Doppler Effect
Category: Boomtown
Rating: M
Pairing: David McNorris/ OC
Summary: All she wanted was a new, uncomplicated, psycho free life. Apparently that wasn't going to happen. David McNorris/ Original Character.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Boomtown.
28. Relations - Month Twenty
Slightly frazzled from the last week she shoved her annoyance away and focused on her project. She had managed to sneak out of work early after a meeting and had raced back to David’s in order to enact her plan. She could no longer, after practically living here and soon to be moving in, deal with a pink kitchen any longer. She didn’t care that it was a rather unobtrusive shade of pink. She didn’t care that it pretty much blended with the soft colors his entire house sported. She didn’t care that at one point in time, before she ever met him, he lived here with a different woman who she had absolutely nothing against, but had an odd fondness for pastels. She couldn’t do it. The pink had to go, along with that one frilly looking chair she had surreptitiously paid the garbage man to take away this morning after David ran off to an emergency meeting.
She was sure Marian had purchased that monstrosity as well, and to be perfectly frank, even if it made her a bad person, she didn’t want any of the woman’s things in what she now viewed as her territory. The chair could be replaced with one of hers, which were much funkier patterned and would totally match the soon to be newly colored kitchen. She was giddy at the mere thought of the transformation.
Considering McNorris could be deeply disturbed by the oddest and smallest changes, considering how well he accepted their marriage and moved her in the way he had, which she considered a huge change, she hadn’t bothered to ask permission. After all, she figured this was now half her house anyway. Their legally binding marriage certificate said it was. So she decided that her half was going to include these four walls if he had a fit about it.
Grinning at the thought of his possible, and most probable outrage, she used a screwdriver to pop the top on one of the three cans of paint she’d purchased and hidden a few days ago. Eyeing the bullfrog green paint with more than a little joy she poured it into a paint pan and picked up a roller, she had already taped all the cabinets and floorboards, and covered the floor with plastic, so she wasn’t worried about making a mess. All the windows were open so she wouldn’t get loopy from the fumes too. Lifting the roller she attacked the nearest wall with a vengeance.
The meticulous yet simple task let her relax as her mind wandered. Now that she was in comfortable clothes and doing what she wanted to be doing, she could let herself roll over the events of the last week with less agitation. Last weekend had been wonderful, relaxing, and an all around good time. Northern California was clearly the place for her and she had enjoyed the atmosphere and feeling of it as much as her time with McNorris. David had been nothing but good to her the whole time they were there.
She realized after they got back to the cabin from their hike, and tryst in the woods, that he was trying to give her some sort of honeymoon. He knew she’d wanted to come to the redwoods more than anything, knew she only would have saved up the money to go alone if she had really wanted it, so he brought her where she most wanted to be. Her theory over that was confirmed when he’d made love to her, slowly and sweetly, holding their newly ringed hands together as he murmured soft nothings into her ear. When they fell together she had ended up shaking in his arms for reasons unknown to her and he had kissed and cuddled her for the better part of an hour until she was calmed and he was ready again.
On the flip side ghost boy also knew a long weekend wasn’t much of a honeymoon. She had no doubt he would have taken her somewhere else, a place he considered upscale and tropical, or to the forest for a much longer period of time, if he was more secure with their admittedly new and slightly unstable relationship. But, being him, he had been afraid she would reject the trip, the ring, and him should he push her at that idea. So he’d done the best he could manage without telling her he was insecure. The man was so freaking complex it made her head hurt sometimes. Heaven forbid he just tell her what he was thinking and feeling, oh no, that was too easy. He’d rather make the whole thing a convolute mess and try to trick her into being happy about this even as he felt guilty about tricking her. He was lucky she got him.
By the time she finished the first wall her thoughts had drifted away from the very pleasant memory of the trip and she moved on to her admittedly turbulent workweek. The first day had actually been fine. Tuesday had breezed by as most of her days at the precinct did. She went in, did her job, and went home, well to David’s house at any rate. Wednesday was when the real fun had started. She had been calmly talking to Joel as they went over a case when he stopped talking mid-sentence. Considering she was shuffling through images of the crime scene, and only half listening since they were talking about inconsequential things, she didn’t immediately notice he was staring. When she looked up she spotted him peering at her left hand.
For some reason she figured if no one noticed, or commented, on her new wedding ring that first day no one would. Admittedly, that was both naive and severely optimistic. The simple truth was no one noticed the day before, but Joel was definitely eying the new and outrageously expensive ring with a great deal of surprised interest. “Darcy?”
“Yes?” She asked innocently.
“Is that a wedding ring?”
She considered the best way to answer that. “It certainly does look like one.” She said agreeably.
Joel cocked his head to the side. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”
“I-“
The detective grinned when he saw her flush slightly. Considering she rarely showed any emotion other than annoyance or amusement, he was delighted. “Who is he?” His grin grew. “Does McNorris know yet?”
“Yeah, he knows.” She wasn’t sure how to go about telling him, and realized she should have thought this out. However, her weekend had been too full of good to spend her time worrying about this.
“How’d he take it?” The detective looked like he was torn between laughter and disappointment over the state the attorney must be in. She knew the detective had a soft spot for McNorris, why she wasn’t sure, and he was obviously sympathizing that someone had stolen her away from him. It hadn’t occurred to him that she had actually married McNorris.
“Pretty well.” She said.
“You’re serious?” The detective leaned back. “He actually likes this guy? Who is he?”
“He’s-“
She was cut off again when McNorris walked in. He nodded at the detective. “Joel.” Then he set his briefcase down and popped it open. “I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk about the Drake case. Where’s Fearless?”
Joel opened his mouth to answer when he spotted a flash of silver on David’s left hand. His mouth clicked shut and the detective’s eyes snapped to hers. Then he rubbed his temples when he put it together. “No.” He groaned.
David raised an eyebrow in confusion and she wiggled her left hand so he could see the ring. He looked down at his own hand and shrugged without interest in Joel’s reaction. “Where’s Fearless?”
Joel shook his head with a soulful sigh. “Ray’s going to have an aneurism.” That only made David’s day brighter. He smirked as he began to dig out his notes. With a sigh, the detective stood up. “I need coffee before I can process anymore.”
“Bring your partner back with you.” Ghost boy called after him.
Joel’s only response was a shake of his head. After that word had spread pretty fast. About half the department didn’t care, a quarter figured it wasn’t surprising but were disturbed by her choice in men, and the last quarter had… more volatile reactions. Ray had cornered her in the elevator and flat out told her she was an idiot and he was more than willing to save her from herself. She told him he could mind his own business at which point he had tried to turn into the concerned uncle and or brother. She had shaken her head and left the metal box before he could annoy her to the point of her getting mean.
Fearless had shot her a worried look and she told him to relax because she could take care of herself. Joel simply told her if she had a problem he had a shovel and place to hide a body. Her lip had twitched up at his acceptance of her insanity and she told him she had her own shovel, but she’d call him if she needed help with any heavy lifting. Hicks had made her sign paperwork about transferring her insurance, updating her emergency contact, and set her up a meeting with HR to be sure no one could sue them in some strange way because of this. Then he told her he didn’t want her marriage to get in the way of her job and if it did he would find a new psychologist. She had shrugged without worry and signed his paperwork.
Needless to say, her week had not been smooth sailing. She finished off the last wall with ease and waited for the paint to dry before applying another coat. She realized the paint was such a deep color that it would only need two coats instead of the three she had originally anticipated, and wondered if she should use the left over paint in the spare bathroom, or on one of the living room walls. There was no reason she couldn’t color coordinate the house after all. Feeling oddly content over making this space feel more like it was hers, she started up on the first wall with her second coat, figuring it had enough time to dry.
When this was done she needed to go back to her condo and work out what was coming here and what was going to be gotten rid of. She couldn’t move all her things over here, or David couldn’t keep all his stuff, and they were going to have to decide on that. She figured she might be able to replace his dishes with hers, seeing as she already took over the kitchen with the paint, but would rather have his bedroom furniture. She had bought a rather cheep set when she got here and saw no reason to keep it when his was new, barley a year old, and expensive. She liked the dark wood he picked out even if it wasn’t what she would usually go for. For some reason the heavy furniture suited him and the house. It made her feel comfortable, the way he made her feel comfortable, so that was an easy one. Figuring out what to do with her desk and abundance of bookshelves was not.
She contemplated that more deeply as she finished the wall off. She was still thinking about it as she touched up the odd corners and around the wall sockets with a small paintbrush. When she was done she stepped back and admired her work. It may have taken her a good two hours to complete, but she was delighted with the results. The dark wooden cabinets stood out nicely against the now deep green walls and the whole kitchen seemed to have transformed to a more hospitable, and less stuck up place. Bouncing happily she dove into a bag she had sitting on the counter and pulled out the final touch. She had to wait to take off the tape and put the flat panels around the wall sockets until the paint dried, and she was going to use that time to replace all the handles on the cabinets.
A few weeks ago she had spotted some hand crafted handles at a little boutique slash home store she sometimes wandered into when she was looking for shoes or a blouse. They had caught her interest at once, their color and shape appealing to her sense of style, and this whole project had sprung to mind. She had bought the bunch of them without a thought. Admittedly, the project had originally been geared to her own condo, but since ghost boy asked her to move in, and she abhorred his kitchen, she had simply transferred the thought to his house, which was now also her house. An hour after she pulled the first handle out of the bag she was done with everything.
Glancing at the clock on the microwave she realized she finished with thirty-two minutes to spare before David got back and congratulated herself. Moving quickly, she stored the rest of the paint in the garage and cleaned off the brush, roller, and pan before storing them with the paint. Then she found a small fan and set it on the table to help get rid of the lingering smell of the fumes before letting out a satisfied sigh. She was washing the paint off her hands when someone knocked at the door. Drying her hands, she stopped long enough to grab the covering off the floor and chuck them in the trash can, since they were covered in paint, before going to answer the knock.
“Coming!” Looking out the peephole she frowned. There was a strange man in his seventies looking out toward the car she bought David, which now had a new coat of paint and half an engine. She had never seen him before and her deep-seated paranoia rose up at once. Opening the drawer in the small table next to the door she held her gun in one hand before turning back. Her gun, or one of them at any rate, had been moved here the second week she’d slept over. For some reason McNorris didn’t own a firearm. She told him flat out she couldn’t stay here without one and he didn’t argue the point. He let her put one in the dresser next to the bed and another next to the door. When he saw how much more relaxed that made her she knew he was happy he hadn’t argued or questioned it.
Unlocking the door, she kept the chain in place as she spoke to the man. “Can I help you?”
He looked her over critically, noticing her headband, old clothing, and the paint stains she was now sporting. “I’m looking for David.”
She cocked her head, pretending innocence and gripping the gun more tightly. The last thing she needed was some crook or criminal he threw in jail stalking him to his house. “I’m sorry, David isn’t here.”
“Where is he?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“I came in to see him. We need to talk.”
She turned the safety off on the gun; she wasn’t having any of this. “Who are you? I’ll tell him you stopped by.”
“His father. Who are you?”
That answer threw her but she flipped the safety on the gun again. She figured, as much as McNorris hated his father, he wouldn’t want her to shoot him. “Can I see your ID?”
“Excuse me?” He demanded more than asked.
“Your driver’s license.” She said, undeterred by his defensiveness.
He was more than annoyed. “No.”
“Okay then.” She started to shut the door. If he couldn’t prove he was related to David then he could fuck off. On second thought, with what she knew about David’s father, he could go ahead and fuck off anyway. “In that case you have one minute to get off this property or I’m calling the police.”
“The police?”
“Yeah, I know them and you’re trespassing. Bye.”
He must have seen that she was serious because he spoke before she could shut the door in his face. “Wait.” He shook his head and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Opening the worn billfold he held it up to the slightly open door impatiently. She read it quickly and decided this was spectacular in every way she could imagine. “Can I come in now? Or would you like a blood sample?” She didn’t miss the sarcasm.
“That’s sweet of you, but no thanks.” Moving back she shut the door and stashed the gun quickly before he could see it. Then she unchained the door and held it open. “Please come in.” He shot her a grumpy look that reminded her of David. She simply looked back at him. She had learned enough about this man to already dislike him. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be civil. “I’m sorry about the mess. I wasn’t expecting company. Would you like something to drink?”
His eyes were sweeping over the place. He was taking everything in quickly, noticing what to him, must have been quite a few changes. From what she understood he hadn’t been to see his son since right after Marian moved out several years ago. Now her things were scattered about and she knew David had replaced all the things his ex-wife had taken in the divorce, which was pretty much everything except that chair she’d gotten rid of earlier. “Who are you?” He asked.
She held her hand out as she smiled. “Darcy. Nice to meet you.” He shook her hand with a blank look and she realized David had told his family nothing about her. It didn’t bother her. She hadn’t told hers anything about him either, although, she supposed, the circumstance were slightly different for her than ghost boy. But whatever, she wasn’t going to hold it against him. McNorris certainly hadn’t expected his father to be dropping by. He would have told her, or at least warned her not to answer the door. She waved the man toward the kitchen. It might smell like paint but she could get him a drink and food in there. “David tells me you live in Manchester?”
“Yes.” The man was getting suspicious of her presence and the information she had about him, as well as the ease with which she was moving through the house.
“Would you like water, sweet tea, or a soda? I have Pepsi.”
“Anything stronger?”
Absolutely not in this house. She was amazed he would ask that question with David the way he was and then realized he either didn’t know his son was sober or didn’t care enough to remember. “Nope.”
He tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “Pepsi.”
She smiled politely and got him a glass full of ice. She set it down then handed him a soda. Sitting down across from him she picked her cell phone up and began to text as she spoke to him. “David’s in a meeting until five but I’ll let him know you’re here.” She finished the short message and sent it. “What brings you to town, Mr. McNorris?”
“I came to see my son.” His eyes darted around the room as he took in the new paint and displaced items on the counter.
“I figured since you showed up at the door. Any particular reason or just to visit?”
“Are you the maid?”
She started to laugh softly. “No, I’m not.” Her PDA beeped and she picked it up, still smiling. Admittedly, she wasn’t at her best in an old t-shirt and a pair of jeans with a hole over one knee. She didn’t blame him for the assumption. She was sure in his mind his bachelor son, who was a well off lawyer, could and would hire a maid to take care of his house. She read the message quickly. “David says he’ll meet us in twenty minutes.” She looked back at his father as she fought for his first name, knowing David had told her at some point. “Where would you like to have dinner? There’s a great Italian place down the road. Or we could have Greek if that sounds better to you.”
He leaned back and she could tell he was assessing her. “Are you David’s new girlfriend?”
Jack. The name sprang to mind even as she answered him without hesitation or remorse. “No, I’m his wife.” Silence. It stretched for nearly a full minute as he stared at her. She just let him, never breaking eye contact or shying away from the intensity of his gaze. She now had no doubt that he and David were genetically related. They had the same stare, the exact same eyes, although her husbands were considerably warmer than the icy ones his father sported. Even now, with him surprised but not angry, she could feel the hidden hostility in him. It was… unpleasant.
Finally, he spoke. “You’re married to my son?”
“I am.” She continued to smile. “So Italian or Greek?”
“Italian.” He finally responded.
“Oh good. I was hoping you would say that.” She stood up. “I’ll go get changed. Do you need anything or will you be all right for about ten minutes? I’m really sorry about the smell. I just finished painting.” She glanced around before returning her attention to him, trying to be nice and inviting. “You think David will like it?”
She could see him fighting back a snappy retort over either the color or her link to his son. She wondered why he was holding his tongue. She thought it was because she’d caught him off guard and he was trying to regain his balance. She had a strong hunch that Jack liked to have the upper hand in all his relationships. “I’m fine.”
“Okay.” She stayed cheerful. “I’ll be right back.”
She retreated and closed their bedroom door. Picking out an outfit quickly she texted David again, then began to get ready at light speed. She was aiming to impress and the restaurant they were going to wasn’t exactly low class. She picked out her navy blue cocktail dress, David had replaced the white one for no reason she could understand, and tossed it on the bed before retreating to the bathroom. She had her makeup on and hair up in six minutes. Then she slipped into her dress. It was a lovely shade of navy blue and the top was lace and silk. It was elegant and covered her back. It had been a good find by him and she wondered where he kept finding these things for her to wear, or when he had the time to get them. It was so hard for her to find a dress like this that she hadn’t felt guilty about him gifting it to her. Besides, the man was hooked on giving her presents. There was no point in fighting it when she knew he enjoyed doing it in that silent sort of way he had.
She got out a pair of silver heels and her matching purse. Throwing all her necessities in the small handbag she picked up the clutch and walked back to the kitchen after securing some jewelry. Jack was looking out the window at the backyard when she reappeared. “Are you ready? We should get there at about the same time if we leave now.”
He turned around and his eyes flicked over her. She could tell he was more impressed with her now. She wasn’t surprised. She looked the part of a beautiful young wife now instead of a grubby and low paid worker, the kind of woman he imagined his son should have. A pretty thing to hang on his arm and show off at social functions, one that could smile without opening her mouth. She was sure the next few hours were going to contain more unpleasant surprises for this man. “Yes.”
She smiled demurely, doing her best to appear easy to deal with and eager to please. She had no interest in causing a scene or making trouble even if she saw that as an inevitability. She was sure this was going to be hard enough for David to deal with without her making trouble. They walked out after she closed the windows and locked the doors, and he got into her car without a fight. She started up some small talk, asking about his wife and other children. He was relaxed, if still thrown, in less than two minutes. By the time they got to the restaurant she was sure he thought he had her all worked out. Maybe David got his brain from his mother, or it was just a freak genetic happenstance. Then again, maybe she was underestimating this man. She went back on guard, that was the last thing she wanted to do, to leave herself vulnerable when she needed to be alert.
She was silently relieved, then worried, when she spotted David’s car already in the lot. Keeping up the easy conversation they walked to the door. A young man in a uniform opened it for them and she smiled her thanks as they walked in. David was standing at the front of the restaurant waiting for them. He was taut and on edge, and she did her best not to respond to his cues. There was no reason for her to be upset about this. One of them needed to be calm.
He smiled a fake sort of smile at them as they approached. “Dad, this is a nice surprise.” They shook hands briefly, no hugging she noted, and then David leaned in and kissed her cheek chastely in greeting. “You should have called ahead. We would have had everything ready for you.”
“I’m not staying long. I’m heading to Salt Lake tomorrow. There was a layover in LAX so I thought I’d stop in.”
The hostess stepped in and led them to a table in the back. David pulled out her chair and she sat down as gracefully as she could. His father took all this in as he settled himself and David picked the conversation back up. “You’re going to see Mary?”
“Yes.” He said without further explanation.
That seemed to bother David because went stiff all over. Reaching to him under the table she squeezed his hand. He spoke calmly despite his mood. “That’s nice. Are you going to surprise her too?”
His father smiled. “I haven’t seen your sister in a while. I want to see my grandbabies before I get too old to travel.”
Considering he hadn’t said no to that being a surprise, and knowing ghost boy adored his little sister since he had told her he did and she was the only person in his family he actually talked about, she knew he didn’t like the idea of his father dropping into her life. She was sure Mary hadn’t gotten out of her childhood home without any bruising and she was equally sure that enraged David. “I hope you got them presents.” Ghost boy said with a smile, playing the good son.
“Of course I got them presents.” For a brief moment Jack thawed. “Even if your sister is fussy about what they can have. I brought them educational things.” He waved his hand. “Your mother picked everything out. Honestly, I don’t see why they can’t just have toys like normal kids.”
David shifted slightly. “You know Lila can’t have anything she could hurt herself with.”
Jack rolled his eyes and she knew she was missing something. Her eyes were darting between them as she kept quiet. “There’s nothing wrong with that girl.”
“She’s severely autistic.” David responded. “Anything too loud scares her. She can’t handle the sensory overload.”
“Don’t start on that. All it does is encourage your sister. There’s nothing wrong with that girl but she’s being babied.”
She cut in smoothly as David’s eyes flashed in rage. She didn’t want him going off like a volcano in the restaurant and she simply didn’t have the time to wonder why McNorris never told her he had an autistic niece, or any niece for that matter. But with three brothers and two sisters she didn’t know how she could assume he wasn’t an uncle. “Psychological disorders aren’t excuses, Jack, they’re medical conditions.”
He glanced at her. “Are you a doctor?”
She could tell he thought she was some pretty floozy David had picked up. She knew before she answered that he probably would have preferred that. “Yes, I am.”
She startled him again and she knew he didn’t like that in the slightest. “Darcy is a clinical psychologist.” David told him, a note of pride in his voice.
“A shrink?” Jack huffed and she raised an eyebrow as David puffed up at the condescending tone.
“That’s one term.” She agreed. “I prefer the more educated and clinically correct term of psychotherapist.”
The older man was on his toes with her now. “What do you do? Council lunatics?”
She never blinked as she stared him down. “No, I profile and interview criminals. My specialty is with psychopaths and serial killers, although I’ve had rather good results with terrorists, sadists, and child abusers.”
David squeezed her hand under the table in warning. His father either didn’t get the jibe or chose to ignore it. Instead of getting angry, he chuckled. “You’re certainly more of a spitfire than Marian.”
She gave him points for trying to bring David’s ex-wife into this. The older man was trying to rile her up so he could put her in her place. The thing was she had nothing against the other woman. However, she could feel David coiling up, knowing he was ready to defend her. She pushed on before he could do anything. “Marian is a lovely woman. She has the patience of a saint and works very hard to be sure everyone is happy and comfortable.” She paused for half a beat. “We have very little in common.”
Jack’s eyes flashed and David broke in before that could go any farther, sensing her gearing up for a fight and knowing she would enjoy it. “How are mom and Paul?”
“Fine.” David’s father dismissed her and turned to his son as he told him about his older brother. “Paul is expanding his shop and your mother is doing some sort of book club with her friends.”
“Paul has that much business?”
“He does now that he moved.”
The waitress came by and took their drink orders. When she left David continued. “I didn’t know he’d moved.”
“You might if you ever called home.”
David sent him a careless smile. “Where’d he move to?”
“Outskirts of Boston. He’s close to the main business district. Has all the high-flying office executives coming to them. You would think grown men would be able to fix their own cars.”
“If they did Paul would be out of work.” David pointed out.
“True.” The waitress returned with their drinks and she wished she was comfortable enough to have alcohol. She had decided that would be a bad idea all around though, hadn’t had a drink at all since she’d started seeing ghost boy, so she stuck to ice tea. David was drinking water and his father had something on tap. She hadn’t been paying much attention. “Not going to drink with your old man?”
“I don’t drink anymore.”
His father scoffed. “I don’t want to hear about this alcoholic business anymore.”
“Then we won’t talk about it.” She cut in agreeably, thinking it might be best to stay with David and his plan to avoid a fight. She chose a safe subject. “I’ve never been to Boston. What’s it like?” Apparently that was a good topic to dive into because it kept Jack talking for the better part of their meal. She noticed David didn’t eat much and she did her best to keep the peace. It was all she could think to do.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
David was yanking at his tie with sharp, aggressive tugs. Stepping up to him she took hold of the knot and began to loosen it. His jaw clenched, but he let her help him. When it was undone she kissed his jaw softly. She spoke quietly to him, not wanting the conversation to make it past the doors to the spare bedroom where his father was hopefully already asleep. “Relax, David.” He nodded sharply and she moved into his space. When she was against him she tucked her head under his jaw and wrapped her arms around his waist.
He was stiff for a long moment before his arms came up to encircle her. His hand came up and began to stroke over her hair. “You look beautiful tonight.”
She kissed the side of his neck. “Thank you.”
He continued to touch her but she could tell that was all he was going to do to her with his father in the house. Lifting her head, she reached up and cupped his face. “Let’s go to bed. I know this has been a long day for you.” He nodded, his mind a million miles away. Trying to bring him back she kissed him chastely on the lips. “It’s okay, David. Tonight was fine and nothing bad happened. He’ll leave tomorrow and we can go back to our normal lives, as normal as our lives ever are at any rate.”
He looked at her for a moment. “My father upsets me.” He told her unnecessarily; still, she appreciated the honesty as well as his willingness to share that out loud.
“I know he does.” She rubbed his shoulder. “But he’s here and right now you have to deal with him and everything that comes with him.” She shrugged. “Or you can kick him out. What do you want to do?”
“Kicking him out would go over so well.” He said sarcastically.
She met his eyes. “This is about you. You need to make this relationship about you. It’s been about him for a long time, too long. You need to decide how you want to deal with this from here on out. What do you want us to do?”
He sighed. “Let’s just get through this.”
“Okay.” She kissed him again. “Then I’m going to get in the shower. Meet back here in fifteen minutes?” He smiled slightly and let her go before giving her a gentle push toward the bathroom. She took a step forward and then stopped. “Will you unzip me?”
He moved to her and released her from the dress before kissing the back of her neck. “There you go.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby doll.” He turned away and started to unbutton his shirt cuffs. She closed the door and started to undress. A few minutes later and she was clean and warm. Wrapping herself in a towel she brushed her hair out. When she came out David was pacing in front of the window, still dressed. She pulled out a long t-shirt and a pair of panties and slipped them on, then she went to him and grabbed his hand.
“Come on.”
“I’m not tired.”
“You don’t have to sleep.” She pulled him insistently. “I’ll give you a massage.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She recalled saying the same thing to him so many months ago and her lips quirked up.
“I know, but I’m awesome, so I will.”
He finally smiled, even if it was a small one. He laid out on the bed after slipping out of his shirt and shoes and she crawled over him so she was straddling his hips. She started at his shoulders and he let out a long breath. As she worked on him she knew he was stressed. The more he was the tighter he got, and unlike her his entire body clenched up, not just his back. Right now he was like a piano wire. It took her nearly thirty minutes just to get him to loosen up to a reasonable place. Once she got him there she started to target his pressure points in an attempt to get him to sleep. If she hit those with just the right amount of pressure, nearly enough to make him hurt but just shy of it, it would help throw him toward dreamland. She continued on for she didn’t know how long when he reached back and caught her.
He tugged at her arm and she slid next to him on the bed. Twisting about, he turned off the light and then tugged the blanket over them. Cupping her face he kissed her sweetly. “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t done.”
“An hour long back rub is more than I deserve. I feel much better.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I just want to curl up with you.”
“Okay. I love you.” It wasn’t often she said that out loud to him, but she knew he needed to hear it. She kissed him gently and turned over so he could spoon up around her. His arm wrapped over her middle and she sighed contentedly at him and relaxed. He kissed the back of her neck then went still. She lay there with him for another hour or so before she knew he was asleep. Once he was she let herself go and was out in seconds, she’d needed to be sure he was going to actually rest before she could.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Late the next morning David came in and practically collapsed on the sofa. She brought him a bottle of water from the kitchen where she’d been unpacking her dishes, which she went to get when he was dropping Jack off at the airport, and sat down next to him. He took it with a thank you and broke the seal with a sharp snap. “You all right, David?”
“Yes.” He took a drink and looked at her. “My father doesn’t like you.”
“I kinda figured.” She didn’t know how to feel about that. “I’m sorry.”
He huffed. “Don’t be. That gives me hope for the future of our relationship.”
She sent him a wiry smile. “You? Feeling optimism? No way.”
“Smart ass.” He muttered as he took another drink of water. “Thank you for keeping that to a minimum the last few hours. I know it was hard for you.”
“You’re welcome.” She moved to him, sensing weakness. David might be a snarking ass sometimes, but she thought he needed some affection. Lifting his arm she scooted under it and leaned into his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned down so he could kiss her head. In response she pulled her legs up and leaned fully into him. “And it was. I have all this built up sarcasm waiting to burst forth.”
He chuckled in amusement and leaned into the couch cushions as he stretched his legs out. “I called to warn my sister he was coming. I think Mary is going to send Lila off with one of her friends until he leaves. I told her that was a good idea.” She had a feeling more than that had passed between him and his little sister than just getting his niece elsewhere, but refrained from asking, knowing that there were some things that he wasn’t going to share with her and accepting that.
“You’re getting brave in your old age.”
He sighed without humor as he closed his eyes, exhausted. “I can stand up to an old man. How brave of me.”
She stretched and rubbed herself against his side. “He isn’t an old man. He’s a fundamental archetype in your subconscious.”
“Don’t start the psycho babble with me.” She smiled wickedly and he glared at her with one open eye. “I mean it. Not today.”
“You’re no fun.” With that she twisted and straddled his lap. “If I can’t tease you can I at least make out with you?”
His eyes opened and he eyed her appreciatively. “I suppose that would be all right.” Leaning in she kissed him and his hands settled on her hips. He hummed into her mouth and she rocked her hips slowly. Pulling away from her mouth he kissed her jaw as she started to loosen his belt. As she got it unhooked he turned his head slightly, distracted from her suddenly. “Do you smell something?”
She tried to appear totally innocent. He had never made it into the kitchen with his father here. He was so distracted by him that yesterday he hadn’t even noticed that something was off in the house. Bending her head she nuzzled at his throat as she unbuttoned his shirt. “I don’t smell anything.”
He grunted and his hands loosened as his head turned farther away from her. “I do.” He tried to get her off him, lifting her away. “It smells like paint.”
“Paint?”
He muttered something she didn’t catch and she found herself alone on the couch. She grumbled at the abandonment even as her eyes darted toward all the exits from the room. He looked into the hall toward the rest of the house first, and when he crossed the room and headed toward the space she had redone she crept off the couch and headed toward their room. She heard him stop when he was in the doorway of the kitchen and then go still. There was a brief pause before he spoke. “Green? You painted my kitchen green?” He demanded in an outraged cry that sounded very close to a wail.
Torn between laughter, mischief, and triumph, she grinned even as she backed farther toward the hall. “It’s my kitchen now! I call dibbs!” She told him as she put space between them.
He leaned back so he could see her from where he was. They were now across the large living room and he glared at her in a put upon way. “You can’t call dibbs on a room!”
“Yes, I can. I just did.” She responded smugly.
He rolled his eyes before returning his attention to the kitchen. After several long moments of study he sighed. “I definitely get to see you naked for this.”
“Just like that you think you get to see me naked?”
“My kitchen is green, Darcy! And-“ He waved at the room. “-what happened to my cabinets?”
“I made them pretty.” She answered perkily. “And they’re my cabinets. I called dibbs.”
“Well if we’re just calling dibbs on things I claim the walk in closet.”
She sent him a falsely horrified look; pleased this was distracting him from the last fifteen hours. “What?”
“You heard me. Tomorrow I’m going to brick off the entrance and you can see how this feels.” That had her giggling since she knew he would never do that. “You think that’s funny?” Her continued laughter answered that and he started toward her. “That’s it. Come here.”
With a yelp she took off toward their room but he caught her five feet from the door and swung her up over his shoulder. She snickered as he took her to the bed. “I love you.” She said sweetly.
“That isn’t getting you out of trouble. I’m getting you naked, and tomorrow I’m bricking up the closet.” He tossed her on the bed and she grabbed him, pulling him over her.
“Can we compromise?” She asked with good humor.
He nipped at her shoulder as he pawed at her pants. “You have three seconds to sway me.”
“You get me naked, I do naughty things to you, and we forget the bricks.”
“What kind of naughty things?” He asked.
She thought quickly. Raising her head she whispered into his ear. He paused in his attempt to get her pants off and she felt him go rigid as she got very detailed, very fast. When she finished telling him, and began sucking on his earlobe, he groaned out. “Deal.” With a satisfied smile she let him get her clothes off. She knew his reaction to the paint would be fun even if he had found it later than she had anticipated.
Rating: M
Pairing: David McNorris/ OC
Summary: All she wanted was a new, uncomplicated, psycho free life. Apparently that wasn't going to happen. David McNorris/ Original Character.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Boomtown.
28. Relations - Month Twenty
Slightly frazzled from the last week she shoved her annoyance away and focused on her project. She had managed to sneak out of work early after a meeting and had raced back to David’s in order to enact her plan. She could no longer, after practically living here and soon to be moving in, deal with a pink kitchen any longer. She didn’t care that it was a rather unobtrusive shade of pink. She didn’t care that it pretty much blended with the soft colors his entire house sported. She didn’t care that at one point in time, before she ever met him, he lived here with a different woman who she had absolutely nothing against, but had an odd fondness for pastels. She couldn’t do it. The pink had to go, along with that one frilly looking chair she had surreptitiously paid the garbage man to take away this morning after David ran off to an emergency meeting.
She was sure Marian had purchased that monstrosity as well, and to be perfectly frank, even if it made her a bad person, she didn’t want any of the woman’s things in what she now viewed as her territory. The chair could be replaced with one of hers, which were much funkier patterned and would totally match the soon to be newly colored kitchen. She was giddy at the mere thought of the transformation.
Considering McNorris could be deeply disturbed by the oddest and smallest changes, considering how well he accepted their marriage and moved her in the way he had, which she considered a huge change, she hadn’t bothered to ask permission. After all, she figured this was now half her house anyway. Their legally binding marriage certificate said it was. So she decided that her half was going to include these four walls if he had a fit about it.
Grinning at the thought of his possible, and most probable outrage, she used a screwdriver to pop the top on one of the three cans of paint she’d purchased and hidden a few days ago. Eyeing the bullfrog green paint with more than a little joy she poured it into a paint pan and picked up a roller, she had already taped all the cabinets and floorboards, and covered the floor with plastic, so she wasn’t worried about making a mess. All the windows were open so she wouldn’t get loopy from the fumes too. Lifting the roller she attacked the nearest wall with a vengeance.
The meticulous yet simple task let her relax as her mind wandered. Now that she was in comfortable clothes and doing what she wanted to be doing, she could let herself roll over the events of the last week with less agitation. Last weekend had been wonderful, relaxing, and an all around good time. Northern California was clearly the place for her and she had enjoyed the atmosphere and feeling of it as much as her time with McNorris. David had been nothing but good to her the whole time they were there.
She realized after they got back to the cabin from their hike, and tryst in the woods, that he was trying to give her some sort of honeymoon. He knew she’d wanted to come to the redwoods more than anything, knew she only would have saved up the money to go alone if she had really wanted it, so he brought her where she most wanted to be. Her theory over that was confirmed when he’d made love to her, slowly and sweetly, holding their newly ringed hands together as he murmured soft nothings into her ear. When they fell together she had ended up shaking in his arms for reasons unknown to her and he had kissed and cuddled her for the better part of an hour until she was calmed and he was ready again.
On the flip side ghost boy also knew a long weekend wasn’t much of a honeymoon. She had no doubt he would have taken her somewhere else, a place he considered upscale and tropical, or to the forest for a much longer period of time, if he was more secure with their admittedly new and slightly unstable relationship. But, being him, he had been afraid she would reject the trip, the ring, and him should he push her at that idea. So he’d done the best he could manage without telling her he was insecure. The man was so freaking complex it made her head hurt sometimes. Heaven forbid he just tell her what he was thinking and feeling, oh no, that was too easy. He’d rather make the whole thing a convolute mess and try to trick her into being happy about this even as he felt guilty about tricking her. He was lucky she got him.
By the time she finished the first wall her thoughts had drifted away from the very pleasant memory of the trip and she moved on to her admittedly turbulent workweek. The first day had actually been fine. Tuesday had breezed by as most of her days at the precinct did. She went in, did her job, and went home, well to David’s house at any rate. Wednesday was when the real fun had started. She had been calmly talking to Joel as they went over a case when he stopped talking mid-sentence. Considering she was shuffling through images of the crime scene, and only half listening since they were talking about inconsequential things, she didn’t immediately notice he was staring. When she looked up she spotted him peering at her left hand.
For some reason she figured if no one noticed, or commented, on her new wedding ring that first day no one would. Admittedly, that was both naive and severely optimistic. The simple truth was no one noticed the day before, but Joel was definitely eying the new and outrageously expensive ring with a great deal of surprised interest. “Darcy?”
“Yes?” She asked innocently.
“Is that a wedding ring?”
She considered the best way to answer that. “It certainly does look like one.” She said agreeably.
Joel cocked his head to the side. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”
“I-“
The detective grinned when he saw her flush slightly. Considering she rarely showed any emotion other than annoyance or amusement, he was delighted. “Who is he?” His grin grew. “Does McNorris know yet?”
“Yeah, he knows.” She wasn’t sure how to go about telling him, and realized she should have thought this out. However, her weekend had been too full of good to spend her time worrying about this.
“How’d he take it?” The detective looked like he was torn between laughter and disappointment over the state the attorney must be in. She knew the detective had a soft spot for McNorris, why she wasn’t sure, and he was obviously sympathizing that someone had stolen her away from him. It hadn’t occurred to him that she had actually married McNorris.
“Pretty well.” She said.
“You’re serious?” The detective leaned back. “He actually likes this guy? Who is he?”
“He’s-“
She was cut off again when McNorris walked in. He nodded at the detective. “Joel.” Then he set his briefcase down and popped it open. “I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk about the Drake case. Where’s Fearless?”
Joel opened his mouth to answer when he spotted a flash of silver on David’s left hand. His mouth clicked shut and the detective’s eyes snapped to hers. Then he rubbed his temples when he put it together. “No.” He groaned.
David raised an eyebrow in confusion and she wiggled her left hand so he could see the ring. He looked down at his own hand and shrugged without interest in Joel’s reaction. “Where’s Fearless?”
Joel shook his head with a soulful sigh. “Ray’s going to have an aneurism.” That only made David’s day brighter. He smirked as he began to dig out his notes. With a sigh, the detective stood up. “I need coffee before I can process anymore.”
“Bring your partner back with you.” Ghost boy called after him.
Joel’s only response was a shake of his head. After that word had spread pretty fast. About half the department didn’t care, a quarter figured it wasn’t surprising but were disturbed by her choice in men, and the last quarter had… more volatile reactions. Ray had cornered her in the elevator and flat out told her she was an idiot and he was more than willing to save her from herself. She told him he could mind his own business at which point he had tried to turn into the concerned uncle and or brother. She had shaken her head and left the metal box before he could annoy her to the point of her getting mean.
Fearless had shot her a worried look and she told him to relax because she could take care of herself. Joel simply told her if she had a problem he had a shovel and place to hide a body. Her lip had twitched up at his acceptance of her insanity and she told him she had her own shovel, but she’d call him if she needed help with any heavy lifting. Hicks had made her sign paperwork about transferring her insurance, updating her emergency contact, and set her up a meeting with HR to be sure no one could sue them in some strange way because of this. Then he told her he didn’t want her marriage to get in the way of her job and if it did he would find a new psychologist. She had shrugged without worry and signed his paperwork.
Needless to say, her week had not been smooth sailing. She finished off the last wall with ease and waited for the paint to dry before applying another coat. She realized the paint was such a deep color that it would only need two coats instead of the three she had originally anticipated, and wondered if she should use the left over paint in the spare bathroom, or on one of the living room walls. There was no reason she couldn’t color coordinate the house after all. Feeling oddly content over making this space feel more like it was hers, she started up on the first wall with her second coat, figuring it had enough time to dry.
When this was done she needed to go back to her condo and work out what was coming here and what was going to be gotten rid of. She couldn’t move all her things over here, or David couldn’t keep all his stuff, and they were going to have to decide on that. She figured she might be able to replace his dishes with hers, seeing as she already took over the kitchen with the paint, but would rather have his bedroom furniture. She had bought a rather cheep set when she got here and saw no reason to keep it when his was new, barley a year old, and expensive. She liked the dark wood he picked out even if it wasn’t what she would usually go for. For some reason the heavy furniture suited him and the house. It made her feel comfortable, the way he made her feel comfortable, so that was an easy one. Figuring out what to do with her desk and abundance of bookshelves was not.
She contemplated that more deeply as she finished the wall off. She was still thinking about it as she touched up the odd corners and around the wall sockets with a small paintbrush. When she was done she stepped back and admired her work. It may have taken her a good two hours to complete, but she was delighted with the results. The dark wooden cabinets stood out nicely against the now deep green walls and the whole kitchen seemed to have transformed to a more hospitable, and less stuck up place. Bouncing happily she dove into a bag she had sitting on the counter and pulled out the final touch. She had to wait to take off the tape and put the flat panels around the wall sockets until the paint dried, and she was going to use that time to replace all the handles on the cabinets.
A few weeks ago she had spotted some hand crafted handles at a little boutique slash home store she sometimes wandered into when she was looking for shoes or a blouse. They had caught her interest at once, their color and shape appealing to her sense of style, and this whole project had sprung to mind. She had bought the bunch of them without a thought. Admittedly, the project had originally been geared to her own condo, but since ghost boy asked her to move in, and she abhorred his kitchen, she had simply transferred the thought to his house, which was now also her house. An hour after she pulled the first handle out of the bag she was done with everything.
Glancing at the clock on the microwave she realized she finished with thirty-two minutes to spare before David got back and congratulated herself. Moving quickly, she stored the rest of the paint in the garage and cleaned off the brush, roller, and pan before storing them with the paint. Then she found a small fan and set it on the table to help get rid of the lingering smell of the fumes before letting out a satisfied sigh. She was washing the paint off her hands when someone knocked at the door. Drying her hands, she stopped long enough to grab the covering off the floor and chuck them in the trash can, since they were covered in paint, before going to answer the knock.
“Coming!” Looking out the peephole she frowned. There was a strange man in his seventies looking out toward the car she bought David, which now had a new coat of paint and half an engine. She had never seen him before and her deep-seated paranoia rose up at once. Opening the drawer in the small table next to the door she held her gun in one hand before turning back. Her gun, or one of them at any rate, had been moved here the second week she’d slept over. For some reason McNorris didn’t own a firearm. She told him flat out she couldn’t stay here without one and he didn’t argue the point. He let her put one in the dresser next to the bed and another next to the door. When he saw how much more relaxed that made her she knew he was happy he hadn’t argued or questioned it.
Unlocking the door, she kept the chain in place as she spoke to the man. “Can I help you?”
He looked her over critically, noticing her headband, old clothing, and the paint stains she was now sporting. “I’m looking for David.”
She cocked her head, pretending innocence and gripping the gun more tightly. The last thing she needed was some crook or criminal he threw in jail stalking him to his house. “I’m sorry, David isn’t here.”
“Where is he?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“I came in to see him. We need to talk.”
She turned the safety off on the gun; she wasn’t having any of this. “Who are you? I’ll tell him you stopped by.”
“His father. Who are you?”
That answer threw her but she flipped the safety on the gun again. She figured, as much as McNorris hated his father, he wouldn’t want her to shoot him. “Can I see your ID?”
“Excuse me?” He demanded more than asked.
“Your driver’s license.” She said, undeterred by his defensiveness.
He was more than annoyed. “No.”
“Okay then.” She started to shut the door. If he couldn’t prove he was related to David then he could fuck off. On second thought, with what she knew about David’s father, he could go ahead and fuck off anyway. “In that case you have one minute to get off this property or I’m calling the police.”
“The police?”
“Yeah, I know them and you’re trespassing. Bye.”
He must have seen that she was serious because he spoke before she could shut the door in his face. “Wait.” He shook his head and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Opening the worn billfold he held it up to the slightly open door impatiently. She read it quickly and decided this was spectacular in every way she could imagine. “Can I come in now? Or would you like a blood sample?” She didn’t miss the sarcasm.
“That’s sweet of you, but no thanks.” Moving back she shut the door and stashed the gun quickly before he could see it. Then she unchained the door and held it open. “Please come in.” He shot her a grumpy look that reminded her of David. She simply looked back at him. She had learned enough about this man to already dislike him. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be civil. “I’m sorry about the mess. I wasn’t expecting company. Would you like something to drink?”
His eyes were sweeping over the place. He was taking everything in quickly, noticing what to him, must have been quite a few changes. From what she understood he hadn’t been to see his son since right after Marian moved out several years ago. Now her things were scattered about and she knew David had replaced all the things his ex-wife had taken in the divorce, which was pretty much everything except that chair she’d gotten rid of earlier. “Who are you?” He asked.
She held her hand out as she smiled. “Darcy. Nice to meet you.” He shook her hand with a blank look and she realized David had told his family nothing about her. It didn’t bother her. She hadn’t told hers anything about him either, although, she supposed, the circumstance were slightly different for her than ghost boy. But whatever, she wasn’t going to hold it against him. McNorris certainly hadn’t expected his father to be dropping by. He would have told her, or at least warned her not to answer the door. She waved the man toward the kitchen. It might smell like paint but she could get him a drink and food in there. “David tells me you live in Manchester?”
“Yes.” The man was getting suspicious of her presence and the information she had about him, as well as the ease with which she was moving through the house.
“Would you like water, sweet tea, or a soda? I have Pepsi.”
“Anything stronger?”
Absolutely not in this house. She was amazed he would ask that question with David the way he was and then realized he either didn’t know his son was sober or didn’t care enough to remember. “Nope.”
He tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “Pepsi.”
She smiled politely and got him a glass full of ice. She set it down then handed him a soda. Sitting down across from him she picked her cell phone up and began to text as she spoke to him. “David’s in a meeting until five but I’ll let him know you’re here.” She finished the short message and sent it. “What brings you to town, Mr. McNorris?”
“I came to see my son.” His eyes darted around the room as he took in the new paint and displaced items on the counter.
“I figured since you showed up at the door. Any particular reason or just to visit?”
“Are you the maid?”
She started to laugh softly. “No, I’m not.” Her PDA beeped and she picked it up, still smiling. Admittedly, she wasn’t at her best in an old t-shirt and a pair of jeans with a hole over one knee. She didn’t blame him for the assumption. She was sure in his mind his bachelor son, who was a well off lawyer, could and would hire a maid to take care of his house. She read the message quickly. “David says he’ll meet us in twenty minutes.” She looked back at his father as she fought for his first name, knowing David had told her at some point. “Where would you like to have dinner? There’s a great Italian place down the road. Or we could have Greek if that sounds better to you.”
He leaned back and she could tell he was assessing her. “Are you David’s new girlfriend?”
Jack. The name sprang to mind even as she answered him without hesitation or remorse. “No, I’m his wife.” Silence. It stretched for nearly a full minute as he stared at her. She just let him, never breaking eye contact or shying away from the intensity of his gaze. She now had no doubt that he and David were genetically related. They had the same stare, the exact same eyes, although her husbands were considerably warmer than the icy ones his father sported. Even now, with him surprised but not angry, she could feel the hidden hostility in him. It was… unpleasant.
Finally, he spoke. “You’re married to my son?”
“I am.” She continued to smile. “So Italian or Greek?”
“Italian.” He finally responded.
“Oh good. I was hoping you would say that.” She stood up. “I’ll go get changed. Do you need anything or will you be all right for about ten minutes? I’m really sorry about the smell. I just finished painting.” She glanced around before returning her attention to him, trying to be nice and inviting. “You think David will like it?”
She could see him fighting back a snappy retort over either the color or her link to his son. She wondered why he was holding his tongue. She thought it was because she’d caught him off guard and he was trying to regain his balance. She had a strong hunch that Jack liked to have the upper hand in all his relationships. “I’m fine.”
“Okay.” She stayed cheerful. “I’ll be right back.”
She retreated and closed their bedroom door. Picking out an outfit quickly she texted David again, then began to get ready at light speed. She was aiming to impress and the restaurant they were going to wasn’t exactly low class. She picked out her navy blue cocktail dress, David had replaced the white one for no reason she could understand, and tossed it on the bed before retreating to the bathroom. She had her makeup on and hair up in six minutes. Then she slipped into her dress. It was a lovely shade of navy blue and the top was lace and silk. It was elegant and covered her back. It had been a good find by him and she wondered where he kept finding these things for her to wear, or when he had the time to get them. It was so hard for her to find a dress like this that she hadn’t felt guilty about him gifting it to her. Besides, the man was hooked on giving her presents. There was no point in fighting it when she knew he enjoyed doing it in that silent sort of way he had.
She got out a pair of silver heels and her matching purse. Throwing all her necessities in the small handbag she picked up the clutch and walked back to the kitchen after securing some jewelry. Jack was looking out the window at the backyard when she reappeared. “Are you ready? We should get there at about the same time if we leave now.”
He turned around and his eyes flicked over her. She could tell he was more impressed with her now. She wasn’t surprised. She looked the part of a beautiful young wife now instead of a grubby and low paid worker, the kind of woman he imagined his son should have. A pretty thing to hang on his arm and show off at social functions, one that could smile without opening her mouth. She was sure the next few hours were going to contain more unpleasant surprises for this man. “Yes.”
She smiled demurely, doing her best to appear easy to deal with and eager to please. She had no interest in causing a scene or making trouble even if she saw that as an inevitability. She was sure this was going to be hard enough for David to deal with without her making trouble. They walked out after she closed the windows and locked the doors, and he got into her car without a fight. She started up some small talk, asking about his wife and other children. He was relaxed, if still thrown, in less than two minutes. By the time they got to the restaurant she was sure he thought he had her all worked out. Maybe David got his brain from his mother, or it was just a freak genetic happenstance. Then again, maybe she was underestimating this man. She went back on guard, that was the last thing she wanted to do, to leave herself vulnerable when she needed to be alert.
She was silently relieved, then worried, when she spotted David’s car already in the lot. Keeping up the easy conversation they walked to the door. A young man in a uniform opened it for them and she smiled her thanks as they walked in. David was standing at the front of the restaurant waiting for them. He was taut and on edge, and she did her best not to respond to his cues. There was no reason for her to be upset about this. One of them needed to be calm.
He smiled a fake sort of smile at them as they approached. “Dad, this is a nice surprise.” They shook hands briefly, no hugging she noted, and then David leaned in and kissed her cheek chastely in greeting. “You should have called ahead. We would have had everything ready for you.”
“I’m not staying long. I’m heading to Salt Lake tomorrow. There was a layover in LAX so I thought I’d stop in.”
The hostess stepped in and led them to a table in the back. David pulled out her chair and she sat down as gracefully as she could. His father took all this in as he settled himself and David picked the conversation back up. “You’re going to see Mary?”
“Yes.” He said without further explanation.
That seemed to bother David because went stiff all over. Reaching to him under the table she squeezed his hand. He spoke calmly despite his mood. “That’s nice. Are you going to surprise her too?”
His father smiled. “I haven’t seen your sister in a while. I want to see my grandbabies before I get too old to travel.”
Considering he hadn’t said no to that being a surprise, and knowing ghost boy adored his little sister since he had told her he did and she was the only person in his family he actually talked about, she knew he didn’t like the idea of his father dropping into her life. She was sure Mary hadn’t gotten out of her childhood home without any bruising and she was equally sure that enraged David. “I hope you got them presents.” Ghost boy said with a smile, playing the good son.
“Of course I got them presents.” For a brief moment Jack thawed. “Even if your sister is fussy about what they can have. I brought them educational things.” He waved his hand. “Your mother picked everything out. Honestly, I don’t see why they can’t just have toys like normal kids.”
David shifted slightly. “You know Lila can’t have anything she could hurt herself with.”
Jack rolled his eyes and she knew she was missing something. Her eyes were darting between them as she kept quiet. “There’s nothing wrong with that girl.”
“She’s severely autistic.” David responded. “Anything too loud scares her. She can’t handle the sensory overload.”
“Don’t start on that. All it does is encourage your sister. There’s nothing wrong with that girl but she’s being babied.”
She cut in smoothly as David’s eyes flashed in rage. She didn’t want him going off like a volcano in the restaurant and she simply didn’t have the time to wonder why McNorris never told her he had an autistic niece, or any niece for that matter. But with three brothers and two sisters she didn’t know how she could assume he wasn’t an uncle. “Psychological disorders aren’t excuses, Jack, they’re medical conditions.”
He glanced at her. “Are you a doctor?”
She could tell he thought she was some pretty floozy David had picked up. She knew before she answered that he probably would have preferred that. “Yes, I am.”
She startled him again and she knew he didn’t like that in the slightest. “Darcy is a clinical psychologist.” David told him, a note of pride in his voice.
“A shrink?” Jack huffed and she raised an eyebrow as David puffed up at the condescending tone.
“That’s one term.” She agreed. “I prefer the more educated and clinically correct term of psychotherapist.”
The older man was on his toes with her now. “What do you do? Council lunatics?”
She never blinked as she stared him down. “No, I profile and interview criminals. My specialty is with psychopaths and serial killers, although I’ve had rather good results with terrorists, sadists, and child abusers.”
David squeezed her hand under the table in warning. His father either didn’t get the jibe or chose to ignore it. Instead of getting angry, he chuckled. “You’re certainly more of a spitfire than Marian.”
She gave him points for trying to bring David’s ex-wife into this. The older man was trying to rile her up so he could put her in her place. The thing was she had nothing against the other woman. However, she could feel David coiling up, knowing he was ready to defend her. She pushed on before he could do anything. “Marian is a lovely woman. She has the patience of a saint and works very hard to be sure everyone is happy and comfortable.” She paused for half a beat. “We have very little in common.”
Jack’s eyes flashed and David broke in before that could go any farther, sensing her gearing up for a fight and knowing she would enjoy it. “How are mom and Paul?”
“Fine.” David’s father dismissed her and turned to his son as he told him about his older brother. “Paul is expanding his shop and your mother is doing some sort of book club with her friends.”
“Paul has that much business?”
“He does now that he moved.”
The waitress came by and took their drink orders. When she left David continued. “I didn’t know he’d moved.”
“You might if you ever called home.”
David sent him a careless smile. “Where’d he move to?”
“Outskirts of Boston. He’s close to the main business district. Has all the high-flying office executives coming to them. You would think grown men would be able to fix their own cars.”
“If they did Paul would be out of work.” David pointed out.
“True.” The waitress returned with their drinks and she wished she was comfortable enough to have alcohol. She had decided that would be a bad idea all around though, hadn’t had a drink at all since she’d started seeing ghost boy, so she stuck to ice tea. David was drinking water and his father had something on tap. She hadn’t been paying much attention. “Not going to drink with your old man?”
“I don’t drink anymore.”
His father scoffed. “I don’t want to hear about this alcoholic business anymore.”
“Then we won’t talk about it.” She cut in agreeably, thinking it might be best to stay with David and his plan to avoid a fight. She chose a safe subject. “I’ve never been to Boston. What’s it like?” Apparently that was a good topic to dive into because it kept Jack talking for the better part of their meal. She noticed David didn’t eat much and she did her best to keep the peace. It was all she could think to do.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
David was yanking at his tie with sharp, aggressive tugs. Stepping up to him she took hold of the knot and began to loosen it. His jaw clenched, but he let her help him. When it was undone she kissed his jaw softly. She spoke quietly to him, not wanting the conversation to make it past the doors to the spare bedroom where his father was hopefully already asleep. “Relax, David.” He nodded sharply and she moved into his space. When she was against him she tucked her head under his jaw and wrapped her arms around his waist.
He was stiff for a long moment before his arms came up to encircle her. His hand came up and began to stroke over her hair. “You look beautiful tonight.”
She kissed the side of his neck. “Thank you.”
He continued to touch her but she could tell that was all he was going to do to her with his father in the house. Lifting her head, she reached up and cupped his face. “Let’s go to bed. I know this has been a long day for you.” He nodded, his mind a million miles away. Trying to bring him back she kissed him chastely on the lips. “It’s okay, David. Tonight was fine and nothing bad happened. He’ll leave tomorrow and we can go back to our normal lives, as normal as our lives ever are at any rate.”
He looked at her for a moment. “My father upsets me.” He told her unnecessarily; still, she appreciated the honesty as well as his willingness to share that out loud.
“I know he does.” She rubbed his shoulder. “But he’s here and right now you have to deal with him and everything that comes with him.” She shrugged. “Or you can kick him out. What do you want to do?”
“Kicking him out would go over so well.” He said sarcastically.
She met his eyes. “This is about you. You need to make this relationship about you. It’s been about him for a long time, too long. You need to decide how you want to deal with this from here on out. What do you want us to do?”
He sighed. “Let’s just get through this.”
“Okay.” She kissed him again. “Then I’m going to get in the shower. Meet back here in fifteen minutes?” He smiled slightly and let her go before giving her a gentle push toward the bathroom. She took a step forward and then stopped. “Will you unzip me?”
He moved to her and released her from the dress before kissing the back of her neck. “There you go.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby doll.” He turned away and started to unbutton his shirt cuffs. She closed the door and started to undress. A few minutes later and she was clean and warm. Wrapping herself in a towel she brushed her hair out. When she came out David was pacing in front of the window, still dressed. She pulled out a long t-shirt and a pair of panties and slipped them on, then she went to him and grabbed his hand.
“Come on.”
“I’m not tired.”
“You don’t have to sleep.” She pulled him insistently. “I’ll give you a massage.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She recalled saying the same thing to him so many months ago and her lips quirked up.
“I know, but I’m awesome, so I will.”
He finally smiled, even if it was a small one. He laid out on the bed after slipping out of his shirt and shoes and she crawled over him so she was straddling his hips. She started at his shoulders and he let out a long breath. As she worked on him she knew he was stressed. The more he was the tighter he got, and unlike her his entire body clenched up, not just his back. Right now he was like a piano wire. It took her nearly thirty minutes just to get him to loosen up to a reasonable place. Once she got him there she started to target his pressure points in an attempt to get him to sleep. If she hit those with just the right amount of pressure, nearly enough to make him hurt but just shy of it, it would help throw him toward dreamland. She continued on for she didn’t know how long when he reached back and caught her.
He tugged at her arm and she slid next to him on the bed. Twisting about, he turned off the light and then tugged the blanket over them. Cupping her face he kissed her sweetly. “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t done.”
“An hour long back rub is more than I deserve. I feel much better.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I just want to curl up with you.”
“Okay. I love you.” It wasn’t often she said that out loud to him, but she knew he needed to hear it. She kissed him gently and turned over so he could spoon up around her. His arm wrapped over her middle and she sighed contentedly at him and relaxed. He kissed the back of her neck then went still. She lay there with him for another hour or so before she knew he was asleep. Once he was she let herself go and was out in seconds, she’d needed to be sure he was going to actually rest before she could.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Late the next morning David came in and practically collapsed on the sofa. She brought him a bottle of water from the kitchen where she’d been unpacking her dishes, which she went to get when he was dropping Jack off at the airport, and sat down next to him. He took it with a thank you and broke the seal with a sharp snap. “You all right, David?”
“Yes.” He took a drink and looked at her. “My father doesn’t like you.”
“I kinda figured.” She didn’t know how to feel about that. “I’m sorry.”
He huffed. “Don’t be. That gives me hope for the future of our relationship.”
She sent him a wiry smile. “You? Feeling optimism? No way.”
“Smart ass.” He muttered as he took another drink of water. “Thank you for keeping that to a minimum the last few hours. I know it was hard for you.”
“You’re welcome.” She moved to him, sensing weakness. David might be a snarking ass sometimes, but she thought he needed some affection. Lifting his arm she scooted under it and leaned into his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned down so he could kiss her head. In response she pulled her legs up and leaned fully into him. “And it was. I have all this built up sarcasm waiting to burst forth.”
He chuckled in amusement and leaned into the couch cushions as he stretched his legs out. “I called to warn my sister he was coming. I think Mary is going to send Lila off with one of her friends until he leaves. I told her that was a good idea.” She had a feeling more than that had passed between him and his little sister than just getting his niece elsewhere, but refrained from asking, knowing that there were some things that he wasn’t going to share with her and accepting that.
“You’re getting brave in your old age.”
He sighed without humor as he closed his eyes, exhausted. “I can stand up to an old man. How brave of me.”
She stretched and rubbed herself against his side. “He isn’t an old man. He’s a fundamental archetype in your subconscious.”
“Don’t start the psycho babble with me.” She smiled wickedly and he glared at her with one open eye. “I mean it. Not today.”
“You’re no fun.” With that she twisted and straddled his lap. “If I can’t tease you can I at least make out with you?”
His eyes opened and he eyed her appreciatively. “I suppose that would be all right.” Leaning in she kissed him and his hands settled on her hips. He hummed into her mouth and she rocked her hips slowly. Pulling away from her mouth he kissed her jaw as she started to loosen his belt. As she got it unhooked he turned his head slightly, distracted from her suddenly. “Do you smell something?”
She tried to appear totally innocent. He had never made it into the kitchen with his father here. He was so distracted by him that yesterday he hadn’t even noticed that something was off in the house. Bending her head she nuzzled at his throat as she unbuttoned his shirt. “I don’t smell anything.”
He grunted and his hands loosened as his head turned farther away from her. “I do.” He tried to get her off him, lifting her away. “It smells like paint.”
“Paint?”
He muttered something she didn’t catch and she found herself alone on the couch. She grumbled at the abandonment even as her eyes darted toward all the exits from the room. He looked into the hall toward the rest of the house first, and when he crossed the room and headed toward the space she had redone she crept off the couch and headed toward their room. She heard him stop when he was in the doorway of the kitchen and then go still. There was a brief pause before he spoke. “Green? You painted my kitchen green?” He demanded in an outraged cry that sounded very close to a wail.
Torn between laughter, mischief, and triumph, she grinned even as she backed farther toward the hall. “It’s my kitchen now! I call dibbs!” She told him as she put space between them.
He leaned back so he could see her from where he was. They were now across the large living room and he glared at her in a put upon way. “You can’t call dibbs on a room!”
“Yes, I can. I just did.” She responded smugly.
He rolled his eyes before returning his attention to the kitchen. After several long moments of study he sighed. “I definitely get to see you naked for this.”
“Just like that you think you get to see me naked?”
“My kitchen is green, Darcy! And-“ He waved at the room. “-what happened to my cabinets?”
“I made them pretty.” She answered perkily. “And they’re my cabinets. I called dibbs.”
“Well if we’re just calling dibbs on things I claim the walk in closet.”
She sent him a falsely horrified look; pleased this was distracting him from the last fifteen hours. “What?”
“You heard me. Tomorrow I’m going to brick off the entrance and you can see how this feels.” That had her giggling since she knew he would never do that. “You think that’s funny?” Her continued laughter answered that and he started toward her. “That’s it. Come here.”
With a yelp she took off toward their room but he caught her five feet from the door and swung her up over his shoulder. She snickered as he took her to the bed. “I love you.” She said sweetly.
“That isn’t getting you out of trouble. I’m getting you naked, and tomorrow I’m bricking up the closet.” He tossed her on the bed and she grabbed him, pulling him over her.
“Can we compromise?” She asked with good humor.
He nipped at her shoulder as he pawed at her pants. “You have three seconds to sway me.”
“You get me naked, I do naughty things to you, and we forget the bricks.”
“What kind of naughty things?” He asked.
She thought quickly. Raising her head she whispered into his ear. He paused in his attempt to get her pants off and she felt him go rigid as she got very detailed, very fast. When she finished telling him, and began sucking on his earlobe, he groaned out. “Deal.” With a satisfied smile she let him get her clothes off. She knew his reaction to the paint would be fun even if he had found it later than she had anticipated.