Protecting the Dream (11 page)

“Do you know what happened to Ellie’s body? If so—”

Jordan adamantly shook her head. “I didn’t see anything after she fell down the stairs.”

“Then we’ve got nothing. Nothing beyond what they had seven years ago. No body. The suspect is dead.”

He scooted to the edge of the couch and stared unblinking at the floor, trying to get a handle on the mess.

Jordan uncharacteristically let him think without interruption.

“Chances are we’re never going to be able to prove he killed Joe Henderson, even if we comb through old case files. We think maybe there was some mishandled money, but how do we know for sure? We can’t very well go to the police and ask them to look into it. The only evidence we have is your dream. And we can’t . . .”

Jordan stood when his words trailed off. She folded her arms across her chest and raised a brow. “Can’t what? Can’t walk into a precinct full of cops and tell them your psychic girlfriend had a dream? Can’t ask to reopen a cold case based on that dream? Would that be
uncomfortable
for you?”

She turned her
you-are-such-a-dickhead
expression on him. “What’s the matter, Ty? Afraid of looking like a jackass?”

He was pretty certain he already
did
look like a jackass. This was what she’d been trying to explain all along, the reason she was so tight-lipped about her dreams.

“Look, I don’t doubt your dream. I just mean—”

“I know exactly what you mean. A theory or suspicion or
dream
means nothing without evidence.
Even if your gut knows the truth
. Welcome to my world, cowboy.”

He moved to where she stood and put his arms around her waist. “Maybe it’s time we pack up and leave. I’m sorry I got us mixed up in this. I can’t see it ending well.”

Jordan trapped his face between her hands and forced his gaze to hers. “I’m not leaving. Not now.”

“But Ellie Henderson was murdered in this house. Do you really want to start a life together here?”

She smiled. “Just because someone took her life here, that doesn’t mean she hates us. If Ellie wants us out, she’ll give me a sign. And if she wants me to pursue this investigation, it won’t matter where I sleep at night. She’ll show me what I need to know whether I’m here or in my condo in Saint Louis. The Hendersons were victims. It may take some time for the pieces to fall together, but eventually we’ll prove to everyone what happened. And we’ll have hard evidence when we do. In such cases, waiting is definitely the hardest part.”

“I don’t know how we’ll ever make this right,” he said.

Jordan snuggled into him. “I do. I bet they buried Joe Henderson somewhere in town. Not only did some greedy bastard kill them both, but Ellie isn’t buried next to her husband. That’s not right. Ellie Henderson should at least get to spend eternity near Joe. I’m going to make that happen for her, Ty. I swear I will.”

***

Ty had spent two days being mysterious and quiet. He claimed to be working on a project out in the stable, but he wouldn’t tell Jordan what it was. He also told her not to go to the lake.

Maybe sharing her dream and all that had happened to the Hendersons had been a mistake. After all, she’d had a lifetime of experience dealing with the unpleasant events she dreamed about. Ty was still getting used to the idea that the dreams were even real.

It was hard to let her mind think it, but what if he’d been acting so strangely because he now realized what life would be like with someone like her? What if he’d decided he couldn’t do it?

She was standing at the kitchen counter staring aimlessly at paint samples when he plowed through the kitchen door.

“Grab a jacket, woman. We’re taking a walk.”

Teasing mischief lit his eyes. And if instincts counted for anything, hers said that his expression wasn’t screaming,
I’m ready to dump you
.

“Does this mean I’m no longer under house arrest?” she asked.

“You were never under house arrest.” He moved to where she stood, pressed her against the countertop, and gave her one hell of a kiss. “I just needed to take care of a few things.”

After one of his kisses, she always felt like the human equivalent of a helpless deer trapped in Tyler McGee headlights—stunned by the shocking sensations and crippled with utter stupidity. Any doubt about how he felt about her vanished as well, so at least there was that.

Zipping her jacket, she followed him outside.

The sky was clear and bright, the air fresh and crisp. Fifty-two degrees was practically a heat wave for the first of March in Missouri. She trailed behind him, recognizing that they were headed for the lake.

“Now, we can do this one of two ways.” He stopped and faced her. “Either you can close your eyes when I tell you to, or I can use this.” He pulled the black scarf out of his back pocket.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” She folded her arms over her chest. “That ship has sailed, sailor. The last time I let you blindfold me, I ended up with a house.”

He grinned and leaned in to kiss her.

She stepped back, threw up her hands. “Not happening, pal. You think I don’t know my own weakness? You’re not getting anywhere near me with those lips.” She stabbed a finger at the scarf. “Especially not with that thing in your hand.”

“Come on. My surprise is nowhere as big as a house. It’s much smaller.”

Her heart gave a squeeze of panic. “How small?”

He chuckled, immediately following her train of thought. “It’s not a ring, I swear. It’s not much of anything actually, and you’re ruining the fun.” He gave up and took her hand. “Fine, spoilsport. Keep your eyes open.”

“Okay, all right,” she grumbled. “Just stop. And walk slower so I don’t trip.” She closed her eyes. “But I’m going to remind you, trust is a fragile thing in a relationship. If you fuck it up—”

“Hey, don’t blame me for your insane trust issues.” He swept her up into his arms. “You were fucked up long before I got to you.”

She surprised them both by throwing her head back and laughing. “You know, I’d really be pissed off if that weren’t so true.”

About five minutes later, he stopped. Based on the moist, earthy scent and the faint rippling-water sound, they were next to the lake. He eased her to her feet. To be a good sport, she kept her eyes shut.

“This feels kind of anticlimactic after the big buildup, but you can look now.”

She opened her eyes. Just a few feet from the boulder she liked to sit on, a wooden swing hung from a big wooden frame. A trellis was fixed to the top. Desperately afraid her voice wouldn’t work, she stood quietly taking it in. The amount of work he’d put into it in such a short amount of time . . . It just . . . 

She couldn’t finish the thought, much less form a lucid response. “It’s beautiful,” she finally managed. Drawing in a shaky breath, she inched closer. She stroked the wood, traced her fingers down the rich, dark grain. “I can’t believe you did this,” she whispered.

“You seem to like it outside more than inside.”

She lifted her head and stared at him.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “I figured once in a while you might like to sit on something more comfortable than that big rock.”

“Can I sit?”

He laughed. “Well, if you don’t, I went to a lot of trouble for nothing.”

She eased onto the swing, barely shifted it.

“Oh, come on, you wuss. Didn’t you ever have a swing set as a kid?” He plopped next to her, sending them both flying backwards with a big push of his foot.

The unexpected shove made her squeal in the most un-cop-like way. She threw her arms out like an airplane and actually giggled.

Ty dragged his foot to slow them and chuckled. “Okay, okay. I’m not sure the cement is totally set around the frame.”

They were both smiling like kids. Was it any wonder she’d turned her back on everything safe and tumbled straight into a rabbit hole with this man? Those deep gray eyes were dangerous enough all on their own. He had to go and be all amazing on top of it.

She rubbed the wood again. “You built this for me?”

“You.” He nodded. “And Ellie Henderson.” He stood and picked up a piece of wood from the ground, turning it so she could read an inscription on one side.

In loving memory of Mary Ellen Henderson.

Jordan blinked, but her eyes and nose and throat burned ridiculously.

“Obviously we’ll get a real plaque. I was just goofing around with that.” Tossing the wood aside, he sat next to her again. “I got to thinking about what you said. Since her body was never found, Ellie Henderson doesn’t have anything to honor her memory. It just didn’t seem right.”

He slipped his hand around hers. “I didn’t know the Hendersons well. Still, I feel bad living in this house—hell, in this town—without paying Ellie some respect. I can’t believe no one has done something for her before now.”

Jordan swallowed, fought to find her voice again. “Everyone thought she ran away. Left town and her troubles behind.”

“But she didn’t. That wasn’t Ellie Henderson.” Ty squeezed her hand tighter. “We know differently, and now that we do, I thought we could j—”

Jordan pulled her hand from his and pressed her fingers against her eyes, but there was no stopping the emotion rising from deep inside.

When she glanced at Ty, his mouth had dropped open and his eyes were wide. He looked stricken. “Baby, I didn’t know it would upset you. I can find another way to honor her.”

“You stupidly sweet idiot, will you just quit talking for a few seconds? Christ
,
I can’t even catch my breath.” She swiped at the tears that hedged dangerously close to the
ugly cry
category. “I swear if you don’t quit twisting me into knots, I’m gonna cram every inch of that blindfold you like so much into your mouth.”

A few long breaths helped to ease her back to composure. But she waited a moment longer to speak.

“I love the idea of the swing, the memorial, the plaque.” She swallowed hard. “But to the rest of the world, she’s not dead, just missing.”

“Do you think there’s even a small chance she’s still alive?”

“No.” Jordan shook her head. “I
know
she was pushed her down the stairs and broke her neck.”

“And I know it now, too. Look, I’m sorry everyone gave up on her. It shouldn’t have taken a psychic or a dream to conclude she’s dead. The woman disappeared—didn’t anyone give a shit? Didn’t anyone wonder? I mean, for fuck’s sake, Jordan, not knowing what happened to Tara was a huge horrible hole inside me . . .” He dragged his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. It just pisses me off knowing what happened and that nobody did a thing.”

“
We’ll
do something. It might take time and patience, but eventually we’ll get all the answers.” Jordan crooked her finger and coaxed his lips to hers. She kissed him slowly. Kissed him deeply. Kissed him until they both had to pull back for breath.

Ty smiled. “Was that because I built you a swing? Because I’m very good with my hands. I’d like to see what happens when I build you a gazebo or something even bigger.”

She shook her head. She had no intention of telling him that his hands, no matter how ingeniously he used them, had nothing to do with the fact that she was perfectly dumb in love with him. It wasn’t the swing, it wasn’t his big heart, wasn’t even his memorial idea. It was simply that she’d told him Mary Ellen Henderson was dead and the only proof she had was a dream.

And he believed her.

No questions, no doubt, he simply believed her. That kind of acceptance and trust came along . . . well,
never
that she could remember. Her own mother had blown off her dreams.

For that reason alone, the decision to buy the old house got much easier. She’d follow Tyler McGee to the ends of the earth, live any inconvenient place he wanted to live. Spend any unreasonable amount of money rebuilding a house that would have been a hell of a lot easier to knock down than fix up.

“You think Ellie Henderson will like her memorial here?” he asked.

Jordan looked out over the lake and laced her fingers with his. “I have no idea what Ellie thinks about us being here. I’ve asked her to give me a sign, tried to connect with her, and there’s just nothing.” She turned her head and looked at Ty. “But I love what you’ve done here. And I love you. I think that’s all that matters for now.”

Chapter 10

The next morning, Jordan picked up her furry charity case from the vet.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. The dog’s big brown eyes glared at her from inside “the cone of shame,” as the vet had referred to it.

“If you lick and chew your stitches, you have to wear a lampshade around your head. I don’t make the rules.” But she was damned sure going to enforce them since the whole debacle had cost nearly a thousand dollars—for a dog she didn’t technically own.

Yeah
,
the spectacular grand total probably wouldn’t be the first thing she’d be mentioning to Ty.

The dog appeared disgusted. She turned away and looked out the window.

Jordan turned the key in Ty’s big truck. It rumbled to life, and Jordan cruised out of the vet parking lot and onto the road.

The dog circled in the seat and knocked the clunky plastic cone against Jordan’s arm when she tried to nuzzle closer. “All right, come on. Lie down.”

The dog wedged her head between Jordan and the steering wheel.

“Um, I don’t think that’s safe, girl.” But the dog looked up with those huge brown eyes, and it was a done deal. Jordan caved, laid her hand on the dog’s side, and lightly petted her.

“Okay, here’s the plan. We’re sitting pretty because Ty got to pick out the house. Plus, rumor has it that he owns three horses he intends to move to our stable. So if you don’t belong to anyone else, I have some leverage here. I can talk him into letting you stay. But he’s crazy about this house, so no pooping on the floor. He won’t like that. And we’re not going to mention you may need another surgery down the road.”

She glanced down. The dog blinked and yawned like they were old friends and had done this routine several times before.

“Sweet
and
pathetic, that’s a good look for you, especially if you
do
poop on the floor. Ty goes for that look; I use it myself sometimes. And we should name you before we get home. A name makes it more personal.”

Jordan tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “Let’s see, what name fits you? You’re a girl, so Rover and Spot are out. Princess? Lady?”

The dog groaned.

“Yeah, you and I both passed the princess stage many moons ago, didn’t we? You look a little like Swiss cheese with the number of holes torn in you, so we could call you Swiss.”

The dog sat up, glaring as if offended.

“I’m sorry, just kidding.” She scratched the dog’s neck. “You’re still beautiful, mostly on the inside right now, but your hair will grow back.” Jordan laughed. “Don’t worry, you’re still my beauty.”

The dog managed to push her head closer and give Jordan a big lick.

“Thank you for the kiss.” Jordan wiped her hand down her cheek and laughed again. “You like
Beauty
, do you?”

They were stopped at a light. Jordan studied the dog, who could only be described as esthetically challenged. One ear had been torn almost clean off. Half of her body was shaved in a willy-nilly pattern most closely resembling poorly executed crop circles. And she had a wicked underbite.

“Beauty it is,” Jordan agreed. She could have sworn the silly dog smiled.

They enjoyed the rest of the ride to the ranch. The sun was shining, and the temperature was fairly warm. Beauty kept looking at the passenger window, as if she were mentally willing it to disappear.

“We’ll do the rolled-down window thing another day. When you’re not wearing a giant funnel that might catch wind and turn you into a canine kite.”

Jordan signaled and hung a left into their gravel drive. Then she immediately hit the brake.

The sight of Trevor and Ty on top of the roof of the old house grabbed her around the throat. “Seriously, guys?” Ty had said they were getting an estimate on the roof today. She thought that meant a
roofer
would be crawling around the steep inclines of the house, not Ty.

The man and his projects were going to drive her out of her everlasting mind. “You know, I’d happily pay someone to put on a new roof if he’d stay the hell off of it.”

Beauty yawned in agreement.

Jordan eased through the gate. She wondered if he had his phone up there because she’d sure like to call and give him an earful. Some jobs were better left to a professional. She crawled out of the truck, and Beauty leaped out behind her.

Ty looked in her direction and waved.

She waved back and pointed, adamantly, to the ground.

He gave her a big thumbs-up and a smile.

“Thumbs-up? What’s that supposed to mean? I’ll give him a thumbs-up.”

He knelt down to inspect the shingles and stood again. Once. Twice. The third time, he stumbled back a few steps.

His arms flailed as he stepped to the side. Trevor grabbed for him, but he wasn’t close enough to catch hold.

Jordan’s heart lurched. She sucked in a breath and raced to the side of the house. She saw Ty fall. “Oh God, Ty,” she screamed.

Tumbling off the roof, he reached out, snagging a limb from the overgrown tree brushing the siding. The limb bent under his weight, lowering him smooth and steady most of the way down before he slid off and dropped the final few feet to the ground.

Jordan dropped to the ground beside him. “Ty? Tyler, say something.” She knew her cries were making no sense, but oh, holy God, she refused to lose him to this kind of stupidity.

Trevor—opting for the ladder—wasn’t far behind. “Oh man, does he need an ambulance?”

“No, I’m fine,” Ty finally said after he’d gulped in several big breaths. He sat up. “Landing knocked the wind out of me, but I’m good.” He reached for Jordan’s hands. “It’s fine, baby. Really.”

She exchanged a glance with Trevor, then they both turned back to Ty.

He smiled. No, he grinned. A big, fat, shit-eating grin.

“I’m better than fine. Did you frigging see that?” He pointed to the tree and laughed. “That was one in a million. I mean, what are the odds of falling off a roof and being lowered to the ground like you’re sliding down a fireman’s pole?”

Jordan punched his shoulder. “This isn’t funny. You scared the hell out of me. Don’t we take enough stupid chances in our jobs without you crawling around on top of a damned roof?”

Beauty pushed her cone-wrapped head between Jordan and Ty. She lifted one paw to Jordan’s arm.

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry. But, baby, I really am fine.” He stroked a knuckle against her cheek but did a double take at the dog. “And I’m in a lot better shape than she is.”

“That’s for sure.” Trevor chuckled. “Poor thing must have fallen out of the same ugly tree you did. Only she hit every branch on the way down.”

Offended on Beauty’s behalf, Jordan stared between them. “Ty could have died falling off that roof, but you boneheads go ahead and make jokes about the dog. Screw you both.” She shot to her feet. “Come on, Beauty.”

Jordan stood, turned on her heel, and stomped toward the house.

Trevor laughed. “What’d she call that dog?”

Ty raced up behind her, snaked his arms around her waist, and picked her up off the ground when she fought him. “Settle down, Short Fuse.” He set her back on her feet when she quit struggling.

She whipped around to face him, furious that she’d actually let a tear escape.

Ty tipped her chin up so that she had no choice but to look at him. “I’m sorry, baby. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Tyler McGee, there better not be a next time. If you so much as even think about climbing up on that roof again, I will pack up everything I have here—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Shhh
 
. . .”

His lips came down on hers—and damn him—he knew exactly how to diffuse her temper. And stir up a whole mess of different emotions in the process. She gave up and clung to him, put her arms around him, and just held on. 

“What if that tree hadn’t been there?” she whispered against his lips. “God, Ty.”

“I know,” he said. “I’m still trying to make sense of it, too. It was like a miracle or something. Like someone was watching out for me.”

And Jordan knew in that instant—deep in her heart she
knew
—someone
had
been watching out for him. She tipped her head back. “It certainly seems that way, doesn’t it?”

He smiled. “Well, I’d like to believe I’m a quick thinker and quick to react, but flipping around and clutching at that tree didn’t enter my mind until about ten seconds
after
I hit the ground. So either I have lightning-fast reflexes or a guardian angel.”

“Maybe both.” Jordan smiled at him. “And maybe we just got our answer as to whether Ellie likes the memorial you made for her.”

Jordan kissed his neck with a silent thank-you to the Hendersons. She’d gotten the sign she’d been waiting for. Any doubt about Ellie wanting them there vanished.

“I think we should go ahead and sign a contract on this place. Anywhere you can take a nosedive off the roof and land on the ground without a scratch is probably a good place to call home.”

“You sure? It’s a big place for just two people.”

Beauty bumped her head against their legs.

“Well, for two people it is kind of big. But for three, I’d say it’s just about right.” She patted Beauty’s cone head. “Say hello to your new roommate.”

Ty looked down at the dog.

On cue, Beauty cocked her head and suckered him with those big brown eyes and pleading expression. Sad, soulful, needy—just like they’d talked about. Then she did that funny scrunched-up thing with her muzzle that made her look like she was smiling.

The conniving little canine was good.

“You really want to keep her, huh?” Ty said. “She’s kind of a mess. How much was that vet bill, anyway?”

Jordan leaned into him and touched her lips to his. “A lot less than it will cost to keep a horse or two in our stables.”

Ty simply shook his head. “A smart man knows when he’s in a fight he can’t win.”

“I should hope so.” She winked at Beauty, then wrapped her arms around Ty’s neck and kissed him thoroughly. Thoroughly enough that even though he’d lost this one battle, maybe he’d feel like he won the war.

But who was she kidding? A beautiful house. A beautiful stretch of land. A beautiful man who accepted everything about her, even the dreams. She was the one who had won the war. And more importantly, she may have just found the one thing she’d been seeking for over twenty years.

Home.