Chapter Three
Knocking on the door of Charlie Crews' house was the last thing on his mind a few hours ago, but as Jack Reese walked up the drive he felt like a nervous sixteen year old on his first date. He had checked himself in the mirror before exiting his car to make sure he was still recognizable, the last thing he wanted to do was scare his daughter. Smoothing back his thick, white hair and losing the ball cap and glasses; Jack was satisfied he looked enough like himself Dani would recognize him.
He knocked loudly, but was surprised when the door swung open before he was finished knocking. Dani lounged against the door like she'd been waiting for him. Her left hand was high on the door and conspicuously present was a very expensive diamond channel wedding band. Well that answered that question – she wasn't shacked up here – they were married - and Crews spared no expense showing folks Dani was his.
"What took you so long?" Dani said in a clipped tone, examining the nails on her right hand with studied indifference. "We thought you were going to sit in the car all night" she said flatly.
"We?" was the only response Jack could manage.
"Hello Jack" said a voice behind his left ear and just over his shoulder. Jack Reese tensed, all the muscles in his body becoming rigid. How the hell had Crews gotten behind him? Dani locked eyes with her mate and Crews retreated a few feet.
Jack was instantly flashed back to a special he'd seen on The Discovery Channel on wolves and pack behavior. Something about the way Dani drew his attention, while Crews circled in for the kill and the way they operated silently and effectively like a wolf pack separating a prey animal and making it vulnerable. Impressively, they operated without any speech, with just looks and moves indicating a level of coordination that defied human definition.
Jack swallowed hard and realized Crews and his daughter were "together" in a way he never achieved with anyone, not a partner, not his wife.
"Crews" Jack spoke tersely.
"I got this" Dani said to her husband. "You gonna come in? Or stand out there on the stoop all night? She questioned her father.
Crews walked past Jack through the open door and deliberately made a point of wrapping his arm around Dani's waist and pointedly kissing her. "Cut it out" she scolded, knowing precisely what Charlie was doing. "Put Sam to bed, Charlie. I can handle this." Crews stopped and looked down at her, but Dani's level gaze never waivered and Charlie acquiesced.
But as he turned and headed up the stairs, Crews could not resist a parting shot. "If you need backup, I'll be upstairs" he spoke to his partner and wife, but his eyes never left Jack Reese's and they glittered in warning.
"Christ, Crews I'm her father not some serial rapist or …an excon" he let the insinuation hang in the air.
Crews descended the stairs menacingly; his shoulders squared and unveiled hate burning brightly in his eyes. "This is my house, Jack. My wife, my family and you don't belong here".
Dani spoke sharply to both men, apparently the only one not intoxicated by the heady mix of ego and testosterone coursing through the room "enough" she said sharply, drawing both men's eyes.
"How dare you come in here, after vanishing without a word and act like this?" she said boldly drawing herself up to her look her father in the eye. Her gaze brooked no argument and Jack blinked first. She stopped Crews with her hand in his chest as she stepped between the two men.
Her voice was softer and lower as she spoke words only meant for her husband "you're not helping me here Charlie. I need to do this and I need you to trust me with it. Even if you don't trust him, trust me."
Charlie Crews changed before Jack's eyes. His gaze changed from a glare to a caress and he held Dani's eyes for a long moment before kissing her gently on the forehead and retreating up the stairs. "I'll tuck Sam in and read her a story and then I'll be back," Charlie said as both a promise to his wife and a warning to her father.
"Charlie" Dani held him up with a single word. "Don't let her sleep with that wet dog", he smiled down at her and replied, "I won't" and retreated quietly up the marble stairs, watching Jack the whole way.
Crews would honor Dani's wishes, but he didn't have to like it.
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"Daddy, why did the little girl eat all that porridge anyway?" Sam asked. "And what is porridge exactly?" she continued in her classic precocious four year old way.
Crews sighed. Most children would just zone out and listen to nightly bedtime stories, but not Sam. She was a questioning child, always wanting to know the strangest things about centuries old fairytales. His daughter was intelligent and smart kids were always the toughest to parent, or so the books said, but he wouldn't trade her for all the money in Fort Knox.
"Porridge is like oatmeal - only stickier" he offered half an answer.
"Yuck" Sam said making a face that again reminded him of Dani, which she did a lot.
Sam was effectively a carbon copy of Dani physically and her mannerisms equally mirrored her mother's. And like her mother, his daughter didn't miss a thing. She had an almost prescient ability to ask direct probative questions; like the next comment to leave his daughter's mouth which had nothing to do with Goldilocks or any of those bears.
"Who's Mommy talking to?" Sam asked with her dark eyes seeking his.
"That…. is a grownup thing that…. you don't need to know about" Charlie said in his most stern fatherly tone, trying hard to be convincing.
This simply elicited a scowl from his daughter, which so closely resembled Dani's he had to smile at the similarity. "That's enough story time for tonight. Now go to sleep" he pronounced, realizing he wasn't really there at all, Charlie was too busy listening intently for raised voices and poised to spring into action to rescue Dani from her father, Jack Reese.
"But you didn't finish" Sam complained.
"Sam" Charlie said incredulous "You know this story by heart and could probably tell it better than me". Crews, kissed his grumbling daughter on the forehead, ignoring her muttered complaints (another mannerism of her mother's), tucked her in and slipped quietly out the door, crossing paths with the ignored dog, Ripley, who took advantage of his distraction to slip into Sam's room. The slight little dog took his duty to protect his little girl very seriously and separating the two was almost impossible, especially when people were distracted.
"Ripley" she whispered excitedly as he clambered onto her bed and circled thrice before laying down next the Sam and putting his nose under her chin. Both sighed contentedly and drifted off to sleep.