* * *
“Come in with me?” Callie asked when Taylor pulled her car up to the bookstore she lived above.
“I’ll wait here.” Taylor shut off the engine and crossed her arms over her chest, an obvious sign she was irritated about all of this.
“Listen, I know you aren’t happy about having to help me out, but can we at least try to get along?” Callie asked. God knew she wasn’t entirely happy about it either, but Taylor had been the one who offered her assistance. She looked at the door to the staircase leading up to her apartment. “I’m not sure I can navigate the staircase and carry a bag with the use of only one hand.”
Taylor didn’t respond, but simply got out of the car and went to wait for her at the door to the building. She was pissed, but Callie didn’t know why. Was it something about her, or was it because of what she’d said about Andrea?
“I’m sorry, Callie,” Callie muttered under her breath as she struggled to get out of the passenger side without the use of her right arm. “Of course I’ll help you.”
“Did you say something?” Taylor asked.
“Nope, not a word.” She slammed the car door and plastered a smile on her face.
They didn’t speak as she shoved some clothes into her duffel bag, mostly sweatshirts and sweatpants, because what else could she possibly need? It wasn’t like there was a fancy dinner planned anywhere, right? She grabbed a pair of jeans just in case. She went and quickly grabbed things from the bathroom she would need. She sighed and looked at Taylor, who was standing at the window looking at the street below. Callie didn’t think she’d actually noticed the apartment when she walked in. She’d simply gone straight to the window and hadn’t looked back.
“Could you zip this closed for me, please?”
Taylor came and did it without a word, then carried it to the door. “Do you have everything you need?”
“I hope so,” Callie said. She stood there and watched as Taylor walked out the door and down the stairs. “She might be harder to break than I thought.”
Chapter Six
Taylor was still fuming when she pulled into her garage. She’d never said anything to Andrea about not liking Callie. Why in the world would she have told Callie she did? It didn’t make any sense at all to her. Maybe she’d said something about not liking the fact Callie was so reckless, which wasn’t the same as not liking her, was it?
“I’m sorry you’re going to have to miss spending Thanksgiving with your parents,” Callie said as they walked into the house.
Taylor didn’t respond. She was grateful Callie had been quiet not only on the ride to her apartment to get the things she’d need for the few days at Taylor’s, but then again on the ride to Taylor’s house. She didn’t know how to talk to Callie. There was a strange feeling inside her because part of her wanted to be nice to Callie and try to get to know her better, but the other part balked at the idea of letting her in at all. The attraction she was feeling really wasn’t helping much either.
Blaze met them at the door, excited as usual to see her, but when he noticed Callie, he sat down and cocked his head to the side, watching her intently. His tail was sweeping slowly back and forth. Tentatively.
“Do you think he remembers me?” Callie asked quietly.
“You’ve met him?” Her surprise must have been evident by the way Callie looked at her.
“I was with Andrea the day she got him. He was an anniversary gift if I recall correctly.”
“Yes,” Taylor said, scratching Blaze behind the ear with her free hand. She set Callie’s bag down and tried her best to not let Callie see she was close to crying at the memory she invoked. “He was. I doubt he’d remember you though. He was just a puppy at the time.”
She watched as Callie held her hand out to him. Blaze leaned forward and sniffed her hand for a moment before shoving his head under it and wagging his tail so furiously his entire body shook. Callie laughed, and Taylor couldn’t help but join in.
“I think you might be wrong about that,” Callie said.
“I guess so,” Taylor said in amazement. Blaze was never this friendly to people he didn’t know. He was usually wary and kept his distance until he’d had the chance to figure them out. “It looks like you’ve got a new friend.”
“Just one?” Callie glanced at her. “What do I have to do in order to win you over too?”
Taylor just shook her head as she picked Callie’s bag up again and led her down the hall.
“Unfortunately, my guest room isn’t set up for guests. It’s my exercise room. So you’ll have to sleep in my room, and I’ll take the couch.”
“No.” Callie reached out and caught Taylor’s wrist. “I won’t let you do that. I can sleep on the couch.”
“It’s not a big deal, really,” Taylor said. She looked at Callie’s hand, which was still wrapped around her wrist. After another moment, Callie released her and took a step back.
“I’ve ruined your holiday plans. I won’t inconvenience you in your own home too.”
“You didn’t ruin my holiday plans,” Taylor said. “My parents are coming here instead.”
“Oh.” Callie looked horrified. “Okay, well, I can make myself scarce while they’re here.”
“What?” Taylor laughed and shook her head. “Not necessary. They know you’re here, and there will be more than enough food. You’re staying for dinner.”
“You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re bossy.”
“Excuse me?” Taylor looked at her, not quite believing what she’d heard. At least Callie had the decency to blush at her comment. She turned away, not wanting Callie to see the grin she couldn’t hide.
“I’m sorry. I really do need to learn how to filter what goes from my brain to my mouth.”
“This is where you’ll sleep,” Taylor said, choosing to ignore her remark, but silently agreed with her assessment. “I just need to get a few things out of the bathroom.”
“I don’t feel good about this,” Callie said as she sat on the edge of the bed. “You should be able to sleep in your own bed.”
“Trust me, before you deal with my parents, and given the fact they refuse to believe you aren’t the new woman in my life, you’ll need a good night’s sleep.” Taylor shut the bathroom door and looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe she needed to learn how to filter as well. She couldn’t believe she’d said the words out loud.
* * *
Taylor walked into the kitchen after taking a shower later the same afternoon to find Callie going through her cupboards, so she leaned against the doorframe and watched her for a moment. She’d have to be blind to not notice how attractive Callie was. There was nothing wrong with appreciating how good-looking someone was. It didn’t have to mean anything, right?
Callie grinned when she looked over her shoulder and caught Taylor checking her out. Taylor refused to look away, even though her cheeks were burning with embarrassment at being discovered.
“Do you like the view?” Callie asked with a cocky grin.
“What view?” Taylor snorted. “In case you’ve forgotten, you’re wearing sweats. You could have been anyone here in my kitchen going through my things.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want to tell yourself.” Callie took a seat at the table but never broke their eye contact. Taylor finally did when it got to be too intense.
“What do you want for dinner?” she asked, making her way to the fridge.
“Based on what I found? Potato chips, ice cream, and cookies.” Callie chuckled. “I thought you were cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. How are you going to make a meal out of the junk food you have?”
“I never said I was cooking,” Taylor said defensively without turning around. “I said my parents were coming here for dinner. They’re cooking everything and bringing it with them because they know I can’t boil water without setting off the smoke alarms.”
She expected some sarcastic comeback, but instead was met with silence. She stood up from whe
re she was bent over looking into the refrigerator and looked at Callie, who was watching her from her seat at the table.
“Just for the record?” Callie asked, meeting her eyes. “I like the view.”
Taylor felt a blush taking over her cheeks once again as she realized Callie had been staring at her ass while she was bent over. Christ, this was the first day, and already Callie was flirting mercilessly with her. She so wanted to say something she’d no doubt regret, but then remembered Andrea telling her she needed to learn how to take a compliment.
“Thank you,” she said before turning away again. She took a deep breath and opened the drawer where she kept the takeout menus. She dropped them on the table and walked out of the kitchen as she tossed over her shoulder, “Figure out what you want and I’ll call it in.”
She went right to the bathroom and closed the door. She sat on the edge of the tub and leaned over, her head in her hands. This wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be allowing Callie to flirt with her. Definitely not in the home she’d shared with Andrea. She had to admit though, it felt good to be appreciated by a woman again. Flirting didn’t have to lead anywhere, right? Especially with Callie. She reminded herself Callie no doubt flirted with every woman, just like her sister Quinn used to do before she’d finally settled down with Grace.
But even if she didn’t flirt with everyone, nothing would ever happen between the two of them. After losing her firefighter wife, there was no way she’d ever get involved with another woman in a high-risk job. Especially after Callie had just been shot. She shook her head.
She could try to convince herself it was true all she wanted, but it did nothing to explain the fluttering she felt in her belly every time Callie smiled at her.
* * *
“Want to watch a movie?” Taylor asked while she was putting the leftovers from their dinner in the refrigerator.
Eating hadn’t been easy with only the use of her left hand, but Callie figured pizza would have been simple enough. Boy, had she been wrong. No one would ever accuse her of being ambidextrous, as it was painfully obvious she was pretty much useless without her dominant hand.
“I don’t know,” Callie said, remembering the only place to sit in the living room was the couch. She didn’t think she could keep from sitting too close to Taylor. Sure, they’d been flirting back and forth, but there were so many walls up around Taylor, it would likely take a battering ram to knock them down. “I’m pretty tired.”
“It’s only seven o’clock,” Taylor said, sounding unconvinced.
“I was shot last night, remember?”
“Fine.” Taylor seemed disappointed, and the last thing Callie wanted was to let her down.
“I suppose I could manage to stay awake for a couple of hours. But if I do crap out, you can’t get mad at me for falling asleep.”
“Deal,” Taylor said with a grin. “I get to pick the movie.”
“No cop movies,” Callie said as she got up from the table and followed her out to the living room. “I hate cop movies.”
Callie sat against the arm of the couch while Taylor rented a movie for them to watch digitally on the television. Ghostbusters wouldn’t have been Callie’s first choice, but it would do for a mindless couple of hours.
“Can I ask you something?” Taylor said, her finger poised above the button on the remote that would start the movie.
“Okay,” Callie said, feeling a bit apprehensive about what might be asked. She put her elbow on the arm of the couch and rested her head in her hand as she watched Taylor.
“The doctor called you Calliope,” she said, meeting Callie’s eyes. The intensity of her gaze almost caused Callie’s heart to stop beating.
“Yeah, David’s an ass. I’ve known him since elementary school. But it is not my name,” she said with a grin. “He just does it because he knows it irritates the hell out of me.”
“Then what is your name? I mean, what’s Callie short for?”
“It isn’t short for anything.” She couldn’t believe Quinn had never told her about how they got their names. They’d been working together for what seemed like forever to Callie. She sighed and realized any story concerning their father would likely be a tale Quinn wouldn’t want to convey to anyone. “Our father wanted boys. He wanted nothing more than to name a son after himself. I guess when Beth, and then Meg were born, he figured there was still time. When Quinn came along, he started feeling as though his time was running out to try for a boy. His middle name was Quinn. Apparently, by the time I showed up, he knew he wasn’t going to have a son, at least not with our mother. His first name was Calvin. So they named me Callie. It really isn’t short for anything. My birth certificate says Callie Burke. No middle name. Just Callie. About three years later, he left us to presumably find a younger woman who could give him the son he always dreamed of.”
“So you might have siblings out there you don’t know about?”
“I’m sure I do. I just hope none of them are brothers. He deserves nothing other than daughters after abandoning all of us.”
“That would just be cruel for someone who wanted a son so badly,” Taylor said after a moment. Callie was about to get defensive when she realized Taylor was trying not to laugh. “But it would serve him right.”
“Do you have any siblings?” Callie found herself wanting to know more about Taylor. Andrea really hadn’t talked much about Taylor’s life before they’d met, so she knew things like her favorite foods and her favorite color. And Andrea loved telling Callie about all the fun things they did together. Like skydiving. Now there was something Callie would never do. Who in their right mind would jump out of an airplane? Of course, she didn’t understand what would make someone run into a burning building either.
“Nope, I’m an only child. My parents always told me they achieved perfection with me, and why would they want to risk anything less by trying for another?” She sighed, and then shook her head with a sad smile. Callie ached to hold her hand. “In reality, my mother couldn’t have any more children.”
“I’m sorry.” Callie instinctively tried to raise her right arm to take Taylor’s hand, but stopped when she felt a stab of pain that made her feel like she’d been shot again. She held her breath for a moment until the pain subsided, and was grateful Taylor was staring at the blank television screen and hadn’t seen the look of pain she was certain had been on her face.
“Don’t be. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a sister or brother, I mean, I see how close you and Quinn are, and I can’t imagine having someone who knows me so well. But growing up it never bothered me. I didn’t have to share my parents with anyone else, and I’ll admit I was a little spoiled.”
“No, you?” Callie asked, her tone teasing. She pushed her toe against Taylor’s leg, and then cleared her throat, realizing it might not have been a smart thing to do. “I never would have guessed, what with them cooking Thanksgiving dinner and bringing it to your house.”
“Shut up and watch the movie,” Taylor said with a quick backhand to Callie’s thigh.
Callie tensed slightly and found she wasn’t able to concentrate on the movie for the first ten minutes because all she could think was oh my God, Taylor touched me.
How pathetic could she be?
Chapter Seven
Taylor woke up around three in the morning to find they’d both fallen asleep at some point during the movie. Callie was curled up in what looked to be an incredibly uncomfortable position on just one cushion of the couch. Blaze was stretched out beyond just the center cushion, his head resting on Callie’s calves and his rear end pressed against Taylor where she was still in an upright position against the arm on her side of the couch.
He lifted his head when she placed a hand on Blaze’s side, but when she asked him if he needed to go outside, he simply looked at her as though she’d lost her mind before he put his head back on Callie’s calves. Callie stirred then, but she didn’t wake up. Taylor watched her for a few moments in the
blue hazy light coming from the television screen.
She looked so peaceful in sleep. Innocent, almost. Taylor felt a longing she hadn’t experienced since Andrea’s death, and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t bother her. Andrea had been the love of her life, and she’d always thought there would never be another. Of course what she was feeling now wasn’t love—how could it be? She barely knew Callie. But there was definitely a sexual pull toward her, and that was something she’d thought she knew she’d never feel again.
It was stupid to feel as though she’d be cheating on Andrea if she were to start dating again. She knew it intellectually, but her heart wasn’t quite there yet. She sighed and rested her head on the back of the couch.
If she were to give in to her desires, would Andrea be okay with it being her best friend? Or would it be the ultimate betrayal? She chastised herself as she stole another glance at Callie. It’s never going to happen. According to what Andrea had said, Callie’s into one-night stands, and I’m not wired that way. Not to mention the fact she’s a cop. And a reckless one to boot.
She shook her head and stood before going to the hall closet and pulling out a blanket. She didn’t see any reason to wake her up at this point. She put the blanket over her, taking care to not cover Blaze’s head, because he absolutely hated being under the covers. She brushed a lock of hair from Callie’s forehead and let her fingers linger there a little too long. She turned the TV off and headed to her bedroom.
* * *
The next time she woke up, it was to the sound of Blaze barking. In the backyard. At seven o’clock in the morning. On a holiday. The neighbors would be pissed.
“Shit,” Taylor muttered as she threw the covers off and hurried out to the kitchen and opened the door. He came running full speed and almost knocked her over. He didn’t like being left out there alone. She went to the living room to tell Callie as much, but she wasn’t there. She scratched her head and walked back down the hall. She wasn’t in her exercise room, nor was she in the guest bathroom. She walked back into her bedroom and noticed the door to the master bathroom was closed.
Twice in a Lifetime Page 4