“Sorry,” she tried, voice cracking. Maggie cleared her throat and tried again. “It just finally caught up to me. Everything, you know?”
“I know.”
Matt pulled away. It made her exposed skin, not covered by the towel, feel cold. Maggie looked up, not liking the contrast in feeling. Matt’s gaze was already on her. His eyes locked within hers.
Suddenly, Maggie was acutely aware of several things.
Matt wasn’t just close, he was touching her. His jeans rubbed against her bare thigh where the towel had ridden up. Which made the fact that the only thing keeping all of her from all of him was the cloth of her towel and the thin fabric of his clothes. Then there was the heat. Beneath her skin yet crawling over every inch. All within seconds. Starting below her waist and yet seemingly always there. Maggie couldn’t help herself. Her eyes traveled down to his lips.
The world around them quieted to an impossibly loud silence.
“Maggie.”
Her name had never sounded so good. Or different. All her life she’d heard it. From her mother, her teachers and colleagues, friends and even her ex-husband. But the way Matt pronounced those two syllables in that moment was like hearing it for the first time.
Her chest started to rise and fall faster. It was like the air in the room had gone. Or maybe she was just trying to breathe in something else.
Someone else.
She met those eyes, those blue, blue eyes, and knew she was on the brink of everything changing. That nothing would be the same if she could just...
“Maggie.” His voice was filled with grit.
It wasn’t him repeating himself. No, it was different. It felt different. Like he was fighting her. Fighting himself. Fighting something.
He moved his hand, slow and precise, up to the side of her face. The tips of his fingers skimmed her jaw, his thumb brushing along her cheek. She leaned into his palm until his fingers found the back of her neck, his thumb stopping beneath her ear. He rubbed against her skin in an excruciatingly slow circle.
Maggie felt like she had just run a marathon. Her breath becoming harder to catch after every second that passed. She bit her lip to keep from trying to fill the silence. If remaining quiet prolonged Matt Walker touching her the way he was—looking at her the way he was—then she’d gladly never say another word.
Though she wasn’t the one who broke that silence.
Matt leaned in, just as slow as his hand had cupped her cheek, until their foreheads were touching. She stayed locked in his gaze, his eyes never leaving hers for even a second, and almost moaned as his hand slid back across her cheek. This time his fingers tucked beneath her chin. His thumb, however, had its own agenda. It ran across her top lip, stopping at the edge until she let go of her bottom. She parted her lips as he traced both of them.
How could she ever breathe after this?
“Maggie?”
She heard the question. It was the reason she allowed herself to answer.
“Yes?”
She barely heard her own voice.
“Thank you.”
Maggie was almost completely submerged in desire for the man touching her that she nearly decided to just accept his words, no questions asked. But desire, lust and even something stronger than the two—deeper than the two—aside, Maggie was still Maggie. Curious to the ends of the earth. She had to know why, out of everything he could have and could not have said, he chose those two words.
“What for?” she whispered.
He licked his lips. When he spoke Maggie felt pleasure in every part of who she was.
“For waking me up.”
His lips turned up into a smile that she knew was real.
Then he wasn’t smiling anymore.
He was kissing her.
And God, it felt good.
Maggie moaned as his lips went hard and fast against hers. No longer was it time to take things slow.
They both turned into each other. She let Matt take the lead. His hands went from her neck to her hair to pushing her gently onto her back. She’d been so focused on pulling him closer Maggie forgot about the very towel she’d been so aware of minutes ago.
It parted like the Red Sea as she moved. Cold air pressed against her exposed breasts.
Matt broke the kiss and gave her a look she could only describe as unsure. It was endearing. So much so that Maggie found herself smiling.
“What?” he asked, propped up on his elbows, inches away from her bare skin.
Maggie couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s just unfair.” She glanced down at herself. “I showed you mine...”
That look of uncertainty the detective had been harboring evolved into a mischievousness she had always guessed was beneath his intense, cop-like surface. His lips quirked up into a smirk that simply smoldered. He dropped down, ran his lips against hers and then sat up.
“So it’s only fair I show you mine, right?”
It was a question but he was already answering it. His boots thudded to the floor and his shirt found its way across the room. Maggie’s heartbeat galloped at the sight of the man over her. Like a statue. She saw no flaws in him.
When he got to the button of his jeans, Maggie reached out and grabbed his hand.
“Let me help with that one, Detective.”
Matt’s eyes widened and then that smirk heated up.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter Twenty
Matt hadn’t expected to kiss Maggie Carson. He wasn’t going to lie, the thought had crossed his mind, but he hadn’t thought he’d act on it. At least not that day. He hadn’t even thought he would go inside her bedroom.
But then he’d heard her cry out.
Nothing could have stopped him from trying to comfort her—to ease the jarring reality she’d witnessed in the past few days—some way. Somehow.
Kissing her?
Not what he had expected.
Not that he was complaining.
Lying naked in Maggie Carson’s bed, arms wrapped around the equally naked Maggie Carson herself, and there was no bad feelings for what they’d just done. And definitely no denying how good the two of them had been at the choice they’d just made.
“Well, that wasn’t how I expected to get Matt Walker in my bed.”
Matt chuckled into her hair.
“You always have to say something, don’t you?”
Maggie moved her head back to look at him. He liked how good it felt having his arm hang over her hip, protective, with her bare skin against his.
“These are two things we’ve already said,” she pointed out, grinning. “Does that mean we’re beginning to be predictable?”
Matt couldn’t help but laugh again.
“I think what we just did was anything but predictable.”
She shrugged. Matt felt the movement against his body.
“Does that make it a good thing?” she asked.
“It definitely doesn’t make it a bad thing.”
Maggie smiled. She opened her mouth to say something else when Matt’s phone started to go off. They shared a look.
“I’m putting my money on that being the sheriff,” she said, moving out from under his arm. “Which means I’m going to step into the bathroom while you take that call.”
Maggie slipped into the bathroom while Matt dashed across the room to his jeans. A wild, giddy feeling took over him. Like he was a teenager caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing. It made him smile. The first genuine smile he’d had in a long time. One that grew when he saw the call was from the sheriff.
“What’s up, Billy?”
The sheriff didn’t waste any time.
“I know I told you to take some time to get things back to normal...” Matt glanced at the bathroom door he’d just watched
a naked Maggie run through. He didn’t know if their being together was what Billy meant when he’d said normal. “But I thought this might help. All three of our cars are back in working order thanks to two very hardworking and fast mechanics in Kipsy.”
“So the Bronco lives?” Matt asked, his day getting even better. Everyone knew that the Bronco had been Billy’s late father’s personal car and that Billy had loved his father dearly.
“Oh, ye of little faith,” the sheriff responded with a laugh. “You can’t kill the Bronco that easily.”
“Glad to hear it!”
Matt moved around the room, collecting and putting his clothes on while getting into the more serious details of what happened next. Billy still insisted that Matt take a few days off to really rest, and his last task would be to bring Maggie to the hotel where both of their cars were being delivered.
“You’re probably ready to sleep back in your own bed instead of being cooped up in a hotel,” Billy commented before they ended the call. Matt agreed but didn’t feel the relief he thought he would. While hotel living had never been on his to-do list, he had to admit he’d gotten used to seeing Maggie and Cody throughout the day. Eating with them, walking around with Cody and watching a game show or two with Maggie after Cody had fallen asleep.
The case might have been dangerous but it had also been an excuse. One that forced them together.
One that they didn’t have anymore.
Matt finished dressing and relayed what the sheriff had said as the two of them made their way back to the car. If Maggie had any concerns about leaving the hotel for good, she didn’t voice them. Instead, she kept the conversation light. She answered Matt’s question about her job and, by the time he was parking outside the hotel, they were talking about a camping trip Cody’s school was taking in a few months. Neither spoke of what they’d done, or what it meant for them now.
It didn’t bother Matt. Not at first. He took one last walk with Cody around the hotel while Maggie packed their things. Then he threw his belongings in his bag and thanked Caleb again. But when he was standing in the parking lot, in front of both of their cars, Matt didn’t like how final it felt.
“Well, Detective, I guess it’s time to go,” she said, twirling her keys in her hand.
Matt nodded.
“I guess it is.”
The two of them stood there, quiet for a moment. Matt was reminded again of feeling like a teenager. This time an awkward one.
“All right, well, I’ll see you later, then,” Maggie said, finally breaking the silence. “Stay safe, Detective.”
She gave him a small nod and turned away.
Matt watched her go.
But couldn’t let her leave.
“Hey, Maggie?” he called.
She paused in the doorway of her car.
“Yeah?”
“I promised Cody that I’d still go exploring with him after all of this was over,” he said. “And Billy says there’s this park near here that has some really good trails.” He smiled. “Maybe we can explore them sometime. You know, the three of us.”
Cody was the one who answered.
“Yeah! Say yes, Mom,” he yelled through the open door.
Maggie laughed.
“Well, I’d hate to make you break your promise.” She flashed him a smile. It was warm. “I guess I really will see you later, Matt.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He watched as she drove off and then did the same.
It wasn’t until he was out of the shower in his own house that his phone rang again. This time he didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Detective Walker?” It was a woman’s voice, one he recognized but couldn’t place.
“This is he.”
“I don’t know if you remember me but my name is Kortnie Bean. I’m a nurse at the Kipsy ER.”
Matt pictured the red-haired woman with ease.
“The nurse who talked with Maggie both times we were there,” he filled in.
“Yeah, that’s me! And she’s actually why I’m calling.”
Matt’s body tensed; his back straightened.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, already eyeing his shoes across the room.
“Oh! No! Nothing,” she replied. “At least I don’t think so. See, I just worked on a man who came in with a gunshot wound and his mother mentioned that Maggie was with him when he was shot. She said she thought Maggie was okay but, well, with her track record, I thought I’d check in. I know you two have been together a lot and assumed you’d know for sure if she was okay.”
Matt’s body loosened.
“That’s nice of you,” he said, honest. “I’m sure Maggie will appreciate it, too. But yeah, she’s fine. A little shaken up but this time no injuries.”
“Good! I didn’t like the routine the three of us were making in here,” she said with a laugh.
“I’m right there with you, but that should be over with now. Hopefully no more hospital visits for a long time.”
“So I’m assuming that means y’all caught your perp. That’s great,” she exclaimed. “That plus your friend waking up, and you must be on cloud nine right about now.”
Matt paused.
“My friend?”
“Yeah, the man you rode in with last week? The one who was assaulted along with Maggie?”
“He’s up?”
Matt grabbed his shoes.
“Yeah. A few hours ago! I heard he was lucid as could be. It’s a miracle, really!”
Matt couldn’t help but smile.
“This day just keeps getting better.”
* * *
“KEEP LOOKING!”
Maggie dived into the cushions while Cody got on his stomach to look underneath the couch.
“I see it,” he yelled. “I can’t reach it!”
Maggie dropped to her stomach, moving through the new soreness that made her think of the detective—no matter how pleasant it was—and extended her arm until her fingers wrapped around the cordless phone. While she preferred her cell phone, her mother had always made the point that landlines still came in handy. Which was true, considering Maggie hadn’t been able to replace her lost cell phone yet.
“Carson residence,” she answered, rolling onto her back. She trapped Cody beneath her in the process. He erupted in giggles.
“Hey, Maggie, this is Dwayne Meyers.”
Maggie sat up, excited.
“Oh, my God, Dwayne! How are you? I had no idea you’d woken up!”
The man chuckled. It sounded familiar and foreign all at the same time. Years ago she’d asked the then detective about any connections he might know between Erin and Ken Morrison. He’d been nicer than most of the people she’d talked to but still, she hadn’t been friends with the man. The last time she remembered talking to him had been in passing at a local football game. Then again, they knew for a fact she’d been at his house the week before. She’d been afraid she wouldn’t get the chance to ask him why.
“I’ve actually been up since yesterday but the doctors didn’t want to say anything until they had a better handle on my condition.”
“And how is your condition?”
“Right as rain,” he said, smile clear in his voice. “Just a little bruised and sore but nothing sleeping in my own bed won’t cure.”
That caught Maggie off guard.
“Wait? They’re letting you go?” She wasn’t a doctor but she doubted letting a patient who had been in a coma go home one day after he woke up was the best move.
“I’m actually already at home.” He continued before she could express her concern. “To be honest, it took some pretty intense persuasion but at the end of the day the doctor admitted I was in good condition. He called it a miracle.”
Maggie n
odded to herself.
“It sure sounds like it,” she admitted. “Have you talked to Matt already? I know he was really worried about you.”
“I did. In fact that’s why I called. The sheriff told me about what happened, you know, with your memory and I’m officially offering to fill in the blanks for you.”
Maggie’s heartbeat started to speed up.
“The blanks? You mean why I was at your house that night?”
“Not only that but before we got attacked, you told me everything. Everything you did that day.”
Relief and excitement mixed together into an intoxicating cocktail. She turned and gave Cody a wide smile. He returned it.
“That’s wonderful!”
“But if you wouldn’t mind, I think it would be easier if we did this in person,” he said. “I already got Matt and the sheriff on the way over. Do you mind coming out here?”
Maggie nodded profusely, already standing.
“I’d love that!” She held her hand out to Cody and then pulled him up. “I might be a bit, though. I need to get a sitter for my son.”
Again she heard Dwayne’s smile through the phone.
“I’m okay if you bring him out here,” he said. “I have cable to entertain him while we all talk.”
“Sounds great! We’ll leave now!”
Maggie ended the call and looked at her son.
“Where are we going, Mom?” he asked.
“We’re finally going to get the rest of the answers.”
* * *
MAGGIE AND CODY sang to the radio all the way to Dwayne’s. Neither knew all the words to any of the songs and, if she was being honest, they both could use some lessons. However, Maggie was finally feeling a weight lift at the realization she’d know what she’d done the week before. It made her happy. A feeling she was already experiencing thanks to a certain detective. Cody must have picked up on her mood. He mimicked the excitement all the way until she cut the engine outside Dwayne’s house.
“Now, you make sure you behave while we’re here,” she said, helping him out and holding his hand. “We have some adult stuff to talk about that’s important to me and Matt and the sheriff.”
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