Taming Theresa (23 page)

Damn! The lot's full. What kind of truck does
Terry’s new boyfriend drive? Good luck to the asshole. He'll need
it with her.

Lighting a cigarette, he held it between his
lips and puffed nervously as he paced back and forth through the
lot. Most of the vehicles had tinted windows so he couldn’t see
clearly inside. When the sound of voices came from the tavern, Tony
walked quickly away, tossing his cigarette aside as he tried to
decide his next move.

Two men came around the corner talking
together and climbed into one of the pickup trucks. The driver
started the engine and pulled away. Almost immediately, another
vehicle took its place and a couple got out and headed for the
restaurant.

Damn. Looks like I'm gonna have to break into
every truck and SUV in the lot until I find that money. He lit
another cigarette just as his cell phone rang, so he fished it out
to check the caller ID. Oh, shit. I gotta take this. He moved out
to the sidewalk and looked up and down the street attempting to
look casual.

No avoiding it. He swiped the screen and held
it to his ear. "Hey, what's up?" There was a pause with Tony
nodding, the phone pressed against his ear. "Come on, I know
exactly where it is. I swear! Right now, I ain't more than thirty
feet from it. I'll have the money one way or another in a couple
hours. I swear!"

As he listened, Tony surreptitiously scanned
his surroundings. Tossing his cigarette onto the sidewalk, he
ground it angrily into the concrete. "Okay, okay. I know how
important the money is. You don't need to make threats. It ain't my
fault. Please, I just need a little more time. I got the old fat
guy, Spangenberg, hooked. He's practically drooling over our phony
initial offer. You got the building inspector on board for this
Wednesday, right?"

The other man answered, and Tony smiled,
nodding his head.

"Yeah. Yeah. Hey, you know Wednesday is
Halloween. Ain't that kind of funny?" Tony giggled. "Well don't get
all mad. I was just sayin', after the inspection we pull the rug
out from under Fatso. Trick or treat."

"Hey, come on. It was just a little joke.
Yeah, I'm getting it now. Okay. Yeah." He ended the call, sighed,
and shuddered. If I don't get that money back soon, the boss is
gonna kill me.

The phone call hadn't helped his headache
either. He looked at the full parking lot, too tired to keep
searching. That guy said they were going to take everything to the
farm. Maybe I should just wait and follow them. He headed for his
car. I'll get that money even if I have to kick ass in the
process.

Poking his head into the small storeroom,
John looked over the things he hadn't managed to get into his SUV.
The wedding presents were stacked against the back wall. Piece of
cake, he thought. Should be able to fit the rest of this stuff into
Terry's car.

Pulling the smaller items aside, John tried
to nudge a large package away from the wall, but he could hardly
move it. What is this, a set of weights? Shoving the box to the
center of the floor, he looked for Ralph's hand truck. He explored
the small room until he opened a closet with double doors, and
found the hand truck he needed inside, wedged in behind some brooms
and mops. When he managed to yank it free, the floor beneath gave a
loud crack.

'Shit. What was that?" Bending down to
examine the damage, John saw that the ancient sub flooring was
brittle. Better not put anything heavy in there. Ralph's right.
This place does need some work. He nudged the closet doors shut
with an elbow. As he did so, he inadvertently pushed one of the
smaller boxes out of sight into the closet.

With an effort, he manhandled the big box
onto the hand truck. He backed carefully towards the door, wheeling
his heavy burden. "Should've put this one in my truck," he
muttered.

Theresa was behind him in the hallway
watching him maneuvering toward her. "Can I help?"

"Yeah, get the door and I'll take this right
out back to your car. It's heavy, but it should fit in your trunk."
Once the box was safely stowed, he asked, "What do you think that
is?"

"Could be dishes," she guessed. "Or pots and
pans. Can I help with the rest?"

"Sure. Just some wine and small boxes. I'll
take the hand truck back and get the wine, if you'll get the
lighter stuff.

It didn't take them long to pack the
remaining gifts in her Mustang. John closed the trunk, looked at
his watch and said, "Why don't you follow me over, and I'll unload
everything at the farm."

"All right." She zipped up her jacket,
feeling the chill of approaching evening. "I was on my way back
there anyway."

"Jack and Vicky ought to be down in the
Virgin Islands by now. Hope they enjoy themselves. Nice and warm
there. I'm freezing. Let's get moving, okay?"

"Sure, I'm right behind you." Theresa got in
her car and started her engine.

John frowned and knocked on her window.

She lowered it, annoyed. "Wha-at?"

"When was the last time you had this tuned
up?"

"I have no idea. As soon as I get back home,
I'll take it into the dealership."

He looked indignant. "Why? I can take it in
tomorrow and have my guys take care of it."

"Could we just go?"

He relented. "Stay right behind me,
okay?"

Tony was waiting impatiently, drumming his
fingers on the steering wheel. "What's the hold up here?"

On the way to the farm they passed Diane and
Joe talking in the parking lot of the Vandersmoot Nursery, where
they'd just closed up for the day.

Joe waved and John slowed to a halt, with
Theresa behind him. Joe jogged over to the truck as the passenger
side window came down.

He stuck his head in. "What's going on? I was
just about to text you. I thought you might want to head over to
Paulding’s Rest for a beer."

"Sounds great, but we just came from there,"
said John." We're on our way to Jack and Vicky's place with all the
wedding presents. Quite a haul. Hey Joe, why don't you come on out,
too and we'll get rid of a little of the leftover Blossom
Creek."

Diane looked over Joe's shoulder. "Want some
help? I could drive over for a while. Got nothing better to
do."

"Sure, why not. You and Terry can watch us
work."

"Hold on," said Joe. "We'll be right behind
you."

Diane pulled her pickup behind Theresa and
waved to her through the windshield. John signaled and moved back
onto the road with the girls following. Joe jumped into the flower
delivery van and caught up with the other vehicles.

The Lexis joined the caravan. Tony was chain
smoking. "What gives? Are they havin' a freakin’ party, or what?
How am I gonna find the money and get outta there with all those
people in the way?

No one noticed the yellow Lexis except Chris
Owen and his partner, Agent Rodriguez, following well behind the
others. At the wheel of an ordinary looking dark blue sedan, she
continued driving at a steady forty miles per hour.

"I don't like this, Rodriguez," said Chris
shifting uneasily in his seat trying to get a better look. "Too
many people. I was hoping we could catch that bastard alone with
his hands on the money."

"Yeah. Could be a problem," she agreed. "Not
only do you have the Buonadies girl and Van Wart, now there's the
clown in the flower van, and your new girlfriend in her truck.
Could get complicated."

"New girlfriend?"

"Yeah, the tall blond." As she said this,
Rodriguez shot him a hard look, the dark eyes flashing
disapproval.

Diane was still dreaming about Chris and paid
little attention to the cars behind her, as she followed Theresa's
red Mustang. I hope he calls me. I really hope he calls. It was so
amazing dancing with him. He's so tall and super cute. Once he'd
explained that the hot looking woman was just his partner, they'd
spent the rest of the wedding reception together. He'd driven her
home, and they'd talked for nearly an hour in the car before he'd
led her to her door and said good night with a gentle kiss that
promised much more. I really hope he calls me. I wonder what he's
doing tonight.

Meanwhile Theresa was trying to picture John
vacationing in Europe. I thought he didn't even like wine. He told
me was a beer drinker. The Villa Bucci was very good. I'll have to
see if I can get it for our restaurants.

Reaching the farm, Theresa pulled her car in
behind John's vehicle, and went over to the back porch steps to pet
Vicky's cats. Romeo was a beautiful orange tom and Juliet a smaller
feminine gray kitty with white paws. Pacing back and forth, they
purred in anticipation of food and human company.

"I'll get the kitties some dinner while you
unload the stuff, okay?" said Theresa.

"Yeah, shouldn't take me too long," he said,
bending down to scratch each of the little furry heads.

"They seem to really like you." she
remarked.

"They know me. Mom always had a cat or two
around the house and I kind of liked them."

She turned at the sound of gravel crunching
under tires.

Diane and Joe parked alongside John's
Explorer as the yellow Lexis continued slowly past.

Tony studied the vehicles parked by the
farmhouse, but Theresa wasn't around. He continued on, turning
right at the first dirt road past the farm. It wound up into the
orchards, autumn gray and stripped of their fruit. Parking he
turned off the engine and he sat for a moment, before getting out
and slipping into the trees.

As soon as he disappeared, the dark sedan
quietly pulled in behind Tony's car and Agents Owen and Rodriguez
got out. They closed their doors as silently as possible, staring
into the orchard where their quarry had disappeared.

Romeo and Juliet continued to polish John's
ankles, the purring punctuated with an occasional impatient,
“Meow."

"Pussy cats are hungry," John said.

Theresa opened the screen door to let Romeo
and Juliet inside the porch. "Listen," she said. "I don't want you
to stay here. I can take care of myself. No matter what my father
told you, it's not a good idea for you to spend the night. I really
don't need a bodyguard...”

She looked determined, maybe a little angry,
but she was gorgeous. Her face was framed by her luxurious long
dark curls and silver earrings. The jeans and sweater she wore fit
her perfectly. At that moment, she was more achingly beautiful than
ever. He wanted to spend the night. He wanted to spend every night
just like the last one, but that possibility looked increasingly
improbable.

He cleared his throat. "I told your father
that I'd stay here and that's what I'm going to do. For whatever
reason, he seems to be worried about you. Don't think about me.
Pretend I'm not here. I'll be a perfect gentleman." Unless you
don't want me to be a perfect gentleman, he thought.

"Okay okay, I give up, but you are definitely
not sleeping with me." She thumped the table for emphasis, raising
her voice. "I meant what I said this morning. There's no
relationship, no dating, no sex. Last night was a mistake, and it's
not happening again, okay?"

"All right. Chill! I totally get your point."
He glanced towards the driveway. "So will Diane and Joe if you keep
yelling."

"Don't go getting your feelings hurt," she
hissed, jumping up and gesturing dramatically. "I've only known you
for a week, and it's not like you've made some big commitment or
anything. Can't you understand that?"

"Terry, don't you think it's a little early
in our relationship for a commitment?"

"Hel-lo," she snapped back. "It wasn't too
early in our relationship for you to drag me into your bed and
screw my brains out, Asshole!" Her dark eyes flashed at him. "And
there is no relationship!"

John gave her a frosty glare. "I don't think
I was the one doing the dragging," he muttered.

She sputtered angrily, for once at a loss for
words and stormed into the kitchen, closely followed by the
pitter-patter of eight little paws.

"What's with her?" He shoved his hands in his
pockets, feeling a little angry himself. "What do I do that makes
her so mad?" He shrugged and went to unload Jack and Vicky's gifts.
Surveying the contents of his Explorer with the hatch up, he heard
a car door slam and looked over his shoulder to see Joe and
Diane.

Joe grinned and asked, "Is it safe yet?"

"Yeah, Terry's inside. I think she's mad at
me."

"Do you think, Van Wart?” Joe asked
sarcastically.

"Diane, why is it women always seem to be mad
at me? Give me a clue."

Diane closed her door, strode to his truck,
gathered up an armload of things, and headed for the porch. "It's
pretty simple, John," she said as she walked away. "You're an
asshole."

"That was harsh," John muttered.

Joe came up beside his friend, grinning
broadly. "You asked a stupid question and you got your answer. Why
don't you let me give you a hand with this?"

John maneuvered the large heavy box out of
the Mustang's trunk. Together he and Joe carried it through the
front door while Diane held it open.

"I can't wait to find out what's in this
one," said John. "It's so heavy."

Joe remarked, "I found out when you're
getting married, gifts arrive all the time. We even went to some
department stores, and get this. We told them what to tell people
to buy us. Amazing. How do women know this stuff?"

"I don't know, Joe."

"It won't be long before Marcia and I will be
taking off on our honeymoon. We were thinking a nice secluded cabin
in the woods with a hot tub. We wouldn't even have to get dressed
at all."

John looked at Theresa and decided to change
the subject. "Where do you want this?"

"Let's put everything in the dining room.
Nobody will be using it any time soon," she said.