Together Again: Spirit Travel Novel - Book #4 (Romance & Humor - The Vicarage Bench Series) (26 page)

“Your pants, put on your pants.” Her voice, husky and demanding, brooked no argument.

“Mummy, are you there? Come see who’s visiting.” A pounding on the door had both culprits visibly jumping and breathing a sigh of relief as they heard the puppy barking, moving away from the house, and Amy’s laughter following.

From one minute deep in the throes of passion to the next in spasms of giggles, Dani pointed at her lover. His shirt buttons were done up, but not one in the proper hole. He stood sheepishly in front of her, rubbing his elbow, his jeans on, but undone.

“You dump a poor guy on his arse and then laugh about it? What kind of a monster are you?”

“I’m a mother. Sorry, but it’s my only excuse.” Still smiling, she moved towards him and rebuttoned his shirt.

His hands worked their way first through his hair and then towards his collar to make sure it sat properly. Without intending to, or knowing he would, he reached for her hair and gathered the soft mess in his hands. Trying in a very manlike way to bring some semblance of order to the curls, he patted them and wove them over her shoulders.

Dani stood in front of him like a child. She couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it. With his warm breath filtering over her, heaven couldn’t be better. It was the moment she’d waited for, the moment to tell him her secret. No more holding back, no more games. It was time.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“Mummy, please come and play with us.” Another thumping at the door from small, determined hands broke the spell. Both adults moved at once.

Too late! Her confession would have to wait for now. But not for long. She’d tell him as soon as she fixed herself.

“Troy, do you mind going and talking to her while I straighten myself a bit more?” She pushed against his chest, loving the idea that she could touch him. He was real, physically here, not in her imagination where he’d lurked for ten years.

The fact that she could assume he would do as she’d asked pleased her no end. She could almost imagine they were back together as they had been in the past, linked inside—one.

“Sure!” His hands lingered for a moment and then dropped from her body slowly. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, then nuzzled her hair as if her scent attracted him.

He turned to go to the door, opened it and looked back at her watching him move. He winked, and her heart’s pump worked double-time. The pulse in her throat throbbed in unison. Romantics and poets wrote the truth. Love wasn’t just an emotion—the physical reaction truly seemed as real. The door closed behind him. She breathed deeply, and then counted.

“One, two, three…”

Going to her bedroom through the passageway leading into the rest of the house, she stopped in front of the full-length mirror. The pronounced red abrasions on her cheeks and neck prompted her to take a few minutes to change and fix her makeup. Her hair, the bane of her life, looked horrible. Even after Troy’s gentle tweaking she still looked like Medusa—corkscrew curls sticking out everywhere.

Stripping off her clothes, she blatantly stood naked in front of the mirror, trying to see herself the way he’d seen her. The vision that greeted her wasn’t very encouraging. Her breasts were equal to filling a man’s hands, but her nipples appeared like pebbles instead of stones. In fact, her whole body looked diminutive—puny almost. Everything was attached where it should be, and in proportion, but…

Oh, God!” Sudden realization of the possible aftermath from what they’d done stunned her. She could be pregnant! After all, she’d only “done it” one other time in her unexciting life, and Amy was the result. Her hands cradled the small protuberance of her tummy, and she smiled contentedly. Wouldn’t that be a corker?

****

“Buddy is a wonderful little dog, Mr. Brennan. He comes when I call him, and he sits and listens when I talk.” Seeing she had Troy’s full attention, Amy continued. “His head twists sideways while he stares at me, as if he understands everything I tell him. Watch!”

Her finger pointed to the attentive mutt as she said, “You are the best dog in the world, Buddy, aren’t you?”

In answer, the animal’s alert face flipped to the right, his ears attempted to stand up, and he barked sharply.

Both Troy and Amy watched and laughed.

“He’s as smart as they come, princess. Every time we’ve been anywhere near this neighbourhood, during our walks, he’s pulled on his leash, trying to drag me back here to see you.”

“Does he really?”

“Cross my heart.” Troy followed through with the action.

“Cool!” She took his hand and yarded on it to bring him down to her height. Like her mother’s, her stature was pint-sized.

He hunkered down in front of her, and she stared at him straight on. “My mum likes you a lot.”

“She does?” He grinned, devilishly.

She returned his smile with a bit of the devil in her own grin visible.

“Uh-huh! She has a book just of you, with pictures and write-ups. I’ve seen it.”

“You have?”

“Yep! She hides it, but one day I found it on the desk, and I peeked. Then I waited for you to come and find her. I’m so glad you finally did.”

“You are, are you?”

“Uh-huh! I knew you’d make her happy, but I never knew that you might bring me the one thing I’ve wanted forever. The one thing I’ve begged for and never got.”

“A puppy! Right?”

“Nope!’ Blonde curls bounced as she shook from side to side. Her eyes narrowed, and then she stared at him strangely. “A daddy.”

A bullet right in the middle of his forehead couldn’t have blasted him more than those words. He’d be her father. This precious, beautiful little girl would call to her daddy, and he would be the one to answer. He looked directly at her while she watched him like a hawk.

Not too stupid, this child. She was waiting to see his reaction, and she hadn’t long to wait. She’d seen the shock her words had produced.

Instinctively, she pulled back. The damage had begun. It showed in the slump of her shoulders and in the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Sadness appeared in the greeny-brown mirrors of a heart not yet protected by adult cynicism and caution.

“Sweetheart—” The yearning he’d seen scrawled across her face couldn’t be confused with anything else. She swiped at the wetness and bit down on her bottom lip, then kept it trapped between her teeth. As though he were a magnetic force drawing her, she leaned towards him.

“You don’t want a little girl?”

He gathered her into his arms, cradling her, rocking them both side to side. “Amy, I never thought I’d ever be lucky enough to have a little girl.” He kissed her forehead. “And if you were that girl, nothing in the whole wide world—no, let’s make it the whole entire universe—would make me happier. Nothing!”

****

“Amy, where’s Troy—I mean, Mr. Brennan?” Reappearing after a short time, Dani found her daughter with a beatific look on her face as she hugged a wiggling pup trying to escape. His cries increased until small arms opened, allowing the agitated animal to run to the woman who reached down to lift and cradle him.

“He’s gone.”

Shock ripped through Dani’s throat and emerged in her words. “He’s what? Gone? Where has he gone?”

“He didn’t say. He gave me Buddy. Then he took his suitcases from behind the bushes, and he waved, and said goodbye.”

“Suitcases? Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“Nope!” Amy, attention totally focused on the pink tongue licking at her reaching hands, didn’t look into her mother’s face, didn’t see the disbelief or the tears.

Dani’s chest tightened, and her hands, releasing the pup into her daughter’s waiting arms, flew up to cover her mouth. Her mind screamed, but only one small word reverberated as it escaped.

“No-o!”

Chapter Forty

The next day, Troy arrived at the appropriate address a little earlier than the allotted time. He’d paced his room, then put in a few more miles around the vicarage garden. His final destination, scribbled on the paper he’d carried for a week, drew him. The large older home had a wall of trailing ivy and advertised a doctor’s office on a small tasteful sign hanging from a wooden frame: Robert Andrews PsyD, Doctor of Psychology, Office at the Rear. The notice, spelled out in gold letters, was easy to read.

Where had he heard that name before? It sounded familiar. A good reporter retained that kind of information, but today things weren’t working all that well. Troy scanned his memory bank. Nope, wouldn’t come to him. Not surprising! On the little sleep he’d had the last few days, recalling his own name was something of an accomplishment.

The devil’s face doorknocker spurred him on.
What the hell! So he arrived before anyone else. So what.
He lifted and banged the quaint appliance a couple of times and waited.

As soon as the man’s face appeared, Troy remembered where he’d seen the fellow before. The door opened and a hand extended, along with a knowing smile. The dapper gentleman, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and red tie, wore the same spectacles as on the day he’d visited the inn.

“Couldn’t wait, huh? I’m glad to see you again. Come in, please.” Dr. Andrews’ welcoming smile beckoned Troy across the threshold and into the large foyer. They shook hands again while eyeing each other closely.

A newel post, dark like mahogany, decorated the staircase leading upwards. An overgrown fern spilled from an antique wooden holder next to a full umbrella stand. An atmosphere of wealth and hominess was apparent.

“Hi, again. Guess you were checking up on me the other day?”

“Do you blame me?”

“When it comes to Dani and Amy’s future, not at all.”

“If it’s any consolation, as soon as we shook hands I knew my fears to be unjustified.”

“Oh?” Troy’s baffled expression established interest. “I know you’re a psychologist, and it’s a requirement to be able to profile someone’s personality, but how could you tell from so few words and a handshake?”

The doctor nonchalantly leaned back against the wall behind him. “Not the handshake, other than that you gripped firmly and made eye contact. And not the words, either, since we didn’t speak at length—it was your whole manner. Before I came into the inn, I’d seen you in the window organizing your belongings as if you were in a hurry. You didn’t know me at all, but you took the time to try and help me. You were kind. I liked you instantly. Whether you’re good enough for my girls remains to be seen. I’ll be watching closely.”

“You’re willing to give me the benefit of the doubt?”

“Actually, no. I just have a lot of faith in my niece. Dani has always been a wonderful judge of character, and she’s told me that she learnt a lot of those skills from a very intimate friend of hers about ten years ago.”

Troy melted. The pride he felt for his young roommate intensified. “Her pregnancy—did she suffer many cruel remarks from thoughtless fools?” This question had needled him and had to be asked.

“She did, yes. But she took every smirk and sneer and turned the hurt into a reason to show everyone what she was made of. Once her mother came around and supported Dani, the village backed off. Funny thing, though. At times I had the feeling Dani existed more in her head than in the world around her, at least for the first while. I’d say it became her greatest protection. Once Amy arrived, everything else slipped into place.”

“Was Amy’s dad ever in the picture?”

“Only until his death in a car accident when Amy still wore diapers. But then, that’s a story for Dani to share.”

“Ahem!” The first throat clearing hadn’t registered, but the last blasted through the room, and put paid to further intimate conversation between the two men.

Dr. Andrews turned in the direction of the sound and, sighing resignedly, he extended his hand towards the stout woman in a flowery red dress as she hovered near the doorway of the large open parlour. “Mrs. Dorn, I’d like to introduce you to Dani’s young man, Troy Brennan.”

The woman swayed into the room, a born performer, and coquettishly placed her hand into the larger one waiting. Her whole demeanour entranced Troy as memories of Dani’s stories about this woman flooded into his mind. Dani loved and trusted Mrs. Dorn, and her eccentricities.

His warmth engulfed her as he squeezed her fat little hand gently. “Hello, there. I’ve heard so much about you, Mrs. Dorn. Dani spoke of you with great affection.” The smile he worked up just for her melted any resistance she might have felt towards him coming into their lives and disrupting the rhythm of their days.

“You’re a bit of all right yerself, dearie.” Her flirty smile had the doctor’s eyes rolling. “Dani’s talked about you so often. I’m that pleased to finally meet you.”

The sound of a beeping horn caught everyone’s attention. The doctor peeked out the ornamental window next to the door and recognized the vehicle being parked.

“It’s Marion and Henry, Dani’s mother and father. Did you want to meet them now, or wait for Dani to make the introductions?”

A firm look replaced the warm smile he’d held in place for Mrs. Dorn. Troy answered, “I’d like to meet her mother now. We might have some air clearing to do, and I’d prefer it finished before Dani and Amy arrive.”

Approvingly the doctor nodded. “Good thinking.” He moved to the door and waited to open it, while Mrs. Dorn patted the younger man’s arm and winked conspiratorially.

“I’ll wager she’s met her match ‘ere. Don’t take no guff, me lad. Come find me in the kitchen when you’ve had enough, and I’ll slip ya one of your favourite pints Dani brought over for you a few days back.” Another pat and she bustled out of the room as if she couldn’t get away fast enough.

Swinging the door wide, Dr. Andrews greeted the distinguished older couple with a hug and a handshake. Dani’s mother stopped short upon spying Troy casually propped against the stairwell. His pleasant smile, polite but in no way toadying, was returned by Henry, who stepped forward and introduced himself.

“You must be Dani’s American friend. I’m her father, Henry Howard, and this is my wife, Marion. It’s a pleasure.” His hand extended and gripped Troy’s. Eyes the exact mix of greens and browns as his daughter’s beamed.