Authors: Kathleen Pieper
Maddy refused to listen. "No, it's settled. I'll take every precaution but I am not leaving my home. I can go get a new phone and I'll lock my doors. I don't want to take a chance on Aunt Polly getting drug into this."
Alec looked from one to the other, "Then let me stay here with you." At her dubious laugh, he waved his hands and nodded. "Okay, okay, I know how that sounds, and the last time I made the offer I was kidding, sort of. But, I'll sleep on the couch and be gone before you get up."
Aunt Polly chuckled, "I don't even buy that one, but it was a good try, Alec."
"Aunt Polly, please, I'm trying to be serious here. Neither of you seem to realize that these thieves could be dangerous. I just don't want you to be alone."
"Are you both through?" Maddy said with hands on hips, "You are blowing this all out of proportion. We'll go on like we planned, finish cleaning things out. You'll check some things out you said, Alec. Then and only then will I make any big decisions. If I'm going to run the minute there might be trouble here in Nielsen, I should have just stayed in Chicago. I know there's trouble there."
"Man, you are a stubborn woman." Alec growled, his eyes dark and disapproving.
"Sorry, but I'm not leaving." She folded her arms, ending the discussion.
"Well, would you consider leaving the house for the evening?" He said with just a tinge of sarcasm before he smiled at her.
"I don't know, what do you mean by that?" She asked suspiciously. "I said I'm not leaving, Alec and I meant it so don't try and trick me."
"I'm not going to trick you. I came over here to begin with to see if you're up to dinner tonight? I can dig out my old yearbook later, maybe a little reminiscing?"
"Oh, I don't know. I'm a mess. We've been working all afternoon." Maddy's first impulse was to pass, but something made her consider going. If she wasn't going to run scared from burglars, she sure wasn't going to be intimidated by Alec McKay. She just had to prove she could take care of her house and her heart. Maddy watched Alec's expressive eyes as he anticipated a refusal.
"Come on. We'll take Aunt Polly for a chaperone. I'm beginning to think you just don't want to go out with me.”
“
You've been out with Leland. You can go out with me. Come on, you're going to give me a complex."Alex pouted.
Maddy was beginning to think something was wrong with her. A great looking guy asks her out and she won't go? It was more than that. It was year's worth of uncertainty and betrayal from guys that always hurt her. Was it just too soon, or was she so scared she would take that chance?
Maddy considered it, running her finger along the edge of the lounger. "Okay, but this better not be some kind of trick to keep me from coming back here."
Leaning over her still-stretched out form, he took in every inch of the long, slim legs in short cut-off jeans.
His closeness was overpowering and Maddy swallowed hard. He'd surely move back so she could get up. But he didn't. Their eyes locked, their faces so close she could feel his warm breath on her face.
"If you want me to go, let me get up."
"Who said I wanted to let you go?" Alec leaned down as his lips touched her cheek. She could feel the corners of his mouth go up, his lips seeking hers softly. Maddy dissolved into his kiss with hesitant but pliant lips. The kiss felt secure and warm as he gathered her up in his arms. It felt so right, so familiar, too good to stop.
The faint honking of a horn finally separated them. A pick-up with familiar faces pulled up in front of the house. The hollering and hooting ended the moment, and reluctantly Alec turned towards them "Boy, you guys have lousy timing. What do you want?"
"Hey, Miss Maddy, how are you? Hey, Lawman, we just saw your car and thought we'd drop in and say "hi". Good thing, I think we saved her from a fate worse than death." The laughter began again and Alec planted a quick kiss on her flushed face.
"I'll pick you up at seven," he said, and she ducked behind the screen door waving at his friends.
"Don't forget I like chocolate ice cream." She retorted and shut the door firmly behind her.
Walking out to the street, he leaned on the fence and talked to his friends for a few minutes before they all drove off.
At 7 p.m. sharp, Alec McKay stepped out of a shiny, red pick up. A crisp red and black plaid cowboy shirt covered his wide shoulders and snug blue jeans seemed molded to his body. Shiny black cowboy boots and black felt cowboy hat finished off the outfit.
"Hi, there." He met her with a low throaty greeting as she opened the door.
"Hi, yourself. I'm kind of worried. I thought the good guys wore white hats not black." She teased and stepped back to let him in.
His sexy smile returned and he chuckled at her joke. "You clean up good, yourself. Different look without the head scarf. But good." He assured her.
It took her a moment to look at him and not see the deputy's uniform and gun, but only a moment. His clothes didn't just look like a sharp outfit on Alec, it was Alec. He looked the way he had in her young girl dreams and now she was seeing it for real.
"Believe it or not, I hear that a lot. But deputies are people too, and I like black for evening wear. Looks like you do, too. I like what you're wearing very much, Maddy."
She gave a little curtsy, holding out the full gathered cotton skirt, black with tiny little flowers and a white peasant blouse that slipped casually off her shoulders. A bright yellow silk flower sat tucked behind her ear, accenting the color of her hair.
"Thank you. Well, I guess we better go out, we're so well-coordinated."
He quickly turned and recovered a paper sack from the plant stand by the door. "Your wish is my command, my dear lady. Chocolate ice cream."
"Good. I'm quite serious about ice cream. I'll stick it in the freezer and then we can go."
As they walked out the door into the fresh night air, he made sure the door was locked and then whispered in her ear, "I'm getting quite serious, too, about you. It's why I don't like you staying here alone."
"I thought we were through with that discussion. Just don't get too sure of yourself, deputy. I've been mugged before. I can take care of myself."
"It's just plain Alec when I'm off duty, Maddy, and I wish you'd reconsider. I'm positive you can take care of yourself but you don't have to prove it. If anyone did break in you could argue them to death." He sighed and raised his eyebrows. "Okay, I won't push it. Let's just have a good time."
They had a wonderful meal at a little steak house in Grand Island. The drive was relaxing and Alec's company was enjoyable to say the least. He was still the flattering, teasing, young boyfriend of years ago, but with a mature side to him that fascinated her.
They lingered over wine and the talk came easily, and later a small band started to play. Maddy reluctantly let him take her in his arms for a dance.
"Remember the last time we danced?" Alec's blue eyes were sexy in the soft light, filled with memories.
"Vaguely."
"Oh, come on, you do, too." He swung her around smoothly.
"Okay, yes, the Homecoming Dance. So?"
"So? You can be so stubborn. If you hadn't moved away we might be married right now instead of just getting to know each other again."
"Well, so can you. I could say the same if you had just written or called me. Never mind, let's not go there. Not to change the subject, but does dancing come in handy for police work?"
"After tonight I'm going to see to it that it's a requirement. You realize if you hadn't gone out with me tonight I was going to have to arrest you for speeding or something." Without missing a beat he rested his chin on her soft hair and breathed the light scent of her perfume.
Leaning back, Maddy stared at him suspiciously, "I just bet you'd try that. For your information, I don't speed."
"Well, you know that," he twirled her around once and brought her up close to his face, "and I know that, but if it's what it would have taken I might have tried it. Besides, why are you shying away from me? It's not like we never met, or you can't trust me. Is that it? You're scared of me," he challenged.
He twirled her once again and wrapped her in his arms as she swung back. Maddy couldn't tell what the look on his face meant. If she didn't watch it she was going to ruin the whole evening, maybe the whole relationship that might be coming.
"I am not scared of you or anyone. For goodness sakes, I don't want to dance anymore if you're going to say things like that. But you know what? I don't know. Silly as it sounds, I feel so overwhelmed sometimes that I don't know how I feel."
"And you say I'm stubborn. For your information I thought about you a lot after you left, really, I did. But, it's different for guys. Guys don't just sit down and pour our hearts out in a letter." He shrugged and grinned and pulled her back into their dance.
"Yeah, right, you thought about me for oh, five minutes probably. Then you moved on to Linda Wiese."
"Linda Wiese? How'd you know that?" He laughed and gave her a little hug. She pushed him back to arm's length stiffly.
"A teenage girl who moves always leaves spies behind."
"Nadine Pfeifer wrote you, didn't she?" His tone was accusing but amused. "And I took her to senior prom."
"Well, at least she and Linda did write me. This is more than I can say for the guy I told I loved at the Homecoming Dance."
"Hey, I meant to write more, and I called. I did write once or twice, I think, and, okay, I called twice. Not good enough, huh? Hey, cut me some slack, Girl, will you?" He would not give up. His eyes were taut with the teasing she was handing back. "I'll make it up to you tonight." He bent to kiss her but she had already backed out of his arms.
"I think we ought to get going. I'm expecting my friends to call from Chicago tonight."
"Hey, dance with me just until the song ends, please?
It's the only excuse I have to hold you without you getting mad at me. You're not mad now are you?" His words were beguiling.
"Look. I admit there are some old feelings here tonight, with us, like this, but, but, let's not get in a hurry.”
"In a hurry? We’ve got to make up for lost time." Alec said, his grip on her waist tightening. "Tell me."
"Honestly, should I call you deputy or Alec? I wouldn't have a chance if you were interrogating me for real. We've just gotten reacquainted and you're trying to make me confess. I don't know how long I'm going to be here so I don't want to rush into anything. Let's not get hurt, again."
"Lady," he traced her kissable lips with a finger and looked deeply into the emerald green eyes, "I don't know what it is about you, maybe it's the past we share, but I think I'm going to get hurt no matter what."
His statement caught Maddy off-guard and when he pulled her close she just leaned into him and slowly slid her arms around his neck. The short hair at the nape of his neck was as soft as she recalled and she stroked it ever so slowly as he held her swaying in time to the romantic music.
The second song started and they didn't stop. With a sensual move, his hands encircled her waist and he pulled her lithe body close to his. They danced like that for a long time after the music stopped and the dance floor had cleared. Feeling others watching them, Alec stepped back and grinned sheepishly at her. Her cheeks were flushed as he escorted her off the dance floor.
"I see what you mean, deputy." Maddy used the term affectionately and he didn't correct her this time.
The ride back to Nielsen was quiet and serious. The full moon gave everything a surrealistic aura. Alec drove leisurely, passing darkened farms and obscure blobs of livestock in shadowy fields. Only a few cars passed them in the late hour. Occasionally they would look up, their eyes locked in unspoken emotions. He covered her hand with his on the seat and pulled her close.
"So, if you decide to stay, what do you think you'll do, just for the sake of conversation?" He quickly added.
The question had obviously been bothering him and now was flung out in the open. His gaze stayed glued to the road.
Leaning her head back, she let the night air blow languidly across her face, feeling seductive and intoxicating all at the same time. She didn't know what she wanted. Looking over at his serious profile she wanted to impulsively throw herself over to him and kiss him just to get him to stop asking her that, but she didn't. His hand tightened over hers.
"I honestly don't know, Alec. There's so much to consider. When I came out here I didn't think you'd still be around, that you, we, us would even be an option. This call is from Marie. She's been looking after my apartment and said the garage called and my car is done. And, well, I was expecting a big promotion, hopefully she'll know something. If I get it I may go back."
"Is that all, your apartment, your car, your promotion? It's all stuff."
"Well, it's all important to me." She fired back defensively. It had been important to her only a week ago, now she wasn't so sure. Alec's casual attitude about it didn't help much. "This is a big decision, Alec, to pull up roots and just move away from everything you've ever known. Plus head of a department would be good for my career."