She gulped. So Miles had hoped to spend time with her. Once again, despite the fact that she’d sworn off a possible relationship with him, she felt a sense of melancholy that it wasn’t to be. She smiled despite her mood. “Maybe when you get back…”
She barred the grimace that threatened. Why had she said that? It was as if her mouth had a mind of its own.
“It’s a date then,” he said eagerly. “We’ll plan something when I get back.”
“Hey, you’re going to miss the Harvest Day festivities at the mall,” she said suddenly, remembering that Jill had mentioned that mall stores always gave out candy to children during a specified set of hours on Halloween.
He grinned ruefully. “I’m not sure what time I’ll be back Friday. Jill tells me it’s absolute mayhem here on Halloween. She mentioned that last year, several stores ran out of candy and that she had to run out to a nearby market and buy more. She said by the time all was said and done, she made five or six trips and they still came up short.”
Suddenly, Kellie wondered when her assistant had found the time to talk to him. It seemed Jill was a wealth of information—but when was she actually finding the time to talk to Miles during the workday? Kellie had seen so little of him herself. She roused herself from her thoughts. “So I may want to stock up on candy now,” she mused aloud.
“Might be a good idea,” he agreed. “Hey, did you get your boxes unpacked?”
She smiled sheepishly. “Well, no … but, I plan to get busy this weekend. I thought I’d see if Daniel might have a couple free hours.”
“I know he’d be glad to help.” He checked his watch. “I’ve gotta move,” he told her, his face registering regret as he rose from his chair. When he extended a hand to her, she placed hers in his, surprised at the warmth that permeated her fingers. Now standing beside him, she was surprised when he bent and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. “Take care while I’m away,” he told her, and then strode off.
She watched after him. Tall and broad, he stood a head above the crowd of mall goers milling in the food court. She sighed loudly.
“Miles is a good guy.”
The words, spoken with emphasis, came from a male voice to her left. She spun around and saw a deputy sitting at a nearby table, apparently enjoying an early dinner or a late lunch. She smiled, eyeing him somewhat questioningly. She was surprised when he motioned her closer.
She glanced around uncertainly. She was eager to get back to her office, since she figured Jill was wondering where she’d gone off to. Just the same, she crossed the distance to the deputy. He nodded at the chair across the table from him.
She sat down, smiling uncertainly. “Did you need something?” she inquired, glancing at her watch.
The man wiped his hands with a napkin and then extended a hand to her. She accepted it, still watching him questioningly.
“I’m Fred Norton,” he told her. “I work with Miles.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, and glanced at her watch again.
“Look, I know you have places to be,” he said, “but I…”
“Yes?”
He smiled sheepishly. “Look, Miles is a good guy. We, his friends,” he clarified, “well, we don’t want to see him get hurt.”
Once again, Kellie was taken aback. This man was one of several people who had warned her about hurting Miles. She hardly knew him. Besides, she wondered, did she look like some femme fatale, determined to crush men beneath her feet. Suddenly, she felt flustered and offended.
“I don’t…” She smoothed a hand through her hair. “I’m not sure what to say. I don’t even know him very well…”
“It’s obvious he likes you,” the man said succinctly. “A lot.”
She sighed. “Uh, well…”
When her cell phone suddenly trilled, she jumped, but studied the screen with relief. Jill was calling. “I have to take this call. It was … nice to have met you,” she directed to the deputy, and then hurried off, answering the call as she went. “What is it, Jill?”
“Good news. Mr. Barnes called and…” She let the words hang in the air.
“And…,” Kellie prompted, holding her breath.
“He wants you to call him right back.”
“Is he…?”
“Yes. He wants to rent the space!”
***
Kellie landed in her office chair with a fatigued thud, her arms and legs splayed out like a ragdoll’s. Jill sat across from her, the exhaustion apparent on her rosy cheeks. “I told you Halloween at the mall is a free-for-all,” she said, wagging a finger at her.
“You did,” she admitted. “Who knew so many little kids would show up here on Halloween? Well, I suppose with the rain we’re having, they’d rather be undercover than getting soaked in their neighborhoods.”
Jill nodded. “It’s a good thing you bought all that extra candy,” she observed.
“I’ll say,” she agreed, and laughed. “Daniel was a godsend. If he hadn’t come by, I don’t know what we would have done.”
She had enlisted the little boy as a runner, delivering candy to stores that ran out of or ran low on candy. She’d given him a walkie talkie as a means to communicate with him, and he had beamed with the responsibility.
“Wasn’t he cute?” Jill said. “Carrying that walkie talkie like he was some kind of military man on a mission.”
“Adorable,” she agreed, stretching her tired muscles, and then checking her watch. “I can’t wait to get home and submerge myself into a steamy, hot bath.”
“There’s always the hot tub at the condo,” a male voice informed.
Both women glanced up to see Miles stride into the office. He noted there wasn’t a chair for him, and quickly dodged into the outer office for one. He returned and set it firmly on the floor and dropped heavily into it.
“Tired?” Jill inquired with concern.
“Yes, I am,” he admitted.
“Training was rough?” Kellie asked, meeting his gaze. She felt a jolt of attraction pass between them.
He nodded, sleepy-eyed. “Yes, it was.”
He didn’t elaborate, and neither woman pressed—largely because both were too exhausted to press.
“How was Halloween at the mall?” he inquired with a grin.
“Mayhem,” Kellie said succinctly.
He laughed. “Glad I missed it.”
“If it wasn’t for Daniel, I don’t think Jill and I would have lived through it,” she told him.
“Oh, Daniel helped out? Smart move.”
“He did. And he was worth every cent we paid him.”
He smiled good-naturedly. “Money talks.”
“Plying him with candy didn’t hurt either,” Kellie observed, and then frowned. “I hope his mother isn’t upset with us.” She glanced at Jill in alarm. “Maybe we should have checked with her before sending him home with all that leftover candy.”
Miles laughed out loud. “Did you save any for me?”
She winced. “Sorry. Maybe you can talk Daniel into sharing with you.”
Jill rose from her chair with a tired sigh. “I’ll bring you any leftovers from my house,” she declared. “And now, I’m off. I’ll see you both Monday.”
“Have a great weekend,” Miles and Kellie said in unison.
Jill offered a weary wave and disappeared from the room. Miles turned his attention to Kellie, eyeing her speculatively. “Forehead looks good,” he told her.
She raised a hand to it. “I’d forgotten all about it.”
“Hey, I was wondering…” His words trailed off as the radio on his belt crackled to life. He listened intently, her brows furrowing into a frown.
Kellie heard a voice speaking in police ten codes and couldn’t understand a word of it.
He groaned. “I have to go,” he said with fatigue in his voice. “And I was going to ask you to dinner.”
She smiled shyly. “That would have been nice.”
Since she was exhausted, the prospect of assembling and cooking
dinner didn’t appeal at all. She yawned loudly, prompting Miles to grin. “You are exhausted,” he observed. “And if you think Halloween is mayhem at the mall, I understand it’s only going to get more hectic as Christmas approaches.”
“Thanks for the warning,” she said, returning his grin.
He nodded, rose, and with a weary wave, said, “I’ll be in touch.”
Chapter Eight
Kellie sat at her desk, reviewing paperwork and attempting to keep her mind on the task in front of her. Suddenly, Miles’ words of warning sounded in her ears, as they had done for the past several weeks. It’s only going to get more hectic as Christmas approaches.
Of course she’d known that mall traffic would increase, but she hadn’t anticipated just how much. Typically, the day after Thanksgiving marked the start of the busy shopping season, but apparently, mall goers were determined to get a head start this year. The increased activity, coupled with getting Mr. Barnes settled into his new store, kept her moving from early morning until late evening.
While she actually enjoyed the pace, she found it left little time for a social life. She hadn’t seen much of Miles, since his workload had increased along with the mall traffic as well. When she did see him, he was usually moving at a clipped pace, with his radio pressed to his mouth, and wearing a determined expression on his face. Of course, when he spotted her, he always waved. And they had shared small talk on occasion, but little more than that.
Kellie told herself that was fine—that she hardly knew him anyway—and that it was for the best that they keep their relationship purely business. Besides, she realized just how much an object of speculation she’d become, since nearly every store manager in the place had, at one time or another over the past several weeks, inquired about the nature of her and Miles’ relationship. Ironically, they had no relationship in any real sense of the word, but typically, the intrusive questioning was followed by a warning: Don’t hurt Miles. Frankly, it was all beginning to grate on her nerves.
“Seen Miles lately?” Jill inquired as she entered her office without knocking.
She jumped. “Huh?”
“Seen … Miles … lately?” she repeated in measured tones.
“Oh, no, I haven’t,” she said, and waved a dismissive hand. “You know, if I’d known how demanding our Mr. Barnes was going to be, I’m not so sure I’d have rented to him.”
“Changing the subject?” Jill said knowingly. “Well, you’re the boss, so I’ll bite. Yes, he’s demanding all right.”
Apparently, with that declaration, she decided to shake off talk of the mall’s newest tenant with an impatient flutter of her hand. “Hey, did you hear that Miles arrested one of the teenagers involved in the car prowls we’ve been having?”
“Prowls?” Kellie harrumphed then. “These kids aren’t prowling. They’re stealing.”
“Well, true,” she conceded. “But Miles caught some teenager in the act. He mentioned he hopes the kid will talk, so he can arrest his kiddie co-conspirators.”
“Here’s hoping he’s successful, because the truth is, even I don’t feel safe walking in the parking lot lately,” she admitted.
“I know. I’m concerned enough that I just bought a personal alarm.”
She gave her assistant a questioning glance.
“Be right back.”
Jill soon returned and to Kellie’s surprise, pulled the pin on the tiny alarm. The piercing wale that emanated from the security device prompted Kellie to raise her hands to her ears.
“Okaaaay, Jill, it works,” she said, a grimace marring her face. “You can turn it off now.”
Jill attempted to slip the pin back into the alarm, to no avail. “I can’t get it back in!” she cried, after several failed attempts.
Kellie took it from her and struggled to slip the pin back into the hole. She just couldn’t do it either.
Miles suddenly charged into the office. “What’s happening?”
She thrust the faulty alarm at him. He quickly registered the problem and attempted to shut it off. Unable to slip the pin in to quiet the thing, he dropped it onto the floor and stomped it to pieces. “That oughta do it,” he said with a rueful grin.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Kellie murmured.
“You know, these things are great,” he told her, “but you’re better off buying one at either a sporting goods store or a police supply store, rather than a dime store.”
“It was mine,” Jill acknowledged with a groan, “and I’ll remember that. I’m sorry about all the commotion.”
“Not a problem,” he said good-naturedly, smiling at Jill, and then turning his attention back to Kellie. “You should probably get one too.”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
An awkward silence ensued and her eyes dropped to the paperwork in front of her. She suddenly felt self-conscious, but forced her eyes up to meet his questioning gaze. “Haven’t seen much of you,” she observed.
“Right back at ya,” he told her.
“I’ve been right here,” she said too brightly.
He scrubbed a hand across his jaw. He opened his mouth to speak, but promptly clamped it shut. Jill watched the two, and opted to bid a quiet and hasty retreat to the outer office.
Miles snared Kellie’s gaze with earnest blue eyes. Her heart gave an erratic thump, and then began pumping wildly. She forced herself to maintain eye contact.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
Unsure how to respond, she simply made a play of straightening her desktop. “Well, we’ve both been busy.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t called. As you said, things have been hectic.”
She forced a smile. “Don’t worry about it. Really.”
“I am worried about it,” he said. “I meant to call, I wanted to call, but I’m essentially working around the clock these days. I’m actually splitting my time between the mall and the sheriff’s office downtown.”
“It’s okay,” she assured him, forcing a smile to her lips. “Like I said, I’ve been busy too.”
“Well,” he began tentatively, “I’m bound and determined to get off work at a reasonable hour tonight and was wondering…”
“Yes?”
“Will you have dinner with…?”
Suddenly, the door to her office was thrust open and a cheerful, commanding voice called out, “Hope I’m not intruding. I know it’s nearly quitting time, but we have to talk…”
Kellie glanced at the source of the voice—a tiny woman in her mid-sixties with a cap of bright yellow hair. The woman thrust her hand at her. “I’m Dolores Angles,” she said, and after shaking her hand, turned to Miles. “Howdy, commander. Fancy meeting you here.” She thumped him on the back. “So, you ask her yet?” she said, aiming a speculative glance at Kellie.
Miles looked confused, his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes narrowed in question. He shook his head. “Ask … her what?”
“You said she could do the job…” she prompted.
He only shrugged in confusion.
The woman gave him a pointed look, and his eyes suddenly registered understanding. “Oh…,” he said, looking even more uncomfortable.
“Well, ask her then. Time is flying and frankly, it isn’t on our side.”
“Uh, well—” he began, but abruptly stopped talking.
“The clock is ticking…” Dolores said tiredly. “Oh, for Pete’s sakes.” She turned to Kellie. “Our Santa’s Posse Procurement Specialist just dropped out. We need someone fast and Miles here thought you would fill the bill.”
He raised a hand, his mouth opened even wider in stunned surprise. “I thought—what?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” she muttered impatiently. “Ask her!”
Kellie eyed him questioningly, but he spoke to Dolores instead.
“Well, actually, uh, Dolores, you asked me if Kellie could do the job, and I mean, she’s certainly capable of doing any job she sets her mind to, as she’s told me in the past.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “And, uh…”
“Good grief, commander,” she said with an impatient snort, “don’t think I’ve ever heard you so tongue tied.” She gave Kellie a knowing grin. “I think he likes you.” The older woman glanced around, and then dropped into a nearby chair. “Okay, so down to business. I’m the chairwoman of Santa’s Posse—Miles has told you all about us, correct?—anyway, my procurement specialist has a case of the vapors or some such nonsense…”
“Uh, Dolores,” Miles cut in, “Cassie is eight and a half months pregnant. I’m thinking it isn’t the vapors keeping her from her duties.”
“Well, she picked a heck of a time to have a baby,” she groused. “Anyway, we need someone to take her place.” Kellie found herself the recipient of the woman’s piercing stare. “Well?” she demanded.
“Uh…” Kellie sat back in her chair, and then glanced at Miles as if seeking support. Had he volunteered her for some duty with Santa’s Posse? She didn’t mind helping, but figured helping equated to giving him permission to distribute flyers. She was so busy with work, she doubted she could fit much else into her schedule.
“Look, the job’s nearly done,” Dolores said reassuringly. “We just need someone to follow up on promised donations, make sure we receive or retrieve them, secure additional donations, help build baskets for delivery and…”
Suddenly, a voice came over Miles’ radio. He snatched it off his belt and spoke into it, before efficiently returning it to his belt. Kellie met his gaze, her eyes appearing somewhat dazed. He well understood. Dolores had the personality of a bulldozer on steroids, but … her heart was in the right place. He stood to leave, his face reflecting his discomfiture.
“You’re going?” Kellie said wanly.
He gave an apologetic shrug. “Duty calls. I’ll check in on you later.” He spun around, spun back, opened his mouth as if to speak, but apparently thought better of it and turned again and strode off.
Dolores watched his retreating figure. “There goes one of the good ones,” she declared, watching Kellie through narrowed eyes. “You like him?”
“Uh…”
Before she could complete a coherent response, Dolores gave a warning: “Don’t you hurt him. That man has been through a lot. He has a heart of gold. And we sure as heck don’t want to see that heart of his broken.”
Santa's Posse Page 7