Dreams Claimed (Warfield's Landing, #1) (19 page)

Detective Griffith was putting her own gun away, saying “Really. Really?” and shaking her head.

Nic protested. “It worked.”

Griffith gave a final shake of her head and pulled out her cell phone.

Detective Hayward said, “I’m assuming this is your stalker?”

“Seems to be.” Nic answered, her eyes on poor Bentley paddling valiantly and keeping well out of reach of Lynn. She focused on what was important. “How are we going to get Bentley out of the river? I’m afraid he’s been hurt.”

In the distance came the sound of sirens. Hayward looked at Griffith. “Sounds like the Warfield’s Landing PD is on its way.”

Griffith rolled her eyes. “Yeah... Finally.”

D
aniel checked his rearview mirror, flipped on his turn signal, and took the Havre de Grace exit. As he waited at the light, he called Nic. “I’m turning on to Tumpline.”

“Great.” To his relief, she sounded fine. “We’ll be waiting for you.”

Daniel had gotten a call from Nic several hours earlier. They’d caught her stalker. He’d demanded details.

“It’s complicated and there’s nothing that can’t wait until you get home. Everyone here is fine. Really. I’ll tell you everything when you get here. I love you, so drive safely!”

Despite her assurances, he’d finished things up as quickly as possible and headed back to Warfield’s Landing, running the Jag well above the legal speed limit.

By the time he turned into the condo parking lot, Nic and Bentley were sitting on the building’s steps, waiting for him.

He parked the Jag and sprang out. As he crossed the parking lot, he looked them over carefully. Nic looked tired, but Bentley... Bentley was sporting a bandage in front of his left ear.

“It’s okay, Daniel. We’re both fine.” Nic called to him... He didn’t bother to reply, he just snatched her up into his arms and held her close. She seemed to understand his reaction. She didn’t struggle to get free as she ran her hands over his hair.

It was the third or fourth head nudge that got his attention. He released Nic and helped her find her balance, then dropped to one knee in front of his dog.

He put held Bentley’s head between his hands and looked into the dog’s eyes. “Hey buddy. It looks like you took some damage...”

Behind him, Nic explained quickly. “He has stitches but nothing permanent. The vet said they can come out in a week... He saved me. Didn’t you, boy?” She dropped down beside him and pet the dog’s back.

With a final long look and a kiss on the doggy forehead, Daniel stood and held a hand out to Nic. With a grin, she let him pull her to her feet.

“I have dinner from the cafe. Let’s go in and I’ll give you a play by play.”

Daniel grabbed Bentley’s leash and threw an arm around Nic’s shoulders.

“So... who was the stalker? Was it Porter? I never trusted him.”

Nic laughed and said... “No... not Porter...”

She paused for effect. “It was Lynn!”

D
aniel surveyed the mess... he and Nic were finally moving into the apartment in the old schoolhouse. It had been seven months since that crazy Lynn attacked Nic and they had come through a number of milestones since then.

Nic had told CeeCee that her Max—CeeCee’s Jamie — was her birth father. She showed the sketch to CeeCee. CeeCee had been shocked, but had accepted the news fairly well. Luke had reported that she’d complained to him about having a theoretical step-daughter who was younger than she was.

He’d re-organized his financial consulting business so that he and Bentley could move to Warfield’s Landing with Nic. He was still traveling a lot, but his base of operations was here.

Spending most of his time in Nic’s rented condo, he’d brought the bare minimum with him, and had left most of his stuff back in his place in Alexandria.

They’d celebrated their first Thanksgiving together, their first Christmas, and partied on New Year’s Eve with a combined celebration of Mallory and Turner staff, the Susquehanna Artists Co-op gang, and all of Warfield’s Landing. Ruth Ann had hosted the bash at the Riverside Cafe...

CeeCee, now a close friend of Stevie’s, had joined in all of the festivities. To Daniel’s intense relief, her behavior was impeccable. He doubted that she and Nic would be BFFs, but at least CeeCee was unlikely to do Nic bodily harm. After the last few months, he counted that as a win.

The storefront project was finished and finally, he and Nic were moving into the schoolhouse apartment. He’d been included in the final planning so it was as much his space as Nic’s.

At the moment, the movers were bringing up his furniture, while he and Nic arranged their first real home together.

In fact, he admitted to himself... it was his first real home since his parent’s divorce, all those years ago.

*****

D
aniel watched as Nic pushed her plate away. They’d had take-out from the Thai place in Havre de Grace. He and Bentley had done the pickup while Nic stayed and continued with the unpacking.

“That was great!” She petted Bentley. “Thanks, my furry hero, for being such a good hunter gatherer...”

Daniel felt that deserved a clarification. “Hey!” He put an ear-grating whine in his voice. “Hey... I drove...”

Nic raised an eyebrow and teased him back. “Only because my hero here doesn’t have thumbs...”

She laughed as he made a face at her. He held the expression a moment longer, then laughed with her.

“What are your plans for tonight?” Nic was still petting Bentley as she asked the question.

Daniel considered. They’d been working hard, but there was still a lot to be done. The biggest job was getting Nic’s studio ready for work.

“How about I work on my office tonight, then I can give you all day tomorrow to set-up your studio?”

“That sounds like a great plan. Can you afford the time tomorrow?”

“Yes...” He put a smug tone in his voice. “I planned it so I have almost two weeks between trips.”

*****

T
hree hours later, his sense of well-being had taken a hike. In spite of all his care... he’d lost it. The magazine was gone. He threw himself into his desk chair and stared mournfully at his desk.

Nic stuck her head in the door. “I’m grabbing a soda. You want anything?”

He turned and looked at her, unable to hide the devastation he was feeling.

“Daniel! What’s wrong?” She knelt in front of him. “What’s wrong?”

He looked at her, uncomfortably aware of how lame he was sounding. “I lost my Audrey Hepburn magazine. The one that reminded me of you. I packed it carefully, but it isn’t in that box. I’ve looked everywhere...

“Oh, sweetie. I’m so sorry...” She stood and took his hand. “Here, come with me.”

She led him across the hall to her dance studio. They were using the huge open space as their staging area. All of the boxes were there waiting be unpacked and put away. The wood dance floor was protected with heavy canvas drop cloths.

“I didn’t realize...” She stepped behind a stack of boxes. Her voice was muffled as she continued to talk. “This was supposed to be a surprise for you, but I didn’t think you’d notice it was missing.”

She reappeared, holding a large package wrapped in brown paper. She glanced around then walked over to a waist high stack of boxes. “Come here, sweetie.”

She placed the package on the boxes and gestured at him. “Here you go, Daniel. Unwrap it and then we’ll hang it for you.”

Not sure what was going on, he ripped at the paper. It fell away and revealed a large, deep box. The box was lined in black velvet and the box itself matched his office furniture — cherry wood with a black detail. But those details he didn’t notice until later... much later.

From the moment the paper was gone, all he could see was IT... the Audrey Hepburn magazine...

It was resting in a clear holder, which would allow it to stand upright when the box was hung on the wall.

He reached out a hand and touched the glass.

Nic spoke hurriedly. “Here... it opens up so you can take it out whenever you want.”

She lifted the top of the frame until it was propped upright on the boxes. Reaching with her other hand, she flipped a hidden catch and opened the door.

In a daze, Daniel reached in and lifted the magazine out of the case. He couldn’t speak.

Rapidly, Nic explained. “Luke helped me with this. He got the magazine after you packed it. Stevie had a friend who builds fantastic shadow boxes... He was intrigued, because he’s never done anything like this. Everything is archival quality so it will be protected from UV rays and dust... “ Her voice trailed off.

“I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was going to hang it in your office tonight when you and Bentley went out for your walk.”

Holding the precious magazine in both hands he looked from the young Audrey Hepburn on the cover to Nic, standing before him. So similar...

With a start, he realized that his little artist was near tears. Quickly, he slid the magazine back into place and carefully closed the glass door. He reached out a hand to help Nic lay the frame back down. Then he pulled her into his arms and rocked her back and forth.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Her voice was muffled against his shirt.

“I know... I know.” He set her away from him, hands on her shoulders and let her see the tears in his eyes. She reached up and lightly touched one.

“Did I do good?” He could hear the tension in her voice.

“You did good, Nic. It’s perfect.” He smiled at her and pulled her into a deep kiss.

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The End

A
s I go through the final checks on each book, I tend to skim and I often find myself surprised at all of the little things I’ve thrown into each book from my own life.

In Dreams Claimed, it is Nic’s habit of wiping her brushes on her paint clothes. My scene painting teacher in grad school at VCU did it, and most of us who trained with him picked up the habit. I even remember having a stranger come up to me, taking a look and saying “You went to VCU, didn’t you? I can tell by your paint stains.”

Bentley, the Golden Retriever, grew close to my heart as I wrote this book, although, as an English Mastiff owner I mentally apologized to Luigi, my guy, every time I described Bentley as huge.

Message from Luigi -

Pets are a lifetime commitment and that adopting a pet is one of the best things people can do... Adeara’s been my person now for three wonderful years. If you do have your heart set on a specific breed, most breeds have their own rescue networks.

And last but not least (from Adeara)... If you have ever been stalked or even suspect it, or if you know someone with the problem, I highly recommend Gavin de Becker’s book, The Gift of Fear. I also recommend reading it BEFORE you have an issue ;-) Through dozens of compelling examples from his own career, Gavin de Becker teaches us how to read the signs, using our most basic but often most discounted survival skill - our intuition. The Gift of Fear is a remarkable, unique combination of practical guidance on leading a safer life and profound insight into human behavior.

Don’t miss the books in the Warfield’s Landing Series

Book 1 - Dreams Claimed

Book 2 - His Best Girls

Book 3 - Liv for Love

Book 3.5 - First Christmas in Warfield’s Landing

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