Daffodils in March
A Romantic Suspense for Every Month of the Year
Daffodils in March
Clare Revell
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Daffodils in March
COPYRIGHT 2016 by Clare Revell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or Pelican Ventures, LLC except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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Contact Information: [email protected]
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version
(R),
NIV
(R),
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.⢠Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Cover Art by
Nicola Martinez
White Rose Publishing, a division of Pelican Ventures, LLC
www.pelicanbookgroup.com
PO Box 1738 *Aztec, NM * 87410
White Rose Publishing Circle and Rosebud logo is a trademark of Pelican Ventures, LLC
Publishing History
First White Rose Edition, 2016
Electronic Edition ISBN 978-1-61116-524-1
Published in the United States of America
Dedication
For Mum and Dad.
Praise
Tuesday's Child
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Clare Revell...puts the EEP in creepy!
Tuesday's Child
has it all -- deaf heroine, cop hero, orphaned child, and terrifying killer. This book kept me reading late into the night (with the doors locked and the brightest light on!). ~ B. Norris, Amazon review
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Thursdays Child
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This is the best one yet. What a great story! Ms. Revell keeps you on the edge of your seat either emotionally or in suspense throughout the story. Every emotional tug between Jared and Niamh will pull at your heartstrings. Your heart will break for them, hoping she will recover fully and he can reclaim her heart.
The suspense, the mystery, the danger â it's all as hot as the worst fire he battles. You won't want to put this one down! Oh, and keep those tissues handy. ~ Donna B Snow
Carnations in January shake the foundations,
Violets in February are an aid to salvation,
Daffodils in March bring betrayal and loss,
Sweet peas in April consume all the dross,
Lily of the Valley in May brings danger untold,
Roses in June show hope in a heart filled with gold,
Water lilies in July a town will submerge,
Gladioli in August love from the ash will emerge,
Forget-me-nots in September are on the front line of fear,
Marigolds in October will test her career,
Chrysanthemums in November show the burden of choice,
Holly in December lets a broken family rejoice.
1
Daffodils in March bring betrayal and loss
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Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Deuteronomy 7:9
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“I don't think so. Marc doesn't need a live-in nanny.”
Nor do I.
David Painter tossed the morning newspaper to the table and looked at his widowed sister in despair. He'd spent the best part of the last two years undercover, and the assignment was now starting to take its toll on every aspect of his lifeâphysical, mental, and spiritual. Rage filled him almost constantly these days. It threatened to surface once more. He flexed his fingers as he calmed the pressure cooker of his emotions, managing not to show his displeasure in any way other than his voice.
He prayed for help and reached for his coffee mug. Clenching it tightly, he refilled the cup, needing the extra caffeine to get through the day. Marc, his six-month-old nephew, had kept him awake most of the night again. Being tired wasn't helping his reactions any.
Hanna Jameson, five years his junior, shook her head. “I need a nanny. The day nursery just isn't working out, and I have this conference in Manchester for work coming up soon.”
“So I'll drop Marc off at the nursery and pick him up in the evenings. I already do that for you some days anyway.”
She shook her head. “You work all hours. I never know when you're going to be around in the evenings.”
He pushed his hand through his hair. Did she think he couldn't manage a week with the baby? “I'll find a babysitter when I have to work, but there isn't much I can do with the hours being somewhat unpredictable at the moment.”
“I never said your hours are at fault. It's the job you do that's the problem.” Hanna's voice rose a little as the familiar argument began.
David grabbed up his bowl and spoon and strode to the sink, depositing the dishes in the basin. Turning on the tap, hot water sprayed everywhere, including over his new silk tie. He didn't want to get into this now. Better to concentrate on the first matter. “Why can't you hire someone to take Marc to daycare, or even better, simply do the babysitting when I need to go out?”
“Pay both a sitter and daycare? Yeah, like I can afford to do that.” Hanna muttered. “Besides, I don't trust the staff at the daycare. He came home with another bruise on Friday. How much longer before something even worse happens?”
“He's starting to roll over and get mobile now. Kids get bruises all the time. You were notorious for that. If there was a wall or chair within a ten-mile radius, you'd crawl into it or fall of it.” He brushed off her concerns, refusing to admit he had enough of his own on that score. He ignored the scowl she shot his way as well, deflecting it with his usual aplomb. “You are overprotective; you do realize that? Look, why don't you ask Eric's parents to have Marc for the week? I'm sure they'd jump at the chance. They dote on him and would love to spend more time with himâprobably spoil him rotten. In fact, why don't you go and live there? You know they want you to move in. Marie said as much when Eric died.”
Hanna shook her head. “This is my home. I'd rather have someone look after him here in the house.” She gave him the look he knew so well; the one she always used to get her “own way.“
David groaned. “Han, you know howâ” he paused trying to find the right word “â
delicate
things are right now.”
“Your choices have made them
delicate
. I can't rely on you to help with Marc anymore and that's OK. Hence the
need
for a nanny. David, things will be fine. I'll ring the agency today and find someone. I've already written the letter giving the nursery notice. I'm going to hand it in this morning.”
He turned his back on her. If only she knew the amount of hassle that nursery had caused him in the first instance, trying to get both it and the staff vetted without her knowledge. His fingers tweaked the flowers in the vase on the window sillâdaffodilsâon both kitchen and lounge window sills. Fortunately, the local florist,
Carnation Street
, was coming up trumps in that department.
He scanned the view from the window, taking note of which cars were parked where. Relief filled him when he only saw the same ones as always. “You'll have this nanny come in daily, I assume?”
“No, she can live in.”
“
No.
I will
not
have a stranger living in my house.”
Hanna scowled. “It's not just
your house.
Dad left it to the both of us. Besides, at least that way if Marc is sick, I don't have to take time off to be with him. And it'll save you finding and paying a babysitter while I'm away. And if you need to leave at a moment's notice for work again, it won't matter. You can just go.”
David sighed. “Staying in with the kids when they're sick is called being a parent.”
She blinked hard. “Don't you think I know that? I have to work, especially now. My choices got taken away from me when Eric died. You think I
want
to live here, especially now?”
He pushed away from the counter as the baby cried over the monitor. “I have to go. I've a meeting at nine.”
“Will you be in for dinner? I've got chicken out to defrost. I could make your favorite.”
“I don't know what time I'll be finished. Save me some anyway, please.” He kissed the top of her head. Since Eric's unexpected death, they'd never left on a cross word. “Have a good day, sis. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
He slid into a leather jacket and headed out to the car. Slowly, he checked it. He knew every dent and scratch. He tapped the tires with the toe of his shoe, harder than he normally would. Then, he climbed inside the vehicle and slammed the door. He really should get it fixed so he didn't need to slam it, but as a morning session with the punch bag in the garageânow crammed full of Hannah's furnitureâwas out of the question as a way to ease his frustration, slamming the car door would have to do.
He shoved the keys into the ignition and pushed back into the seat. If she hadn't been in the maternity wing of the hospital with dehydration, she and Marc would have been killed in the same accident that killed Eric.
After that, despite David's protests, she'd moved in with him, taking over her old room. But she didn't know how deep a mess he was in this time or how dangerous the people with whom he “worked” were. He took risks on a daily basis. And simply being around him put her and Marc in danger.
Now she wanted a nanny? Someone new coming in would upset the already delicate balance he had to string between work and home, and that was something his undercover status couldn't allow.
****
Eden Jameson propped her chin on her hand. Tea steamed from the cup on the table. She studied the situations vacant column in the paper. The upbeat music in the background only served to make her mood worse, although she hadn't thought it was possible for her heart to ache any more than it already did.
In the café around her, cups clinked, conversations rose and fell, and life continued as normal. She drew a thick, black circle around another possibility. When she got up that morning, the sun was shining, spring was finally starting after a very long, cold winter, and everything had been normal, even down to the bus arriving five minutes late with standing room only as a result.
Then, she arrived at work to find movers packing up the house.
The family she worked for were movingâto Australia.
On Friday.
In. Five. Days.
Five very short days.
One hundred and eight hours to be exact.
And they hadn't bothered to tell her.
Incredibly hurt, Eden had been tempted to resign on the spot. But instead, out of a sense of duty, nothing more, she'd taken the eldest of her charges to school and now sat in the café job hunting while the twins, in highchairs, shredded cake and spilled juice over the trays.
Eden sipped her tea. There was no way she could find a new job in a week. It had taken long enough to get this one. But her employers had promised to give her a “glowing” reference.
The phone in her bag rang, and she pulled it out. She didn't bother to check the screen. It didn't really matter who it was. “Hello?”
“Hey, Eden, it's Hanna. How are you?”
Eden forced a cheerful smile into her voice. Hanna was her best friend and sister-in-law. Between Eric's death and David's issues, Hanna had enough problems of her own without Eden venting her woes as well. “I'm fine. How are you?”
“I'm doing OK. Wish Marc would sleep all night, but, you know, maybe one day. Like when he's twenty.”
“And then it'll be you up all night wondering where he is, what he's doing, and whether or not he remembered his front door key.”
Hanna laughed. “Probably, yeah.”
“In all seriousness, is he still not going through the night at six months?”