Danny's War (Rolling Thunder Series Book 3) (16 page)

Tammy nodded and, braving the looks of the men in the room, she turned to them and waved once while adding, “Have fun.” She promptly turned and walked out.

***

“Hey, sexy.”

Tammy looked up from her computer screen and into the eyes of the sexiest man in the world to her.

“Hey, how did it go?”

Danny all but bounced into her office and walked around the desk. Leaning his butt on the desktop, he watched as she pushed away and faced him.

“It was fantastic. It’s exactly what you thought it would be; we just talked. You have some great men here.”

Laughing Tammy said, “We do. We have a few women here as well, but only about fifteen of them. They usually don’t sit in the groups with the guys. Are you coming back?”

“Absolutely. Next week and every week if they want me to. They asked all kinds of questions about the Bradley and our current weapons and technology. I’m going to see if I can set up a tour for them at the base here. They’d like to see an MRAP and some other vehicles. I wish I had a Bradley here to show them.”

Danny excitedly told her about their visit. Tammy was lost in the look on his face. As he talked about the men, his dark brown eyes glowed with happiness. His full sensual lips took on a softness as they spoke and the smiles were frequent. His hands, so strong and large, gestured with emotion as he told her the things he wanted to do with these men. And she was lost in him. In his excitement.

“SO YOU HAVEN’T
told him yet?” Molly asked as she swirled the wine in her glass, watching the slightly amber liquid glide down the inside of her glass.

“No. I started to tell him, then his phone rang and we went to the hospital to meet his new nephew. When we went back to his place that night, we were both exhausted. The following day he was nervous in the morning about going into Stateside the first time and I didn’t want to say anything then. I know in my heart he’d never do anything like Scott did. But he took a picture of me while I was sleeping and it creeps me out.”

Tammy pushed her hair over her shoulder as she leaned forward to pick up her wine glass from the coffee table. Taking a sip, she snuggled into the corner of her sofa and trained her eyes on Molly.

“We haven’t been able to see each other that much lately, I missed you.”

Molly’s lips formed the prettiest smile, her bright blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “I know, I missed you too. So, I have big news and I’m freaking out.”

“Well, don’t keep me in the dark any longer. Spill.”

“At Gunnar’s adoption party we were looking at old pictures he has from his biological dad’s wife. One thing led to another and Joci thinks Gunnar and I are brother and sister. Can you believe that shit?”

“What?” Tammy’s brows pinched together as she let the words roll around in her head. “How can that be? I don’t understand.”

Molly tucked her hair behind her ear and relayed the entire story to Tammy as they continued to sip their wine.

“So, tomorrow we’re going to see mom and ask if she remembers anything.”

“Holy crap, Mol. How do you feel about all of this?”

“Well, it’s weird, I’ll give you that. But, when I look at Gunnar, I see it. We have the same eyes, the same hair, the same basic features. After looking at a picture of Keith, that’s Gunnar’s and maybe my dad, we look like him.”

Molly looked at a picture on the television stand of the two of them last summer at a concert. “I’m kind of excited, actually. I’ve never had a brother. You know?”

“Yeah, wow. Will you call me as soon as you know?”

“Of course. I’ve been busting about not telling you sooner, but things have been hectic and I knew you were dealing with work stuff.”

“That should never stop you from talking to me, Molly. We tell each other everything. Right?”

“Right. So tell me how things are going at work. What’s with this Zeke character?”

Tammy’s lips turned down and her nose wrinkled. “I don’t know what’s up with him. He and his brother Isaiah are interested in purchasing Stateside but I don’t know why. We’re not profitable now that we’ve lost government funding. We have costly repairs that need to be completed on the building. They don’t seem to be in it for the satisfaction of helping men and women who have served our country. So, what am I missing?”

Molly sat in thought for a moment, watching Tammy’s expression. “I don’t know, Tammy. What else could there be?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

***

Singing at the top of her lungs Tammy sat at a stop light in traffic. Tapping the steering wheel with her fingers and bobbing her head side-to-side, she allowed the music to wash over her. As the light turned green, traffic inched forward through the intersection. A For Sale sign caught Tammy’s attention as she drove passed the building that used to be a boutique clothing store. Craning her neck to see as she moved down the road, another For Sale sign caught her attention at the little coffee shop next to the clothing store. “When did this all happen?” she softly said.

Her mind wandering as she walked into Stateside, Tammy didn’t see the tall dark figure watching her from the inner office where the nurses gathered. As she entered her office, switched on the light and padded her way to her desk, she was lost in thought. She pushed the button to start her computer and tucked her purse away in her bottom drawer.

“You look lost in thought.”

Whipping her head around. Tammy saw Zeke lounging against the frame of her office door.

“What are you doing here?”

Pushing off with his shoulder, Zeke sauntered into the room with his hands in the front pockets of his impeccably designed dress pants.

“That’s hardly the reaction I was hoping for.”

Closing her eyes and swiftly shaking her head, Tammy opened her eyes and said, “Sorry. I’m just surprised to see you. I thought you went back to Seattle.”

Sitting in the chair in front of her desk, Zeke crossed his right ankle over his left knee as he settled into the leather. “I did go to Seattle and now I’m back.”

“For how long?”

“So, you’re eager to get rid of me then, are you?”

Taking a deep breath, Tammy sat back into her chair and folded her hands across her stomach. Partly to try and quell the churning and partly to try and match Zeke’s look of being totally comfortable.

“I simply thought you had finished your due diligence and would certainly need to pull everything together to make your decision.”

Zeke’s steely gray eyes captured Tammy’s brown one and didn’t waiver. He didn’t even seem to blink. “I have unfinished business here.”

“There you are; you beat me here this morning. Can I get you anything before we begin?” Sally narrowed her eyes at Tammy before training them on the side of Zeke’s head.

“If I need anything, I’m certainly capable of getting it myself, Sally.”

Sally’s voice rose what seemed like an octave as she giggled like a school girl before saying, “Of course you can, I just thought I would offer before I go grab my coffee.”

Spinning on her heel, Sally all but stomped out of the office. Zeke’s attention never wavered from Tammy.

Leaning forward Zeke tapped twice on the front of Tammy’s desk with his forefinger then stood. “I’d like a word with you later. First, I have a couple of things to discuss with Sally.”

Without another word, he sauntered out the door and disappeared in the direction of Sally’s office.

Tammy sat for a moment staring at the empty doorframe wondering what on earth was up. Glancing at her computer, seeing that it was booted up, she entered her password and immediately upon being granted access, pulled up her internet browser. She typed in ‘Melon Real Estate’. Browsing the site she found the two buildings she’d noticed up the block for sale as well as a couple others. It seemed as though the whole neighborhood was for sale. Pulling her cell phone out of her purse, Tammy entered the number of Melon Real Estate into her phone. Closing down her internet browser, Tammy sent Danny an email.

From: Tammy Davis

To: Danny Schaefer

November 09, 2014,
8:13 a.m.

Subject: What do you think?

Hey there, hope you’re having a fantastic day, I missed you last night. On my way to work this morning I noticed a couple of the businesses about a block from here were for sale. I looked up Melon Real Estate and found a few more buildings in this general area for sale. What do you think that means? I wonder if that’s why Mr. Moneybags and his brother are interested in Stateside? See you later?

Tammy

From: Danny Schaefer

To: Tammy Davis

November 09, 2014,
8:34 a.m.

Subject: What do you think?

I missed you last night as well. Did you and Molly have a nice time? You bet I’ll see you tonight. Let’s finally have our date, I believe I’m a couple of weeks behind on that. 6:00?

I think you should call Melon Real Estate and see if anyone will talk to you about what’s going on. I’ll ask Dog if he’s heard anything.

Danny

From: Tammy Davis

To: Danny Schaefer

November 09, 2014,
8:57 a.m.

Subject: What do you think?

Okay. Mr. Moneybags is back again today. He’s in meeting with Sally right now, but I wasn’t invited in, so I’m not sure what that means. Anyway, I don’t want him to hear me call them, so I’ll do it on my lunch hour.

6:00 is great, should I come to your place?

Tammy

From: Danny Schaefer

To: Tammy Davis

November 09, 2014,
9:05 a.m.

Subject: What do you think?

Yes, come to my place and we’ll go out. Gotta go, babe, getting busy here. Later.

Danny

***

Tammy answered a few of her emails, checked in with the nursing staff for updates, checked over the weekly reports in her inbox and worked valiantly to keep her mind on her work and not on what Zeke wanted to talk to her about. At ten forty-five her cell phone belted out “Shake It Off,” her ring tone for Molly.

“Hey, Mol, so do you have a brother?”

“I do. Gunnar is my brother. My mom thought he was Keith as soon as she saw him. She said she promised she didn’t tell Joci she was pregnant and begged him not to leave her. Oh my God, Tammy, I have a real life brother. And the best part of it is, I really like him.”

“Congratulations, Molly. I’m so damn happy for you. Are you guys going to go out and celebrate?”

“We haven’t discussed that at all. I think we’re all a bit overwhelmed at this revelation. We’ll see.”

Hearing a knock on her door Tammy looked up to see Zeke standing in the doorway.

“I’ve gotta go, Mol. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Sure. Talk to you later.”

Tammy tapped the ‘End Call’ icon on her phone and set it aside. Looking up at Zeke she noticed he’d made no move to sit. “How can I help you?” she managed without her voice shaking.

“Let’s take a walk, shall we?”

Tammy nodded, hit the ctrl-alt-delete on her computer, clicked once with the mouse and slowly stood. Taking in a deep breath, she rounded her desk and walked toward Zeke, keeping her pace even and steady. As she neared him, she noticed once again the clean scent of his aftershave and the impeccable cut of his suit. The deep blue silk jacket he wore set off the steel blue of his eyes. She saw that his jaw was firmly set and his hands, which were usually in his front pockets, were hanging loosely at his sides. As she neared, he held his hand out toward the hallway, beckoning her to walk into the hall ahead of him.

He stepped into stride next to her and they slowly traveled down the hall of Stateside. Her strappy black heels lightly clicked on the shiny smooth floors, her knee-length cream skirt whispered against her thighs. She was suddenly warm and pushed at the long sleeves of her black knit shirt. Zeke remained quiet, which made Tammy’s heart begin beating wildly in her chest. Suddenly she wished she’d taken the time to eat something this morning. But, she and Molly had downed a few glasses of wine last night and her head and stomach weren’t one hundred percent this morning.

Zeke steered them to the front doors of the building and Tammy had to fight the panic rising in her stomach at the thought that he was walking her out. Was she being fired? She braved a look up at him and saw that he’d been watching for her reaction. With a quirk in that arrogant mouth of his he said, “I want to have a private conversation with you and I’ve arranged to use the nursing office.” He nodded at the door of the office, which was just to the right of the front doors. Tammy’s mouth quivered into what she thought might be a smile, but actually looked more like a sneer. Zeke’s brows rose in question.

Tammy entered the nursing office to find it empty. She walked across the room and stood near the window that looked out over the dining room. She watched as the cleaning staff wiped down the tables from breakfast, getting ready for lunch. Zeke cleared his throat.

“I wanted to speak with you about your job here. It’s apparent you’re very passionate about Stateside and that it means a great deal to you. Isaiah and I have told you how we feel about the need to be profitable. One of the things we intend to do immediately, even though Stateside isn’t officially ours yet, is to lower the overhead. That’s where you come in.”

“MELON REAL ESTATE,
how may I help you?”

“Hi. My name is Tammy and I’d like to talk to someone who can tell me something about the buildings you have for sale on Washington Street.”

“Sure. If you can hold, I’ll put Sandra on the line for you.”

Tammy tapped her turn signal lever to make a right turn while she waited. Navigating the corner, she pulled into the lot in front of the boutique and parked in a spot where she could look at the front of the building. The red brick showed little sign of wear. The building had been there fifty years or so, and the little coffee shop next to it a few years longer. Both were single story buildings, big front windows, perfect for retail type businesses. Traffic on the road in front was busy. What on earth?