by Susan Stoker
“Okay, kids. I hate to break this party up, but Ethan’s getting restless and we need to get him home,” Emily stated during a lull in the conversation. “Corrie? You coming with us? We can drop you off.”
“I’ll take her.” Quint’s voice was lazy, but firm.
“It’s not a big deal,” Emily said. “Her place is on our way home.”
“It’s fine. I’m happy to drop her off. You guys need to get that little guy home.”
Corrie could hear Ethan kicking and gurgling in his carrier. When Emily started to protest again, Corrie kicked where she thought her leg might be under the table to shut her up.
“Ow! Shit, Corrie. I have no idea how you always know right where my leg is!”
Corrie knew she was blushing. Darn Em for calling her out.
Quint laughed. “Come on, sweetheart. I’m sure you have to be tired.”
They all packed up their stuff and stood from the table. Corrie felt Quint’s arm go around her waist as he steered her through the tables to the front of the restaurant. When they got to the door, he shifted and took her hand in his, as he always did. Corrie squeezed his hand lightly in thanks.
“It was good meeting you, Quint,” Bethany said seriously. “You seem like a nice guy. You weren’t awkward with me or Emily at all. That means a lot to us. And because Corrie is one of our best friends, you’ll probably be seeing us again. Treat her right, would ya? Otherwise you’ll have to deal with us.”
Corrie winced, but she should’ve known Quint would handle Bethany with grace.
“I like Corrie. Any friend of hers is gladly a friend of mine. I couldn’t care less if you were male, female, tall, short, purple, or yellow. As long as you treat her as a friend should, I have no issues whatsoever. Good friends are hard to find. She, and I, would be stupid to care about all that other shit.”
“Good answer.” That was Emily. She hadn’t said a lot, letting Bethany take the lead, but Corrie could tell she was impressed.
“And just so you know, I’d love if you guys could get together with me and Corrie and my friends sometime. I think you’d like Mackenzie and Mickie. They’re girlfriends of two of my friends. You guys seem like the kind of people they’d like.”
“Sure, that’d be great. Can’t have too many friends. Thanks,” Emily told Quint enthusiastically.
Corrie let go of Quint’s hand and turned to Emily and held out her arms. She gave her a big hug, and then Emily passed her to Bethany. She repeated the gesture and then leaned down to kiss Ethan on the forehead.
“Good night, you guys. Drive safe. Emily, text me when you get home.”
“Will do. You too, please.”
“Of course.”
“It was nice to meet you, Quint.”
“You too.”
Their goodbyes said, Emily and Bethany headed for their car. Corrie felt Quint once more take her hand in his and they walked to his car and climbed inside. He started it up without a word and pulled out into the night.
They’d been driving for a while before Corrie spoke up. “Thanks for tonight, Quint.”
“For what?”
“For treating my friends like people. For not judging them. For being awesome. I think they really liked you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that, Corrie. I was being honest with them when I said I didn’t care about their sexual orientation. I’ve met a lot of horrible people in my line of work and it’s what’s inside someone that matters, not the superficial stuff. I can tell you’re really close with them. I couldn’t care less about any of that other societal crap.” His voice changed from serious to teasing. “So are you dead set on getting home right this second? Or do you wanna do something fun?”
Corrie allowed him to change the subject. “I don’t have any plans. I could use some fun.”
“How about a driving lesson?”
“What? Quint! I can’t drive!”
“Sure you can. I’ll be right here to guide you.”
“My seeing eye cop?”
He laughed. “Sure. That works.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yup.”
Corrie was silent as Quint drove. Really? Drive? It was crazy. But if she admitted it to herself, it sounded like fun too. “If you won’t get in trouble, I’d love to. Where are we going?”
“Someplace safe.”
“I hope so,” Corrie teased.
Corrie felt the car slow down about ten minutes later.
“Okay, we’re here.”
“Where’s here?”
“The middle of nowhere.” Quint laughed at the bewildered look that Corrie knew was on her face. “It’s a random rural road. No one is out here. It’s dark, the road is mostly straight. Come on, hop out and we’ll change places.”
Corrie got out, suddenly nervous. She couldn’t believe he was crazy enough to let her drive his car. She kept her hand on the car as she made her way around the back. She ran into Quint and he grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling. She looked up at him. “I’m not sure about this. You really won’t get in trouble, will you?”
He kissed her hard. “It’ll be fine. I won’t get in trouble and I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me.”
Corrie could only nod. He took her hand and led her the rest of the way to the driver’s seat. He got her seated, fastened her seat belt, closed the door, and jogged around to the passenger’s side.
“Okay, put your right foot on the brake pedal on the left.”
Corrie did as he said.
“Good. Now hold on a sec.” He adjusted something on the steering column. “Now, very slowly, ease your foot up off the brake.”
Corrie did and felt the vehicle shift under her. She stomped her foot back on the brake and grunted as her seat belt kept her in place as she flew forward.
Quint didn’t scold her, he merely laughed and told her, “Good. Do it again.”
Corrie did as he instructed and felt the car move forward again. This time she kept her foot ready to brake again, but didn’t immediately push it. “Holy crud, Quint. It’s moving!”
“Yeah, sweetheart. You’re driving.”
“Not really.”
“Okay then, let’s drive. Keep your hands on the wheel at the ten and two positions. For now, just keep your foot off the brake, don’t push on the gas pedal to the right of the brake yet. I’ll tell you to ease right or ease left on the steering wheel. Okay?”
Corrie nodded enthusiastically. “Okay. Yeah. Quint?”
“Yeah?”
“If I forget to tell you later…thank you. Most people treat me as if I’m totally helpless,” Corrie told him breathlessly, loving that he was giving this to her.
She felt him lean into her and kiss her temple. “You’re welcome. Just don’t steer us into a ditch. I’m not sure I’d be able to explain it to the insurance company.”
Corrie laughed and eased up on the brake pedal again. She smiled broadly as she followed Quint’s directions.
He talked her through actually turning onto another street and then she got brave enough to even use the gas pedal. Heck, Corrie knew she wasn’t going fast at all. Probably no faster than ten miles an hour, but it was exhilarating and exciting, and something she wouldn’t have been able to do with just anyone. She trusted him not to let her steer the car into a ditch.
Finally, Corrie braked and turned to Quint with what she knew was probably a goofy look on her face.
“Had enough?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’ll never be Mario Andretti, but seriously, that was awesome, Quint.”
He leaned over and moved the gear shift into park, explaining what it was to her this time. “You can take your foot off the brake now. It won’t go anywhere. Come on, hop out and I’ll get you home before your chariot turns back into a pumpkin.”
Corrie giggled and undid her belt. She got out and started around the front of the car this time, keeping her hand on the metal to guide her. Once again, Quint met her halfway. Thi
s time he pulled her to him with a hand behind her neck. The other went around her waist and he drew her against him.
“You’re beautiful.” His words were whispered and reverent. Without giving her a chance to respond, he kissed her. It was a deep kiss, one that if they were anywhere but standing in the dark in the middle of a random rural road, would’ve led to more. As it was, it took a vehicle driving by and honking to bring them back to their surroundings.
Corrie realized she’d put both hands under his shirt and had been clawing at his back, trying to get closer. Quint’s hands had also moved, one to her breast and the other to her ass.
Corrie put her head against his chest and laughed weakly. “We have to stop meeting like this.” She loved the unrestrained snort that rumbled up through Quint’s chest and out his mouth.
He didn’t answer, but kissed her hard once more, and reluctantly pulled away. He grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
They traveled back to her apartment in a comfortable silence. Quint pulled into a parking spot and asked Corrie to stay put. He came around to open her door and helped her out and, as usual, took hold of her hand and walked her to her apartment.
After she unlocked her door and entered the security code, she stood inside the door as he did a quick walk-through to make sure all was well. “All clear.”
“Thanks for a good time tonight, Quint. I’m glad you like my friends, and I loved driving!”
“I’ve created a monster,” he kidded her.
“You have no idea what being treated as if I’m not blind means to me. Most people wouldn’t have even had the thought to let me do that tonight.”
“I’ll see what else I can come up with for you later. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, or if there’s something you want to experience, just let me know and I’ll find a way to make it happen.”
Corrie didn’t answer, knowing her voice would probably break if she did. Instead, she stood on tiptoes to initiate a kiss and he cooperated by lowering his head and touching his lips to hers. He wouldn’t let her deepen the kiss, and pulled back way too soon for her liking.
“I’d like nothing more than to make out in your front hall, then take you into your bedroom and get to know you even better, but it feels too soon.”
Corrie nodded reluctantly, knowing he was right. She’d loved making out with him on her couch, and she’d loved giving him a massage, but that was then, this was now.
“Lock up behind me, sweetheart, and I’ll talk to you later. We’ll get together soon. Yeah?”
“Yeah. I’d like that.”
“Don’t forget to text Emily and let her know you got home all right.”
Corrie’s heart melted just a bit more. She would’ve forgotten if he hadn’t reminded her. “Thanks for the reminder. I will.”
He kissed her on her forehead and squeezed her hand one more time. “Good night, Corrie. See you soon.”
“Night.”
Corrie set her security system when the door shut behind Quint. She listened as he walked away from her door. She turned her back to the wall and put her hands around her stomach…and smiled a contended smile.
Things were looking good. Very good. She’d never been happier.
Chapter 10
Corrie smiled when her phone rang and the electronic voice told her it was Quint calling. It was about a month and a half after their first date, and they’d had a handful of other dates since then…including the date he’d let her drive. Corrie was realizing that Quint was about as perfect as she’d thought back on date one.
He certainly wasn’t completely perfect…he swore too much and tended to be a bit too protective for her comfort level, but he was a generous tipper, liked her friends, and somehow seemed to understand her better than anyone ever had, other than maybe Emily and her parents.
Quint had also apparently been serious about learning Braille. Corrie had grappled with deciding if she wanted to start out with Braille 1 or Braille 2, finally deciding while it was more difficult, and not as widely used, having him start out by learning individual letters and numbers would help him more in the long run.
They’d sat at her table one night and started. Corrie had used her label maker to type out the alphabet. Braille wasn’t easy to learn, even for a blind person. Quint was having a hard time, but Corrie was proud of his persistence.
“And here I thought English was a difficult language,” he’d complained while struggling to be able to tell the difference between some of the letters.
“Close your eyes. I think it’ll make it easier.”
He had, and Corrie had put her fingers over his while he traced the dots. “Visualize what the dots look like on the page and memorize how they feel under your fingers. You’ll have to move slowly at first, so you can understand what they say. If you move too quickly they’ll all run together.”
They must’ve sat at the table for three hours that first night while he’d attempted to get the basics down. The numbers seemed to be easy for him; he’d quickly picked those up, even was able to figure out simple math problems. He’d been so proud of himself and Corrie hadn’t been able to resist giving him some positive reinforcement in the way of kisses every time he’d gotten an equation right.
They’d worked on his lessons here and there over the last three weeks, and while he’d probably never be fluent, and it was slow going, Corrie was impressed with his tenacity and his honest desire to learn.
Since she and Dr. Garza had reopened the clinic, they weren’t getting the business they’d had before the shooting, but they were bouncing back…slowly. They’d had an open house, and invited the media, showing off their new security measures. They’d wanted to show the public they’d taken the extra steps to try to make sure something like what had happened before, would never happen again.
The media attention had, for the most part been successful, and Corrie was back to working every other day. She’d been reluctant to go back by herself at first, and Dr. Garza understood completely. They worked together for the first week they were back in business. Corrie would always be thankful to him for understanding her fears.
Shaun was still nowhere to be found and Dr. Garza had hired a new assistant for Corrie. Samantha was competent and Corrie liked her, but she still missed and worried about Shaun. No matter what horrible things he might have done, he’d been good to her and she missed him.
Not to mention, Corrie knew his wife was struggling. Robert’s medical care was too much for her to deal with alone, never mind pay for. Her husband was missing and was a possible accomplice in a workplace shooting. Corrie felt horrible for her and their children.
Corrie closed her office door and answered her phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Quint.”
“I know.”
He didn’t tease her like he usually did, but got right down to business. “Matt needs you to come down to the station today.”
“Why?” Corrie whispered the word, not liking Quint’s tone.
“I can’t talk about it over the phone, sweetheart.”
“I still have four patients to see today.”
“I think that’ll be all right. I’ll talk to Matt. I can pick you up around three-thirty. Will that work?”
“Yeah, I think so. My last appointment is supposed to end at three. That’ll give me time to record my notes before I leave.” Corrie paused, biting her lip in consternation. “Is everything okay?”
Quint’s voice dropped to the low, rumbly tone he used when he was trying to be gentle with her. It made Corrie’s stomach clench. As much as she loved the sound, she hated knowing whatever he was going to say was going to be stressful.
“They found Shaun.”
“Thank God! What’d he say? Where’s he been? Did he explain everything that’s been going on?”
“Sweetheart…”
It was the tone that clued her in. “Oh God.”
“I’ll pick you up at three-
thirty. We’ll talk then. In the meantime, be safe.”
“I will. See you later, Quint.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.” Corrie clicked off the phone and put her head on her desk. Crap. It was good they found Shaun, but she could tell by the seriousness of the conversation she’d had with Quint, whatever happened was bad. Crap crap crap. She’d wanted to ask a million other questions, but it was obvious Quint wasn’t going to tell her anything sensitive or concerning over the phone.
She lifted her head, took a deep breath and got herself together. She had four more patients to see today, she had to give them her utmost attention. She didn’t want to hurt them. The last thing the clinic needed was a lawsuit on top of everything else.
At three-twenty, Lori, their new administrative assistant, came to tell Corrie there was a gorgeous police officer in the lobby asking for her. Corrie smiled at her description. She might be blind, but she’d “seen” him in her many explorations, and would have to agree. Corrie hadn’t been able to convince Quint she was ready to do more than explore each other from the waist up…yet. She’d been hoping tonight would be the night she’d finally get him out of his pants, but now with everything that was going on with Shaun, she wasn’t so sure.
“Thanks, Lori. Tell him I’ll be right out.”
Corrie heard Lori leave her office and head back to the front of the clinic. She hurried to complete her notes on her last client and then pack up her stuff. She grabbed her cane, loving the fact that she only had to use it when she wasn’t around Quint. She never felt the need to have it when she was with him because he always, every single time they’d been out, helped her get around by holding her hand. It’d become second nature to them both. Corrie felt more connected to him as a result. When she was holding his hand, she could pretend they were like every other couple on the street. She almost felt normal. Almost.