Fatal Intent (Desert Heat Book 3) (7 page)

TWELVE

Dylan wasn’t sure where Alex planned to stay on Friday night. He wasn’t even sure if he should suggest she stay with him. Dodge was different from Casa Grande. Even though it was no longer a secret they were a couple, tongues would wag if Alex’s car sat in his driveway all night. 

He recognized that his mind kept skittering off the subject because he hoped desperately she
would
spend the night with him. It had been three weeks since they’d made love. While he’d gone without for longer than that before, the last time with her had been something special. He wanted it again, so much.

Here in town, though, he’d follow her lead. He trusted her judgment when it came to her dad, and his attitude about their relationship. So far, Paul hadn’t said anything to him about his relationship with Alex and was still friendly toward him. Surely he knew? Had to, since they’d gone off to Tucson together for some weeks before the boys came here. Paul had to know he visited Alex in Casa Grande, too.

Dylan resolutely stopped thinking about Alex and sex and went about his business until it was time to leave for Dodge. He waved to his fellow rangers and climbed into his Silverado for the half-hour drive to Dodge. His first stop was at the school, where the boys usually stayed until six on weekday afternoons, even though he was usually in town by four-thirty at the latest. It gave them more time with the other kids and him a chance to do any errands he had without dragging them along. That left the evening clear for his quality time with them.

Today, however, he wanted to clean them up for the dinner at Jen’s place. He was going to farm them out to Ange or Wanda on Sunday, because he had something important to say to Alex, alone.

A call to Paul at work verified that Alex had made it to town not long before him, and was looking forward to an evening out with what Dylan thought of as their whole family—Alex, himself, his boys, her dad, and Jen if she could join them. It was an odd sort of family, but it worked for them, as long as Alex didn’t start in on her dad again about marrying Jen. That always made Jen blush and leave, and annoyed her dad. Dylan couldn’t figure out why it was so important to Alex, anyway. It wasn’t as if she needed a mom, now.

“Who wants to get hamburgers at Jen’s?” he called out to the boys. They’d been playing video games in the living room while he was talking to Paul and then had tried to call Alex. Since there was no answer, he figured she must be in the shower or something.  He hadn’t told the boys about tonight yet, knowing Davi would be out of control and climbing the walls before it was time if he did. And he wasn’t going to tell them about tomorrow at all, until it was time. Otherwise, the surprise party wouldn’t be a surprise at all.

Paul and Alex were already there when they got to Jen’s. Dylan started smiling broadly when he saw Alex had brought her own car. So she didn’t intend to go home with her dad, it looked like. His heart stuttered when he saw her. She looked up as he and the boys stepped inside. The smile she gave him answered his and his world clicked into place. He hadn’t even known it was off-kilter until that moment.

The boys ran to Alex and almost bowled her over with their hugs. It seemed like Juan had grown half a foot since she’d seen him. Davi, the little monkey, was hanging on her neck so she’d pick him up when she stood. Dylan plucked Davi off her and set him down, dropping him to the floor when he wouldn’t put his feet down so he could take Alex in his arms. To catcalls of ‘get a room’, he gave her a thorough kiss. To his surprise, Paul’s voice was among the jeerers.

Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, Dylan didn’t answer, but he gave Alex a squeeze before he released her. She winked, making him wonder what was in store for later. They made a fun evening of it, with Alex teaching the boys to play pinball while Paul and Dylan squared off at a pool table. When it was time for the boys to go to bed, Dylan gave Alex a questioning look, and she winked again. He wasn’t sure what it meant.

“Well, Paul, Alex, I’d better get these hooligans in bed. It’s been great. See you sometime tomorrow?” Dylan held out his hand for Paul to shake.

“You bet,” Paul answered. He was distracted, already lining up another game.

Alex moved closer to Dylan. “Dad, I’m going to help Dylan with the boys.”

“Okay,” Paul said. His attention was on his opponent, who was laying five one-dollar bills along the rail of the pool table.

Alex laughed and took Dylan’s arm. “I’ll follow you,” she whispered.

Dylan hustled the boys into their pjs, glad now he’d had them bathe earlier. In record time, their teeth were brushed, their stalling techniques handled and their bedtime story read, with Alex helping. Dylan led Alex into the living room and poured them each a glass of wine before he sat next to her on the sofa.

“I’m confused,” he said. “Are you staying the night, or… ”

“Oh, yes, I’m staying. If you want me to,” she said, giving him a smirk that made him want to kiss her.

A few minutes later, after he’d kissed the smirk off her face, she handed him her car keys so he could retrieve her overnight bag and the clothes she’d brought on a hanger for the next day. His heart was beating wildly, knowing that in a few minutes she’d be in his bed, for the whole night. That she’d do this with the boys in the house meant something, he hoped.

~~~

Alex woke up alone to sounds of suppressed giggles somewhere in the house. It took only a second to remember where she was. Smiling, she stretched luxuriously. Spending the night with Dylan had been her way of telling him she was completely his, but somehow the words hadn’t been said. Nevertheless, she knew he was happy, and that he understood what it meant. She’d wait for the next time he proposed, which he seemed to do every couple of months, to say the words.

She got up, put on a light robe and wandered into the kitchen to see what was going on. Juan was the first to spot her, and his eyes grew big when he took in what she was wearing.

“Did you and Dylan have a sleepover?” he asked.

Alex looked to Dylan. “You didn’t tell them?”

“Uh, no. Didn’t know what to say,” he answered.

Alex rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, Juan. Is that okay?”

Davi’s eyes were big now, too, and he sent his brother an anxious look as everyone waited on Juan’s answer.

“Sure!” Juan said. “Can you make pancakes? Dad’s terrible at it.”

Alex noted his switch from Dylan to Dad. It had been happening more often, Dylan said. He didn’t know whether to encourage it or put a stop to it. Alex thought he should just let the boys decide. She smiled at Juan. It seemed the ‘sleepover’ wasn’t a big deal, which was just the way she wanted it.

“You bet. I’m a great pancake maker.” To Dylan, she said, “Move over, buster. I’ve got to get some pancakes going here.”

Dylan handed her a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with his, joining the boys. “There’s bacon in the refrigerator.”

After breakfast, they settled the boys to watch cartoons while they each took a shower and dressed for the day. Alex made the bed, and took a moment to consider how right it felt, to do this small domestic chore in Dylan’s house. A shadow crossed over her happiness for a minute when she realized there was still no solution to the Dodge versus Phoenix issue. They needed to talk about a solution to the problem before this could be permanent.

“Dylan, I need to spend some time with my dad. Did you have anything planned for the day?” She’d seen him duck into the closet with a towel wrapped around his waist, but he hadn’t come out yet. The quick glimpse she got of his muscular chest and arms made her consider following him in there, but with the boys awake, any fooling around couldn’t go very far. Tonight would be soon enough. Her question died on her lips as he came out, zipping low-slung jeans with a hand that also held what she assumed was a shirt. Her self-control wavered.

“Oh, did we forget to tell you? We’re supposed to be at your dad’s for barbecue this afternoon. I thought we could take the boys out to Cabeza Prieta and let them chase lizards,” he said. “We can take some snacks, and be back in time to get cleaned up for your dad’s thing.”

Alex thought it was a little odd that her dad hadn’t said anything about it, but that was fine with her. She hadn’t been to the wildlife refuge in years, but she thought the boys would enjoy the visitor center exhibits and the interpretive loop. “That sounds like fun. I didn’t bring a hat, though. Can I borrow a baseball cap?”

Dylan dived back into the closet and came out with a Park Service green bush hat with mesh sides. “Will this do?”

“Perfect, I’ll look like that Australian guy. What was his name, in that old movie?”

“What movie?” Dylan asked.

“You know, ‘That’s not a knife,’” she quoted, in her best Aussie accent. “
This
is a knife.”

“Indiana Jones?” he quipped.

“No, Crocodile Dundee,” she said, laughing now that she remembered. “I’ll look like Crocodile Dundee.”

“Furthest thing from the truth,” he said, plopping the hat on her head, and then knocking it off again as he kissed her. “You’ll look like the woman I love.”

~~~

Strolling along the interpretive pollinator path, with the boys racing ahead and his hand entwined with Alex’s, Dylan couldn’t have been more content. When he thought about what might happen later this afternoon, a frisson of nerves tingled the backs of his arms and made his vision swim for a second. Each time, he calmed himself with the assurance that Alex wouldn’t have spent the night last night unless she was ready for what he had to say.

When they’d finished the loop, it was time to find what shade they could and have their snacks, just enough to hold them over to the early barbecue this afternoon. Dylan excused himself and stepped away far enough to make a call to Wanda to see if she needed any help with the birthday cake, and to Lisa to make sure they were well on their way. The first call went fine, but he didn’t reach Lisa.

They must be out of cell range.

He left a message and then went back to the shady area. Davi was beginning to droop, having worn himself out running back and forth between Juan in the lead and the adults strolling behind.

“Think we should go try to nap until it’s time to go to your dad’s?”

Alex shrugged. “Do they usually nap?”

“Not really, but it’s hot and they’re worn out. I think it would be a good idea.” Dylan couldn’t think of a better way to kill a couple of hours than putting the boys down for a nap and lying down next to Alex for a while himself.

“I could use a shower. And I’d like to run over and say hi to Wanda,” Alex said.

Uh-oh, Dylan hadn’t anticipated that possibility. “Uh, Wanda went to Phoenix today,” he said, the first lie he could think of. Fortunately, it worked.

“Oh. Darn it, I haven’t seen her for quite a while. I guess Dad didn’t tell her I was coming.”

Alex seemed disappointed, but she’d get over it when Wanda turned up at the party. Dylan said, “Yeah, she’ll be disappointed to have missed you. But, aren’t you coming home for the summer as soon as this term is over?”

They’d discussed whether Alex would finish out her junior year over the summer, but she didn’t want to run out of the scholarship money before she had a chance to look for a job in Phoenix in September when she transferred to Arizona State. She’d taken a couple of classes for the first summer term, but had only two more weeks to go.

“Yeah, I guess it’s just another couple of weeks. I’ll live. Sure, let’s grab a nap with the boys, and then I’ll shower again. I’m all hot and sticky.”

Hot and sticky sounded divine to Dylan, whose libido seemed to have gone a little nuts in the last twenty-four hours. Maybe it was the anticipation of finally settling the future with Alex. He couldn’t have misread her signals, could he? He would know in a few hours. That electric tingle went down the back of his arms again.

Three hours later, Dylan felt rested, refreshed and excited beyond what a man his age should be over a surprise party. He loaded his little family into the pickup and headed toward Paul Ward’s house. Juan’s legs encroached into Davi’s space in the jump seat of the extended cab. Dylan realized he was going to have to trade the Silverado in on an SUV when Alex moved in.

Suddenly, they were there. Paul had tied balloons to the mailbox, so Alex knew immediately this was her birthday celebration. She clapped her hands and hugged Dylan first and then the boys.

“You guys! A surprise party? Really?” She was even more delighted when Dylan ushered her through the house and to the patio in back, where the rest of the guests were already assembled. “Nana! And Wanda, Dylan told me you went to Phoenix!” Alex greeted everyone with hugs and exclamations, especially her housemates, who’d made it in time, to Dylan’s relief. Then, she turned to Dylan. “You lied.” She punched him lightly on the arm, and he caught her hand and held her there.

“I couldn’t have you dropping in on Wanda. She was baking your cake.”

Dylan looked around at the assembled guests, all seated under the misting hose that Paul had installed under the patio cover. “Thanks for coming, everyone. I think we really surprised her.”

Everything was perfect. Alex was happy, the food was delicious, and even the temperature cooled as the sun sunk further to the west and the long shadow of the house provided more shade. One by one or two by two, the guests departed as the afternoon became evening. The housemates were the first to go, since they had the furthest to travel. Then Ange and her boyfriend. Thurston hung around for a while, but left when he realized Wanda planned to stay later to visit with Alex’s Nana. She of course would spend the night at Paul’s.