by Annie Adams
"Quincy? Are you okay?"
I looked up at his face. The muscles around those brown eyes crinkled with concern.
"I'm—yeah—I'm okay." I tried to convince myself it was true.
"Are you hurt? You said they hit you."
"They rammed the back bumper. Do I even have a bumper left?” I pushed the latch on the seat belt to get out of the van to go look, but, Alex put his hands on my thigh and my shoulder.
“Quincy. Slow down. Are you hurt?”
I gently removed his hand from my thigh and looked up at him. "I'm okay, Alex. I'm just—pissed off.” I slid out of my seat, but he stood inside the van door and didn’t step out to make room. I found myself standing very close to him and looking up into his eyes. I could get lost in those warm pools of chocolate. I snapped back to reality. “Oh, my poor van! Things cannot be looking good back there. They only stopped because their front bumper was hanging off.”
Finally, he gave me some space.
I walked back to inspect the damage to the rear bumper and Alex followed. To my surprise there was not even a little scratch.
“I don’t believe it. I thought the whole thing would be hanging by a thread as hard as they hit me.”
“Wow. The legend of Zombie Sue is true. She’s impressive.” Alex said. “With as little damage as it had when they hit Nick, I thought for sure he must have been lying.”
I looked at Alex, surprised at what he had just said.
“What?” He asked.
“You just admitted that someone hit Nick, not the other way around.”
“Yes I did. And I’m thinking these same guys probably set the fire at your house, and hit you today.”
“So I just want to make sure I’m hearing right. You actually believe me and you are admitting to it?”
“Of course I believe you. Now I need you to tell me everything you can about what happened. Don’t leave anything out."
Alex’s concern for me was genuine and he believed what I had told him. This did nothing to help me keep him at arms length emotionally. It only made him sexier and more irresistible.
As soon as Cindy saw us walking in the shop, she darted to the counter and snatched her purse.
“You’re finally here! I have to go.” She looked over at Alex and then me. Her gaze returned to Alex and lingered until I spoke.
“What do you mean finally? I’m five minutes early.”
“Well, I have a date, with this new guy Tim, and I have to get ready.”
“Great. Have a good time.” As I said this, she returned her stare to Alex and practically drooled.
“Manners—where are my manners?” I said. I was hoping Cindy took the less than subtle hint about her staring. “Cindy, this is my friend, Officer Cooper.”
“Are you in trouble with the cops?” Cindy asked.
I could hear Alex snicker under his breath.
“No, I’m not in trouble with the cops. Alex is a friend of mine.”
“Hi Cindy, nice to meet you.” Alex even sounded good looking. It wasn’t helping.
“Oh, um hi.” Cindy took one last look at Alex for the road, and then she looked over at me with a confused expression. “Well, see ya.” At that, she put her giant sunglasses on, turned and left.
“What was that look she gave you?” Alex asked.
“Cindy asked Allie if I was gay. I guess she just couldn’t wrap her mind around what someone like you might be doing with me.”
“I—what the…” He couldn’t finish.
“Yeah, it’s best if you don’t try to talk right now. I understand. So, I was driving on the highway coming out of Plainville…”
I recounted everything I could about the chase. After I thought I had told him everything, he got up to go.
"I'll take all of this back with me and add it to your file," Alex said.
“I have a file?”
“I—mean the file from the first incident with Nick.” He said quickly. "I've got to go check in at the station and then I'm done for the day. Do you want to come with me?"
"No thanks, I'll be fine. Besides, the shop is open for another hour. I can't leave and turn away any walk-in business. People will be coming in to buy flowers on their way home from work."
"I don't like leaving you alone."
I couldn't help letting out a laugh. "Alex I'm here alone at closing time almost every day. I've been fine up until now."
"How about I go get changed and I'll come pick you up. I want to show you something that will take your mind off of everything that happened today."
I hesitated, thinking about how it ended up the last time we went out together, but those chocolate eyes were mighty persuasive. "Okay. I could use a nice distraction." As if Alex wasn’t distraction enough just standing there.
As he left I admitted to myself it was cute the way he worried about me. The truth was, I was a little worried. This was the third encounter with those guys in the red truck. What I couldn’t figure out was why they were targeting me.
Or was it just me?
Maybe they were going after my business. Maybe that's why they hit the van when Nick was driving. Who knows if they really knew it was me driving today? Maybe they had seen my van parked at my house when Alex and I were out to dinner. I didn't remember offending anyone personally lately. Maybe someone just wanted me out of business—the way Derrick was now out of business.
CHAPTER TEN
In a flower shop there’s a never-ending supply of things needing to be cleaned, organized and re-filled. At closing time I began the mundane but physical tasks of washing buckets and sweeping and mopping the floors. The simple routine helped me to calm down after the car chase and provided an outlet for the energy that had caused my heart to pound. My legs had stopped shaking, but my heart hammered in my chest again when I looked out the front window and saw Alex’s car at the intersection.
So much for wanting him at arm’s length.
I didn’t want my relationship with a man to define me ever again, but if I was honest with myself, I wanted—make that needed—companionship, and Alex might make an ideal candidate from what I had experienced so far.
He parked his Scout in front of the shop just as I finished counting the money in the till. He wore cargo pants, hiking boots and a Pendleton button-down shirt. He looked amazing in his uniform, but his casual clothes won the prize. The persimmon color of his shirt brought out the tan in his skin and the blond highlights in his hair. The top two buttons were undone showing off little hints of the golden hair on his chest. He carried a colorful bouquet of flowers. I inhaled sharply as soon as I caught sight of him. Until then I thought a man only took a woman’s breath away in movies or romance novels.
"Looks like you're on the way to pick up a date." I said. "Who's the lucky girl?"
"You need to ask?"
"Yes, I do. Because I don't know anyone who would walk into my flower shop holding a bouquet from somewhere else."
"Unless, it's a bouquet designed especially for you by the famous Danny Barnes." Alex said as he presented the flowers.
"I thought you didn’t know him before we went to his shop.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then how did you know about him—I mean, how did you know he was a famous floral designer?"
"Research—I called your sister while you were in the tire shop."
Great. Could I be any more horrible? I had been mad at him for being an insensitive member of the Good Old Boys Club just after he had so thoughtfully asked my sister how to do something especially nice for me.
The bouquet featured a euro-influenced design of gloriosa lilies in an armature of Kiwi vine and flex grass.
"You had to have paid a fortune for these. I know how much they cost."
"Don't worry about that. Danny wanted you to have something nice that he said only you could appreciate. So did I."
"Wow, thank you, this was so thoughtful. I suppose I can let you off of the hook for bringing in contraband."
<
br /> I couldn't help gazing a little too long at Alex as he came around the front counter.
"You look kind of dressed-up casual, I look a little dressed-down bag-lady."
"You look incredible," he said.
"Thanks." I felt my cheeks burning. "But I have a feeling I'm underdressed—where are we going?"
"It's a special place where you dine al fresco. I can't tell you anymore than that."
"Oh, it's a secret?"
"More like a surprise. Ready to go?"
"Yeah, just gotta grab my stuff and shut out the lights."
When we got to Alex’s truck, he opened the passenger door for me. I always thought the act of opening the door for a woman was an archaic tradition, a way for a man to let a woman know her place, to show that he was in charge. Until Alex held the door for me. It felt chivalrous and romantic.
We climbed into the Scout and drove up to Highway 89, then turned south.
"Quince, are you sure you're okay after everything that happened today?"
"I'm fine. I was thinking about it after you left. Each time those guys and that truck have shown up, my van has been there. I don't know why they've picked poor Sue, but she's offended them somehow. Maybe Nick did something to them while driving for me and it made them mad enough to make a vendetta against the van.”
"I suppose it's possible, but no matter what the reason, it's getting dangerous. I worry about you being alone."
I waved away his concern. "There's no need to worry. I held my own against them. They left our little meeting today with the worst of it. There’s a reason zombies are hard to destroy in the movies."
He didn’t look convinced. “It might not go the way you expect if something happens again.”
Nothing in my life was going as I expected it to. This man was so deliciously tempting, but I could not return to any semblance of the life I’d left behind with my ex-husband. No matter the absence of any similarities between Alex and Brad. I couldn’t risk returning to the nightmare.
For now, I would practice being friends with a man so that I didn’t fall into the trap of being a dependent, mindless zombie like I had been. I’d leave that up to Sue, she was doing a bang up job all on her own, and she didn’t need any helpers.
“I appreciate your concern for me. But I’ll have to admit, I think I overreacted when I got back to the store today. It wasn’t as scary as I made it sound when I called you.”
“Uh-huh.” I don’t think I persuaded him not to worry.
As we talked, he turned toward a bucolic farm town between Hillside and Salt Lake at the base of a canyon. We continued east as the truck wound around a narrow mountain road. The canyon walls plunged from their high ridges on either side of us. Granite jutted out from craggy walls with a few brave bushes growing out of fissures in the rock every hundred feet. Further into the canyon, pine trees towered above the rest of the trees like the royal family of the forest. We bounced around in the Scout all the way up to a little parking area at the base of a trail that seemed to disappear into the trees. Ours was the only car parked in the lot.
"I've never heard of a restaurant up here." I said sarcastically.
Alex had a wry smile on his face. "No more questions, you'll have to wait and see." He walked to the back of the Scout and opened the door. He pulled out a giant backpack that looked stuffed to capacity.
"I hope you don't mind a little hike,” he said. “The place we’re going isn't too far."
"I don't mind. It'll be good for me."
Alex led the way up the trail. After the first four feet we didn't get sucked into an alternate universe, as it had appeared we would, but the parking lot quickly disappeared from sight.
Scrub oak, pine and quaking aspen flanked the path. Wild roses, raspberries and golden aster lined the trail. We continued on a steep climb for about two hundred feet, then the trail leveled out and we continued on for thirty more yards. Birds sang and spoke to each other continuously as we walked. They had the safety of the high trees. The warm spicy scent of Russian olive trees wafted on the air.
"Perfect timing. Our table is ready." Alex announced as he stopped.
He motioned for me to continue in front of him. Off to the right, the trail opened into a small clearing that dropped slightly in front of a campsite next to a gently flowing stream.
I turned to Alex. "This is unbelievable! It's so beautiful."
"I hope you worked up an appetite. We've got to eat this dinner so I don't have to carry it back out."
We walked down to the streambed. In a flat area with sparse grass, Alex unclipped a blanket, which had been rolled up under the backpack. He then proceeded to remove an entire dinner that had been pre-packed in different storage containers. By the time he set everything out, a gourmet feast awaited us on the blanket.
"How did you get all of this done in the hour after you left the shop?" I swept my arm out like a game-show model.
"I might have been working on some plans when you called."
I rested my hands on my hips, “How did you know I would be available?” I said playfully.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re pretty…predictable." He cringed and ducked his head, holding his hands out like shields. "Like you said, you’re always at the shop or your house. I hoped you would be tonight.”
Yep, I led the life of a rock-star.
“You’ve gone to way too much trouble—the food, the flowers—what’s next?” I asked.
“You’ll have to wait and see what’s next. And it wasn’t too much trouble. You’re worth it.”
A girl could get used to this. At least, eventually I could, but for now I wasn’t used to that kind of flattery. I didn’t know how to react, so I busied myself looking down at the plates as I made them up, for fear my face would betray my internal squirming.
We ate dinner and talked over the forest music in the background. He told me about growing up in Oregon and California with his parents and a brother and sister. He was shocked that I had ten aunts and uncles, and that I didn’t think it was a lot compared to some of my friends from school. He was so proud of his four-year-old nephew and two-year-old niece that he kept a picture of his sister’s little family in his wallet. His face glowed when he talked about them.
“If your family is still on the West Coast, what brought you here? I asked.
“The job. I was working in NoCal and I hated it. I saw a posting for a job in Salt Lake and I jumped at the chance. I love kayaking and rock climbing so I knew this was the place for me.” Of course he liked kayaking and rock climbing. His physique liked it too, and I loved his physique for liking it.
I felt at ease with Alex unlike anything I had experienced with another person. The awkwardness that usually accompanies a one-on-one conversation with someone you’re attracted to wasn’t there. It felt comfortable, as if we were friends from school getting reacquainted.
After eating we walked down to the stream to cross it on stones that had been placed there for that purpose. He took my hand as if to help me across but then paused and said, “After you.” I crossed first, but kept hold of his hand. We took the path on the other side of the stream and explored the surrounding area. Alex quizzed me on the names of the flowers we passed along the way. Most of them were wildflowers I didn't recognize, but I did know about the stinging nettle that looks like mint. I carefully demonstrated the way you feel the stem to see if it's square for mint or round for the nettle.
"Don't touch the leaves, this is nettle for sure." I explained. "Ooh, but there is something worth touching," I said as I pointed to my left. I walked to the other side of the path to a huge wild raspberry bush. "These are the best raspberries you'll ever taste,” I said. As I pulled, trying to coax a berry from the stem, I heard a raspy clattering sound at my feet. I pulled my hand back at the startling noise. About two feet in front of me was a rattlesnake, camouflaged in the dappled sun that reached through the trees on to the dirt trail. It was now highly alarmed and coiled.
<
br /> Icy blood ran through my legs, which felt cemented to the ground.
"Quincy," Alex’s voice came quietly and calmly from behind my right shoulder, "don't move, I'm right behind you." I felt his breath on the side of my face and his arm slipped slowly around my waist.
I didn't dare swallow for fear the snake would strike. The chattering of the birds now seemed like a roar above my head. I was afraid one of the birds would fly too close and threaten the deadly viper more than it was willing to ignore. After a few seconds, which seemed more like minutes, the snake lowered its head and made its way across the path in front of me.
We stood together, frozen until the tail of the snake had long since disappeared. I made no move but exhaled heavily in relief. I felt the aftertaste of adrenaline rush on my tongue.
"That was too close." I whispered. The words were raspy as they left my dry throat. "I didn't see it at all." My fear had caused me to forget Alex’s arm wrapped around me. Just as I began to delight in my favorable position, Alex gently tugged and I followed his lead to turn around. We stood face to face.
"You really seem to attract trouble you know? Good thing I'm an adrenaline junkie."
My heart continued to thunder in my chest, but for an entirely different reason. "I don't know. You might want to keep your distance."
"Oh no. I like this distance just fine."
He gathered me even closer. With the hand that wasn't holding the small of my back, he cradled my chin and gently coaxed it upward. The pad of his thumb brushed my mouth.
I watched his perfect Cupid’s bow lips coming closer until they softly touched mine. The thrill of a first kiss with someone new, that can only be experienced once, rushed through my every cell starting at the tip of my toes and ended at my lips.
I lost myself in the perfect moment, the perfect kiss.
Too soon, it ended. Alex lifted his head then looked down into my eyes. Both of his arms embraced me and my arms encircled his neck. There were no sounds, no sights, just us.
"Wow," was my articulate reply.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The high from my date night with Alex wasn’t even close to wearing off the next morning. I woke up just before the alarm sounded, snuck in a few sit-ups (maybe a few would be an exaggeration; a couple—well one full sit-up really, but it was a good one) before leaving home, and still I arrived for work a whole fifteen minutes early.