by Kathryn Shay
Nick stalked over. Not willingly, almost not consciously, but he found himself in front of her—interrupting her talk with the cop.
“Thanks again, Stacey,” the guy said. “You’re so cool every year at this.”
“You’re welcome, Patrick. Come back with Julie.”
“Oh, I will.”
I’ll bet. Nick wondered why he hadn’t realized before that he had competition.
Patrick turned. “Hey, Nick.” They shook and finally the guy left.
Stacey gave him an amused grin. “I was hoping you’d come see me tonight.” In heels, she was his height and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. The spandex gloved her breasts and upper torso. The woman didn’t have an ounce of fat on her. Must be because of all that walking she did.
“I’m glad.” He grasped her arm to draw her nearer. Purposely pitching his voice low, he murmured, “I hear you’ve gotten a lot of visitors. Of the male persuasion.”
“Cora tell you that?”
“She didn’t have to. Any red-blooded man within a mile should be heading over here.” He gave her a frankly male perusal.
She smiled beneath lowered lids. Then she asked, “How was your tour off?”
“Good. I helped Kelly close their pool and put the summer furniture away.” But he’d had nights free and they both knew it.
She waited. Was she unsure of herself again, or waiting for a cue from him? He cocked his head. “Okay. I tried to stay away from you.”
“You succeeded.” She let the comment sit. When he didn’t respond, she asked, “Why, Nick?”
He shook his head in self-disgust. “I’m a coward. I liked having dinner with you. I’m still not sure this is the right decision, though.”
“To see each other?”
“To get involved.” He looked at his watch with frustration. He needed to get back to the truck. “I gotta go. I’m on duty.”
“And I’m working.”
“You’re good at your job, Stace. And with kids. They loved listening to you.” He shrugged. “I did, too.”
“This is awkward.” Moving in, she kissed him again on the cheek and this time the scent of shampoo and maybe bath soap filled his head. It was refreshing but, on her, sexy as hell. “Go. I’ll see you in a few days when we meet with Parker at the Academy.” She was giving him an out.
Suddenly he wanted to stay, take her home—simply take her. He started to tell her, but common sense overrode what he was about to say; he turned and left the store. All the way back to the truck, he mentally kicked himself in the butt. This seesaw wasn’t fair to her. What the fuck was he going to do?
LATE IN THE afternoon, Nick pulled up to the Academy gym and turned off the engine. He sat staring at the big structure, looking forward to seeing Stacey again but distracted by the call from Kelly before he left…
“Hi, Kel. I’m a bit pressed for time.”
She usually got nosy and asked a million questions, but instead she blurted out, “I saw on the news that they busted up a big kidnapping ring in the city.”
He stilled. They tried like hell not to talk about this. Not to remember it. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he sank onto the bed. “I’m sure that was upsetting.”
“Yeah, the anniversary is in a few weeks.”
“I know, honey. I’ll be there for you. And Mark will, too.”
“It still makes my skin crawl when I think about what happened.”
His too. “As it should. But it’s over, baby.”
“For me. But those others…”
And Nick thought, Never for me, either. “That’s why we go to Joshua House, Kelly. To help the girls. Other people can’t relate to them like we can.”
“I know. It just makes me feel better to talk to you when something happens.”
“I’m always here.”
When he ended the call, he sat down on the bed, wrapped in a towel at his waist, with the phone in his hand. For Kelly, talking about her fate and what he’d done for her made her less anxious. For him, though, a coil started in his belly and tightened more and more as he got ready to go out. By the time he reached the Academy, he felt like a top about to spin out of control.
Cursing his baby sister’s timing, he exited the car and went inside the gym. Parker was walking the perimeter of the floor, making notes on her iPad. He called out, “Hey, Parker,” and crossed to her.
“Good to see you, Nick.” Waving to encompass the gym, she said, “Do you think we’re going to need all of this space?”
“You know, we might. We’ve got some games for the bigger kids that’ll require a large surface area.”
“That’s right. You mentioned a few. Maybe we should designate half of the gym for the teens.”
“Good idea.”
“Hi, you two.”
He turned to find Stacey had arrived, wearing a furry, beige hoodie. When she removed that, he saw another sweat suit beneath of dark pink. Her hair was pulled up in a messy knot—she obviously wasn’t trying to impress him. On her feet were high-top sneakers. “Hi, Stacey.” He gave her a pleasant smile. “How are you?”
“I’m good.” Her eyes sparkled, becoming almost liquid in the overhead lights. “I made two huge sales of rare books today.”
Parker said, “Someday, I’d like to learn about rare books.”
“Anytime.” She waved to the floor. “So what do we do first?”
“Parker suggested we divide the gym in half—part for the older kids and part for the little ones.”
Nodding, she took her computer and a pack of cardboard from the backpack she carried, set them on a low table and clicked into her program for the party. She seemed in an okay mood but wasn’t falling all over him. He thought of the Halloween night contact. And wondered if Patrick the cop had come by again.
“So far we have the basketball throw, paintball, remote-control cars, and a Christmas-ornament booth…” She picked up the cards. “Can we walk the floor and pace out each one? I brought markers.”
For an hour, they traversed the perimeter of the gym, eyeballing where everything would be. Decorating and game/booth deliveries wouldn’t happen until the second week in December, but with Stacey’s cardboard, they could section off the setup.
When they finished, Parker smiled. “Obviously, we’ll need the whole gym area.” She turned to them. “You’ve done a good job so far.”
Parker got a beautiful smile from Stacey that made Nick wish she’d bestowed it on him. “Thanks.”
“What’s next?” Parker asked.
“We’ll assign people from House 7 to their areas, along with community volunteers.” Stacey read from a pad. “I’ve had a sign up at the store and several moms and dads are interested in helping out. They’ll be responsible for setting up and breaking down.”
Nick added, “All the planning will be done by Thanksgiving.”
Parker socked him in the arm. “You balked, Captain, but were obviously the right choice.”
“I guess.”
“Great.” Parker checked her watch. “I need to go. I have to get home so the nanny can leave.”
“We’re done here, anyway.” Nick turned to get his coat.
Stacey didn’t move. She called out, “Have a great evening, you two. I’m staying to shoot some baskets and run around the track.”
“You are?” Nick was surprised.
“They allow the families of firefighters to use the gym when it isn’t busy. The guard who works here lets me know when it’s free. He’ll close up when I’m done.”
“Have fun, then.” Parker looked to Nick. “Walk you out?”
He should go with Parker, he knew that, and Stacey wasn’t making any overture to ask him to play with her, even though she knew he loved the game. Instead she started around the outside of the floor to warm up.
Nick watched her. “I think I might stay a bit, Parker, thanks.”
When Stacey reached him a few minutes later, he blocked her way with an aggressive stance. “Park
er left. Want to play some one-on-one with me?”
She eyed him up and down and arched a brow. “Think your ego can take getting trounced by a girl?”
“That’ll be the day.” He stood. “I got workout clothes in the car.” He nodded to the court. “Better warm up, sweetheart. I’m going to beat the pants off you.”
Her eyes widened at what she thought was innuendo. He hadn’t meant it that way, but as he jogged out of the gym, the idea was appealing to him, just the same.
Jesus, what got into him when she was around? Instead of following his gut, he let his defenses down and threw caution to the wind. None of this made sense.
HELL, SHE WISHED Nick hadn’t used pants off in regards to her. As soon as he uttered the common cliché, she had a sudden flash of him inching down her sweat pants, right there in the Academy gym, taking her shorts and undies with them, as he knelt before her. The images in her head would have been an okay fantasy, but Nick was still acting remote and unsure. Damn him.
As she took laps around the gym, she admitted she’d been disappointed not to hear from him after their date and even more so after Halloween night when he purposely sought her out. Still, she hadn’t pressed, hadn’t called him. She could tell he was as attracted to her as she was to him, and knew they liked each other, but he was shying away from emotional closeness. Which, she’d decided, was fine. She wouldn’t go after a man who didn’t want a relationship. And she knew he was complicated. She’d decided to give him space, which he rejected outright when he’d asked to play ball with her.
Soon he entered the gym again. Forgoing a sweat suit, he wore a plain white T-shirt with navy blue shorts that hit mid-thigh. When he caught up to her, she appreciated every single muscle of his torso that was outlined by the soft cotton. How he ran with ease and grace. How he didn’t even get winded.
After two laps, he stopped. “Ready to play?”
“Yep. Wanna shoot some first? I got two balls out.”
“Sure. You probably need the extra edge with me.”
She liked his cockiness. It was cute.
They each took a ball and began shooting and rebounding. She made the first swish through the basket. Then he made one. They continued for ten shots, neither missing, so she said, “All right. Tell me your rules.”
“We play to eleven. Each basket counts one. Gotta win by two. You can start first with the ball at the top of the key. If you make a shot, you get the ball again.”
“Seriously? I play that if you get a basket, the ball goes to your opponent.” She smiled. “I like your way better.”
She dribbled to the top of the key and he came up to her, but before he got into position, she darted around him, did some fast footwork to the basket and sank an easy layup.
“Ah, so that’s how it’s going to be?” he said, commenting on her sneakiness.
“Uh-huh.”
Again, she took the ball out and tried to pull the same stunt but he was ready for her. Leaping in front of her left dash, he stopped her progress. She had to go right. Dribble behind her back (he said, “Show off”) and surprised him when she took the shot half-court. “Two…zip.”
Nick was a competitor. She could tell as he responded to her first two plays. He finally got the ball away from her, scored, then positioned himself again. This time he almost plowed right through her, forcing her out of the way. He scored easily. She had a harder time maneuvering around him on her third possession. Finally, she managed to get to the basket, but he blocked her shot.
He didn’t expect her quick rebound. And follow up. “Yes!” she said, reaching her hand in the air when the net swished again. “Still ahead.”
He mumbled something, but she didn’t hear the exact words. Cranky looked cute on him, too.
A half hour later, the score was tied. Two more points to go and the game would be over. They were also both covered in sweat. This was so much fun.
Her turn to take the ball out. She managed to dribble to mid half-court and stop at the foul line. She lifted the ball, went up on her tiptoes and let go—but the ball slammed back down—right into her.
“Owww,” she said covering her face. Her eyes stung and pain radiated from her nose to every part of her skull.
“Stacey, I’m so sorry.” He jogged up to her. “Your nose is bleeding. Sit down.”
She dropped to the floor.
“Lean your head forward but pinch your nostrils.”
She obeyed, fuzzy headed now.
“I’ll get some ice.”
Slowly the pain subsided. But she knew she was going to have bruising. Oh, terrific. Just terrific. For the first time since Jess died, she was attracted to a guy and not only did she pale in comparison to women like Parker Erikson, tonight she’d look as though she’d gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson, when she was hoping for him to commit to seeing her.
When he returned with the ice, she looked up at him. His face was taut with strain and his body was stiff. So she said, “Foul. I get two points for that. So I win.”
He laughed and sank to the floor. “You’re something else.” She smiled around the ice, but the blood kept coming. He yanked his T-shirt over his head and handed it to her. For a minute, she froze. Despite the pain, she noticed—boy did she notice—his bare chest.
Dear Lord in heaven. He was still tanned from the summer. His chest was sprinkled in all the right places with hair lighter than what was on his head. His pecs were perfect. His biceps bulged. She had to close her eyes to keep from reaching out and touching his skin.
“I’m so sorry, Stace. I can’t believe I was so careless.”
But Stacey didn’t respond. Even with her eyes closed, she could still see that magnificent torso. The view was worth getting a bloody nose from him, that was for sure.
NICK WALKED INTO Badges, the firefighter and police hangout, next to Stacey. The walls were decorated with photos and memorabilia of the local department, and there was a big tribute to the firefighters who’d died in 9/11, only an hour away from Hidden Cove.
Stacey had kept the ice on her nose a while, and so far, the bruising didn’t look so bad. And he hadn’t thought about Kelly’s call all night, so he gave in to the temptation that he’d been fighting for days.
How about if I apologize by buying you a drink?
You’re on.
In the entryway, they scanned the crowd. It was a good one for a Monday night. “I didn’t think, Stacey. Will this place make you feel bad?”
“What do you mean?”
“Because of Jess. You had to have come to Badges with him.”
“I did; but no, Badges has good memories for me. Just like fall does.” She socked his arm. “It’s possible to concentrate on the good things, you know?”
Was it, for him? She seemed to enjoy life so much. Would she bring him up with her or would he pull her down?
They found a table off to the side and Nick stood when she sat. “Want more ice for that?”
“Maybe in a bit. I kept the pack you got at the gym on my face all the way over in the car.”
She asked for a Blue Light and he made his way to the bar. Down the big mahogany slab, he saw three who were from his group. They were laughing and talking, obviously familiar with each other and as couples. He envied their camaraderie. How different might he have turned out if he’d had friends like that? Or even siblings? Would they have been around to protect Kelly more than he had? All of them burst out laughing at something, and Nick turned away. He was feeling…lonely. Alone.
When he returned to the table, he placed her beer in front of her and dropped down across from her. “The bartender says they have ice packs of all shapes and sizes in the freezer. Seems a lot of cops and smoke eaters come in needing ice.”
“I remember how banged up Jess used to get.”
She took a hefty gulp of her beer. She drank like a guy, not a girl, but she’d removed her coat and sweat jacket. The damp, scoop-necked T-shirt she wore outlined her curves. She’d also released her h
air from its knot. The red locks were a riot of curls down her shoulders and back. “Other than the nose thing, I had fun playing basketball with you.”
“Same goes for me. You really are good.” He stopped himself before he mentioned the firefighter-and-cop basketball league started by the Malvasos, which started play soon. If they were together, she could join them; if he stopped this tonight, it would be a very bad idea for her to be on the teams.
“You’re good, too. How come you didn’t go to college and play there?”
For some godforsaken reason, he wanted to answer her, tell her things about himself. He couldn’t stop himself from talking. “My parents died suddenly when I was eighteen and Kelly was fourteen. I wanted to be a firefighter all my life, anyway, but I was going to college to study fire science. Somebody had to take care of Kelly, so I joined up.”
He could still see his baby sister at fourteen, hair and face like a goddess’s.
“Was it hard, raising your sister?”
Why the hell was he talking about this? No one in Hidden Cove knew what had happened to her but Will Rossettie. He felt himself close down. “I don’t want to discuss that part of my life, if it’s okay.”
“Sure. Everybody’s entitled to secrets.”
The statement made him smile, made his shoulder less stiff. “Yeah, like you aren’t an open book.”
“You know I am. My story’s simple—she marries her high school sweetheart, has a great life for four years, then her parents die.” She shrugged. “You and I have that in common. But the story has a sad ending, because he dies, too.”
Her honesty drew him back in. “You’ve had heartache.”
“Everybody has. It’s how we deal with our issues that’s important.”