Authors: Melissa Price
Eleven
Sean kept his eyes on the road as he drove to Maggie and Walter’s house shortly before six. He didn’t dare look at her. Her kissable lips were an inviting glossy pink color. Her long hair was down and she was dressed in a simple black dress that made her look sexy. Very sexy. She did not act like she knew how sexy and beautiful she looked. Or maybe she knew and was just playing it cool. His gut feeling told him that she didn’t think she was sexy.
He had already shaved that morning so he had changed into a dress shirt and slacks rather than his usual t-shirt and jeans. He wondered if Maggie and Walter would notice. He never got a little more dressed when he went there.
Was he nervous? Not possible, no way. He was astounded at the thought. He did not get nervous. He couldn’t afford to in his line of work and very little surprised him anymore. And he did not get nervous around women.
When they got to Maggie and Walter’s, he couldn’t resist murmuring as he helped her out of the truck, “You look amazing.”
She blinked at him as if surprised. She tried to slide out of the truck gracefully, but her dress was riding up her bare thighs. She made the mistake of grabbing at her hem to pull it down as she was sliding down and ended up falling into him.
He caught her. So much for lithe and elegant. They were standing so close and he still smelled like spring rain. Neither of them spoke for a few heartbeats. Was it her? It was the late days of fall but it suddenly felt like a warm summer night.
She finally looked up at him with wide eyes. “Thank you. You look nice to,” she said with a shy smile. She pulled her warm jacket closer around her.
Maggie opened the door and greeted them. Walter took the jacket she shrugged out of and gave her a quick pat on the shoulder. “Glad you came.”
Maggie hustled everyone into the dining room where she had dinner already on the table. Sean pulled out her chair and waited for her to be seated.
It felt a little awkward and strange. Rarely had a man held a chair for her. The last guy she dated had turned out to be a real jerk and it was over during the first date as far as she was concerned. He would never had thought to hold a chair for her. Not only was he talking about himself most of the evening, he had expected a lot more when he drove her home. He had kept trying to touch her all during dinner so she sat back and far enough away from him that he could not reach her without leaning very far forward. He tried that once and she had given him a slight frown. The after dinner activity he was hoping for was not happening. He had tried a few more times to get her to go out with him, but she had told him no. He told her how special she was and how much he wanted her. Fat chance. At first she tried to be polite but when he persisted, she bluntly just said no.
Maggie took note of the chair holding. She was sure she was right. They were going to get along just fine. She looked over at Sean with a big grin, “You look very nice tonight.” Sean groaned inwardly. “And Taylor, you look just lovely.”
Taylor murmured thank you.
Sean sat next to her with Maggie across from her and Walter across from him. “It was really nice of you to invite me.” She gave the couple a big smile.
Maggie was wearing a simple long sleeved purple shirt and black slacks. Walter was dressed in a casual shirt that was a pale green. He looked like he had cut himself shaving.
Maggie replied, “We just love having company. It’s so nice to have someone in the house that Walter and I can entertain.”
Taylor looked quickly over at Sean but he did not react or look at her.
“Did Sean tell you we just had our daughter and two grandkids visit? Our son-in-law couldn’t come but having them was so much fun. Of course, it is nice to have a little peace and quiet but we could have had them stay longer. We love having company.”
“Yes, he did.” She thought about kicking him under the table since he was just looking straight ahead, but she decided not to.
Sean cleared his throat before he took a sip of water. He was not going to look at her. He would not have been surprised if she was glaring at him but he didn’t want to look.
Maggie went on, “I’m sorry about your car, but we can go shopping and do lunch. It will be fun. Sean can show you around town. The time will fly by, you’ll see.”
The conversation flowed over the roast beef, roasted vegetables, salad, and biscuits that Maggie had prepared. Walter had lots of funny stories to tell them. Taylor learned that he was a veterinarian. He had a clinic in town along with two other vets, but he was the owner. His stories were mostly about the pets and owners that came through.
He had them in stitches when he told them about one client whose dog looked just like her and they even walked similarly. “She even had matching bows in their hair. The first time I saw them I wasn’t sure who the patient was.”
After Maggie brought out dessert, Taylor realized she was getting really tired. She tried to eat the peach pie Maggie had bought from a bakery with more enthusiasm than she felt. The food was good, but she was suddenly almost too tired to eat.
“So, Taylor, where did you end up staying?”
She glanced over at Sean who was suddenly very thirst. “Uh, Sean gave me a room.”
Maggie saw the blush on her cheeks and had to fight the big smile that she felt coming on. No doubt in her mind now. “Wonderful. You’ll be able to rest and relax.”
When Maggie asked her a question that would have involved her having to mention the accident, Sean steered the conversation away from the subject.
Sean seemed to understand she was tired, so they left shortly after the meal. Neither of them spoke on the way back. As he helped her out of the truck, she decided to heck with the dress, she was not going to fall all over him this time. The hem rode up higher than she would have preferred but she got out faster. Sean had glanced at her legs but said nothing and his face did not reveal what he might be thinking.
When they went inside, Taylor thought briefly about bringing up the subject of her staying here and Maggie’s remarks about loving to have company, but she was too tired. She would let it go. For now.
“Do you need help getting up the stairs?”
She shook her head no. “I can do it.”
“Are you sure? I’m happy to help.” His brow furrowed in concern. She looked really tired. He suspected she was being stubborn about it.
“I’m fine. I don’t need any help. I’m just going to get some water first.” She turned away and went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water that he had offered her earlier.
She always kept water next to her bed at night. She habitually woke up at least once and sometimes needed a drink. Then she would go back to sleep. She actually liked waking up briefly before settling down and sleeping again. She wasn’t sure why, but she had always slept that way.
When she came back, he was still standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Go ahead, I can do it. I’ll be fine.” She said it a little too determinately, she thought.
He stared at her a moment, indecision on his face and then he shrugged. “Call me if you need anything.” He wasn’t going to force her to accept his help. It wasn’t like he could manhandle her and get her up there if she didn’t want help. He really didn’t think she could do it, but he would let her try.
She watched him go up and around the corner. She admired the view until he disappeared. She looked anxiously up the stairs. There were a lot and it seemed a long ways up, but she had done it earlier. But then, she hadn’t been this incredibly tired. Was she being stupid? Or stubborn? Could she really get up there? Well, she had no choice now. She had turned down his offer of help.
She took a deep, resolute breathe and started up. She made it up the first two steps before her shaky, tired legs started to rebel. Carrying a bottle of water in one hand was not helping.
She stood there, head down and breathing hard. Dammit it. She had to do this. She had to. She swallowed back the tears threatening to fill her eyes and run down her cheeks. It was so frustrating.
She was not going to stand there and bellow out for help. She put the water bottle down on the next step and used both hands on the railing. She got one foot up and tried to push and pull herself up but her legs just were not cooperating. All she ended up doing was stepping back down on the step she had tried to step up off of.
Well, maybe the couch would be okay. This certainly was not going to work. The idea of sleeping on a couch did not appeal to her, but what choice did she have? That king size bed seemed really inviting at the moment. And it was so comfortable and warm with soft pillows. Oh, stop it. Don’t think about it.
She didn’t see Sean looking down at her from the top of the stairs. She heard a soft noise and lifted her gaze slightly and saw him coming quietly down. She shook her head. “I can do this,” she said in a trembling voice. She wiped away the tear that fell down her cheek. “I’m fine.”
Sean ignored her, picked her up in his arms and mumbled, “Stubborn woman,” as he carried her up the stairs and into the bedroom she had picked out earlier.
He set her down and just looked at her, but she refused to meet his gaze. She didn’t say a word as he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. She sank gratefully onto the bed and let the emotions of the day wash over her and softly cried.
Sean heard her soft sobs and stood quietly for a moment. Then he went down the hall to his room. He was sure she would not appreciate the intrusion if he tried to talk to her. No matter how much he wanted to.
Twelve
She was awakened by a soft knock. Sunlight streamed through the window. She glanced at the clock as she stretched. 6 a.m. She had slept like a rock. She must have been really tired. It was so unusual for her to sleep straight through the night.
She heard Sean softly call her name, so she got up and walked to the door, pushing her sleep mussed hair out of her face. When she opened the door, they stared at each other.
Sean liked the sleepy, just out of bed, mussed look. Her tight tank sleep shirt did little to hide her round, firm chest. The pajama shorts hung low and showed off her trim waist and lots of shapely leg. For a fleeting moment, he stared but said nothing, then shook himself mentally. He was losing his focus and he was not used to that. Maybe this was not a good idea. He was having trouble where she was concerned. No, he could handle it.
Wow, Taylor thought. It was true. Good looking guys looked really, really good in uniform. He was wearing a policeman uniform and a badge that said Reed. Boy, he looked hot. Gun, flashlight, handcuffs and other items on the belt on his waist, radio on his shoulder. His chest looked hard and thicker, he must be wearing a vest under the shirt. The vest made him look formidable. He was saying something so she tried to concentrate.
He was handing her car keys, “Take my car if you need to go anywhere. I have to go to work,” he held out a piece of paper. “This is the code to the front door, alarm system codes, and my cell number. Call me if you need anything, okay?”
Their fingers brushed as she took the paper and all she could do was nod her head. “Promise you’ll call me?” She shook her head yes again.
He hesitated and then asked for her number in case he needed to call her so she quickly wrote it down and gave it to him.
He gave her a big smile, “Oh, Maggie called last night and said she is coming over at 9 to see you.” He hesitated again, “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later to see how things are going.” He turned quickly back, “Do you need me to help you downstairs?”
She blushed, “No, I really will be fine going down and it’s early so the legs will work.” He nodded and left.
She sat down on the bed with a beaming smile and programmed his number into her phone. He trusted her with the code to his house. What did that mean? Did he trust people naturally or just her?
So, he was a police officer. She felt safe in his house, which surprised her. She had expected to feel uneasy.
She had to admit that he made her feel safe too.
Thirteen
Sean did not tell his partner, John, about the amazing woman in his house. He knew John would ask a thousand questions all day long. John was talking about his family when Sean spotted a car making an illegal U-turn right in front of them.
“Yewy.” Sean pointed out the car.
John turned on the lights to pull the car over. He had seen it too, but he usually relied on Sean to point things out to him. He had gotten used to Sean’s Australian lingo.
The car finally pulled over after following it for almost half a mile.
John approached the car on the left, Sean on the right. “He looks cheezed off.”
John nodded. The man did look annoyed.
“Driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance, sir.”
The man handed the documents to him with abrupt, angry movements. John nodded to Sean to watch him while he went back to the car to check the computer.
Sean made his way to the driver, “Do you know what you did, sir?”
“No, I was trying to get to work and I’m late.”
“You made an illegal U-turn. Where do you work?”
He hesitated, “Downtown.”
“Well, sir, downtown is the other way. Can you step out of the car?”
The man looked angry. “I told you I’m late. Just write me a ticket so I can go. I don’t need to get out. I need to get to work.”
John was coming back, but Sean kept his eyes on the driver. He pulled open the door, “Step out of the vehicle.”
The man gestured and cursed at them. “Can’t you hear? I have to get to work right now. Are you going to pay my wages if I get fired, huh?”
Sean repeated calmly, “For the last time, sir, get out of your vehicle. The faster we do this, the faster you can get to your job. Where do you work?”
He got out of the car yelling, “It’s none of your damn business. Give me a ticket and let me go.”
John told him, “Face the car, sir.”
Sean looked at his partner, “He’s getting stroppy.”
John could see he had started to cop attitude as well so he pulled his arms behind him and put handcuffs on him. The man started cursing at them again.
“What the hell are you doing? You can’t cuff me.”
John said, “It’s for your safety and ours, sir. Do you have any sharp objects on you?”
“No.” The man looked angrier. Sean was glad it was John’s turn to do the pat down.
John checked him. “Did you know your license has been suspended?”
“No, it’s not. I fixed it.”
Sean asked quickly, “May I search your vehicle?”
John said immediately after, “You’ll have to go back and tell them it wasn’t fixed, sir. Can we search your car?”
The man didn’t answer.
“We have sufficient cause to search it, I was just trying to be polite.”
The man suddenly looked defeated. He nodded his head.
Sean did a quick search and found a large wad of cash under the front seat and a plastic pill bottle with white pills. Sean sniffed it. He handed the bottle to John who nodded. Illegal substance.
The man screamed, “That’s my medication, you have no right to take that.” He used a few other choice words but they ignored him.
Sean thought it was going to a long day before he could go home. To a woman that intrigued him.
Taylor poked around the kitchen. He really needed some decent food, she thought. Very little in the fridge and she wrinkled her nose at the jarred spaghetti sauce, canned ravioli, beans, and other items she did not want to consider. She made a face. She definitely needed to get some real food in here.
It was too cold to sit outside so she laid down on the couch in the living room, flipping through channels until she found the food channel. Some of her favorite shows were on that channel and she did not get to watch them often. At home she would tape some of them and watch them when she could.
Maggie arrived promptly at 9 o’clock. She was beaming when Taylor opened the front door. “This is the first time I have ever been here. I had to get directions from Sean. This is a really nice home. We are going to have such fun. I am so happy to have someone to go shopping with.”
Taylor wondered if she always talked that fast. She had never been here? Wasn’t that odd that she didn’t even know how to get to Sean’s house? They seemed to be good friends with Sean. They were going shopping? Taylor simply smiled at her and got her coat.
For the next two hours Maggie talked almost non-stop as they went to a department store to check out the sales and a book store to pick up something for Walter. Taylor thought briefly to the last time she had tried to go shopping. That had turned out to be a real disaster. This time was different, she reminded herself.
Maggie seemed to know a lot of people as she waved and greeted them. She introduced Taylor as her friend to several of them. One of the women in the department store came over to greet them.
“Hi, Maggie. I haven’t seen you in a long time.” Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into a bun. Her lips were bright red.
“Hi, Amanda. I know it’s been awhile.”
The woman fidgeted, “Have you seen Sean recently?”
“Yes. He’s doing great. We have to go but it was nice to see you.” Maggie hurried Taylor out. “I hate to lie but I do not want to talk to her.”
“What was that all about?”
“Old girlfriend. I don’t know any details so don’t ask. I just know Sean broke it off and she wasn’t happy. They weren’t right for each other. She’s getting married soon, got engaged not too long after Sean left I think.”
“How do you know that they weren’t right for each other?” Taylor was more than curious.
“I just knew. Let’s go to the pet store. I need to get some food for Buddy.”
Taylor had to let it go, but she was full of questions. Had Sean figured out they were not right for each other? What had happened between them? Had he slept with her? Silly question, of course he would have. He was a man. Taylor thought she was pretty and had a sophisticated air about her. Something she did not possess.
While Maggie bought something in each store, Taylor kept thinking about her car and spent nothing. “Does Sean have a girlfriend?”
Maggie caught herself before a big grin plastered across her face, “Not that I know of. I think he hasn’t been dating much recently. I know you are the first woman he ever brought to our house for dinner.”
“Maybe you never invited one?”
“Oh, he knows he can bring anyone. I teased him one night about finding the right woman, but he doesn’t talk about his private life as I am sure you know by now.”
In the pet store, Taylor stopped to pet the dogs. She told Maggie she had always wanted two dogs. “I want them to have each other if I’m not home for company.”
When they were driving to the grocery store, Taylor asked casually, “Do you know what kind of food Sean likes?”
Maggie got a smile on her face, “I think he likes Italian, steak, and I’m not sure what else. When he comes over for dinner, he always eats what I fix. He could be just polite about it now that I think about it.” She gave Taylor a grin, “Going to make dinner for him?”
Taylor shrugged, trying hard to look casual. Cooking was a serious thing to her. “I was thinking about it. He’s been nice to give me a room while I’m here.” She wondered what happened to the one night idea. She reasoned with herself that there was nowhere to go, so she should be grateful. And he hadn’t intruded on her.
She hadn’t bothered to lock the door and he had been polite this morning and knocked. He had waited for her to open the door as well. She had a roommate once that would just walk into her room without asking. That had been when she had just gotten her first cooking job. As soon as her checks were coming regularly, she had gotten her own apartment. It was small but private.
“That’s a great idea. What are you thinking of making?”
She shrugged again, “Maybe lasagna or something.” She loved to cook Italian.
Taylor bought several items at the grocery store and it was only when they went to the car to put the bags in that she remembered she could not lift anything heavy, let alone carry them up the porch steps and into the house.
Dammit. Why hadn’t she been thinking before she bought six big bags of groceries? Sure his kitchen needed it, but how was she going to carry them in?
She turned to Maggie and in a hurried and soft tone, told her the bare facts of the car accident and her limitations.
Maggie replied, “Don’t you worry. I can take them in. Walter can take ours in for me. He is home today doing some research. He likes to keep abreast of developments and consult with specialists. I think he has a patient that he is consulting with a specialist about today.”
They got into the car to head back.
Maggie looked at her curiously, “Does Sean know?”
“About what?”
“The car accident and your limitations?”
Taylor nodded her head yes and did not see the smile on Maggie’s face as she turned away.