Well, hell, why not? Brian muttered. Those words brought a frown of confusion to the young womans brow, and Jake was tempted to deck him again.
Ill get him into bed for you and get his shoes off, Jake said instead.
The first door upstairs, Norma said. I think Ill get him a few aspirin and some water. That might help him tomorrow morning. Did he fall?
Jake pretended he didnt hear. Brian was leaning on him heavily. He tripped up the first step. Jake shifted his arm, lifting Brians feet in the air, and moved quickly. Brian grinned at him when they hit the landing.
Did I fall? he said, laughing, but the sound was pathetic, bitter, and directed against himself. Hell, yeah, I fell. Into your fist, right?
Brian, give yourself a fucking break, Jake muttered.
Jake dropped Brian on the king-sized bed and did as hed said, getting his shoes off. He was about to walk out when Brian said, Soyou know Norma.
I saw her on a flight, Brian.
I bet shed rather sleep with you, too.
Quit being such a royal pain, Jake told him. Youre one lucky bastard. You had a great wife, and nowseems this girl loves you. Dont mess this one up. Youve got another chance. Dont be an idiot.
He started out.
So whats it been like for you, Jake? Brian called to him.
He turned back. Brian was smiling ruefully. The D.A.s assistant. She was a real beauty. That lasted, what, three months? I hear there was a Hooters waitressgirl who was pure body. Ten dates, maybe? Youre still pining after Nan, too, arent you?
Brian, sleep it off. Five years is a long time.
He went down the stairs as Norma was coming up them. Thanks for bringing him home.
Sure.
Something like this went down last year, too. His wifes birthdaythats really all he ever says. I knew, soon after we met, of course, that she had died in a tragic accident. He must have really loved her. Anyway, thanks. A man whos dealt with something like that needs help now and then. Hey, would you like coffee or something before heading out?
Thank you, no.
Well, thanks again. This was really good of you.
No problem.
Hey, I do remember you from a flight, you know. Youre a cop, right?
Yeah, thats right.
So you knew his wife.
Yes, I did. I was her partner.
Jake didnt say anything more, just continued down the stairs and let himself out. When he returned to his houseboat, he discovered that Nick and Sharon had left him a covered dish of shrimp and pasta.
Good. He was hungry. The long weekend had allowed him a day off, but moving the boat had given him plenty to do. He ate, realizing he was starved.
He fell into bed, exhausted, but knew damned well it would be a while before he slept. Nancys birthday. She would have been thirty. Hell.
It was usually good to sleep on a houseboat. The light rocking of the waves. Ocean air. Both usually eased his tensions.
Not tonight.
He tossed around for a while, thinking that maybe he shouldnt have opted to spend the night alone. And he thought about Brians words.
The D.A.s assistant.
The waitress.
Yeah, there had been women in his life. But still, he would go so farand back away. Hell, yes. Hed been in love with Nancy. Then. And now
Now she was a ghost in his life. A phantom. A memory, a scent. Sometimes, he would swear he could still hear her laughter.
He compared every woman he met to her. And hed never found anyone even remotely like her.
Around two, he fell asleep. He awoke later in a sweat, having slid into the nightmare again. Hed been in the water. The clear ocean water. It had been a beautiful day. Light shone through. Then clouds covered it. The water grew murky. It was canal water, and he was in it, trying to backpedal, knowing what he was going to see. And hed heard her voice.
He got out of bed, made his way to the kitchen took a beer from the refrigerator, then went out to stand on deck. He needed to feel the ocean breeze in the night. He all but inhaled the beer, and he knew he was no more over any of this than Brian was.
She would be lost, so feminine, so beautiful, quasi-tragic, talking to him about her personal life.
Then so tough. She was capable in any situation, and she was as good as any guy on the force.
She was his partner. She couldnt keep things from him. If she knew anything, suspected anything
She hadnt. At least, she had insisted that she hadnt. But maybe she had been in a position to find out.
What the hell had she been doing? Hed never known. And he should have. Hed been her partner, for Christs sake! Shed died in a car, remnants of alcohol and narcotics in her bloodstream. Accidental death, that had been the ruling. Shed lost control of her car. There had been no evidence of foul play. Even so, during the inquest, all the dirt had come out. Her troubled marriage. Her close friendshipmore than friendship?with Jake.
She was gone.
The victim of a terrible accident. He hadnt believed it. Not then. Not now.
And hed never met anyone like her.
Something suddenly stirred in his mind.
A brief flash, an odd and fleeting sensation. Then he knew. Earlier, hed felt a strange sense of déjà vu. A sense of
Memory.
Earlier that day. Maybe it had been because on some subconscious level hed known it was Nancys birthday. But he had come across someone who reminded him of Nancy. Strange, too, because Nan had been tall, five-ten, dark, willowy. He hadnt seen anyone like that.
It hadnt been that the girl looked like Nancy, he realized. It had been something in her manner, her self-confidence, her assurance. Shed had Nancys ability to stand her ground, undaunted, speak her mindnot back down, fight it out and still, somehow, leave a trace of magnetism behind.
Nicks niece. The redhead hed bumped into that morning. Not small, but at best she was about five-six. Hed seen her beforebut not often. Years ago shed been around the place more, but shed looked different back then, not much more than a kid. Gangly as a palm tree, a pile of flyaway hair, enormous green eyes, always running somewhere. Time had gone by; he hadnt hung around Nicks all that much lately. Not in almost five years, though he had applied for the new slip at the marina, the one hed just moved into, almost a year ago now.
Shed changed. She wasnt gangly anymore. She was curved in all the right places, and her flyaway hair was more like a sexual beacon now. Attractive, yes. But what he remembered was her voice. Her indignation. Cool, aloof, even in anger, those eyes able to sizzle into someone with total condemnation.
She was in the academy, Nick had told him.
So the kid was going to be on the force. Great.
With something about her that was so much like Nancy
Shit. It felt as if hed suddenly been wrapped in ice.
He hoped to hell she wasnt too much like Nancy. A woman with too many ethics, too much determinationand not enough sense to be afraid.
He didnt even know her. Her life was none of his damned business. And maybe she wasnt that much like Nancy; maybe he had just made the association because it was Nancys birthday.
He felt a strong sense of sympathy for Brian.
He felt a strong sense of sympathy for Brian.
He drained the last of the beer. He wanted another.
No, not a beer. A single-malt Scotch.
Hell, he wasnt going anywhere tonight.
He went back into the kitchen, poured a shot, made it a double.
Somehow, he was damned well going to sleep that night.
Ashley, Karen and Jan had reached the hotel with no further trouble. Theyd checked in and spent a few hours sipping piña coladas at the pool. After talking it over, they opted for the show that night and dancing the following evening.
The horses were magnificent, and the entire show was a lot of fun. Ashley found a message waiting on her phone when the show was over. Len had indeed decided to drive up with his firefighting friends. They would be at a late-night swing club.
Fire guys? Karen inquired.
Theyre not all incredibly buff and good-looking, Jan warned.
We could take a chance, Karen said.
And so they did.
Len was there with two friends, as if hed made an effort to round out the party. Len was tall and built like a rock himself. He had told Ashley that he had gotten into physical fitness when hed applied for the force, then kept it up. He was sandy-haired, and green-eyed, with a few freckles, thirty-one years old, and a genuinely nice guy. She knew he wanted their relationship to go beyond friendship, but she didnt. As nice as he was, she simply wasnt attracted to him. She knew that she couldnt say that, since nothing would be quite so devastating to a man with an ego, so she kept their relationship platonic by insisting that nothing was more important to her than getting onto the force and keeping up with a few art classes in between.
He seemed to have accepted that they were limited to friendship. Sometimes he even made her laugh, telling her about his disastrous dates, his quest for the right woman.
Both the men with him, Kyle Avery and Mario Menendez, perfectly fit the publics idea of what a rugged young firefighter should look like.
Ashley, you do know how to pick em, Karen told her. Hes to die for.
Which one?
Karen was silent for a minute. Actually, all of them. Especially your friend Len. I dont understand why you dont scoop him right up.
Because it isnt there.
What isnt there? He sure looks like hes got everything to me.
Go for him, then, Ashley said.
Karen shook her head. Too awkward. Hes got the hots for you.
Hes a friend, Karen. If you make him happy, youll make me happy.
Cmon, you two. This is a dance club, Jan interrupted. Lets dance, then well sort out the psychology of it all, hmm?
After a few hours of swing, changing partners frequently and dancing with others, as well, Karen claimed exhaustion. She, Jan and Ashley made for the ladies room while the men ordered drinks.
Ashley, Im flirting away with your buddy, making myself very happy and keeping you in the clear, but youre not showing the least sign of interest in anyone, Karen stated.
Ashley sighed. Im in the middle of the academy and trying to help Nick out now and then. I dont want to be involved. And its getting late. I may opt out of the rest of the evening and head back.
Its not that late. And you dont have to get involved with anyone. Just have fun, Ashley. Im a teacher. I spend my life with little kids. I do the ABCs and two plus two, and wash little hands and help blow little noses all day. Its been almost a year since I had what youd actually call a real boyfriendand I dont miss that creep! But I do misscompany. Okay, and sex. Dont you ever just want to have sex?
Karen, sex is a great thing. But maybe you want to get to know him a little.
I dont know, Jan teased, checking her lipstick. Sometimes guys are a lot better before you get to know them.
He lives in Miami. She should get to know him, Ashley said.
Mother Superior has spoken, Karen acknowledged. But lets not call it quits already, huh? I gave him my phone number. And if he calls me once were homegreat. Or he may start pining for you all over again.
Karen, were friends. Thats all.
I hope thats true. I hope he does call. He has a respectable job. Hes nice as hell. He drinks, but not a lot, and he dances swing. Dont you dare insist we leave right now. And be nice.
Be nice? Hes my friend. Im always nice.
Karen sighed, her chest heaving with impatience. I mean, be nice to all of them. PleaseJan may not admit it, but shes saving all her quality flirting for Kyle, so just be decent to Mario so we can try to keep their threesome together. With us.
I told you, Ill be nice.
Ashley, youre crazy. Have you ever really looked at your friends buns?
No, Karen, I havent actually stared at his butt, but if you say so, Im sure his buns are great.
Karen shook her head again. Shes crazy, she told Jan.
No, I understand her perfectly, Jan said. Its either there or not. I cant really explain what it is, chemistry or whatever, but if it isnt there, it isnt there. So quit feeling guilty and checking with Ashley to make sure shes really not romantically interested. She isnt. And were wasting time here, discussing this all in a bathroom.
Right, lets get back there, Karen said. And you, Ashley, start talking to Mario. Talk shop if you have to.
Im in the police academy, not fire rescue.
Its almost the same, Karen insisted.
Ashley discovered that she was actually able to have a nice conversation with Mario, who was somewhat shy and reserved. He was married and was just out with his single friends for the weekend because his wife was in Connecticut for two weeks visiting her folks. He was relieved to tell her about being a newlywed, since his friends had been afraid he was going to ruin a fun night for them.
Ashley told him about the accident they had witnessed, and he told her stories about calls theyd taken on I-95, some tragic, some simply bizarre. When the others rejoined them at the table after dancing, she found herself repeating the story, knowing Len might be interested, since it had occurred in their neck of the woods.
Ashley, youre going to see things like that more and more often, Len said. Bad things happen on the highways.
Hey, Karen said. We all decided we were not going to focus on that awful scene. She stared at Ashley, who hadnt even realized she had a pen out, or that she was sketching the highway scene on a cocktail napkin.
Ashley is an artist, Karen announced. She kept her eyes glued sternly on Ashley and flipped the napkin over.
An excellent artist, Jan said. Draw a face, Ashley. Draw Kyle.
Ashley obediently began a sketch of the firefighter. The others rose and stood behind her, staring over her shoulder as she drew.
Wow! Kyle said, looking at her with new respect. Thats great. Sign it. I want to keep it.
Will you do one for me, too, please? Mario asked.
How about Karen and Jan? Len asked when she was finished, handing her a stack of napkins.
Ive drawn them dozens of times.
But maybe Kyle and I would like to keep them, Len said.