As good as it had been before, this time was that much better. He made such tender, passionate love to her that she cried out, “Oh, God, Frank! I love you!”—not even realizing it was the first time she had said the words. If her body was responsive, his was very much in charge, and with something like triumph he took her wrists and held them above her head as he brought her to an intense simultaneous climax.
Lying in his arms, waiting for her breathing to slow, she felt so good—safe, blissful, very loving, very loved. She ran a hand over his chest, liking the feel of his warm skin, filled with tenderness toward him. If she married him, they would no longer have to disrupt their days to grab a few minutes together. Alix was right; she should know him longer, but engagements could be long, could be broken if necessary. She would have time to be sure before she was committed forever, and it was always possible everything would be all right and she would be happy. “Yes,” she said. “I will marry you.” It wasn’t hard. Making it easy to say yes was what he did best.
He kissed the top of her head. “After we’re married, there won’t be anything to keep us from sleeping in the same bed every night.”
“Unless you’re out getting shot at.”
“I’ll always come home to you, though.”
She drifted a little, savoring the promise, and then she remembered—“I have to get back to work.”
“Call in sick.”
“I can’t. Veronica’s counting on me. What time is it?” She consulted her watch. “Oh!” She got out of bed, found her clothes, and rushed into the bathroom to wash up. She studied herself in the mirror—God! Veronica would know right away. She splashed water on her face, combed her hair, put on fresh lipstick, and, unable to resist the temptation, opened the medicine cabinet.
If he was bipolar, there was no medication for it here. He wasn’t taking uppers, either. There were no stimulants of any kind and no sleep aids—he must have a clear conscience and a cast-iron stomach. Plain aspirin and eye drops were as far as he went.
When she came out, he was still lying lazily against the pillows. “Get dressed, Frank. You have to drive me back.”
“There’s the practical, hard-headed Teresa we all know and love,” he said. He dressed quickly and then took her in his arms and kissed her. “I love you,” he said.
“Are you always like this?” she asked, disentangling herself to retrieve her shoes. “Don’t you ever get down or depressed?”
“It would be a waste of time,” he said dismissively. “I guess it was pretty depressing when I thought you were married to Devlin, but there’s no percentage in getting discouraged. You have to push through the hard stuff and do whatever is necessary.”
“You do know most people aren’t as strong-minded as you? It’s what makes you a good cop, I guess.”
He gave her the bag of chocolate fortune cookies and remembered to find a badge for Aiden. It was not his current one, which he would need, but one from the Genoa PD. “I won’t be able to stop by the grill tonight,” he said, “so be sure to take pictures of him in his costume.”
In the car he asked, “What kind of wedding do you want? If you’ve always wanted a big, fancy wedding, we can do that, or a small, quiet ceremony in the church here, whatever you want.”
“I guess I’ll have to think about it.”
“Traditional vows or one of these modern make-up-your-own ceremonies?”
“Traditional all the way.”
He was pleased. “Yeah? Will you promise to obey, or are you too women’s lib?”
“If I did, I might have to break it.”
“I can’t wait to see you in a wedding dress, all in white, a veil over your beautiful hair—or barefoot on the beach with flowers in your hair, if that’s what you want.” Teresa stared out the window and didn’t say anything. “What are you thinking?” he asked. “No bullshit now.”
“My parents,” she said.
“I meant to ask your dad first, but I couldn’t wait.”
Teresa smiled to think how astonished her father would have been by such a question. “They’re not that old-fashioned,” she said, “but they are traditional enough not to approve of a big wedding or a white dress for a second marriage. They might not even come—my father gave me away once, and they expected me to stay put.”
“They sound pretty unforgiving.”
“They wouldn’t see it that way. Would any of your family come?”
He considered. “My sister Kathleen will want to be there. Otherwise, it’s a long way to travel.”
“Richard would come,” she said, with something like relief. “He might be willing to walk me down the aisle.”
“One sibling each,” he said, “a minister, and you and me; what more do we need?”
“Alix, of course,” she said, “and Aiden and Sasha. You should have a best man.”
“I can handle that,” he said, but something grim had crept into his voice. He didn’t like Alix’s language or Sasha’s manners? But they did know how to behave in church!
****
When they entered the Cougar Bar & Grill, the Halloween decorations that had been up for most of October had been supplemented by jack-o’-lanterns with flickering lights inside and black-and-orange napkins at each table setting. Teresa had traded her sea anemone shirt for a more comfortable one that read This IS My Halloween Costume. Aiden wore black jeans and T-shirt, and Teresa had cut the sleeves off an outgrown windbreaker to make a vest, with duct tape letters spelling SWAT on the back. His helmet was cheap plastic from the dollar store, but the badge pinned to the front of his vest was the genuine article. He swaggered a bit, his usual shyness swallowed up in this exciting new identity.
“The SWAT team’s here!” Alix shouted. Sasha, in a long skirt and pointed black hat, was a witch with a big green wart on her nose. She gave Aiden a grin of approval and twirled to show off her own getup. Hand in hand, they headed back to the corner booth. “Hey, Terror,” Alix said, swiping at the bar with a damp rag. “Have you seen McDreamy today? Get it? McAllister…”
“Uh, yeah. We had lunch.”
Alix leered. “Did you have a nice lunch?”
“Yes,” she said demurely. “Chinese.” She leaned in to be heard above the buzz of voices without raising her own. “Did you ever do it with your bra on?”
“Sure. When I lost my virginity in the back seat of Mike Halliday’s jalopy. He couldn’t get the damn thing unhooked.” Maybe that was all it was with Frank, Teresa thought: a flashback to high school, a taste of forbidden fruit—and to her a reminder of the fabulous Grey Harbor massage.
Very casually, she lifted her left hand and pretended to stifle a yawn.
“Oh, my God!” Alix cried. “He didn’t! That is so great! Let me see.” She held Teresa’s hand tight in hers, turning it to make the diamonds sparkle. “It’s gotta be a couple thousand dollars at least!”
“Do you think so?”
“Three, four thousand, maybe.” Alix was ecstatic, but Teresa couldn’t help wondering if she was worth such an investment. “Does Aiden know?”
“No, bless his heart; he probably thinks it’s part of my costume. Halloween is enough excitement for tonight.”
****
When they had eaten dinner, enhanced by pumpkin cookies fresh from the oven, they headed out trick-or-treating. Little witch Sasha was part of their party too, since her mother had her hands full at the grill. The night was cold and clear, with only a crescent moon. Teresa carried a flashlight to guide them from one street light or porch light to the next. Last year, Aiden had still been very shy, overwhelmed by excited attention he couldn’t understand, but now he had more savoir faire, knowing none of it was important, and very proud of his costume.
She let each of the children choose two pieces of candy to eat right away, returned Sasha to the grill, and took a tired, happy Aiden home. She would have to deal with a sugar buzz for the next week or so, but tonight he dutifully brushed his teeth and went right to sleep. She called
Frank—her fiancé—but he didn’t pick up. She turned on the TV to be sure he wasn’t part of breaking news before she went to bed too. She took off her engagement ring, which still felt a little foreign to her, and left it on the nightstand.
****
Friday night Frank called to say, “I love you,” but was too busy to talk long. She tried not to worry about him being in danger, and wondered if she had what it took to be a cop’s wife. Again she turned on the news to be sure a SWAT standoff wasn’t underway, but nothing significant was happening in Powell City. In Cougar, however, a young woman was missing. Twenty-two-year-old Elle Goodman had been babysitting for an infant on Halloween while the parents took their older children trick-or-treating. She left their house before nine o’clock and never arrived home.
Teresa didn’t know her, but her surname suggested she was related to two girls she had gone to school with. If the murder in Yaholo had shaken her faith in the safety of small towns, this shattered it. She told herself the missing woman might show up at any minute. Her apparent disappearance might be a misunderstanding or a voluntary absence, but following so soon after the Yaholo incident it was decidedly creepy. She couldn’t help remembering Frank’s warning about letting Chelsea bicycle home alone after dark. She didn’t think she was likely to do so again. She locked both doors, which she almost never did, and made sure all the windows were closed and latched. She felt very vulnerable here, a woman alone with a child. It was comforting to remember she would soon have a man to protect her.
The mystery deepened as the weekend went on. Missing posters hung in store windows when she took Aiden to Sunday school, but nobody came forward to say they had seen the girl Halloween night or since. Nobody remembered seeing anyone suspicious in town. No clues could be found.
She didn’t think Aiden had even noticed the posters, but when they got home, he asked, “Bad man kill her? Sasha say—”
“Sweetie, you know Sasha makes things up. Nobody knows what happened. Maybe she ran away.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she was mad about something or maybe she wanted to go somewhere by herself—alone. Maybe she forgot to tell her mother where she was going. You would never do that, would you?”
“No,” he promised stoutly, and then, “Or maybe a bad man took her.”
Chapter 15
Monday morning she was putting T-shirts away in Aiden’s drawers when the doorbell rang. She was pretty sure she knew who it was before she opened the door and didn’t bother to check. He was wearing jeans and a collared shirt with a dark pullover. He looked great. “Hello, Frank,” she said, trying to sound casual.
He looked her up and down and whistled, although her hair was tied back in a sloppy ponytail and she wore faded jeans and a pink Soccer Mom T-shirt. “That’s cute,” he said, pointing to the shirt. “Take it off.”
Teresa put one hand on her hip—her left, with the third finger in plain view. “Slow down, Frank. You haven’t even said hello.”
“Hello, Teresa. Take off your shirt.”
“I will if you will,” she said.
****
“Now I’ll have to wash the sheets again,” she complained.
“I said I would help with the laundry.” He raised himself on one elbow and looked down at her. “You really got into it, didn’t you?” he said admiringly. “You’re the gift that keeps on giving. It just gets better and better. We’re a great match, aren’t we?”
“We are,” she admitted.
He kissed her. “You taste good, and you smell like…”
“Fabric softener,” she supplied helpfully.
While the old washing machine sloshed and gurgled its way through the cycles, they sat at the kitchen table and drank coffee, as she often did with Alix. It was a whole different vibe with Frank, but she tried to keep the same casual tone.
“So,” he said, nodding at her shirt. “Aiden plays soccer?”
“He does. At his age, it’s pretty much chaos, but they have fun.”
“Is he any good?”
“Surprisingly, yes. He didn’t get it from me. It’s one of the things he’s absolutely fearless about.”
“Have you thought any more about the wedding?” he asked.
“Instead of wedding plans, we should talk about more practical matters. I have no idea what you’ll be like to live with.”
He spread his hands. “What you see is what you get. I have no secrets. I don’t snore, and I don’t leave the cap off the toothpaste. I don’t leave my dirty socks on the bathroom floor. What else do you want to know?”
“You’re always up. What are you like when you’re in a bad mood?”
He shrugged.
“What would you do if I was in a bad mood? Or Aiden?”
“Try to cheer you up, I guess. Chocolate might work for you, right?”
“Chocolate doesn’t solve everything—lots of things, but not everything.”
“I’ve seen you in a bad mood. You don’t smile. If it’s my fault, I’ll apologize. Otherwise, I don’t know—introduce you to George Clooney?”
“Do you know George Clooney?”
“No, but it’s worth any effort to see you smile.”
“Crooked tooth and all?”
“Especially the crooked tooth. You are so damn cute!” He stroked her arm.
“Stop trying to distract me. What about Aiden?”
“You would know best. He probably needs to toughen up a little, but we have plenty of time. I know he’s had a hard time so far. After we do the implant—”
“That will be hard too. You can just throw money at the problem, but he’ll have to have surgery and work harder than he ever has to make the adjustment. He won’t hear perfectly overnight—or ever. You said you didn’t expect little boys to man up all the time.”
“And I’ll never interfere in your decisions about him. I know it’s important for parents to be on the same page. When he’s ready to accept me completely, I’d like to adopt him, but he’ll always be your son first.”
“You really are too good to be true, you know.”
“What are you doing, Teresa? What is this?”
“I’m trying to solve you, the mystery of you. You have to have a dark side, Frank; everybody does. Alix said—”
He was annoyed. “She doesn’t like me,” he said.
“That’s not true. She doesn’t even know you yet, but she thinks you’re very attractive. She said you were a catch and if I decided I didn’t want you, she would go after you.”
Frank was amused. “She’s not my type, to say the least.”
“What is your type?” she asked.
“You.”
“Besides that. What did Nikki look like?”
“Pretty hair, sort of strawberry blonde. She wore it long. Taller than you.” He shrugged. “It’s getting hard to remember her face, which surprised me at first, but maybe it’s natural. You’d start to forget Devlin too, if you didn’t keep running into him. I don’t like either of us having to see him. The one drawback of living in a small town.”
“Yes—I have to see Lacey Norman at least once a week.”
“I think that’s a little different, isn’t it? You were planning to marry Devlin.”
“And now I’m going to marry you. Am I too easy, do you think?”
“No, definitely not. Worth the trouble, though.” He kissed her.
“Alix said—”
“Enough with Alix. I know she doesn’t approve of me.”
“That’s not true. I told you she thinks you’re a catch. She’s very supportive. But in the beginning I was concerned that you were going a little fast—and you were—and she said—”
“That I’d abuse you.”
“No—just to be careful and to tell you if it was too fast for me.”
“Which you did.”
“Yes, she gave me good advice.”
He was still annoyed, but he took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry. Your loyalty to your
friend is a wonderful thing. I don’t want to undermine it. I’m sure she means well, but she might not be the best one for you to listen to. I mean what’s her relationship history?”
“I don’t think that has anything—”
“Okay,” he said, with a gesture of appeasement. He was ready to change the subject.
****
Their plans for the weekend began to fall into place, and during one of their nightly phone calls Teresa relayed Aiden’s request to invite Sasha to go to the aquarium with them. She was pretty sure Frank didn’t like the idea, but he agreed. “Alix should get married again,” he said. “Give that girl a father. Somebody needs to take her in hand.”
“She might be a little rough around the edges,” Teresa acknowledged—but so was Alix. “She’s so cute, though. Lots of personality.”
“Oh, yeah, she has that,” he said and immediately lightened up. Maybe this was his version of a bad mood—get mildly annoyed, deal with it, and then let it go and move on. “You should wear the shirt I bought you,” he said, as if he hadn’t paid for the ones she chose, too. “Or the thing you wore on the beach.”
“I think it will be too cold.”
“The T-shirt, then. Don’t hide your assets.”
“I thought you might like to keep my ‘assets’ between us.”
“I would if you’d share them—are you sure we can’t spend the night?”
“No—I mean, yes, I’m sure. I know you like the idea of the three-queen loft room, but I don’t think I would be comfortable in bed with you when Aiden could look over the railing, and Sasha is a very light sleeper.”
“When we’re married…?”
“Aiden knows married people sleep in the same bed.”
“Does he understand what Devlin did?”
“I’m sure he doesn’t. I don’t want him to blame either of us for the breakup…or you. I told him he can like you without being disloyal to Brett and he can still like Brett even if he doesn’t see him anymore.”
“That would confuse me,” he said, “but again I’m sure you know best.”
****
When she called Alix to invite Sasha, she asked, “Have you had some contact with Frank I don’t know about?”
The Rebound Effect Page 12
