A Minute on the Lips (16 page)

He leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb. “Probably so. If you have time, drop in and we’ll go to lunch.” Sad to let her go, he added, “And we’ll text.”

Andi waved her yarn skein. “Thanks for the help. And the pie. And the yarn.”

He didn’t move until she drove by the newspaper office.

After he wandered back inside and locked the door, Mark dodged his mother to set the safety-issue stack of dishes in the kitchen sink. If he forgot them and someone knocked them over and was injured, Andi would never let him live it down. The idea that someone could get hurt was hard to believe, but he didn’t want to deal with “I told you so” for the rest of his life.

And as he realized he was thinking in terms of the rest of his life, he froze. He’d started this as a way to get the story and help the sheriff. That was it. Now he was missing her when she wasn’t around, plotting how to kiss her next and imagining the long term.

Clearly he should never have answered Jackie’s phone call that morning. He could have wasted some time out on the lake and avoided this...whatever it turned out to be. If she left tomorrow, he’d miss her. And if she didn’t...he was afraid it would hurt even more when she did go.

His mother had the radio cranked, blasting country music and singing along at the top of her lungs, while she mixed her third pot of chili. She was taking this cook-off seriously.

As he tried to calm his breathing, he was thankful he had no neighbors.

With a slow turn of a knob, she lowered the heat under the pot so it could simmer. After a quick glance at his face, she also turned off the radio.

“Better? You look a little sick.” His mother’s warm brown eyes were beautiful. He hated that they were also sharp.

He rubbed his stomach and nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

His mother tilted her head. “Was it the pie? Did Andi like it?” She looked in the sink. “That’s not what made you sick, is it?”

Mark shook his head and reached over to run hot water into the sink. He laughed as he started adding the rest of her discarded utensils to the soapy water. “Nah, nobody’s sick. And yes, she loved the pie.”

His mother crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter to watch him wash dishes. “Then what’s the problem?”

He shrugged a shoulder as he worked through the stack of dishes, washing and rinsing them before putting them in the drainer. “No problem.”

“Right. Then why are you so pale? You look like you ran into a ghost downstairs.”

There was no way out of it. She would keep asking questions until he either told her the truth or ran to his bedroom and slammed the door. He was too old for slamming doors. Probably.

With a sigh, he turned off the water. He pulled the towel from behind her and dried his hands as he tried to figure out the least inflammatory way to say what he needed to say.

His mother snorted. “You realized she could be the one who might convince you to take another chance on women, dating, love and forever. Right?”

Even hearing his mother say it like that made it impossible to breathe easily. He couldn’t admit that he was farther down the road than his mother knew.

She patted him on the shoulder. “Good. It was bound to happen sooner or later. And I like her. She’d be good for you.”

He shook his head. “I’m not so sure.” When his mother raised an eyebrow, he said, “She’s too serious, she doesn’t trust me and she works too hard. It’s a little like looking the old me in the face sometimes because she never stops thinking, planning, working. And she wants out of here so badly she’s probably got flight schedules memorized.”

As she put away the cups, his mother asked, “What’s the worst that could happen, Mark? What are you afraid of?”

What a good question. And a scary one. He crossed his arms over his chest and forced himself to say, “My heart could be broken again. She could leave. Or worse, I could spend who knows how long with another woman who doesn’t trust me until she leaves
and
breaks my heart.” He nodded. “Yeah, that would be the worst. Or...maybe I’d give up this place that makes me happy to go where she’s happy, get caught up in the race, and mess everything up all over again. That might be the worst.” The fact that he couldn’t rule it out, even after dealing with the sleepless nights and bad memories, bothered him.

“Right. And what’s the best that could happen?” his mother asked as she leaned a hip against the counter.

His stomach was a hard knot. “Everything that I’ve always wanted, the stuff I thought I’d lost, like a family and kids and just...loving someone, it could all come true.”

His mother sniffed. “It’s going to come true, Mark. If you let it. Maybe it’s Andi. Maybe it’s not, but you have to try.”

That was easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one taking the risk. “I’ve been pretty happy here, but investigating this case with her...it’s been just the right thing for me.” Mark folded the towel and threw it back on the counter. “Why did I have to pick one who’s so hard to work with? She won’t make anything easy.”

His mother leaned forward. “Easy’s boring. Always has been, always will be. Go for exciting. Besides, there’s one thing I know about the sheriff. You won’t have to worry about her sneaking away if things get too difficult. Or giving up easily on something she really wants.”

Mark snorted but he wasn’t so sure. She worked hard, didn’t give up on her career, but he wasn’t sure about people. She’d been happy enough to cross her hometown off the list. “You’re probably right. She’d be more likely to strike a mortal wound.”

His mother hugged him. “I like a woman who knows how to keep a man in line.” When he frowned at her, she laughed. “I guess you better decide whether you like it, too. And if you do, just how much you’d be willing to gamble to make it work.”

He scratched his head. “I don’t think there’s much deciding left to do.”

His mother’s smile was blinding. “Then maybe you bet on yourself, Mark.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight once more. “You’re a smart boy. You’ve already been down the road you’re afraid of. You know you’ve changed. If you hadn’t, we’d have killed each other three times by this point of my visit.” She patted his shoulder. “This time do it differently. I have no doubt that you’ll take your second chance and run with it, whether you do that here or somewhere else. You know what you want now. As long as you keep that in sight, it’s going to work out.”

Mark wanted to believe he’d learned from his mistakes, but following the story was exhilarating and seeing his words in print was satisfying. One thing was certain. Hiding was no way to test himself. He needed to go for what he wanted, take the bumps that came with failing and enjoy the ride.

His mother reached over to turn the radio back on but kept the volume low. “You know, when I move to Tall Pines, I think I could stay here for a while, just to make sure this town works for me.”

“And where am I going to stay?” The apartment was three rooms: bathroom, bedroom, living room/kitchen combo. Two people would never be able to live here. Having his mother stay for two weeks was a test of his nerves and self-control.

She shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. We have a little time to figure that out.”

He watched her for a minute, trying to understand what she was saying.

Finally, she patted him on the cheek. “When the babies start to come, we’re all probably going to need bigger spaces.”

He started to ask “Whose babies?” but he hadn’t lost all his wits. She was already planning on grandchildren. He was still trying to finagle a real date out of her earmarked baby mama. The one who sometimes looked at him like she expected him to disappoint her at any time. And the one who wanted to be anywhere but here, the place he’d quickly decided was his home.

The one whose kiss made him feel strong and alive and a little in love.

He laughed as his mother danced in front of the stove. One thing was for sure: the idea of babies hadn’t sent him screaming from the tiny apartment. That had to mean something. Mark had a feeling it meant something big.

* * *

O
N
F
RIDAY
, A
NDI
had just grumbled a good morning to Lori and dropped into her desk chair when she got a text from Mark. He’d been true to his word and they’d texted back and forth while she juggled the nightmare that was the Fall Festival. This would probably be the worst day yet, but Andi could still feel the stupid grin on her face when she read,
Good morning, beautiful sheriff. Looks like you’re on top of things. Any progress on the case?

Andi looked over the stacked-up reports, loose messages from the reservists who would be partnered with her full-time deputies, the blinking light on her phone and her email in-box, which contained thirty-seven emails that had come in overnight.

Finally, she texted back,
Not much. It’s all Fall Festival, all the time right now.

Andi halfheartedly clicked on the first email message while she picked up the phone to listen to her voice mail. Lori had responded to Andi’s plans for Saturday’s parade. Last year, Lori and Dan had ridden in the front to toss out candy and Nettie rode shotgun with Andi. This year, Andi had switched it up, and Lori would ride with her. She was going to make Lori like her if it killed her. Or maybe Lori. Lori’s answer to this was one word:
Fine.

The first voice mail was from Marcus Hightower. “All right, Jackson. Call me. I mean it. I have an empty desk. I want to fill it.” She could see him sitting in his leather office chair in his spotless office in Atlanta. His frown would be impressive.

But she didn’t have time today. Besides, she had no idea what to say.

When her phone dinged again, Andi picked it up to read Mark’s answer.
Here, too. Mom’s pretty hot and spicy. And so is her chili. She’ll give J a run for his money.

Before she could answer, another message came in.
You’re doing a great job, beautiful sheriff. I hope you have an easy day. xMark

Andi had wanted to put her head on her desk and cry before this, but now there were actual tears burning in her eyes. And this was when Lori knocked on the door.

“Hey, Sheriff...” She paused, probably wondering if Andi was getting ready to snap under the strain. “I wanted to let you know we’ve got the candy ready for the parade. Nettie and I’ll split it up in the morning.”

Andi nodded. “Thanks, Lori.”

She turned to go but paused in the doorway. “Everything okay, Sheriff?”

“Yep,” Andi said. “Just a couple more days, right?”

Lori smiled, blew a bubble and popped it before she disappeared. And Andi knew exactly how that piece of gum felt: stretched out and losing its flavor.

* * *

A
NDI
WAS
SO
BUSY
on Saturday she didn’t have time to catch her breath until she and Lori were riding in the parade. Lori was wearing her dispatch uniform and tossing handfuls of chocolate to kids along the parade route. Andi had wondered once if she’d ever seen a real smile on Lori’s face, but today she had one. And when Lori saw her two boys standing on the sidelines with her husband, Ralph, she clapped and waved and generally acted like a person who loved the world. It was nice to see. Unusual but nice.

As Andi turned off the parade route, Lori leaned back against her seat with a happy sigh. “I’ve always loved riding in this parade.” She looked over at Andi then quickly glanced out the side window. “When I rode with Daddy, I almost felt like a princess. I wish the boys had a chance to ride with their grandfather now that they could remember it, but...”

Andi was tired. Her brain function had shrunk down to survival mode, so she was able to focus on getting from one place to another in time to meet this obligation or that one. She hadn’t figured out a tactful way to question Lori about the truck and where she’d been when someone broke into Jackie’s. Under other circumstances, tact was pretty low on her list of concerns, but with an employee who probably had an Andi doll with pins in painful places, she didn’t want to make things worse.

Andi parked the car next to one of the barricades around the courthouse, and they both got out and headed to the chili cook-off. Andi couldn’t help but smile as Lori’s boys squealed and tackled her legs. Andi might have trouble with the whole family, but the happiness of two identical little rascals was nice to see.

Mark wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a quick peck on the lips before he gestured at the sophisticated woman next to him. Her smile seemed genuine and one small slice of Andi’s tension slid away. “Beautiful sheriff, you remember my mother, right?”

Andi was embarrassed and pleased at the same time, but she held out her hand and greeted Mark’s mother. “Of course, Mrs. Taylor, it’s nice to see you again and under happier circumstances.”

Mark’s mother shot a look at Jackie, who was watching the whole conversation closely. “For now, but when I win this cook-off, you may have to prove my innocence.” Clearly, Mark’s mother held a grudge. Andi appreciated that in a woman.

Andi nodded over at Jackie. “Going to win again this year, Jackie?”

He snorted and made an ugly face. “You sure don’t seem to be making much progress in finding the other trophies so I guess I’ll have to replace them the hard way.”

Andi gritted her teeth in what she hoped would appear to be a smile. “Well, I have a new lead that I’ll look into after the festival. And for now, I’ll wish you good luck.”

Mark raised an eyebrow, and she nodded once before she was distracted by Ralph, who had entered the contest. Ralph had worked in one of the hardware stores in town, but maybe he loved to cook.

“Jackie, has Ralph ever entered the cook-off before?” If anyone would know, it was Jackie. He probably had a dartboard with every competitor’s face.

He stirred and snorted again. “Naw, he doesn’t stand a chance, either. I expect the newspaper man’s mama is my only real competition.”

Andi stepped back as the judges made their way down the line. She made silent bets on the winners. The judges stayed longer at Jackie’s table, Mrs. Taylor’s and Ralph’s. Lori’s boys were ecstatic when the judging was over. Andi heard one of them say, “Hey, Ralph, I bet you’re going to get another trophy!”