Hear My Heart

by Maryann Jordan

  Brogan held his gaze, and asked, “And if it leads to more?”

  He smiled. “Then I’m going to be one lucky man.” He picked up his spoon and began to eat again, missing the smiles bouncing around the table between all the members of his family.

  Lia rubbed her forehead and sighed. The slight ache that had been threatening since the early morning was now blossoming into a full-blown headache. It had been a few weeks on this case now and it was starting to take its toll. She had spent most of her time in her own office going over the many records that had been sent to her from the town treasurer, but now she sat in a small room in the Municipal Building, facing an irate town manager.

  “I can’t believe it’s taking this long,” Silas growled.

  “You may not know it, but many investigations take a year to complete,” she retorted. “I have set everything else aside and given it to my partner so that I can devote my full-time attention to this one investigation. I am working as fast as I can, while making sure to not make any errors.”

  “I’m concerned about Town Council members, who might run their mouths to the press before the election.”

  “That, Mr. Mills, is not my concern. The only thing that is my concern is making sure that I find out where the missing money is and who took it.” Looking back down at the files in front of her, she finished, “If that is all, I’ll get back to work.”

  By the way he stalked out of the office, slamming the door behind him, it was obvious he hated being dismissed. Groaning, she battled the urge to throw something at the closed door. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out some Ibuprofen and swallowed it with the last sip of her now-cold cup of tea.

  A knock sounded on the door and she pulled herself together. Having asked Sandra for an interview, she expected that’s who it was. “Come in, please.”

  Sandra Toski entered the room, a tight smile on her face. Sitting in the chair across from her, she placed her forearms on the table, her hands clasped together. She appeared to be in her early forties, simply dressed in a button-up blouse and slacks. Her hair was neatly trimmed in a blonde, chin-level bob.

  After greeting her in a friendly, professional manner, she began her interview. “In going over the records, it takes quite a while to check all of the receipts, compare them to the purchase orders, and then compare them to the check that is cut. I just want to double check the procedure as it has been explained to me. All of the department heads send in their purchase orders to you and it is your job to approve them or send them back to the department head to be revised.”

  Her posture still on guard, Sandra nodded. “Every year I hold a meeting with all of the department heads in town and go over the new rules for getting bids, purchase orders, and any other information they need to have. But, of course, some of them still get things wrong, so if I see that the regulations have not been followed when I receive a purchase order, then it goes back to them along with an explanation of what they need to do to correct it. Those are sent to me electronically, and so is my response, so that I have a record in case there was ever a question.”

  “Excellent,” she said, smiling slightly at Sandra. “In looking at the actual checks, you prepare them and the Mayor signs them, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “And if he’s unavailable?”

  Sandra blinked, her brows lowering, a question crossing her face. “Unavailable? He’s never… I don’t know what you mean.”

  “If he’s not available to sign the checks at the time that you are ready for him,” she explained.

  Shaking her head, Sandra replied, “I usually do checks toward the end of the day and take them for him to sign. If he’s in a meeting or unavailable, Celia locks them in her desk until he is available. He signs them as soon as he is able and either he or she brings them back to me. If he has a question about one, then he and I discuss it.”

  “I see. And you have been in this position for quite some time, haven’t you?”

  “Yes. I’ve been the elected town treasurer for the last ten years. I take my job seriously and can assure you that I was unaware of any problems until the audit was finished.”

  “Thank you for your time and I’ll let you know if I have further questions.”

  Sandra stood quickly but hesitated before leaving, as though uncertain she was truly dismissed. She offered her a polite nod before looking back down at her computer and heard Sandra leave the room. She believed that a financial investigation involved peeling the layers back slowly and never giving away more information to an interviewee than she was ready to at the time.

  Several minutes later, there was another knock on the door she looked up to see Mark Weber standing there. The young man appeared anxious as she waved him in, having him sit in the same chair that Sandra just left.

  “Hi, Ms. Smith. I was told that you wanted to talk to me this afternoon so as soon as I saw Sandra leave, I thought I would jump in.”

  “It’s nice to see you again. What I’m doing today is getting some preliminary information. As I’m sure you know, I have been reviewing the records, but it’s helpful for me to hear from people exactly what their particular duties are.”

  “Okay, gotcha. Well, I guess my job covers a lot of different things. I only have an Associate’s Degree in Finance, but hope to be able to go back to school to get my Bachelor’s in Accounting. I’ve been at this job for a year to get some experience.”

  Nodding, she could not help but smile at his enthusiasm. “What specifically are you in charge of?”

  “When I was hired, my job description sounded pretty broad. I’m supposed to help with the Treasurer, when she needs it. I’m also in charge of maintaining the accounting records and reports for payroll and timekeeping. Most of the department heads keep track of their own employees, but then they all have to send their timekeeping and payroll to me. The bookkeeping is pretty basic and I mostly just enter the figures into the computer so that they will be there for the Treasurer.”

  “Do you ever fulfill any of her duties, if she is not available?”

  Eyes wide he swallowed audibly. “Oh no, ma’am,” he said with an emphatic shake of his head. “I do exactly what my duties tell me to do and not one thing more. Not that I don’t want to be helpful,” he rushed, “but I’m not about to do something I shouldn’t do.”

  After a few more questions, she was ready to call it a day and thanked him. Once he left, she continued jotting down a few notes, compiled a few more records, saved everything to her laptop, and shoved all the papers into her briefcase. Glad for the day to be over, she walked out into the lobby of the Municipal Building. Celia and Sandra were standing near the Mayor’s door, deep in discussion. Both stopped talking as she walked by and she chose not to look their way as her phone vibrated an incoming text. Stepping outside, she pulled her phone out of her purse and for the first time that day smiled.

  Come to town field. We have a surprise.

  Aiden and Emily had been practicing in her backyard for the last several weeks so she was anxious to see what surprise they had for her.

  She drove over the train tracks and parked in the lot near the town baseball field. Climbing out of her car, she noted the other vehicles around and was barely able to hear some voices coming from the stands. Mind on her daughter and Aiden, she hurried past the bleachers to the fence where she saw them gathered with several others. A quick glance over her shoulder gave evidence that Tori, Jade, Belle, Jillian, and Ginny were the ones she heard on the bleachers.

  Drawing closer, she observed all the coaches. Brogan, Jason, Mitch, Grant, Zac, and Katelyn. Also, Emily’s teacher, Jade, was on the field as well.

  Her stomach clenched in nerves, but one look at Emily’s wide smile and she relaxed. “Hey, baby. What’s going on?”

  “Mama! We’ve been practicing and Coach Aiden wanted me to meet with the other coaches. He’s teaching me and them how to play.”

  Catching her daughter’s excitement, and also understanding her
meaning, she lifted her gaze to Aiden.

  “She’s getting better with hitting and understands the rules of the game. She’ll be playing on our younger team of kids from five to seven years old and should be ready to play with us. But,” he shrugged, “the other coaches wanted to make sure they understood the best way to communicate. So, we all decided to come out and have some practices with her.”

  Heart pounding, she sucked in a quick breath as she twisted in a slow circle seeing everyone who had come out, just for her daughter. As Emily chattered away with Katelyn, Aiden stepped closer to her.

  “I can’t believe what all you’ve done for her,” she said, her voice shaky, staring up into his blue eyes.

  With his hand on her waist, he leaned forward in a gesture that was becoming not only familiar, but so welcome. He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering. “I’d do anything for her,” he said. Leaning back, he held her gaze, and added, “I’d do anything for you.”

  The desire to kiss him was overwhelming but, aware of their audience, she settled for a heartfelt smile.

  “Mama, watch me!”

  Turning, she gave her full attention to Emily and nodded. The coaches spread out and Katelyn threw a gentle toss toward Emily. She swung and missed the first two, but she was so proud that she did not get frustrated. On the next pitch, Emily hit the ball toward third base. She ran to first base, where Jason was waiting, giving her a simple hand signal to stop on-base. He then bent and talked to her once she was safely there.

  Aiden batted next, sending a ball toward first base, but Jason had already given Emily the signal to run to second, where she was met with Mitch. Once again, using simple hand signals and making sure she could see his face, she halted. They continued this until she ran to home plate, where she met her with open arms and the cheers from the bleachers met their ears.

  Thanking everyone, she offered hugs as Emily ran around and high-fived all of her coaches. As the gathering dispersed, Aiden walked her and Emily back to her car. As his hand lightly rested on her back, there was a familiar tingle that she felt every time he touched her.

  As Emily climbed into the back seat and buckled in, she turned and smiled to him. “Coming to dinner?”

  He chuckled, and said, “I’ve been to dinner every night for the past two weeks. Are you sure you’re not getting sick of me yet?”

  She shook her head and rested her hands on his chest, her palms feeling his heartbeat. Tipping her head back to stare into his face, she said, “No. It’s hard to think of anything without you now.”

  His smile curved his lips, transforming his already handsome face into one that was breathtaking. “Nowhere I’d rather be. Tell you what, I’ll grab a pizza on the way.”

  Driving home with the sounds of Emily chattering in the back seat and the thought of Aiden bringing pizza to her house, the cares of the day floated away. Knowing that life held no guarantees, and this happiness might not last forever, she was ready to accept it, for whatever it was, for as long as she could have it.

  17

  As soon as Lia and Emily got to their house, she sent Emily upstairs for a bath, knowing they had a little bit of time before Aiden returned with the pizza. Once Emily was splashing happily in the bathtub and her hair was washed, she ran into her own bedroom to change. Stripping off her work clothes, she ran to her dresser and stood, trying to figure out what to put on. It had been a long time since she had worn anything to capture a man’s attention. Well, other than the date we had a few weeks ago where I let my insecurities get the better of me.

  “Okay, okay, I can do this. It’s not a big deal,” she muttered out loud. Grabbing a pair of black yoga pants that she hoped did not make her ass look too big, she searched her closet for an appropriate shirt. Not too tight, not too baggy, not boring…

  “Mama!”

  Hearing Emily call out that she was ready to get out of the bathtub, she jerked a light blue, stretchy knit top off the hanger and pulled it over her head quickly, letting the soft material settle over her hips. It might not have been her best choice, but she was in a hurry.

  Running across the hall she darted into the bathroom and grabbed a towel just as Emily was climbing from the tub. As the water drained and Emily toweled off, she helped her to her room so that she could get into her pajamas.

  Looking at her daughter, she said, “I need to finish getting ready and then I’ll be downstairs.”

  Emily grinned widely and nodded. Just as she was about to leave her room, Emily called out, “Mama!”

  Turning, she cocked her head to the side.

  “I like Mr. Aiden,” Emily said, staring up at her. “I like him a lot. Do you?”

  She heard the wistful tone in her daughter’s voice and walked back over, kneeling in front of her. Placing her hands on Emily’s thin shoulders, she said, “Yes, baby, I do.”

  “I like having him around. He makes me laugh.” Emily’s large eyes stared up at her, and her breath caught in her throat as her daughter continued. “I like the way he makes you laugh, too.”

  Her breath left her lungs in a rush as she stared at her daughter’s hopeful face. It was like looking in a mirror. Nodding slowly, she said, “I do too.”

  Emily dropped her eyes to the floor as she fiddled with the towel still wrapped around her body. She lifted her daughter’s chin with her fingers so that she could stare into her eyes and asked, “What are you thinking?”

  “I think that he would make a good dad.”

  Tears stung her eyes as she realized how much her daughter had been thinking of this. She knew that Emily only had the barest memories of Carl, born from looking at photographs instead of actual remembrances. Hating that her daughter wanted something that might be out of her reach, she thought carefully on how to explain it to her. “I’m not sure that will ever happen. I know he likes being our friend. And you can never have too many friends. So, maybe we have to be satisfied with Aiden being our friend.”

  She watched the wheels turning in her daughter’s head, when they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. “He’s here, Emily. Run and go get dressed and I’ll let him in.”

  Emily’s face broke into a wide smile and she emitted a little scream as she darted into her room to get dressed. Moving to shut the light off in the bathroom, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. She had wanted to freshen her makeup and run a brush to her hair, but there was no time. Jogging down the stairs, she called out, “Coming!”

  Throwing open the door, her smile widened as she saw Aiden standing on the stoop, his hands full of two large pizza boxes, a plastic bag containing whatever else he decided to grab, and a two-liter bottle of soda.

  “Good grief,” she called out, reaching out to grab the bag.

  He came in, a sheepish look on his face, and said, “They were having a special. For the price of two pizzas, I also got a container of salad, which I figured would be good for Emily so that she could have her green vegetables. They also had breadsticks, which I figured would be good to have with a meal another day. And the special included the soda, which I know you don’t want Emily to drink tonight since it has caffeine in it, but maybe she could have some tomorrow.”

  She stared, amazed not only that he bought the special, but that he had given consideration to Emily’s needs while doing so. Before she had a chance to thank him, he held up another small bag.

  “And, they also had homemade cookies for dessert.” His boyish face scrunched in concern when he added, “Well, I suppose they’re not homemade since they were made in a restaurant. But their sign said they were made from scratch, so that’s kind of like homemade, right?”

  She giggled. “You’re such a goof.” Shrugging, she added, “But a lovable goof. Come on back. Emily will be right down.”

  She turned to lead the way to the kitchen, but his hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Turning around, she was mesmerized by the look in his blue eyes as he drew her closer.

  “Just want to say that yo
u’re beautiful tonight,” he said, his eyes never wavering from hers.

  Her mouth opened slightly as she melted, moving closer to him. “I… I wanted to freshen up more before you came, but…uh… Emily needed help with her bath…”

  He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. Murmuring against her soft skin, he said, “I think you’re perfect, just the way you are.”

  With their faces barely apart, they stared into each other’s eyes. Doubts, concerns, fears, insecurities all fell away. Her heart raced and she could not remember the last time she felt such a rush of desire.

  “Mr. Aiden!” Emily called as she raced down the stairs.

  He grinned widely, winking at her before moving over to greet her freshly scrubbed little girl. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she hurried into the small kitchen and called out, “Let’s eat!”

  The meal was fun, laughter abounding as they talked about baseball and Aiden shared antics from when he was young. As he described the Baytown Boys, she could see that Emily was not only interested, but a little wistful. Emily was starting to make friends in Baytown and she hoped this would continue now that she had decided Baytown was where she wanted her daughter to grow up.

  Soon, the salad was consumed, the pizza was decimated, and the homemade cookies with milk had completed the meal. Emily usually begged to stay up a little later, but tonight she was tired. Her eyes were starting to close even sitting at the table.

  “Can Mr. Aiden tuck me in?” Emily asked sleepily, her words interrupted by a large yawn.

  She hesitated, not sure how Aiden would feel about that request, but before she had a chance to speak, he stood and scooped Emily up in his arms. With a wink at her, he stepped to the bottom of the stairs.

  Jerking out of her stupor, she called out, “Brush your teeth!”