Wicked Flower (9 page)

She shouldn’t count on that and wouldn’t
be proud if she knew everything he’d indulged in over the years. God, he hoped Mom
hadn’t followed his career that closely. If she’d ever stood in line at the
grocery store … The fear of her seeing his face splashed with a scandalous headline
or two gouged him again. But what nearly had him doubling over was the shine in
her eyes when she’d said the hopeful words. Fuck, he was a selfish bastard.
He’d honestly never thought of how his finding someone would impact her.
 

There just wasn’t
anyway
he could see marriage in his future. A girlfriend
would be hard enough to manage. The couple times he’d tried, they hadn’t been
happy when the music took him away.

And especially not after that
shit that had printed when Will lost his wife. Leave it to the idiots in the
press not to have checked and made sure they had the right Sin Pointe member’s
face attached to the tasteless write up. Because it saved Will from more
heartbreak, Stefan never said anything.

In any case, hearing his mom
speak of being proud was a shock, especially under the circumstances of when
he’d left home.

How did he tell Mom he hadn’t
just been out making music this whole time? What about the nightly debauchery,
the countless women he’d slept with? The hearts he’d been careless with in
order to protect his own?
Potential daughters-in-law?
Not
likely.

He handed her the remote and
gathered up his courage.

“Mom, have you ever thought about
leaving Moonlight?”

She took a second to grasp the
remote in her hand and frowned. “Moonlight’s not for everyone, son. I
understand that. But I want us to focus on the present. It’s what’s important.”

Shit. She’d misunderstood him. “I
understand.”

That was supposed to have led to
her saying she’d consider it and then him making his offer. Stefan let out his
breath and accepted that Mom didn’t want to talk about the past with him. He
couldn’t be selfish and push anymore. He’d also try his best not to bring up
his dad who was clearly a part of the past she didn’t want to discuss. Maybe
she was like Will and the reason there’d been no raging fights when Dad left
was because she’d suffered in silence.

“Have you heard from your nurse
yet?” he asked her, needing something else to think about.

“No, not yet.
But sometimes
the pharmacy takes a long time. And there are bound to be long lines with this
evening’s bad weather.”

“So, are there many nights like
this, when she’s not here?”

His mom looked at him and reached
for his hand. Her blue eyes squinted. “No, not like that, son. She’s a hard
worker. She’s a great help to me.
Very dedicated.
You
must not remember her.” Mom rubbed her hand over the tats covering his fingers
and closed her eyes.

How could he? He’d never met the
woman.

Stefan felt his sinuses pinch. He
looked away and rubbed at them with his free hand. Only when he was back in
control did he return his attention to Mom. “It just seems like she could be
more attentive. And I don’t say that lightly. I know I haven’t been here…”

“Stefan, you’ve called me every
year on Mother’s Day, my birthday, Christmas. You visited me with the cancer
and you’re here now that I’m officially an old lady.” She reiterated what she’d
already assured him. She patted his hand again and then yawned. “That’s what
matters. It’s early but I’m tired. I think I’m going to go to sleep. I’m sorry
I didn’t realize your friend was coming with you. The spare room isn’t that big
but Daniela made sure to put fresh linens on it before she left. Unfortunately
with my old bones, making beds isn’t something I’m supposed to be doing
anymore.”

It was hard to admit as he sat
there soaking up her words, but Stefan wondered if his mom regretted asking him
to leave all those years ago, even if she refused to talk about that past now.
But that felt weak and it was ultimately his fault, his actions that had forced
her to be ashamed. If he hadn’t gotten Amanda pregnant in the first place, his
integrity never would have been called into question. Amanda wouldn’t have
freaked out and lied to her parents about him saying he would never help her
with the baby.
All that on the heels of Dad leaving them.
Maybe he’d have done the same thing in Mom’s position. He wiped hands over his
pants legs.

“It’s fine. We fit just fine.
I’ll let you get some rest.”

His mom reached up and touched
her wrinkly fingers to his growing beard. She smiled. “Will you stay up until
Daniela gets in?” she asked.

He cupped his hand over hers.
“Of course.”
Because he had a few words
for the woman.

“Okay,
mi’jo
.
Good night and God bless you.”

“You too, Mom.
It’s good to be
here with you.” He watched her eyes close. This time they stayed that way. The
Spanish she used for his benefit, the smile, the last name she kept.
The “C” on the key rack.
They were reminders that had to
bring up sad memories for her. Why did she keep them? For him, even though he
knew he didn’t deserve any of it? Stefan kissed her hand and then placed it at
her side. “Thank you for loving me, no matter how awful I’ve been,” he
whispered.

If she didn’t feel bad about
believing everyone else over him when he’d needed her in his corner, so what.
In her own way, she loved him. She just might be the only woman to ever do
that. If things kept up this well, he’d ask her about Nashville in the morning.

Chapter Six

Half an hour later, there was a
knock at the front door.

Stefan hopped up out of his mom’s
recliner and checked his watch. It was eight o’clock but had been dark the last
hour now with the recurring storm fronts passing through. Maybe staying gone
this long was the norm but if this was the wayward nurse, he intended to find
out for sure and remind her she got paid to be here.

“I think my mom’s nurse is
finally here, man.”

“Be nice,” Will said and flipped
the channel from the tattoo show to the one about Big Foot.

“Always.”

Stefan opened the door, expecting
to invite the woman in and then walk her straight back to the kitchen to sit
and discuss his concerns.

Long black hair
with sexy waves.

Full fleshy lips.

A bright yellow
tracksuit.

What was
she
doing here?

Her arms were full, wearing
grocery bags from her wrists to the crook of her elbows. Water droplets pinged
from the plastic bags. Had she been out in the rain? Her dark eyes were huge, staring
back at him. Not happy dark and not even surprised, but embarrassed?

Holy shit.
You have to be kidding me.

He hadn’t taken her for a fervent
Sin Pointe fan at the truck stop. It was amazing how they found him sometimes.

No, he remembered she hadn’t had
a clue as to who he was. That’s not what this was.

A crumpled, small, red and white
bag with the letters Rx told him the truth.

He needed a second to accept the
reality staring him in the face.

“Tell me you’re not Daniela,” he
said, incredulous.

I
told her I wanted to fuck her. I’m such an ass.
He rubbed his
face hard with his hands. The fingers he’d stroked over her panties stretched
the skin of his chin downward as they streaked through his beard.

“Stefan,” she said, blinking.

“What?” they said in unison.

She stuttered and lifted her chin
but slumped under all the bags. He eyed her shoulders and could see the yellow
track top was wet from the erratic rain. It was cloudy and dark outside behind
her with only one street light a good hundred yards from Mom’s. “I’m, I’m just
here to drop this stuff off for Mrs. C. Here you go.” She seemed frantic as she
handed the bags over to him, letting some of them clunk to the wet ground in
the doorway.

Stefan was still trying to
process that this little heart thief of his from earlier was his mom’s Daniela.
And now that he had the name and her face together, he realized why he’d felt
the odd connection. There was enough familiarity still there in the long black
curls and the favored color of yellow she’d always worn as a younger girl.
Fuck, I bit her. Hell, she bit me.
She
tried to turn and leave. “Wait,” he said. “You’re Daniela, Sandra’s daughter?” Holy
shit, he hadn’t seen
that
girl in
ages.

She stopped a few feet away from
him and rocked back on her heels. “Yes,” she said.

He caught himself before making
the horrible mistake of asking how her mother, his mom’s best friend, was doing.
He remembered the short phone call from Mom two years ago that Sandra had
passed away. Stefan had been rushing through an airport with poor reception,
calling to wish Mom a Merry Christmas from the road. When he asked how everyone
back home was, she’d broken the news.

“I’m sorry,” he said, holding the
bags she’d unloaded into his arms and picked up the couple that had dropped.

Her eyebrows plucked together at
the center. He realized he’d made it sound like he was sorry she was her
mother’s daughter. “Where are you going?” he asked as she backed further away. She’d
just gotten there and they were supposed to talk. Not sure whether it was his
irritation or attraction that made him want to reach out and grab her arm
frustrated him on a whole new level.
I
never thought I’d see you again
, he thought to himself.

“To my car,” she mumbled.

“Are there more bags?” Their
strange connection seemed to be winning out. “I’ll help you,” he offered,
finding it wasn’t at all hard to be nice to her, even with the interrogation
he’d planned.

“No,” she said shortly and
practically sprinted to the old blue Buick.

“Don’t you live here?” he asked,
regretting the sarcasm in his voice but not the edge. He had to shout for her
to hear him from her car. Where in the hell was she going now?
 

He searched desperately for the
last time he would have seen little Daniela but the only memory that chose to
visit—which wasn’t funny at all if the Big Guy was paying attention right now—was
the first time they’d met.

She was one of the very few
babies he’d ever held in his life. He’d been twelve. Dad hadn’t left yet. That
would be in another few years when he turned sixteen. Stefan’s scalp itched and
tingled.
Holy shit.

“I do,” she finally said.

“Then I’ll ask again, where are
you going?” His jaw hurt but if he didn’t keep his mouth clamped shut, he’d say
something he regretted. She heard him but only shook her head.

****

Where in the world could she go? Daisy’s
apartment, she supposed, but her baby sister had two roommates stuffed in the
studio already and Dani wasn’t ready for the third degree she’d get regarding Thom
should she slip and confess. Let alone the Stefan fiasco of the last few hours.
She could maybe afford a hotel room but the nearest one was at least an hour
drive and she didn’t want to be that far from Mrs. C. The May nighttime air was
currently warm and humid, suggesting more storms were still in store for them.
Shivers began inside her and made their way out, most noticeably from her chin.
Fight or flight came to mind.

“I don’t know. I—”

“Come inside,” his voice
commanded her like it had earlier. But it cut clearer now and he stood there
with his arms folded over his chest. That cocky air about him and his fancy
white car parked nearby and his fancy white shirt pulled tight over his massive
chest were back. “It’s dark and ugly out. You and I need to talk.” He looked
away from her at that last bit.

Dani closed her eyes and wished
this all away.
The whole damn day.
But it didn’t work.
He still stood there like an unmovable pillar.
His intense
aura as effective as a red light.

“I’m not letting you leave until
that happens.” His chest seemed to expand, his arms bulged across it.

Great.
But what had
she thought
was
going to happen when she finally
dragged her butt back here? She’d had two extra hours to think about it sitting
in her car in the drug store lot. Envisioning showing her face and playing the
fool hadn’t prepared her at all for the real deal. She’d never quite gotten to the
exact words to say either.

“Come on,
Daniela
.” Was that caution or cockiness in his voice? She wouldn’t
lie and deny how much she liked that about him when they’d kissed.

“It’s Dani.
Just
Dani.”

He seemed irritated now and not
at all like the man who’d come to her rescue earlier at the truck stop. Not at
all like that protective yet playful man who’d kissed her senseless ... and
told her of the thing he wanted to do to her. The vulgar word he’d used that
had only sounded needful, raw and honest when he’d said it into her ear and her
response to him that had been more of a gut reaction than the truth. Her chest,
neck and face flamed at reliving those words here at Mrs. C’s house.