Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (58 page)

“
No.” Jill shook her
head.

“
You sounded disappointed
that we weren’t alone.”

“
We’re not,” Jill said.
“But you’re right. This
will
be fun. Val’s scheduled all kinds of spa
treatments for us girls. You’ll have fun with the boys. She’s
arranged for a horseback riding trip for you guys and the boys.
Dancing at night. Pool during the day. I think we’ll have a
blast.”

“
But we’re not alone,”
Jacob said.

“
We’re not,” Jill said.
“And you’re not spending time with Katy. But if our lives settle
down like you’d like, we’ll get there. I think we’ll get some alone
time this weekend and you’ll be able to rest and relax. You’re
exhausted.”

“
So this is all right,”
Jacob said.

“
This is all right,” Jill
said. “You’re going to have to trust me, Jacob Marlowe. If I have a
problem with you, I’ll tell you.”

He gave her an unsure nod.

“
We’re alone right now,”
Jill said.

Unwilling to have her ask twice, he locked
the door. And they joined the mile high club.

~~~~~~~~~

Friday night — 9:40 P.M

Ava finished her last meeting at around
eight and went home to Seth’s house. She picked at the plate
Maresol had left for her. Killing time, she took a bath until she
was bored silly. She got out of the bath and plucked her eyebrows.
With a towel in her hair and one around her middle, she sat down on
the bed. She had no idea what to do with herself. She’d spent every
moment of the last week working or in meetings. Right now, she had
nothing to do.

Maybe she should have gone with Sandy for
the date weekend. She smiled at the whole date night thing. Sandy,
her friends and her family were going to Tucson for a spa weekend.
Sandy insisted Ava was part of the family but right now Ava felt
very alone.

Her mother wasn’t speaking to her, which was
fine because she wasn’t speaking to her mother. Her older sister
had left about fifty messages bitching her out. Her younger sister
left a message saying she was ‘disappointed’ in Ava. She felt like
she’d lost the trifecta of female relatives: one angry sister; one
disappointed sister; and one resentful-of-her-ungrateful-daughter
mother. Ava sighed.

Sandy was having a date night and she…

There was no reason she couldn’t have a date
night too. Sandy said she thought Seth needed a little
encouragement to come back. If he was here, she’d know just how to
do it. She smiled at the idea.

She went to the room Seth had filled with
her stuff. With a sense of preparing for a red carpet premiere, she
took special care to pick out a super-sexy but classy ensemble. She
slipped on black thigh-high stockings, lace panties and a lace
strapless bra. Perfect for a sensuous unwrapping. She tugged and
pulled on a strapless red velvet knee length dress.

There wasn’t much she could do about her
half inch hair. She dabbed some gel in it and focused on her make
up. At least most of her bruising was gone. She smiled at the
results and stepped into the pair of super sexy, too expensive
black pumps Seth had bought for her. She found a black clutch purse
and transferred her ID, phone, and keys inside. She went to the
downstairs closet where she got Seth’s small gun as a precaution.
She grabbed a little gym bag and filled it with the things she
really needed.

Seeing the keys to Seth’s precious European
racing car, she nodded to herself. Date night needed a fancy car.
She had to fight to keep the car under the speed limit on Eighth
Avenue. She gave the car and the information that it belonged to
Detective O’Malley to the valet at the hospital. She was in his
room in what seemed like a heart beat.

Ava placed some tangerine scented candles
around the room, lit them, and flicked off the lights. She smiled
at the results. She pushed the flowers and plants away from the
bed. Taking out a single red rose in a vase, she set it on his bed
table. She opened a bottle of champagne, olive tapenade, some
expensive Gouda and tore open a baguette she’d found in the
kitchen. She set everything on the bed table and climbed in.

Once in the bed, she scooched Seth over so
they could lie side by side. She moved the bed to sitting and
crossed her legs to let one shoe dangle on her toes. She poured a
glass of champagne for herself.

“
Happy date night, Seth,”
Ava took a drink of her champagne. She kissed his lips. Her mouth
an inch from his face, she added, “I know how you like the taste of
champagne.”

“
I like the taste of you,”
Seth said.

Ava was so stunned that she spilled her
champagne. He laughed.

“
When did you wake up?”
Ava asked.

“
Sometime after you lit
the candles,” Seth said. “I could smell and then… I don’t know. I
was here. I wondered when you’d notice.”

Ava laughed.

“
Kiss me again,” Seth
said.

She did. The heart rate monitor began to
beep faster and the nurse pushed open the door. She flicked on the
lights. Seeing Ava and Seth kissing, she smiled.

“
Come, get me,” the nurse
said.

Ava laughed. Getting out of the bed, she
went to the door to find the nurse waiting on the other side. Ava
smiled.

“
Date night?” the nurse
asked.

Ava nodded.

“
Good thinking,” the nurse
checked Seth’s monitors and turned off the oxygen and removed the
cannula. “I wish that would work for the others.”

“
The other officers aren’t
awake?” Ava asked.

“
Not yet,” the nurse said.
“Just Magic O’Malley. How you doing, Seth? It’s not nice to see you
in my bed again.”

“
Yes ma’am,” Seth
said.

“
Get the hell out of here
as soon as you can,” the nurse said.

“
Yes ma’am,” Seth
said.

“
I’m going to leave you
for a bit,” the nurse said. “But the doctor has to check Detective
O’Malley. I’ll give you… fifteen minutes? Does that
work?”

“
Thank you,” Ava
said.

The nurse flicked off the lights and closed
the door. Ava climbed back in the bed to kiss Seth.

“
The last thing I remember
was a text from you saying, ‘yes’,” Seth said. “Why did you text me
‘yes’?”

“
I’ll marry you,” Ava
said.

“
I don’t remember asking,”
Seth said.

Ava held up her left hand. She was wearing
his mother’s sapphire and diamond eternity band. Shaking his head
slightly, Seth smiled.

“
You do want to marry me
don’t you?” Ava asked.

“
I do,” Seth
said.

Ava kissed him again.

“
What happened?” Seth
asked.

“
Oh Seth, that’s a long
story,” Ava said. “And the nurse is calling the doctor.”

“
I love you, Ava,” Seth
smiled.

“
Really?” Ava flushed. It
was the first time she’d heard him say he loved her.
“Really?”

“
Really.”

“
I love you, Seth,” Ava
said.

They kissed again.

“
Your face is so smooth,”
Ava said.

“
It must be Friday,” Seth
said.

Ava nodded.

“
Sandy cuts my hair and
gives me a shave on Friday,” Seth said. “Is that Gouda? Can I have
some before…?”

“
I hope you’re not even
thinking of eating that,” the nurse said from the doorway. “You’ll
throw up all over her fancy dress.”

Ava climbed out of the bed while the nurse
blew out the candles. The doctor arrived to put Seth through a
variety of tests. No, he wasn’t in too much pain. No, he wasn’t
dizzy or numb. He had normal responses in both hands and his feet.
The doctor and nurse did their work while Ava waited in a chair.
When they were done, the doctor looked from Ava to Seth.

“
I’ll give you an hour,”
the doctor said. “Then, I want you to sleep. You’ve been through an
ordeal. You need rest.”

“
Yes sir,” Seth
said.

The doctor nodded and left the room.

“
You need rest and love,”
the nurse said. “As long as the oxygen is off, I’ll let you have
one candle. I’ll deny it if anyone asks.”

Ava nodded.

“
See you in an hour.” The
nurse flicked off the light and closed the door.

Ava climbed back into bed. Seth scooted over
and put his arm around her. She poured more champagne.

“
Welcome back, Seth,” Ava
said.

He tugged on her. She set her glass on the
table and rested her head on his shoulder. He sighed. This was
definitely the best date night ever.

Denver Cereal
continues at DenverCereal.com.

Aden Norsen:

CEO at Lipson construction; single father of
Nash and Noelle; boyfriend of Sandy.

Alex Hargreaves:

Identical twin to Max
Hargreaves; ‘The Fey;’ the leader of the Fey Team; wife of Dr. John
Drayson; sister to Colin and Samantha
Hargreaves.

Anjelika:

Megan, Mike, Steve, Candy and Jill’s mother;
grandmother to Katy; wife of Perses.

Arthur Rasmussen:

Member of the Fey team; boyfriend of
Samantha Hargreaves.

Ava – Amelie Vivian Alvin:

Denver Police Crime Lab Technician; fiancé
of Seth O’Malley.

Beth:
Ava’s best friend since childhood; Child
Psychologist; murdered by Saint Jude.

Blane Lipson:

Jacob’s ‘cousin;’ raised in foster care;
either the child of Sam Lipson’s father or brother; assistant to
Jacob Marlowe at Lipson Construction; husband of Heather; father of
Mack.

Bob aka ‘Blood spatter
Bob’:
Former expert forensics instructor
with the FBI; currently a laboratory technician in Ava’s Denver
Police Department lab.

Bree or Briana
Lipson:
Step-child of Sam
Lipson.

Becky Lipson:

Step-child of Sam Lipson.

Candace or Candy Roper:

Daughter of Anjelika; sister to Jill;
partner to Jazmyne.

Charlie Delgado:

Step-brother of Sandy; street kid; drug
addict; has been out of school for a long time; comes to live with
Sandy in Cimarron.

Celia Marlowe:

Wife of Sam Lipson; mother to Valerie Lipson
and Jacob Marlowe; died of cancer nine years before Denver Cereal
begins.

Cleo:

Black and white cat belonging to Sandy.

Colin Hargreaves:

Brother of Alex, Max and Samantha
Hargreaves; Homeland Security Agent; Fey Team member; father of
Paddie Hargreaves.

Dale:

Boyfriend of Beth; Amelie’s best friend;
Housemate of Amelie; Handyman.

Delphinium or Delphie:

Psychic; beekeeper; master gardener; best
friend of Celia Marlowe; girlfriend to Sam Lipson.

Evette:

Secretary of Jacob’s for one week. Tells
press of romantic relationship between them.

Fran:
A laboratory technician in Ava’s Denver Police Department
lab.

Heather Lipson:

Jill’s childhood friend; one of Jillian
Roper’s group of best friends; mother to Mack; wife to Blane
Lipson.

Honey Lipson:

Second daughter of Tiffanie; step-daughter
of Sam Lipson; wife of Sgt MJ Scully.

Jacob Marlowe:

Son of Sam Lipson and Celia Marlowe;
boyfriend of Jillian Roper; brother of Valerie Lipson; president of
Lipson Construction; owns his own rehabilitation business;
carpenter; hockey player.

Jillian or Jill Roper:

Daughter of Anjelika; mother of Katy Roper;
girlfriend of Jacob Marlowe; ex-wife of Trevor Mc Guinsey.

John Drayson, MD:

Vascular surgeons; husband
of Alex Hargreaves.

Julie Hargreaves:

Mother of Paddie Hargreaves; wife of Colin
Hargreaves.

Katy or Katherine Anjelika Roper:

Daughter of Jillian Roper and Jacob
Marlowe.

Leslie:
A laboratory technician in Ava’s Denver Police
Department lab.

Leslie Roper:

Wife of Steve Roper; mother of infant Elisa
Roper.

Levi Johansen:

Won Delphie in a card game when she was 5-6;
held her as a slave/The Oracle Tabor; gets out of prison and wants
Delphie dead; evil.

Mack Lipson:

Infant son of Heather and Blane Lipson.

Margaret Peaches or Sergeant Margaret
Peaches:

Fey team member; partner of Sergeant MJ
Scully.

Max Hargreaves:

Identical twin to Alex Hargreaves; brother
to Colin and Samantha Hargreaves.

Megan Roper:

Daughter of Anjelika; partner of Tim; mother
to Ryan and two other boys.

Melinda:

Daughter of one of Sandy’s clients; Nash
Norsen’s romantic interest.

Mike Roper:

Son of Anjelika; husband of Valerie Lipson;
hockey goalie; painter.

Mitch Delgado:

Sandy’s step father who she called ‘Dad’;
father of Charlie and Sissy; Seth O’Malley’s best friend; died of
lung cancer 8 or 9 years ago.