Winterfall

by Denise A. Agnew

  She took stock of the patrons and the room, too aware of the gorgeous man sitting close. He’d left enough space not to crowd her, but he sat near enough to imply a dating relationship. Well, that’s what this was, right? Great. I have a case of nerves. She buried her face in the menu and decided on a penne ala vodka dish. He wanted lasagna, and the waiter came over quickly to take their orders. They sipped their merlot, chatted and traded horror stories from when Long Valley had erupted.

  “I was afraid,” she said, then confessed, “I felt alone.”

  “I wish I’d known you then. Maybe you wouldn’t have felt so alone.”

  She rubbed the back of her neck, which still felt sore. “Does anyone feel safe when they know a volcano is going to blow thousands of miles away and it’s still going to screw up their world?”

  “Maybe not, but I still wish I could have been there for you.”

  She tossed him a doubtful look. “Are you too good to be true, O’Day?”

  He leaned in a little closer, and his nearness started that little fluttering sensation low in her belly. “I hope not. I’m honest, honorable, and I try to treat people right. But I’m not perfect.”

  Maybe he’d put a spell on her with his brand of charisma because she said something she normally wouldn’t. “You’re looking pretty perfect right now.”

  “Oh yeah?” He lowered his voice, and the intimate rumble sent tingles across her body.

  His eyes were hooded, almost drowsy looking. It sent her libido into a riot again. “Um…that was a compliment, O’Day. You’re a nice man with manners. Women must be climbing over each other to get to you.”

  He laughed softly. “I’m flattered you think that, but no they aren’t.”

  “I can’t believe it.”

  He shifted nearer. Oh, boy. What had she started?

  “So does that mean,” he said huskily, “if I tried to kiss you right now in front of everyone, that you’d let me?”

  The waiter interrupted, and she almost moaned, admitting to herself that she would love his kiss.

  After the waiter topped off his water and left, Juliet drew in a breath to calm her heart. This man was too potent. Yet she craved him.

  “If you kissed me right now,” she said, “I wouldn’t object.”

  He leaned in, and when his lips brushed tenderly over hers, she felt her womb tighten. She sucked in a soft breath. He drew back slowly, those sexy eyes doing funny things to her insides. Her body reacted, nipples tight and heat tingling throughout her body.

  “Everything all right?” he asked when they’d stayed quiet too long.

  “I count about ten times this week that people have asked me that.”

  He sipped water. “You almost had an entire house fall on you. Damned scary stuff. Back in April the SUV I was in almost got blown up by an RPG. Sometimes you have to give yourself a little recovery time.”

  “Oh my God. Were you hurt?”

  “I was knocked out cold.”

  The thought of this strong, vital man harmed in that way made her stomach drop. “Was it serious?”

  “A mild concussion. But I was out of the hospital fast. Mally and Adam were with me, but luckily they didn’t have a scratch on them.”

  “You make it sound like you stubbed your toe.”

  “Oh, if it had been a direct hit probably all three of us would have died.” He stared into his water glass. “It’s not something I think about too often.”

  She took a couple of sips of water. “Okay, Mr. O’Day. You’ve managed to keep a lot of your past under wraps while earlier today I spilled my guts.”

  “What do you want to know?” he asked.

  “Tell me what your life was like growing up.”

  His eyes clouded a little with memories as he looked away for a few moments before turning his gaze back to her. “I told you about that already.”

  “You told me about your sisters, your parents and the good parts. Are you saying your life was peaches and cream growing up?”

  “No.” He grimaced a little. “My father could be a real bastard.” Surprise kept her quiet and he continued. “Dad had some good qualities but most of the time he complained a lot, he was controlling, he didn’t like the fact I wanted to join the army. He wanted me to go to college and become something more worthwhile…according to him. He used sarcasm and backhanded comments…sometimes humor to hurt people.”

  “That must have hurt.”

  “My mom took the brunt of it, but he was pretty ruthless with me…he harangued me off and on about the military.”

  “Why was he so against it?”

  “Good question. He worked as a civil servant at Alamogordo, New Mexico.”

  “Not exactly a good place to work if you’re against the military.”

  “He was an engineer and that’s what he wanted me to be.”

  Her curiosity deepened. “Did you ever give in?”

  He turned his water glass around and around. “No. I was angry and started getting in trouble with the law.”

  Now that surprised her. “You?”

  “Oh, yeah. I went from being a good kid with good grades when I was twelve to a wreck. Dad and Mom were fighting off and on about how to help me…and that made things worse. Dad just believed in more punishment.”

  “I sense a deeper story in there.”

  He shifted again, and this time he leaned closer and his voice went softer. As if he didn’t want anyone to hear what he said next. “This one boy was bullying a girl I had a crush on. I beat the shit out of him.”

  She winced. “Ouch.”

  “Yeah.” He grinned. “I’m ashamed to say it felt damned good. But I was a kid and didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I smoked a little pot, shoplifted once. My parents…especially Dad…well, he was freaking out. When I was fourteen, I attended a scared straight program at a prison.”

  Juliet tried to envision him as a juvenile delinquent, and remembered his slight swagger, the strength and power she’d seen in him. “I’ve seen those programs on television. I’m always happy when I hear the kids turned out all right. Obviously the program worked for you.”

  “Yes and no. It worked because reality was thrown in my face. Second, I figured that Dad would divorce Mom eventually. I wanted to take care of her, so my goal to join the military solidified. I couldn’t get into the military if I accumulated a record.”

  Juliet stared at him, imagining him as a boy with attitude. She could see it, even though most of the time his eyes were filled with good humor and warmth. She could feel the danger under his good-humor, the lion restrained. When he’d told those rednecks at the fire to back off she’d seen no softness within him.

  “When I joined the military at eighteen I told my father…pardon the language…to fuck the hell off,” he said.

  Before she could comment, their dinner arrived. They enjoyed their delicious meals silently and when they’d finished, the music turned soft and sultry.

  “Room for dessert?” he asked.

  “I’m stuffed.”

  “Mm, I was thinking of dancing as desert.”

  As new warmth enveloped her, suddenly her earlier apprehension about dancing evaporated. “All right.”

  Once on the dance floor, he gathered her in a loose, respectful hold. He didn’t press himself against her. Yet his barest touch filled her with excitement, until she wished he would hold her tighter. Two other couples on the dance floor were draped all over each other, with barely room for a breath between them. Juliet fell into the magic and tried to forget where they were and the world they lived in.

  *

  Mark was tempted as hell to move closer to Juliet as they circled the dance floor. He wanted nothing between them, no clothing to block the sensual slide of skin against skin. It was like torture to cup her hand in his, to keep his hand on her waist without giving into the raw temptation to draw her closer. Her vulnerability called to the barbarian in him, the part wanting to claim, to protect. The material of her
sweater dress clung to her just enough to drive him crazy as it revealed her sweet curves.

  From the first moment he’d seen her at that fire months ago, he’d felt that surge to shield her from anything and everything. Right now he had to grit his teeth to keep a respectable distance. He felt the hesitation inside her, the reluctance any smart woman would have about becoming too involved too soon with a man she barely knew. He couldn’t blame her. Slow and sure, they circled the floor twice. She smiled, laughing at a couple of his jokes.

  When she let out a yawn and went a bit red with embarrassment, he leaned in to speak in her ear. “Tired?”

  “I hate to say it, but yeah.”

  “You’ve had a crazy few days. I should probably take you home.”

  Part of him wanted her to say that she wanted more time with him tonight. Instead she said, “I think you’re right.”

  On the way home she remained silent and the awkwardness bothered him. A traffic jam on the main street made him impatient, even though he’d taught himself a long time ago to chill out.

  He decided to take a different route. He glanced over at her and realized she’d fallen asleep. Wow. He didn’t know what to feel. Yeah, maybe she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep, because that meant she trusted him. Or maybe she was bored as hell.

  As he took a backstreet around the regular checkpoint, he saw another one up ahead where he’d never known one to be before. Odd. He didn’t know why, but something didn’t feel right. And he always, always trusted his gut.

  Chapter 5

  “Juliet.”

  The man’s urgent voice penetrated the fog in Juliet’s brain, and she jerked awake. She remembered where she was with a jolt. In Mark’s car. Mark’s grim expression, even in the semi-dark of the car, caused an instant bolt of alarm. He was slowing down at an intersection off the beaten path, and what she’d call a Bubba truck was stretched across the intersection. Correction. Two Bubba trucks.

  “What’s happening?” she asked. “That’s not a regular roadblock.”

  “No it isn’t. There’s a gun in the glove compartment. You know how to shoot?”

  “Barely.”

  “Get it out of the glove compartment and put it on the console between us.”

  She did as he asked, fear rushing up her throat. Juliet placed the weapon on the console, her fingers releasing the metal delicately, as if it might bite her if she moved too fast.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked, feeling all her muscles tighten in anticipation.

  “Keep cool as we can. If bad shit goes down, you run as fast and as hard as you can.”

  She didn’t know what to say and there wasn’t time, as he glided to a stop nearby the trucks. Two men stood outside the trucks, and she couldn’t see if they had weapons.

  “Shit. Shit,” he said. “Stupid. I shouldn’t have taken us this way.”

  “You didn’t know.”

  “I should have.”

  “This is Briarwood. Houses are expensive in here. You wouldn’t think anyone would set up an illegal roadblock.”

  “True. But it looks like they have anyway. The Sentry Security sign on the SUV will either help or hurt us.”

  Rain had thinned to a light splattering, just enough to put spots on the cars. As the headlights splashed over the men, she could see two men dressed in sock hats, flannel coats and jeans for cool weather. Oh, and the large semi-automatics over their shoulders looked lethal as hell. Both men were middle aged, with pleasant smiles. Please let those smiles be real.

  “Evening sir. Everything all right?” Mark asked as he rolled down the window.

  The first guy leaned down and peered in at them. “Howdy. Sorry to stop you like this, but we’ve had a lot of problems lately in this neighborhood. We got permission from the city to set up our own checkpoints.”

  She relaxed only a little.

  “Understandable.” Mark handed the man his identification. “Mark O’Day, Sentry Security. We’re passing through on the way home.”

  She tensed and waited. One of the men crossed to her side of the car, and he leaned down and smiled at her. She grinned, but knew she probably looked more afraid than comfortable. The guy looked around sixty, and he nodded and left her side of the car after he got a look at her.

  The man who’d taken the identification read it and handed it back with a nod. “Sentry Security eh? I’ve heard of you guys. You’ve got a good reputation.”

  She caught a glimpse of Mark’s reassuring smile. “We aim to please.”

  “Say, I heard you guys up there are all ex-Special Forces or something.”

  “Some of us. We’re not too shabby.”

  “What did you do?”

  Oh, goodie. Men in a chest pounding contest.

  “I was an Army Ranger. A sniper.” Mark quoted what he’d done without bragging.

  “Damn.” The man sighed. “Well, that’s impressive.”

  Mark’s charming smile came out. “We’ve had some heavy duty training. Sorry we’ve invaded your area, but I decided to skip the block on the main drag. It’s ten cars deep.”

  The man shook his head. “Probably not a wise move, Mr. O’Day. You never know who might stop you.”

  “You’re right.” Mark took the chastisement without rancor. “My bad.”

  The man laughed, his chuckle filled with genuine good humor. “Well, you have a good night.” He waved. “Sir. Miss.”

  “Goodnight,” Mark said. “Stay safe gentlemen.”

  Tension flowed out of her in a whoosh as Mark rolled up the window and they proceeded.

  Mark glanced over at her as he continued through the neighborhood. “All right?”

  “Now I am. God, I was so worried.”

  “I’m sorry. That wasn’t one of my brightest moves.”

  She’d seen him in action and knew he was highly competent at his job. “Don’t beat yourself up.”

  “Yeah, well, I am. If it was just me in the car, no biggie, but I have a passenger. I felt something was off, and I used this route anyway. I usually go with my gut and I screwed up.”

  She couldn’t help smiling herself. “Well, if you’re determined…I could punish you.”

  Oh. That came out sounding a bit kinky. And she couldn’t believe she’d said it.

  He let out a half-strangled noise. “Do I get to pick my punishment?”

  “Nope.”

  “Damn.”

  They turned onto the main road and headed straight for her neighborhood. In the increasing darkness, a glow lit up the horizon.

  “Oh, God, what is that?” she asked, but knew what she was seeing the minute she spoke. “Fire. And it looks like it’s coming from my neighborhood.”

  “Yep. That’s what it looks like.”

  Apprehension prickled up her spine. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911. She got a busy signal. “911 line is busy.”

  They came to yet another roadblock.

  “Oh, what is this?” she said, trying not to sound whiny.

  “This is official. Cop cars and military everywhere.” He threw her a glance, his eyes filled with teasing. “See if I take you anywhere again. Look what happens.”

  She groaned. “Yeah.”

  Cars streamed out of the neighborhood in both lanes, and Mark had to pull off the side of the road. They definitely weren’t getting into the neighborhood. People gathered outside the perimeter. She peered into the gloom and noted the horizon alight with a telltale glow and the definite scent of smoke in the air.

  “If that’s a fire I need to help,” she said.

  “Not in those clothes.”

  She threw him an exasperated look. “Of course not, but I can throw on some turnouts if responders have extras.”

  She half expected him to object to the idea.

  “First we have to get in there,” he said. “That could be the challenge.”

  Before they could get out of the car, a police officer walked up.

  “What’s wrong, offic
er?” Mark asked.

  “We’ve got a major fire in the neighborhood. People are being evacuated.”

  She leaned across to show the officer her volunteer credentials. “I’m a volunteer firefighter. I need to get in there and help.”

  “You assigned to this fire?” the man asked.

  “Not specifically, but I live in this neighborhood. I can help.”

  “Sorry, no can do. We’re under orders not to allow anyone in that isn’t already there fighting the fire.”

  Desperation gripped her. “Can you call Station Three dispatch and let them know I’m here? They’ll let me in.”

  The cop hesitated, and right then her phone rang. She grabbed the phone from her handbag and saw Captain’s Detmer’s number flash on the screen.

  “Captain Detmer? I’m here on Phillips at the roadblock,” she said.

  “Yeah…stay out there.” She identified the noises in the background. Shouting, mechanical noises, water spraying, other sounds. “The Chief said you shouldn’t come in here.”

  “What? Why?”

  “It’s on Denby Street.”

  Juliet thought she’d choke right there and then. “That’s my street.”

  “Yeah and the fire involves four homes across from your place.”

  Her mind froze, the implication stunning her. “Oh God. You’ve got to let me in there.”

  “No. We didn’t call you in because you’re on mandatory leave. The rest of the week. Don’t try and come in here. You’re lucky you were out when it started.”

  She almost argued, but she knew Captain Detmer well enough to know she wouldn’t get anywhere.

  She glanced at Mark and the police officer, both of whom wore curious expressions. “All right.”

  “I mean it.”

  “Right. I’ll call you guys later.”

  “Van Pelt, we’re going to make sure your home is safe. Don’t worry.”

  After she disconnected the call, she relayed what the Captain had told her.