Zachariah came up behind her and leaned close to her ear. "I hope it comes true."
She whirled about and stepped back. "What do you mean?"
"Your wish."
"How did you know?"
"Lucky guess. You were looking at that star for so long I knew something was going on. Care to tell me what your wish was?"
"No way, Zachariah Smith. You know better than to even ask."
He shrugged. "You can't blame a guy for trying."
"And you have that down." Tess began walking toward the van. "You are one persistent guy."
"Help. Stop that man," a woman shouted.
Alert and tense, Zachariah scanned the parking lot and saw two women pointing toward a man near a car. He spun about, caught sight of Zachariah, and ran toward the trees.
Zachariah tossed the keys to Tess. "My cell is in the car. Call the station." Then he took off after the man, pausing briefly to make sure the women were all right.
With her hands shaking, Tess placed the call to the police, the whole time her gaze pinned on the area where Zachariah had disappeared through the trees. Her heart raced as though she hadn't finished running and couldn't catch her breath. What if the man had a gun? What if Zachariah got hurt?
After informing the police, she walked over to the two women. "Are you all okay?" Tess asked, her voice steadier than she felt. A picture of Zachariah wrestling the man to the ground, a knife poised between their bodies, flashed into her mind.
"That man was trying to steal my car," the taller of the two women said. "We just bought it two months ago."
"Who was that?" the other asked, pointing in the general direction of the trees.
"Zachariah Smith. He's a police officer," Tess answered, grasping on to that thought. He was trained to take care of a situation like this, she told herself while the seconds slowly ticked away.
"Carolyn, I told you we shouldn't have come to the park so late." The short one frowned.
"But this is Crystal City. Hunter's Park has always been safe." Carolyn rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "I can't believe this is happening. Thank goodness Officer Smith was here. That man could have killed us."
Tess's eyes grew round, her fear mushrooming. "Killed you? Did he have a gun?"
"Well, no, not that I saw," Carolyn answered. "But the man was so big."
Tess couldn't have thought her heart could beat any faster but it was--as though it would explode any second. The sight of flashing red lights, the sound of the police officers' car doors slamming shut, comforted her only a small bit. What finally caused her heartbeat to begin to return to its normal rate was the sight of Zachariah coming toward her from the trees. He had the thief secured with both arms behind his back.
Relief fluttered through her like the wings of a hummingbird against a glass cage. Her legs felt so weak she wanted to sink to the ground. She realized what Zachariah had done that evening really had nothing to do with him being a police officer and everything to do with the man he was. He didn't let a little thing like fear stand in his way.
Carolyn hurried up to Zachariah after the two police officers relieved him of his suspect. "Oh, Officer Smith, you were so great. Thank you. Thank you. My husband would have been furious if anything had happened to his car."
The short woman rushed over to her friend. "I want to thank you, too. My purse was on the floor."
"You're welcome, ladies. But next time leave your purses at home. That may have been what he was attracted to." Zachariah looked up, his gaze connecting with Tess's. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going."
The muscles in her stomach tightened as he walked toward her. He looked wonderful to her eyes. His strides were long and purposeful. The expression on his face twisted her insides into knots. Instantly a sexual tension sprung up between them, and she wished they were any place but the park.
"Let's go." He took a hold of her arm and practically dragged her toward the van.
Silence ruled on the drive to her house, but Tess noticed the white-knuckle grip of his fingers on the steering wheel. The tension in the air heightened. He was wound tightly.
When they arrived at Granny Kime's, he reached over and clasped her arm to keep her from leaving even though she hadn't made a move to open the car door. Before she knew it, he pulled her toward him, and his mouth descended on hers, his tongue thrusting its way inside.
The energy and tension bottled up inside of him expanded and flowed through her. All resistance she might have had evaporated like the dew on a hot summer's day. Winding her arms around his neck, she angled herself to fit more securely against him.
His kiss was hot and fierce like the emotions rampaging through him. While she was swept along in the intensity of his possession, he pushed her back until she was half lying on the seat. With his lips devouring hers, she moaned and completely forgot where they were. When he trailed a nibbling path to her ear and bit on its lobe, she swam in a sea of delicious tingles. When his harsh breathing bathed her ear and neck as he moved lower, she clutched at his shoulders as if holding on to him would keep her from drowning in his fervent emotions that were quickly becoming hers.
He hit something and jerked. "This isn't the right time or place," Zachariah muttered as he pulled back from her, his body looming over hers partially stretched out on the front seat.
Slowly her senses returned, and Tess remembered they were in her grandmother's driveway. A blush crept up her face as though caught like a teenager necking in a car. The only thing missing was a police officer coming along and shining a flashlight into the window. Or worse, five kids peeking into the SUV.
Tess scooted up against the door while she tugged down her T-shirt. She could hear the sound of their labored breathing. She could taste him still on her lips. She could smell him as if he cloaked her in his essence. And she could see the silver glitter of passion in his eyes as she pushed the door open and the interior light came on.
She needed fresh air. She needed the safety of the house and the six people inside. She needed to get away from Zachariah before she did something totally irrational and against everything she had planned for in the future.
"Wait, Tess," he called out when she placed her foot on the first step.
A part of her resisted the temptation to turn around, but that traitorous part that responded to him in a blink of an eye slowly faced him as he trotted toward her.
"I'm not sorry about what happened, but I am sorry about the timing, Tess." He stopped nerve-rackingly close.
She backed up the steps. "That's okay. I understand."
"Do you?"
"My adrenaline was pumping after that scene in the park."
He mounted the stairs, still too near for comfort. "That was part of it, but for the past few weeks every time I have seen you, kissing you is all I can think about. You're one dynamite lady, Tess Morgan."
She didn't want to talk about herself, she didn't want to talk about his kisses, his feelings. "And you can certainly take care of yourself. That man had half a football field on you."
"I run for pleasure. He doesn't."
Her laugh came out shaky. "I don't know if I call running pleasurable."
"I do when I have a partner like you."
His words fluttered her heartbeat She continued to move backward toward the door, and he continued to match each of her steps with one of his own until she was plastered against the screen. He bracketed her head with his arms and leaned into her.
"There will come a time and place that is just right" he whispered close to her mouth.
"I thought you wanted to be my friend."
"I do. I am."
"This isn't in my definition of what a friend does."
"It is in mine. Laurie and I were best friends as well as husband and wife—lovers."
Tension whipped through her like a cat-o'-nine-tails lashing at her nerve endings.
"Being friends doesn't exclude other kinds of relationships, Tess."
His breath tic
kled her lips. She pinched them together to wipe away any sensations he produced. It didn't work. She felt him as if he were the very clothes next to her skin.
"I am not going to hurt you."
She didn't think it was possible for him to get any closer, but he did. His mouth feathered across hers once then twice, and she couldn't come up with one thing to say to him.
"That's the furthest thing from my mind." He nipped at her lower lip and tugged on it.
As Tess felt herself sink into him, the porch light flashed on. He jumped back as she wrenched to the side. The door flew open.
"Mom," Shaun said, pushing the screen wide. "I've finished my homework. Can I watch TV?"
She would have agreed to just about anything at that moment. "Yes, that's fine," she replied, praying that her son didn't hear the quavering sound in her voice, then added because she finally remembered she was a mother, "But only for an hour. It's a school night."
She quickly followed Shaun into the house with Zachariah right behind her. She felt his masculine presence down the length of her back. Perspiration coated her upper lip and forehead that had nothing to do with the heat or their run earlier.
"One of my qualifies as a detective was I never gave up while chasing down a lead in a case," he murmured next to her ear.
She glanced back over her shoulder. "There's always a first time for everything."
"I hate to drop this interesting subject, but don't you think it's awfully quiet for five kids to be in the house? Do you think they tied up your grandmother and are plotting as we speak?"
"You may have a point. You check Wesley's room. I'll check Katie's."
Tess opened the bedroom door and found Granny Kime sitting in the rocking chair knitting while Katie was standing over Emily. One of her daughter's hands was on her hip while she was shaking the other at the baby. "No. No. No, you can't do that," Katie said in her sternest voice that Tess could have sworn sounded just like hers. "No chocolate ice cream for you for a whole year."
Tess exchanged a knowing smile with her grandmother. To Katie that was the worst possible punishment while to Emily all she heard were the words, ice cream.
The baby lumbered to her feet. "Want ice seam."
"I'm afraid you've got a rebellion on your hands," Tess announced to her daughter as Emily made her demand again but this time louder.
"Can we have some?" Katie asked, her eyes round with anticipation, while she licked her lips.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you planned this, young lady."
"Want ice seam." Emily raced toward Tess. "Pick up."
Tess scooped the baby up into her arms and hugged her. It felt good to hold her. "I'll see what we have."
In the kitchen Tess checked the freezer and discovered a carton still half full, a small miracle in her household. She dished up two bowls for the girls and sat them at the table with Emily in Tess's lap.
Zachariah found them a few minutes later and laughed. "I'm not sure who got the most ice cream, you or Emily," he said to Tess.
She looked down at her shirt with chocolate stains all over it. "It's definitely a toss up. I started out letting her feed herself. A mistake as you can see. Thank goodness this is old and will now be a rag."
"If it's one thing I've learned with Emily, it's to wear old clothing when feeding her. I've thought about coming up with a plastic body suit that can be wash down along with the baby. Maybe I could make my fortune." Zachariah took his daughter from Tess's lap and walked to the sink.
"How are the boys? Any casualties?"
"It depends on what you mean by casualties. Now if you mean, are the boys fine, then no casualties. But if you mean the room and the Lego sets, then there are some mighty big ones."
"The room? The Legos?" Tess started to get up from the table, picturing the chaos in her mind.
"Don't worry. I've got them cleaning the mess up."
"You left them and you think they will?"
"You gotta remember I'm their soccer coach. They don't want to run laps tomorrow at practice."
Tess relaxed back in the chair. "I never thought to use that threat"
"Hang around me and I'll give you all sorts of tricks." Zachariah stripped off Emily's shirt and wiped down her face, arms and hands while the eighteen-month-old squirmed.
Tess came over to the pair and tried to distract Emily's attention from climbing down off the counter top. The child was having none of it. She wanted down and instantly. Finally when Zachariah had most of the chocolate ice cream cleaned off Emily, he lifted her to the floor and watched as she raced over to Katie.
"More," Emily said as she tugged on the four-year-old's arm.
Katie looked at Tess. "Can we, Mommie?"
"No, you all may not."
Emily stopped tugging and glanced back at the adults, her lower lip sticking out in a pout. "More ice seam." Her voice rose several levels.
Zachariah snatched his daughter up into his arms. "We'd better go. She's about to erupt."
"Go on and take her home. I'll bring Lance to your house when the boys are through cleaning the bedroom."
"Good idea," Zachariah said as he hurried toward the front door while Emily began to cry. "I guess she's had too much excitement See you tomorrow night."
Emily wasn't the only one who had had too much excitement for one evening, Tess thought as she watched Zachariah and his daughter leave. The sounds of Emily's wails could be hear from inside the house even with the SUV's windows rolled up.
"He forgot his diaper bag," Granny Kime said as she walked up behind Tess at the screen door. "The girls and boys played well together. Everyone was quiet until the end. Isn't it nice they all get along?"
"Yes, nice," Tess murmured, concerned that Zachariah and Emily would be all right. "I'll have Lance take the diaper bag home when I take him."
"Why don't you? I'll make sure Katie and the boys get to bed on time. Take your time. You don't have to rush back home."
"It won't take me five minutes," Tess said with such a finality that she was even surprised by her tone of voice.
"He's getting to you, isn't he?"
"He's only a friend, Granny. Nothing more."
"I never kissed my friends like you kissed him."
Embarrassment fired Tess's cheeks. "That won't happen again."
"If you say so, my dear." Granny shuffled toward the kitchen and Katie.
It wouldn't if she could manage to stay away from parked cars, dark places, and where it was just him and her, Tess thought and closed the front door.
* * *
The front door slamming shut alerted Tess. The sound of pounding feet racing toward her brought her to her own feet Wesley tore into her bedroom with a look of horror on his face and tears streaking down his cheeks.
"Bruce is gone. He ran off."
"What do you mean he's gone? How did he get out of the house?"
The tears intensified, making it difficult to understand Wesley. "I wanted—I wanted to take him for a—a—a walk." He drew in short gasps of air and hiccupped.
Tess knelt in front of her son and clasped his arms to get his full attention. "It's okay. Take deep breaths, honey, and then tell me slowly what happened."
"I put Bruce on his leash to walk him," Wesley said after he had inhaled several times. "Bruce saw another dog and began to run after it. I couldn't hold on, Mom. I tried." He hiccupped again and sniffed. "Really, Mom, I did."
"Okay," Tess said very slowly. "Where were you when this happened?"
"Two blocks over. I was walking Bruce to Lance's." Tears still glistened in Wesley's eyes.
Tess rose and took her son's hand. "He's probably making his way home right now. We'll go out looking for him. It's hard to lose a dog as big as Bruce. He can't hide very well."
An hour and a half later, Tess wished that what she had said was true, but after searching thoroughly for seven blocks, Bruce was nowhere to be found. A few people she had talked to saw the Great Dane chasing after another dog
and would point in the direction he went. But when she and Wesley investigated, there was no sign of Bruce, only more rumors.
"Honey, we need to go home and get the car. Besides, maybe Bruce is already there."
The tears returned to streak down Wesley's face. "It's all my fault. He's gone. We'll never see him again."
Tess squeezed her son's hand. "We don't know that. There are still a lot of places to look."
Yours, Mine and Ours (Second Chances) Page 9