Page 16 of You Can Make Me (Carnival of Mysteries #28)

Eight

C ooper

The afternoon bled into evening, and after the delicious dinner my dad and Gene cooked, I could barely keep my eyes open. Denny lit a fire in the pit and we gathered on the outdoor furniture. I lay on a sofa with my head in Sam’s lap while she played with my hair.

“You want me to cut this for you?” she asked.

“Not yet, but thank you. I’ve entered my mountain man era. All I need is some flannel and work boots and I’ll be a hot lumberjack.”

“We’re in National Forest land. No cutting down trees,” Gene said.

“As if I’d ever swing an axe.”

Everyone laughed, but Mom got that serious look that indicated a lecture was coming.

“Besides, you have work to do,” she said. “The important stories aren’t going to write themselves.”

I was surrounded by so much love. I vacillated between gratitude and guilt.

On the one hand, I knew how lucky I was to be alive, how fortunate I was that my parents had always accepted me for who I was, and that I had such great friends as the Ochoas.

On the other, I’d spent way too much time wallowing, not-quite wishing I was dead, but not appreciating the lengths people went to in order to keep me safe.

Denny kept his distance, always watching, but letting our guests have their time with me. He sat on a stool outside the circle of couches so he could see all of us. I wondered what he was thinking.We’d never been in a situation with anyone else around. Was he always this quiet?

Dad yawned, and Mom took that as a sign. “I think we’ll turn in. Your father drove that beast the whole six hours, and we left at the crack of dawn. We’ll let you catch up and we’ll see you in the morning.”

I pushed myself up with my cane, despite Mom’s insistence I stay put.

“No, I gotta move. I get stiff being in one position too long.” I hugged my parents extra tight. “I’m so happy you came. I’m sorry?—”

“None of that, kiddo,” Dad said, kissing the side of my head. “We understand.”

“I made the muffins you like for breakfast, and Dad brought fruit to make smoothies. Dennis, maybe you can let us know when you’re ready for company.”

“I’ll open the door when Cooper’s up.” He tried to give her a handshake, then laughed when she clicked her tongue against her teeth and pulled him in for a hug.

“And don’t you dare ‘Mrs. Harris’ me,” she said, putting a hand to the side of his face. “Thank you, Dennis.”

It was adorable how flustered my mother made him.

Dad shook his hand, more willing to let Dennis get used to having two overbearing parents in his business.

I wondered how he’d feel about that? He’d told me his parents were gone, but we never talked much about them or their relationship.

We had so many things to share with each other.

We all said good night to my parents before they disappeared around the side of the house.

“Who’s ready for my brownies?” Sam clapped her hands together. “Sweetheart, will you grab them from the kitchen? Pretty please?”

Gene pushed himself up. “Yeah yeah, now I know why she really brought me along. To serve. Grab you guys something to drink?”

Denny went with him, giving me a smile before they went inside.

“I still can’t believe it. Dennis Hamilton?

Never in a million years would I have thought…

I mean, he’s a freaking Marine ! Although, he’s always handled Gene’s flirting good-naturedly, and he was super-protective of Walter when he came out after his divorce.

He practically dared anyone to say something so he could pound them into the ground.

Luckily, everyone was pretty cool about it. Well, except Dax. That was just weird.”

“What happened?” I sat back on the opposite couch so I could stretch out my legs. I’d started to get cramps lying with my knees up.

“I don’t know for sure. Something was said at that house in Laurel Canyon, before him and Gene were nearly killed in the mine collapse. I swear to God, I hope that bastard Evans died in the tunnels. I hate that they haven’t found him yet.”

I hadn’t asked Denny anything about what happened after I left to go to what almost became my death.

All I knew from reading what news I could get on my shitty Wi-Fi was that Virgil Evans, the man charged with Tess Miller’s homicide, had also been connected to Walter’s search for Dane Donovan, and his discovery that Dane and Tess had a child.

It had been quite shocking to interview Dee Dee Miller that day, but the details from before my assault were fuzzy. I just remember looking into Dee Dee’s seafoam-green eyes and knowing there was more to his story. And he’d mentioned working at a carnival. There were too many parallels.

There was also something different about Dee Dee, I could feel it then, and the more I thought back to that conversation, the more it niggled at my consciousness.

I’d been right before, my intuition had won me many accolades in my career.

Yet my determination to seek out the truth tended to get me into trouble.

Could the carnival Dee Dee worked at really be that same mythical place Granddad talked about? The one I’d dreamed of?

“Speaking of important stories, I had some ideas.” Sam reached for her cell and her beer. She took a swig while she scrolled on her phone. “I made a list.”

“A list?” I was feeling a bit groggy after all the excitement of the day and was having trouble following the conversation, though I wasn’t ready to go to bed. This was the most stimulated my brain had been since the assault, and I felt energized even though my body was flagging.

“Yes. I know you’ve always wanted to find your own angle into the Laurel Canyon scene, and you kind of have that now with Dee Dee, right?

Not to mention the Caltrans angle, since you’d been investigating them already.

There’s also the missing persons they’ve connected to Evans.

Or I’ve got some ideas not related to any of that?—”

“Sam, give him a break. He’s gotta be careful not to overdo it.”

Denny stood next to the couch with a can of sparkling water.I glanced up, intending to shush him, but I could see the worry in his eyes.

“Come sit,” I said, pulling my legs up and patting the couch next to me with a small smile. He’d kept his distance, and since our conversation earlier, I wanted him close. Touching-distance close.

His gaze darted to Gene and Sam before he took a seat at the far end of the couch.

Good thing my legs were miles long. Once he was settled, I put my feet in his lap.

One more glance at Gene, who looked as if his eyes were about to bug out, and Denny sighed. He pulled my Birkenstocks off and started massaging my foot gently, giving Gene a warning look.

“Damn, baby.” Gene leaned close to Sam and stage whispered, “Things are awful domestic up in here.”

Sam elbowed him as I protested, but Denny held up a hand.

“No, no. Let him get it out of his system.” Denny shot Gene a raised eyebrow, and then he turned to me…and winked.

I pressed a hand to my chest, praying I wasn’t dreaming, that he was actually here, touching me, in front of our friends like it was no big deal.

God, why had I been so stupid? I could have had him all this time.

“Anyway, before we were so rudely interrupted,” Sam said, pretending to be annoyed with Gene before she moved closer to him and turned, presenting him with her shoulders.

He got to work massaging them, as if he knew better than to protest. “I know you, Cooper. You process stuff through your work. Maybe one of the ideas on my list will pop out at you.”

Gene snorted, and she barely acknowledged him.

I loved their relationship. They’d met shortly after her and I started working together, and I’d been very protective of her.

I worried what dating a cop would mean for her stress levels, but she had no chance.

Gene Ochoa was an unrepentant flirt and charmer.

However, once they were serious—and he stopped flirting with me —he forged a campaign for her affections that anyone else would have lost.

The good news was that he was just as good a husband as he’d been a pursuer, thank goodness, and though we bickered, I loved them together.

I’d often wished for someone to pursue me with as much gusto, and then Denny came along.

He navigated our courtship head-on, like mastering the process was equally as important to him as winning my affection.

He was so careful to do everything right.

Strategic. I’d wondered how much of that had to do with his previous marriages.

He’d told me the basics and I hadn’t wanted to pry, not until after Austin.

I’d been ready to go there…and then I’d foolishly thought he’d changed his mind.

“So the question is whether you’re ready to tackle a story that relates to your assault, or if you’d rather take the focus away?—”

“Sam,” Dennis said, his brow furrowed.

I sat up and shook my head. “It’s okay. We’re just brainstorming.

” I smiled at him, and I knew I’d have to reassure him later.

“Sam’s right. A lot of my special reports were spawned from things that happened to and around me.

” I turned back to Gene. “I do need to face it. I need to know exactly what happened. I was actually wondering about Dee Dee. Do you think he’d talk to me about the carnival? He mentioned it in his interview.”

Denny’s hands stopped moving on my feet.

He and Gene exchanged looks.

“Carnival?” Gene had his cop face on.