Angel's Hero

Chapter 24

"So you have a younger sister," Angel said as she popped a plump grape into her mouth. "And your mom is an interior designer. I already know your dad is a cop like you, or I should rather say, you like him."
They were sitting on her front porch, snacking on a platter she had made for them, and drinking wine. The platter included various cheeses, meats, fruit, crackers, bread - she loved bread! - and an assortment of spreads.
Conner had his bare feet up on the railing, while he leaned back in a low, cushioned, deckchair.
She sat in a matching one, and after piling some meat and cheese on a piece of bread, took her sweet pink wine, ice clinking, and lifted her feet to copy him.
Her legs weren't as long as his, so her toes just reached the bannister.
Conner laughed as her foot kept slipping off before he got up and pulled her closer to it, and to him.
The small picnic sat on the floor between them; she had yet to find the right table to furnish her patio with, so they made do. She had a mind to head to the thrift store and find out if they had an antique she could repurpose.
"Yup, Dad taught me everything I know," Conner returned to his seat, and took a long sip of his own wine.
"Is he as big as you?" Angel asked, letting her head fall back to look at him.
"Bigger," he laughed at her look of disbelief. He took his phone from his pocket and pulled up a photo onto the screen. He explained that they'd taken it at his farewell party before he'd made the move to Boothbay.
Putting her wineglass on the floor, she took the phone.
There he was; Conner with his family. They were all laughing as the photo had been captured, while they stood in a garden with a swimming pool in the background, and people milling about.
He had a huge grin on his face, and then next to him, was a man who was indeed bigger than Conner. Frank Grayson. Angel noted the similarities between father and son, and found herself drawn to the older man, and how his arm was wrapped around his son.
You could just tell they had an incredible bond.
Then there was Conner's mother. Angel couldn't help but exclaim, "Look how tiny she is! How did they ever..." her cheeks flushed furiously as Conner guffawed. "Sorry, rude."
He laughed harder.
Deidre Grayson looked to be even shorter than Michelle, but that could purely be because the men in the picture were enormous.
Her light brown hair was beautifully streaked with grey, and curled softly to her shoulders.
Next to her was a slightly taller woman, who was undoubtedly Josie, Conner's sister. They shared the same coloring, and Angel could see she had the same inky blue eyes as her big brother.
"How old are you?" Angel suddenly thought to ask.
"Thirty-four. And yes, there is a big age gap between us," Conner guessed Angel's next question. "Josie's just turned twenty-one. Folks celebrated a little too hard when I went to high-school."
"They look like a lovely family, Conner," she said as she passed back the phone.
The slight breeze in the air ruffled the edge of the dress she was wearing. She'd put the burgundy one on after Conner had asked her if it was the one she'd worn during their first heated moment. He'd seen the garment hanging in her open closet, and fingered the material, and looked at her from under his long eyelashes.
She'd blushed and laughed happily when he'd nodded vehemently that she should definitely wear it. This large man was showing her an increasingly endearing side of him, and it sunk her further into her feelings for him.
"So," Conner turned to her, having scooped a cracker through the humus. "Tell me what it was like growing up the daughter of a movie star."
Angel's smile dipped a little, and he must have noticed because he leant forward and took her hand.
"I'm sorry, if you're not ready to talk about her I understand. I didn't even think, what with everything that is going on, you might be missing her even more, or that it might be hurting all over again."
"I am, definitely, missing her a lot," Angel sighed as she squeezed his fingers. "But it doesn't hurt to talk about her anymore. So, ask me again."
His half smile creased the dimple in his cheek. Releasing her hand, he picked up his wine again, and a handful of mixed berries, before settling back.
"What was it like growing up with a movie star mother?"
Angel shook her head in amusement; he was clearly star-struck.
"It wasn't as grand as everyone seems to think. Sure, Mum went to lots of glamorous parties, and travelled the world for her filming schedule. But when I turned eleven, she realized that flitting me all over the globe wasn't the most ideal, so she sent me to boarding school back home in England. I saw her maybe three times a year until I finished school. But she was always home for Christmas, and I would get a whole week with her then."
"Wasn't your mother American? Born and raised?"
"Yup, but she moved over to England when she turned eighteen to follow some guy after her first movie, which was a flop, and he dumped her there. She was discovered over there for her role as Susannah Danger while working in a pub. You'd think that she would have returned to the States after that, but she said she fell in love with the British culture, and the accent. It delighted her that I had the accent, and she made me promise to never get rid of it."
"It's incredibly sexy," Conner said as he looked at her.
"What? My accent?" Angel couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out. "You're mad."
"I stand by my words. Sexy," his voice had dropped.
"Alright, alright, keep it in your pants, Grayson. We're having a nice chat here," she said mock-seriously as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She was feeling incredibly content to spend the rest of the day right where she was. They both looked through the trees to the water of Adam's pond. There were a number of canoes and swimmers making the most of the day's heat.
Angel closed her eyes to the next breeze and let it wash over her. She took a deep breath, letting it fill her from the soles of her feet.
"How did you get the name Lew?" Conner broke the silence.
"Hmm?"
"Your mother is Cassy Cole. How'd you end up with Lew as your last name? Is it your father's name?"
"No, Mum was born Cassandra Colleen Lew. Dad's wife didn't like the fact that he got another woman pregnant, so long story short, he left the picture completely," Angel said winking and clicking her tongue in her cheek, accentuating her sarcasm.
"I'm sorry," Conner looked at her with sympathy. "That had to suck not having a father."
"It wasn't too bad, but I would have liked to know him, at least. I am half Andrew Dalton-Fiennes, so it always made me angry that I hadn't ever met him. I tried to find him once I left school, without telling Mum."
Angel took a breath around the familiar ache in her chest.
"Did you find him?"
"Yeah I did, but I couldn't tell him who I was. He was just some snooty old man in a big fancy house. Asked for directions and left."
Angel sighed and looked at her hands. "If I'm being honest, I chickened out because he didn't match up to the image in my head. I didn't want the disappointment of finding out that he never actually searched for me, like my foolish childish heart had hoped."
"Have you tried since then?"
"Why would I? I'm happy here. I have my family," Angel took a big sip, draining her glass, thinking.
"Michelle and Sienna are incredible women, " Conner agreed. "And Jackson is probably the coolest little kid I've ever met."
Angel joined his smile. "They really are amazing. Plus I have Bo and Shelby, and Doc and Mavis. I'm not lacking here, Conner. I don't need him." And she believed it. She finally believed that she didn't need the man who had fathered her. A weight she hadn't acknowledged lifted off her chest. She didn't add Conner to the list of people she considered family. She couldn't say it out loud yet. If she did, she was afraid it would scare him off. He'd already fought being with her because he thought she would want something more.
Too late for that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Angel just hoped that in time, he would come around. Without meaning to, she spent the next couple of minutes imagining them, and their future together.
She saw them spending more evenings like this, watching the water. She saw them getting married, and starting a family. She closed her eyes, and imagined a photo of their family, much like the one of him with his, but framed and hanging in the lounge inside.
Or would they move somewhere bigger?
No, they'd build and add on here as they had more kids.
Whoa, snap out of it missy. Getting waaay ahead of yourself there.
Angel sat up straight and reached for the bottle of water next to her chair.
Thoughts like that would only lead to heartbreak if things didn't work out, and thinking about them too much was like tempting fate to jinx her.
"How about a swim?" Angel stood quickly.
"Sure, sounds good," Conner slugged back the last sip of his own wine before standing, following her inside. He helped her take the remains of their picnic to the kitchen.
They got their swimming gear on, and Conner followed her into the spare room to get some towels.
He looked at the posters on the walls, and trailed a finger over the one closest to him.
Her mother was on the back of a black stallion, the horse rearing up, while she swung a lasso.
It was the third Susannah Danger film, Dynamite, where Susannah had had to track down the notorious highway robber, Killshot Harry. She tracks him down, but he ends up capturing her instead. He charms her, and they end up falling in love. He leaves his life of crime behind to join her on her quest to save lives, and catch the bad guys.
It was Angel's favorite. Love overcomes all.
Ugh, you're such a girl.
"I loved this one," Conner said. "I always wanted to be Killshot Harry."
"Really?" Surprised, Angel looked at him.
"Hell yeah," he smiled. "The badass cowboy that never misses, and he lives his life on the back of his horse, making his own rules. Every little kid's dream."
He turned to her, and looped his arms around Angel's waist, dropping a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "Besides, he got the girl in the end."
Angel's heart leapt.
To sidestep her ridiculous emotions, she teased him. "Ah, yes. The big hero wins her heart over all the others. It has nothing to do with her and her own choices."
He dug a finger into her side to tickle her, making her squeal happily. "That's right."
They stepped from her cottage, Angel locking up behind them.
Conner cleared his throat. "Fourth of July is coming up, and Rob and Ray are throwing their annual barbeque. Does that sound like something you would be interested in going to with me?"
He'd asked her so casually she almost missed the undertone running through his voice.
He wasn't sure.
"What does this event entail? Do I need a ball gown?"
Barking a laugh, Conner slipped his fingers through hers as they made their way down the path to the water's edge.
"As it is my first time to the Mason Independence Day Barbeque, I requested all the details. I've been informed that the food will be catered for. Just family and friends are being invited this year, so they've asked us to bring whatever we want to drink, and then we can just enjoy the night. Loud music, laughter, plus the fireworks display."
"Sounds wonderful, count me in," Angel stepped up onto the platform. She kicked her shoes off, before removing her dress.
She readjusted the straps of her red swimsuit, the one piece had a sweet heart neckline much like a dress from the fifties would have, and had thick straps that went over her shoulders, instead of behind her neck. She hated bathing suits with behind the neck fastenings. You could really feet the weight of your girls with those. It hurt.
Her feet began to burn on the wood, so without waiting for Conner, she dove in.
He followed her soon after, clad only in blue swimming shorts.
They floated around each other, both enjoying the cool water.
"My parents will be there," Conner said quickly. As if he'd tried not to say anything, but hadn't been able to help himself.
"Your parents? Where? At the fourth of July party?"
He'd dipped lower in the water, his mouth disappearing below the surface. He nodded, eyes watching her carefully.
"Oh. Is that wise? Well, with Owen and all that?" She elaborated at his questioning look.
At the mention of her tormentor, a frown darkened his brow.
"I called them this morning while you were in the shower to tell them I didn't want them here while we are dealing with this psychopath. Dad retired two years ago, and has been miserable."
"And?" Angel prompted, not really grasping what Conner was saying. Or not saying.
"Basically, he told me he was coming to help, and that there was no way I could stop them. They've already rented a house. They arrive the day before the party."
"But that's three weeks away. All this could be over by then," Angel said hopefully.
They both ignored the fact that if it was all over in three weeks, there was a chance she could be dead.
Angel floated on her back, thinking about the possibility that Owen could kill her in less than a month. Twenty-one days.
She felt that familiar tensing in her chest that she recognized as panic.
Taking a deep breath she sank below the surface, and pushed herself down until her back hit the bottom, kicking her legs slowly to keep her there.
It was deep enough that her feet couldn't touch with her head above the water, while Conner could just touch the silt with his toes.
She could hear him moving towards her now.
She heard everything through the calming thick, quiet of the water.
The darkness calmed her, and only once her chest burned from the need for air, did she surface.
"Jeez, Angel," Conner said, moving closer to her and pulling her to him. "You part fish or something?"
"Or something," She smiled as she kissed him.
She wanted to play. She didn't want to think about Owen and what he had in store for her.
Conner seemed to understand, if his dark gaze was anything to go by. Their wandering hands soon elicited moans.
Her weightlessness added a new aspect which she fully intended to explore.
They started right there in the water, under the orange sky of a late summer afternoon, and finished it thereafter in the shower, and then again in the large bed before they slept soundly, wrapped in each other's arms.

*

The next day, while Conner was at the station, Angel was inside Sienna's house. She had been instructed by Amelia Du Pont to be around people. She was under no circumstances, to be left alone.
Du Pont had given Angel the run down on Sunday morning, before Angel and Conner had lazed the day away on her porch. She'd outlined what they were going to be doing from now on. Which was basically nothing.
They couldn't do anything until Owen made his next move. They had no idea what his plans were, or how things would play out. They didn't even know where he was. They'd inspected all recent purchases and rentals, but with the Summer vacations starting, and Boothbay becoming a hotspot for tourists around this time, it was taking them some time.
So, under the guise of appearing in control of the situation, Du Pont had told Angel to carry on with her life as normal. Except, she would have to be within sight of, or with, a police officer or FBI Agent at all times.
There were enough agents to rotate two or three a day in conjunction with the local police force.
The small task unit that had descended upon Boothbay Harbor seemed to be all anyone could talk about.
Throughout the week, Angel had been on the receiving end of sympathies and curiosities.
No one had come out to her house the day after the fire, thankfully. But from Monday, she'd had regular visitors, each of them inquisitive and trying to find out the latest information.
Currently seated inside the Winters' home, Angel was listening to Sienna tell whoever had knocked that Angel appreciated their concern, but wasn't up for visitors.
"Gosh, it's like you're a celebrity here, Angie!" Michelle teased as she brought over the two cups of tea.
Michelle seated herself on the sofa in Sienna's living room next to Angel. The faded red material of the seat might not look great, but it was very comfortable.
Angel should know, she had spent many a night camped out on this bad boy after drinking too much with Michelle. She briefly wondered if they had a drinking problem.
"Har har, you're hilarious," Angel took a small sip of her drink, testing its heat before taking a bigger mouthful.
She was frustrated. She was supposed to be in her bakery right now, doing what she loved.
But no, it was lying in ruins thanks to one particular bastard who'd deemed himself judge and jury on her life.
Angel bristled. She needed a distraction.
"So, tell me, how did those photo's work out for you?"
Michelle looked blank for a second, then jumped into action.
"Oh, I forgot to show you! I had some printed for you, as a thank you for helping out," she raced from the room.
Angel laughed. What could have made her friend forgotten?
Perhaps it had something to do with that steamy kiss she'd witnessed?
Hmm, seemed it was time to have that chat with her friend.
When Michelle came back into the room, she held large frames with both hands, the images pressed to her chest.
"Now, I couldn't decide which one was my favorite, so I chose these three," Michelle said as she took the seat beside Angel again.
Wordlessly, she handed one to her.
This image was one of the action shots, of her jumping over the log, Conner in the background, looking intense.
Her face was alight with challenge, as she stretched her leg in the jump.
It was a really great shot, and Angel decided she knew exactly where she was going to hang it in her cottage, in the hallway.
"I look so athletic. I love it," Angel put it aside as Michelle handed her the next one.
This one had a smile splitting her face.
It was of her and Conner doing the weightlifting scene.
She remembered how he'd reacted to her pressed against him, and how empowered she'd felt.
The look on Conner's face in the image was pure masculinity, as he looked at his guiding hand. Angel's own face was flushed, and the way she was leaning into him in the image showed a level of intimacy she hadn't yet felt with him at the time. She definitely felt it now, though.
"These are so good, I'm so proud of you!"
"Now, this one wasn't for the agency, but I really love it," Michelle said as she handed it over. Angel heard Michelle hold her breath, felt her friends eyes fasten on her face, watching for her reaction.
Angel couldn't speak.
A lump had formed in her throat as she'd laid her eyes on the photograph.
It was taken during that last laughing sprint when Conner had caught her in his arms and swung her around, before putting her down, and she'd turn to look up at him. Michelle had snapped the image in the short moment Angel had laid her hand on his bare chest.
Both of their faces were lit up with the laugh they had shared, as they looked into each other's eyes.
Michelle had managed to capture them as the sun had broken through the leaves of the trees, and they were surrounded by light, but instead of their workout clothes, she'd edited it like one of her mythical presets, and turned it into a beautiful digital painting. She'd given Angel longer hair, a soft white flowing gown, and delicately sparkling wings that trailed to the floor. Conner remained shirtless, and his shorts had been replaced with a longer covering. She'd left Conner human, while she'd turned Angel into a magical being. It was a powerful image.
"Wow," Angel said, her voice cracking. "I mean, Shelley, this is, just look at us, this is incredible. It's beautiful, thank you."
Moved, Angel turned to her friend and pulled her in for a hug.
"I'm so glad you like them," Michelle said after they parted.
"God, I'm in trouble," Angel said as she looked down at the photograph again, trailing her fingers over Conner's profile. "I mean, seriously, Shelley. That man is just absolute fire in everything he does."
Michelle laughed at her friend. "Yeah, well I told you sex was magic."
"No, I mean, it's more than that. I think I'm sunk on the guy. Oh, shit," Angel dropped her head to her knees, her forehead pressing to the glass of the picture frame.
She hadn't meant to say it out loud.
"And that's a problem?" Michelle rubbed a hand over Angel's back as she turned her head to look up at her friend.
"It is if he doesn't feel the same way. And I'm scared that he might not," Angel said softly.
"From my perspective, I'm pretty sure he's gone over you too. It's the way he watches you," Michelle elaborated when Angel frowned at her in question.
"Really?" Angel sniffed as she straightened.
"It's like an eagle watching a mouse. He locks on to you, and follows you with this intenseness. Hungry," Michelle shivered a little. "It's pretty hot, actually."
Angel smiled, bringing her index finger to her mouth as she sat up, considering that.
She hadn't noticed the way he looked at her. Maybe she should spend some time watching him.
She looked over to her friend, who was scrolling through social media on her phone. They'd gone silent for a bit, while Angel had pondered over Conner.
"So, tell me. Rob," Angel let the name hang, and watched as color stole up her friends cheeks, her gaze snapping back to her.
"Rob? What about him?"
"Oh, please, he hasn't been able to keep his hands off you. Always holding you, and comforting you. Kissing you..." Angel trailed off, looking to the ceiling.
"Kissing... were you spying on me?" Michelle threw a hand to her cheek in shock.
"Sorry, I went to the loo, and I saw," Angel shrugged.
"At his store?" She frowned. "But you weren't there."
"I was talking about the kiss, here, in your room," Angel hooted. "There's been more that that one?"
"Yes, okay, fine. There's been more than one," Michelle finally admitted. "More than two, actually, and more than kissing, if I'm being honest."
"OHMYGOD!" Angel jumped on her seat to bring her legs under her as she turned to face her friend, pictures safely out of the way.
"Shush, Mom will come running," the two women laughed as they held fingers to their lips like they had done when they were teenagers staying up late at night in the boarding house.
"Tell. Me. Everything," Angel punctuated her words with hand squeezes.
"Jeez, you're such a teenage girl!" Michelle chuckled, but got caught up in the excitement of Angel's mood. "When I went to tell Robert that you'd left to go meet Henry, we had a moment."
"Oh, so that's how Conner found out..." Angel gave Michelle a squint, but smiled, too.
"Yes, sorry, I just didn't know what else to do! You were so sad, and I didn't know how to help you," Michelle said with a pleading tone. "Besides, you can admit that it was an idiotic thing to do."
"Don't be sorry. It worked out," Angel wiggled her eyebrows, wringing a laugh from Michelle. "And yes, Henry turned out to be an ass. Okay, so back to you and Robert."
"Yeah, we had this moment after he called Conner, where we brushed up against each other as we were both leaving the room, and we just kinda, I don't know, breathed each other in for a minute. It was really intense."
"Wow, okay. Go on."
"Then, well I guess, you saw the kiss in my room. That got out of hand when we started groping with you all out here, and I told him now wasn't the time to be starting something up, and because I have Jackson. I expected him to back off, and understand, but he practically told me to shut up. And then he kissed me again."
"Good man."
"And then the next day, I went over to his place. I just had to see him. I couldn't sleep, think, or do anything without my mind circling back to him. So, I went over with the idea to tell him that until Owen was out of our lives for good, that he and I couldn't happen," Michelle sat back, silent.
"And?" Angel was rapt. "Tell me!"
"Well... you know," Michelle blushed and lowered her voice. "He told me that he wanted me, and Owen be damned." She closed her eyes and said the rest quickly, her cheeks burning. "We did it right there in his office, on his desk. It was intense. It was amazing. Christ," Michelle dropped her face into her hands.
"OHMYGOD!" Angel shrieked, then repeated in a loud whisper when Michelle grabbed her hand. "Oh. My. God!"
She wanted to scream. She wanted to raise the roof! Oh, how she wanted to go over and give Robert a big, fat kiss. What a wonderful, wonderful man to make Michelle blush like that!
"Stoooop!" Michelle drew the word out on a laugh.
"What happened afterwards?" Angel asked.
"He told me that he hoped that sealed the deal. That I was his woman."
"Really?" Angel said, irked, scrunching her face slightly at the possessive term.
"No, not like that. Not like Owen used to say it. He said it in a way that thrilled me. I like it," Michelle sighed.
"Wow," was all Angel could say.
"Yeah."
Angel wanted to ask how she was going to introduce Robert to Jackson, and then she suddenly remembered.
"How did the talk go with Jackson?" Angel hated to break their good mood.
"About as well as it could have," Michelle sighed again, pulled back to reality. "I mean, how else to you explain to a small child that the man who fathered him is a very bad man, and that there was a chance that he might try to take him away?" Michelle raised the palms of her hands and shook them at the ceiling, questioning the heavens before sagging back into the sofa. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs for comfort, her voice softening in her sadness. "He held on to me and cried that he didn't want to go with the bad man. He was shaking like a leaf, and it broke my heart to see him so scared. He slept in my bed that night."
"I think you did the right thing, Shelley," Angel took her friend's hand. "Considering that there is a very real possibility that Owen may try to take Jackson, or at least approach him, scaring him was probably best. This way, at least, you know he won't go with him willingly. Jackson is a fighter, and he will definitely fight him off."
Michelle blew out a breath through her pursed lips.
"Goddamn that son of a bitch for doing this to us, again."
"Yeah, goddamn Owen Scarlett."
The two women sat quietly for a moment, thinking things over, before, almost in unison, they decided to put the threat away, and enjoy each other's company.
"Now," Michelle said. "Tell me what happened when Conner showed up at the hotel. Do not leave out a single detail."