by Gina Leuci
One of the things he needed to do was let Jake in on the plans. He dropped me off at the station then left immediately to the other side of town to the furniture factory.
I wish I could have seen Jake’s face, or heard what was said, but by the time I left work two hours later, my friend had managed to prepare a backpack, and it was hidden away from Hope in our apartment.
I figured I should do the same. Caleb was off doing police work—a few teenagers had decided to hike up White Pine Ridge, and it was getting late in the day. Brent was patrolling outside the gate, and Caleb was taking Goliath up the path to usher the kids back into town.
He was going to be gone a while, so I roamed the apartment to find what I felt was most essential to pack. I threw a few clothes in the bag, but not my favorite baseball hat. I wanted Caleb to have it. I did pack some of the different teas he’d introduced me to, though. While I could probably buy them back home, I wanted the ones he’d chosen.
When he got home, Caleb looked like he wanted to do nothing more than head straight to the bedroom. Or maybe that was my thoughts, but he had other ideas.
“We need to keep Roger’s security pinging. I know it’s late, but how about we go hit a few balls down at the field?”
We tossed the ball back and forth under the cloudless sky. The stadium lights came on at dusk giving us more time out on the field. This was where it had all changed for me. My love of baseball had given me my first sense of belonging in Wellington. And here had been where I’d first recognized my attraction to the town’s police chief.
While we weren’t really outside the inner-blocks of the town, it wasn’t long before a cruiser came by, its headlights lighting the field. As Brent had been on duty today, I’m sure he made the call to the town manager, again, informing him what we were doing.
Despite our afternoon spent in bed, it didn’t curtail our nightly routine. Caleb tried to keep the mood light, teasing me about baseball, saying I hit like a girl. I knew what he was doing. I played along. But we both knew it was a distraction.
Tuesday came faster than I’d hoped. I wondered if we would have a repeat of our lunch date the day before, but duty called and the police chief was called out around eleven because Jimmy was dared to drive the fire engine, and not having a clue how to drive anything, the large vehicle was much more than he could handle and he crashed it into a light pole. That took the entire day.
Of course, we were expected at Rita’s for dinner which was the usual raucous affair. Justin had filled up on extra sugary sweets at a friend’s house and was full of excess energy, causing Elena to snap at him like a mother hen. Shawna forgot she wasn’t wearing pullups anymore and had to be changed. When the kids were finally tucked in, I expected us to go back to the apartment to crash. But Caleb drove away and didn’t stop until we parked at the path to the lake.
It was after nine, and we were definitely not within the inner town limits. Roger was going to freak. As I didn’t really care, I happily made the trek through the wooded path.
I sat on a blanket with Caleb as my backrest. We watched fireflies as the pale moon cast shadows around us. There was nothing but quiet, which we welcomed after the hectic night with the children.
“This has always been my favorite place here.” I leaned my head back against him. His arms wrapped around me like a blanket in the cooling night air.
“I know. Mine, too. It’s not going to be the same without you, sweetheart.” I gulped at the wistfulness in his voice. It was good to know I was not the only one struggling with the upcoming event so I kept talking.
“I remember the first time we came here, on the horses, and had the picnic. I couldn’t stop staring at you.” In the near dark and over a month of being married to Caleb, I still found it embarrassing to confess how much I’d ogled him. “You didn’t have a shirt on, and I was quite impressed with all these muscles of yours.”
“Is that a fact?” He nuzzled my neck, and I was thankful for having put my hair back in a braid as it gave him better access. “Because I remember the day as well, with you in your little black and white bikini. I had to stand waist deep in the water to hide what seeing you did to me, especially as Leland had claimed you as his and my role was nothing more than to keep you in line.”
“Truly?”
His mouth began a journey from my shoulder up to my ear, sending shivers throughout my body. “Truly. Want to go for a swim?”
“Mmmm.” His hands slid under my shirt and worked their way up to my breasts. “I didn’t bring a suit.”
“We don’t need one. Besides, I’m looking to make a new memory of this place with you.” He bit my earlobe sending shivers down my body. “And we’re going to end up without clothes in a few minutes anyway.”
He slipped away from me standing as I hesitated to look around. ‘We can’t. What if someone sees us?”
“No one is here. It’s just the two of us,” the deep timbre of his laughter echoed around us. He’d said before that he rarely heard my laughter. Same was true for him. We were both too serious. When he held out his hand, I took it and stood beside him.
I looked around the deserted field once more before I slipped my shirt over my head then released my bra. I shimmied out of my shorts and panties as Caleb’s eyes followed my every move. The laughter disappeared and instead I saw desire, dark and deep, in his eyes.
“Dear God, help me.” His voice broke with huskiness and with a few fluid moves, his clothes joined mine on the ground. “I want tonight to last and the only way I can stretch this out is if we get into the lake now.”
The heat of the day had dissipated, but the water retained its warmth, doing nothing to cool either of our growing needs. Once we were in far enough, I dove under and came up for air several lengths away, but Caleb was right there with me.
I glided over to him, letting my body skim across his before pushing away again, and the next several minutes became a dance. We swam under in the dark depths only to reach out and run our fingers across each other’s body, wherever they would find.
It didn’t take long before we were no longer swimming away. Our hands and mouths focused on exploring every inch of the other until finally Caleb wrapped my legs around his waist and walked out of the lake back to the blanket. He let me go only long enough to find the foil packet he’d had the forethought to put into his pants pocket and then he was back.
His body covered mine, I wanted to remember everything about this moment. The way our wet bodies slid together; how the cooling air puckered my nipples. How the crickets sang a nightly tune that seemed to set the pace of our breathing as we began a slow, rhythmic motion which shut my brain off and I forgot everything else but us as one.
When I came down from whatever star I’d been flying on, my heart continued to race. “This is definitely one memory I will forever keep close.”
“You are amazing,” Caleb continued to lean over me, stroking my hair and face as he slowly slid out of me. “I don’t want this night to end. God, you are beautiful. You have no idea what you do to me.”
“Make time stop. Please, Caleb, I need one more night.” I tried to look away as the reality of tonight sunk in. This was it. Tomorrow night I would be on the other side of the gates.
“Don’t, Grace,” I heard the tightness in his voice. “Don’t disappear into your head. Don’t think about tomorrow. Be here with me, right now.”
I gave a gentle smile. “I think even after tomorrow, I’ll still be here with you.”
Caleb rested his hand on my heart. “That means more than you will ever know. Come, let me hold you for a while.”
Eventually we dressed and headed back to his cruiser, using a flashlight through the wooded pathway. A second cruiser was parked beside it, and Caleb squeezed my hand before heading over to see the officer.
“Evening, Tom.”
“Hi, Chief.” The officer’s voice was sheepish, and I knew he was out here due to orders from Roger. “Sorry about this.”
&nbs
p; Caleb leaned a hand on the cruiser as he spoke through the open window. “Not your fault. Do you need to check in?”
“Nah, about thirty minutes ago he said he was shutting everything down for the night, but and I quote, ‘I trust you’ll do the right thing and ensure they arrive home.’ I took it to mean I had to wait the duration.”
“Sorry to keep you from your family. We’ll go straight home.” Caleb shook hands with the officer and motioned for me to get into his car as Tom drove his cruiser down the main road to town.
When the doors were closed, I ran my tongue over my lips. “Do you think he walked out to the lake to check on us?”
“No. The tracker would have showed exactly where we were. No need.” While I heard the words, I noticed the slight hesitation before he put the car into drive, and I wondered if he believed his own words.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Happy birthday, Grace.”
I smiled at officers Tom and Greg as they handed over a large cupcake with a single candle in it. “Aww, thank you, guys. This is so sweet of you.”
I gave them each a peck on the cheek, and Greg’s face turned beet red as he mumbled. “We like having you around. You’re a breath of fresh air.”
“What you like,” Caleb interjected, “is she doesn’t have any problem telling me where to get off.”
Tom laughed. “It is refreshing, Chief.”
I settled at my desk before joining Caleb over by the water carafe to get my morning cup of tea. “What kind do you have in store for me today?”
“Today is a simple blend of decaffeinated black tea with ginger, vanilla, cardamom, and star anise. It’s both a pick-me-up to boost your energy in the morning but also provides calming effects as well.”
I gave it a smell and was impressed. “Any sugar?”
He tapped me on the nose with a finger. “You are a heathen. It doesn’t need it, but for you, yes, I added sugar.”
I grinned before taking a sip. “Mmm. Not bad.” He shook his head before heading off to the back area to check in with dispatch.
At lunch time, when both Tom and Greg headed over to the diner, Caleb disappeared from his office for a few minutes. When he returned, he held the bag containing everyone’s cell phones. “Which ones belong to you and Jake?”
I sorted through until I found the two cells and watches, shoving them into my pocket while the chief put the bag back under lock and key in the closet.
“Bring them into my office. Let’s see if we can give them a quick charge for tonight.”
It was an odd feeling, sneaking around in a police station, hiding the phones as they charged. I prayed neither officer would have a reason to enter the chief’s office when they returned.
At around two, Caleb and Tom were dispatched for a disturbance of the peace. I didn’t think too much about it until they returned with Jake in handcuffs.
“Oh, Jake.” I wanted to rush over to him, but a shake of Caleb’s head warned me to wait. It wasn’t until Tom had locked the prisoner behind bars did I get a chance to speak with him.
“What did you do now?” I admonished as I pressed against the cell door.
His hands reached through where the food tray goes, and I clasped them. Instead of the remorse I expected to see, my friend had a grin on his face, and he gave me a wink.
“Just having another bad day with the ball and chain, and my mood kinda spilled over at work.” When he began to whisper, I realized those first words weren’t for my benefit, but for whoever might be within earshot. His next words were for me. “It's all part of the plan.”
I looked around and didn’t see Tom anywhere nearby. “The plan?”
He nodded. “The only way Caleb was going to be able to keep Hope far enough away tonight was if I was here.”
It clicked into place. “I was wondering how we were going to get to you.”
I heard a door and peeked around the corner and spotted Tom coming. I raised my voice. “I don’t know what to tell you, Jake, but you seriously need to get a hold on your temper. This isn’t good for you.”
Tom reached my side, tapping my shoulder as he nodded for me to head back to my desk. “Let him stew for a while, Grace. He doesn’t deserve visitors now.” He looked at the man behind bars. “Be prepared, you’ll probably need to fix the hole in the wall tomorrow.”
I looked back and forth between the two men. Jake shrugged and gave a sheepish look before I headed back to my desk as Tom instructed.
Hope came into the station around four to plead for her husband to be released so he could come home. The chief held firm. “Sorry, Hope. There was property damage which means a night in jail. No exceptions.”
The leggy blonde didn’t look like the diva seductress she’d been at the beginning of the summer. With her hair hanging straight and red under her eyes from crying, she looked barely old enough to be out of her teens, never mind married. She threw her hands up in defeat before turning to her husband behind bars. “You are such a disappointment. When are you going to grow up?”
But at five, after Tom and Greg left, Caleb strolled to the cell. “Come on, prisoner, you’re coming with me.” He opened the door and placed cuffs on Jake’s wrists. “I never leave anyone here alone, but I’m not about to miss the birthday meal my mom made for Grace, so you get to come along.”
“Are the cuffs, necessary?” I asked.
The chief nodded. “We need to make it look real. At least until we get to the house. What if Roger is outside?”
It made sense, and Jake was a willing participant. Anything to keep him away from his clinging wife and closer to escape.
The children greeted me the moment we entered. Even Elena gave me a huge hug which would make leaving tonight harder. Caleb’s three sisters were all there, with their husbands, and I noticed Randy looking at Jake, minus the cuffs, more than once. Caleb would put the right spin on it, and I kept my mouth shut.
The meatloaf was divine. The vegetables were cooked to perfection. The cake, which the kids had helped decorate, was moist and delicious. And when the children gave me the cards they’d made, I couldn’t help the tears.
Caleb handed me a box, and I slowly unwrapped it. Inside was a gold locket and I felt a fresh set of tears starting as I opened the clasp to see on one side a photo of the three kids and on the other, a picture Rita had taken of me and Caleb.
“I, ah, excuse me a moment.” I rushed from the room and closed myself inside the bathroom. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” I sat on the closed lid of the commode and pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes.
There was a soft knock on the door. “Grace? I’m coming in.” And without waiting the door opened and Caleb was in the tiny room with me. He knelt on the floor. “You okay?”
“No. I didn’t think this would be so hard.” I wiped my face with my hands. “They all sneaked into my heart.”
He took my face between his large hands. “Look at you, admitting to your emotions. You’ve come a long way.”
“Shut up.” But I did laugh a little. “They’re good kids, Caleb. I can’t even say goodbye to them.”
“Shhh. We’re doing the right thing. You need to be with your family.”
Family. Huh. Funny how in a few short weeks Caleb and his children had become a part of mine. Sure, I was going home tonight, but my heart was staying right here.
I took a deep breath and forced the emotions aside. “I’m okay. Let’s go back. I want to spend tonight with them, having fun.” At bedtime, I tucked each child in and gave them an extra big hug and kiss.
Once all the other adults had left, we escorted the handcuffed prisoner back to the station and into the cell. Caleb laid out a deck of cards to pass the time just as Roger and Scott strolled into the station, with Scott folding an umbrella. The rain had arrived. It suited my mood.
“Can I help you, gentlemen?” Gone was the fun, loving husband, Caleb, he was back to being the police chief.
“Saw the lights on, thought I’d check in, see how
my son-in-law is behaving.” Roger brushed a few raindrops from his sleeve.
I bit my cheek at the outright lie. The man was tracking our every move. There was no doubt he knew his daughter’s husband had been with us for dinner. Our going out every night, causing the security to ping hadn’t worked. The controlling town manager still watched us like a hawk.
The chief’s response was easy and nonchalant. “Everything is status-quo.”
The older man turned a deliberate stare at me. “Shouldn’t you all be home at this time?”
Caleb didn’t blink an eye. “You know I never leave anyone alone in the station. If I have someone in the cell, I stay the night.”
Roger sent another look my way, and I knew he was waiting for an explanation of my presence this late at night, but while the older man refused to ask the question, my husband used his silence, or what I call his Jedi mind tricks, on Roger. I have to give it to the town manager, I would be blubbering by now asking the questions. Instead, he pressed his lips together in anger.
Scott was oblivious. “What time are you going home?” he asked me.
“What’s it to you?” Nope, I still don’t have my husband’s restraint.
Caleb took over, ever so calm. “It’s Grace’s birthday. We are enjoying a bit more time together before I send her home. We might leave here around eleven-thirty or so.”
I sucked in my breath with his choice of words. Holy shit. He’d managed to tell the truth as something else altogether. I need to take lessons from him instead of becoming instantly defensive and sarcastic.
Roger gave a grunt. “Let’s go, Scott.” As they left, the minion, Scott, turned back. “Ah, happy birthday, Grace.”
“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure what else to say as the men left the station.
“That was great, Caleb,” Jake called out from his cell. “You put those two scumbags in their place. I hate him. I hope the fleas of a thousand camels infest his armpits.”
Caleb picked up his cards as though nothing had happened, but my heart was still racing. “How do you stay so calm?”