Chapter 20 #2
With ease, as if he lived here, Dennis removed two tall glasses and filled them with water from her fridge dispenser. She pulled out two small plates and arranged everything on the high counter, halfway through a roll before he’d even set their waters down.
“Nothing is formal here,” she explained. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“I am.”
The way he looked at her made it clear he wasn’t thinking about food.
Baby Bean sure was, though. In the next three minutes, she finished half the shrimp rolls, eyeing another one but trying to be polite.
“Have more,” he said generously, nudging the big plate toward her.
“I have no self-control.”
“I feel the same way,” he said with a wink.
Nervous energy shot through her blood, because she was going to have to tell him soon. Her visit with the doctor earlier that morning had cast a shadow over his visit.
Not yet, though. She wanted to have some fun before she had to tell him.
“Do you work from home?” he asked as he pushed the plate closer to her, wagging a shrimp roll in the air before eating it. “I’m done,” he added. “The rest are yours.”
“I don’t,” she replied, taking him at his word and dunking another one in her hummus. “I have a small office a few blocks from here. An office share.”
“Office share?”
“A group of therapists share the same office. We schedule around each other. I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays now.”
“You see all your patients on those days?”
“And two virtually–I do see them from here.” She paused. “I’ll probably change that after the baby’s born and I return to work.”
“And you’ll be okay?”
“Okay? What do you mean?”
“You have child care arranged? You can support yourself?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m sure you’re fine, Ana. I just want to make sure you’re safe and secure and well cared for.”
Whoa.
“I have a question for you, first,” she said, interrupting. “And I’m not trying to change the subject. But I was hoping we could go for a walk along the water before dinner.” She looked outside, where the sky had turned an ominous gray.
“You live close to the beach?”
“Not really. The beaches are over on the other end of town, on Plum Island. But we’re on the harbor here. Want to do that now, then we can come back and I’ll cook?”
“Sounds great.”
Ana grabbed her keys and dropped them in her pocket as Dennis finished off his water.
“Dishes?” he asked.
Ana looked outside and frowned. “Leave them. I’ll do them when we get back. I think our window of safe weather is closing. It’s supposed to rain all weekend, so this might be our only chance.”
“Whatever you say. I’m at your beck and call.”
Reaching for her hand, he gave her a quick kiss, then they walked down the stairs, Ana in the lead. At the main door, she poked her head out and determined the sky was acceptable.
“You’re really close to the ocean,” he said, taking her hand again.
“Technically, the river. That’s the Merrimack River feeding into the ocean. We’re really close to the juncture of the two.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“Newburyport harbor. Unless you want to go downtown?”
“I’ll go wherever you want, Ms. DaSilva. This is your space. Your life. I’m just a visitor learning more about you. Show me everything.”
“I don’t think my feet and hips can handle everything.”
He bent down, hand going to the small of her back as he kissed her earlobe.
“We’ll see about that.”
The flirting was killing her. She loved it. Loved it.
And yet…
“Is this where Brie’s family has their cheese shop?”
“No. Rockport.”
“She doesn’t live near you?”
“Not now. We were roommates until last year, when she moved in with Martin.”
“So you haven’t been alone in that big condo.”
“No.”
“Did you and Harris live together?” The way he said her ex’s name made it clear Dennis would enjoy murdering Harris with a cherry stem and an ice pick.
“Oh, hell, no. He only saw my place once.”
“Really? I’m surprised. Guy like that strikes me as the sleazy type who’d try to move in quickly with a mark.”
“Ugh,” she said, his comment a blow to her ego.
“I’m sorry. That was a crappy thing to say.”
“But true.”
“Well…”
“I’m a big girl. I can handle it. In retrospect, I can see that you’re right. We only dated for a few months, though.”
He came to an abrupt halt. “A few months?” Disbelief came off him like a sonic boom.
“Yes.”
“That’s it?”
“Mmm hmm. Why?”
“I had the impression you were together for much longer.”
“No. And I was close to breaking up with him when he dumped me.”
“I see.”
“He got past my radar. I’ll give him that. But by the end of our second month together, I had seen enough red flags.” Her hand went to the top of her belly. “Not fast enough, clearly.”
“That means he did this to you after only a short time together?”
“Yes.”
“What an immoral piece of walking excrement. I hope he rots to death in Indonesia.”
“Indonesia? No. He’s in Morocco.”
“Not anymore.”
“How do you… oh, no.” Stopping short, she looked up at him, dropping his hand. “You are not spying on him.”
“Define spying.”
“Dennis!”
“I know some people who know some people who are keeping an eye on him.”
“That’s spying!”
“I’m making sure he never, ever hurts you again.”
“You sound like my stepfather!”
“Can’t wait to meet him, then.”
“How, exactly, did you find Harris?”
The way his face changed as he clearly worked to find specific words to evade the question made her blood boil.
“The waterfront sure is beautiful here,” he said, shading his eyes as he looked around.
“Don’t you dare try to change the subject.”
“I told you I could find Harris the day we ran into each other on the common.”
“You didn’t say you actually were going to do it!”
“After what he did to you, I asked my buddy to find someone to locate him. He left Morocco somehow and we lost track of him in Indonesia. Good riddance. As long as he never sets foot on U.S. soil again, I don’t care what he does.”
“And you’re going to always have someone watching for him?”
“Yes.”
Her breath escaped her, simultaneously relieved and horrified.
“I won’t apologize for it, Ana. Won’t try to justify it. This isn’t a gray area. He’s a threat to you and the baby. I won’t stand for him having that kind of power..”
“You sound so… beastly.”
“Didn’t I ever tell you that’s my middle name? Dennis Beastly Luview.”
She couldn’t help but laugh, though it came out as exasperation tinged with a weird giggle.
“Is this our first fight?” he asked, face suddenly serious. “I hate that we even have to talk about him, much less argue about him.”
“This is a lot to take in. Between what Rick did, and now you…”
“What did he do?”
Yikes. She wasn’t expecting to have this conversation so soon.
“Rick, well… he somehow got ahold of Harris. Convinced him to terminate his parental rights.”
“I’m guessing ‘convinced’ means paid him off.”
“Probably. I don’t know. Rick wouldn’t give specifics.”
“So that’s it? The guy has no rights when it comes to the baby?”
“It’s a bit more complicated. Rick did his best. I really, really don’t want to ruin our night talking about this.”
“I don’t feel like this is ruining anything. I respect what you’re saying, though. And I’m very impressed with your stepfather.”
“I’m convinced you two will be best buddies now,” she groused, which made him laugh, then pull her in for a hug.
“Look. Ana. I don’t want to cross your boundaries, and it sounds like I have. I spent two decades rescuing people from guys a few levels above Harris in criminal networks. They’re bad news. If he pisses off someone with more power, they will come after anyone connected to him.”
All the air in her body disappeared. At just that moment, the baby did a slow, tight roll, squeezing her cervix a bit.
“I didn’t know that.” She looked up at him, inhaling slowly. “And I’m sorry you do know that. That you operated in a world filled with such cruel characters.”
“I don’t want you living in fear. And I don’t want him thinking he has any shred of power over you, or that the baby is some kind of bargaining chip. Guys like Harris are a dime a dozen, and watching them carefully is a form of insurance.”
“It must cost money to have him tracked like that.”
“Nope. Just favors in the brotherhood.”
“Brotherhood?”
“Friends in the field.”
“You are a mystery.”
He tugged her toward the crosswalk, pointing to the harbor. “Let’s check out the water before it gets too late.”
Her stomach growled. “Apparently, my tummy agrees.”
Mind swirling, she followed him until they stood at the edge of the river. If you pivoted to the far right, you could see the ocean, boats in and out of the harbor like white dots in a painting.
“This is gorgeous,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him.
“Tell me more about your Army career.”
He stiffened. She waited, letting the silence do its job for her.
Finally, he said softly, “My job was to help keep people safe.”
“By rescuing them?”
“Yes.”
“From kidnappers?”
“From situations where they weren’t free to do what they wanted.”
“You have confidentiality issues around what you can and cannot say.”
“I most certainly do.”
“Funny,” she said as they watched the wake from a speedboat, the waves lapping against a dock. “The same is true in my field. I can’t talk about specifics. Ever.”
“Then you understand.”
“I do. But there’s also a huge difference between our jobs.”
“Former job, for me.”
“Yes. Former job. In mine, I don’t put my physical being on the line to help someone to be free.”
“You use your mind.”
“I do. My heart, too.”
“I used all that in the field as well.”
“Your flashbacks, Dennis. Those come from your missions?”
“You’re just going straight for it, aren’t you?”
His tone was one of marvel. Not anger.
“Isn’t that what we’re about? Laying it all out there?”
“You’ve got me there. Okay. One flashback. One incident.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I…” A seagull swooped down on the concrete in front of them, completely heedless of their presence. Dennis watched it, then sighed. “Can we table this?”
“Of course.”