In the Line of Duty (6 page)

He swallowed as the kids came back in. He said his goodbyes to her and those cute boys of hers, and walked back across the street to his dog. He couldn’t resist turning to look back at her house, all brightly lit and warm and inviting.

He could see her silhouetted against the door. She gave him a quick little wave and shut it, and he started walking again.

It was really too bad neither of them was in a place to pursue this mutual attraction. But he knew he should just stick with Aldo. A dog wasn’t complicated. No game playing, unless you counted fetch. Loyal. No backstabbing. You knew where you stood with a dog, unlike with some people.

Matt flicked on the kitchen light and headed for the dining room table, stopping to rub Aldo behind the ears. Time for paperwork. It didn’t keep Matt warm at night, but at least it didn’t twist him up in those stupid knots, unlike Callie’s haunting caramel eyes.

* * *

Callie released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding after Matt left. She’d watched him walk across the street. It was silly but she couldn’t seem to pull her eyes off him. He took up so much space and made it so hard for her to act normally. She wanted to burrow into that broad chest—except at the same time she didn’t. She fiddled with her rings. She wore them as a shield; she knew that perfectly well. They deterred men, but not, apparently, herself from noticing Matt. Ironic.

She never thought she’d need to protect herself from, well, herself. She’d had everything under such tight control, she’d never expected to have issues like being attracted to another man. That another man might do for her what Jason had. And that said man would be a friend of Jason’s.

Wasn’t that a betrayal of her marriage somehow?

Callie turned back toward the living room. That was silly and she knew it. She’d even been to counseling, where the woman told her it wasn’t any such thing. Jason had been gone more than a year. Closer to two, really. He would never expect her to spend her life alone. But Callie had accepted it. That she’d raise their kids and then sort of see where she was when they left home.

Nice and vague.

But her mom had made an equally valid point the other day—that the boys would try to take responsibility for Callie at too young an age, and she didn’t want that, either.

She went in her room to grab more laundry, and sat down on her big bed for a minute. Oh, she didn’t really want to be alone for years and years on end. No one did. Raising two rambunctious kids was going to be tough by herself. But if she did look for a man it wouldn’t be a guy who ran an adventure company and did dangerous stuff like white-water rafting for a living.

And never mind she’d once loved that same kind of sport. In fact, it was how she’d met Jason—on a white-water rafting trip. She knew all about the risks he was taking. Had embraced them once, even.

She couldn’t take them anymore. Not after Jason’s death.

Sure, Matt also did kind things like play with the kids. Buy her pizza. Shovel her driveway. And apparently, take in strays like Aldo—from Afghanistan.

Make her feel all fizzy inside.

Callie tipped over onto her pillow and let out a frustrated roar. All tied up in knots over a man and she hadn’t even seen it coming. If that darn dog had just stayed in the right yard, she wouldn’t be in this situation. She rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. Eventually they’d have run into each other. He lived across the street from her. It was inevitable.

“You okay, Mama?” Eli’s voice startled her from her ridiculous musings.

She sat up and smiled at him, holding out her arms for a hug. “I am. Thanks, honey.” As she drew her little boy in, she closed her eyes tight, wishing she could just shut the rest of the world out.

* * *

The next day, Matt kept his thoughts off Callie, but it took far more effort than it should have. His day was busy, but she still crept into his head when he didn’t expect it.

“There’s a word my grandma used to use,” Marley said conversationally. “Woolgathering. For moments like right now, when it’s clear the person you’re talking to is off someplace far, far away, mentally.”

Caught.
Matt winced. “Sorry, Marley. I’ve just got—a lot on my mind.”

“Of course you do,” she agreed. “But you’re not a woolgatherer. So it’s a woman, right? Your neighbor, Callie?”

He was not discussing Callie with Marley. “I’m just tired and busy.” Both true, but Marley was spot-on with her assessment. Far too much so, in fact. So he’d be more careful not to wander off mentally and give himself away. But he still couldn’t seem to put Callie too far out of his mind.

“Well, the next step is mooning over her.” She gave him a smug little smile. “I give you a week.”

Matt tipped his chair back. “You’re pretty funny.” There was no way he’d moon over a woman. Ever. He’d never even gotten moony over Trina, and he’d been planning to marry her. Of course, she hadn’t been the type you got that way over. She wouldn’t have liked it.

Neither would Callie. He dropped the chair back down. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away. Not for his sake, but for what he hoped he could share with her boys. Jason’s boys.

Yeah, Jason was really the focus here. Or should be.

Marley snapped her fingers in front of his face. “There you go again. Boom, you’re gone. Is there something going on with Callie, Matt?”

Annoyed, he rubbed his hands over his face. He couldn’t deny anything, which annoyed him further. “Marley. Drop it. Please.”

She sighed. “Why does it have to be a bad thing?” Before he could answer, she held up her hands. “But okay. Consider it dropped.”

“What’s dropped?” Brice stepped up behind his wife and kissed her neck.

She reached behind her to pat his face. “The subject of Matt’s new woman, honey.”

Matt groaned. Brice lifted his head and met Matt’s eyes, his own full of humor. “Ah. I see. Who’s the woman, Matt? Callie?”

Hell. “No one. No woman.” Matt ground his teeth together as he stood up and moved around them.

“Definitely Callie,” he heard Marley say triumphantly. “Nothing else would make him so touchy.”

“Leave him alone, Mar,” came Brice’s amused reply.

Matt went into his office and resisted the far-too-teenage urge to slam the door. Great. Just great. Marley was on the trail now and it’d be hell to get her off it. And Brice would let her pick at him, unless Matt said something. And then he’d get knowing looks from Brice, too. But it was still probably worth the trade-off.

So he’d say something and hope his friend called his wife off the scent. Or maybe if he introduced Marley to Callie, she’d see there was nothing between them.

But that was kind of playing right into her hands, wasn’t it?

CHAPTER SIX

C
ALLIE
DIDN
’
T
SEE
Matt for the rest of the week. She caught glimpses of lights on in the house or saw his truck in the driveway, but Aldo didn’t show up once on her porch.

She told herself she was relieved, not disappointed. At all.

If she kept thinking it, it would be true. Right?

Either way, she was packing for her kids’ overnight stay with Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow. Miracle of miracles, she’d gotten all the laundry done, so she could cross that off her weekend list.

The TV in the living room was tuned to the evening news and the meteorologist was talking about some storms that were coming in off Lake Michigan. Not snow this time, but wind and rain. Very likely severe in nature.

Callie sighed as she dropped clean undies in Eli’s bag. Of course they would be. She hated storms, and knew how bad they could be here in the spring, but tried very hard to hide it from her kids.

The day had been unseasonably warm—hence the coming storms—and Callie had left the front door open. She heard a scratching and a whine and realized her earlier thoughts about Aldo had been too soon. Hoping the kids wouldn’t notice him, she hurried to the door, but then the dog started barking, bringing out the boys.

“Doggie,” Liam cried, and Callie bit back a sigh.

“Yep. There he is.” She put her hands on her hips and stared down into Aldo’s upturned face. He was watching her intently. She rubbed his head and he gave another bark, a sharp one, his eyes not leaving her. She snatched her hand back, but his tail was wagging.

“We take him home, Mama?” Eli asked, and Callie nodded. There was something off with the dog today. Maybe he didn’t like the coming weather, either. She looked across the street. The truck was in the driveway.

“Yep, we need to get him home. Let’s go before it rains.” The kids shoved their feet into their boots and they all trekked across the street, only to meet Matt coming out.

“Sorry, Callie. Darn it, I thought I’d gotten the problem fixed.” He reached for Aldo’s collar and his fingers brushed hers. She couldn’t let go of the collar, as she felt the dog quivering under her hand, but more than that felt the heat from Matt’s touch—and it wasn’t even intentional.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and Aldo hit the ground on his belly, whining. Callie let go, startled. Eli and Liam looked at Matt with huge eyes. “Doggie scared,” said Liam, and Matt nodded.

“He is. Loud noises scare him. It’s left over from where he lived before. I’m going to get him inside, where he feels safer.”

“I don’t like thunder, either,” said Eli solemnly, and Callie caught Matt’s gaze.

“Lots of people don’t like thunder,” he said calmly, and smiled at the boy. “You aren’t the only one.”

Callie glanced at the sky, which was the purple of a particularly violent bruise. She understood what Aldo was feeling. Her own anxiety was rising. But she forced her voice to be calm. “Well, we’ll head back in. Maybe put on a movie.” She started to turn the boys in that direction, and Aldo barked again.

“Why not come to my place?” The words were out before Matt could stop them. It was actually supposed to be a severe storm, so having them in his house meant he wouldn’t worry about them. He wasn’t responsible for them, he knew that. But they were beginning to be important to him.

“Can we, Mom? Can we?” Both boys turned their considerable charm on their mother, who gave Matt an exasperated look. He should have asked her first, out of their earshot.

Thunder rumbled again and Aldo whimpered harder. Callie looked up again as the wind gusted harder. “Okay,” she said, though reluctance was clear in her voice. “I’m going to grab a couple things. We’ll be over in five.”

He glanced at the sky. They wouldn’t have much longer than that. Aldo’s reaction told him this wasn’t going to be a run-of-the-mill storm. “Leave them with me. But Callie? Hurry.”

“Boys, go with Matt.” She met his gaze and he knew how hard it was for her to let them go. “I’ll be right back.”

He turned the boys and the dog toward his house, and she dashed off toward her own home. Aldo let out a howl that made him shiver.

The boys’ eyes were still huge. Matt smiled at them, hoping to reassure them. “He’s okay, guys. Just doesn’t like storms. He’ll be okay. How about a snack?”

“Okay,” Eli said, looking a little more heartened, and Liam nodded, too.

Aldo took off for Matt’s room, where Matt knew he’d settle in under the bed.

He’d left the TV on and the weather guy was talking. Not wanting to scare them, Matt grabbed the remote and muted it, then herded them into the kitchen. He didn’t have much in the way of snacks, but maybe he had some crackers or something else kid-friendly. He pulled open the fridge. A carton of milk, a few beers. Eggs. Cheese. Takeout containers. He pulled out the cheese and pushed the door shut. Doubtful anything else in there was edible. Callie wouldn’t be happy if he gave the kids food poisoning.

* * *

What was she thinking? Callie rummaged around, unplugged her computer, flipped on a couple lights so they wouldn’t come home to a dark house. Aldo’s reaction had unnerved her. She didn’t like storms herself. Never had. Jason used to laugh at her, but he’d been only too happy to distract her from her fear in the sweetest of ways.

Obviously Matt wasn’t going to do that.

Refocusing, she tossed a few extra things into the diaper bag they didn’t really need anymore, but which still came in handy. Snacks, a couple movies so the kids could choose, a sippy cup for Liam. Her phone, charger, her keys. A book, so she could pretend to be detached. Glow sticks just in case the power went out. Heaven forbid.

By the time she was on her front porch, locking the door, the wind had kicked up and the rain was starting. She raced across the street and found Matt waiting for her, the door open.

“Just in time,” he observed, closing it behind her. The thunder crashed, earning shrieks—not entirely of fear—from the kitchen, and Callie jumped.

She saw the concern on his face, and she felt her own heat in response. It was a silly thing, to be afraid of storms as an adult. He said nothing, though, and she turned away to rummage in the bag for the movies. “Is it okay if they watch these?”

“Of course.” He led the way into the living room. Callie toed off her shoes and followed him. He lowered his voice. “We’ll need to keep an eye out though, Callie. Some of these weather warnings look bad.”

“Oh.” She stared at the radar on the muted screen, at the angry swirl of reds and yellows rolling off Lake Michigan. That looked worse than “bad.”

He changed the channel to the video setting. “I’ve got another TV in the kitchen, and my laptop is charged. So we’ll use those to keep an eye on the weather. Don’t want to freak out the kids.”

She was touched by his thoughtfulness. “Right. Of course not. Thank you.”

The kids came into the living room and wrapped themselves around her. She held them, tamping down her own dislike of turbulent weather so they wouldn’t pick up on it. Storms tended to be violent in the spring. Not always resulting in things like tornadoes, but high winds, hail and lots of noise. Messy.

“Let’s get this started,” she said as cheerfully as she could manage. “Which one?”

The kids picked a Bob the Builder movie and Matt got it going. The boys settled on the couch with their special blankets that she’d grabbed, hoping they’d help keep the kids calm.

Matt met Callie in the kitchen. It was a guy kitchen, she thought, momentarily distracted by the huge coffee machine. He followed her gaze and gave a small smile.

“Good coffee was at a premium in my unit,” he said. “Now that I’m out, it’s one of those things I make sure I always have on hand.”

“Makes sense,” she agreed, and scanned the rest of the room.

The counters were bare except for a TV and toaster, and his laptop was open. There were cracker crumbs on the counter, where the boys must have been sitting. Her own counters were cluttered with canisters, kid stuff, paper, a few other appliances. She wasn’t sure how Matt did it. Of course, when you lived alone, there was far less stuff. Especially if, as he claimed, he didn’t cook.

He turned the TV on low as the wind picked up outside. She moved to the window to see tree branches whipping around and rain falling in sheets. It was dark enough that the streetlights had clicked on, even though it was still fairly early.

“Where’s Aldo?” she asked, suddenly realizing she hadn’t seen him since she’d come in.

“Under my bed,” Matt answered. “I check on him occasionally, but he won’t come out until it’s over.”

Callie understood completely. There were times she’d like to crawl under the bed and not come out. She felt a twinge of empathy for the embattled dog.

The weatherman talked on, showing places where hail was likely. Callie could hear it, hitting the roof and the porch. Matt gestured to her and she came over to see it layering the deck and yard in an icy mess. “Dime-size,” he murmured. “Big enough to do quite a bit of damage.”

The lights flickered and a cry went up from the living room. Callie hurried in there. Losing power was not on her list of favorite things to do with kids. They looked at her with big eyes and she sat on the couch between them and pulled them into her arms. They snuggled in and Callie forced her breathing to be level and even.

The power flickered again, then went out just as a huge crack sounded across the street. Callie jumped a mile, the kids screamed and Matt was in the room before she could even get to her feet.

“What was that?” She couldn’t keep the wobble of fear out of her voice. It was dark in here, too dark. “Where’s the bag? Guys, calm down, it’s okay. I’ve got glow sticks.”

“I think it’s in the kitchen. Hold on.” Thunder cracked again and she sat back down. Both kids immediately tried to climb into her lap, whimpering.

Matt was back in just a minute with a flashlight and the bag. She took both and, even with the kids on her lap, rummaged for the glow sticks she’d thrown in. She bent them to start them glowing and handed one to each boy. The bright sticks distracted them enough so they got off her lap, but sat close to her still. She slipped her arms around their shoulders and hugged them. “It’s an adventure, guys. And it’s almost over.” She hoped.

“Callie.” Matt was behind her, his tone grim. She looked up, and he pointed at the kids and shook his head.

“I’ve got to get up, guys.” She kissed each one on the head with a calm she didn’t feel, and walked over to Matt, the flashlight shaking in her hand.

He caught her hand and held it tight as he led her to the door. She let him, because he was scaring her. “Look.”

She gasped when she followed his pointing finger. The tree in her front yard had come crashing down and her house was hidden behind the massive branches. Matt grabbed her when she reached for the door handle with a half sob.

“You can’t go over there,” he said. “Not yet. Not in the lightning. Look at the tree.”

He was right, of course. In the flashes, she could see it had split clean in half, a sure sign it had been hit by lightning. Tears welled up and the flashlight fell to the floor as she pressed both hands to her mouth.

“My house. Matt! My house,” she whispered, panic, fear and a kind of sickness welling up in her in one nauseating brew. She shook so badly that she didn’t protest when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. She didn’t know if she could have stayed upright on her own. She burrowed in, gripping handfuls of his shirt, trying to stay under control, feeling his heartbeat under her cheek.
Breathe.

“I don’t want the boys to see this,” she whispered, and Matt stroked her hair and down her spine, then back up. Behind them, the kids were doing some sort of mock saber battle with the glow sticks. Thank God they were distracted.

Even in her panicky state, it felt good to lean on someone. Just for a few minutes. To draw strength from another person. This was what she’d missed so much about being married.

“You can stay here tonight,” he said simply. “There’s room. I’ve got an extra bedroom, and sleeping bags for the kids. You can have my room and I’ll sleep on the couch. We’ll go look at the mess as soon the storm stops enough that it’s safe to go outside.”

She took a deep breath and let it out in a shuddering exhalation. She stepped back, but Matt kept his arms around her loosely. She couldn’t make herself pull away and break the connection that she desperately needed. He was right. Depending on where the tree had landed, there was a chance her house wasn’t even habitable. “Okay. We’ll stay here.” A thought struck her and she turned to look again. “Matt. Is it on Colleen’s, too?” She knew her neighbor wasn’t home. She and her family had left on a vacation a few hours ago.

“I don’t think so. It’s hard to tell from this angle, though.”

Callie pulled away this time and he let her go, his hands grazing her hips as she moved away. She turned to look back at the broken tree, and squeezed her eyes shut tight, trying to stop a new flood of tears from breaking free. Crying would get her absolutely nowhere. She refocused on the issue at hand.

There was a change of clothes for both boys in the bag. Hopefully, a nighttime diaper for Liam, too. But nothing for her.

Though clearly, she couldn’t go home yet.

“Thanks for letting us stay,” she said, and her voice shook only a little.

Matt squeezed her shoulders, then let go. “You’re welcome. I’ll go check as soon as the lightning lets up.”

She thought of the rain pouring into her little house, if there were holes. Tears pricked her eyes and she tried very hard to keep them in. She didn’t want the boys to see her cry, and get worried.

Matt lifted her chin with a finger and that was all it took. “Oh, Callie. Come here.” He pulled her in and she leaned on his solid chest, taking in his scent, once again feeling the steady beat of his heart under her cheek. It’d been so long since she’d just—just been held. She couldn’t stop the seep of tears, but managed to swallow back any embarrassing sobs. She trembled from the effort and his arms tightened around her.