Five of Hearts, page 18
Wait, so Shannon and Vince weren’t reconciling? There was hope for him after all! A wildly inappropriate urge to let out a joyous whoop was only squelched by Dean’s fear for the welfare of Shannon’s children. He shared in her protective need to find them safe and sound. There would be time to celebrate later—as a family.
They pulled up to a white raised ranch on a side street in the center of town. The driveway was empty, but Dean could see a couple of vehicles in the attached garage. Someone was home. Shannon hadn’t even waited for the van to stop before she’d flung herself out the door, already running for the porch steps.
“Hollis Bainbridge, get your ass out here!”
“Shannon? What on earth has gotten into you?” An older woman stepped out the front door, hands on her wide hips. Could this be Eden Bainbridge, Hollis’s wife and Vince’s mother? She was looking at Shannon as though the young mother had lost her mind.
“Where is he, Eden? Where are my kids?” Shannon’s voice was raw with unshed tears. Dean had managed to catch up to her and gripped her hand tightly, lending her his strength.
“Well, isn’t this revealing? Give this woman a Mother of the Year award. She’s managed to lose not one, but three kids. That’s talent, folks.” Hollis had appeared behind his wife.
“What did you do with them?” Shannon would have been in the man’s face if it weren’t for the restraining arm Dean flung around her waist.
“I don’t have your kids, you crazy woman! Why would I take them?”
“Because you’ve threatened it. Because you wanted Vince to steal custody from me. Because you’ve told horrible lies to everyone you love just to ruin my life.” Shannon was sobbing now.
Eden shot a glare over her shoulder as she reached for Shannon. The hate in her eyes told Dean this probably wasn’t the first time the older man had played with his family’s emotions. The younger woman collapsed in her arms. “Hollis, you have a lot of explaining to do once this is over.” She straightened Shannon up, wiped the tears from her face, and hugged her hard. “Young lady, you go home and wait by the phone. If the police have any leads, they will call you there. Hollis and I will do anything we can.”
Dean reached for Shannon’s hand and drew her with him to the minivan. She kept looking back at the house, back at Hollis. He knew how she felt. It was their only lead and it hadn’t panned out. Now they truly had no idea where the triplets had gone. Doing as Mrs. Bainbridge had suggested, Dean headed for the cottage.
“I didn’t even wait for the police to arrive at the Farmer’s Market, Dean. They need pictures. I’m not doing this right.” She looked lost, so young and so lost.
“We’ll find them. We’ll find them together.” He reached for her hand and she grabbed it for the lifeline it was.
“I knew I could count on you, Dean. I knew it was safe to trust you with my heart, my kids. I love you so much. Don’t ever leave.”
She was babbling. Dean would give anything to know those words were true, but Shannon was under an incredible strain and probably wasn’t even aware of what she was saying. When this was all over, and the kids were safely back home, he hoped to hear those words again.
• • •
A police car awaited them in the driveway. Did they have her children? Were they safe? Her throat was closed so tightly she couldn’t even cry. Her stupid fingers wouldn’t work on the door handle. She slapped ineffectually at the window. The door opened from the outside and Dean reached in for her, lifting her bodily from the car.
“Mommy!”
Shannon slid from his arms and looked around, desperately, for the source of that sweet little voice. A police officer had opened the door to the back of the cruiser and all three of her little angels were tumbling out. They met in a tangle of arms and bobbing red heads. She kissed every surface she could find, searching for injuries.
“Ms. Fitzgerald? I’m Officer Eaton. I found your children at the Farmer’s Market down by the beach.” He shook her hand and gestured to the kids. “I believe they have something to tell you.”
Shannon sat down in the driveway, sobbing. She gathered everyone into her lap at once. Holding on so tightly, she had to remind herself to be careful not to hurt them. She closed her eyes, absorbing the warmth of their little bodies, the sweet smell of their hair. Her babies were home. They were safe. She could breathe again.
“We were bad, Mommy. You should punish us.” Brady took the lead on this one.
“It was my idea. You said Mr. Dean was gonna be at the beach too. I thought we could go find him. We just wanted to see him again. Spend time with him.” Brian held tightly to her neck and mumbled into her throat.
“But we aren’t allowed to cross the street by ourselves. We got away from you and went out to the street and saw that we couldn’t go anywhere.” Brenna’s eyes were huge, brimming with tears.
“Then you were running around and screaming. We were in a ton of trouble. We got scared.”
“And so we hid from you. But then it got quiet. We came out of the back room and you were gone. Our van was gone. You left.” Brady’s lower lip was quivering as he looked to his mother for answers.
“Oh, baby, I thought someone took you. I thought I knew who did it and I rushed off like a fool to go take you back.” Shannon stroked her son’s hair, sending an apologetic look at the police officer, who had taken out a small notebook when he heard this.
“I should never have left the market. I didn’t know.” Shannon dropped another round of kisses on cheeks, elbows, and sweaty foreheads. Dean crouched down beside her.
“Your mom was doing what she thought was best. She loves you so much and you all gave her a very big scare.”
“Mommy, Mr. Dean, we’re so sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you.” They all hung their heads in shame.
Brenna sniffled, reaching out her hands so that she held one of her mother’s and one of Dean’s. “Do you still love us?”
Dean gathered the little girl into his own lap and reached for Shannon’s free hand. He dropped a kiss onto Brenna’s head and smiled at Shannon. “Yes, of course we still love you.”
• • •
Shannon tucked the covers around one side of her big bed, while Dean did the other side. She left one of the bedside lamps on and joined him at the foot of the bed. He gathered her into his arms and they stood quietly for a moment, watching the triplets sleeping peacefully. Part of her wanted to stay there, ever vigilant. She knew today’s scare would stay with her the rest of her life.
“Come on out here. I think today’s adventures call for a nice glass of wine,” he whispered, taking her hand as he led her from the room.
“Dean, this could have turned out so much worse. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost them, really lost them.”
They were seated on the couch, shoulders and legs touching. Shannon gripped her wine stem tightly and laid her head on Dean’s shoulder.
“Don’t think about it. They’re safe. They’re home. We’re not going to let anything happen to them … ever.” He pressed his lips to her hair, the kiss lingering.
“We?” She took a sip of the dry Chardonnay. Just that morning she’d dared to hope that she could have her own happily ever after. But then he’d told her it was better that they keep their distance.
Dean blew out a gusty sigh that tickled as it made its way down her neck and straight under the ribbed tank top she wore. He set his wine glass down on the coffee table, gently slipping hers from her fingers and placing it beside his own. He twisted on the couch cushion, reaching for Shannon’s hands. His thumbs rubbed circles into her knuckles.
“I guess I need to back up a bit, huh?” He waited for her to meet his eyes. The warmth and sincerity she saw there had her leaning closer.
“Maybe a little.”
“So, your birthday party … that I crashed with all of my friends,” he began.
“You were invited. I meant to invite you. I should have …” She dropped her gaze to her lap, chewing on her bottom lip as shame infused her cheeks with a prickly heat.
“Shh … I’m not done.” He placed a finger on her lips for a fleeting moment and brushed a thumb across her cheekbone before taking hold of her hand once again.
“I messed up so bad. I lied about who I was. I created the perfect life here in this little town with you and I was so scared that if I told you who I was, you’d see me differently. I asked my bandmates to help convince you that I wasn’t this deadbeat jerk of a celebrity. I figured if you saw how they’d traded fame for family, you could see that I could do it too.”
“You sure you didn’t invite them out here to reassure yourself that you could become a family man?” She tilted her head to the side, her left brow raised high as she waited for his answer.
“Didn’t have to. You showed me that. You and Brady and Brian and that little flirt, Brenna.” He squeezed her hands, the love in his eyes squeezing her heart.
“But I thought everything was okay. I was so happy when I woke up this morning. Then the kids told me you didn’t even speak to them at the party. They wanted to know what I’d done. Only, I didn’t know.” Just remembering it made it a little hard to breathe.
“I was so stupid, Shannon. I saw Vince at the party. I wasn’t even sure if he was there because you’d gotten back together or not. It didn’t matter. I’d convinced myself that he deserved to be their father more than me. He’s their biological father, after all. I was trying to be this noble freaking gentleman and back off. Telling you no this morning was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“Oh, Dean.” She melted against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding on for dear life. After a moment, she raised her head and gave him a watery smile. “I should have explained. Vince wanted to meet them, but on my terms. The kids don’t even know he’s their father. They thought they were just meeting an old friend of mine. Yeah, it scared the hell out of me when he emailed to announce he was coming to town to visit. I wanted to talk to you about it. But I wasn’t speaking to you.” She rolled her eyes, disgusted with herself.
“I wish you had.”
“Me too.” She traced a finger across his knee, grinning at his quick intake of breath. “Vince was here looking for absolution, or something like that. He’s getting remarried. He was definitely not here to pick up where we left off.” Shannon took a second to sneak in a gulp of wine. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, a bright smile in place. “He likes you, you know. I told him how good you are with the triplets. He’s happy that they’ve got such a good male role model.”
“I don’t need his approval,” Dean growled. The hard set of his jaw showed determination, possessiveness.
While it was a tad caveman, Shannon couldn’t deny that his reaction was an incredible turn on. She squirmed on the couch, taking another big sip of wine to cool her parched throat.
“Even if I hadn’t found you in the parking lot of that produce stand, I intended to come by today. I was going to convince you that I’d make the better dad for those kids. Just because he donated sperm, doesn’t make him a father.”
“Preaching to the choir, babe.” She winked, then sobered. One last question was still bothering her.
“Are you sure you’re staying here in Scallop Shores? Won’t you miss all the perks that come with living in Southern California?”
“Of course I’m staying here. I’m the new music teacher at the elementary school, remember?” His smile was teasing.
“It’s just that, at the party, I heard everyone talking about some reunion special taping in LA. I thought you were going back.”
“Yeah, the reunion show. I didn’t want to do it, but I promised the guys that if they came out and helped me win you back, I’d do the stupid show … for them. Tit for tat, ya know? But that’ll take a weekend, tops. The kids are going to love the West Coast. Have they ever been on a plane? Oh, we’ll have to include Disneyland. Okay, maybe we need more than a weekend.”
Shannon set her glass down on the coffee table and turned to Dean, who was still chattering excitedly about all the different theme parks in the Los Angeles area. Her smile was bemused.
“You want us to come with you? All of us?”
“Of course. I’m not going anywhere without you … all of you. Because we’re a family now. Or at least I think of us as a family. I mean, if you want to come with me. I didn’t even ask.” He wiped sweaty palms on his cargo shorts, his eyes darting between Shannon’s face and the wine glass he’d abandoned just inches away.
“You’re right. You aren’t going anywhere unless we all go—as a family.” She traced his rugged jaw with her index finger. “I love you, you know.”
“And I love you—all four of you.”
More from This Author
(From Drawn to Jonah by Jennifer DeCuir)
If bad things really did come in threes, then a flat tire in a chilly October rainstorm rounded out the trifecta. Though a failed marriage and the death of her beloved grandmother certainly put this particular crimp in perspective. Quinn eased her BMW to the shoulder and prayed that she wasn’t inviting more trouble by getting the wheels stuck in gooey, back roads mud. She leaned her head against the backrest and closed her eyes.
The engine was idling, the wipers barely able to keep up with the sheet of rain pouring steadily from the sky. Daylight was giving up its last gasp and Quinn was stranded on a road that didn’t see much traffic at the best of times. This move back to Scallop Shores, Maine, was not starting off well.
She rooted through the usual plethora of junk in her purse, searching for her elusive cell phone. Of course it hid at the very bottom. Quinn grimaced when her fingers came in contact with something sticky — she didn’t want to know. Seconds later, she fished the phone out of her bag. “Yes!”
The battery was dead. “No, no, no!” She threw the phone to the floor, startling the cat in the kennel beside her, still sleepy from kitty-downers. “I just charged this last night.” The day officially could not get any worse.
Distracted, she didn’t realize she was no longer alone on the quiet rural road until a tall silhouette suddenly loomed at the driver’s side window. Grizzabella, the cat, hissed. Quinn screamed. Her heart thudded in time with the thumping on her window as the larger-than-life man tried to get her attention. How had he snuck up on her like that?
She twisted in her seat to look behind her. Sure enough, a large white pickup truck had pulled to the edge of the road, its light color still discernable against the bright autumn wardrobe that dressed the trees lining the road. Squinting, Quinn could make out someone else in the truck.
The city girl in her balked at the idea of opening her window, even an inch, to talk to this man. But the small-town girl, the one raised right here, remembered that folks in Scallop Shores helped each other out. Even if it meant getting a thorough dousing while waiting to do a good deed. She lowered the window.
“Got yourself into a bind, huh? Pop the trunk, I’ll get the spare out.” He grinned, showing dazzling teeth, and Quinn thought it unfair that one man could have been gifted with so many gorgeous features.
“I can get out. Do you want me to get out? Maybe I could help.” Quinn shoved a knuckle into her mouth to stop the blathering.
Raking a large hand through his soggy dark hair, the stranger tossed her an amused stare and shook his head. When she just sat there, he nodded toward the button that would release the trunk. Oh yeah.
Quinn sunk low in her seat, embarrassed that she’d gotten so flustered over a good-looking stranger. He was just a man. She scooted back up and checked out what was going on through the rearview mirror. He hefted out the spare tire and jack and slammed the trunk closed. He really was big. Tall, broad-shouldered, pec muscles clearly defined by the soaked-through T-shirt that clung like a second skin.
Sure her assessment through the rearview mirror had been covert, Quinn nearly squealed when the stranger stopped to stare back at her. Even in the fading twilight, she could see just how icy blue his eyes were. There was nothing icy about the slow heat that spread through her veins when their eyes met.
She squirmed in her seat, trying to ignore this physical reaction that she had no time or use for. Relief flooded through her as she spied her sketchpad on the passenger seat. She snatched it like a lifeline. Switching on the overhead light and flipping to an empty sheet, she braced the little notebook against the bouncing of the car as it was jacked up. Quinn started to draw. She always started with the eyes. What would hers say right now?
Relief. Things hadn’t worked out. Marriage wasn’t for everyone. Coming back to the small New England town where she was raised was the perfect place to start over. She was better off alone.
Her thoughts wandered until a tap on her window made her jump again. She lowered it just a crack.
“Making sure you’ll have a positive ID for the police?” He lowered his gaze to the drawing in her lap. Quinn looked down in horror to see the stranger’s face staring back at her.
“I, uh, sketch when I’m bored.” She’d meant to say nervous but didn’t want him to know how much he’d affected her. She ripped the page out of the book and passed it through the space in the window. “Here, take it.”
He took the picture, staring at it curiously.
“I’d really like to give you something for your time.” Oh good lord, could that have come out any more suggestive? Quinn felt her cheeks grow warm again.
“I was raised not to expect anything for helping someone in need.”
“Then I hope to return the favor someday.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to change a flat on my truck?” Chuckling, he headed back to his own vehicle.
That wasn’t what she’d meant! He had deliberately misunderstood her. Quinn turned around in her seat, but he was already getting into his truck. He pulled up alongside her car and rolled down the passenger side window.
“Have a nice trip.”
He’d noticed the New York plates then.
