Unable to Move On

Chapter 1-1

Chapter 1

“Mr. Leonard?”

Dominic was so intent on the line he had been drawing that he jumped when a soft voice came from behind him. His hand slipped and the pencil came off the ruler, dragging sharply across the page. He growled. Now the blueprints were ruined. He would have to start again.

He turned and glared at the young woman in the doorway.

“I thought I said not to disturb me, Holly.” Dominic snapped. “I’ve got to get this done, and now I have to re-do it.”

“Sorry, Mr. Leonard.” The live-in nanny didn’t even blink as Dominic attempted to stare her down. “But Mr. Fletcher is here. He’s bought Harriet her birthday present. I thought…”

The mention of the name had Dominic pausing. Richard was here? From what he had said before he headed off to work the week before, a case was taking him into the middle of Georgia. Something about a serial killer. Dominic hadn’t asked; he had learnt shortly after meeting his neighbour that it was best not to talk much about Richard’s work. It had the tendency to keep him up at night.

He found himself smiling. Somehow, Richard had managed to get here. He put his pencil and ruler aside, hopping off his stool.

“I’ll come through. Are they in the lounge?”

“Yes, but what about your contract?”

“Holly…”

“Okay, fine.” Holly threw her hands up and shook her head. “I’ll shut up.”

Dominic frowned. Holly had come with excellent references and she had the qualifications needed to dealing with someone who had special needs, but that didn’t mean he had to like her. Her immature attitude drove him mad. Lewis hadn’t minded so much, and he had been the one to hire her.

Dominic hadn’t realized there was an ulterior motive to hiring Holly until much later.

“Would you fix up some coffee for us?” He said abruptly as he stepped past her. “Chances are Mr. Fletcher’s not had any for a while.”

“I’ll say.” Holly giggled.

“Holly, that’s enough.”

“What? I was just…”

“I know what you were just.” Dominic glared at her. “I don’t want to hear it. I kept you on because you’re damn good at your job and Harriet loves you. Change isn’t great for her. Don’t think I won’t fire you if you carry on like that.”

Holly folded her arms and snorted.

“Lewis said I was secure in my job no matter what.”

“That was Lewis, and I’m not him. And even if you were secure, that doesn’t mean you can be disrespectful.” Dominic jerked his head towards the kitchen. “Go on.”

Holly pouted, but she went, her hips sashaying as she went down the hallway. Dominic rolled his eyes and turned away. The girl was barely out of college. Even with her qualifications, she was insufferable. Dominic had wondered at the time why Lewis would want to hire someone who had the requirements but not any proper experience.

He had been a little slow on the uptake.

Dominic felt his heart picking up pace as he went towards the lounge. Richard had told him that he might not be back in time for Harriet’s birthday, which had been the day before. Harriet had been heartbroken that her favorite person wasn’t going to be around, and Dominic wished he had been able to distract her from that. Harriet adored Richard and latched onto him whenever possible. Richard didn’t mind and he was very patient with her.

Lewis had always said Richard seemed to be treating Harriet like he was her father, but Dominic pointed out that the title of father belonged to the two of them and nobody was able to take that away. Even pacified, Lewis wasn’t happy.

He wasn’t here anymore to sit in the corner and whine. Dominic hadn’t realized how much of a relief it was not to hear the whining until after Lewis was gone.

His daughter was sitting on the floor playing with a huge jigsaw Dominic had never seen before. Wrapping paper and the box were strewn across the floor. Sitting beside her, helping her put the pieces together, was a silver fox. His Irish brogue sent shivers down Dominic’s spine, and he had to count to ten in an effort to calm himself down. His partner of twelve years had not been dead long, and yet his body was lusting after someone else. That wasn’t right, surely?

Dominic cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, stepping into the lounge with a warm smile.

“Richard.”

Richard Fletcher looked up, his hazel eyes meeting Dominic’s. He smiled, one that lit up his face, and he stood in one fluid motion.

“Hey, Dominic.” He drawled. “I know it’s a bit late, but I thought I’d bring over Harriet’s birthday present.”

“And I love it!” Harriet declared. She waved excitedly at Dominic. “Look what Uncle Richard got me, Daddy!”

“It’s lovely, sweetheart. And have you said thank you?”

“She has.” Richard ruffled the little girl’s hair. “This girl never forgets her manners.”

Dominic’s chest swelled with pride. He and Lewis had made an agreement that they wanted their daughter raised with good manners. Harriet had taken to it naturally, and it made Dominic smile whenever his daughter remembered. Lewis had been just as proud.

Dominic tried not to think about Lewis. He had betrayed the family in more ways than one. Dominic shouldn’t have been giving him the time of day. He turned to Richard as the man walked over to him. The man did look pretty handsome in a suit, tie loosened and shirt open at the neck. His jacket parted and Dominic saw his gun holstered to his waistband, along with his badge clipped beside it. Even off-duty, Richard came packing.

And he certainly had a lot of packing. Dominic’s eyes drifted to Richard’s crotch, and then he looked away when he realized where his thoughts were going. Richard approached him and gave him a hug. Dominic wasn’t about to argue with that; Richard had no problem getting close. Lewis had drawn away from personal displays of affection in recent years, something Dominic enjoyed.

After everything that had happened, it was no surprise to realize why he had withdrawn.

Dominic tried not to think about his former partner and focused on the man in front of him.

“How was Georgia?”

“Hot and frustrating.” Richard stepped back and shrugged. “The case has been wrapped up, though. Just finished writing up my report.”

“That’s something.”

Richard grunted. Then he looked down at Harriet, who was happily working on her jigsaw. Her dark head was bent, her curls bouncing around her face as she fitted the pieces together. Richard lowered his voice.

“How’s Harriet holding up over this mess?” He whispered.

“She’s not doing too badly, actually. I think all the tears have come out, and as we’re sticking to routine more than ever, Harriet’s not asked much.”

“I suppose that’s good, in a sense.” Richard paused. “What about you? How are you holding up?”

Dominic wasn’t sure how to answer that. He had turned it over in his mind several times as he tried to figure out what had happened and where it had all gone wrong. Lewis had hurt him badly, before and after death.

Everything was a complete mess in his head. Dominic rubbed his hands over his face.

“I guess I’m just too angry to be upset. I am upset, yes, but the anger’s much stronger.” He sat on the arm of the couch. “He betrayed me, Rick. I can’t forgive that, even though he’s dead. I shouldn’t be having ill will towards the dead.”

“I know.” Richard touched Dominic’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. “It’s going to take some time, but you’ll get there.”

Dominic could feel the heat from his hand sinking through his shirt. Richard always seemed to have a warm touch. Dominic had noticed it before, and it wasn’t until now that he was always looking for an excuse to touch Richard, even if accidental. Lewis had noticed and he hadn’t been happy about it.

At least Dominic hadn’t been cheating in the relationship. Not like Lewis. And not as brazenly as he had done.

“Mr. Leonard?” Holly was in the doorway, holding two mugs of coffee. “I have coffee for you and Mr. Fletcher.”

“Thanks, Holly.”

Dominic took his mug and took a hefty sip. It tasted bitter, and Dominic had a feeling Holly hadn’t put the sugar in that he liked. Richard took his mug from Holly with a polite smile.

“Thank you, Holly.”

“Mr. Fletcher.” Holly flashed him a bright smile, one that she had often reserved just for Lewis. “It’s good to see you again.”

Dominic watched as she touched Richard’s fingers while passing the mug to him, hesitating for just a moment before pulling away. With a final coquettish look at Richard, Holly sauntered out of the room. As she disappeared into the hall, Richard stared at Dominic.

“She’s still working for you? After what she did?”

“Harriet’s attached to her, and you know what my daughter’s like with change.” Dominic sighed. “I’m not happy with her still being here, but as long as she stays with Harriet, I don’t have a problem with her.”

“You already have a problem with her.” Richard pointed out. “She had an affair with your boyfriend.”

Dominic didn’t need to be reminded of that. He could still remember the moment he walked in on the pair of them. Two hours later, Lewis was dead. Part of Dominic felt as though it was his fault, but he pushed that aside. Lewis had always been a careless driver. Everyone had commented on it. It was going to happen sooner or later.

“I’ll sort it out. Really,” Dominic insisted when he saw Richard’s sceptical expression. “I will. Nannies who specialize in autism are hard to come by.”

Richard grunted.

“I know what you mean.” Then he brightened. “I tell you what. One of my co-workers has a sister who’s a professional nanny. Her charges are now old enough that they don’t need a nanny anymore, so she’s available. And she knows how to look after kids with autism.”

“She does?”

“I could give you her number, if you like. She’s married to a lovely woman, so I don’t think she’ll be sleeping with any future boyfriends of yours anytime soon.”

Dominic found himself smiling. Although the thought of having another boyfriend right now didn’t sit well with him. Lewis had left a nasty taste in his mouth.

“I’ll have a think about it.”

“Well, think about it quickly. You shouldn’t have to live in discomfort in your own home because of her.”

“I can handle it.”

Richard raised his eyebrows.

“Can you?”

Before Dominic could respond, Holly appeared in the doorway again. She cleared her throat loudly, and Dominic started. How long had she been standing there listening? Holly looked at him nervously.

“I’m sorry to bother you again, Mr. Leonard, but Mr. Davis is here. He wants to speak to you.”

“Will’s here?” Dominic frowned. “I didn’t hear the doorbell.”

“He came around the back. He’s in the kitchen right now and he’s not leaving until he’s spoken to you.”

Dominic groaned. Lewis’ family were a conservative lot who tried to ignore the fact that he had gone against the grain and had a civil partnership with another man. And Will was the worst. He was just downright mean. Dominic didn’t want to think how he treated his clients at work.

It was tempting just to tell him to piss off. But Will was hard-headed. He wouldn’t leave. Sighing, Dominic turned to Richard.

“Sorry about this.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Richard gave him a smile and took Dominic’s mug off him. “I’ll wait here.”

“I’ll stay with you.” Holly went to Richard and brushed her hand over his arm as she moved past. “Keep you company.”

Dominic rolled his eyes and left the room. Richard could take care of himself. He couldn’t stand Holly, either. And the sight of his nanny openly flirting with his neighbour had Dominic’s stomach twisting with jealousy.

What was he jealous about?