Chapter 3
Martin Kent rolled his shoulders in an attempt to dislodge the annoying ache that had made its home there over the last few months.
He signed the last of the case notes he's been working on and returned them to the thick folder in front of him. It seemed he was always tense these days, and he knew it had nothing to do with his job. As much as it pained him, things in his life were not as simple as he had hoped they would become. His job had always been intense and because of the odd hours and sometimes secrecy, he had found it hard to maintain a steady relationship. Many of his friends happily referred to him as the last of the great heartbreakers. He was never short of a body to warm his bed, but he would never commit to one woman. Mainly because most of the woman he had known just never understood his job. Really. What woman wanted to compete with serial killers, drug dealers and petty crime? Because he was dedicated to his job he refused to allow himself to settle down. Better to be fancy free than to watch the woman he loved get worn down by the worry and impatience with the job. Many cop marriages didn't last and those that did were because the cop had been lucky enough to find a strong woman. Martin had seen many of his friends end up in court arguing over the rights of property or children with their wives. The heartbreak was just not worth it. So he had decided to be the non committal type.
Until he met Daisy Duke.
He had been put in charge of her case because he had been the lead investigator in the arrest of Lex's drug partner. When word got out that a CSI had been dating the drug dealer and had been attacked by him, it created a buzz around the Calgary office. How could the woman have not known what Lex did for his money? Could any woman be so blind? Why did it take a beating at the hands of both Lex and his partner to make her see the light? She was a trained professional. So the consensus was that she knew about it all along and was now trying to claim innocence. It had been Martin's job to find out the truth. He joined his partner Clark Jannetty to interview her in San Antonio, where the woman was in hiding courtesy of a Texas Ranger that she knew well. The cynical side of Martin wondered how well she knew the Ranger. And that cynical side also tended to agree with those in law enforcement who found it hard to believe that she could have been in the dark about her boyfriend. That cynical side even wondered how much money she made from her boyfriends deals, after all she must have used her power with the courts to help him stay out of jail. Surely.
That cynical side had suddenly caved in when he looked into her eyes for the first time.
She had been standing at the foot of the stairs inside the hall of the Rangers home and seemed to look right into his soul, assessing if she could trust him or not. As he looked at her face and saw the still fresh injuries from the beating she had taken, at once he felt a need to protect her, defend her, and slay all her monsters. Like most cops, he loathed a man who beat on a woman just for the power trip. Looking back now, he knew that he had fallen in love with her right at that moment. There had been no turning back for him from then on. He had made it his mission to prove her innocence, protect her from Lex and ensure she safely got home to her cousins. Somewhere along the way, she also fell for him. Despite all the horror she had been through, she seemed willing to take a chance with him. And, even better, she understood his job. They didn't have a lot in common – she was very country, he was very city – but despite the 12 years age difference between them, they found a common ground that enabled them to love. He ensured that she got home to her cousins safely, but couldn't stop Lex from catching her unawares and almost killing her. He would never forget the day he received the call telling him that she had been rushed to hospital in critical condition with stab wounds to her neck and side. He paced the floor along with her cousins for hours waiting for the surgery to be over. The long hours spent at her bedside following the surgery had given him time to reflect on what was really important in life. No matter what happened, he wanted this woman by his side forever. And as he spent long days helping her attend rehab and get her life back together his feelings only grew. Although they split up for a while due to her insecurities, she came back to him and he proposed. Their wedding had been a small intimate affair that was full of laugh and love. It was supposed to have been their happy ever after.
But now it seemed like they had swapped one trial for another. Now that things had calmed down in their lives, Martin had hoped that they would get to live a normal life. However, every day he could feel Daisy pulling further away from him and closing in on herself. He knew that things were not as well as she projected them to be. He knew she barely slept more than a few hours a night. He often felt her leave his arms and their bed in the middle of the night. On one occasion he had followed her to offer support, and had been heartbroken when he saw that she was sitting by the fireplace in the living area rocking herself, biting her lip to stop the sobs from escaping. Why he didn't go to her and hold her, he still didn't know. But there was a stance to her that screamed that she wanted to be left alone. So instead he went back to their bed by himself. Almost every night had played out the same. He had hoped that she would get over the nightly sessions, but he knew that she hadn't. Just this morning he had once again followed her to her spot and watched as she had once again sat and rocked, tears streaming down her face, her lips compressed to hold in the sobs. This time he noticed that she held one of their wedding pictures in her hands. And an impending sense of doom had settled in the pit of his gut. Was she second guessing their marriage? Did she want to leave him? He hated to think of the possible answers.
A glance at his desk clock told him he still had an hour before leaving for the day. Something in him wanted to be home now though. He got up from his chair, grabbed his jacket and left his office, closing the door firmly behind him. A couple of his co-workers looked up, surprised to see him leaving early.
"Everything all right, Kent?"
Martin nodded to his fellow officer. "Just want to surprise the wife tonight"
The other officer gave him a knowing smile as Martin left the front office area.
Traffic was fairly light as he started the trip home. Again his thoughts churned regarding his situation with Daisy. Surely he hadn't waited for the perfect woman this long to only discover that she no longer needed or wanted him? Fate could not be that cruel. After everything the two of them had battled through, there had to be a space for them to be able to just be a regular couple. People fell in love, got marries and lived happily enough all the time. Why should it be so hard for him and Daisy?
He thumped the steering wheel in frustration.
As a cop he knew that to find answers all he had to do was dig. As a husband he realised that he would now have to do the same. He would have to start asking questions that Daisy may not want to answer, nor be ready to answer. But he had to know. He had to know if there was a chance for them or if the struggle was all for nothing.
As he turned into the drive of their dream home he nursed a ray of hope in his heart that finally things could be normal.
Daisy raised her head, hearing the approach of a vehicle. She turned her head and checked the wall clock. She had been sitting thinking for a while, but it was too early for Martin to be home yet.
But the heavy footfalls on the porch were unmistakably those of her husband's. She had spent many nights sitting up waiting for him to return home after a call out. A product of that was being able to recognise her man's footsteps anywhere.
She hurried to the front hall just in time to see him walk through the door. As she stood watching him hang up his jacket she couldn't help but recall the number of times she had been at the door to greet him in other ways. Sometimes she would greet him in a sexy nightgown; sometimes she would greet him in nothing but a dressing gown. And then there were times that she simply ran the length of the hall and jumped into his arms. Now she simply stood there and watched him, aching to run to him and feel his arms around her, yet rooted to the spot by her own fears.
As Martin turned to her she looked into his eyes and those fears doubled.
"We need to talk" he said simply.
Numbly, she nodded and moved to the kitchen to make coffee.
It was going to be a long night.