When those special memories rushed back at the older woman, Nicole envied the way Sara’s peach and cream complexion glowed. One day she hoped to love a man as much as Sara loved her husband.
Why did Will’s face always came to mind during that musing?
“Sorry, I’m late,” Nicole said rushing through the aisle. “Luke needed a few extra minutes to say goodbye to Max. He just loves that dog.”
“Pssh.” Sara waved her off and then pushed her long blonde braid over her shoulder. “If the world was meant to run on a second hand, God would’ve installed wrist watches on our arms.”
Nicole stored her purse under the counter and then pulled from a drawer an imprinted green and red apple apron that matched the one Sara wore.
“Thanks for being understanding. I’ll get started on dusting the shelves in the back.” She pulled the apron’s strings tight around her waist and then grabbed the stepstool and headed to the rear of the store. Her flats padding the knotty pine flooring echoed among the store’s many displays.
A short while later, the doorbell jangled and Nicole heard Sara call, “Hi, stranger. I haven’t seen you around lately.”
“Hi, Sara.”
Will’s deep tone grabbed Nicole’s attention and almost caused her to lose her balance on the stepstool. She steadied herself with one hand and placed the smooth glass blown pumpkin she dusted back on the shelf with the others.
Will looked damn good sporting a shadow of a beard.
His intense gaze swept over her before returning to Sara.
“I was out of town on business, installing a new network system for a large hospital. How are you?”
Nicole focused on the display shelf in front of her. She swept her tongue across her lips and tasted the light berry tang of her lipstick. Her palms felt slick and she swiped them across her apron before picking up the next pumpkin. He was here to see her.
“You sure do travel a lot.” Sara moved out from behind the central island hosting the registers.
“Believe me. The road is not all that great. I’m glad to be home.”
“Well, what can I do for you today?”
Sara’s thin frame blocked the aisle between her and Will.
“I need a get well card and gift for a friend.” Will glanced over Sara’s head and again met Nicole’s eyes.
She smiled.
He didn’t.
Her heart fell to her toes. Something was wrong. With a slight tremor, she guided the fragile orange globe between two others.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear your friend is sick,” Sara said pulling Will’s attention back to her.
The phone next to the cash register buzzed.
“Oh, my. It was so quiet here this morning. Everything happens at once.” Sara wavered between grabbing the phone and showing Will some of her wares. “I’m sorry, I need to get that. I’ve been waiting for a call from the artist scheduled to have a showing here this weekend. Could you wait a moment, or maybe Becca could help you choose something nice.” Sara pointed in her direction.
“No problem. I’m in no hurry.”
Nicole stepped down off the stool as Will approached. “I’d be happy to help you. So, is your friend a man or woman?” She asked loud enough for Sara to hear.
“Woman.”
“Oh,” Nicole wondered if Will was actually looking for a gift for another woman. Her heart dipped in sorrow at the thought. “We have a nice assortment of cards right over here.”
Will glanced over his shoulder. Seeing Sara was busy on the phone, he took her by the elbow and propelled her further down the aisle to the back corner of the store. “I need to talk to you.”
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. “Is something wrong? Have you found Gorgon?”
“No. We learned Yegor, his wife, and their daughter-in-law have left the country by boat through the Florida Keys.”
“When?”
“A few days after we broke into Gorgon’s house.”
“What about Donnie and Gorgon?”
“They’re underground. I guess Gorgon wasn’t in any shape for some rough traveling, yet. We’re assuming his brother must’ve stayed behind with him.”
Fear’s icy finger tickled Nicole’s spine, causing her to shiver. “Or he didn’t leave on purpose.”
Will’s warm hands latched onto her arms and he gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Hey, you don’t have to worry. He’s not going to find you and Luka.”
“Luke.” She glimpsed in Sara’s direction. Fortunately her boss was still busy with the caller and missed Will’s slip of tongue.
“Right.” Between them, Will’s hands trailed down her arms and captured hers. “Because of you, if Gorgon’s nose so much as breaks the surface we’ll nab him and lock him away for life.”
She had to believe Will was right. Nicole inhaled and set her shoulders. “Okay. I’m going to trust you.” She glanced at his fingers still encasing hers, and then smiled up at him. “So what did you need to talk to me about?”
“I was wondering if you’re free tonight? I’d like to stop by the house. I have something to show you. Do you have anyone you can leave Luke with for an hour or two?”
She looked down at her chest, thinking Will would see the pound of her heart against her blouse. Was Will asking her out?
No. He said he had something to show her. Undoubtedly, whatever he had to share had to do with the case. That was why he didn’t want Luka around.
“Well, his friend did ask him to come over today after school. I told him I would think about it. Maybe Sam’s mother will keep Luke a little longer.”
“Great. What time should I come over?”
They heard Sara end her conversation and the receiver drop into its cradle.
“I have to call her first, and I work until five-thirty. Maybe around six-thirty. Can I let you know?” Nicole said while glimpsing at Sara.
“Sure. You have my cell number.” Glancing over his shoulder, he checked Sara’s location before he plucked a stuffed puppy with a bandaged head off the shelf and said openly, “This is perfect, Becca. Gloria is a dog person. Thanks.”
He went to turn when she reached out and touched his elbow stopping him. “Should I be worried?”
“No.” He smiled. “Trust me.”
Nicole returned his smile. “Okay.”
Will walked to the middle of the store and paid Sara for the toy.
Switching her position and thus her line of sight a few times, Nicole admired Will’s strong shoulders and hard backside as he walked away.
“That man likes you,” Sara said after the door had closed behind Will.
She shrugged and climbed up on the step stool. “He seems nice.”
“He is.” Sara moved a figurine a little to the left on a shelf below. “You know what’s odd about him?”
Nicole stopped dusting the shelf and looked down at Sara quizzically.
“I’ve had this store for more than ten years and I think Will Hanson has been in here maybe twice.”
“So?”
“So, he’s been in here three times in the past month.”
“Maybe something in his life changed or he’s found someone. You said he wasn’t married, right?”
“I never said anything like that, but I do believe you’re right. I think he’s definitely found someone.”
Warmth crept up Nicole’s neck and flushed her cheeks.
Sara winked before she headed back to the front of the store.
How she wished what Sara thought were true, but Will was interested in her for only one reason. Gorgon and his family. Nicole chewed her lip. What did Will have to show her?
~~
Chapter Twenty-two
Both anticipation at seeing Will again and angst over what he had to show her had Nicole wearing a path in her porch’s cement pad. She stopped in front of the porch swing, back dropped by a veil of honeysuckle. Even her favorite spot didn’t hold an appeal for her to sit and wait. Maybe she missed Will’s call when she went to
lock her car.
She rushed inside, leaving the screen door to bang behind her and checked her answering machine. No messages. Where could he be?
Did Will have a picture of Gorgon in handcuffs? Or, maybe one of him in the morgue? No. He wouldn’t have made her wait to hear that good news.
Nicole crossed from the living room’s side window to the larger windows overlooking the porch and drew back the thin linen drape and peeked out. To the west, the late summer sun sparkled among the leafy tops of the old maple trees lining Madison Street. Its dwindling rays spread murky finger shadows across her front lawn and cast tiny beams off her freshly washed car sitting in the driveway.
She looked down over her jeans and long tailed white shirt which were still damp from where water had splattered back at her while she’d rinsed her car. Should she run upstairs and change?
Who was she kidding? She frowned. Her appearance wasn’t that important. Will’s visit wasn’t social. What he had to share had to do with the case.
Behind her, Max whimpered.
“Do you need to go out, boy? Okay, come on.” She led the dog through the small dining room and kitchen to the back door, attached his security collar, and let him out into the back yard. Nicole glanced at the stove’s clock as she passed by on her way back to the front of the house. Seven ten. Will was late. He had said he’d be here around six thirty.
Wringing her fingers together, she continued to pace the area carpet covering the living room’s hardwood floor while disappointment overtook her excitement. Maybe Will had been called away on urgent business. No. He would’ve called her. Or would he? After all, what was she to him? Just someone he had to deal with because he was a U.S. Marshal and she was who she was.
Honesty kicked her in the ass. There was an undeniable connection between her and Will. She thought of him every day, wondering where he was, what he was doing, if he was safe, and longed to see his smile or hear his voice. Her nerves seemed to sense when he was close.
And Will, he seemed to stand a little taller when she watched him and his blue eyes glistened with lust.
Not to mention both of them seized every opportunity to touch the other in some way.
There was definitely attraction between them. But, could there ever be something more? She could hope all she wanted, but if she was going to be honest with herself, she knew differently. Again, Will was who he was and she was who she was.
Nicole spied the tail end of one of Luka’s toy trucks sticking out from underneath the sofa’s skirt and bent over to pick the metal eighteen wheeler up by the trailer.
Outside, Max barked a split-second before footsteps scuffed the front porch steps.
With her stomach doing somersaults, Nicole dropped the Matchbox into Luka’s toy box tucked into the room’s corner, smoothed her hands over her hair and headed to the front door.
Will was down on a knee giving a happy Max a rub down.
“Hi.”
“He found me.” He grinned, looking at her.
Watching Will, Nicole’s chest tightened with happiness. “I see.”
He gave Max a final pat before standing and peered down at her through the screen door. “Sorry I’m late. I hope I didn’t hold you up.”
The brown specks in his aqua eyes shimmered like rocks under an ocean’s spray, and Nicole couldn’t help grinning. “No. I hadn’t planned anything tonight, other than seeing you.” The ball of delight in the pit of her stomach seemed to lift Nicole’s toes off the floor.
Will’s sandy blonde hair, still damp from a shower, was combed back. Its ends curled over the collar of his red polo shirt. Like her, he was dressed casually in a long sleeved tee shirt, jeans and sneakers. Except for the jagged scar marking Will’s jaw line and neck, he looked like an ordinary guy, not like a man who fought the filth of the underworld every day.
Max, bored from lack of attention, brushed against Will’s legs one last time and trotted off the porch, leaving them alone.
Will’s presence suddenly made Nicole nervous. “I didn’t hear you drive up.” Past his broad shoulders, she glanced at the driveway again. “Where’s your car?”
“I walked.” He poked his thumb over his shoulder. “I live a few blocks from here. Over on Jefferson Street.”
“I didn’t know that.” Her heart skipped a beat thinking how close Will was to her, most of the time. A heartbeat later she chided herself. She was his job. The things he did for her and Luka weren’t personal. Moving them here, to his hometown, to keep her close and safe, was the agency’s decision, not Will’s. Although, she suspected, he had a voice in the outcome.
Once Gorgon and his brother were behind bars, they’d find another home for her and Luka. The thought brought her feet back to the floor.
“Hmmm, I thought I told you,” Will said, breaking her muse.
“No. You didn’t.” Will confided, on the side, at her debriefing, that Logan Summit was his hometown but not where he lived in the little town. She would’ve remembered that bit of info.
Will cleared his throat. “Can I come in?”
“Ah, sorry. Yes. Please.” Her cheeks warmed as she swung the wooden-framed door wide.
“So how are you doing?” Will asked while stepping inside.
“Good.”
He surveyed the room and peered up the stairs to the second floor. “Do you like the house?”
“It’s perfect. Luka and I love living here. And Max,” she added hearing the dog’s woof.
“I’d thought you’d like the place.”
“Did you pick it out?”
“I saw a realtor post a sign in the yard about a month ago. I just suggested it to the higher ups.”
Spying the manila folder he carried under his arm, her arm hair stood on end. “What’s that?”
“This?” He showed her the file. “One of the two reasons I wanted to see you. First one being, I wanted to see you and make sure you and Luka were happy.”
“We are. Thank you. So are you going to tell me what’s in there?” Curious, she reached for the file.
He switched his hands, trapping the file next to his hip. “Maybe we should sit down?”
Nicole’s stomach knotted. The folder probably contained more pictures of men he wanted her to identify. Men who had dealings with Gorgon. Or, maybe something else altogether. Something that might send her to her knees.
“Sure.” She led him to the couch. After she sat, he settled in next to her, leaving a space of about a foot in-between. Resisting the urge to fidget, Nicole laced her fingers together and dropped her hands to her lap.
Will slid the folder onto the coffee table. “Before we get to this—” He tapped the file. “I want to thank you, for helping us. What you did, going back into Gorgon’s house, took courage.”
“I didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Yes, you did. With the information we retrieved, we’ve been able to round up two dozen of Gorgon’s contacts and charge them with human trafficking. This past week we found two missing children and returned them to their families.”
Her throat clogged with a mixture of happiness and pride. “That’s wonderful. But there is no need to thank me. Helping you was part of our deal, so Luka and I could be together, here.” Realizing her palms were moist, she ran her hands over her jean clad thighs. “So what is in the folder?”
Will handed the file to her. “It’s my way of saying thank you for helping us.”
Confusion knitted her brow. She stared at the thin folder and then at him.
“Open it.”
His smile reassured her and she flipped open the cover. Staring down at two faces from the past, her breath caught. “My parents.”
The picture depicted them walking through an outside market. They held hands. They looked older. They looked wonderful and so happy.
Nicole’s heart swelled with love. Sadness tried to intrude in on the moment but she pushed the feeling away and enjoyed the feeling of total contentment settling over her heart. Eig
ht years had slipped by since she’d seen them. She traced the outline of their faces with trembling fingertips.
“I thought you’d like to know what your family looks like now and what they’ve been up to since you—” Will’s words broke off.
Will’s kindhearted expression constricted Nicole’s throat. Tears blurred her vision and fell to her cheeks. “It’s okay, Will.”
He leaned forward, pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and handed the white linen to her. “Here. Wipe your tears away before you have me bawling.” He chuckled.
She laughed along with Will, imagining the tough guy crying over her sentimental outbreak. “Right. Thanks.” She patted her cheeks dry and again stared at the picture in her lap.
“They never stopped looking for you, Nicole,” Will’s comforting voice filled her ear. “Your mother now works for a local division of Amber Alerts. Your father calls the State Marshal’s office every week without fail. He wants to make sure you haven’t fallen through the cracks.”
They hadn’t stopped hoping and searching for her. The flood of emotion filling her chest made breathing hard. She sniffled and swiped her nose with a shaky hand.
“There’s more.” Will reached over and flipped her parents’ picture to the side. “This is your brother Justin. He graduated early from Wilkes University with honors this past December. He’s now a junior civil engineer for the city of Harrisburg. And your sister, Ashley, she’s continuing her education as a clinical pharmacist, and she’s getting married in a few weeks.”
Nicole’s heart stretched a little more. She loved her little brother and sister so much. They were thirteen the last time she saw them. Now they were all grown up. She was proud of them, knowing they had continued on with their lives and done well, but bitterness that she’d been robbed of the opportunity to make something of herself, made her slap the file closed and shove it at Will.
“What’s wrong?” Perplexed his head snapped back as if she’d slapped him across the face. “I thought you’d be happy to see these.”
“I am. Thank you.” She stood, rounded the coffee table, and crossed to one of the two windows overlooking the side yard. Perhaps picking up the scent of the squirrel she’d seen earlier, Max sniffed in the flower bed which lined the garage’s southern wall.
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