Courageous Love

by KC Richardson

  Julie stepped inside and gave Frank a gentle hug. She handed over the bag of bagels before kneeling down to get kisses from Bella. “Hey, Bella. How’s my girl?” Bella whined and wagged her tail, making Julie and Frank laugh.

  “Don’t let her fool you. You’d think she’d be content to have her mama home, but I think she’s bored. I tried throwing the ball for her, but my ribs aren’t ready for that.”

  “Poor baby,” Julie said as she patted Bella’s head. “Are you feeling any better? I have to tell you, you look like hell.”

  Frank smirked. “Thanks.” They returned to the kitchen and Frank winced as she reached into the cupboard to retrieve a couple of plates and mugs. “Actually, the pain is manageable during the day as long as I don’t make any sudden movements. Sleeping is a whole different story. The pain wakes me if I roll onto my side. Needless to say, I haven’t been sleeping well.”

  Julie looked to Frank after she finished slicing the bagels. “I guess that’s why there’re dark circles under your eyes. Is there anything I can do?”

  “You’ve been a great help by exercising my girl. It’s just going to take some time for the injury to heal.”

  “I can bring you some dinner tonight if you want. Lisa is having a work dinner so I don’t have any plans.”

  Frank grinned and shook her head. “Thanks, but I have kind of a date tonight.”

  Julie looked up from her plate. “Really? Who?”

  “Her name is Alex and she’s an ER nurse at County. She’s bringing Thai food.”

  “Tell me about her. How’d you two meet?”

  Frank chuckled. “I pulled her over for speeding and gave her a ticket.”

  Julie nearly spat out her coffee when she started laughing. “And she agreed to a date? You sure she’s not going to poison your food?”

  Frank’s eyes widened. “God, I hope not.” She laughed. “Actually, she’s my friend Jordan’s best friend. A few hours after I gave her the ticket, we met again at Jordan’s pool party and we got to talking. I’ve run into her at the ER a couple of times, and the day after I broke my rib, she brought me soup. We were going to go out to eat, but I asked if we could eat here and she agreed.”

  “That’s great, Frank. Maybe the four of us can hang out sometime.”

  “We’ll see. It’s just our first date. She may decide I’m not her type.”

  Julie placed her hand on Frank’s shoulder. “She’d have to be blind.”

  Frank raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, if I wasn’t married and totally in love with Lisa, Alex would have some serious competition from me.”

  Frank blushed and looked down at her plate, unable to meet her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just meant you’d be a great catch to any woman available. You’re good-looking, kind, honest…shall I go on?”

  Frank felt the heat engulf her face at Julie’s compliments. She tried to live her life as a kind and honest person, but to hear someone actually say that to her left her with unfamiliar feelings. Her parents never took the time to say anything positive to her. The only time they paid her any kind of attention was if they needed something from her. Her twin sister was the only one she could rely on to tell her the truth. She was Frank’s greatest supporter and they could only rely on each other. But now her sister was gone, and she wanted nothing to do with their parents. She had a few really good friends, her brothers and sisters in blue, and that’s all she needed. The two people who made her and her sister were no longer considered family.

  “Come on, Bella. Let’s go before I embarrass your mama anymore.” Julie proceeded to the laundry room with Bella hot on her heels. Julie fastened her harness and leash, and called over her shoulder, “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  It took the two hours of alone time to clean the house and make it presentable before Alex arrived. When Julie returned Bella nice and tired, Frank sat on the couch to watch some television while Bella napped on her bed. She closed her eyes for just a moment before she heard a knock on the door. Frank looked at her watch and discovered it was six o’clock. She had wanted to dress in nicer clothes than what she had on for her dinner with Alex, but she guessed changing would have to wait. She looked over at Bella, who barely opened her eyes before closing them again. Frank shook her head at Bella’s lack of energy as she went to answer the door. She felt her heart stop for just a moment as she took in Alex dressed in a black sheer blouse with a black camisole underneath, and black jeans that fit her like a second skin. Frank really felt underdressed.

  *

  When Frank answered the door in her white tank and lime-green board shorts, Alex’s pulse raced and her mouth became dry. Frank’s olive-toned skin and muscular shoulders and arms looked tantalizing in the white tank top. The tribal tattoo that covered her right deltoid just added more yumminess to the mix. Alex knew she was staring and her mouth was probably hanging open, but damn! Frank was just sexy as hell. Her deep voice brought Alex back to the present.

  “Hey, I’m glad you could make it.”

  Alex finally got her voice to work. “I’m glad we decided to eat here tonight. You look really good.”

  Frank looked down at her extremely casual clothes. “I meant to dress nice, but I guess I fell asleep on the couch. I can go change quickly.”

  Alex placed her hand on Frank’s hip and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t change. I meant it when I said you look really good.”

  Frank took the bag of food from Alex and returned a kiss to her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

  The way Frank was looking at her made her stomach flip, and she had to give herself a little room, otherwise they might not eat until much later. Bella slowly ambled up to Alex and looked at her with sleepy eyes. She laughed and scratched behind Bella’s ears.

  “What did you do to her? She looks exhausted.”

  “My friend Julie took her to the dog park for a couple of hours today and ran her ass ragged. Bella, go back to bed.”

  Bella stood and slowly made her way to her bed, turned around three times, collapsed, and let out a deep sigh before closing her eyes, which made Alex and Frank laugh harder.

  “It’s funny, but being so young, she doesn’t have much stamina. She plays hard for an hour or two, and then she passes out for the rest of the day. But come morning, she’s ready to go again.” Frank took Alex’s hand in hers and led her to the kitchen. “The food smells great. What can I get you to drink?”

  Alex started removing the food from the bag and recalled Frank didn’t keep alcohol in the house. “Water will be fine.” She pulled two plates from the cupboard and scooped the food onto them. They brought the food and drinks to the table and dug in.

  “So, how are you feeling?”

  Frank finished chewing a bite of her pad Thai before she answered. “A little better. Still a little sore, but feeling better every day. My only problem is sleeping. Rolling onto my side is enough to wake me and keep me up for a while, which is why I keep taking naps. I’ll be glad when I can sleep for more than two hours at a time.”

  “Any other problems besides sleeping?”

  Frank smirked. “No, Nurse Taylor. As long as I don’t cough or sneeze, I’m fine.”

  Alex eyed Frank suspiciously. She knew too much about these tough-girl types. They always seemed to downplay how much pain they were in. “Okay. If you say so.”

  “How was your week?”

  Alex recalled the young man who had been hit by a car and ended up dying in the ER. Alex didn’t want to bring it up. Not tonight. This was her first date with Frank, and she hoped there would be second. She wanted to keep tonight nice and easy. “It was fine. I’m really glad I transferred to County. The people I work with are really cool and fun to be around. Besides, there’s never a dull moment.”

  That made Frank laugh. “Yeah, I bet. It always seems to be busy when I’ve been in.”

  Alex really loved Frank’s smile. The pea
rly white teeth and her full reddish-brown lips that curled at the corners made her criminally attractive. Alex had dated a lot of women, but never clicked enough with anyone to make it long-term, but there was something about Frank that made her feel very interested in seeing how far this could go.

  When they finished eating, Alex observed Frank as she carried their dishes into the kitchen and moved gracefully, despite her injury, in cleaning the dishes and putting them away. Alex thought Frank liked a tidy house, as did she, and that was a check in the positive column Alex was mentally tallying. The only negative she’d come up with so far was that Frank didn’t seem totally and completely open. Alex was reserving judgment on that until they knew each other better. Frank seemed to slowly relax around Alex, but still seemed closed off.

  “Do you want some coffee and dessert?”

  “Coffee is good, but I’m too full to think about eating anything else. I take it black.”

  Frank led Alex to the living room where Bella was snoring. She turned on some soft jazz and dimmed the lights before joining Alex on the couch. Alex kicked off her shoes and pulled her feet under her while she cradled the warm coffee mug in her hands. Frank sat next to her with her ankle crossed easily over her knee and her arm spread across the back of the couch. Alex scooted closer until she was pressed against Frank’s uninjured side. “I’m really glad you agreed to have dinner with me.”

  Frank’s hand moved until it rested on Alex’s shoulder. “Thanks for bringing the food. All of it was delicious.” Frank kissed the top of Alex’s head, which was now resting on her shoulder. “I hope we can go out again.”

  Alex lifted her head and kissed Frank on the lips—long enough to ensure her of more kisses to come. “I’d really like that.” After a little while, Alex felt Frank begin to relax a little more. She really liked how she fit so well against her. Frank’s arm remained around her shoulder, and to her surprise, Alex didn’t want to be anywhere else at that moment. A soft snore came from Frank, and Alex looked up to see a relaxed face and a slight grin tugging at Frank’s lips. Alex was content to just watch her sleep, but felt it would be best to leave so Frank could go to bed. She gently kissed Frank on the mouth, which startled her awake.

  “Oh, man, I’m such a loser falling asleep on the couch while I have a beautiful woman sitting next to me. I promise I’m usually much better company.”

  Alex smiled against Frank’s lips. “You are definitely not a loser, but I think I should go so you can go to sleep.” Alex kissed her again, this time tracing her tongue across Frank’s lips. Frank allowed Alex’s tongue to enter, but when Frank tried to put her other arm around and embrace Alex, she broke the kiss with a gasp.

  “Oh, Frank, are you okay?”

  Frank grimaced in pain. “I’m so sick of this injury. Please say I’ll get another chance at this when I have less pain.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. I think you’re going to have a lot of chances with me,” Alex said in a sultry voice. “Come on, Sarge. See me out.”

  Alex held Frank’s hand as they walked to the door. She was disappointed their evening was ending so soon, but she didn’t want to risk hurting Frank even more, and there was no guarantee that she would be able to slow things down if she stayed there. The way Frank explored Alex’s mouth made her crave more of Frank’s tongue, her touch. The inherent need to explore Frank’s body from head to toe made Alex continue to the door. She picked up her purse and dug out her keys then placed her hands on Frank’s hips. “I’m off the next couple of days, so if you feel like hanging out, give me a call.” Alex kissed Frank chastely, not wanting to fan the flame that was still burning hot. “I’ll see you later.”

  Once Alex was safely inside her car, she looked back to Frank’s house and saw her standing in the doorway. She waved before driving off and smiled as she recalled the softness of Frank’s lips, the insistence of her tongue. Oh, yes, there would definitely be more kissing.

  Chapter Seven

  Frank was going stir-crazy being cooped up in the house. It had been almost a week since her injury, and enough was enough. She was determined to take Bella out for some exercise and get some fresh air. She had slept better last night and felt better rested. She had a nice time with Alex the night before, and Alex had mentioned she had the next few days off. Maybe she’d be interested in coming over and going out with them. She dialed Alex’s number. The phone rang three times before Alex finally answered.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, Alex, it’s Frank.”

  “Hey, yourself. What’s going on?”

  Frank brushed her fingers through her hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “I have cabin fever and I need to bust out of this joint. Care to join me?”

  “I’d love to, but I just got off the phone with Jordan and she’s allowed me to take Aiden off her hands for a couple of hours.”

  Frank felt more than a little disappointed. She really wanted to see Alex today, but she guessed it would have to wait. “That sounds like fun. Maybe we can get together some other time.” The last thing Frank wanted was to sound desperate.

  “Wait. Why don’t you go to the park with us? I was going to push him in the stroller. The park is just down the street from Jordan and Kirsten’s.”

  “That would be great. Would it be okay if I brought Bella?”

  “Sure. I don’t think Aiden’s ever been around a dog before. It’ll be fun to see how he reacts. Meet me over at their house in about an hour.”

  “All right. See ya then.”

  Frank got dressed and gathered the necessities for Bella. She shoved everything in the cargo pockets of her shorts and knelt next to Bella to clip her leash. “We’re going to visit with Alex and Aiden today. Aiden’s a very little boy, so you have to be very gentle with him.” Bella placed her paw on Frank’s arm as if to acknowledge she understood.

  Frank drove over to Jordan’s, all the while replaying the kisses she shared with Alex the night before. Damn her ribs. She was sure they would’ve spent more time together, kissing, and maybe doing a little more if the ache in her chest hadn’t made her stop. She really liked Officer Robbins, but right now, she wanted to kick his ass for tackling her and the suspect. Alex’s lips were so full, so soft, that she wanted more. Just the thought made her blood rush hot through her veins.

  She pulled up behind Alex’s car and waved to Jordan as Alex placed Aiden in his stroller. Kirsten came down the walkway a moment later with Aiden’s hat. Frank grabbed Bella’s leash and met the group. “Hey, ladies. What? No one works on Fridays anymore?”

  Jordan gave her a hug that made Frank’s breath catch.

  Alex held up her hand to Jordan. “Easy. She has a broken rib.”

  Jordan stepped back and looked at Frank, then Alex. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. What happened?”

  Kirsten stepped up to Frank and kissed her on the cheek instead of giving her a hug.

  “I got sandwiched between a former college football linebacker and a tweaker.” Frank laughed at their expressions. “The football player is a cop, and the tweaker tried to bolt. I broke a rib and was taken to the ER where this fine woman took good care of me.” The look of affection Alex gave her made Frank smile. The whining at her leg made her look down. “Sorry. Where are my manners? Jordan and Kirsten, this gorgeous girl is Bella.”

  Bella waved her paw in the air as if to wave hi, making them laugh.

  Aiden stuck his arm out of his stroller and reached for the dog. “Easy, Bella,” Frank said. Bella walked over, sat next to the stroller, and allowed Aiden to pat her head. “Good girl.” Bella licked Aiden’s face, which made him giggle hysterically.

  “So, you never answered why you two are home today.”

  “After Aiden was born, Kirsten and I decided to take Fridays off to spend with our boy. The three of us usually have an outing to the beach or we go hiking.”

  Frank looked to Alex then to Jordan and Kirsten. “Oh, man. Do you want us to go?”

  Jordan wrapped her arms around Kirsten
and looked to Frank. “Nope. I want you two to take him away for a couple of hours so I can have some time alone with my wife.”

  Alex laughed and Frank turned red from embarrassment. “Come on, Frank, let’s go before they start groping each other out here on the sidewalk.”

  “Funny, Al. If you’re coming back before the two hours, give me a heads up, huh?”

  “Sure thing, Jordan.” Alex started to push the stroller as Aiden waved. “Have fun, you two.”

  Frank and Alex strolled to the park with Bella heeling. “They sure make a great couple.”

  Alex smiled. “Yeah, they really do. I’ve never seen Jordan happier, especially since they had this cutie.” She pointed to the stroller.

  Frank looked to Alex. “How about you? You ever been that happy?”

  Alex shook her head. “I haven’t found the one yet, obviously. Otherwise I wouldn’t be single. But I’m certainly ready for her to come along. How about you?”

  Frank shook her head too. “No. I thought I did. We were together for a year and a half, but in the end, she decided she didn’t want to be with a cop. You know, the danger, the long hours. I haven’t had a serious relationship since her, about three years now.”

  Alex nodded. “Our work schedule can be hard to take for someone who works banker’s hours. Even though I’m not putting myself in danger when I go to work, I see some pretty nasty shit. It’s hard to talk about that with someone who doesn’t work in our fields. They can be sympathetic, but they won’t completely understand.”

  They arrived at the park, and Alex placed Aiden in the baby swing, gently pushing him, which made him giggle.

  Frank took the tennis ball out of her pocket and pointed to the grassy area. “I’m gonna try to throw the ball for Bella.”