Sacrifice Love: Saints Protection & Investigations (3 page)

It was now almost nine thirty a.m. and he figured it was not too early to arrive, even unexpectedly. Pulling onto their—
it’s now just her—
street, he caught sight of a large moving truck in one of the driveways. Approaching, he realized it was in her driveway and from the looks of things they had an early start.
What the hell?

Chad parked his vehicle in front of the neighbor’s house and began walking to the front door. Dani came out, her formal clothing of yesterday now replaced with black yoga pants and an oversized grey t-shirt. Her long hair was pulled up in a bun on top of her head, errant tendrils falling about her face. He observed as one of the moving men’s eyes followed her as she walked back inside her house and fought the urge to land his fist into the man’s face.

He made his way around the truck, glancing into the open back as he passed. Filled with boxes, bags, and furniture odds and ends, he was certain the move was unplanned. Stalking toward the front of the house, he stopped short when Dani came back out, her arms full of a few smaller boxes.

Her eyes landed on his, almost at eye level as she stood on the porch with him several steps below. “What are you doing here, Chad?” Her voice was laced with a mixture of surprise and irritation.

All the congenial words he had practiced saying flew out of his mind. Jerking his head back toward the moving truck, he growled, “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“With your powers of observation, I would assume you could deduce I was moving out of this house.”

Taking a deep breath while counting to five, he put his hands up in front of him. “Come on, Dani, let’s not make a hasty decision that you’ll regret. Let’s talk about what you’re doing. Making this kind of decision when you’ve just—”

“What Chad? Just buried my cheating, lying, husband?” Her emerald eyes flashed in anger as she continued down the steps by him.

He reached out and stopped her with his hand on her arm, taking the boxes out of her hand. “Dani…look, I know yesterday was—”

She interrupted him once more. “You don’t know anything, Chad. You left us a long time ago and disappeared for God knows why.” She looked into his face, battling tears of anger as well as frustration. “You walked out of our lives. You did that. You became a Saints Investigator and chose to not come around anymore, so do not pretend to care about what’s going on now. I can take care of myself. I have for a long time. And we are not having this conversation. Understand?”

He watched her walk back inside the house before he handed the boxes to the mover who approached. The realization hit him that Adam and Dani’s marriage had not been what he assumed. She was right—he had distanced himself because the friendship was too painful to maintain once he came back to claim her, only to discover they had married.

He followed her inside, noticing the large furniture was still in place. Sofa, end tables, and dining table.
The rental house must have been furnished.
He recognized Adam’s old recliner sitting in the corner and wondered if it was going to stay.
Who the fuck am I kidding? No way’s she taking anything of his right now.

Chad heard banging in a back room, the sound of slamming doors echoing through the small house. Sighing, he sat on the sofa, putting his head in his hands for a moment. The morning was not going the way he planned at all. He arrived, expecting to comfort his grieving friend, promise to help her with anything she needed to deal with and, hopefully, forge ahead in rebuilding their friendship. What greeted him was a furious woman, determined to separate herself from her deceased husband’s memory the day after he was buried. He heard footsteps coming down the hall and lifted his head as she rounded the corner.

“You’re still here?” she asked, her calm voice belying her anger.

“Dani, you’re right,” he began, watching her eye him carefully, waiting for a verbal misstep. “I did walk away but for reasons that were needed at the time. Now, looking back, they may not have been the best reasons. But I’m here now and I want…want…” he faltered, looking around at the room that was decimated of personality. The little mementos that make a house into a home were gone—packed away or thrown away, he was not sure. Standing to his full height, he said, “Regardless of what you think, I do care. We need to talk. You need to tell me what you’re doing. I want to help, Dani.”

She had lifted her head as he stood, maintaining eye contact. Now she glanced toward the open front door and the movers still packing her belongings into the back. Swallowing hard several times, she stood stoically, as though any movement would cause a breakdown.

He recognized stress…anguish…utter desolation, and stayed perfectly still so as not to disturb her thoughts.
Come on, Dani. Talk to me.
The silent minute stretched interminably. Just when he thought she would not speak, she turned her gaze to his. No longer anguished…but resolute.

“You do not know what my life has been like for the past year. You left for six months, a year and a half ago, to go on a mission and while I understand your reasons for leaving, when you came back, you came to see us once and then that was it. So my
marriage,
” she stumbled over the word, “and my life is no longer your concern. You made that choice, Chad.”

“This is so sudden, Dani,” he replied. “This move. How the hell did you even get it arranged so quickly?”

Barking a rude sound, she admitted, “The guy who owns the truck is a neighbor. I helped out a few months ago when his mother had a stroke and he told me that anytime I needed assistance to give him a call. I left the wake yesterday afternoon, walked into this house, and knew I did not want to spend one more day in it. So, I gave him a call yesterday evening and he had his crew here at seven a.m.”

“What are you going to do?”

“He’s taking everything and putting it into a storage unit outside of Richland and I’m moving back to my parents for a few weeks until I can decide what to do.”

“But—”

“I’ve told you more than I should have, Chad. I meant it when I said that you are not welcome here. My life and my decisions are not up for debate.”

He stared at her for a long minute. The sun coming through the front window glistened in her hair, causing the auburn to appear more red than brown. Her eyes, greener from yesterday’s crying, were large in her pale face. Even with no makeup and her hair pulled up haphazardly, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
And used to be the sweetest. What the fuck happened?
He was afraid of the answer, knowing it revolved around Adam.

He wanted to drag her over to him and demand she tell him everything. Why had she and Adam rushed a marriage? Why had she intimated her marriage was not happy? Why, even with Adam just buried, was she getting rid of everything that belonged to him? But she was right. Because of his selfish desire to protect his heart from seeing them together, he had separated himself from their friendship.

He walked to the door before turning and piercing her with his stare. “You’re right, Dani. I fucked up big time. In more ways than you know, by not telling you what was in my heart when I went overseas. And then again, when I selfishly stayed away once I came back.” He noticed her head cocked to the side in confusion as she listened to his attempted confession. “Right now, you’re hurting and my being here only seems to make it worse. So I’ll leave.” Stepping back to her, stopping only when his large cowboy boots were right in front of her small, grey sneakers, looking down at her upturned face with the little row of freckles across her nose that made him want to nuzzle her, he said, “But this isn’t over. You need time. Time to figure out what all you’re feeling right now. But babe, I’m only a phone call away. And whether or not you like it, I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

Before she could reply, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then turned and walked out of the front door.

*

Dani stood motionless,
watching Chad walk away. Her heart pounded a staccato in her chest as she lifted one shaking hand to brush back a strand of hair falling across her face. As his retreating back moved toward his truck parked on the street, she battled the desire to run after him, begging him to stay and make the fucked up situation better. Or at least more tolerable.
My gentle giant. At least he used to be.
But her head won the battle over her battered heart, and she remained motionless until his truck drove away.

Her neighbor came through with another box and glanced her way. “You okay, Miss Danielle?”

His words jolted her out of her inner war. Looking over at him guiltily, she mumbled, “Yes. Yes, I’m fine. Are we about finished?”

“Yes, ma’am. This is the last box from the bedroom. My men packed things according to your instructions and we’ve labeled them accordingly. All of Adam’s personal belongings have been boxed separately. We boxed your clothes and everything in the bathroom you set aside and put them in your car, just as you said. We loaded the mattress and box springs, and the upholstered rocking chair, since you wanted to take that with you. Kitchen items are labeled as well so that once we’ve delivered everything to the storage unit you’ve directed us to, then you should be able to find things quick enough.”

Attempting a smile, she nodded and replied, “Thank you, Mr. Tibbons.” While she gladly walked away from the mattress she had shared with Adam, the one in the guest room was hers before the marriage. She planned on using it when she found a new home. The cushy rocking chair had been in her family for three generations. Her mother had been rocked in it, as well as she. She hoped to use it some day, so it was staying with her. All the other furniture was part of their rental agreement.

The man looked at her closely, causing her to fiddle awkwardly with her hair again. She hoped he would not say anything else, but luck was not on her side today.
Hell, luck hasn’t been on my side in a long time.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Miss Danielle. Packing up the day after your husband’s funeral sounds a mite hasty to me. Are you sure you won’t regret this?”

Fighting the urge to tell him to mind his own business, she forced herself to smile. “No, Mr. Tibbons. I promise you, I won’t regret this. To be honest, I was never very happy in this house.”
Or marriage,
she wanted to add, but refrained. “I have called the storage facility in Richland. Actually, it’s on the western side of town, near where my parents live so it should be convenient for you to get to. Once there, just place all of Adam’s belongings toward the back, if you will. The odds and end furniture can go in next and then anything labeled kitchen, books, or mine can be near the front.”

Nodding, Mr. Tibbons stuck out his hand. “Will do.”

“Thank you so much,” she said sincerely, her hand still grasped in his.

“Miss Danielle, you don’t have to thank me. You did my family real good when momma had a stroke. My wife always said you were a saint.” With that, he turned and walked back to the truck. After securing the load, he climbed in. He and his assistant pulled out of her driveway, leaving her very much alone.

Dani closed the front door before walking into the kitchen to pull out a lone water bottle from the refrigerator. The cold liquid poured down her raw-from-crying throat and soothed her nerves. She wandered through the house one last time, glancing into each room to make sure everything was gone. It was.
Who am I kidding? I just want one more tortuous walk through to remind me of what I thought I had…and what a mess I’ve made of my life.

She glanced out onto the small wooden deck, complete with an old gas grill provided by the owners of the house. Adam had sworn they would have lots of cookouts, but she only remembered one time he invited some buddies over.
He preferred going out.
The spare bedroom had rarely been used for anything other than storage. The bathroom had been cleaned—she threw his toiletries away last night in a fit of rage after the wake.

She looked into the master bedroom, her eyes naturally going to the bed, stark and bare without the colorful comforter she had loved.
Adam had
been a gentle lover, if somewhat unadventurous. Must have saved that for his women on the side.
She closed her eyes for a moment, the agony of what went on in that room threatening to overwhelm her to the point of falling, catatonic to the floor.
In…out…in…out.
She breathed deeply until the emotion passed, once more replaced with resolution.

Checking the closets, she walked to the front of the house. The living room, kitchen, and dining room looked the same as the day they moved in. Adam had been full of promises. Shaking her head, she almost smiled.
Why did I expect a leopard to change his spots? He had been full of it alright…just not full of promises he could keep.

Closing the door behind her with a resounding click, she walked to her car refusing to look anymore at the memories and regret slamming into her. Pulling out of the driveway, she sucked in a deep breath once again battling the threatening tears. Dashing them away, she maneuvered to the highway taking her to her Richland, and her parents’ house, until she could find a new place to live.
One devoid of any reminders of the past…and that includes Chad.
At least the last part of that wish was what she tried to convince herself.