Danni Rose (The Sherwood)

“I’ll talk to her about him when I see her next. I had planned on checking on her and Margo next week to see how they were doing.”

He didn’t know who Margo was. “The younger sister?” He questioned John.

“Thirteen years old, nearly fourteen. She didn’t know that Danielle was seeing Jesse either. Danielle looks much older than sixteen.”

He thought about the pretty brunette that wrapped her arm around Laura’s shoulder. He tried not to think about what Jesse had them doing in his bed. Walker remembered questioning Laura’s age when she opened the door, but Danielle was underage. Did he have no morals at all? Yes, she didn’t look only sixteen, but she looked young. Did his brother even care?

“She does. I thought she was older than Laura.”

John nodded.

“I wish I had more to help you, John. I really wish that I did. I hope that what I’ve given you helps you find Jesse before someone else gets hurt.”

“You don’t think he killed these girls, do you?”

“I would like to think my brother hasn’t resorted to murdering, innocent, young women but the company he keeps wouldn’t think twice about it.”

John Johnson rose from his chair. He was tired. Walker could see it in his eyes. He and Hawk got out of their chairs. “Let me know if you need me Sheriff. I’ll do what I can to help.”

“Thanks Walker,” he replied. “I’ll let you know if I come up with anything.” The two men shook hands at the door then he and Hawk stepped through and walked down the hallway.

John led them to the front door of

the precinct. They went out into the cool, evening air where the truck was parked. Walker waited for Hawk to unlock his door then he climbed inside.

The pictures of Danielle Richards and Laura Roberts haunted him. Their eyes wouldn’t see another day because Jesse. Their hearts wouldn’t fall in love. They wouldn’t get married or have children if they wanted them. Their lives were over because of Jesse.

“Take me home,” Walker told Hawk.

He knew what he wanted to do. He had been waiting for Ike’s Halloween party. He wanted to surprise Danni but now it felt like it needed to be more of an intimate thing just between them.

The ring was hidden at her cabin. Once or twice, he thought she was about to find it when she was cleaning house. He had breathed a sigh of relief when she passed over it. Now, he was going home and getting that ring, getting down on one knee and asking Danni Rose if she would marry him. He didn’t have the right words. He was never good with feelings or words, but he wanted her to know that nothing in this life was worthwhile without her.

It didn’t take long for Hawk to drive through town and on the outskirts, there sat Danni’s cabin. She was on the front porch. She was in one of her tank style nightgowns, a sweater wrapped around her. She rose when from the swing when Hawk pulled in the drive. Her hair was around her shoulders in loose curls. The wind cause some of it to wrap around her face. She shoved it back and tilted her head to the side. She met him at the porch steps. Walker hesitated.

“Why are you home early?” She asked. Then she looked over his head. Hawk waved, and Danni waved back at him. Then Hawk backed out onto the street and left them alone. “Walker, what happened?”

He felt himself choking up. He didn’t know if he could tell her what had happened. Why two young girls had to die because of Jesse. Why she had to move in with their mothers if only for a week until he could be with her at night. He stepped up to her and gazed at her for several long minutes. Danni put her hand on his cheek and caressed him.

“How was Jackson?” He asked.

She smiled at him. “Do you give a damn?”

“Not really but I care about you,” he declared. “And you do give a damn.”

Danni laughed. “He’s doing as well as can be expected.”

“And you Miss Hatfield, how are you tonight?”

She frowned at him. “What happened Walker? Why are you home early?”

He tugged her to him. Needing her closeness to erase the images in his head. “The other young woman showed up dead in a ditch in Severe. She was sixteen, Danni. Only sixteen.” His voice broke and he buried his face in her neck. “Maybe I should have gone to your dad when he set me up. Maybe all this wouldn’t have happened.”

Danni caressed his neck and kissed Walker’s cheek. “You can’t blame yourself, Walker.”

“I do,” he declared. “I can’t help it. He’s my brother.” Then he told Danni about the images that he had to look at. The young girls’ lives cut short way too soon. The guilt was eating him up inside because if Jesse didn’t kill them, he got them killed.

“Walker,” she said his name softly. “It isn’t your fault. You were a victim of Jesse too.” Then she kissed him. Her lips were soft against Walker’s not demanding, reminding him why he was so desperate to get home to her. He lifted her off her feet and carried her in the cabin.