When Lightning Strikes Twice (38 page)

“Don’t what?” she asked warily, keeping her gaze fixed on a point well beyond him. On Shawn and Misty, who were getting into the backseat of her car.

“Don’t pretend that nothing has changed between us.” His fingers tightened on hers, and she automatically looked up at him. He gazed into her beautiful blue eyes and felt a sharp ache in his chest that spread to his throat, almost choking him.

“A lot has changed, Dana.” His voice was tight.

“For instance, you’ve taken to calling me Dana instead of Sheely. Which is a wise practical consideration because when the name Sheely is called, any number of us might answer. It’s better to specify which one you mean.”

“Stop it, Dana.” Wade swallowed thickly. “Look, I can’t, okay? The banter, the smiles, the pretense. I just can’t keep it up.” He dropped her hands and started walking toward her car.

Trudging
toward her car. He was definitely trudging, his shoulders stooped, like a prisoner in a forced gulag march. Dana stared, wanting to call his name, to run after him. But the same indecision that had plagued her at the Doll House door seized her again.

He had almost reached her car when she found her voice. “What banter?” she called. “What smiles?”

Wade turned. She was watching him, her arms folded in front of her chest, looking defiant and defensive. And small and uncertain.

“You’ve hardly spoken to me today, you’ve come nowhere close to
banter
. And you haven’t smiled once. So whatever pretense, you’re talking about …” She shrugged. “I haven’t seen evidence of it.”

He was walking toward her. Still unsmiling, as was she. He stopped directly in front of her. “After this weekend, after last night, I thought you loved me.”

Her eyes met his. “If you were expecting a vow of undying love from me after sex, you have nothing to fear, Wade.”

“What if I don’t fear it? What if it’s what I want, Dana?” The words seemed to erupt from him, his voice low and hoarse. “It
is
what I want more than anything. I want you, Dana. Please let me have you.”

She stared at him, tears filling her eyes. “Wade,” she whispered.

He panicked at the sight of her tears. After his pathetic declaration, she would be feeling sorry for him if she’d already decided that all she wanted from him was friendship. Or not even that. He had to forestall such a dreaded assertion.

“I love you, Dana.” His threw his pride away and spoke from his heart. He had nothing to lose by keeping silent, by playing it cool. His feelings for Dana were too important, too intense to be masked by pretense a second longer.

“I’ve loved you for a long time, as my friend and my confidante. But now I’m in love with you, too. I want you every way there is to want someone—to talk to, to hang around with, to have fun with. To make love with. I need every part of what you are to me, Dana. My friend, my confidante, my lover.”

A slow smile lit her face. “How about the father of my children, too?” She flung herself into his arms, and he picked her up and swung her around.

“If that’s a proposal, I accept,” he said with a trace of
his usual Saxon confidence. He let her slide down the length of his body, turning the release into a long caress.

“
You
have to do the proposing,” she argued when her feet hit the ground. She stood on tiptoe to rub her lips against his. “It’s Sheely policy.”

“Your mother did tell me the family’s secret motto—Desperation Is Never Attractive.” He didn’t lift his mouth as he spoke, arousing her with his every word.

“Well, don’t tell Mom this, but I’m desperately in love with you, Wade.”

“Finally, she says it!” Wade laughed as sheer elation pumped through him.

He cradled her face between his hands and kissed her, long and hard. She responded with all the joy and love she felt for him.

A loud sharp series of honks from Dana’s car horn finally made them reluctantly break apart. They looked over to see Misty hanging over the seat, hitting the horn and giggling. Shawn rolled down the back window and stuck his head out.

“Okay, break it up you two!” he called jovially. “Or I’ll be forced to make a citizen’s arrest for first degree PDA. That’s public display of affection,” he added, and Misty shrieked uproariously at his joke.

“Them!” Wade touched his forehead to Dana’s, and groaned. “Talk about a reality check.”

“Right now I’m feeling too happy to worry about anything, even them.”

“Dana, before we rejoin the dynamic duo over there …” Wade took a deep breath. He didn’t want to mess up the most crucial speech of his entire life to date. “Will you marry me?”

Her eyes were brimming again, but this time Wade knew they were tears of happiness. His own eyes were suspiciously moist.

“Oh yes, Wade!”

Wade wanted to kiss her again so badly, he was willing to brave Shawn’s hoots and Misty’s squeals and the infernal
blasts of the horn. But Dana took his hand and headed toward the car, so he walked with his fiancée.

“We’re engaged,” he announced proudly, sliding behind the wheel. He and Dana had a long-standing unspoken pact that he would always drive, no matter whose car they were using. He waited for Shawn’s gasp of astonishment.

“So you finally decided to reel him in, huh, Dana?” Shawn kidded, clearly not astonished at all by the momentous news.

“What?” Dana and Wade said together. They exchanged puzzled glances.

“Tricia said Dana’s had you hooked for years, Sax. That it was only a matter of time till she decided to reel you in.”

“Not more of Tricia’s theories!” Dana exclaimed, annoyed. “Don’t pay any attention to him, Wade. You and I both know that we—”

“Y’know, I think I agree with Tricia.” Wade grinned as he started the car. “I have been hooked and I’ve been biding my time, just waiting for you to reel me in.”

“That is so sweet.” Misty began to weep noisily. “A true love story. It reminds me of me and Townie.”

Dana handed her the box of tissues she kept in the glove compartment, but Misty was already recovering. “Of course, life goes on,” the young widow said philosophically. “And true love is supposed to be even better the second time around.”

A
s he drove down Route 70 toward the Doll House, Wade encouraged Misty and Shawn to tell Dana all about their plans for the proposed Grrls Night Out and Shawn’s Garden Shop and Lawn Service.

“Won’t Quint Cormack be surprised?” Wade’s smile was decidedly wicked. Cormack was going to have his work cut out for him, dealing with those two money pits.

“Sorry to spoil your fun, Saxon, but Quint won’t care.” Dana leaned closer, lowering her voice. “He’ll take his executor’s fee from the estate and continue as Misty’s lawyer but he’ll never interfere with what she does with her money. Quint’s said all along that he has no intention of being Misty’s guardian; his family already has him fully booked for that role.”

“You do know how to suck the pleasure out of a moment of petty vengeance, don’t you?” Wade complained mildly.

Not that he really minded, not now. Dana’s hand was on his thigh, her fingers kneading and stroking, and his body hummed with anticipation. Neither Misty Tilden nor Quint Cormack mattered at all.

The sudden screeching wail of sirens sounded in the night.

“Police, fire or, ambulance?” quizzed Shawn, launching a round of a Sheely family game. Whoever guessed correctly won.

“Fire,” said Misty at once.

“Police. And they sound awfully close,” Dana observed. “I wonder if the combined Lakeview and Oak Shade patrols are raiding the bars for underage drinkers?”

“Our new friend Chief Spagna probably called to set it in motion,” drawled Wade. “Figuring as long as he’s up and dressed at this hour, why not have another raid or two or three and fill up the cells in both jails?”

“If you ask me, they’ve done enough raiding tonight,” said Misty. “Although I wouldn’t mind if they raided the Tildens and filled the cells with them.”

“It sounds like they’re heading this way.” Wade frowned. He was only going a few miles over the speed limit and he slowed down to a mile below, just in case. “Can’t wait till we’re off this road.”

He’d no sooner finished saying the words when the headlights of a pickup truck, high beams and blinding, appeared seemingly out of nowhere, heading toward them. It was an exceptionally alarming spectacle because the highway was divided, and the car was traveling in the wrong direction against the one-way traffic.

The sirens grew louder. From their rear window, a phalanx of police cars, sirens wailing and lights flashing, appeared in sight.

“A zillion cops are behind us!” shrieked Misty.

“What’s happening?” Dana cried in confusion. The noise and all the headlights, in front and in back of them, were almost disorienting.

Wade grimly assessed the situation. They were on a collision course with the wrong-way driver, who had picked up speed and was headed directly at them. Behind them, the police were closing in, obviously in pursuit of the pickup, yet forced to pursue him from the opposite direction.

He glanced to the left to see a string of police cars passing him in the middle and left lanes. In the right lane, the wild, wrong-way pickup truck seemed to be aiming for them.

He had three choices. Swerve into the left lane and crash into the speeding police cars. Stay where they were and hit the pickup truck head-on. Or pull off the road on the right, which meant skidding into the small crowded parking lots of Oak Shade’s nuisance bars. There were no safe shoulders available; all the lots bordered directly on the highway.

Dana, Shawn and Misty were screaming as the pickup truck drew dangerously close. Wade made his decision and steered the car sharply to the right. They bounced from the smooth highway surface into the bumpy unpaved parking lot of a place that had the word Bar glowing in neon letters inside its grimy window. It was an old Burger Chef franchise which had gone through several incarnations as other fast-food restaurants before turning into the dilapidated no-name place it was now.

But the place did have a clientele, who’d haphazardly parked their vehicles all over the lot. Wade did some tricky maneuvering to avoid them but it was like driving through a maze. And just when he thought he’d successfully navigated it, an ancient Buick zoomed out. The driver hadn’t bothered to follow that pesky rule of checking before backing out of a space.

Wade had slowed down considerably, braking since he’d pulled off 70, but the big blue Buick was moving too fast to miss. Wade struck it with enough force to deploy the two airbags in front. Instinctively, Dana put up her hands to cover her face as the airbag billowed around her.

None of the police cars pulled over to investigate the collision. They were racing north, looking for a place to turn around, while the renegade pickup truck continued his mad drive south, running several more cars off the road in the process.

For a moment, a shocked silence filled the car. The airbags deflated, and Shawn was the first to speak.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” he breathed, something of a combined prayer and incantation.

“Is everybody all right?” Wade was already reaching for Dana. “Darling, are you hurt?”

“I’m okay,” Dana said shakily. She looked at her hands which were covered with small scratches from the airbag. Wade had some of the same marks on his cheeks and his nose looked as if someone had socked him. “Oh, Wade!” Her breath caught on a sob.

They launched themselves into each other’s arms and held on tight.

“We could’ve been killed!” Misty, infuriated, punctuated each word with an obscenity. “Those jerks never even looked, they pulled right out! We escaped that psycho on the highway, only to get creamed by some drunks in a parking lot!”

She seemed to take it as a personal insult. Cursing, she flung open the car door to confront the group of very underage boys who had gotten out of the Buick. They stood beside the two wrecked cars, looking young and stupid.

Shawn joined Misty, but didn’t speak. He didn’t need to.

Misty’s rage was awesome to behold. Within moments, she had the teens terrified and tearful. “My lawyer is going to sue you so bad, you’ll be taking the bus for the rest of your lives ‘cause you’ll never be able to afford a car,” she promised. “And we’ll sue this bar that served you and—”

“Hey, Misty, you might not have to buy the Doll House from Aiken, after all,” Shawn interrupted, grinning hugely. “Quint will sue this place out of existence, and I bet you’ll be able to practically get it for free.”

Inside the car, still smoky from the airbags, Dana clung to Wade, who held her as if he would never let her go.

“Dana, let’s not waste any more time, let’s get married right away.” As if in a dream, Wade watched his hand stroke her silky red hair. “If I’ve learned anything tonight, it’s that anything can happen at any time, and I’m through just coasting along, biding my time. Wasting it.”

“You want to make every moment count, huh?” Dana lifted her head to meet his eyes.

“Yes. And every moment I’m not your husband is
wasted time. Let’s apply for our license tomorrow and get married over this weekend.”

“That sounds good to me.” Dana sighed and sank back against him. Her heart was slowly beginning to resume its normal rhythm, though her limbs still felt like jelly. “But Mom will try to talk us into having a big wedding like Mary Jo and Steve, and Tim and Lisa had.”

“It’ll take months to put together an extravaganza like that and we’re not going to waste all that time living apart,” vowed Wade with the firm resolve of a man on a mission. “I’ll explain it to your folks and get Tim to back me up. I know he will.”

“On second thought, Mom and Dad will be so pleased we’re getting married, they won’t mind a quick private little wedding. Anyway, they still have Sarah and Matt’s wedding to plan next year.”

“They have plenty more wedddings to plan,” agreed Wade. “I love you, Dana. This time next week, you’ll be my wife.”

Dana smiled tremulously. “Oh, Wade, I love you so much. We were so lucky tonight.”

He nodded. “It’s been very memorable, something to tell our grandchildren. Not only did we get engaged, we managed to avoid getting ourselves killed. Who could ask for more?”

“I hope that maniac gets off the highway before something terrible happens to somebody.” Dana shuddered.

They both turned to look as the police cars raced along the other side of 70, sirens screaming. The pickup truck with its driver gone beserk had already disappeared into the night.

The ringing of the phone jarred both Quint and Rachel out of a deep sleep.

“Yeah?” Quint barked into the receiver. “Damn!” Rachel’s eyes opened wider. She was becoming alert enough to feel anxiety, but Quint looked and sounded more irritated than worried. Which meant Brady was all right,
and his little brothers, too. Rachel stayed calm.

“Sarah, I’m not going to call Carla tonight. This isn’t her problem and it isn’t mine. It’s all Frank’s and—what?” He sighed heavily. “Really? Well, at least that’s good news. Yeah, I understand. Okay, the Lakeview Police Station. I’ll be there.”

Rachel was already sitting up. “Frank got arrested again?” She drew the obvious conclusion.

“And you thought we wouldn’t have to deal with our full-grown obstacles and intrusions until morning. Ha! Optimist!” Scowling ferociously, Quint got out of bed. “I wouldn’t have bothered with this one except Sarah is upset. It seems Frank hotwired a pickup truck and went on a wild ride down Route 70 and onto the Atlantic City Expressway. One of the cars he ran off the road along the way belonged to Dana Sheely. Your cousin Wade was driving, and after swerving to avoid Frank, they were hit by a earful of high-school drunks.”

“Were they hurt?” cried Rachel.

“Sarah says no.” Quint was already headed to the shower. Rachel followed him.

“In a strange twist, Misty Tilden was also with Dana and Wade,” said Quint, turning on the taps. He pulled Rachel into the roomy shower stall with him.

She was visibly astonished. “How did she end up with Wade and Dana Sheely?”

“I didn’t ask.”

Their mutual shower was quick and functional, though Rachel found it incredibly sexy to be showering with Quint. Since she knew no one had been hurt in the accident, she let her imagination run rampant, visualizing future showers with her lover.

Who was currently contemplating his father’s latest misadventure, she could tell. Quint’s mouth was set grimly, his eyes burning with fury. Rachel wished she could spare him the legal headaches awaiting him, courtesy of the vile Frank Cormack.

“I can’t forgive him for this, I can’t overlook it,” Quint
said fiercely as they drove back across the bridge. “My mother and Colette—his own daughter—were killed by a reckless driver. For Frank to pull a stunt like this is a direct insult to their memory.”

Rachel couldn’t disagree.

By the time Quint and Rachel arrived at the Lakeview Police Station, quite a crowd had gathered. There were officers from other municipalities mixed with the Lakeview police. A sizable group of outraged citizens, victims of the multitude of accidents spawned by the chase, had been herded to one side of the station and were being addressed by Chief Spagna himself.

Rachel was surprised to see her aunt Eve standing with Wade, Dana, and Shawn Sheely and Misty Tilden. She joined them while Quint went to speak with Chief Spagna.

Eve and Wade stared at her, bewildered. “What are you doing here, Rach?” asked Wade.

Rachel remembered that her aunt and cousin knew nothing of her relationship with Quint. But Misty did. She thought Rachel was Brady’s mother who’d deserted him and who ought to have her reproductive organs altered to prevent further procreation. From the look on her face, the widow looked like a prime candidate to do the job right now.

“You know her?” Misty demanded, turning on Wade.

“She’s my cousin Rachel. One of those Saxon Associates you and Quint mopped up the floor with today.”

“Well, she’s definitely a traitor to you guys because she is so hot for Quint she’s even using his baby to get to him. Playing the role of mommy to that poor little kid who was dumped by his real mother.” Misty shot Rachel a scathing glare, letting her know she was on to her and was not. going to be duped again.

“I’m not using Brady to get to Quint,” Rachel countered. “I don’t have to.”

“Because you already got him?” Misty wanted to know.

“We have each other and we both love Brady,” Rachel corrected gently because she really didn’t want to feud with
Quint’s wealthiest client. Indisputable evidence of how much she loved Quint because there had been a time when she would’ve done or said anything to cause harm to the firm of Cormack and Son.

“Rachel and Quint Cormack?” Eve was clearly stunned. “Since when?”

“I might’ve been surprised earlier, but after finding out about Aunt Eve and Chief Spagna, I’m shock-proof,” Wade murmured to Dana.

Quint joined the group, postponing a Saxon inquisition of Rachel. “Nick told me what happened tonight. Frank has really outdone himself this time. He’s headed to jail for a long time. After stealing the pickup and traveling the wrong way on 70, he switched roads and almost made it to Atlantic City. Along the way, he sideswiped cars, both moving and parked ones, including police cars. He clipped a toll booth and ran drivers off the road, he eluded roadblocks and crashed through a chain-link fence.”

“How did they finally catch up to him?” asked Shawn.

“He got boxed in at a cul-de-sac,” Quint continued grimly. “According to Nick, twelve police cars blocked the only way out, but Frank wasn’t finished yet. He got out of the truck and made a run for the woods. Since he was drunk, he wasn’t too agile but he kept fighting until he was Maced. Then he finally became quiet and cooperative and claimed amnesia. Said the last thing he remembered was reading a bedtime story to his little boys and tucking them into bed.”

“As if!” Misty exclaimed indignantly.

“Exactly,” agreed Quint.

“What is he being charged with, Quint?” asked Rachel, moving to stand beside him. She slipped her arm around him. She could feel him wired with tension, his body rigid and taut. When she thought of how relaxed and happy they’d been a few hours earlier, her hatred of Frank Cormack grew stronger.