by Alexie Aaron
“I’m thinking that there are so many kinds of love.”
“I’m not talking love-lite.”
“Ah, but you may just be in love of the idea of us.”
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s the stomach clenching, dizzy kind of thing.”
“Really.”
Whit started to laugh. “You are a tough nut to crack, Miss Cooper.”
“Did you expect me to fall at your feet? Be swept away?” Mia smiled tenderly and spoke softly, “I’ve loved you forever. But I also know that a lot of it was the idea of you. I need to get to know the real you. I thought we had made such strides in that direction. I guess my ego is bruised and hasn’t healed yet. Give me time, Whit. Give us time.”
He picked up his beer and took a long pull for courage. “Is there someone else I should know about?” He saw something flicker in her eyes. “Burt?”
“Nope, that crashed and burned.”
“Ted?”
Mia’s eyes lit up and she smiled wide. “Bernard thinks so. There is an attraction, but it’s not romantic. Could it become romantic? I don’t know. I have this problem that gets in the way of it. Maybe it got in the way of Burt too.”
“Problem?”
“I just can’t seem to get over you. You’re a bastard. Self-centered pretty boy that is so talented at just about everything. You have a bad temper, and you drink too much at times. You let mundane things get in the way of enjoying life.”
“Ouch.”
Mia raised her finger to his lips to stop him from talking. She continued, “But yet, there is so much more to discover. Your ease with Murphy, your pitching in and risking yourself here at the museum has changed my view of you. Now, I know you did this for me, and I appreciate it. You have taken on things that used to make you piss your pants.”
“I knew you were going to bring that up again,” he pouted.
“A part of me does not trust you. But it’s a small part.” Mia knocked back the remaining whisky in her glass. “Whit, I think we should give us a chance. Let’s not make any promises and take it one day at a time.”
“Fair enough.”
Mia stood up and put her hand out. “Let’s go up and get something to eat. I’m falling down drunk at the moment.”
Whit smiled and tossed a few bills on the table. He got up and took her hand. They were silent as they walked through the darkened bar out to the lobby and to the elevators.
Whit worried that he had hurt her too much for her to trust him again. Mia worried that she had said too much, and his ego would push him away again. The doors opened, and they stepped into the empty elevator. She leaned into him and felt a shiver of excitement move through her body. He smiled as her hand moved from his to caress his behind. He looked down at her and quivered. The doors opened at their floor, and the two of them ran like children to get to the room.
The keycard accessed the door and the Do Not Disturb sign was placed before Mia drew him inside the room. She threw the chain bolt to keep the other PEEPs members from blundering in on something that was private between the two of them.
Whit picked her up in his arms and headed for the nearest bedroom. He kissed her long and hard before releasing her. Carefully, he placed Mia on the bed. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you too,” said Mia.
Whit gazed at her as he unbuttoned his shirt, and her eyes never left his, the green of her irises eclipsed by the desire of her dilated pupils. She kicked off her shoes and laughed as they thumped against the wall. Whit reached down and pulled off her jeans after she unbuttoned the fly. He leaned down and kissed her belly, tugging at her sweater until she helped him pull it over her head.
Urgent with the heat of their desire, they undressed each other quickly, and Mia moaned in response to seeing him naked and ready for her. Whit slipped into the bed beside her and took another moment to look into her eyes. He leaned down and placed his lips on hers, a soft lingering kiss. She responded, pulling him over her and opened her legs wider as he entered her.
As he pushed fully inside, he felt the moist reception of her body and knew he belonged there. Mia quivered with desire, feeling every inch of him within her. She kept her eyes open and watched the bliss in his expression. Whit held her gaze, balancing his weight on his strong arms and resting inside her a moment. “I love you,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
“I know,” Mia replied, moving her hips to grind against him.
They started to move together. It was more than the exquisite friction of making love that brought tears to their eyes. It was the birth of love mixed with the setting free of lust that had built up in each of them. Later, as they lay in each other’s arms, they remained silent, content in each other’s company and with no need for words.
Chapter Thirty
Ted smiled as Mia walked in the lab. It was very early, and she had brought coffee and doughnuts.
“Where’s Whit?” he asked, claiming several Boston Creams.
“He dropped me off. He had to beat feet back home. He has an afternoon shift to cover for Tom.”
“He did a good job here for a…”
“For a law enforcement professional,” Mia finished and laughed.
Ted noticed that, even though Mia carried the circles of lack of sleep, she seemed more relaxed. “We caged the bimbo. She’s over there on the back table if you want to scream at her a while.”
Mia looked wryly at him. “Even though it would give me a lot of pleasure, I will pretend to be professional here. Seen, er, heard Murphy around?”
“Burt and Mike heard him in Earth Sciences taking a whack at the petrified wood.”
Mia laughed. “Oh, man, I wish I was around when it dinged instead of cracked.”
“You’re in a spectacular mood,” Ted observed.
“I am, although I would die for a pain reliever. I drank way too much last night in the bar.”
“Water, and more water, is what sets me right. Oh and a few of these,” he grabbed another doughnut.
“Save some for the rest of us,” Burt instructed from the doorway.
Mia handed him a coffee and asked about Mike.
“He’s heading over to the hotel to take a nap before heading back. Where’s tall, light, and blue-eyes?”
“Already left. I figured that we didn’t need him.” She eyed Ted for a moment. “Although, I forgot to ask Ted first. Damn, this being a team member is tough work.”
“You’re forgiven. You brought caffeine and sugar,” Ted said with his mouth full.
“I think he’s reverting back to Techie Ted anyway,” Burt said in a low conspiratorial tone.
“Ah the yoke of leadership is a heavy one,” Mia whispered back.
“He did well. All we have left to do is to find out what Bernard wants to do with Beach Blanket Bimbo, and we’re out of here. He’ll come back with me. Mike will take the equipment van back home.”
“You haven’t scrubbed the Route 66 haunt have you?”
“No, but we all need time to get ourselves sorted out before dealing with this challenge. I, for one, have no idea if we will live long enough to get back in the building. And if we do, what good will it do? We can’t presently get anything to leave even if it wants to.”
“I have an idea.”
Burt smiled, “I knew I could count on you. Tell me.”
“You know how we used the rubber mats to insulate Whit when he corked the bottle?”
“Yes.”
“Well I was thinking that we need to separate the building from its foundation somewhere. Slap some rubber down and perhaps it will at least give the entities access to move through the doors. The windows are out because they’re surrounded by the mortar.”
“Ted,” Burt called. “Get over here. Mia’s has a sound theory we need to test.”
Ted arrived, and Burt had Mia repeat her idea. The tech nodded and thought a while. “The back door. The front door has the stone entry. Same stone and mortar as the building. The back door has just the sto
ne sill. We could take a jackhammer to it and remove enough of the foundation to weaken the hold.”
“Brilliant!” Mia said, clapping her hands in excitement.
“But that’s only a solution if we can get to the back door, have enough time to do the job. As it stands now, there is no way I’m going to let anyone get near that parking lot, let alone the building,” Burt decreed.
Mia and Ted looked at each other. Burt was taking control. But it was his right to do so as this investigation was his. Mia took a jelly doughnut and munched on it, thinking aloud, “Is there another way in. I heard rumors about a cave under the falls?”
“I’m having Beth work on getting us some professional help. Spelunkers, I think they’re called.”
“We’re not going to be able to haul a jackhammer underground, especially in water,” Ted pointed out.
“Okay, okay, I don’t have a firm plan as of yet. Let’s take a few days and regroup. Oh, we need to stay somewhere on the other side of the iron bridge by the way.”
“I’m for that. I didn’t like the quality of ghosts hanging out at the motel,” Mia quipped.
“Really, I didn’t know. They didn’t bother you did they?”
“Nah, Murphy ran interference. Kept all but a pervy one out,” Mia said, looking at Ted. “It tended to spill its guts at the slightest provocation.”
Ted got the message.
~
Bernard walked into the lab. He smiled at the way the PEEPs team had cleaned up after themselves. All but the trapped entity had been packed up and secured in their vehicles. Mia had Murphy’s axe in a pack on her back, ready to leave once the edict came down on what they were going to do with Courtney Fairchild. Mia missed her house and wanted to get some serious shut eye. Mike had cleared their stuff out of the hotel and checked out, handing the bill to Burt to be expensed. Mia stuck her nose into the situation and insisted on paying her part. They argued until Mary called the lab and asked where the bill for the hotel suite was. Mike walked it over and came back with a check to reimburse his credit card.
“Well after some discussion, the board and I have agreed to have Gerald Shem’s people take possession of the entity. They are the same group that took the duelist off your hands, Mia.”
Mia nodded and smiled, happy to know that Courtney wasn’t going on display in the Field museum. She worried that her new minions would attempt to release her. The sooner she was out of the building, the better.
“The insurance company is covering the broken glass, and the board would like to award a grant for paranormal research to PEEPs. This should cover your expenses and maybe buy some needed equipment. I stressed that you left an investigation and came to our aid. They were very generous.”
He handed the check to Ted. Ted’s eyes opened wide. He handed the check to Burt whose eyes opened very wide, and he smiled.
Mia hugged Bernard before she left. She promised to take whatever she found Ralph had done to her home with the kindness he knew she had in her. Mia was just happy to go home.
She drove to April’s before she went home. April still was out of town so Mia parked the truck in the middle of the drive.
“Home sweet home,” she said to Murphy as she walked over to the mausoleum. She took off her pack and looked around. “Sure is pretty out here.”
Murphy hadn’t appeared, but that wasn’t unusual. She secured the axe head and walked back to her truck. Murphy appeared as she walked over to the driver’s side.
“Hello, hero,” she said with a smile.
He nodded and tipped his hat.
“I’ll be back here in a couple of days. The boys wanted me to ask you if you wanted to go back down to the biker pit and help them out. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to sit this one out.”
Murphy pushed his hat back on his head and shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ll tell them you’re thinking about it.”
Murphy smiled.
Mia hesitated and wanted to say something more, but Murphy disappeared. She wasn’t sure she wanted to have a long conversation with him anyway so she breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a difficult investigation, complicated by Murphy’s amorous advances. True, she played loose and free with her emotions too. She wasn’t sure how much Murphy knew about her interest in Whit, but she sure didn’t want to have to explain it to him should he asked. Somehow she felt like she was too timing the ghost. Most people would think that this was ridiculous. Mia wasn’t most people.
She backed the truck down the lane and headed home. Ralph had told her that he filled the refrigerator, so she didn’t have to stop for milk.
Mia liked the little town she lived just outside of. The place had maintained a small town feel, even though it was growing. The big developers never did get a foothold here due to the lack of freeway access. It made the long drive up here prohibitive for the daily commuter, but people had their vacation homes here. Their business made enough money in the summer months to eke through the winter.
Mia chose the long route that ran past Whit’s old house. The sold sign seemed to underscore that Whit had indeed moved on. Mia picked up her speed, anxious to get home.
She parked her truck and circled it with salt after sealing the gated end of the drive. She noticed a screen had been added to her laundry room window. Well if that was the extent of the renovations, she was thrilled. She opened the door and put in the security code to disarm the system before taking in the room. She turned around and was amazed. She recognized a few pieces of furniture but most of the great room was new. Ralph had coordinated valances over her verticals that matched the pillows on the new sofa. She walked over and opened the blinds, and walked back to the door and scanned the room again. It worked. There was life and love exuding from every corner. The new desk and table added grace and beauty. “I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb,” she commented aloud. She turned and looked into the kitchen. The only new thing she spotted was an impressive coffee maker. “That must have set the coffers back.” She thought she might as well take the tour. The laundry was clean and the remembered piles of clothes and sheets had been washed. There was something strange about the window though. The sill. White marble sill. She shook her head and walked back into the great room and noted that there were more marble sills. They had grooves cut into them with salt filling the space.
“How cool is that.” She walked back to the door and saw the footing of the door jamb was designed the same way. Not brave enough to venture into her bedroom yet. Mia checked out the guestroom and bath and saw a few Ralph touches there, but everything remained the same otherwise.
“Okay, be brave,” she instructed herself. She walked across the great room to the master suite and opened the door. The new bed linen was soft as well as it was beautiful. The windows were shiny with the new sills. She turned and saw that Ralph had replaced her pasteboard dresser with a sizable wood one that matched the mirror mounted over it. She opened a few drawers and saw some familiar clothes. Gone, however, were her tattered undies. They were replaced with more of what Mia had been given at the museum. She wasn’t quite sure if this was an invasion or a judgmental incursion.
The bath gleamed with clean marble and tile. The soft new towels matched the comforter on her bed. She opened the cabinets and found her stuff lined up inside. On the hook by the shower was a filmy, almost too prissy, robe. “Minus one point,” she said as she pulled it off the hook and walked it across the house and deposited it in the guestroom. She opened up the closet and put it on a hanger in there.
She would sort out her stuff later. Mia knew that Ralph was on tenterhooks, probably sitting by the phone chewing his manicure to bits. She sat down on the overlarge sofa and pulled out her phone.
He answered on the first ring. “Well?”
“I feel like Shirley Temple in The Little Princess. Thank you, Ralph, it is beautiful, gorgeous, and so generous of you.”
“I thought I would bring a little bit of France to you.”
“You succeeded. I haven’t been so pleasantly surprised in a long time. Thank you.”
Ralph wanted to give her the play by play, and Mia listened intently. Her stomach growled. She walked over to the refrigerator which held a bountiful harvest of fresh veggies. Mia hoped that her cookbook would help her identify some of them. She found a pint of yogurt and opened it. Ralph continued to talk about towels and the state of Mia’s clothing. He started to nag, so she countered with asking him if he had the receipt for the robe.
“Yes, why?”
“Um, no, not me. Not in a million years. Too trampy.”
She held the phone away from her head as he exclaimed that she wasn’t up on the latest style.
“Um, no. But how is it going to keep me warm?”
“You are supposed to wear it around someone and let him keep you warm.”
“You didn’t just say that to me, ew,” Mia teased him.
“Okay, I’ll take it back. You want something flannel?”
“You don’t have to be snide.” Mia enjoyed herself teasing Ralph. They were soon on to other subjects. After Ralph schooled her on how to make coffee with the machine, she admitted to being very tired. “I have to empty the truck, bring in all my new clothes and get some sleep.”
“You’re not going on another investigation are you?”
“Not for a few days. I’m going to rest and maybe go on a date.”
“A date!” Ralph screamed and asked, “Who?”
“None of your business.”
“Oh I hope it’s Whitney, but Bernard says that Ted is a diamond in the rough. Not Burt, he had his chance and…”
“It’s Whit,” she admitted and put him out of his misery.
“Good choice. Take it slow. Reel him in with some of that lingerie I bought.”
“Honestly, do you hear yourself?”
“I don’t know what you mean. Okay, missy, I’ll let you go. I have errands to run, and Bernard is due home anytime now.”
She said her goodbyes and put the phone down. Mia really did like the house, she thought as she sat back down on the sofa. She didn’t see any ghosts in the area, so no harm done. She closed her eyes and fell promptly asleep.