Maybelle's Affair

by Terri Reid

  Dave nodded. “Your secret is safe with me,” he said. “And I’ll make sure Boettch is clued in too. No reason to upset her any more that she’s going to be anyway.”

  Stanley squinted. “How bad do I look?” he asked.

  Dave shook his head. “Did you ever watch one of the Rocky movies?” he asked.

  Stanley’s eyes widened, and he nodded.

  “Yeah, well you look like the loser,” Dave continued.

  Stanley lifted his hand, gently touched his face and winched. “Kinda feel like the loser. And when Rosie gets a look, I’m in fer it.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Dave replied. “Not when we tell her that you saved Vanessa’s life and solved the case pretty much single-handedly.”

  Stanley started to smile, then winced in pain. “You gonna tell her that?” he asked.

  Dave shrugged. “As far as I can see, it’s the truth,” he replied. “But I don’t know if she’s going to let you have many more repeat performances.”

  Stanley winced again. “Tell you the truth,” he said softly. “I don’t think I’m looking fer any repeat performances. This one beat the snot out of me.”

  “You held your own,” Dave said. “You should be proud.”

  “Well, iffen it moves Harry on, so he can be with his sweetheart, it was worth it,” Stanley replied.

  “You’re a good man, Stanley Wagner,” Dave said, then he stood up and looked out towards the road. “The ambulance is coming. Want me to ride shotgun?”

  Stanley nodded. “That’d be nice,” he said. “That’d be real nice.”

  Chapter Fifty-six

  Bradley watched from his cruiser as the ambulance pulled away from the parking lot. Chuck had already been taken into custody, and his partner was also on his way to jail. Now if he could only get rid of the panic that was still clawing at his chest.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Alex asked him.

  Bradley nodded slowly but didn’t turn towards him. “Yeah. Thanks, I’m good,” he replied dutifully.

  “Right, sure you are,” Alex replied, rolling his eyes. He followed Bradley’s gaze and saw it rested on Mary, who was talking to Vanessa. “Why don’t I drive Mary’s car back to town, so you two can chat?”

  “Why?” Bradley asked, looking over at Alex.

  “Oh, because, I really miss driving a mini-van and I rarely get a chance these days,” Alex replied sarcastically. Then he exhaled softly. “Because you look like you were run over by a Mack truck and you two need to figure that out.”

  “She’s a professional,” Bradley said, repeating what he’d been telling himself for several minutes. “She knows how to handle herself.”

  Alex patted Bradley’s shoulder. “Yeah, we both know that intellectually,” he said. “But what you’re feeling is pure emotion, and you two need to discuss it.”

  Bradley sighed. “I don’t want her to think that I don’t trust her, that I don’t have confidence in her abilities,” he replied.

  “So, tell her that,” Alex said. “If you don’t talk about it, it’s not going to get better.”

  Nodding slowly, Bradley smiled at his friend. “If you really want to drive the mini-van…” he said.

  Alex smiled back. “It’s been my dream,” he said.

  Bradley put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he said.

  Alex shrugged. “Hey, no problem.”

  Alex walked over towards Mary and Bradley smiled to see the confused look on Mary’s face as she hesitantly handed over her keys. She looked over at Bradley, shook her head, and smiled.

  His heart lurched when she smiled, and he felt the panic all over again. What if he had arrived and something had happened to her? What if Chuck had shot her? What if…

  “Dude, just knock it off,” Mike said, appearing next to Bradley.

  “What?” Bradley asked, glancing at Mike and then turning to watch Mary walk Vanessa over to the van.

  “Thinking of all the what-ifs,” Mike said. “It’s going to drive you crazy.”

  “But…” Bradley began.

  “The thing is,” Mike interrupted, “you are not in control, even when you think you’re in control. You’re not driving the bus, man, God is.”

  “But…” Bradley tried again.

  “No, buts about it,” Mike said. “You either have faith that He knows what He’s doing, or you don’t. Mary could die crossing the street from your place to the mansion, right? A plane could fall out of the sky and hit your house. You are not in control.”

  “She doesn’t need to put herself in dangerous situations,” he blurted out.

  “And neither do you,” Mike countered. “You could change careers too.”

  “But, it’s what I do,” Bradley said.

  Mike just stared at him.

  Bradley opened his mouth and then closed it. “I was really afraid for her,” he admitted.

  “Of course, you were,” Mike replied sympathetically. “Because you love her. But you’ve got to remember that God loves her too. And He loves you.”

  “So, He’s not going to let her get hurt?” Bradley asked.

  Mike shook his head. “No, I didn’t say that,” he said. “People get hurt, people die all the time. The choice we have is living in constant fear and worry or just having faith that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”

  Bradley shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do that,” he said.

  “It all comes down to faith, Bradley,” Mike said. “Not just faith in Mary, but also faith in God.”

  Chapter Fifty-seven

  Mary climbed into the cruiser and turned to Bradley who was seated in the driver’s seat. “So?” she asked.

  He turned to look at her. “So, what?” he replied.

  “So, what did you need to talk to me about?” she asked. “We both know that Alex would rather run naked through the streets than drive a mini-van where people might see him.”

  Bradley chuckled and nodded, putting the cruiser into reverse and pulling around the parking lot. Then he put the cruiser in drive and headed toward the road. “I think it’s a me thing, not a you thing,” he finally said.

  “You were worried about me following Chuck into the state park,” she said simply.

  He glanced over, surprised, and then turned back to the road. “Yeah, I was,” he said. “Like full-blown panic worried.”

  She nodded. “Welcome to my world,” she said.

  He looked over at her again, shocked. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  She sighed. “Every single day I see reports about police officers getting shot,” she said. “Or getting hit by cars, or being ambushed, or something else as equally frightening. And every single day I pray that it’s never you.”

  “Every day?” he asked.

  “Well, not on Sunday when we go to church,” she admitted with a smile. “I think we’re pretty safe there. But every day when you walk out the door, I pray that later that day you’ll walk back in. That’s what families who live with first responders do.”

  “I had no idea,” he said.

  “My mom lived with it all of her life, never knowing if Da, and then the rest of us, were going to come home every night,” Mary replied, glancing out the window at the forests they were driving through, searching for the right words to explain her thoughts. Then she turned to him. “I know that if there are shots fired, you are going to be running towards those shots, not away. Not only because that’s your job, but that’s who you are. If someone is in danger, you will endanger yourself. If someone is in need, you will offer assistance. You will put yourself second, always, and put others first—even if they don’t deserve it. Even if they don’t appreciate it.”

  She took a deep breath and wiped away the moisture that had collected near her eye. “But where would this world be without people like you?” she asked softly. “Where would we be without men and women devoted to the law, devoted to their communities, and devoted to what’s right?”

 
; She turned away again, and they drove in silence for several minutes until Bradley pulled out into the main highway.

  “How do you do it?” he finally asked, his voice filled with emotion. If this one incident caused him so much stress, how did she do it every day?”

  “I realize the things I have control over and the things I don’t,” she said simply. “I can love you with all my heart every single day. I can pray for you, that you’re watched over and protected. I can push small petty things to the side because in the long run, they don’t really mean a whole lot. And I can make sure, whether I have ninety days or ninety years with you, that I cherish each day, so I don’t have any regrets.”

  She met his eyes, pleading for understanding. “But then, I need to keep going and do what I need to do. I need to push my worry to the side and deal with the day to day things. I need to keeping living,” she explained. “But, I’ll admit, it’s scary every single day.”

  He reached across the car and took her hand in his. “Mary, we just both need to have faith,” he said. “Because, you know, God loves us.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. “Bradley, who have you been talking to?”

  Shrugging with embarrassment, he cleared his throat. “Mike might have mentioned faith,” he admitted, then he smiled self-consciously. “He actually had the nerve to tell me that I couldn’t control everything.”

  Mary’s laughter was shaky, and she wiped a few teardrops from her cheeks. “How dare he insinuate anything of the sort,” she replied.

  “I know, right?” Bradley teased, then he lifted her hand and kissed her palm. His voice softened. “I never thought of it that way. I’m sorry. I never considered that you worried about me.”

  She smiled. “But that still doesn’t alleviate the concern you feel when I’m doing my job,” she said.

  He took a deep breath and nodded. “No, it doesn’t,” he agreed. “But it gives me a different perspective to view things from. I hate to admit it, but Mike might have been right.”

  Mary chuckled. “Please don’t tell him that,” she teased. “It’s hard enough to live with him as it is.”

  He lifted her hand and kissed it once again. “I love you,” he said, turning to her. “And I’m voting for the ninety years together.” Then he shook his head. “No, I’m voting for eternity together. That’ll be just about long enough.”

  She smiled up at him and nodded. “Eternity together sounds like a perfect amount of time.”

  Chapter Fifty-eight

  When Mary opened the door to her home, she was immediately met by a smiling Rosie holding Mikey in her arms. “He just woke up,” she cooed at the baby. “And he’s been entertaining Grandma Rosie with his smiles.”

  Mikey, seeing Mary, reached his chubby arms out to her and she gently took him from Rosie. “He loves spending time with Grandma Rosie,” Mary said. “But I bet he’s hungry by now.”

  Rosie stroked his downy cheek and smiled. “He’s a boy,” she teased. “He’s always hungry.”

  Mary stepped forward and hugged Rosie. “I need to tell you about Stanley,” she said, stepping back.

  “What?” Rosie exclaimed, immediately concerned. “What happened?”

  “Long story short, he saved a young woman’s life and beat up the bad guy,” Bradley inserted before Mary could go into details. “But, because it’s procedure, we had to take him to the hospital to have him looked at.”

  Mary saw the fear leave Rosie’s eyes and smiled gratefully at Bradley. “Thank you,” she said to him. Then she turned to Rosie and followed Bradley’s lead. “So, while I feed Mikey, Bradley is going to take you over to the hospital, so you can talk Stanley into sitting still while they look him over.”

  Rosie smiled, her eyes filled with pride, and she nodded eagerly. “Of course,” she said. “He really hates it when people make a fuss. I’ll just get my purse.”

  While Rosie walked into the kitchen, Mary turned to Bradley. “Thank you, again,” she said. “I would have just dragged it out and made things worse. You handled it perfectly.”

  He smiled at her. “We make a good team,” he said.

  She nodded. “Yes, we do,” she said, then Mikey squawked in her arms. “And our son is tired of me standing around and talking.” She reached up and kissed Bradley. “I’ll see you in a little while. Let me know if you need me to come to the hospital.”

  Bradley grinned down at her. “Well, you can’t because Alex is still tooling around in your minivan,” he said.

  Chuckling, she nodded as she headed towards the stairs. “He’s really going to have to get one of his own,” she teased.

  Rosie hurried towards Bradley. “Ready,” she said.

  “Give Stanley a hug from me,” Mary said. “And tell him that he’s a hero.”

  Rosie’s smile widened. “I will,” she said. “Now go and feed that baby.”

  Bradley opened the door for Rosie and closed it behind them. As they walked down the front steps, Rosie glanced over at him. “So, how bad is it?” she asked.

  Bradley stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Mary’s eyes were filled with concern when she walked into the house,” Rosie said. “So, I know something must have happened to Stanley.”

  “He probably has some contusions and surface scratches,” Bradley said. “And, he might have a slight concussion because they were rolling around on the parking lot and he might have bumped his head. But, overall, I think he’s good.”

  “He really did save someone’s life?” Rosie asked.

  “Chuck had a gun pointed at Vanessa and Stanley, who was pretending to be unconscious kicked Chuck in the head,” Bradley said. “Knocked him down and knocked the gun from his hand.”

  Rosie covered her mouth and gasped. “My Stanley did that?” she asked.

  Bradley opened the door for her and let her slip inside. Then he closed it and went around, seating himself in the driver’s side. “He certainly did,” Bradley said with awe in his voice.

  “Well, when I get to the hospital, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind,” Rosie said, her chin firmly set. “He has no business trying to be a hero at his age.”

  “What?” Bradley asked. “Wait, I thought you were proud of him.”

  “Well, that was before I knew he was okay,” she said. “And before I heard what he did. What was he thinking? He could have been killed.”

  Bradley chuckled softly. “Rosie, do we have to have the faith talk?” he asked.

  She turned to him, confused. “What?”

  He put the car in drive and pulled away from the curve. “Well, Rosie, it’s this way…” he began.

  Chapter Fifty-nine

  Alex met Bradley and Rosie in the lobby of the Emergency Room. “A doctor is looking him over right now,” Alex said to Rosie. “He looks fine, physically, but I think he’s pretty shaken up.”

  “Shaken up?” Rosie asked. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, when I got here, he was talking to Dave about the old days, when he used to do stuff like this all the time,” Alex replied. “But he admitted that this time, the adrenalin didn’t kick in the way it used to. This time he felt like he was fighting for his life…and losing.”

  Rosie’s face softened. “That must have been hard for him to admit,” she said.

  “I was on the other side of the curtain when he said it,” Alex explained. “But as soon as I made myself known, his story changed. His was back to the old Stanley.”

  Rosie sighed. “Filled with pride and nonsense,” she said softly. Then she looked up at Alex. “Can we see him?”

  Alex nodded. “Yeah, follow me,” he said and he led them through the large, white, double doors that led to the examination rooms. He stopped halfway down the hall. “He’s in here.”

  Smiling up at Alex, Rosie nodded. “Thank you,” she said, opening the door and letting herself in.

  Stanley, dressed in a hospital gown, was sitting on the exam
ination table, his legs hanging over the edge. His face was mottled with purple bruises, and he was holding an ice pack against one eye. “Rosie,” he exclaimed.

  Dave, who had been sitting in a chair next to the bed, stood up. “I’ll give you two a few minutes,” he said, nodding at Rosie and then walking out of the room.

  “Stanley, you look like a mess,” Rosie said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. She stepped forward and gently touched his jawline. “How are you feeling?”

  “Well, I have to admit, I’ve had better days,” he said, his voice shaky. “But the doc says I ain’t hurt, just ugly.”

  She chuckled softly. “You are certainly not ugly,” she whispered, stroking his face. “You have the face of a hero.”

  He sat a little straighter and smiled at her. “You shouldda seen the other guy,” he boasted. “Laid him out cold.”

  “Truly? Out cold?” she asked, well aware of Mary’s contribution to the situation.

  Stanley shrugged, then winced. “Well, it sounds better than it was,” he admitted. “Mary struck him over the head with an oar.”

  “Goodness,” she replied. “So, did you distract him?”

  Stanley chuckled and nodded. “Sure, I did,” he said. “With my beat-up, broken-down, old body.” He shook his head sadly and looked into her eyes. “Dammit Rosie-gal, I think I’m getting too old fer this kind of behavior.”

  She placed a tender kiss on his lips, then shook her head. “Stanley, whether you decide to help on another case or not, you will always be a hero in my eyes,” she said.

  “And that’s all that counts,” he replied, returning the kiss. “That’s really all that counts.”

  Chapter Sixty

  Bradley unlocked the door to Harry’s house and started to turn the knob when Dave put his hand on his arm and stopped him.

  “Would you mind if we knocked first?” he asked.

  Bradley paused and nodded. “Of course,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking.”

  Bradley knocked on the door and then slowly opened it. Mary went into the house first, followed by Bradley and Dave. Bradley placed his hand on Mary’s shoulder and looked around the room.