by Terra Kelly
They ended up going back to bed for a few more hours. Why not, since no one was calling and Miles could do everything from home. Now they were sitting side by side on the couch. Miles glanced over and could see Preslie was deep in thought. “You okay?”
“Of course," she said smiling. Out of the blue she asked, “So, did you always want kids?"
“Yeah, I love kids and wanted several. Angie and I waited for a few years before we had Gracie and Jack. We wanted our time, and we knew with kids it would be limited.” He grabbed her hand and held it in between his own. “I don’t think I ever thought about how many kids I wanted. It was just a matter of celebrating the birth and enjoying them.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Why?”
She shrugged. “Just curious. It has to be hard on them with the separation?”
“Extremely hard. I worry more about Gracie. Jack seems to be fine and not bothered by anything. Gracie, well she may be a challenge.” Miles turned on the couch. “How about you, ever thought about having kids?”
Preslie didn’t want to scare him away with her answer, but she had to be honest. “I would love to have two kids but if I can only have one I will feel blessed.” She looked down at her lap. “I have a feeling my internal clock is withering up.”
“Impossible.” He brushed his hand down the side of her face. “You have lots of time to have kids. Many women have kids and they’re older than you.”
“True.” Preslie wanted to say, those people are settled down with someone. She was still single and hoping for kids someday. That could be a bad combo.
At about 4:00 p.m. they made their way to the SUV. They planned to grab food and then get to the studio for a practice session. Preslie didn’t usually eat poorly but some days just called for being bad. Miles took her to her favorite happy place, Burro Burrito. As she ate the stuffed burrito in the vehicle, she laughed. She glanced over at Miles. “This is so not me. I mean, I hate eating in a car. I don’t like to be watched over. I’m more Miss Independent. Plus, I have never let myself get this close to a man before.” She took another bite of her burrito and got sour cream on her nose.
Miles smiled and reached over to wipe the sour cream off. “This close to a man? Yeah? How close are we?” He had ordered hard shell tacos and enchiladas. As he took a bite, he looked toward Preslie. She had stopped eating and was looking out the front window. “That wasn’t a hard question, was it?”
“No. I’m not sure how to answer that question. I mean, I feel safe with you. I also have never felt so comfortable naked with anyone else. Where I ponder that question is your life, your kids, your divorce. I want kids. I want the happily ever after. I want the man to swoon over me and whisk me off my feet. Not ride off in the sunset on a white horse or anything. Maybe a sail boat though.” She laughed, “I love the water, beach, dolphins, you name it.”
“No white horse, huh? Well that’s good because I was horrible with riding them.” He reached his hand over and touched her leg. “I may be older, have kids, and about to be divorced but that doesn’t mean I don’t want more. I love kids. I loved being married. I adored gushing over my family and sharing them with whoever would ask.” He sighed. “This divorce is hard, I never thought I would have to say I'm divorced. Angie did a great job making me believe she was happy. Honestly, now after everything she has done. I’m ready to move on. Ready to start fresh with Gracie and Jack.”
She smiled. “See, you’re a good man. I feel it every time you kiss me, hold me, or smile at me. Maybe that scares me a little. I’ve dated. Unfortunately, every man I dated wanted nothing to do with kids.” She shrugged. “I guess I was looking in all the wrong places.”
He finished his taco and threw his wrapper in the empty bag. “If it makes you feel any better, a few of my band mates are still single. Ricky is the same age as me and has never been married. Of course, I think that was a choice for several years. Now I think he would love to settle and have the white picket fence.”
“Really? Huh? Well his time will come soon, it has too.” She finished her burrito and settled back in the seat. “Oh my word, I’m stuffed to the gills. You may have to roll me into the studio.”
He laughed. “I’ll just carry you. I like holding you.” Then he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. “I also enjoy touching you, kissing you, making love to you, and I love to laugh with you.”
She shivered at his words. They were so raw and real. Was he someone she could be with for the rest of her life? She tugged on his arm, and he leaned over to kiss her. God, she could kiss this man for hours. Her life had changed in just a matter of days. Once the David shit was taken care of maybe she would not feel apprehension. Inches from his lips. “Can I watch you sing already?” She then leaned in and kissed him, but it was more passionate this time. She leaned back. “You’re sexy as hell when you sing.”
When they pulled into the studio parking lot, the cop car that was watching them parked off to the side. Preslie looked over at Miles. “Cop cars are the new in-style for us.”
He nodded. “Yeah, we need the extra protection right now. I talked to the team this morning, and they mentioned they're following a positive lead. I’m just trying not to stress you out too much. I’ll share if I have to, unless you want me to share everything?”
“Nope, just share when you need to. I’m trying to keep my blood pressure at a normal level.” She smiled and reached her hand up to cup the side of his face.
Suddenly someone pounded their fists on the driver side window. Preslie about jumped out of her skin and had a look of fear written all over her face. Miles was about to kick someone’s ass for that stunt move. He turned to see Ricky and gave him the shittiest look. He opened the door. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Ricky put his arms up in surrender. “What? I was just fucking with you. What did I do?”
Preslie got out of the car and ran over to Miles. “Hey, it’s okay. He didn’t know.” She turned him to face her. “He didn’t know. I’m fine.”
He shook his head. “Fuck. Are you sure you’re okay?”
She twirled in place. “See, no broken bones. I’ll survive.” She turned to Ricky and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Preslie."
“I’m sorry if I upset you. I’m Ricky, the asshole.” He put his hand out to shake hers. “Can I ask what just happened?”
“Inside you can, not out here,” Miles said and slapped his friend on the back.
They walked into the studio together and met up with the other band members. Seth and Frankie were in a heated conversation. Frankie glanced over at Miles and shut up.
Seth rolled his eyes. “Hey.”
Miles was not sure what was going on between them but something was up. He turned to Seth. “You know Preslie, well kinda.” He put his arm around her waist. “Preslie, this is Seth. The one that helped you at the concert.”
Preslie nodded. “It’s wonderful to get to meet you in better circumstances. Thank you for your help that day.”
“I’m just glad I had to pee at that exact moment," he said and reached his hand out to shake hers. “You look like you are feeling much better?”
“Much.” It felt weird having all eyes pointed in her direction. She found herself snuggled closer to Miles.
“You okay?” Miles asked and rubbed his hand up and down her arm. He cleared his throat. “I need to share a couple things with you all.” He sighed. “You may see a cop car outside. Preslie’s still having issues with her ex. I can’t share the details because it’s an ongoing investigation.” Looking at Ricky. “Which is why scaring a woman in her situation is not the greatest idea.”
“Fuck man," Ricky said and shook his head. "I didn’t realize shit was still so serious.”
Miles nodded. “Yeah, her ex has connections and people are still following her.”
He was just about to share why Julian was missing, but Seth piped up. “Hey, where’s Julian? Anybody seen him?”
Miles sighed. “Well, you wo
n’t see him. I found him with Angie on Friday night and they weren’t just talking.” The room went silent. “Hey, listen, we’ll make this work. When’s the next show?”
“Two weeks," Frankie said. "Do you think we can find a bass player before then?”
Seth sighed. “Two weeks? That will be tough. We can make it work without him for now though. Frankie and I can put the word out and hold a few auditions.”
“Did you know they were that close?" Ricky asked. "This shit is fucked up.”
“Not a clue. We all did stuff together, talked, laughed, had parties, but that’s it," Miles said and pulled out a stool for Preslie. "They must’ve been talking behind our backs. As much as I was shocked to find them that night, they didn’t seem uncomfortable with being together.” They continued to talk for another ten minutes, then Miles said, “Let’s take our minds off all this noise and just practice.”
Andrea stood up and walked over to Preslie. “Hi, I’m Andrea. I’m one of the backup singers. You want to come help out?”
Miles laughed. “Go. She won’t bite. I went to school with Andrea.”
“I love how Toronto has that small town feel," Preslie said and followed Andrea.
Andrea smiled. “Oh sweetie, you have no idea. I met Miles all the way back in Kindergarten. He was a shit head then, just like he is now.” Preslie burst out laughing at the shocked look on Miles' face. Andrea shrugged her shoulders. “Truth, bro.” She grabbed Preslie’s hand and lead her over behind the three mic stands. “This is Kim and Jonie. They didn’t get the pleasure of knowing Miles as long as I have. Lucky.”
“Nice to meet you both," she said and continued to giggle. "Are you all sure you want me to help? I’m a nurse, not a singer.”
Jonie smiled. “Of course, it’s just practice.”
Preslie stood in between Jonie and Andrea and had a blast singing. The ladies would prompt her when she needed to chime in. You could tell the band had been together for a long time. Everything they would say or do was how brothers and sisters would talk to each other.
Miles and Ricky were the ones who formed the band. They were drinking one night and somehow Torn Pieces was started. The name is a reflection of what their lives were like growing up because they each had their own struggles. For Miles, it was his dad and his drinking habits. For Ricky, it was his parents and how they bailed on him at ten years old. When they both met in fourth grade, you could say they were well on their way to juvie. They didn’t care about anything and had no one to tell them to stop. When Ricky went to juvie in eleventh grade, Miles had a clear wake-up call. Ricky had been busted for the third time for stealing and was sent to juvie for six months. When he got out, they both helped each other to turn their lives around. They left home the moment Ricky was off probation. They each took shit jobs and found a shady apartment on the south side of town. By the age of twenty-two, they both had their heads on straight. They worked on forming the band, something they had talked about for awhile. Now, here they were over twenty years later and the band was still going strong.
Miles walked over to Preslie. “You’ve always wanted to learn how to play the guitar and you can sing. Any other secrets you want to share?”
She gave a cheeky grin. “Maybe. You’ll just have to wait and see.” She winked at Andrea.
He shook his head. “Women. Can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.”
Seth and Ricky both in unison said, “We live without them.” Then they gave each other a high five.
Preslie rolled her eyes. “Boys. You wait, your time is coming. That right girl could be right under your noses. Hell, she could be here already.”
They all moaned and Miles shook his head. He went to say some smart ass comment but was distracted by a message on his phone. It was from Finley. “We need you to bring Preslie to the station ASAP. We have a possible suspect in custody.” He glanced over at Preslie. “Hey princess, we need to get going. You done freaking my friends out?”
Preslie punched his arm. “Freaking them out? Who me?” He handed his phone her way to read the message. “Okay.” She turned back toward Andrea. “Thank you for letting me take my mind off everything.” All three ladies gave her a hug. She wrapped her arm around Miles’ waist. “You ready, Mr. Callahan?” She thought about that last name, Callahan. It rolled off the tongue. She secretly laughed at herself. What was she thinking?
Preslie felt a little nervous as they arrived at the station. “Can I stay by you most of the time?”
He reached for her hand. “I won’t leave your side, okay?”
They both knew they needed to keep the public display of affection at a minimum. Which for Preslie was not easy, especially at a time like this. “Is David still at this location?”
Miles nodded. “He is but you don’t have to worry about him. He’s on a different floor.” He squeezed her hand. “Everything will be okay, I promise.” He hoped it would be but he couldn’t tell her he was worried, too.
She smiled. “Let’s not make any promises yet.” She followed alongside him, letting the contact between them ease her. They arrived on the fourth floor and were greeted by Finley and Cooper.
Cooper looked down at their clasped hands but didn’t say anything. He turned to head toward the interrogation room. “Preslie, we need your help. This guy was found following you both today. He is possibly the guy that was in David’s house posing as him. We have nothing in the system to match his I.D.”
“It’s possible he has no rap sheet but now he will,” Finley said turning to Preslie. “He’s not talking. We figured we would see if you knew him.”
They walked into the private room that adjoined the interrogation room. There was a one-way mirror that divided her from the unknown suspect. Preslie felt nervous to look up. She took in a deep breath, then looked at the man in the room. She stood there for several minutes trying to place who he was. She could feel her blood pressure rise as she realized who he could be. She glanced over at Miles. “Even with that shaggy hair and scruffy beard I think it’s David’s younger brother.” She watched the guy sitting in the chair for a moment. “That’s the same way David would sit in a chair. Some of the movements he makes are like what David would do.” She stood there silent for another few minutes, then stepped away from the mirror. “You need to know something. That man in there has a severe hearing impairment and a learning disability. He may not be answering you but not on purpose. Does anyone here know sign language?”
Cooper cursed under his breath. “You mean to tell me the asshole downstairs involved a disabled family member?” He grabbed his phone to call for an interpreter. “Well, let’s get an interpreter and our psychologist to help with interrogating him.” He walked out of the room cursing non-stop.
Miles touched Preslie’s shoulder. “You’re sure? I don’t doubt you but this is huge information.”
She nodded. “More than sure.” She turned back to the suspect sitting with his head bent. “He stayed with David a lot, so I spent time with him. He’s a nice guy, just needs that extra bit of help.”
Miles sighed. “I may need to stay here and go over everything with my team. Do you think Vikki would stay at my house? I would feel better with you at my place since I have the security system.”
She smiled. “I’ll call her right now. She may be at work, is it okay if I stay in the conference room until she’s finished?”
“Of course I want to make sure you are safe. I have my security system routed here to the station.”
She laughed. “What you’re saying is, I have no privacy there?” She reached up and placed her hand on his chest and whispered. “I’ll keep your bed warm for you.”
He moaned. “That’s so not fair.” He tickled her side. “Just remember, I know all your erogenous zones.” Preslie looked startled, then laughed.
Finley walked over closer to the window. “Hey you two, get a room.” He winked. “Can you stay and work with us tonight, Miles?”
Miles smiled. “
Very funny. Yeah, we’re calling her friend to stay at my place with Preslie. I’m all yours.”
Preslie smiled and excused herself. She pulled her phone from her back pocket and called Vikki. When Vikki picked up she sounded busy. “Hey Pres, you okay?”
Preslie knew at that moment Vikki must’ve been working. “Hey Viks, can you stay with me tonight at Miles’ place?” She laughed when she heard a commotion in the background. “I’m at the station, so no rush. I know you’re at work. It’s just that he has a special security system in his home.”
“Absolutely, sweetie. I will be done here in about two hours. I’ll let the charge nurse know I may need tomorrow off.”
They finalized the arrangements and hung up. Preslie sighed and headed to the conference room. There was a TV in there but she was unsure if she should turn it on. She shrugged her shoulders and found the remote.
Sometime later, Preslie felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes to find Miles and Vikki staring at her. “What?”
They both glanced at each other and laughed. Vikki shook her head. “Have a nice dream?” She walked over and sat down in the chair across from Preslie. “Your moans sure made it sound like it was a nice dream.”
“Shut up. I was not moaning. Was I?” She hid her face with her hands. In a muffled tone, “Oh my God.”
Miles teased. “I found it entertaining.” He crouched down in front of her and placed his hand on her forearm. “Hey princess, I may work long hours for the next few days. Vikki and I were just talking and she will stay with you this week, okay?” He squeezed her hands. “There will still be a cop car wherever you’re at. I have a feeling this is over but just in case let’s keep you safe.”
She looked down at his hands and grabbed them. “Please be careful, okay?”
