Welcome Home, Katie Gallagher

by Seana Kelly

  “Honestly! Do you know what he said to me at the Reef last Saturday night?” Nancy stepped forward, shoehorning into the conversation.

  Imperceptibly, Mo’s eyes rolled. She turned to Nancy, saying, “I’m sure it was awful. He can be quite belligerent when he’s had too much.” She turned back to me. “But I’ve known Chuck all my life. He’s just a little rough around the edges. And he and his wife are having some problems.”

  “Rough?” Nancy scoffed.

  Mo walked away, ducking down into the recesses of the store. “I know every piece I have in here, Katie. There’s a forest green hoodie down here somewhere. It’s a large, as I recall, but it’s cotton blended with one of those warm fibers they use in subzero sleeping bags... Here it is! It’s a one of a kind, from two years ago, so it got shoved to the back.”

  She stood, holding it up for me. “Hmm, a little big, but it’ll keep you warm.”

  I dodged racks, making my way to her. It was crumpled, even hanging up by its shoulders, but the color was beautiful. “Are you sure that’s only a large? It looks really big.”

  Mo checked the collar and smiled. “That’s because it’s a men’s extra large.” She looked at the price tag and then up at Nancy who was following us back. Mo whispered, “It’s been back here for two years. Seventy-five percent off puts it at around thirty dollars.” She grimaced. “I know you didn’t want to buy anything today, but that truck is freezing. Aiden worked in it in high school. Oh!” She looked around and grabbed a pair of thermal fingerless gloves. “Trust me. You’ll need these, too. They’re thin, so they’ll fit under those clear, plastic food-service gloves.”

  Mentally, I did the math. I’d be lucky to get out of here for less than a hundred dollars. I needed the warm clothes, and she was giving me a huge deal. I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll take all three.”

  I followed her back to the cash register. “If I made a Belgian-waffle pocket, stuffed with eggs, sausage and cheese, would you buy that for breakfast?”

  Mo looked at me strangely. “Interesting topic change.”

  Blood rushed to my cheeks again. “Sorry, I was just thinking about breakfast foods I could sell out of the truck.” I glanced around, checking for Nancy’s whereabouts. I lowered my voice. “Chuck said if I could find something people wanted to eat for breakfast and I sold enough to cover the expenses, I could get more hours.”

  “Sounds delicious, but if I ate that every day, I’d need a whole new wardrobe.” She rang up the coat, hoodie and gloves. She grimaced. “That’ll be $92.65.”

  I waved away her concern. “You found amazing deals for me. I can’t thank you enough.” Opening my wallet, I pulled out one of the crisp hundred-dollar bills I’d just received from the bank.

  “You’re going to do just great here, Katie. I can feel it.”

  I thought of my empty refrigerator and the animals living in my house. “I hope so.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Aiden

  “HARV, IT’S AIDEN...Oh, yeah, just fine. You?...Listen, you know the Gallagher place off Old Farm Road?...Yeah, that’s it. When we moved Nellie out, we didn’t check windows...Exactly. They’ve made it their home. Her granddaughter is trying to live there...I don’t know the story, but she’s living there...Raccoon, opossums, martens, mice...I haven’t seen one of those yet...Well, that gives me something to look forward to, doesn’t it?...

  “That’s why I’m calling. How much would you charge to come take a look and give an estimate?...Free, she can afford. Tomorrow afternoon?...I’ll run up and talk to her, see if she agrees. Plan on coming. I’ll call you if for some reason tomorrow isn’t good for her...Yeah, I appreciate it.”

  She was sleeping in a chair or in her car, afraid to be in her own house. It wasn’t right. I was just upholding my duties as an officer of the law. Serve and protect. It was no different than when Mrs. Jameson ran out to the sidewalk and pulled me in to get a heavy box off the top shelf in her shop’s storage room, or when Cecil asked if I’d be on the planning committee for the new retirement home. No different.

  As for the cupcakes, I bought too many. She’s skinny as hell already. She could use the fat and sugar. I was doing this for Nellie. I loved Nellie, and Nellie had loved Katie. Civic duty was all it was.

  Standing, I grabbed my hat, walked out of my office and through the station. “Heather, I’m going to be out for an hour or so. Call if you need me.”

  “Sure, Chief,” she said, resuming her typing.

  I checked to make sure the bakery boxes were still on the back seat and then took off. She was going to need furniture, too. She might not be able to find much in the Harbor. South Harbor had a secondhand shop. She might need to get off the island, though, hit Trenton.

  Then again, she may end up reconciling with her husband, and all of this will have just been an adventure story. I rubbed my chest.

  I was dropping off some food and trying to get her an exterminator. Nothing more. You can dislike and mistrust someone without wishing her ill. I didn’t have to care about her to make sure she and her moose hadn’t been attacked by wolves.

  The image of her at her kitchen table, head down, upset with herself for hurting a baby raccoon came unbidden. Again. Still, this didn’t mean anything.

  Kate

  DRIVING HOME, I watched russet leaves swirling in the wake of the cars driving up Main toward the Old Farm Road that led to Gran’s. When I pulled up to the house, I was overwhelmed by a sense of home.

  I opened the front door, and Chaucer bounded out, sniffing every inch of me. “Today was an adventure. I’ll tell you that much.” I walked through the entrance, my wariness returning immediately. “Did you scare off any critters while I was gone?”

  Chaucer whined from the front porch, not following me in. Shit.

  “What is it? What did you see?” I whispered. Please, don’t be a bat. Please, don’t be a bat.

  He pranced on the porch, wanting to be right next to me, but not wanting to enter the house again. Double shit. Okay, enough of this crap. I was announcing my presence with authority. I hung the clothing bag on the doorknob, not wanting to leave it on the ground where rodents or snakes could take up residence. Snakes! How had I not thought of those before? “Please, tell me you didn’t see a snake. I’m begging you, Chaucer. Tell me it was one of those heckling marmosets.”

  He just stared at me, shying away from the doorway and whining.

  “Mommy’s got this!” I ran into the kitchen, flung open the back door, grabbed two pots from the cupboard and proceeded to race around the house, screaming and banging the pots. No more, you little bastards! I tried not to think about the quick skittering movement I saw all around me. Chaucer howled, but I was exorcizing this joint, once and for all.

  As I raced back down the stairs, I saw a huge man standing silhouetted in the door. I stopped screaming and tried to back up, forgetting where I was. I ended up on my ass, sliding down the stairs before falling in a heap at the bottom. He moved toward me, and I held up my pots in defense.

  He wrenched the pots out of my hands and crouched down next to me. Aiden. Of course. “Have you run out of your meds, Katie?”

  “Ha, ha.” I tried to get up, but lost my balance. My ass was killing me. Damn, that really freaking hurt.

  He pulled me up with one hand. The other was holding bakery boxes. Weird. Maybe I’d hit my head again. I reached out and poked his chest. Seemed real enough.

  “Will you please stop poking me?”

  I snatched my hand away and gave him my squinty, suspicious look. “Why are you here, and what is in those boxes?”

  He angled his body, keeping the boxes out of my reach. “You first. Why are you racing around like a crazy person?”

  I stamped a foot, frustration getting the better of me. “I’m trying to scare off whatever is in here that h
as Chaucer whining and unwilling to come back inside!”

  He looked me up and down. “Maybe you’re what’s freaking him out.”

  “Pfft. He adores me. Don’t cha, baby?” I picked up the pots, and glanced through the empty open door. “Chaucer?”

  My dog stepped into the doorway, watched me warily for a moment and then ducked out of sight again.

  “Well, sure, now I’m the one scaring him, but before it was something in here.” I stomped and banged my way back to the kitchen. Leaving the pots on the counter, I shut the back door. Turning around, I found Aiden leaning against the door frame. “Tell me you don’t have snakes around these parts.”

  He shrugged. “Some.”

  I walked over and smacked his arm. Hard. “What is the matter with you? The answer is always ‘No. No snakes around here. Not for hundreds of miles.’ Is that really so hard?”

  “But that would be a lie.” He shoved a finger in my face, backing me up. “And if you push, poke or smack me again, I will put you in cuffs.”

  “Jeez. You cops are such babies. Delicate, dainty flowers, each and every one of you.” I ducked around the pissy cop and jogged to the front door. “Chaucer, baby! All clear. You can come in now.”

  He stepped in, looking around, his nose twitching. I went down on my knees to rub and hug him. “Mommy totally scared it off.” He licked my ear, and then placed himself in front of me, growling down the hall toward the laundry room.

  Aiden dropped the boxes on the dining table and went down the hall to investigate.

  I whispered to Chaucer, “He’s handy to have around. Shh, though. Don’t tell him I said that.”

  “Can you go out to the cruiser and get the duffel bag in the back seat?” he called down the hall.

  My stomach twisted. More fricking animals. I didn’t consider myself fainthearted, but holy crap! There was only so much a person could take. I stomped down the front steps toward the cruiser. The back door was locked. How was I supposed to get the bag? There was a metal gate between the front and back seats, so I couldn’t go that way.

  I jogged back to the house and tiptoed down the hall to Aiden. He was blocking my view of the laundry room, but that was okay. I didn’t want to see whatever he was looking at.

  “Got it?”

  “Nope. Door’s locked,” I whispered. No idea why, as he wasn’t doing the same.

  “Keys are on my belt.”

  He wasn’t moving an inch, which was freaking me the hell out. What did he have pinned in there? My hand crept around his waist, not wanting to call attention to myself. I went into his front pocket, trying to find the keys. Empty.

  “Well, groping is better than poking and slapping, but I said the keys were on my belt, not in my pocket.” He pulled my paralyzed hand out of what I’d just realized was very close proximity to his personal business. He snapped the keys off his belt and put them in my hand. “Bag.”

  I hopped back and scampered out of the house to retrieve the bag. A moment later, I was reaching around to hand it to him.

  He took the bag slowly and said, “Why don’t you and Chaucer wait out on the porch?” When I paused, he said, “Go on, now.”

  He found us on the porch. I was sitting on the rail, wanting my feet up. “As long as I’m here. I’ll check the traps again.” He pulled one of the almost-forgotten boxes from behind his back. “Here. Take your mind off what I’m doing.”

  A moment later, I heard a loud squeal. I jumped off the porch and ran straight to his car. Chaucer jumped in first, sitting in the passenger seat, while I sat on the driver’s side. I closed and locked the doors, staring intently through the windshield, willing him to catch whatever in the heck had just made that sound.

  An eternity later, he walked out the front door, scanning the yard. Spotting me leaning over the steering wheel, he stopped, picked up the pink box I’d dropped on the porch and strode to the car.

  “You can come out now.”

  I glanced at him, but my attention was fixed on the front door. I’d been thinking of every animal that could have possibly made that squeal. It was a long and horrifying list.

  “Katie, you can come out now.”

  I shook my head. No way was I going out there, where squealing animals roamed.

  He knocked on the window. The box was open, and two banged-up but amazing cupcakes were pointed at me. “If you come out, you can have the cupcakes.”

  I might die a horrible death, but I’d get cupcakes first. Seemed like a good deal to me. I opened the door slowly, looking around before I stepped out. Chaucer bounded out after me. I reached for the cupcakes, but he pulled them away from me. My brows slammed down, and I readied my finger for poking.

  “Trade. Give me my keys, and you can have the cupcakes.” He was moving toward the porch, and I reluctantly followed the retreating sweets.

  “Do I want to know what made that horrible noise?”

  “Probably not.” He sat on the top step, patting the space beside him.

  Did he really not understand that I needed to be up off the ground? Psycho.

  “Katie, come sit next to me, and you can have the cupcakes.” Exasperation and annoyance colored his tone.

  “What kind are they?” I stepped closer, entranced by their crushed puffs of frosting, shimmering in the sun.

  He looked in the box. “How the hell should I know? They’re cupcakes. Does it matter?”

  Rolling my eyes, I stepped forward and snatched the box from his hands. “Of course it matters, you dillhole.” Mmm, dark chocolate ganache or snowy white frosting? Eenie, meenie, minie, mo...

  “Katie?”

  Hmm?

  He had the strangest look on his face. “I cannot figure you out.”

  “Are we back to that again? I’m not insane, okay?” I sat on the step below him, figuring any animals hell-bent on carnage would attack him first, giving me time to run. I placed the cupcake box on my knees and selected the chocolate.

  “Wait!” I jumped up and handed him the box. “Do not touch either cupcake, mister! I’ll be right back.”

  “If you’re getting milk, I want some, too.”

  Like I had any milk in the house. My stomach rumbled as I quickly washed my hands. I wasn’t going to eat a finger food with dirty hands. A drink was a good idea, though. I filled a glass with water from the tap and then hurried back. I noticed another box on the dining room table and snagged it.

  “Look what I found!” I held up the second box triumphantly.

  He turned, watching me walk across the porch and down the stairs.

  I sat, opening the second box. Pristine pastel pink-and blue-frosted cupcakes glistened in the box. They were almost too pretty to eat. Almost. My stomach rumbled again.

  “Katie, are you eating?”

  “Not yet. For a cop, you’re not too observant.” Pink or blue? Strawberry or blueberry? Cherry or blue raspberry?

  He moved his legs, penning me between them, as he leaned forward and tapped me on the shoulder. “Katie?”

  “Don’t even think about it. These are mine. All mine.” I tipped my head up to find him staring intently at me. “What? Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had a cupcake?”

  He shrugged. “A week? Two?”

  “Pfft. Try ten years. These lovelies are going to put me into a sugar coma, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.” Brown, white, pink or blue? Decisions, decisions. I could go lighter to darker. That way I’d be ending on a known, chocolate. Hmm, which to choose first?

  Tapping on my shoulder again, he said, “Are you even listening to me?”

  “Apparently not.” Yes, white first. I reached into the box Aiden was now holding and carefully took out the dented white cupcake. “I’m so sorry I dropped you, my sweeting.” I slowly began to pe
el the wrapping off the little minx.

  “If you like these things so much, why haven’t you had one in ten years?” He was studying me, and I didn’t like it.

  “Could you look over there?” I gestured vaguely to the yard. “You’re making me uncomfortable. What we have needs to be shared in private. It’s a secret love. Isn’t it, my beautiful little cupcake?” I dropped the wrapper back into the box he was holding and stared at my naked lover. Mouth watering, I took a big bite, closing my eyes, flavors zinging my taste buds. I’m pretty sure I moaned. Whatever. I told him we wanted to be alone.

  Aiden shifted, the boards creaking. “Why, Katie?”

  My eyes popped open, and I found him right in front of me. Damn, he was hot. Angry and short-tempered, sure, but really freaking hot. I wondered if he’d notice if I bit his jaw right there. Or his neck. Damn, his neck. Maybe a quick lick? No harm, no foul, no teeth marks. I swallowed. “What now?”

  “Why haven’t you had a cupcake in ten years?” His eyes were narrowed, like he thought I was lying.

  “Please. I only got to have the bite of my wedding cake that they needed for pictures. Justin was very concerned about my not being bikini ready for our honeymoon. After that, it was all low-fat, no-carb, steamed, organic whatnot.” Aiden’s face was blank, so I went back to staring at my cupcake. I gave her a little lick. I’m almost positive I heard her giggle.

  I flinched at what sounded like a growl. I leaned into Aiden and tried to see around him, through the open front door. “Did you hear that?” I whispered.

  “What?” He asked in a normal voice.

  “Shh!” I smacked his knee. “I heard a growl.”

  “What did I say about slapping, pushing and poking?” Still using his normal voice, as though he wanted to be eaten. Oh, well. Sometimes you had to let the stupid ones get taken out, so you could get away. I patted his knee. I’d miss him.

  “There’s nothing in there, at least nothing that growls.”

  “Huh. I thought for sure...” I turned my attention back to the coconut-vanilla dream in my hand. I took another big bite, savoring every morsel. Something flicked my nose, and my eyes flew open. I bolted up, standing on the bottom stair. Aiden was just sitting there. His finger in his mouth.