Fall for You

by Angela Verdenius

  “Yep.”

  “I didn’t see your car.”

  “I came on the midnight bus.” Slinging the shoulder bag over her shoulder, she picked up one of the suitcases

  “Ah.” Grabbing the other two, he hefted them in his hands. “After you.”

  “My, and chivalrous, too.”

  He couldn’t help but grin at the absurdity of it. “Apparently so.”

  “Well, Morrison, come on back in.” She led the way directly to one of the bedrooms on the right, pushing the door open and walking in to drop the suitcase and shoulder bag on the floor.

  Placing the suitcases down, Kirk straightened. “Okay. Sorry about the suspicion, Ms Travers-”

  “Molly. Call me Molly.”

  “Molly. Do you happen to have any idea where you lost the keys?”

  “If I did, they wouldn’t be lost, would they?”

  Oh boy, cute and a smart arse to boot. He locked his gaze on hers. “Did you have them on you when you got on the bus?”

  “Of course.”

  “When you got off the bus?”

  She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Yep.”

  “So you lost them when you got out of the taxi?”

  “Maybe. I dropped my shoulder bag, so it could have fallen out.”

  Now they were getting somewhere. “Where did the taxi drop you off?”

  “Not far from the front steps.” Passing him, she strode out into the hallway, out the front door, across the veranda, down the steps and into the yard. “About here.”

  Flicking on the torch light, Kirk swept the ground with it. “It’s dark out here, how did you manage to find your way out the back?”

  “I used my little torch.”

  “I didn’t see a torch.”

  “Because it was dark in the kitchen.”

  Pausing, he looked at her. Was she serious? At the smile that curved those lush lips he decided, no, she wasn’t, and he was starting to wonder if the woman had a serious bone in her body.

  “When the window dropped down onto me, the torch fell on the floor and went out,” she explained.

  Ah, so she was serious. “I see.”

  “Good eyesight, then.” At his quirked eyebrow, she added, “I couldn’t see it.”

  Good grief. Shaking his head, Kirk returned his attention to the ground, casting the light around and slowly widening the circle.

  Molly followed him, her gaze also on the ground, her neat white shoes following in his bigger, booted steps. She was so close that when he finally stopped, she walked right into the back of him.

  “Oops.” Immediately she took a step back. “Honestly, Morrison, that was an accident.”

  “I kind of figured that,” he replied dryly.

  “Don’t arrest me for assault.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Good to know.” There flashed that irrepressible smile again, one that drew his gaze to those lush lips.

  For a fleeting second he wondered if they were as soft and silky as they appeared, as sweet as the smile that curved them.

  It was with effort that he drew his gaze back to her face to find her glancing around before looking back up at him. The faint breeze sifted through her hair, carrying the scent of strawberries to his nose. He wondered if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

  Jesus. Never having had those kinds of thoughts before when on the job, Kirk dragged his attention from those nefarious ideas to concentrate on the situation at hand. “Okay, Molly, I can’t see your keys anywhere, so it looks like this is going to be a daylight hunt.”

  “You’re calling out the hounds?”

  “Not quite.”

  “Police dogs for a search and rescue?”

  “Uh - no.” He resisted the impulse to rub his brow. Honest to God, he wasn’t sure whether to laugh with her or give her a lecture on the seriousness of the situation. “I’m saying it’s no use continuing to look when they’re obviously not easy to find. In the dark we could accidentally kick them anywhere. Now, I suggest we-” His words broke off when she leaned forward to lay one hand on his bicep.

  Earnestly, she looked up at him. “I understand, Morrison. It’s okay.”

  “What’s okay?”

  “I was pulling your leg. I know I have to wait for daylight to find the keys, all right?”

  Cripes, was she trying to comfort him? He looked down to where her hand was rubbing along his arm in a definite gesture of comfort. Yep, she was trying to comfort him. Okay, that hadn’t happened before, he was the one used to doing the comforting while on the job.

  This had to stop. Now. Besides, he rather liked the feel of that soft little hand rubbing along his arm, and he was pretty sure her intentions and his reaction were two entirely different things. He had some very early morning wood starting to rear its head and that had never happened on the job. Ever.

  Taking her hand carefully in his, he removed it from his arm and placed it gently by her side while leaning down to look her right in the eyes.

  Man, those eyes were dark green in the shadowed light, mysterious almost, and the way they widened just a little only emphasized the thick, black lashes that ringed them. Mentally berating himself for even noticing, he turned back to the situation at hand.

  “Molly,” he said quietly, “I want you to go into the house, lock the door behind you and don’t come out until morning.”

  “Why?”

  “Because even though Gully’s Fall is a safe enough town, you never know who is passing through or what may happen, and you’re a woman alone. I don’t like the idea that your house keys are missing, I’ll have one of the boys come out and look around for them in the morning.” When she opened her mouth, he added, “When the sun is up.”

  “No need,” she replied. “I can manage.”

  “I’d feel better-”

  “Really, Morrison, you’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty.” Reaching up, she patted his shoulder. “I’ll scout around, I’m perfectly able to do that myself. If all else fails, I’ll rouse Scott to get me another set of keys.”

  “Molly-”

  “Now, you go back to the station.” Placing her hand at his back, she turned him and started walking towards the patrol car. “Have a nice hot cuppa, a little rest, and stop worrying, okay?”

  Okay? Who was in control here? Kirk halted. “Molly.” When she simply kept walking towards the cop car, chattering the whole time, he reached out, grabbed her upper arm and drew her to a halt.

  Turning, she looked up at him with mild curiosity. “Yes?”

  It was time to take control. Again. Swinging on his heel, he let his hand slide down to lightly shackle her wrist and tug her along behind him. In silence he strode across the yard, up the steps and onto the veranda, opening the security screen door and holding it open while he pulled Molly past him and into the hallway.

  Releasing her wrist, he said, “Lock the door.” When she opened her mouth to object, he pointed one finger at her and repeated more sternly, “Lock it.”

  For a second he thought she was going to argue, but instead she suddenly sighed. “You’re not an easy man, Morrison.”

  “No,” he agreed, “I’m not. Now do as I tell you.”

  “Fine.” She shrugged. “I’ll lock the door.”

  “And you’re not coming out until the sun is up.”

  “Sure.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her.

  “Fine. Yes.” She rolled her eyes.

  Good grief. “Molly, if I hear that you’ve been out looking for those keys before morning, I’ll be back out here to talk to you.”

  “I said yes. Chill, Morrison, before you give yourself a heart attack.”

  Taking a step back, he shut the door. “Lock it.”

  Muttering, she snicked the lock.

  “Goodnight, Molly.” Kirk returned to the cop car.

  Getting in, he started it but didn’t pull way until the wooden door shut and the veranda light went off. Putting the cop car in gear,
he drove down the driveway and pulled out onto the road, and only then did amusement start to trickle in, a grin tugging at his lips.

  Molly Travers.

  He started laughing.

  ~*~

  Man, that cop was cute, all tall and broad-shouldered, but he needed to learn to relax. One had to admire his dedication to duty, but going so far as to order her back inside, well, that was taking things a little too far. Surely the law could only go so far? After all, she had her freedom, her rights.

  She had no doubt that if she’d tried that tactic on him, Officer Morrison wouldn’t have blinked his steady-eyed gaze, just given her another of those inscrutable looks while shoving her through the door. Maybe he’d handcuff her to the kitchen table to make sure she stayed put until the sun came up, he’d kind of had that glint of dominance in his eyes.

  Dominance she could do without, she’d been on the receiving end of that before and she didn’t like it. Nope, she was her own woman and she wasn’t having anyone tell her what to do. The only reason she wasn’t going outside to look for the keys was because the cute cop was correct, running around outside on her own in the dark was not advisable. She wasn’t that stupid.

  No, being stupid was trying to climb through a window and having the bloody frame come down and smack her in the back, then getting stuck because the bloody frame got stuck. Thankfully it was the cop who’d come and not some touchy-feely jerk.

  She’d have been pretty vulnerable, arse-up out the window.

  With a shudder, Molly switched the power off on the wall and poured hot water into the mug of Milo, stirring in some milk and sugar before turning to make her way to the bedroom, switching off the lights on her way.

  Walking in, she set the Milo down on the bedside table, bent down to unstrap her shoes and screamed when something head-butted her calf. Staggering back, she fell smack on her arse and sat there, stunned, as she was surveyed by a big grey cat with green eyes who was perched warily on the bed.

  “Oscar.” Placing her hand to her thundering heart, she closed her eyes. “You almost killed me.”

  Oscar just eye-balled her.

  Feeling foolish, she pushed to her feet, using the bedside table to help. Once up, she approached the bed with one hand outstretched for him to sniff.

  “I’m really sorry.” She waited until he’d given her hand a good sniff before gently rubbing behind his ears.

  Oscar started purring.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re used to strange people patting you.” She sighed in relief. “Lucky me. I’d hate to upset you. I promised I’d look after the boarding house, the cocky and you until Aunt Julia gets back from holiday. Frightening you off isn’t part of the plan.”

  Oscar slitted his eyes and started paddling the bed.

  “Awesome.” She grinned. “Okay, I’m going to have a quick shower and change into a nightie, then I’m snuggling into bed to sleep. Until sunrise.” She leaned down to whisper into Oscar’s ear, “Because a certain cute cop went all macho and I don’t want to bring the wrath of Goldie on me.”

  Oscar purred louder.

  Leaving him, she sought out the bathroom, finding it easily. Nothing about the boarding house had changed since she’d been there some ten years previously. It still had the same old world charm about it, an ageless peace. She loved it then and she loved it now.

  Of course, she was going to be busy cleaning carpets and curtains, dusting all those hard to reach places, washing windows, washing walls, stripping bedding, getting the winter quilts washed and packed away, and doing a hundred other things. It was why she was here. Aunt Julia had her first holiday in years, and she was here healing a broken - no, correction, re-finding herself - via the therapeutic art of hard work.

  It had taken some talking to make Aunt Julia finally agree, but she’d managed it. Her Aunt could come back to a spotless house, ready to again open up to visitors.

  The shower was hot, the soap fragrant, and she slathered on perfumed cream before donning a light nightgown and returning to the bedroom. Rolling the quilt back to the end of the bed in deference to the warm night, she pulled the sheet down and barely managed not to squash Oscar as he jumped onto the bed and proceeded to flop down in the middle of the mattress.

  “Cripes, really? This is a double bed. You have that half, I’ll have this half.” When Oscar ignored her and proceeded to clean his manly bits, she gave up, shuffled to the side a little, pulled the sheet up to her waist and leaned back against the pillows, picking up the mug of Milo and sipping at it.

  The quietness of the countryside, the lack of cars and city noise, had her relaxing, tension easing from her as she sighed contentedly. Yes, this was the life. Good country air, nice old place, and hard work. Having Goldie driving around in his cop car just added the bonus of safety.

  Grinning a little, she remembered his expression when she’d been yanking his chain. Man, he hadn’t expected that, in fact his very firm, masculine lips looked like they didn’t laugh much, which was a little at odds when he had what appeared to be laughter lines fanning out from the corners of his light brown eyes. He had a nice face, strong lines, square jaw and straight nose, handsome actually. Topped nicely with gold hair, thick and short, barely brushing his collar. At least he didn’t shave it almost to a crew cut like a lot of cops, that’d be a shame to lose all that gold hair. Gold hair on Goldie looked good, no doubt about it. Put that handsome head on top of a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular body, and she just bet he was already taken. Man like that just had to be nabbed by now.

  “Not that I care,” she informed Oscar. “I’m not into men right now. In fact, men are off my ‘to-do’ list.” When Oscar lifted his paw and started to lick his furry little armpit, she added, “Except for you, of course. I don’t mind male animals or birds and things. I just mind human males who act like animals.” Oscar looked at her. “I’m sorry, that was an insult to animals.” Taking another mouthful of Milo, she stared at the painting of a vase of roses on the opposite wall.

  Yeah, this place was a long way from the city. A long way from her past, one she intended to never revisit. From now on it was onwards and upwards, she was looking after number one.

  And Aunt Julia, of course. And Oscar. And Henry the cocky. Boy, looking after number one didn’t last for long.

  Downing the last of the Milo, she placed the mug on the bedside table and slid down, turning onto her side and reaching out to switch off the Tiffany lamp. Darkness filled the room and she closed her eyes, tiredness seeping through her.

  The morning was coming fast and she welcomed it, impatient to start afresh and rebuild her life.

  Not to mention work out some bloody aggression.

  No, no. Find peace. No aggression. Peace. It was all about peace.

  ~*~

  She was going to beat the living crap out of the toaster.

  Hands on hips, she glowered at the toaster. Bugger it, here not even five hours and she’d stuffed up the toaster. A crackle, a sizzle and it was deader than a dodo. No toast for brekkie. No crumpets. She really fancied crumpets, but she’d have gone with the toast seeing as there were no crumpets in the ‘fridge. Now there was no toast, either. Crap.

  No milk in the ‘fridge, no powdered milk, no crumpets, no toast. Right, off to the supermarket to buy a toaster and crumpets.

  Muttering to herself, she retrieved pen and paper from the hallway table and came back into the kitchen, deciding she might as well make a list of everything she needed.

  Sunning himself on the kitchen bench, Oscar watched as she checked through the pantry and freezer. Once she’d sorted out what she needed, she changed into low-heeled pumps for the walk into town, hearing the low rumble of a heavy motorbike and a truck horn blaring as she whipped off the frilly apron and slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder. Obviously the population was up and about, so the shops would be open. Or they would be by the time she walked there.

  “Back soon, honey!” she called out to Oscar with a laugh as she
swung the door open, only to narrowly miss knocking out Kirk.

  He leaped back, barely avoiding the door which would have hit him smack in the face.

  “Oops.” Door in hand, she looked at him. “Sorry, Goldie. You all right?”

  “Goldie?” He blinked.

  “Er - slip of the tongue. I meant Morrison. Officer. Officer Morrison.” Molly smiled widely. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed, all snugly-wugly?” The man was severely lacking a sense of humour. He just looked at her in silence for several seconds before slowly lifting his hand. Her attention snagged on the set of keys he held, her smile widening. “You found them!”

  “Was passing when I saw the glint of something and swung in to see if it was the keys.” He dropped them into her palm.

  “How thoughtful of you, Gol - Morrison. Thank you.”

  His gaze practically drilled holes into her. “Kirk.”

  “Kirk. Right.” Turning, she shut the door and slid the key into the lock. “So are you a captain, too?”

  “Pardon?”

  “You know, Captain Kirk.” Moving back, she dropped the keys into the bag and zipped it shut, glancing up to see him just looking at her. Again. “Starship Enterprise?”

  “No, I’m not a captain,” he finally answered.

  “Huh.” Right now he didn’t exactly look like a cop either, not with the leather jacket he was wearing and the motorbike helmet tucked under one arm. Her gaze went to the big, black motorbike further out in the yard. “Captain of a bad boy bike club?”

  “Nope.”

  “How disappointing. I thought you might moonlight for extra cash.”

  Those light brown eyes slid over her, from the top of her head to the tips of her shoes and back up. Mentally, she fanned herself. Holy cow, how could a look - and an impersonal one at that - make her feel a little…hot?

  Reminding herself that she’d sworn off men, she started down the steps. “Well, thank you, Kirk. I really appreciate you finding my keys for me.”

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  “Hmm?” Balancing on the bottom step, she looked up at him.

  He jerked his thumb at the door. “Your honey?”

  “My honey?”

  “You were telling your honey you’d be back soon. You locked him in.”