Safe in His Arms Read online
Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Marina Adair. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original St. Helena Vineyard Series remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Marina Adair, or their affiliates or licensors.
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Safe In His Arms
By Lori Mack
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the St. Helena Vineyard’s Kindle World, where romance is waiting to be uncorked and authors from around the globe are invited to share their own stories of love and happily ever after. Set in the heart of wine country, this quaint town and its cast of quirky characters were the inspiration behind my St Helena Vineyard series, and the Hallmark Channel movie, AUTUMN IN THE VINEYARD. I want to thank these incredible authors for spending time in St. Helena, and all of you readers who are adventurous enough to take the journey with us.
I hope you enjoy your time here as much as we have.
Warmly,
Marina Adair
Dedication
To my parents, Jeanne and Lorne.
Thank you for encouraging my love of reading and writing.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
“I’m sorry for your loss, Ms. Sheridan. Your aunt was a remarkable woman and she will be missed by many.” Jenna Sheridan accepted the Senator’s condolences with a slight smile. He almost sounded sincere, until he turned to present his family standing next to him, “You might remember my wife, Carol, and my son. Samuel Junior is running for state office this year.”
Jenna accepted the genuinely warm and caring hug from the Senator’s wife, while she murmured her thanks. As she pulled away from Carol, she saw a scowl on the Senator’s face. Apparently Junior had already skipped the reception line and was headed straight to the bar.
As they walked away, Jenna tried not to fidget as she eyed the long line of people waiting to pay their respects. Her heart felt like it had been violently ripped from her chest and her feet ached from standing in the uncomfortable and unfamiliar heels. As the only living relative of the well-known and well-loved Alice Sheridan, Jenna’s place was at the head of the reception line, followed by the family priest, the Mayor of St. Helena and his wife, and other assorted members of the St. Helena community.
St. Helena was a small community but her aunt had been known throughout Northern California for her work as a consultant to the Sacramento and San Francisco District Attorney’s offices. She knew the St. Helena community mourned with her and that was some measure of comfort. She struggled to hide her own grief and pretend her world hadn’t stopped turning all while wearing a small, but appropriate smile.
“Jenna.” And that’s when her day went from craptastic to nuclear meltdown. She didn’t need to look up, she knew who it was by the feel of his hand in hers. She didn’t want to see the sorrow in his eyes. Not from him. She could take the pity from others, she could hold her own grief at bay until they all left, but she could not take seeing her pain reflected in his eyes.
Society dictated she had to look at him, but, damn, if it wasn’t the hardest thing she’d had to do all day. She lifted her head and looked directly into eyes the color of the waves breaking off Mendocino coast during a winter storm. Not quite gray, not quite blue. Today, the color was even more pronounced by the grief she knew he truly felt.
“Mike, thank you for coming.” She tried to take her hand back, but he just held on and gently pulled her closer to him.
He leaned in to kiss her cheek and whispered in her ear, “Not with me, Jenna. You can toss out those phony platitudes to anyone else in this room, but not with me. I know how much you’re hurting, honey. I’m so sorry. I’ll be here when you need to let go.”
Jenna jerked back but caught herself when she saw Father Frank look over. She nodded at him to let him know she was as close to fine as she could be, considering.
Mustering her nerves, she looked back at Mike, “I appreciate you paying your respects, Special Agent Thomas. Alice held you in high regard.”
Mike’s eyes flared at the obvious dismissal. She thought for a moment he would push it, but he just squeezed her hand before releasing it and moving away.
She turned to the next mourner in line, unable to watch him walk away. Again.
“Jenna,” A small voice whispered in her ear, “Do you need a break? Can I get you anything?”
She turned to find her best friend and roommate, Anna “Mole” Molensky, hovering behind her. “Thanks, Anna, but I’m okay for now. The line seems to be winding down.”
Jenna turned back to the next person in line and resumed her duties.
A couple hours and several dozen stories of her aunt’s generosity, kindness, and brilliant legal acumen later, Jenna slipped into her aunt’s old office and sunk into the well-worn leather chair behind Alice’s desk. The high back of the chair provided a comfortable place to rest her head, and when turned away from the desk a quiet place to hide. She kicked her shoes off before spinning in the chair. The desk, like everything about her aunt, was larger than life. It spanned 6 feet in length and 4 feet across. Every publicity picture of her Aunt included the desk. It was her trademark furniture piece and was almost as well known as the woman who should have been sitting behind it today.
Jenna spun the chair away from the memories etched in the wood grain and stared out the back window to the vineyards stretching across the valley. Her aunt’s house was located at the edge of St Helena and backed up to neighboring vineyards. Her family had owned the land for generations, but Alice had no desire for an agricultural life so she’d leased the lands to local vineyards. She’d always said it was her way of stopping the urban sprawl into this corner of the world. She’d had multiple offers for her land, but had steadfastly refused to sell to developers. She wouldn’t let them turn this “last bastion of the finest farmland on God’s green earth” into yet another mini-mall and mini-mansions. Jenna would have to fight off the developers just as her aunt had done, but that was a job for another day.
A lot of tough choices were being postponed for today. Most notably, what to do about her aunt’s murder. No one but Jenna believed the accident was staged. She couldn’t prove it, but she knew her aunt would never risk herself or anyone else’s life by driving when she was tired. The unofficial report stated that her aunt had probably fallen asleep driving on Highway 128 while coming back from her weekly swim at Lake Berryessa. Her car was still at the impound lot, but as soon as it was released, Jenna was hiring a private mechanic to go over every inch of it in hopes they could find something to prove it was murder.
That was something else Jenna would leave for another day. For now, she needed to get back to the crowd. As she turned the chair around, she accidentally kicked her one of her shoes further into the knee-well. It was too far back to reach, so she was going to have to crawl under the desk to retrieve the instrument of torture. Whose idea was it to wear 4-inch heels anyway?
She slipped off the chair and had just captured the errant shoe that had managed to slide all the way to the end of the knee well when the office door opened. She was about to call out and remind whoever was invading her space that this room was off limits, when she heard a faintly familiar voice speaking low but urgently.
“Yes, I know exactly what is at stake if we don’t find the files. I’m the one who has the most to lose, so don’t threaten me. I’m in her office now, but if I can’t find it, you’ll send someone - No, you listen to me! You will deal with this. I don’t care if you have to kill the bitch, but you will get the file. It won’t be your first or even your last kill, so don’t pretend it bothers you now. I want that file this week.”
Jenna couldn’t place a face with the voice but she knew it was familiar. She heard his footsteps move toward the desk and realized it was a matter of heartbeats before she discovered who had just threatened to kill her. With that thought top of her mind, she tightened her grip on the lethal stiletto.
***
Mike Thomas watched from the far side of the room as Jenna accepted the condolences and absorbed the grief from the never-ending line of mourners. He knew better than most that not all the condolences were genuine, but now was not the time to call people out on their bad behavior.
He wanted to lie to himself and say she looked great, but truthfully, she looked grief stricken and tired. She’d always had a year-round light tan from her love of the outdoors, but today her complexion was too pale, which only emphasized the dark circles she’d tried to conceal. Her sun-streaked light brown hair didn’t shine as bright and the emerald green eyes were more of a moss green. She was still stunning in her grief, but it was as if someone had dimmed the light glowing from inside her.
She’d grown into her true beauty in the last ten years. The black dress fit her as if it were custom-made. The neckline was just below her collarbone and the hem line was just above her knees, but it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen on any woman. He was surprised to see the high heels. Jenna was known for her flip-flops or flats. She was five-feet, 7-inches and always said she was tall enough and there was no reason to be taller. But today’s heels brought her almost eye-level to his six feet. He should probably feel guilty for staring, but he couldn’t find it in him to stop.
“Alice never gave up on you two.”
Mike turned to see Mole at his side. “Yeah, I know. She made sure I knew what Jenna was up to, both personally and professionally. And, if she was getting serious about someone.”
“Jenna never gets serious about anyone,” Mole smiled, but quickly sobered her tone. “This is going to hurt her most of all. She got through the deaths of her parents and you abandoning her after graduation, but this one’s going to last a long time. She’s convinced Alice was murdered.”
Mike almost flinched at the abrupt way Mole described their breakup. He turned to watch Jenna again. He wanted to argue it was mutual, but after 10 years, he’d come to realize there was nothing mutual about it. He’d been an ass. Sure, he’d been an immature 22-year old convinced he was doing the right thing, but he’d still been an ass.
“Why does she think it was murder?” When he didn’t get a response, he turned to see Mole was already gone. Mole was easily the smartest person he knew, and possibly the smartest in Northern California, but her social skills left a lot to be desired. She encouraged what few friends she had to call her Mole, short for her last name, Molensky. As for everyone else, she didn’t care what they thought of her or her social skills.
When he turned back, Jenna had disappeared as well. He knew he should leave her alone, but again, he couldn’t stop himself from going after her. He’d almost convinced himself it was only because he wanted to know why she thought Alice had been murdered when he knocked on the office door.
He heard a thump, followed by a short scream and the sound of breaking glass. He tried the door knob but it was locked, so he pounded on the door and yelled, “Jenna, it’s Mike. Open the door.” He didn’t get a response from inside the office, but several people came rushing down the hall to find out about the yelling. “I’m breaking down the door. Stand back.”
Mike took a step back and lifted his foot to hit the door with the heel of his boot. As the door flew open, Mike drew his weapon and swept into the room, weapon first. Jenna was lying on the floor next to the big desk on the far right hand side of the room. The French doors behind the desk were open and swaying in the breeze. Glass littered the floor and back steps leading to the patio, but there was no one else in the room. Mike hurried to the window, but didn’t see anyone in the yard.
Mole rushed over to Jenna and crouched down to check her pulse. “She’s alive. Call 9-1-1.”
Mike kneeled down next to Jenna and lightly ran his hands over her head. She moaned when he found a knot on the back of her head. “Jenna, open your eyes, honey. Come on, baby. Let me know you’re alright.”
When her eyelids started to flutter he let out the breath of air he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Wh-what happened?”
“Shh, it’s okay. Just stay still. An ambulance is on the way.” Mike tried to keep her still, but Jenna fought him.
“I’m fine - oh, crap, my head hurts.” Jenna pushed at Mike’s hands and sat up. She held her head in her hands and almost went back down, but Mike wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
Someone in the crowd chuckled and a women whispered, “Looks like she’s in good hands.”
Mike glared at the crowd of people jockeying for prime viewing position in the busted door jamb. “Step back and wait in the living room. I’m FBI Special Agent Thomas. The police will need to speak with each of you, so no one leaves. For now, give her some privacy.”
When no one moved, Mole marched over and slammed shut the broken door.
“Jenna, can you tell me what happened?”
“My shoes fell off.” He looked at her hands and noticed she had a death grip on one of the lovely, but lethal shoes.
“Did you hit him with the shoe?” He’d bet it would not only have left a mark, but might have collected some valuable DNA if she’d been able to hit his skin.
“I don’t think so. He hit me from behind. I was hiding and heard him say it was okay to kill me. He would have found me but someone knocked on the door.”
The door opened and two paramedics rushed in.
He didn’t quite understand it all, but he caught enough to know he might have just saved her life. Mike whispered, “Don’t talk to anyone except me. Nod if you understand.”
Jenna looked up at him and in her eyes he saw the internal war her head and heart waged. Would she trust him now when she hadn’t ten years ago?
Chapter 2
“She’s got a mild concussion, but I can keep her overnight for observation.”
Jenna sat up when she heard the doctor’s voice outside her room. She’d spent the last few hours being poked, prodded, x-rayed, and scanned. She was done. There was no reason for her to stay and she knew she’d rest better in her own bed.
“She would like to go home. Doctor, is there any reason why I have to stay?” She said loudly enough for half the hospital to hear. The doctor walked in the room, followed closely by Mike. Ah, so that’s who wanted her kept here overnight. Well, too bad. “In fact, I’m feeling much better and would like to leave, now.”
She caught the doctor’s quick glance back at Mike, as if seeking his approval. She glared at Mike and found him staring right back at her. His hands were on this hips, holding his jacket open and showing the badge clipped to one side and the weapon holstered on the other side. She briefly wondered if he practiced this pose in front of the mirror. His not-so-subtle way of asserting power without having to say a word. The slight smirk lessened the bad-ass vibes he was tossing off like a dog shaking water from its back. She realized the smirk was for her because when he turned back to the doctor, the smirk disappeared.
“She was brutally attacked and needs to be protected until her attacker has been caught. I will post an officer on her door and -”
“I can protect myself. The house has an alarm system and I have two roommates who will also be home-”
“You’re willing to put Mole and Sam in danger for your stubborn pride?”
“Stubbor
n? Who are you calling stub-”
“Ahem,” the doctor loudly cleared his throat, “While important, Jenna’s safety is not the only issue here. You will need to be watched over for the next 24-hours. I’ll give you a list of instructions and warning signs. If you do go home, someone will need to be with you at all times.”
“Well, that settles it, she’s staying here,” Mike crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels.
“No, I’m not!” Jenna crossed her arms over her chest mimicking his arrogant actions. From the corner of her eye, she saw the doctor’s head swing back and forth between them waiting for one of them to give in. Well, it wasn’t going to be her. She decided to end the standoff by getting out of bed and getting dressed. As she moved to climb down off the gurney, Mike stepped in and lightly took hold of her to help her down. Her arms instinctively reached out to him and she found herself sliding off the gurney and into his arms.
Without her heels on, she was eye-level with that one spot on his neck she used to love to nuzzle when they were curled up in bed after having just made love. Jenna breathed in deep the familiar scent of wood smoke and evergreen. How did he still smell like that cabin in Lake Tahoe they used to rent in the winter? Did he still taste the same, she wondered? But, now was not the time to find out.
She lifted her head to find him staring at her with the same sense of wonder she felt. The smirk was gone and in its place was the same look she felt sure was on her own face. She hadn’t noticed when he had wrapped his arms around her and had drawn her closer, or when she had moved her hands to his chest and curled her fingers into his shirt. She only knew that in his arms, she felt a sense of belonging, of home, of comfort and safety.
Safety.
“Oh,” Jenna snapped back to reality and tried to step out of Mike’s arms, but the gurney was directly behind her and she started to fall. Once again, Mike caught her, but this time his hands were on her arms, holding her steady.
Safe in His Arms