Dead Spaces: The Big Uneasy 2.0 (23 page)

H
annah tried
to recall her last date. It had been a while. Quite a while. This was not a happy thought. It was also not a good time to remember that relationships that start under intense circumstances never last. Was it even a relationship? Just because it felt like one, and also felt kind of, well, huge, didn’t make it so.

It was too soon to have
the
talk, but she kind of wanted the talk before
the
talk. Even though it was too early. Way too early. A little over a week, a few kisses—really nice kisses—didn’t add up to
the
talk. Not even the prelude to
the
talk.

Okay, she was a scientist. Time to act like one while she waited for the knock on the door. Instead of wishing she’d spent more time digging through her meagre wardrobe. What were the facts in evidence?

Were kisses facts?

They felt like facts, or possibly evidence.

What about warmth in a guy’s eyes? What did that add up to? And the hug. The hug had been right there in front of Zach and Alex, though it kind of felt unpremeditated, so maybe it didn’t count.

But he’d faced down her dad and her entire family. The guy had staying power.

Did he want to stay?

Did she want him to stay?

That was the heart of the problem.

She did.

Didn’t seem to matter that he was younger and might weigh less than her. Or at least wore the same size pants.

On the upside, he didn’t seem to fear her brain. Or think she was a dumb blonde. She’d had
that
date back in college. More than once.

The truly terrifying part? When she’d peeked into the future, well, the dream future? She’d seen him there, throwing a ball to a couple of kids. With no evidence at all, she thought, he’d be a good dad.

What else did she have? Well, Alex trusted him with everything but a sister and he wouldn’t have trusted anyone, okay, he might trust his sisters with God. But that was it. And because you kind of had to do that. But if he hadn’t trusted Ferris on the job, he would be long gone. And possibly dead for pressing lips to his sister.

She rubbed a finger across the lips in question and smiled.

Did they have enough for the long haul? How could she know? She just knew she’d like to try. If he did. But what if he didn’t? She would turn every epic age before him. Forty. Fifty. Sixty. Unless she died first. Odds were she wouldn’t. Women tended to live longer—she rubbed her head. It felt like a squirrel got loose in there. With some reluctance, she met her own gaze in the mirror again.

She couldn’t fall in…love that fast, could she? If she had…she rubbed the place where her heart beat. It might get broken.

A scientist shouldn’t be afraid of learning new things, but they also didn’t run into a wall on purpose.

A knock sounded, making her jump higher than science decreed she should. She stared at it. She’d have to open it. She couldn’t run now. And if she did? She’d never know.

Whatever she was, woman, scientist, or crazy. She needed to know.

She opened the door. “Hi.”

H
annah had seemed
a bit tense when he picked her up, but then so was he. He’d gotten himself all ginned up to have
the
talk with her, had even practiced the words and now they seemed, either wrong or stuck in his throat. Wasn’t sure. Knew they weren’t coming out his mouth. To have the
talk
, he needed
to
talk. With words and everything. Mostly words. He frowned. Not mostly. Talking needed words. Jeez his head was all messed up. He could punt. He knew, not sure how, but he knew Hannah wouldn’t say anything.

But he’d seen what happened when she wasn’t sure.

Distance.

He wanted to close the distance, not increase it.

She wasn’t easy to get close to, but he managed it. Most natural thing ever, getting close to her. Felt like it always had been, always would be. Wish he knew how to tell her that.

He glanced at her. Looked like she was focused on her food, but then she looked up. And smiled. That smile almost stopped his heart. How did she do that? And why her? Why that smile?

“I—” Dang that was close. Almost used the l-word. Way too soon. How could she trust the words now? “This is nice.”

She glanced around. “It is.”

“I meant…” He pointed to her and then him.

She smiled again. “That’s nice, too.”

The distance eased some. That hadn’t been that hard. Wished he didn’t have to talk. He could sit here looking at her and be happy. Course, he’d like to kiss her again, too. He finally rubbed the back of his head and chuckled.

“What?” Hannah asked, her eyes wide and curious.

Guy could get so lost in those eyes. “What color are they?”

“Excuse me?” she shook her head.

“Your eyes. Seems like every time I look, they are different.”

“Oh.” Color ran up under her skin. “It says blue on my driver’s license.”

“No, they’re blue, but they’re more than blue.” He leaned in, but the light wasn’t good enough.

“Are you flirting with me, Ferris?”

He went from looking at her eyes to meeting her gaze. “Yes. Problem?”

“No. Give it your best shot.” She leaned her elbows on the table, rested her chin in her palms and looked at him.

He swallowed. “I want to,” he swallowed again, took a drink of water, and then went on, “have the talk, but I don’t know how.”

“To talk?”

He took one of her hands and cradled it in his. “To have
the
talk.
”

“Oh.”

Her lips pursed around the single word. If table hadn’t been between them…then he realized she wasn’t saying more. Just as the panic started, she spoke.

“That talk.” She looked down, then slowly looked up. “I don’t know how either. I’ve never actually had it with anyone.”

“Seriously? I mean I haven’t but you—” He gestured with one hand. She was so…everything. He couldn’t believe she was free enough to be sitting here holding hands with him.

“Mostly guys have been afraid of my brothers. Or my brains.”

“Now, see that’s just crazy, well, not the brothers. They’re pretty scary. But your brains. I mean, I was like guys like that until I read
Pride & Prejudice
—”

Her lower jaw slackened in a really cute way. “You read
Pride & Prejudice
?”

“Well, there was this girl.” He grinned.

“Of course there was. How old were you?”

“Sixteen.”

“Okay, I might be a little impressed.”

“As you should be. Anyway, that book, well, I hadn’t really thought about, you know, about wives and the future and stuff.”

“Most of us don’t at that age.”

“I mean the romance stuff, I was like, boring, but that dad and the mom. And that sister? The one who ran off with the jerk and was happy about it? Who does that? That’s horror story stuff.”

“
Pride & Prejudice
as horror story?”

“Exactly. Started me thinking what it would be like to live years with one of them. Well, that’s when it happened.”

Hannah blinked a couple of times. “What happened?”

“Well, I decided to only date smart girls. It was tough, cuz the smart ones were sometimes too smart to waste time with me.”

Hannah laughed, a rich throaty sound that kind of scrambled his brains for a minute.

He grabbed her other hand, raised one to his mouth and held it there until the laughter faded from her face and small flames flickered in her eyes. Oh those eyes.

“Now see, if I hadn’t learned a few things, one of them being that it takes time to woo a smart woman, I’d l-word you right now.” He kissed the other hand. “I’d say some other things, too, but I know they wouldn’t mean much. Not yet. You’re smart. I’ll save the l-word for when it’ll mean something. But I’m…” He considered for a minute. “…putting you on notice. I may not be the smartest man to come along, but I’m smart enough to know when a woman is too good for me. And dumb enough to hope she’ll still have me. Because I want the best. For me. And for my kids.”

“Your…your kids?”

Her hands trembled a bit in his and she licked her lips, her eyes so big he could fall in there and never find his way out.

“Well, the ones we’d have—if you want them. I mean, I can see why you might want to think about that, and if you didn’t—both parents should want kids. They should
both
want them.” He stopped, aware he’d lost track of his point. And strayed into a place he tried not to go.

Something changed in her eyes. She freed one hand, but only to touch his cheek, smoothing his hair back from his face. He must have said something right, because she felt closer.

“If we got to the l-word—and the m-word—”

She paused, but he didn’t flinch, which made him kind of proud.

“—then I promise you that any kids would be very wanted. Very. And—” her gaze flicked away, then came back to him, and her smile deepened until it was mysterious and filled with promise. “I think you are much smarter than you realize.”

He took a deep breath, and let it out in a relieved sigh. His first time with
the
talk and he had apparently nailed it. This relationship stuff wasn’t as hard as all the brothers kept saying it was.

“So, we’re, you know, in it, in one of those…”

She giggled. “Apparently. And you know what is even more amazing?”

“What?” Apparently he knew her well enough to be wary.

“No one died.”

“That is amazing.” He gave an uneasy look around and while he was looking the wrong way…

“Fancy meeting you two here.”

“Zach.” Hannah’s voice sounded a bit strangled.

They both dropped all contact, almost slamming themselves against the back of their chairs. His even rocked a bit. A bit symbolic that. He’d never liked symbolism. Ever.

“And Felicity.” Hannah stood up. Her smile looked stiff, but she shook hands with her dad’s date.

Ferris studied Felicity, mostly so he wouldn’t have to look at Zach. She was younger than Zach, though still older. He could see why Zach liked her. Some gray in her hair, kind eyes, nice smile.

Hannah was a bit stiff introducing them. He tried to imagine one of his parents dating someone else and decided he might find it a bit awkward, too. The dogs wouldn’t like it either, which for his parents would be the bigger problem.

“So you’re out for dinner?” Oh, yeah, state the obvious. Well, he had warned Hannah she was smarter than he was.

“Just finished.”

No one could say Zach talked too much.

“We’re thinking of going to a movie,” Felicity said, brightly.

“That sounds fun,” Hannah said, dropping the words into the silence that had formed.

Might have been funny if it hadn’t been his date’s dad out on a date, too.

“We’d better get going, hon-Zach. We’ll miss the credits.”

“Be a pity to miss the credits,” Ferris agreed. Was that his voice that sounded so hearty?

“Have fun,” Hannah said.

Zach started to go, then stopped and said, “I’ll be home tomorrow, Ferris.”

“Oh.” He blinked. “Okay.”

“You’re off, right?”

“Yeah…” It didn’t help that you could see trouble coming if you had no clue what kind. But he knew something was coming.

“Stop by anytime.”

“Stop…by?”

Couldn’t see, but sensed a trap closing around him.

“Alex said you had something to talk to me about.” Zach’s grin was toothy. And feral. Then he turned, took Felicity’s arm and walked away.

Ferris tugged at the neck of his shirt. Wasn’t the tee shirt choking him though. No, that was fear.

“Talk?” Hannah turned from watching him leave. “What do you have to talk to him about?”

“Your brother is evil.”

“I know that—oh.” A pause. “You could always tell him about
Pride & Prejudice.
He might like it if you make it sound like a Western.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. “Let’s get out of here. If I’m going to do the time, might as well do the crime, er, the kissing.”

“I might be willing to be an accomplice in that. But then you have to tell me what other books you’ve read to get girls.”

T
hank
you for reading
Dead Spaces.
I hope you enjoyed it. If you haven’t read the first two installments, check out
Relatively Risky
and “
Family Treed
.”
Stay tuned for the next installment in the
Big Uneasy
series.

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and get a free eBook!

Or hop over to my website and check out my series:

Project Enterprise
The Big Uneasy
Lonesome Lawmen

An Uneasy Future

Browse my complete backlist by
visiting my website
. I have some stand-alone novels, too.

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If you enjoyed this book, I hope you’ll consider leaving a review. It’s not just because I’m needy (even though I try not to be!). Reviews help other readers decide which books to buy.

I
f you haven’t read
it yet, I hope you’ll check out:
Relatively Risky: The Big Uneasy 1.
I’ve included an excerpt below.

A
quirky artist
must unravel her parent's secret past before the mob erases her future. But will the protection of a handsome homicide detective be her only hope of surviving the Big Easy?

Nell Whitby is starting over in New Orleans, getting a publisher for her children’s book, sketching tourists in the French Quarter, and leaving the tragic death of her parents behind. When a handsome detective asks her for a date, her fresh start seems perfect…until a dangerous family secret bubbles up from the past and puts her life in jeopardy.

The oldest of thirteen children, detective Alex Baker has two goals in life: solve murders and avoid anyone under the age of ten. That is, until the day the quirky children's book author foils a carjacking, becomes a target for the mob, and makes his libido sit up and reconsider the whole no-kids thing. If he doesn’t protect her, she’ll be the next body to turn up in his homicide investigation. 

As bullets start to fly, Nell can’t resist her sexy bodyguard or ignore her past, and Alex must protect the irresistible kid-magnet from whoever has them both in the crosshairs.

“Jones’ writing style is unique: a strong dose of noir balanced with humor and witty dialogue. The plot moves at a fast pace as does the chemistry between Alex and Nell. The characters are well-developed and likeable, the relationship between Alex and his 12 siblings fun, and the New Orleans ambience conveyed so realistically the reader will feel as if they have been plopped down right in the middle of the Big Easy.”
Midwest Book Review

The excerpt:

He’d passed his house, wondering if he was going to be doomed to drive around until one of the college students across the street had to go to class, but as he passed a cross street, he’d spotted half a space just around the corner. It was by a hydrant, but the parking Nazis weren’t out this early, and he could get his dad to move his truck later. He pulled in, got most of his truck off the street, if he didn’t mind blocking the sidewalk. He didn’t. The dividing line between street and sidewalk was more imagined than real anyway. He’d shut off the engine and thrust open the door, anxious to get unconscious as soon as possible. Should have known better. Should have kept an eye on his surroundings. Which was why the stinking little piece of crap got the drop on him, down shifting his night from bad to worse.

“Get out real slow with your hands where I can see ‘em, mother—” The pressure of the gun against his neck eased some, as if the perp couldn’t point and talk at the same time.

Alex rolled his eyes at the spate of unoriginal swearing. The education system was so screwed up, it was depressing. Kids couldn’t even swear good and had nothing better to do than try to jack a detective who’d spent the night knee deep in bodies.

“Keep your cool,” Alex said, more for himself than the kid, as his temper tried to slip tired’s leash. Making sure both hands were visible, he slid out and turned around. The kid was as small as he sounded and looked like he was on the downside of a high. Probably looking to trade Alex’s wheels for a trip back up. Man, the guys’d really roast him if he got jacked by a kid too young to shave.

“Shut up and give me your wallet and keys!” The kid practically foamed at the mouth as another round of filth poured out.

At his age, Alex hadn’t known half that many cuss words. And when he got caught saying the ones he knew, his head had been down in the sink eating soap. If he shoved a bar down the kid’s throat? Probably be called police brutality and get him a sit down with IAD.

“Life’s not fair,” his dad would say about now. “But it’s always interesting, bubba.”

And about to get more so, Alex realized. The swearing, while tiresome, had drowned out the unlikely figure on a bicycle bearing down on them both. She was hunched over the handles, an intent scowl on a face that was ordinary, but not in a bad way. Her feet pumped hard on the pedals, as she steered around the numerous potholes and bumps that pockmarked the street. Her eyes were narrow slits and her hair stuck out around her head like a ragged, brown halo.

Alex sure hoped she didn’t plan to ram the little crap while he had a gun pointed at him—oh yeah, she meant to. As if the kid sensed her incoming, he started to turn.

“Here, catch.” Alex tossed his keys high in the air. No surprise the kid followed the shiny object. Or that he stepped back to catch them. The front wheel of the bike caught the kid in the butt and sent him running forward, right into Alex’s waiting fist. He crumpled into an untidy heap, though a final hand twitch fired the gun. Alex’s driver’s side window exploded into flying shards of glass.

And took his insurance rates with it.

Alex mentally deployed a few swear words. Didn’t have time to say them as the bike and its rider skidded sideways. No way she’d regain control. Alex jumped forward, tried to catch her. Instead, he got tangled in the bike. Gravity weighed in but not on his side. Damn, he didn’t remember the pavement being that hard. The front wheel spun against the side of his face through two rotations before he untangled a hand and stopped it. He turned his head and found himself nearly nose to nose with the rider. It was a nice nose. Short but straight and set neatly between her eyes. They were nice, too. He’d spent the night fielding angry looks. Didn’t mind the nice change of gaze. They were a warm brown and…he tipped his head, trying to find the right description, and settled for nice. They were nice. She smelled better than all of his perps. That wasn’t surprise. He noticed her lips were pursed, which sent his thoughts down a kissing side path. If he hadn’t been so tired, he wouldn’t have thought about kissing her, of course—

As if on cue, she licked her lips, kick-starting something deep in his gut. Maybe he’d spent too long on the bench after his divorce. He blinked, a bit hazily, and realized she was engaged in a counter scrutiny. Her curious, oddly innocent gaze intersected his and she blinked, lashes thick as a hair brush sliding down, then up again. Despite the intrusion of the bike they were as intimately entangled as lovers. Shouldn’t have thought that. His breathing stuttered.

“Are you all right?” Voice matched the eyes.

“I’m fine.” His voice was on the husky side, but she wouldn’t know that. His gaze drifted to her mouth again. Wasn’t a kiss a time honored thank you for a rescue? Did sharing her crash count as a rescue? His conscience kicked. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes widened. The mouth curved up. “Yes, thank you. Though…”

Apparently oblivious to his snarled thoughts, she untangled her legs from her bike and from him, wincing a bit in the process, and scrambled up.

He lifted the bike to the side. His nerve endings started sending an inventory of which parts hurt and how much. Gravity, as if sensing his desire to escape, tightened its grip. When he turned forty earlier this year, he’d decided it was time to quit slamming his body against the ground, hard objects and other people. It was getting embarrassing how long it took him to get up. Didn’t remember it hurting that much when he was younger. That’s why he’d applied for a transfer to Homicide. Life had a way of bringing you full circle—not to mention reemphasizing its most painful lessons. Lessons like, you can run but you can’t hide. And quit banging yourself against the ground, idiot brain.

He ignored the hand she held out to him and fought gravity until he got both legs under him. He crouched and flipped the kid, cuffed him, then checked his pulse. He’d live to carjack again. Might even live long enough to be old enough to drive what he stole. He secured the perp’s weapon and then went to right the bike. He gave it a roll forward—seemed to be all right. Not too bent out of shape. Something ironic in that thought, but he was too tired to figure it out. He deployed the stand, wondered what she was doing out so early, turned to ask, and found her staring at the handcuffs. Then she looked at him, her eyes a bit wide.

Some color scored his cheeks. “I’m a cop.”

“Oh. Right.” Her grin was a bit sheepish as she held up his keys.

Alex’s lips twitched, too tired to manage a grin. “Nice catch.”

“I’ve always had good eye-hand coordination. I kick butt at Mario Kart.”

Maybe that’s where she got the idea to ram the little piece of crap. He opened his mouth to tell her she should confine her ramming to games but stopped. Sounded too much like something his old man would say. She grinned, as if she knew, then turned to check her bike herself.

He was a guy, so he studied the rear view. A bit of skin showed where her top and calf-length pants didn’t quite meet. Her pants fit fine over a nicely formed caboose—she kicked her bike stand and swung a leg over. The scuffed cowboy boots were a surprise, but not as much as the realization she was going to just ride away.

“You can’t leave,” he protested. “You’re a witness. I’ll need a statement—”

“I have to go to work.” She dug in a pocket, extracted a battered card and held it out.

Alex accepted it, but that didn’t stop him from trying again as she lifted a foot to a pedal with clear intent to push off. “I can call your employer and explain—”

Her smile silenced him. The grin had been engaging, but the smile—had he thought her ordinary? He blinked. Tried to remember what he’d meant to say, but before he could she said, “You can’t call the muse. It calls you.”

R
elatively Risky
: The Big Uneasy 1

For more information, visit my website:
paulinebjones.com

A
Big Uneasy
Family Tree
is available
here
.