Read Just Can't Get Enough Online
Authors: Cheris Hodges
Just Can't Get Enough (26 page)
CHAPTER 26
After a week and a half in the hospital, Celina was released. The doctors were extra cautious about her bruised spine at her mother's requestâmuch to Celina's dismay.
Adding to that, on the day Celina was released, Rena announced that she and John weren't leaving Elmore until Tiffany was carted off in handcuffs. She felt as if her mother blamed Darius for what happened and that wasn't fair. She didn't know what had been going on while she'd been cooped up in the hospital, but it was taking its toll on Darius.
“You're quiet this morning,” she said as he drove her home.
“I'm just tired,” he replied.
She figured that to be true because he hadn't left her bedside for more than five minutes over the last week and a half. She didn't see him sleeping much between taking calls about the store and calling the police to check on the status of the case.
“You haven't been sleeping much,” she said. “Darius, you see I'm fine. Now you're going to have to take care of yourself.” She rubbed his cheek gently. “Heard anything from the police today?”
Darius shook his head and yawned.
Celina exhaled loudly. “You know what,” she began. “We have a gallery to open and I'm sick of worrying about that psycho.”
Darius smiled. “That's what I love about you. You have this fighting spirit, but if you think I'm going to let you start working your first day out of the hospital, you're wrong. I'm taking you home, planting you in your bed and putting your mother on guard duty.”
Celina pouted like a little girl. She was tired of being cooped up and she wanted to paint, draw, go look at her gallery space, or do anything else but be tied down.
Darius continued. “Besides, your mother is already a little miffed with me and if I don't hurry and get you home, she's going to give me one of those talks. She speaks softly, but her words have a punch.” He visibly shuddered, then smiled.
Celina nodded, “That's Rena Malcolm for you,” she said. “I'm sure she's in the house cooking a welcome home meal.”
Darius pulled his car into Celina's driveway. John was sitting on the porch with a glass of lemonade and a copy of the local paper. When her stepfather saw her getting out of the car, he bounced off the porch and met her at the edge of the gravel sidewalk. “Baby girl,” he said as hugged her. “How do you feel?”
“Just a little sore.”
He nodded then looked at Darius. “Son, why don't you take her bags inside? Rena wants to talk to you,” John said as he walked Celina up the steps.
“What does Mom want with Darius?” Celina asked nervously, as John helped her into one of the rocking chairs on the porch.
“To eat some crow, as they say in the south. She knows what happened isn't his fault, but she has been treating him like it was.” John held his stepdaughter's hand. “This has been really hard for your mother, you know. First, your father passed, then we get a call about you being in the hospital. She reacted the way she usually does and that's to overreact.”
“I know, and the last thing I wanted to do was worry you two,” she said. “I didn't even want Darius to call you.”
“We're parents, we're going to worry and this wasn't your fault or Darius's. Life just happens sometimes and there isn't much you can do about it. Had he not called, you know Rena would've hated him forever.”
Celina leaned on John's shoulder, fighting back tears.
“What's wrong?” he asked when he saw the look on her face.
“I'm really missing my father right now,” she whispered. “I'm glad I've always had you in my corner.”
John kissed her on the top of her head. “And I always will be. Celina, everything is going to be all right.”
“I know that, but I just don't like feeling afraid.”
“Don't be, then. Don't tell your mother, but I went down to the pawn shop on Main Street and bought you a handgun. It's in your nightstand drawer. Promise me you will take a class and learn how to use it properly.”
“John, I don't need a gun,” she said. “Because if I run into Tiffany again I might use it.”
“Keep it anyway. Once she's behind bars, throw it away or sell it. I don't like the idea of someone thinking that they can do this to you and get away with it,” John said.
She nodded. When Tiffany was arrested and things calmed down, she would turn the gun over to the police.
“Come on, let's go inside before your mother comes out here,” John said.
When Celina and John walked in, Rena and Darius were setting the table. “I was starting to wonder if the two of you were actually going to come in and eat. Celina, why don't you go to your room and rest? Darius will bring you a plate.”
“Yes ma'am,” she said, then stole a glance at Darius as she walked away. Celina stopped in the hallway watching her family. Darius winked at her, then turned to Rena as she told him to get some silverware. John walked over to Rena and kissed her on the cheek.
“You're not being too hard on the boy are you?”
Rena smiled. “Would I do that?” John shot her a “yeah, right” look.
“Darius,” John said. “Why don't you go check on Celina and let me and my wife have lunch in here.”
Celina smiled as she watched them, then she headed up the hall to her room. There was no way she was going to let Tiffany rob her of this.
Darius walked into the bedroom with a tray of roasted bell peppers smothered in cheese, with mushrooms, onions, and roasted tomatoes and a bowl of brown rice.
“How are you holding up?” he asked as he put the tray on the side of the bed and sat down.
“Maybe I should ask you that,” she said. “Why did my mother want you to come in here?”
Darius smiled as he cut into the veggies and held the fork out to Celina. “Just enjoy your meal.”
She pushed his hand away. “Not until you tell me what happened.”
“She apologized for what she said at the hospital. Now, eat.”
Celina took the fork and nibbled on the vegetables and he took her bare feet into his hand and massaged them as she ate.
“Why don't you stay with me tonight?” Darius suggested.
Celina laughed. “My mother isn't going to like that. Even though I'm an adult and fully capable of making my own decisions, she makes me feel like a twelve-year-old whenever we're together.”
“We're going to be married soon,” he said focusing his stare on Celina's face. Her eyes were closed and she gently bit her bottom lip. Darius boldly inched up her calf, past her knee, his fingers grazing her thighs. He could tell she was suppressing a satisfied moan. Darius smiled, but stopped before he took things too far.
Celina opened her eyes. “Why did you stop? That was the best medicine I've had all week.”
Darius raised his eyebrow. “I stopped because you need to eat,” he said. Celina frowned.
“Thanks to you, food is the last thing on my mind.” Darius stifled a laugh as Rena walked into the room.
“Celina, are you all right? You haven't touched your lunch.”
“Um, I'm getting to it. I just don't have much of an appetite,” she said then looked pointedly at Darius.
Rena followed Celina's gaze and shook her head. “Carry on,” she said. “Darius, do you want something to eat?”
“No, thank you,” he replied. “I'm going to go check in at the store.” He leaned over Celina and kissed her on the forehead. “I'll see you later.” Darius headed out the door and blew a kiss at Celina as he walked outside. He knew she had a support system at home for now, but Tiffany was still at large and he hadn't heard anything from the police. Darius got into his car and headed to the police station because someone was going to give him answers.
The first thing he saw when he arrived was Chief Wayman heading to his car. “Chief,” Darius called out.
Wayman dropped his head, then walked over to Darius. “I know what you want and no, we haven't found her yet.”
“Elmore is only so big. Celina's out of the hospital and I don't want Tiffany to take another run at hurting her.”
“I know and trust me, we're going to find her. I have my officers keeping an eye on Ms. Hart's house and your store.”
“I hope that's good enough,” Darius snapped.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Wayman bellowed.
“It means if something happens to Celina, it's on your hands. You didn't listen to me when I came to you and look at how this has escalated.”
Wayman placed his hand on Darius's shoulder. “As you've said many times. I'm not going to let you bully me into doing my job. I know what needs to be done and we're going to do it.” Darius fought back a sarcastic response as he moved the chief's hand from his shoulder. “I know you love her,” Wayman said. “But the police have to do our job without your interference.”
Darius nodded, pretending to understand, but he was going to interfere, as the chief called it, because he was going to find Tiffany before she did something else.
Arriving in her neighborhood, Darius decided to park his car a half a block away because if either the police or Tiffany saw him, it would complicate his amateur sleuthing.
Moving stealthily, he cut through the bushes behind a row of houses and prayed no one had motion-activated lights on the side of their homes. He stood across from Tiffany's backyard, watching for any movement around the evergreen shrubs near her back porch. Darius wondered how she just disappeared without raising an eyebrow from the police.
I bet she is hiding in plain sight
, he thought.
No one just disappears.
, he thought.
No one just disappears.
He knew he needed to get inside her house because if there were any answers to be found, they would be in there. Getting inside her house would be easier said than doneâespecially with two police officers staked outside of the place. Part of him said,
let the police handle it.
“They've done such a good job so far,” he mumbled as he headed back to his car.
let the police handle it.
“They've done such a good job so far,” he mumbled as he headed back to his car.
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Celina woke up with a jolt of pain. She had gotten out of bed to watch TV, but her pain medicine knocked her out and she'd fallen asleep on the couch. She faintly remembered her mother asking her if she wanted to get in her bed, but Celina had been waiting for Darius to come back. Where was he, she wondered, as she gingerly sat up on the sofa.
“Ma, John,” she called out.
Rena walked into the living room. “Are you okay?” she asked as she helped Celina to her feet. “I told you to get in your own bed.”
“Did Darius call while I was sleeping?” she asked as she stretched her back.
Rena shook her head. “He does have a store to run, Celina. Don't worry about Darius so much. You need to focus on feeling better,” she said. “Have you read over the information that the doctor gave you about exercising your back and everything?”
“No.”
“What are you waiting for?” she asked. “We need to get you back on your feet. I know what John did.”
“Huh?” Celina asked, pretending she didn't know where the conversation was going.
Rena put her hand on her hip and looked up at her daughter. “Celina, I cleaned up your room and opened your nightstand drawer. Surprise, surprise, what did I find? You don't need a gun.”
“I know that,” she said. “John was just trying to help. I had no intention of using it.”
Rena shook her head. “I don't want you to get in trouble with that thing. Do you even know how to use a gun?”
“No, but it's not even going to come to that. I doubt Tiffany will be back. Every policeman in Elmore is looking for her.”
Rena pulled Celina to her and hugged her tightly. “I worry about that woman. She seems crazy. I know Darius isn't going to let anything happen to you. He loves you so much. That's why I had to apologize to him. I was wrong for what I said at the hospital. There's no way he could've known that this woman was nutty as a fruitcake.”
Celina smiled at her mother. “He told me that you apologized. I just didn't believe it,” she said.
Rena pinched Celina's cheek. “You and John act like I'm the wicked witch of the Midwest and I'm not. Anyway, you and Darius are going to have a beautiful family one day. I just don't understand why you two haven't told me that you're getting married.”
“What? How did you know?” Celina asked.
Rena raised her eyebrow. “I told you, I cleaned up your room. I saw that rock in your jewelry box. Things have been difficult lately, but we know that's going to change,” she said as she gently stroked her daughter's arm. “We're going to plan the best wedding Elmore has ever seen.”
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