Take a Chance on Me (14 page)

“As if.” Jessica laughed self-consciously. “They’re not particularly interested in anything related to my job.”

Tom frowned. “Why in the world not? You’re really good at what you do.”

“Thanks.” A warm, liquid feeling welled up in her chest, soothing the bitter ache of disappointment. “Truth is, I’m still not living up to their expectations. I’m just a substitute teacher in a suburban high school. I should be a high-powered executive with an expense account and my own administrative staff. I’m wasting my natural ability on a bunch of punks.”

Tom reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, and the warm feeling overflowed until she tingled from head to toe. “I hope you know that’s not true.”

Jessica smiled a little shakily. “I take pretty much everything they say these days with a grain of salt.”

With his free hand Tom picked up the saltshaker and handed it to her. “I think you need more than a grain with their attitude.”

Jessica laughed. Intellectually, she knew she couldn’t sit around waiting for her parents to change. They had disapproved of most of her choices for as long as she could remember. But somehow, talking with Tom about it seemed to take the sting away, reminding her that their attitude was their problem, not hers.

Jessica sat quietly, toying with the straw in her half-empty cup. She propped her chin in the palm of her hand and studied the man sitting across from her.

He was quiet, yet fiercely devoted to his job. He hid a delightful sense of humor beneath a calm exterior. He approached life with a cool demeanor, but set her on fire with his passionate kisses.

Tom Cameron was a study in contrasts, and there was nothing Jessica wanted more than to continue studying him.

She swallowed, panic rising in her throat. She didn’t want to be attracted to him. She had obligations, goals, plans, and a relationship would only get in the way. But she couldn’t keep denying it, even to herself. She wanted to be with Tom.

Everything about him intrigued her, from his extraordinary good looks to his dedication to his job. Even though she’d only known him a short time, anyone who spent any time with him could tell how much he cared about the students under his protection. And she finally admitted that she wanted to find out just what made him tick.

“So what about you?” she asked suddenly. “Any deep, dark secrets to share?”

Tom pulled back, tucking both his hands into his jacket pockets as though taken with a sudden chill. His eyes took on a shadowed look.

Puzzled, Jessica tried again. “Okay, forget secrets. How about why you picked school security?”

“You mean, why am I just a rent-a-cop?” It was stated flatly, in an almost monotone voice.

“Well, no, actually—” She got no further before he cut her off.

“Four years ago I was a police officer. And because of that, two kids are dead.”

Chapter Eight

Tom studied Jessica, waiting for the reaction that typically followed that announcement. Not that he told many people about the incident. Once the press backed off and the rumors died down, it wasn’t as if it was a normal topic of conversation.

But the few people he’d trusted with the truth since had reacted with horror and revulsion. He learned early on to keep it buried deep.

So why had he blurted it out to Jessica now?

Her face was calm. The only visible sign of her reaction was a slight widening of the eyes. If she could keep that poker face in the classroom, she would definitely be a great teacher.

“Dead?” she repeated finally. “What do you mean?”

Tom sighed, shoving a hand through his hair in a rough gesture. In for a penny, in for a pound. Might as well tell her everything. The revulsion would follow soon enough.

“Like I said, four years ago, I was a cop…”

The night air was thick and humid, still holding vestiges of the heat wave that had suffocated southern Oregon for over a week. Tom plucked the sweating water bottle out of the cup holder and gulped down half its contents in one swallow. The window was open just a crack in the vain hopes of catching an errant breeze—so far, he’d had no luck.

He’d been patrolling the streets of town for over half his shift with no incidents to speak of. Even the kids were too worn out by the heat to do more than loiter. A few more hours, then he could head home, sit in front of the A/C for a while and then crawl into bed. With the heat making sleep difficult, maybe Carleen would even be waiting up for once.

The radio crackled to life, and he stifled a groan as he reached for the mouthpiece. “Cameron,” he reported.

“All available patrols, D.V. in progress, 807 Forest.”

He gave his ID number, set the radio back in the cradle and switched on his turn signal. He was the closest of the patrolling officers, so he would be on his own until backup arrived.

Of all the scenarios faced by cops, domestic violence calls were the most unpredictable. You never knew when someone would go ballistic in the name of love.

He could hear the shouting from two blocks over. He sped up, pulled the car over to the side of the road and jumped out. With a hand on his weapon, he walked swiftly toward the open front door.

The shouting intensified as he approached the small house. Stepping to the side of the doorframe, he peered inside. A girl cowered on the dingy couch, arms over her head in a protective gesture. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen, seventeen, way too thin and wearing way too much makeup.

She screamed when she saw him, before he had a chance to flash his badge. “I’m a police officer, miss,” he yelled over the din. “Is everything okay?”

“You called the cops?” A boy of about the same age stormed into view. “You lousy bitch!” He backhanded her so hard she fell sideways, sinking into the soft cushions of the couch.

Tom tightened his grip on his gun, schooling his features to remain calm. “Hands off, kid. Step away from the couch.”

The girl started screaming again, and Tom’s concentration was split for a moment. A flash of silver caught his eye and he turned to see the barrel of a gun whipping around to point at the girl. “Drop it!” he yelled, but it was too late.

The boy pulled the trigger and Tom fired a second later, and when it was over, two kids were bleeding their lives away in the suffocating heat of midnight.

“Wow.”

Tom sat back, studying Jessica’s face intently. She looked stunned, maybe saddened, but not horrified. A dim spark of hope flickered in his chest. Maybe this time the telling wouldn’t end in rejection. But as soon as he identified the wish he squashed it down. The rest of the story would leave her despising him, like all the rest.

Or pitying him. God help him, that would be even worse.

Jessica clasped her hands together on the rough tabletop. Tom itched to reach over and cover her hands with his. Instead, he shoved them deeper into his fleece-lined pockets.

“What happened next?” Her voice was soft, tender, a balm to his aching heart.

Tom shrugged, pulling his gaze away from her face and staring blindly into the darkness. “There was the usual inquiry. I was placed on departmental leave while the investigation took place. I was never charged with anything, but both families blamed me for the deaths. And the press had a field day with the whole thing too. If I hadn’t escalated the situation, the kids would still be alive.”

“Or she’d be dead and he’d be in jail,” Jessica said.

“Well, we’ll never know.” He was silent for a moment, then continued. “At the end of the whole mess, I was strongly encouraged to resign. Too much bad press, too many unanswered questions. I took the hint and turned in my badge.”

“And how did you end up here?”

Tom stirred the watery ice at the bottom of his soda cup. “The resignation was followed by divorce proceedings. I didn’t have any ties to the area after that, so I moved to Western Washington to be near family. My sister and her husband and kids,” he clarified. “I worked various security jobs until the job opened up at Summit last year. The rest is history.”

“Divorce?”

“Married three years, divorced four. No kids.”

“But right after—”

Tom cut her off. “A teen-killing ex-cop wasn’t her idea of a perfect mate. In the long run, it was probably for the best.”

It hadn’t felt like that at the time though. He’d fallen deeper and deeper into the nightmare, and in the end she’d walked away instead of reaching out a hand to pick him up.

“So much for better or worse,” Jessica muttered.

Tom cast a startled glance in her direction. Other than his sister, most people he knew had taken Carleen’s side. The months of negative publicity and hovering doubts had cast a long shadow, even tainting her career opportunities as a rising star in the legal world. He’d been dead weight. Who could blame her for cutting him loose?

But judging from Jessica’s glower, that’s exactly what she was doing. For the first time in ages, the tight band around his heart loosened just the tiniest bit.

“Sounds like she was pretty self-centered, if you ask me,” Jessica said. “What kind of a wife leaves her husband at a time like that?”

Tom looked across the table at Jessica. He couldn’t imagine her walking out in a time of crisis. Today’s battle had proved that she would stand up to a challenge even when she was quaking on the inside. She was the type who would gladly fight for the people she loved.

He shoved the thought down almost as quickly as it surfaced. Maybe that was true about Jessica, but he certainly wasn’t someone she loved. And considering his past and her future plans, he never would be.

Until half an hour ago, Jessica didn’t even know Tom had been married before. Now, she was ready to track down his ex-wife and knock some sense into her.

And she didn’t even know the woman’s name.

But really, how could anyone be so cruel? He was obviously still in pain over the shooting, even four years later. Anyone could see that he carried the guilt and the questions with him every day. And for his wife to walk out in the middle of the whole mess had to have just been like salt in the wound.

His stoic exterior made so much more sense now. Anyone who had been through the wringer like he had would do whatever necessary to protect himself.

But maybe, just maybe, he didn’t need to protect himself around her any more. He obviously felt comfortable enough with her to share such a painful memory.

Jessica’s breath caught in her chest. His trust was both a gift and a responsibility, and she wanted more than anything to be worthy of that trust. Because if she hadn’t been falling for him before this conversation, she certainly was falling hard now.

“Earth to Jessica.” Tom waved his hand in front of her eyes, startling her from her reverie.

“Sorry,” she said quietly, although her heart was thumping loud enough to be heard over the rush of waves against the pilings below. “Just thinking.”

“Yeah, well, that story does tend to clear the room,” he replied.

Jessica shook her head, but Tom was already gathering the remnants of their meal and throwing it away. “Come on, let’s head over to the dock. Our ferry will be leaving soon.”

She held out her hand and he laced his fingers with hers. A sense of rightness, of coming home washed over her. This was where she was meant to be.

“This is totally amazing!”

Tom smiled as he watched Jessica lean against the thick green railing, a chill wind rushing through her tousled red-brown hair. She spread her arms wide, bracing herself against the railing of the small deck overlooking the front of the ferry. Below, white-capped waves crashed against the edge of the car deck, leaving puddles on the walkways and riming the safety ropes with salt.

She turned around, laughing with delight. “You were absolutely right. This is exactly what I needed.”

He flashed a cocky smile. “Told you so.”

“I think it’s what we both needed,” she said. “It’s wonderful to set the stress and pressure aside for a few hours.”

“Glad you enjoyed it.” Tom squinted into the distance. “We’re about fifteen minutes from docking.”

Jessica sighed. “Then back to reality. Thanks again, Tom.”

“You still have a couple of minutes. Sure you don’t want to do the whole Titanic thing? I promise I won’t let you fall off the front of the boat.”

Jessica rolled her eyes at him. “I’m feeling better, but I’m not exactly king-of-the-world material. And I don’t think there are any icebergs in Puget Sound.”

Tom nodded. “It’s cold, but it’s not that cold.” He reached out and pulled her coat collar closer together, tucking the fringes of her scarf around her neck to block out the wind.

She stilled, her eyes darkening as she stared at him. Tom’s grip tightened on her coat, his fingers clutching the fabric. Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his head to hers.

Their previous kisses had been spontaneous combustion. This one was a steamy, languid dip in the Olympic Hot Springs. He tasted her lips slowly, placing soft nibbling kisses from corner to corner. Angling his head, he pressed his mouth against hers and swept his tongue across her lower lip.

Her mouth opened on a sigh and he moved forward, noting with pleasure the exact point where the chill of the outdoor air gave way to the heat of Jessica’s mouth. His ears tingled and his cheeks were close to numb from the winter wind howling across the small ferry deck. But inside, he would swear he was running one hell of a fever.

She was close, so close, but with all the layers of clothing between them she might as well have been against the opposite rail. Tom groaned, gripping her lapel as he continued the kiss, his overactive imagination helpfully supplying a reminder of the sweet curves buried under all that winter wool. Thank God he was bundled up just as tightly, or she would be getting a very clear picture of how much he was enjoying this repeat performance.

Suddenly, the ferry gave a pitching roll, shuddering as it lifted above the waves and heaved down again. They stumbled apart, both clinging tightly to the other’s coat and breathing heavily.

Through sheer force of will, Tom unclenched his fingers and released Jessica’s now-wrinkled charcoal gray winter coat. He ran a hand through his wind-tossed hair, sucking in a deep breath. The air was thick with exhaust from the ferry engines, combined with the tang of salt spray and impending rain. And overlaying it all was the crisp citrus scent of Jessica.