Page 40 of Threat of Danger
After her shower, Jess dressed in black yoga pants and a white T-shirt before heading downstairs. Again, she paused at the top of the steps. She couldn’t see Derek. Maybe he was in the kitchen.
Zelda and Eliot were watching a cooking show, Zelda explaining how the hosts had been friends but were now married, how good the romance had been for ratings. Chuck sat in the easy chair. He must have popped in to say good night to Zelda. He’d fallen asleep.
Zelda shot him a quick look, and the expression on her face made Jess smile. It was an expression that said Chuck was here and all was right in Zelda’s world.
With Zelda’s feet resting on the ottoman, Jess could see her swollen ankles. Guilt bubbled up inside her when she thought about her mother and Zelda managing in the long term. Neither of them were getting any younger. But Jess couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t. Her stomach clenched at the thought.
She was over her Mother-has-a-boyfriend freak-out. She’d given up on never returning. She’d talked herself into regular visits. She was meeting everyone halfway. They couldn’t expect more from her than that.
As she looked down at the living room, exhaustion hit her—physical and emotional—as if someone had pulled a plug and drained all her energy.
The floor creaked behind her, and footsteps came closer. Didn’t take a genius to figure out who. So he was up here, then. Jess appreciated that he let her hear him coming instead of sneaking up behind her, but she didn’t turn. She didn’t want to be face-to-face with Derek in the narrow hallway.
He stopped behind her back.
“What are you doing up here?” she asked under her breath.
“Zelda told me I could grab a blanket from the linen closet.” He smelled like the winter woods.
He stood very close, his warm breath fanning her neck. And then he reached out and slowly put an arm around her, giving her time to push him away. When she didn’t, he pulled her against him, her back against his chest, and he bent his head to rest his chin on her shoulder. They were nearly cheek to cheek.
She’d always thought that if she ever met Derek again, things between them would be too awkward to bear. Except, none of this was awkward. They stood together as if they belonged with each other.
Suddenly and without warning, Jess slipped into an alternate universe. A universe where those torturous three days in the woods had never happened. Where Jess and Derek had gotten together and stayed together. Now, ten years later, they were living in this house. And Eliot downstairs, laughing with Zelda, was just a visiting friend.
Derek’s strength and warmth behind her was a comfort. Jess felt surrounded not by just his strong arm, but by his protection. For a moment, she completely relaxed, and an ever-elusive peace filled her. For a moment, shewantedthis alternate life—the sweet, seductive simplicity and rightness of it, the innocence of never having known darkness.
Then the moment was over.
Jess tore away from Derek and ran down the stairs—too abruptly and way too fast.
Eliot looked up at her, then smiled. Zelda hadn’t heard her, so she kept watching the TV.
Jess, heart still racing, perched on the arm of Eliot’s armchair. She wanted to be close to him, but maybe he thought she was looking for a spot to sit, because he stood. “You take the chair. I’ll take a shower. If it’s my turn.”
“Clean towels are in the bathroom cabinet.” What else could she say? She slid into the spot he freed for her.
Derek came downstairs.
Eliot went up.
Was there a moment of odd tension when the two passed each other?
Zelda didn’t seem to notice anything. She yawned. “I think I’ll tuck myself in for the night.”
“Good night.” Derek dropped into the chair next to Jess’s.
“Don’t let the sugar fairies bite.” Zelda winked at Jess.
The TV was still on, but once Zelda went upstairs, nobody watched the show.
Jess shifted in her seat. She couldn’t deal with that strange moment at the top of the stairs. She certainly didn’t want to talk about it.God, don’t let him bring it up.“I should go to bed too.”
Derek stretched his legs in front of him until the toes of his socked foot touched Jess’s. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
She pulled her foot away. “Hanging out with Eliot, I guess. I want to empty out Dad’s office, then bring Mom’s things down there. I don’t want her trying to navigate the stairs with a walker.”
Yesterday, when she’d been in her snit-fit, she figured her mother’s new boyfriend could take care of all that. But now that she’d calmed down over therelationship, she wanted to help again. Principal Crane was her mother’s age. He shouldn’t be dragging furniture down stairs. If he fell and broke a hip, they’d be a matching pair.
