A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

24

Sunday’s service will discuss which page of the

Bible explains how to turn water into wine.

Come early. Full house expected.

—SIGN AT DEL SOL CHURCH ON THE ROCKS

While Levi took his turn in the shower, Sun found a change of clothes for him thanks to a sympathetic admin and her magic key to a sparkling land called the gift shop. She worried he wouldn’t want to wear what she got him, but he didn’t really have a choice since his clothes were now soaking wet.

She always kept two different outfits in the back of her cruiser, business and super casual—a.k.a., comfy sweats and a tee—which was all they had in Levi’s size as well: a pair of sweats and a T-shirt with a UNM Lobos emblem.

And thanks to Auri’s ICU nurse, she also found him a clean pair of boxers and socks. She snuck them in while he showered, thought about peeking, then went back to ICU.

When she woke up in the wee hours of dawn two hours later, she found Levi’s powerful frame slouched in the chair next to Auri’s bed, his wide shoulders and long legs filling up half the room as the nurse worked around him.

The nurse smiled at her. “She’s doing great, Sheriff,” he said even though her uniform was in her duffel bag. “They’re going to move her out of ICU in a bit.”

Relief washed over her like cool water. “How about Cruz De los Santos?”

“He’s two doors down if you want to see him. Though getting past his guardian angel might be difficult.” He grinned at Levi. “Kind of like this one.”

“Thank you.”

“Any time. My shift ends in a few. It was really nice to meet you.”

“You, too. Thank you so much for taking care of my kids.”

He rewarded her with a bashful smile.

Sun stood and held Auri’s hand for a while. Brushed her hair from her forehead. Marveled at the surreal creature she’d been given. Her face, though still pale, had a little more color. A soft blush blossomed over her lips and cheeks.

Sun glanced over at Levi. The man of her dreams was down for the count, his breathing soft and deep, his startlingly handsome face serene in slumber, so Sun peppered Auri’s forehead with kisses then went to check on Cruz.

Sure enough, a guardian angel the size of an eighteen-wheeler sat between the door and Cruz’s bed. His long legs were stretched out before him and one arm lay draped over Cruz’s mattress. Still in his uniform, Quincy snored softly.

Sun eased around him to get to Cruz’s side and for the second time that morning, relief washed over her. He looked much better as well.

He was such a handsome kid. Strong jaw. Full mouth. And the most perfectly shaped nose she’d ever seen. Sun knew exactly what Auri saw in him. But the thought of him all alone in the world once again threatened to shatter her. She fought off a crushing wave of emotion, leaned over, and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

He stirred and his lashes fluttered. He opened his eyes to slits, as though that was all the energy he could muster. He was such a fighter for even trying.

She leaned close. “Hey, handsome. Thank you for saving my daughter’s life.”

One corner of his mouth rose weakly as his lids drifted shut again. He raised a hand toward her and she took it into both of hers. “Is she okay?”

“Thanks to you, yes.”

Salazar got as much as she could from Mrs. Fairborn before they transported her to Albuquerque, so Sun knew the basics of what happened. Just not the hows or whys. She would need Cruz and Auri to fill in those blanks, though she had a pretty good idea.

“Cruz,” she said, squeezing his hand, “I am so, so sorry about your dad.”

Despite his eyes being closed, a tear pushed past his thick lashes moments before he slid back into oblivion.

Sun looked over. Quincy was watching her, his heavy-lidded gaze full of sorrow.

“Why don’t you go home and get some rest,” she said to him. “I’ll keep an eye on this guy.”

“It’s okay, boss.” He sat up in the chair and stretched. “I just need a toothbrush and I’m good to go.”

“I think that can be arranged. I know where you can shower, too, if you want.”

“I want.”

She walked around to him and brushed a finger over his scruff.

He took her hand into his. “Is it that bad?”

“You’re pretty wonderful, Quincy Lynn.”

The look he gave her was full of suspicion. “All right. What’d I do?”

She chuckled softly and bent to kiss his cheek as well.

“Damn it. Am I fired? You’re firing me, aren’t you?”

“No,” she said with a soft chuckle. “It’s what you’re about to do.”

“Uh-oh.”

“How would you like a roommate?”

An emotion born of panic and something akin to gut-wrenching terror flashed across his face, then he looked over at the unconscious kid beside him and calmed. “Will I get to order him around? Make him rake leaves and shit?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’m in.”

Sun knew it would be no walk in the park, unless it was one of those parks where all the kids hang out drinking beer they stole from their dad and smoking pot they stole from their mom, but she had faith in her BFF. He was amazing with Auri and Sun would be right there if he needed advice. Or a shoulder to cry on when he realized teens had their own form of logic that defied the conventions of all things in the known universe.

He’d be fine.

The staff managed to get Auri and Cruz assigned to rooms across the hall from one another once they got out of ICU. Auri would get transferred first, even though they probably wouldn’t release Cruz until later that evening or possibly the next day.

But they were both still in ICU at seven that morning when Hailey walked in. She stopped short when she saw Levi, and her jaw fell open. She looked at Sun in a panic.

Thankfully, Hailey’s brother was still asleep as she tiptoed backwards. Sun eased around him and took Hailey to the nurse’s break room where the Jell-O was cheap and the coffee flowed free. She should know. She was on her eighth cup. In her defense, they were tiny cups.

Once they were out of Levi’s line of sight, Hailey threw her arms around Sun. “I’m so sorry, honey,” she said.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Sun said, thrilled to see her.

“I had to lie and say that I was Auri’s aunt. Oh, my God, Sunshine. This is crazy. What happened?”

“I wish I knew. I have an idea, but I can’t be certain until I interrogate the redhead. Under a thousand-watt lightbulb.”

Hailey grinned sadly. “I’m just glad she and Cruz are okay. Is it true?”

“About his dad? Yes.”

She covered her mouth with a hand. “That poor baby.”

“Wait, how did you know?”

Hailey deadpanned her.

“Right. Small town.” Sun couldn’t let the depths of her sorrow take hold again. She was barely keeping her shit together as it was. “I was going to call you this morning so you could tell Jimmy.”

She nodded. “I’ll tell him later. He’ll want to come up.”

“Of course. They’re moving her to a room in a little while. She would love to see him.”

“And Levi?” Hailey wriggled her brows. “I notice he hasn’t left your side.”

A sheepish grin spread despite herself. “He hasn’t left Auri’s side.”

“Auri’s too. I just think he feels very differently about the two of you.”

They giggled softly.

“Okay,” Hailey said, “I’m going to head out before my brother wakes up and busts us.”

“Oh, any news on the Clay Ravinder front?”

“No. There’s another meeting soon, though. I’m sure of it.”

“Be careful.”

“You too. And give that beautiful girl a hug for me. And tell her I love her. And tell her Jimmy loves her. And we’ll be up later. Oh, and see if she needs anything from home. Slippers. She’ll probably need slippers. And toothpaste. Ask her if she needs toothpaste.”

“Okay,” Sun said with a soft laugh.

They hugged, and Sun reveled in the feel of it. Held it longer than she probably should have. She pulled back and noticed someone watching them from over Hailey’s shoulder. While they’d moved out of Levi’s line of sight, they’d walked directly into Quincy’s. The man sat in the same chair, legs outstretched across the same floor, arm draped over the same bed, only this time his eyes were set ablaze by the two women he watched through the glass door.

“Oh, crap,” Sun said.

Hailey spun around and gasped.

Quincy stood, checked on Cruz with a quick glance, then walked out of the main ICU area and toward them.

Sun searched her brain frantically for a logical explanation. No one knew she and Hailey were friends, and since Hailey was basically undercover, no one could know. It would be too dangerous for her. However, if she were to tell anyone, it would be the man walking toward them now. The one with the quizzical brow that framed a look of absolute astonishment.

Sun rolled her eyes. They were getting sloppy. First Auri. Now Quincy. The entire sting was crashing down around her.

Having found no explanation, her brain went into fight-or-flight mode. She turned to Hailey and railed, “And don’t let me tell you again,” she said, glaring at the blonde beside her. “You—you degenerate. You get out of here and don’t come back. I don’t want to ever—”

“Sun,” Hailey said, pointing at the other blonde, the one standing so close Sun could feel the heat radiating off him.

She turned to him. “Quincy, thank goodness. I want you to arrest this …this—”

“Degenerate?” he offered. “Yes. For trespassing.”

“Degenerately?”

“Exactly.” She poked Hailey on the shoulder. That’d show her.

“Sunshine,” Hailey said, knowing when to give up the game long before Sun’s brain did.

Sun slammed her lids shut, drew in a deep breath, then squared her shoulders. “Okay, this isn’t what it looks like.”

“Like you two are meeting in secret?”

Her jaw came loose from its hinges. She put it back, then said, “Well, of course that’s what it looks like to the untrained eye.”

“My eye is very trained.”

And then, with the briefest, most ephemeral of flashes, something swept across his face. If Sun had blinked, she would have missed it. The glance. As though his pupils could not resist. The intake of breath. As though his lungs could not stop it. The softening of his features. As though his heart could not suppress its reaction.

Sun stood stunned for an eternity before she gaped at him.

“Hailey Ravinder?” she screeched, only really quietly because they were in a hospital. She stepped closer and spoke through clenched teeth. “That’s who you’ve been pining over for months?”

“What?” He snorted. “No.”

“Pining?” Hailey asked.

“After all this time, after everything we’ve been through, you think you can hide this from me?”

“Look who’s talking.” He gestured toward the two of them. “You two act like you’re plotting to take over the world.”

“We were discussing a town-wide rummage sale, for your information.” Now her brain kicks in.

“Pining?” Hailey asked again, her gaze raking over Quincy like the break room was a desert and he was a sparkling oasis complete with lounge chairs and frou-frou drinks. The kind with tiny umbrellas, only there was nothing—and she would know—tiny about her chief deputy.

He cast his gaze down. “Pining is a strong word.”

“For me?” She stepped closer.

He kicked at the floor with his boot.

Sun looked between the two, more than a little horrified. Not because they weren’t perfect for each other. They kind of were. But because she didn’t see it before.

When an electrifyingly romantic instrumental swept through the ICU over the loudspeakers—or in Sun’s mind, either way—she decided to make her exit.

She walked to Auri’s room in disbelief. Everyone was finding true love but her. Of course, she thought this as she rounded the corner and her gaze landed on the only man she’d ever really wanted. He sat with his back to her, holding Auri’s hand.

“How is she?” her mother said, walking in behind her.

Levi turned and his gaze locked with Sun’s as though he knew what she’d been thinking. Either that or her guilty conscience was projecting again. It did that.

“She’s good, Mom. She hasn’t woken up yet, but—”

“Mom?” Auri’s tiny voice wafted to her.

Sun ran around the bed and took her other hand, carefully since that was the one with the IV.

Her bottom lip quivered. “Mom,” she said, a soft sob escaping her.

Maybe it was a sign of the last couple of days or her guilty conscience projecting again, but Sun knew exactly what her daughter was thinking. “He’s okay, Auri.”

The look Auri gave her dissolved every bone in her body.

“He fought him off, sweetheart. Cruz was admitted with wounds, but he survived the surgery and is in ICU right down the hall.”

Auri’s gaze bounced between Sun and Levi, tears welling between her lashes before she broke down. Sun leaned in and hugged her for a very long time before Levi took over. It was a hard job. They took it in shifts. Her parents chipping in to cover when Sun and Levi needed a break. Even Quincy came in to lend a hand, cradling her to him until they came to transfer her. Each of them careful not to disturb her turban-like bandages.

They wheeled her to her room a little while later, the family following as though they were in a parade.

Quincy leaned close to her. “We need to talk.”

She scowled at him. “I’ll say. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Me?” he asked, appalled.

She left it at that. All in all, it had been a very productive morning.

But it was about to get more productive. She had no choice. Now that Auri was out of the woods, for the most part, she had to get back to Del Sol, even for just a few hours, to get on top of everything. Her parents would stay with Auri, but she needed the story before she went.

By noon, Auri was up and eating, a very good sign. Her head barely hurt from the submissive hemogoblin—her words—on the side of her head.

“Okay, bug bite,” Sun said, sitting on the edge of her daughter’s bed. “I need the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

Elaine and Cyrus were in the room, too, as well as Levi and Quincy. They’d kicked the latter out of Cruz’s room to clean the kid’s wounds and change his bandages. Cruz had only awakened a couple of times but they were keeping him pretty medicated. According to the surgeon, the first forty-eight hours were crucial in the fight against sepsis, especially when the intestines had been punctured. The last thing they needed was Cruz fighting them again and ripping something inside.

Auri bit her lip. She wasn’t 100 percent by any means, but she was definitely almost bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Levi sat on the other side of her bed. He took her hand. “I can leave, Red, if that will help.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I almost got Cruz and Mrs. Fairborn killed. You’ll find out eventually either way.”

“Auri,” Elaine said. “That’s not true.”

“It is, Grandma. I wish it weren’t more than anything in the world, but it is. I just—” She looked at Sun. “I just wanted to be like my mom so bad.” A wetness welled between her dark red lashes. “But I’m not. I never will be.”

“Sweetheart, why would you say that?”

“You save people’s lives. I just try to get them killed.”

Levi reached out and wiped a tear streaming down her face. “How about you tell your mom what happened and let her decide if you two are alike or not? You might be surprised.”

He was right. She did tend to put people in danger from time to time. But only if other people were in danger first. It was kind of her job.

“First, I was trying to prove that Mrs. Fairborn was a serial killer, then I was just trying to prove that the drifter accused of the crimes was innocent without getting Mrs. Fairborn sent to prison because she couldn’t make a shank out of her toothbrush, then I just wanted to get the necklace back to its rightful owner, and then everything spun out of control.”

No one spoke for a few minutes, so when Auri swallowed, it seemed really loud.

Sun came around first. “I thought we talked about how unlikely it was that Mrs. Fairborn was a serial killer.”

“I know. I just thought you were wrong.”

“And as far as proving the drifter innocent, that would be very difficult at this late stage.”

“But not impossible,” she argued. “Especially after you see all the things in Mrs. Fairborn’s house. I even thought about asking her to write a confession letter that I could magically find after her untimely death to prove that Hercules Holmes was innocent.”

“Wow,” Sun’s mom said, horrified. “You really thought this through.”

She nodded. “But at the same time, I wanted to get the necklace back to its rightful owners since they seemed really upset about it.”

“I read those articles, too, Auri,” Sun said. “From what I remember, the family cared more about that necklace than they did their missing family member.”

“I agree, but does that mean they don’t deserve to get their things back? I mean, they said she stole the necklace before she ran off.”

“And I’m guessing you told her cousin, Billy Press?”

Auri bit her lip as tears welled again. “I found him online and told him about the boardinghouse, but I didn’t give him the name! I would never put Mrs. Fairborn in danger like that.”

Sun squeezed her hand. “But you did, pumpkin. You almost got her killed. Not to mention Cruz.”

“Sunny,” Quincy said, admonishing her.

“Quince, she needs to hear the truth. She needs to realize there are consequences to her actions.”

“She’s right, Quincy,” Auri said, her little chin trembling. “This is all my fault.”

“That is not what I am saying,” Sun said, enunciating each word. “You tried to do the right thing.” She took hold of her quivering chin, softly guiding Auri’s gaze back to her. “I am so proud of you for that. You said we aren’t alike, but you’re wrong. I have to make these kinds of decisions every day of my life. Is the risk worth the reward? Is whatever I’m trying to accomplish, whatever crime I’m trying to solve, worth the danger to me or my deputies? To the people who might get caught in the crossfire?”

“So then if it’s too risky, you don’t solve the crime?”

“No, honey. If it’s too risky, I find another way. Take a different route. You had no way of knowing what Emily Press’s cousin would do, but that’s the problem. Why do you think people in law enforcement never give out any details during an active investigation?”

“Because it could hurt their case?”

“Often, yes, but also because others could use that information to their advantage. Again, the family was more upset about the necklace than they were about Emily. Something didn’t add up and you knew that. In your gut.”

Auri dropped her gaze as a pink hue blossomed across her cheeks. “I did.”

“Okay, then. First, I’m putting alarms on your windows with a high-security surveillance system. No more sneaking out.”

She shook her head. “You don’t need to do that. It won’t happen again.

“Regardless. And I’m putting an ankle bracelet on you with GPS and electroshock capabilities.”

She swallowed hard. “Okay.”

Sun wouldn’t, of course. She didn’t even know where to find an ankle bracelet with electroshock capabilities. “And that’s just the beginning, hon.”

“I know,” she said with a sob, and Sun had to steel her heart. There had to be consequences. “For now, I want you to think about it and tell me what punishment you think you deserve.”

“What if I can’t?”

“I have faith.” Sun knew that no one would be harder on Auri than she would herself. Maybe even a little too hard, but maybe that was what she needed. A harsh dose of reality.

After a fresh round of tears, Auri nodded in agreement.

It took a while but they finally got the whole story from her. It demolished Sun’s heart to hear her daughter try to explain what it was like to find Mrs. Fairborn tied up. How she rushed in without even thinking, putting everyone in even greater danger. How she watched as the knife sank into Cruz’s abdomen.

Sun decided right then and there the fiery minx learned her lesson in the hardest way possible. She would’ve given anything to protect her from it, too. Still, what she did could not go unpunished. Sun saw several thousand hours of community service in her future.

Possibly worse, for Sun anyway, she had to tell Auri about Cruz’s father. Levi held the pixie for a long time while Sun stroked her hair, worried she’d broken her. They cried together and waited as they brought Cruz, barely conscious, to his room across the hall.

“What do I say to him, Mom?” she asked between sobs.

“Just be there for him, honey. That’s all you can do.”

Sun checked on her other stabbing victim, Keith Seabright. They’d downgraded his prognosis from critical to serious but stable. With that bit of good news, Sun had to get back to the office.

She took her parents aside before she left. “Okay, guys. She is connected to an IV. Her ass will show if she tries to make a run for it and that will mortify her. And she literally had brain surgery. Do you think you can keep her from sneaking out?” She had to ask.

The guilt on their faces was priceless.

“And I’m teasing you because you have to stop, too. This was not your fault. Any of it.”

Her mom’s expression told Sun she was not convinced. “We showed her the articles.”

“No, she found those articles all on her own because she’s a true-crime aficionado. You have no idea how many times I’ve had to drag her away from the Investigation Discovery channel. She knows more about hiding a body than I do.”

“We’re sorry either way, Sunny,” her dad said. “If we could change what happened—”

“I would do it, too. And as many times as I’ve plotted your deaths for something that actually was your fault, this is not one of those times.”

“You’ve plotted our deaths?” her mom asked.

“So many times.”

“Like, how recently?”

“Remember Carver?” she asked, giving attitude.

“Oh, yeah.” Her dad scratched his chin. “Our bad.”

“Your bad?” she asked. “You set me up with a hitman and it’s your bad?”

Her mom shrugged. “He seemed okay at the time.”

She leaned in and kissed her cheek, then gave her dad a bear hug. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She had to get to Del Sol to check on the progress of the Kent and the Fairborn cases. Billy Press’s family was on the way from Amarillo, and they apparently wanted that damned necklace. They were about to be sorely disappointed. Sun decided right then and there to hold that thing in evidence as long as humanly possible. As soon as she could find it.

She promised to be back by nightfall and left Quincy in charge, only because he refused to leave. She took Levi with her. He had a business to run, after all, and he needed to get some rest that did not involve a plastic lounger that reclined about as much as a seat on a jetliner.

On the drive home, her mind spiraled in a thousand different directions. The irony was not lost on her. Kubrick Ravinder stabbed her rescuer fifteen years ago before her rescuer won control of the knife and slid it into Kubrick’s chest.

And now Cruz. The saying that truth was stranger than fiction had never been more accurate.

Her thoughts, as they always did, eventually circled back to the man sitting beside her. The way he cared for Auri. The way he held Sun in the shower, completely unfazed by the fact that she was soaking him through. And the way he looked in the red T-shirt she bought one size too small, swearing it was all they had. It showed every muscle. Every dip and every curve. Every ounce of perfection.

Rojas called and snapped her out of her musings. The Bluetooth in her cruiser automatically picked it up and blasted the ringtone throughout the speakers. Levi had been just as lost in his thoughts as she was hers, but it was impossible for him not to hear the conversation.

“We got this, boss,” Rojas said. “You do what you need to do. We have everything covered. Also, Randy set fire to the station.”

“Damn it,” she said, only half paying attention to him and more paying attention to the way Levi’s biceps stretched the hem of the sleeve. “He didn’t set off the suppression system, did he?”

“Only in the locker room.”

“Okay, good. Who’s Randy again?” She loved saying that. It was too bad Carver turned out to be an assassin and not a pest control technician. And that he was dead. She could’ve used him to trap the little guy.

Not thirty seconds after she ended her call with Rojas, her phone rang again.

“Hey, Sunny Girl,” Royce Womack said.

“Hey yourself. What do you got?”

“So, you were right. My contact looked into one Mr. Carver Zuckerman. He wasn’t so much a famous hitman as a wannabe famous hitman.”

“Which, who doesn’t want to be the top in their field?” she asked. “Goals, Womack. We all need them.”

“We do at that. I did look into his Russian hit. It really happened, but it was by one of the most famous snipers in Russian history. Your guy has never even been out of the country.”

“Ah, but maybe that was his genius. He was a hitman, after all. Surely he had multiple identities.”

“Yeah, no. He was on absolutely no one’s radar. How’s the kid?”

“Better. Thank God. Thanks for looking into this, Royce.”

“Any time. It looks like Matthew Kent is going away for a much longer stay than he’d planned now that his ties to the Delmars have been exposed and the money he had hidden all these years has been found.”

“Good,” she said, hoping Addison filed for divorce first thing that morning.

“How ’bout I buy you coffee again soon. We can watch the sunrise together.”

She couldn’t help but notice Levi tense just ever so slightly. “What’s with this again crap? You haven’t bought me coffee yet. I seem to remember someone forgetting his wallet last time.”

He laughed and hung up.

“I thought he was retired,” Levi said.

“He is. He just helps out when I need him.”

“I know the feeling.”

She couldn’t argue that, but the way he said it, like she only called him when she needed help with a case. Not that he was wrong. She did only call him when she needed help with a case, but to call otherwise would imply they had a relationship of some kind. And the phone worked both ways. If he wanted to see her more often, he damned well knew where to find her. By the time she’d worked up the nerve to tell him that very thing, they were back at the station and thus Levi’s truck.

He got out of the cruiser and turned toward her. The analytical once-over he gave her piqued her curiosity, especially when he said, “You can do better than Womack.”

He closed the door before she could question him.