone has to know why he did it.”
“Someone probably does, and if we find them, we’ll know
too.”
“Find him.”
Nick rocked her back and forth. “Baby, it’s simple only in
the movies—every twist, plot, and turn is revealed before the final credits.
For now we assume his girlfriend wasn’t involved—except romantically. Hopefully
later we’ll learn more—maybe she witnessed something he wanted kept secret. In
the meantime, don’t let it worry you.”
“What about Natalie’s fingernail?”
“Adams planted it—after receiving it from his connection—we assume.”
She shivered, fearing nothing had ended permanently. “Will
we—you—be targeted again?”
“Very unlikely.”
Pulling slightly away, Jenn said, “You have no idea how much
courage it took to throw that paper away. I went in the middle of the day,
taking Katie with me, in case you’re wondering. She’s kind of a little,
helpless bodyguard, don’t you think?”
He smiled. “I’m proud of you. It’s tough doing hard things.
You were smart to pick good moral support—someone trusted.”
“Yeah, a baby. As you can see, I’m working through this, and
I’ll survive, but I never want anything even remotely similar happening again.”
He tenderly kissed her before scooping her off her feet and
swinging her in a dizzying circle. He dumped her on the bed. “Baby, you’re
awesome, and I promise you’ll never go through that experience again.”
“You do realize that because you really don’t sell life insurance,
something similar might happen, don’t you?”
“Odds are against it. Now, Monica’s a different story.
She’ll meet a handsome stranger in Columbia and Matt will rush off to save her.
As for us, we live in Dallas where nothing threatens, except tornadoes.” He
kissed her long and passionately.
When they parted Jenn traced a thin red scar on the side of
Nick's neck with her fingertip—his only physical evidence from their ordeal. He
closed his eyes during the caress. She nuzzled his evening beard and relishing
the subtle scent of his cologne. “How much longer will I have you?”
His lips halted on her throat. “You’ll always have me,
although I fly out on Tuesday. I promise I won’t be long.”
Jenn pushed away unwanted images: Katie grasped in her arms
because that was the only way to save her, newspaper headlines containing her
name, Matt showing up with a box loaded with weapons instead of tools, and Nick
searching the help wanted section for a desk job. She grasped reality—Nick—in her
arms.
End Chapter 65
Thank you for sharing this journey with me. Sorry about all the typos. If you'd like to know more about me and my other manuscripts, check out my next post. ~~Leona
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