White Roses Calling

by Hudson, Dakota

  “No, not really. Neither Jen nor I are very interested in going back. I guess the big city life is more our speed. My dad made good money so we were fortunate enough to travel a lot. We owned property on both coasts as well as the house in Duluth. When our parents were killed ten years ago, she ended up with the New York apartment and I ended up with this house. It was my dad’s dream house. It had just been completed when the accident happened. They hadn’t even moved any furniture in.”

  Their hands were still clasped on the table and Alex gave Sydney’s fingers a gentle squeeze.

  “I’m sorry. They died in a traffic accident?”

  “Yeah. In the snow. A big rig lost control on black ice and jackknifed.”

  “Are you and your sister close?” Alex asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” Sydney said. “Jen and I are about as close as you can be while living three thousand miles apart.”

  “Who’s the oldest?”

  “I’m the baby. Only by a couple of years but Jen makes the most of it and never fails to remind me.”

  “Do you get to see her that often?”

  “We visit as often as we can. She’s a fairly well respected surgeon, so she tends to travel around a bit. I try to catch up to her whenever I’m able. We find ourselves meeting in Chicago a lot. It’s a city we both like to visit and it’s kind of in the middle for each of us.”

  After several more minutes of pleasant conversation there was a pause. Sydney stood and started clearing dishes and Alex jumped up to help, following her into the kitchen. “You can put those dirties down next to the sink. I’ll take care of them later.”

  “Dinner was delicious,” Alex said as she put down the dishes as directed then leaned with her back to the edge of the counter.

  “I’m glad you liked it,” Sydney said. “How about some coffee or hot chocolate?”

  Alex smiled. “Sure, whatever you’re having.”

  “Good. Why don’t you go into the den.” Sydney pointed to the archway leading into the den. “See if you can get the fire started. I’ll join you in just a moment.”

  ALEX HEADED INTO the den. It took her a couple minutes to find matches on the mantel, turn on the gas and get the fire started. She then moved to the wall panel, and after a moment or two of analysis and testing a couple buttons figured out how the light adjustments worked. She dimmed the lights to a setting she thought was appropriate.

  Alex was gazing out the window over the back deck below and into the dark forest when she thought she saw movement and wondered what animal was out there at the tree line. She heard Sydney enter the room and turned to see her put a tray with two mugs and a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies on the coffee table in front of the fire.

  They sat next to each other on the couch in front of the fireplace.

  “So how long were you in the Marines?” Sydney asked.

  Alex took a sip of her hot chocolate. “Twelve years altogether. The first four years of active duty and then eight more in the reserves.”

  “Did you get sent to Iraq or Afghanistan?”

  Alex nodded and took another sip. “Yeah, I was recalled to active duty in 2002 and was gone almost two years. I traveled around quite a bit at times.” She reached for another cookie. “Mind if I take the last one?” she asked, then received a nod.

  When Sydney rose to take the now empty plates into the kitchen, she stopped Alex, who also stood up to help.

  “Don’t worry about these,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Alex glanced up at the clock on the mantel and was shocked to find it was past eleven o’clock. She stood and walked the length of the den and into the adjacent living room to the stand at the window, nervously wiping her hands on her pant legs as she contemplated what she should say next. She contemplated what had occurred in the bedroom before dinner and found herself strangely nervous, or anxious, in a way she had never been on any previous date.

  When Sydney returned from the kitchen Alex watched her reflection in the window as Sydney’s eyes searched the now empty den, then finally came to rest on her. They had left the lights in the room dimmed, the fireplace providing the majority of the illumination, so the adjoined room was dark.

  “Is everything okay?” Sydney finally asked, breaking the silence as she slowly approached Alex, stopping to lean on the back of chair in the middle of the room.

  Alex turned away from the window and faced Sydney, leaning back and resting her hands on the windowsill on either side of her. She finally cleared her throat and spoke quietly.

  “It’s getting late. I know you have to be at work in the morning. I really shouldn’t have kept you up so long.” She wondered if Sydney felt the sense of unspoken expectation hovering between them.

  “It’s quite all right,” Sydney said. “I’ve really enjoyed you being here.” There was a long pause as they stood looking at one another in the darkened room.

  “I have a confession to make,” Alex finally said, still speaking in a quiet voice. “I didn’t have a meeting in your building last week. You know, on Thursday? I just wanted to see you again. And I really wanted to spend some time with you, like this.”

  Sydney took several more steps toward her, closing the distance between them to just a couple of feet.

  “Why, Sergeant Chambers, do you mean to tell me this is...a date?” Sydney asked with a coy smile.

  “Would you like it to be?” Alex asked after a brief pause.

  Sydney also paused momentarily, then replied, “Yes. Yes, I think I very much would.” She spoke with quiet sincerity. “But there’s something you should probably know,” she added, looking down at the space between them then back up into Alex’s eyes. “I’ve never...ummm...been...never dated—”

  “You’ve never dated a woman?” Alex completed her faltering statement. Sydney simply nodded. “Are you sure you’re okay with it?” Alex felt her insides screaming for them to move closer. She silently battled her own urge to create the physical contact her body was craving.

  Sydney looked away momentarily, and then took a breath before she looked back into Alex’s eyes.

  “Yes,” she replied in a whisper. “I’m quite okay with it.” Alex smiled upon hearing that answer. “Everything about you, about us, seems okay,” Sydney, said as she moved still closer to Alex, who was still stationary against the window. Sydney stopped a mere foot away appearing hesitant to invade Alex’s personal space. “Would you be willing to let me cook for you again?”

  “Absolutely,” Alex said, still trying to resist the urge to reach out for the woman standing before her in the semi-darkness. “But there’s one other thing.” she said, finally giving in to that urge and leaning forward slightly. Alex rested her hands on either side of Sydney’s waist and pulled the woman those last few inches to her.

  Sydney had slipped off her heals earlier while sitting in front of the fire and so was once again several inches shorter. She stood looking up into Alex’s eyes. “What’s that?” she asked, matching Alex’s sultry whisper.

  “I’ve been wanting to kiss you all night. So I’m going to do just that unless you tell me to stop.” Alex searched Sydney’s face for any sign of fear, hesitancy or intimidation, but found only the same desire she was feeling.

  “I’m not going to tell you to stop.”

  Alex leaned down and felt Sydney tilting her head so their lips could meet.

  Alex was momentarily struck by how soft and tender Sydney’s lips were as they met, but that thought was quickly lost as she was carried away by the moment. She finally moved her hand up to caress Sydney’s cheek, and then pulled her lips away gently. Sydney opened her eyes and the two women stood looking at one another. Alex’s warm palm was stationary against Sydney’s cheek and she gently rubbed her thumb across Sydney’s lips.

  Then Alex pulled away and silently took Sydney’s hand, leading her to the front entryway, only letting go when they reached the door. Sydney retrieved Alex’s coat from the adjacent closet and Alex shrugged
into it. She collected her weapon from the drawer nearby and reached back, lifting her jacket to put it into her rear waistband, a carry position the holster was designed for. As Alex repositioned the jacket over the handgun, Sydney stepped forward and reached up to grasp the front zippered edges of the jacket at Alex’s chest, pulling it snug around her. Alex’s body was again on fire and she concentrated hard to keep from continuing the previous intimacy.

  “All right, Sergeant Chambers,” Sydney said quietly. “You drive home safely.”

  “I will,” Alex said in a hoarse whisper. Sydney nodded. Alex brought her hand up and caressed Sydney’s neck and cheek once again with her palm, then leaned down and kissed her once more, very gently, lingering for just a moment.

  “I’ll call you,” she whispered. “Thank you for dinner.” She opened the door and backed away.

  Sydney nodded again, then leaned on the open door, apparently oblivious to the cold night as she watched Alex walk to her truck. Alex turned and waved before getting in and starting the engine. She was aware of Sydney watching from the doorway until she exited the end of the driveway and turned for home.

  Chapter Eight

  OVER THE NEXT two days Alex tried hard to follow her normal routine, heading directly to the gym each morning for a solid workout before burying herself in work. However hard she tried she could not seem to fall into her usual “zone” at either work or the gym, which usually provided the escape from outside thoughts and influences. She quite simply couldn’t get her mind off Sydney. The thoughts followed her home on Monday night and were prominent on her mind throughout Tuesday morning. She wondered how long she should to wait to call Sydney to avoid coming off as too desperate. She fought the urge through the early Tuesday afternoon, finally deciding around three p.m. she’d waited long enough.

  “Hey, you,” came Sydney’s voice over the phone before the second ring, surprising Alex and making her think Sydney had perhaps mistaken her for someone else she was expecting a call from.

  “Uh, hi. It’s Alex.”

  “I know that, silly,” Sydney said. When Alex paused Sydney seemed to sense her confusion. “I still have your number in my cell so I saw the caller I.D. I guess I never bothered to erase it after the trial was over.”

  “Uh-huh.” Alex smiled at that revelation. “Well, I wanted to call and say thanks for dinner Sunday night. I really enjoyed the evening.”

  “Good. So did I.” Alex seemed to sense more meaning in Sydney’s simple reply and so she plunged ahead.

  “I’m, um, not sure where the line is drawn these days. You know, how much time should pass before its acceptable to express genuine interest versus...” Alex paused, uncertain how to go on.

  “Versus what?” Sydney interjected into Alex’s lengthy hesitation. Alex now clearly heard the smile in her voice.

  “Versus just looking like a crazy stalker, I guess.”

  “Sergeant Chambers, are you saying you’ve been sitting around stalling a call to me for fear of looking like a stalker?”

  “Something like that, yeah.” Alex was emboldened by the soft snicker she heard from the other woman. “So, at the risk of sounding even more like a stalker,” her voice dropped an octave. “When can I see you again?”

  “Like a second date?” The smile was still evident in Sydney’s voice and Alex’s heart nearly skipped a beat.

  “Yes, Ms. Rutledge, I’d like to take you on a date, if you’re comfortable with that.”

  “I think I’d be very comfortable with that. I’d really like to see you again as well, Alex. I’ve been, well, I was really hoping you’d call today, or stop by.”

  Alex silently released the breath she’d been holding. “Really? I thought about stopping by your office to see you, instead of calling. But I thought it might be too—”

  “Stalker-ish?” Sydney finished the sentence with a tease in her voice.

  “Exactly,” Alex said. “So once again, at the risk of sounding stalker-ish, are you free tomorrow for dinner?”

  “Absolutely. What time?”

  “How about I pick you up at six?”

  “Okay. Any dress code?”

  “Not formal, but a little dressy. Is that okay?”

  “Got it.” Alex heard a buzz in the background. “Hold on a second, Alex.” Alex heard Sydney activate her office phone on speaker.

  “Yeah, Stan?”

  “Syd, can we meet in my office for a few minutes? I want to talk to you about some cases that came in over the weekend.”

  “Sure thing. Give me a second and I’ll be right there.” Alex heard Sydney disconnect the call then her voice came back over the line.

  “Sorry, Alex. That was my boss.”

  “No problem. I’ll let you go. I’ll see you tomorrow at six.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Sydney’s voice then lowered an octave. “And, Sergeant Chambers?”

  “Yes?”

  “You can stalk me anytime you like.”

  The phone went dead before Alex’s brain could format a response, much less tell her lips to vocalize it. She was left staring at her own cell phone, wondering if she’d imagined the bold statement.

  ALEX WAS BACK on the third floor of the downtown court building Wednesday morning. A couple of weeks earlier, two of her younger officers had made an impressive narcotics arrest. Possession of crack cocaine for sale. Neither of them had previously testified as court qualified experts on possession for sales, so the assistant district attorney handling the preliminary hearing requested the seasoned sergeant to provide that expert testimony.

  The case was one of the first called and Alex walked through her expertise then provided an opinion based on the amount of product in the defendant’s possession, the packaging, and the amount of money he was also taken into custody with. Several minutes later she was heading out of the courtroom with the defendant having been held to answer on the narcotics violation. She met the arresting officers in the hallway outside and gave them the good news.

  She was still loitering and talking with several officers about various cases when a young brunette approached them, professionally attired and carrying several files.

  “Sergeant Chambers, good to see you again,” the young woman said as she stopped beside Alex. Alex recognized her as one of the law clerks from the district attorney’s office whom she occasionally had contact with. They’d also run into each other several times at the gym Alex frequented near her home. It was not lost on Alex that the woman had occasionally engaged in just slightly veiled flirting with her.

  “Hi. How are you doing?” she replied.

  “Hey, Sarg, we’re gonna head back out,” one of the officers said as they backed away, heading for the elevators.

  “Sounds good, guys. See you out there.” Alex didn’t miss the slight smile on both of their faces. They seemed to know exactly what was going on and apparently felt it appropriate to leave their sergeant to work her mojo. Alex turned back to the younger woman.

  “It’s Vicky, right?” she asked in an effort to be polite.

  “Yep,” the woman said and smiled at Alex. “I’ve missed you at the gym lately. Don’t you come in the mornings anymore?”

  Alex shrugged in response to the clerk’s inquiry. “The work hours are a little sporadic,” she said. “You know, with court and everything. I end up working out at the station or the academy a lot these days.”

  “Well, you’re obviously still getting your workouts in.” Vicky ran a hand up Alex’s arm. “You look great.”

  Alex almost flinched at the touch, then became aware of someone standing nearby. She turned to see Sydney, apparently watching the exchange, and was thankful for the interruption. Alex smiled, then noticed a strange look on Sydney’s face as she looked at the clerk then stepped between them.

  “Good morning, Sergeant Chambers,” she said. Alex turned to Sydney and her eyes sparkled. She watched as Sydney gave Vicky an icy smile and a nod. “Good morning,” she added in her direction.
/>   “Morning,” Vicky replied, pulling her hand slowly back from Alex’s arm as Alex focused on Sydney.

  An odd thrill went through Alex’s body at Sydney’s unexpected arrival. A smile crossed her face containing far more warmth than the polite expression she had worn for Vicky. “Good morning, Ms. Rutledge.”

  Alex and Sydney looked at one another for a few brief moments, saying nothing. Alex analyzed the body language displayed by both women and couldn’t help but be a little fascinated by what she saw. Was Sydney really jealous?

  “I’d like to speak to you about one of your cases if you have a few minutes,” Sydney finally said to Alex.

  “Uh, sure.”

  “Would you excuse us?” Sydney said to Vicky. Alex could have sworn she saw a look of resentment cross Vicky’s face, but it passed quickly.

  “Sure thing,” Vicky said, and then turned dismissively away from Sydney and focused her attention once again on Alex. She pulled out a small pad of paper and began writing on it. Then she looked up at Alex with another seductive smile. “Well, I’ve missed you. Since I don’t see you at the gym enough anymore, we’ll have to arrange something else,” she said as she tore the slip of paper from the notepad and slipped it into Alex’s hand. “Call me. We’ll get together sometime.” Alex watched as Vicky’s eyes raked across Sydney, carrying an almost blatant look of challenge as she pivoted and walked away, turning once to smile back at Alex as she entered a nearby courtroom.

  Alex turned back to Sydney, who appeared to be shooting daggers with her eyes at the departing figure. “Uh-oh.” She glanced down at the paper in her hand and crumpled it within her clenched fingers.

  “What’s up?” Alex asked, unsure exactly what to do with the paper in her hand. “I didn’t know I had any pending cases. I don’t think I’ve been served any other subpoenas.”

  Sydney shook her head and a slightly amused exasperation covered her face. “You’re right, you don’t. I just wanted to get you alone to talk about tonight.”

  “Oh...”