Dangerous Curves Ahead: A Perfect Fit Novel

by Jamison, Sugar

  He kissed her forehead, twined his fingers through her hair, and drifted off to sleep. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Not yet.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  “Is this about the water balloons?” the worried kid asked Mike.

  The Durant Police Department had received multiple complaints about a roving band of teenagers. Some concerned citizens called them a gang. And he was a ballerina. They had yet to do anything illegal except loiter. However, the mayor’s mailbox had been stolen and Mike and Lester had been assigned to the investigation. A stolen mailbox? Two detectives? Durant’s tax dollars at work.

  Mike sighed as he studied the fifteen-year-old suspect. The kid, Eric, who was reportedly the ringleader, looked more like a dopey Abercrombie model than a juvenile mastermind. Truthfully, nobody in town gave a shit about the stolen mailbox, but ever since the two robberies on St. Lucy Street, the mayor had taken on a zero-tolerance policy.

  Ellis’s robbery still ate at him. The more he thought about it, the more he wished he was still on the case. Two stores, two doors apart, both owned by women. There had to be a connection. Every day Mike studied the sketch Ellis had done of her attacker. If he ever caught the guy …

  “Seriously!” Eric threw up his hand in frustration. “We were just going to throw them at some freshmen. Who told?”

  “You did, jackass,” Mike said, rolling his eyes skyward. “And if you’re going to pelt underclassmen with water balloons, make sure there’s only water in them and try to avoid their faces.”

  “We called you in for the mailbox,” Lester informed him.

  “Mailbox?” The kid blinked and looked from Mike to Lester. “Is that some kind of drug?” He put his hands up in defense. “Hey, I don’t do any drugs. I’m on the lacrosse team and they randomly piss-test us.”

  Mike shook his head. He wasn’t in Manhattan anymore. Despite the robberies, Durant was still a nice place to raise kids and he was glad to see that this kid was still innocent enough not to know about every drug on the planet.

  “The mayor’s mailbox, Eric.” Lester grimaced. “Somebody stole it.”

  “You’re shitting me.” The kid grinned. “Somebody took that old blowhard’s mailbox? Asshole had it coming. It’s in the shape of an eagle.”

  Mike raised a brow at that comment. “An eagle?”

  “Yeah,” Eric said, laughing. “The dude is Captain Patriotic all of sudden. He’s up for reelection next year. You should see the size of the American flag he’s got hanging on his house.”

  “Ah,” Mike said, nodding. “You can go now.”

  “I can go?”Eric blinked at him.

  “Yeah.” Mike got up from the table in the interviewing room.

  “And I can still do the water balloon thing?”

  “I’m not encouraging it. But if you do, try to hold off till spring. It’s too damn cold to be hit by a water balloon.”

  “All right.” Eric flashed them a grin. “You guys aren’t the stupid pigs people call you.”

  “Gee thanks. Now get the hell out.”

  Lester waited till Eric had disappeared before he turned to Mike. “You let him go quickly.”

  “The kid’s a goof, but he’s not a thief, and now that I know that it was an eagle-shaped mailbox I’m even less inclined to bust the kid who took it. Hell, I might have taken it if I saw it.”

  They left the small room and headed toward their desks.

  “Nah.” Lester shook his head. “I would like to see a turkey-shaped mailbox. Now, turkeys, those are some regal birds. They got all those feathers sticking out of their ass and they taste damn good with some gravy. You can’t eat an eagle. Wouldn’t want to eat them. They don’t have enough meat on their bones. What the hell did they ever do for anybody? Majestic my hairy ass. Can’t eat them. Can’t shoot them. Whatever.”

  Mike laughed at his partner’s musings. “Do you think about this kind of stuff on your days off?”

  Lester shrugged. “My head wanders when my wife starts yammering about her clients at the salon. I can’t tell her I don’t give a shit if Mary Lou What’s-Her-Face is having a hard time going through the change. So I have some Lester time and think about things.”

  “You’re unstable.”

  “Michael.”

  He stopped short. His father stood beside his desk. Twenty years and Harry Edwards had barely changed. His hair was a little grayer around his temples, his eyes had a few more lines around them, but he was still the same man. And Mike felt like he was looking in some kind of fun-house mirror.

  He pushed the sensation away and hardened his heart. “I told you I have nothing to say to you.”

  “Well, that’s too damn bad. I need to talk to you and I won’t leave until you hear me out.” Mike stared at his father, taking note of his tone. It was the same tone he’d used when they were kids and he meant business.

  “You okay, Mike?” Lester placed a supporting hand on Mike’s shoulder. Mike glanced at his partner. Lester was a good man, a good father. He loved his kids. He’d never walk out on them. Bitter-tasting bile rose inside him. Harry Edwards had once been like Lester.

  “Yeah. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, son.” Lester squeezed his arm before returning to his desk.

  Mike motioned toward the interrogation room they had just left. His father followed him silently. He tried not to think about all the missed baseball games. All the questions the other kids asked. Where did your father go? He had no idea. Twenty years gone. Twenty missed birthdays. All their graduations. His sisters’ weddings. His grandkids’ births.

  Mike wasn’t in the mood for explanations or a heartfelt talk. He only wanted to know one thing.

  “Why now? Why did you come back now?”

  “I’m sober,” Harry said and the blow from that admission nearly knocked Mike on his ass. “And I’m rich.”

  “What?” Sober? Mike never saw his father drink more than the occasional beer. They were middle-class, went to church every Sunday. The boy he used to be thought that people like his father were immune to addiction but the man he was now knew that was wrong.

  “I went to Mexico to get clean and started my own boating business.” Mike wanted to look away from his father, unable to stomach the admission, but his father’s gaze was powerful. He locked eyes with Mike’s in a hold that was impossible to break. It was hard to look at his father, to hear him speak after such a long silence. “I contracted with the cruise ships to take the tourists on excursions. I made some money. I’ve earned respect and now I got something to offer you.”

  Offer him? All Mike had ever wanted from his father was time. “Don’t gloss over the sober part. What the hell are you talking about? You weren’t a drunk.”

  “No.” Regret flashed in his eyes. “I was addicted to pills.”

  Mike shook his head. “I don’t believe you.” Mike had been his father’s shadow. He would have noticed if his father was high.

  “Remember when I hurt my back when you were eleven and I was laid up for about a month?” He waited for Mike’s acknowledgment before he continued. “They gave me oxycodone, and when that didn’t help they gave me something stronger. Pretty soon I was addicted and depressed. They wouldn’t let me work on sites anymore and I was no good sitting behind a desk then.” He took a step toward Mike. “I couldn’t take coming home every night to you looking at me like I was some kind of hero when I knew I was nothing but scum. Remember that fifty dollars your grandmother sent you that you thought you lost? I took it. I—”

  “Stop.” Mike held his hand up. “I don’t want to hear any more.”

  “But I’ve got so much to say, Mike. I love you. Leaving you was the hardest part.”

  “No.” For some reason those words stung him more than anything else. “You’re a fucking coward.”

  “Maybe I was but I’m back and I want to make amends.”

  “Make amends.” He laughed without humor. “Is that one of your steps? Because you can take it an
d shove it up your ass.”

  “Mike. I know you’re angry but—”

  “Angry! You have no fucking idea who I am or how I feel. I don’t want you back in my life. So go back to where you came from and leave me the hell alone.”

  *

  Go see Mike.

  Thoughts of him distracted Ellis as she sat across from her newest client. Ellis had done her research on bridal fashions in the short time since she’d started making them. She bought bridal magazines. She went to wedding trade shows. She watched every single episode of Say Yes to the Dress. And it was paying off. Audra, her latest bride, had come in as a referral with a big budget and even bigger wishes. Audra wanted to stuff her short, very rotund body into a fit-and-flare mermaid gown. No way in hell. It wasn’t a surprise that she couldn’t find a dress that looked good on her. Ellis had to explain to her, not so gently, that her body was completely wrong for that type of gown.

  She had done three sketches before the woman picked one. They decided on beaded lace in pure white, with a three-foot train and a matching veil. Audra wanted a ball gown, of course, and she wanted it in two months. It was going to be a tremendous amount of work. Lace wasn’t easy to work with and neither was this Manhattan bride, but she was offering to pay ten grand. Ten thousand dollars for one dress. Ellis couldn’t believe someone would shell out that kind of cash for something she was only going to wear once. But she was glad for her client. That check alone could pay rent on the store for the next few months. Plus she was glad for the challenge. More than the money, the pride she would feel finishing the garment would be her reward. Every good review, every smiling bride, every tearful groom was money in her spiritual bank.

  Check on Mike.

  “Ellis,” the bride’s mother asked. “Do you think you could design my dress, too? It’s a black-tie event. I don’t know if we told you but we are holding it in the New York Public Library.”

  “Just like Carrie Bradshaw did in Sex and the City.” Audra sighed.

  They had told her at least half a dozen times. She got it. They were rich. Big deal. “How exciting, but I design for plus-sized and hard-to-fit women.” She glanced at the slender Mother of the Bride and suppressed an eye roll. “You, Mrs. Landry, could walk into any store and buy a dress.”

  “Yes, dear, but I want you to design it for me. I saw that dress you did for Lydia Chase at our reunion. I never liked her in high school but even I had to admit she looked exquisite. Work with me, honey. I can help you make a name for yourself. You know we have contacts in the city.”

  Then why didn’t you have one of them make a dress for your—oh who cares? Go see Mike.

  The thought was nagging her, had been for the past half hour. She tried to ignore it but it kept at her. At first she thought it was because of the argument they’d had a few days ago. But things were fine between them. Her heart thumped faster as the thoughts of him circulated in her head. She had called him once already but his phone went straight to voice mail.

  He’s a cop. Cops can …

  “Thank you for your offer but I’m focusing on my bridal designs at the moment and I want to stay true to my market. I want to design dresses for the women who have a hard time finding them.”

  “Say no more.” Mrs. Landry put her elegant hands up in surrender. “I want my pumpkin’s dress to be perfect. But think about expanding your market to include MOB dresses and bridesmaid gowns.”

  Mike. Mike. Mike.

  I’m sure he’s fine. Stop bugging me!

  Go check.

  “That’s a great suggestion. I’m so sorry to cut this meeting short, but I have something very important to do.”

  She stood, unable to focus on the conversation because her breath was coming short. The more she thought about it, the more unsettled she felt. Calling wasn’t enough. She couldn’t settle for just hearing his voice. She needed to see him.

  Ten minutes later she walked into the Durant Police Department to find Mike sitting at his desk. He was alive. She didn’t know why she’d had the nagging feeling that he wasn’t okay. It was odd. She’d never felt that way before, never felt such panic. She couldn’t stop picturing him hurt.

  “Ellis?” He turned. He must have sensed her. “What’s wrong?” He stood up, unable to hide his concern. “What happened?”

  “Nothing.” She kissed both his cheeks half a dozen times as relief flooded her. He looked exhausted, and she wondered if the long nights of lovemaking were catching up to him. “Can you leave work early today?”

  He raised his brows. “You need help at the store? I can get off a little bit early.”

  “No.” She took his hand, needing to pull him closer. “I don’t need help at the store. I meant, can you leave work now?”

  “Right now?” He searched her face for a reason.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Right now.”

  “For God’s sake, Mike,” Lester said. “What do you want her to do? Beg? Go with her. I’ve got you covered.”

  “Hi, Lester.” Ellis blushed. She hadn’t noticed Mike’s partner sitting there. “Do you think you could bear to work without him for a few hours?”

  Lester glanced at Mike. “If you don’t go with her I will.”

  “Thanks.”He nodded at Lester, grabbed his jacket, and took her away.

  *

  Ellis led him out of the police station, her fingers locked with his. He barely felt the chilly air on his skin because he was still so heated from the encounter he’d had.

  My father is a drug addict. That thought kept pounding in his brain. A drug addict. How could he not have known? How could his mother not have told them such a huge thing? No wonder she could forgive. She knew. She knew for twenty years the reason behind her husband’s departure and never breathed a word of it to any of them. He thought he was angry with his father and but his mother’s lie was more like a betrayal.

  Ellis lifted his hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss to the backs of his fingers. “What’s wrong, Mikey?”

  “Nothing. I’m just tired.” He looked down at her. She wore dark denim, flat black shoes, and a blazer with a colorful scarf that made her eyes stand out even more than usual. “You’re not wearing heels.”

  “I’m dressed to take a walk with my boyfriend.”

  She’d come down to the police station in the middle of the day when he knew she was swamped at work.

  “I’m not complaining, but why did you pull me away from work today?” He forced his lips to curl into a smile. “You missed me that much?”

  She nodded, which surprised him. He was expecting a sassy comment but all she did was look up at him and study his face. “You still mad at me?”

  “No.” He shook his head then wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close as they walked down the street. “You are hard to stay mad at. Where we walking to today? Want to head back to the pond? Or we could head to the other side of town and go to that tea shop you like? I won’t even complain about drinking out of those ridiculous little cups.”

  “I’ll go wherever you want, babe.”

  They walked along in silence for a few minutes, Mike feeling a bit better with each step they had taken away from the police station, from the place his father had spilled all his demons. He was glad she’d come.

  Things had been better between them after their fight. Now she cautiously shared everything with him. She still didn’t trust him completely. He could feel her holding a little piece of herself back. Mike wasn’t sure if she ever would be able to give her all, but it was something he was going to have to live with if he wanted to be with her.

  “Mike,” she said, sighing in frustration, “something’s wrong with you.” She stopped walking and pulled him to one of the many benches that lined the streets of Durant. “I know this is going to sound crazy coming from me but I couldn’t stop thinking about you for the last hour. I know something is wrong. I need you to tell me what it is.”

  He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to tell her at first. He jus
t knew he didn’t want to keep thinking about his father. He didn’t want to give him any more space in his head than he deserved.

  “My father came to visit me today.”

  “Oh.” She blinked. “Thank God. I thought you were going to tell me that you wanted a sex change.”

  “What? You’re insane.”

  She shrugged. “I caught my last boyfriend in my apartment with another woman. You wanting a sex change is not such a big leap.”

  “Jack cheated on you?” That explained a lot. It gave him a glimpse into why she was the way she was sometimes.

  “Jack did a lot of things. Tell me what happened today. I was worried about you.”

  He kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger on her cool skin. “Sometimes I think you like me even more than you let on.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Tell me what happened.”

  “My father says he left because he was a drug addict.”

  Her eyes widened, a little sadness filling them. “Did your mother know?”

  “How could she not have known? They lived together, slept together. If you were on drugs I would know.”

  “You think so?” She gave him a curious look.

  Of course he would. He knew her better than she thought. He knew when she was keeping something from him. “You think I don’t know about the bag of Snickers you keep under the sink in the empty tissue box?”

  “Son of a bitch,” she cursed softly. “And I thought I was being sneaky about it. It’s only for emergencies, you know.”

  “See? If I know about your secret candy stash, my mother had to know my father was abusing pills.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “You sound like you’re mad at your mother.”

  He thought about it for a moment and realized he was. “She lied to us. For years we had no clue why he left.”

  “And if you’d known, would it have changed the way you felt about his leaving?”

  “I—I … Yes. It would have. I wouldn’t have wondered all those years.”

  “How do you tell your thirteen-year-old his father left because he was a drug addict? How does a kid process that? I might have thought that my father left because he chose the drugs over me. When the truth could have been that he left because he didn’t want his addiction to ruin your life.”