Authors: Lori Crawford
Carissa bit back her irritation. If this was the kind of person Hutch wanted, then it was no wonder she’d lost out. “We came to get you guys out of here. But if you’d like to stay…”
“Carissa?” Hutch bolted up off the bed. His appearance hadn’t fared much better than Trudy’s had, but she still drank in the sight of him before she could stop herself.
“Oh, thank God!” He came as close to her as the bars would allow. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
Carissa frowned and folded her arms across her chest. Now that she was seeing him, her little pity party gave way to anger. How dare he put her through this charade?
“Worried? Really? What were you worried about, Hutch? That I’d find out about the two of you? You know, ’cause that’s like the worst kept secret in this whole town.” She paused to take a breath. This wasn’t going well. So much for just letting him go and wishing him well.
“What are you talking about, Carissa? There’s no ‘two of us.’” He looked to Trudy. “A little help here, please. Tell her.” For once, Trudy kept her mouth shut. Instead, she stomped over to the far wall and leaned against it.
Carissa worked to get her temper under control. She held up her hands and shook her head. “Forget it, Hutch. Who you date is your business. I’m just sorry I got in your way.”
Hutch frowned. “Got in my way? What are you talking about? I thought I
was
dating you.”
“I thought so, too. All that stuff about me being disconnected, I can’t believe I fell for it. And this.” She hooked her thumb under the diamond pendant to lift it into view. “I want the receipt. I’m going to return it so I can take my trip to Italy. Alone.” Carissa turned toward the door.
“I’m going to see where Del and Susan are.” There. She’d done it. He was free to do as he pleased. Just like she now was.
“Carissa, stop!” She’d never heard such an authoritative tone in his voice before. She froze mid step on instinct.
“You are not getting the receipt and you are certainly not going to Italy alone. I’m going with you or you’re not going at all.”
One of her eyebrows shot up right along with her hackles. Who did he think he was; bossing her around like this? She turned around to glare at him.
“Excuse me? What gives you the right to–”
“You’ve said your piece, now I’m going to say mine.” He stalked the length of the cell to close the distance between them again. “You always do this. Play the martyr instead of fighting for what you want. Well, it’s not going to work this time. First, because you’ve got your ‘facts’ dead wrong. Second, because I won’t allow it.”
Ticked that her perfect and dignified exit had just been shot down, she planted her hands on her hips and faced him. “Play the martyr? Why? Because I happen to think somebody else’s happiness might be more important than my own?”
“That is such crap. If you truly wanted me to be happy, you’d stay and work this out.”
“What’s to work out, Hutch? I can’t ever be happy sharing a man with another woman. There’s no point for me to even try. If you won’t choose, then I will.”
“Who exactly would you be sharing me with? Her?” Hutch tossed his head in Trudy’s direction.
“I’m standing right here,” Trudy protested. “But, by all means, please twist the knife in my back a little more.”
Hutch’s eyes never left Carissa’s face. It was like he hadn’t even heard Trudy. Carissa was starting to feel like doubting him had been a bad move.
“So you’re telling me everyone at the ball is dead wrong about the two of you being the ‘it’ couple?”
“What are you talking about? Nobody thinks that.” Hutch frowned.
“Oh, so now you’re saying I didn’t just spend an entire evening listening to everybody and his brother talk about how perfect the two of you are together. But my personal favorites were the comments about how pathetic I am for trailing after you like some lovesick puppy. Or how glad they are that I can’t interrupt your time together.”
“C’mon, Carissa. Since when did you start listening to idle gossip?”
“It stops being gossip and starts being a warning when everyone around you is saying the exact same thing. Are you trying to tell me there’s nothing to those comments at all?”
“Not a darn thing. In fact, I don’t even know where everyone would get such a ridiculous idea.” He turned a pointed look on Trudy. All of a sudden, she seemed to find her fingernails quite fascinating.
Carissa stepped closer to the cell. She should’ve stuck to her first instincts. “I kept trying to talk to you about this all night, but I could never get close enough. Then you ended up here on those kinds of charges. I thought I’d been wrong about everything.”
“Yeah, about that…”
She remembered Del’s warning and shook her head. “Later.”
He smiled a little and tipped his head to look at her. “You were jealous, weren’t you? You heard whatever it was you heard and started seeing red.”
Carissa started to shake her head in denial. Then changed her mind. If things were going to work out between them, they needed honest communication.
“Maybe a little.” She had to start somewhere. No need to tell him she’d wanted to rip Trudy’s pearls off and shove them down the woman’s throat.
His smile grew. “That feeling? I want you to remember it. That’s the reason why there is no way I’m letting you traipse off to Italy all by yourself. End of discussion.”
He held out his good hand to her. Without any conscious consideration, she went to him. When their hands touched, it just felt like all was right with the world. He pulled her closer. Carissa let him. All she could do was stare into those magnificent green eyes of his.
His gaze flicked to her lips. She licked them in anticipation. This time she was prepared for his kiss. She couldn’t wait. But she didn’t want to rush things either. She let him lead her. Their lips were only a hair’s breadth away.
A door slammed opened, startling them both. They jumped. Carissa smacked her head on the cell bars. Judging by his grimace, it looked like Hutch had done the same.
They turned to see Susan stride into the holding block. A man in a tight fitting police uniform trotted in behind her. Del, looking more than a little amused, brought up the rear of the procession.
“Deputy Jarvis. I am the officer of the court here in Koala Springs, am I not?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So when I tell you that a prisoner is free to go, I mean he is free to go. Not in a day or two. Not even in a minute or two. I mean now.”
The deputy fiddled with his keys. “But ma’am, the mayor–”
Susan turned a death stare on the man when he had the nerve to mention her nemesis. There had to be some serious animosity between the two women to bring out that kind of expression.
“What about her?” Susan asked in a menacing tone.
“Never mind.” The deputy rushed to the cell door. He fumbled with the keys a bit, but finally got it open. Hutch squeezed Carissa’s hand before letting it go long enough to exit the cell.
“I’ll get your possessions,” the deputy muttered to Hutch before hurrying off to a small closet in the back.
Hutch didn’t appear to have heard him. He took Carissa in his arms and completed their interrupted kiss. Just like that, everything else faded away. There was no jail cell. There were no childhood friends, no cops, no attorneys. It was just Carissa and Hutch together at last.
She pressed closer and he tightened his arms around her. Still, it wasn’t enough. She wanted to be one with him more than anything else in the world. Carissa wanted to live out all those vivid dreams she’d been having. The thought of them caused what seemed to be a mini explosion in her head. All of a sudden, she was reliving those dreams and more. Visions of what it would be like to be his wife danced through her brain.
She saw lots of laughter. A few tears here and there. At times, they stood united against a common foe. Other times they fought out their differences. No matter what happened, they remained a family through it all. It was so beautiful. And she wanted it. With all her heart. She was going to fight to get it.
Hutch broke the kiss and stared at her. He looked a little disoriented, but didn’t back away. “Wow,” he whispered.
She smiled and stroked his stubbled jaw. “I know.”
“Just so there’s no future misunderstandings between us, I see this heading toward a couple awesome kids and several grandkids ’til death do we part.” He smiled. “Maybe not totally in that order.”
Carissa was speechless. All she could do was nod. She stood on her tip toes to plant another kiss on his lips. Before they could get too far gone, she felt a hand on her arm pulling her away.
“Okay. Let’s get you two home before we have a whole new set of charges to work through.” It took her a moment, but she finally recognized Susan’s voice. Hand in hand, she and Hutch left the police station heading for their happily ever after.
Epilogue
Quincy watched the group leave the tiny building just as dawn was beginning to break. He sat on a power line and observed James, who opened the door of his BMW for Carissa.
“Great job, Quincy. I knew you could find the perfect match for her.”
He didn’t even flinch when Miss C appeared beside him to observe the humans below.
“It was more difficult than I expected, but it’s done,” he hedged.
She gave him a knowing look, then held her glasses to her face. “Oh my.”
“What’s the matter?” He frowned and tried to see whatever apparent flaw she’d just seen. Had he missed something?
“You used your TFA on them. You’re that sure?”
Quincy relaxed. That was all? It had seemed like the least he could do after everything he’d done to keep the couple apart. Despite all his efforts, they’d managed to reunite. That kind of effort deserved a little support for the future. Using his Together Forever Arrow on them would help them weather whatever life decided to throw at them.
Miss C turned a questioning look on him. “You know we Cupids are only assigned one TFA for eternity. It’s not to be used without great consideration.”
“No ma’am. It wasn’t. They deserve it.” Quincy squinted at the scene below them and pulled out another arrow. The shot he’d been waiting for was just about in line.
Del opened Susan’s door for her. She didn’t get right in. She stood face to face with him, talking. Quincy let the arrow fly. It sailed through the air and found its mark. Right through Del’s heart and into Susan’s. Quincy couldn’t believe the man had been pining after Trudy all this time when Susan had been right under his nose. She’d known him before the shooting and after. She’d tried to see him in the hospital, but the Marshalls kept visitors restricted, then moved him to an undisclosed location until after the trial. By that time, she’d taken the job here in Koala Springs and tried to forget about him.
“Very nice,” Miss C complimented. “Two great matches in less than thirty minutes.”
Quincy smiled at her. “Thank you.” He cocked his head to listen. A cupid’s work was never done. His couple in Guatemala was on the outs again. “I’m sorry. Duty calls. You want to come?” he asked his supervisor.
She shook her head. “I’m sure you can handle whatever it is.” She watched the scene below. The humans were getting into their vehicles and driving away. Miss C turned a pleased smile on him just before he could leave.
“
Now
you’re my best cupid.”
About Lori Crawford
Lori Crawford has two great passions. Television and writing. As a child, she was a walking TV guide. When not watching TV, she was devouring every book she could get her hands on. Nearly a decade later, her love for reading developed into a passion for writing. She graduated from short stories and imaginary friends to write her first manuscript when she turned sixteen. It went on to languish in the bottom of a drawer where it rightfully belongs. A firm believer in writing from foundation of what one knows, Lori’s first published novel features a synchronized swimmer, her second was born from her coupon queenish tendencies and Thwarting Cupid came about because she has a major soft spot for the absurd.
Website:
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to Mr. Medley for talking me through Carissa and Hutch’s happily ever after.
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