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“I won’t,” she said, grabbing her clutch from the counter behind the beer. Opening it up, she showed him the box of condoms, then put them beside her bottle. “To replenish your supplies.”
She wouldn’t need them for the foreseeable future. Their slip was enough to remind her how dangerous distractions could be. What happened to being a woman on a mission? Sex and the simple life shouldn’t distract that woman.
Her carpet bag was still in the bedroom, so she went to grab it and fill it with the clothes she’d brought from home earlier in the week.
“You’re leaving?” Danny asked when she went to the closet to get the last of her things.
“Yeah,” she said, flashing him a smile. “You’ve been a real star, baby. Thank you.”
If it wasn’t for him, she may never have thought about her mom’s happy place. As a child, she’d never understood why the shabby old building was so important. She hadn’t minded, because whatever incarnation the building took, she usually got to play. Laser tag hadn’t been fun, the trampolines were, as was the bowling alley; that had probably been her favorite.
Once the closet was empty of her things, she scooped her mess of work up from the dinette. Pulling everything from the walls, it didn’t take long to stow the papers. Danny could have his bachelor trailer back. Almost like she’d never been there at all.
“Anytime, Little Red.” She fastened her bag. “You going right now?”
“I have to pack up the house.” Which could take hours. Her neighbors might complain about the noise of the washer and dryer, but they wouldn’t have to worry about her much longer. “I’ll stop by in the morning to pick up the car, just whatever you can figure out would be great. I can pay.”
The money from the box Figgs gave her was at the house. At least it should be.
Danny obviously wasn’t the type for the big emotional goodbye. She’d miss him. But there was something comforting about knowing he’d be there, just being himself, ticking days off the calendar.
Leaving her bag by the door, Tess kneeled on the floor at his feet. His attention slid from the TV to her once and then again.
“Gonna suck it before you go?”
Just like him to think there would only be one reason for a woman to kneel in front of a man.
Laying her hands on his thighs, Tess slid them higher as she pushed up on her knees. “I’m saying goodbye,” she said, sliding her palms up under his tee-shirt. “You’re a good guy, Danny. You did this woman a favor in a dark time. I won’t forget that.”
On a slow blink, one corner of his mouth rose. “No sweat, Little Red. Anytime.”
“Come here,” she said, putting a hand on each side of his face to guide their mouths together.
The sweet sensation of his kiss always spoke to the deepest part of her. He never hesitated to reciprocate. Their kiss, this last kiss, was their final gift to each other. Tess was saying goodbye. Of all the people she’d walked away from in all of her many lives, she’d would miss Danny the most.
Finding him at just the right time, he had been exactly what she needed to absorb the blow of loneliness brought on by her mother’s death. From then on, Tess would be alone, but her memories of Buckhorn’s Danny would still warm her when she needed comfort.
ELEVEN
SANITIZING A HOME TOOK time. Tess hadn’t appreciated how much more it would take without her mother’s help.
She almost forgot about the weird metal thing she’d stashed in the kitchen drawer. Was it important or irrelevant? Given that someone had gone to the trouble of breaking in to steal her mom’s letters, it would be best to keep the metal object somewhere secret.
The base of her mom’s urn unscrewed, just like the lid. After wrapping the prongy thing in a bunch of duct tape to prevent rattling, she taped it into the urn base before screwing it back on. Job done.
By morning, the process was complete. The landlord had their security deposit. The place was sparkling clean, and she left a letter telling him to keep the deposit to cover her notice.
Closing up the house was difficult. It was the last place her mom lived; the last place they’d lived together. They’d never be anywhere together again.
Errands distracted her. Somewhat. First was the post office to set up a PO Box. Next, she did a quick run around all the stores that still had her inventory to tell them where to mail her checks.
Most of her mom’s clothes were left at a charity place. Walking away wasn’t easy. All she kept thinking about was how her mom would insist they carried nothing unnecessary. Sentimental items stayed, but the clothes that didn’t fit or weren’t her style had to go.
Finished with her tasks, Tess hailed a cab and bundled everything inside, keeping the urn with her mother’s ashes in her lap for the ride. As they approached Buckhorn, something long and gleaming parked in front of the yard brought her to the edge of her seat. Stunned, she raised her sunglasses to the top of her head and blinked at the sight up ahead.
“Just here’s fine,” she said.
The cab driver stopped. Once she’d paid the fare, he helped her take her things from the trunk.
