His Frozen Heart (23 page)

“
Instead of answering him,
the case worker asked me if I wanted ice cream. I told her I did. I
let go of Mark’s hand and walked out the door.” Dave paused, his
voice full of remorse and suppressed pain. “I think I was too young
to understand I wasn’t coming back. I didn’t know that was the last
time I would ever see Mark.”

“
She placed me with a new
couple that night. It didn’t take long for me to learn that I
wasn’t going back to the house where Mark was. I begged my foster
mom to take me back to him. The new foster parents who took me in
told my case worker that I needed to see my brother. They even
offered to take me to him. She would never set it up. I started
acting out, way worse than I had done with Margaret and Dewey. I
kept thinking that if my new foster parents gave me back, I would
go back to Margaret and Dewey’s house.” Dave’s voice trailed
off.

The memory he shared was so raw and
painful it left me emotionally vacant. I hadn’t known him at all. I
didn’t have a clue how awful his childhood had been. I wanted to
say the right thing, but there were no words. I just lay there
holding him. I slid down beside him on the bed, draping my arm over
his broad shoulder. Nothing I could say would offer even a sliver
of comfort to this man who deserved so much more.

“
When acting out didn’t
work and I had been placed in several new homes without Mark, I
tried a new tactic. I became the model child, hoping I could go
back to Margaret and Dewey. That didn’t work either.”

Dave reached over and shut off the
lights. He let go of the pillow he had been clutching against his
chest to make room for me next to him then covered us both with a
blanket. Dave pulled me into him, grasping me instead of the
pillow. His fingers glided over my back in a soothing
way.

I lay in the dark listening to the
rhythm of his breathing. After all the chaos of the day and
heartbreak of Dave’s memories, I soaked in the comfort he offered
me. Dave gave me a kiss on the forehead, then closed his eyes. I
didn’t fight sleep. I welcomed the rest after one of the worst days
of my life.

Chapter 16

Light streamed in from the miniature
windows. They were so small they had probably been converted
ventilation openings. Whoever had converted this second floor into
an apartment had an architect’s imagination.

Reaching over to the other side of the
mattress, I felt the bare sheet where Dave had been. My eyes
snapped open as I scanned the little apartment – Dave wasn’t here.
As grimy as I felt, a shower couldn’t be put off for another
second. Remembering my backpack with my change of clothes was still
in my car, I crept down the stairs to find Dave working on the
purple pieces of a car parked in front of my Chevelle.

“
Morning!” His booming
voice made me want to retreat into one of his cabinets
upstairs.

I waved a hand and found a smile, but
couldn’t answer him. Pulling the heavy door of my car, I reached
into the back seat and grabbed my backpack. He stood up from where
he had been bent over the pieces of car strewn on the floor and
offered, “Coffee’s already brewed.”

A twang of familiarity grabbed me –
this was like being at home. Libby was obnoxiously chipper in the
morning, too. I had class in two hours. That gave me more than
enough time to get cleaned up, stop by the hospital to check on
Libby and still be on time to class. “I’m going to grab a shower.
I’ll be down in a few.” As I turned to go back upstairs, I noticed
my car, asking incredulously, “You replaced my windshield? When did
you have time to do that?”

He smiled, “Nice, right? I had one in
the back for a restore I’ll be doing soon. I didn’t have a chance
to put it in until this morning. The glue is still curing. It’ll be
roadworthy in twenty minutes.”

Dave was beyond belief. Thrilled with
the notion that no icicles would form on my nose from the hole in
front of my face, “Thanks. What do I owe you?”

He tapped his head where the gash had
been, “Well, since my head did the bulk of the damage to it, it’ll
be my treat.”

Remembering how I had slammed on the
brakes trying to throw him through my windshield made me cringe. He
had to know I had purposely tried to knock him out, but he was
going to pay for it? “Don’t be silly. Tell me what I owe
you.”

Dave stepped toward me, his hands slid
down my arms as he smiled and looked squarely into my eyes. “You’re
paid in full.” He stood looking down on me for a second, his voice
softer as he added, “Thanks for last night.”

The memory of last night crawled back
into my consciousness. My heart still ached for him, but the
distant stare I had seen him wear last night was gone. He looked. .
. hopeful. I leaned into him, absorbing his warmth, as I murmured,
“Thanks.” I motioned to my backpack over my shoulder, “Um, I’m
going to grab that shower.”

Dave let go of me as I headed for the
stairs.

The bathroom was underwhelming. The
room was hardly bigger than my closet. I was greeted by a metal
freestanding shower with a vinyl shower curtain, and an avocado
green sink and toilet. It was easy to forgive the bathroom’s
appearance when I turned on the water: the high pressure head shot
scalding hot water into the shower stall. It felt so incredible I
would have stayed until I had emptied the water heater if I weren’t
a guest – wanting to check on Libby was another reason not to camp
out under the shower head.

A small cabinet hanging to the left of
the mirror held towels, each stacked neatly. Drying off was
difficult because it looked like I was in a steam room. I hadn’t
brought my hair dryer and opened the doors to the cabinet under the
sink hopefully. I found a few toiletries, all standing label first,
lined up perfectly, and spaced evenly from each other. I had never
seen a more organized bathroom storage area. Everything in Dave’s
life was neat and orderly – everything except me. In contrast, I
was a walking mess.

With my skin still partially damp, I
dug through my backpack and found a sweater and jeans. I wondered
what I was going to do about my hair. I couldn’t go outside like
this: my hair would freeze.

I tried to put the shampoo and
conditioner back under the sink the way I had found it, hung the
towel neatly beside the one already on the rack, and looked for
anything that might be out of place. As I stepped out of the
bathroom, Dave sat on his bed waiting for me. I sat on the couch to
put my boots back on.

I still looked like a wet rat, but at
least I didn’t smell like one anymore. Dave’s eyes locked on mine
as he held out a steaming mug. It smelled wonderful. I was
expecting coffee, but when I brought it to my lips, it tasted like
a mocha latte. “Mmmm,” my voice offered in thanks.

Dave smiled, “It’s coffee with a kick.
A packet of hot chocolate in a regular cup of coffee is a double
shot of caffeine and a pretty sweet way to start the
morning.”

I drained it quickly, not sure if it
was because of the taste or the fact that I had no idea what to say
about everything he had shared with me last night. I had always
been a restless sleeper, but after we drifted off to sleep, his
strong arms held me all night. Regardless of the awful memories he
had shared or my own circumstance, I had never felt
safer.

At the forefront of my mind was the
fact that he had a brother he hadn’t seen in over fifteen years.
Mark somehow knew the guy who had attacked Libby, scared Mrs.
Bavcock and stalked me. It could have been an innocent
relationship. For Dave’s sake as much as mine, I hoped it was. I
didn’t want for Mark to be involved.

That kiss yesterday on Dave’s stairs
was unexpected. If I hadn’t have gone to check on Mrs. Bavcock, I’m
not sure where that kiss may have taken us. Dave had always been so
guarded, not just around me, but with everyone. Last night when he
opened up, it was as if once he started telling me about his past,
he couldn’t stop.

Through the night, memories of his
electric kiss and the passion seeped into my dreams while stories
of being ripped away from the only family he knew got all jumbled
together. I wasn’t sure where that left us. I wanted to be strong
and supportive because I felt his pain last night, but I wanted to
be more than a shoulder for him to unload on, too.

I should have had something profound
to say: something to the effect that I would help him find his
brother, or that I wanted to be tangled up in his bed again with
him tonight, or maybe that I was here for him if he needed me. But
the words didn’t come. None of them. This new Dave was a stark
contrast to the one I had purposely befriended in high school. Back
then he was someone who looked like he needed someone to care, but
for the life of me, I couldn’t get close enough to learn why I felt
that way.

Now, knowing the secrets he carried
with him, he did need me. He was successful, strong, protective,
and could send shivers through my body with just a light caress.
Wet hair or not, I needed to get out of here before I made a
complete fool of myself. I would say something either stupid or
profoundly inappropriate. I liked where this relationship was
going, but I didn’t want to rush it.

Walking over to the opposite side of
the little studio, I set the cup in the sink. “Well, I’m going to
go check on Libby.”

His eyebrows drew together, “You think
that’s a good idea?”

“
It’s early. Stalkers don’t
get up this early. Besides, if she’s awake, I want to see
her.”

Dave stood up and moved to the sink,
rinsing out the cup I had set there. “How would you know? How many
stalkers have you had?” He asked good-naturedly. Before I could
answer he offered, “I’ll go to the hospital with you. Just give me
a minute to put a sign on the front door.”

He had already shut his business down
yesterday because of me. I couldn’t let him screw things up with
his customers again. Based on my conversation with the policeman
last night, having him out and about with an assault charge was a
seriously bad idea, as well. “That’s okay. It’s Thursday, I’ve got
a morning class, too. I haven’t been able to get ahold of Libby’s
dad to tell him, either.”

Dave squeezed my shoulder and looked
down into my eyes, “I could try to help you find her dad, then we
could go pick up your assignments. You could work on them here. If
you tell your teachers what’s going on, they’ll let you
slide.”

“
Speaking from
experience?”

“
Yeah, I was the king of ‘I
need more time’ when I was in school.”

“
That was high school. I’m
paying for this. If I wanted to learn from a book on my own, I
wouldn’t have written the tuition check. I’ll be fine.”

Dave put both his hands on my
shoulders as his brown eyes warned mine, “I don’t remember you
being this stubborn. At least let me try to help to find her dad.
What’s his name?”

Defensively I flared, “Henry Merrick.
And what do you mean stubborn?”

“
Uh, yeah, you’ve got some
killer stalking you, so I think you can skip a couple
classes.”

“
And do what?”

“
You can have the run of my
apartment. I won’t bother you. I’ll be downstairs if you need
me.”

Run of his apartment? Like from one
wall to another? “As enticing as that sounds,” and spending more
time with him today did seem decent, “I have a test to retake from
yesterday.”

Dave’s hands squeezed my shoulders, as
shivers erupted in my body. “I’d feel better if you were here –
where I could be sure you were safe.”

Leaning into him, I whispered a soft
kiss on his lips, “I’m glad you’ll miss me.”

“
I wouldn’t miss you if you
were here. I’d much rather not miss you.”

Grinning, “I don’t want to become a
piece of furniture. I’ll be back this afternoon.” I started for the
stairs, but paused at the top step long enough to see the
disappointment shining back at me through his eyes.

“
You could never be a piece
of furniture.” After a second he offered, “Hey, want to go to Bank
Shot tonight and see if anyone knows Mark?”

Inwardly I sort of cringed. The only
one I knew who would know Mark was one of the guys who was
responsible for turning my life upside down – Teddy. After
everything he had told me last night, there was no way I would deny
him. “Sounds great. I’ll be back late this afternoon.”

Holding his position near the kitchen
sink, he offered, “If you need me, for anything, call
me.”

A warmth spread through my body. I had
no doubt he would drop everything if I needed him, not that I
wanted to be someone who wasn’t capable of operating independently.
It made me feel good that Dave was only a phone call away. I blew
him a playful kiss from the stairs and went to my car.

Dave followed me down the steps. I
climbed into my car as he lifted the lever to let me out of the
garage. Dave’s expression was sad. . . maybe not sad – concerned.
My hand rested at the top of the steering wheel as I gave him a
quick wave and rolled out onto the street.

I spent less than fifteen minutes at
the hospital, after conferring with Libby’s doctor again and
finding there had been no change. She was still sedated. Larry had
spent the night in the waiting room. I offered to get him some
coffee, but he held up an empty paper cup tucked under his
chair.