by Susan Stoker
Alabama could only stare at him in disbelief. Christopher actually tracked her down? Had one of his buddies track her down? Why? If he wanted to thank her he could’ve just called and left a message with the Wolfe’s or something. Alabama had so many things she wanted to ask, but her brain wasn’t cooperating.
“Yeah, so anyway, I did want to come by and thank you and see if you wanted to have a cup of coffee with me sometime.”
When she didn’t say anything in reply Christopher continued as if she’d agreed with him. “Okay, great. So how about I pick you up tomorrow around eleven? We’ll go to that little coffee shop downtown and we’ll chat.” He chuckled at himself in amusement. “Well, maybe I’ll chat and you’ll listen.” He got serious and leaned in. His voice was pitched low and demanding.
“I want to sit down with you and thank you properly for saving my life, and saving countless others as well. I don’t know you, but I want to know you. You probably don’t want any thanks, but you’re getting it anyway, at least from me. Will you be here tomorrow when I come to pick you up?”
Alabama nodded immediately. When Christopher lowered his voice like that she couldn’t not agree with anything he said. He was right, she wasn’t comfortable with being the center of attention and she didn’t want any thanks really. Alabama was just happy he was here and in one piece. She had a lot of things she had to do, the first of which was to contact the Wolfe’s and figure out what she was going to do about her job, but she also wanted to sit down and have a cup of coffee with this man. Alabama just wanted to feel normal for once.
Abe straightened up and held out his hand. “We never really introduced ourselves did we? At least our full names. I’m Christopher Powers. I already told you my friends and teammates call me Abe.” He waited, hoping Alabama would follow his lead.
Alabama looked down to the hand being held out to her. Christopher had well groomed nails and his hand looked strong. How could a hand look strong? She shook her head as if to clear it of her foggy thoughts. She opened the door a bit more and finally tentatively reached her hand to his. “Alabama Smith.”
Abe caught her hand and shook it as she intended, but he then brought it up to his lips and gently kissed the back of it. “I’m honored to make your acquaintance.” Abe couldn’t believe how great her hand felt. Her hand for God’s sake. Her nails weren’t painted and he could feel the rough spots on it, obviously from the cleaning she did. But it was soft and felt so dainty enclosed in his. He never wanted to let her go. He wanted to pull her close to him and wrap his arms around her back. He resisted the urge, barely.
Alabama chuckled out loud before she could stifle it. She wasn’t sure why she was laughing. She figured she was laughing at the situation—at the fact that there was a gorgeous man standing on her doorstep kissing her hand. That sort of thing just didn’t happen to her.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Alabama Smith. Sleep well.”
Alabama watched as Christopher backed away from her door. He kept eye contact with her for as long as he could. Finally he turned around and headed down the hallway. Right before he went out of sight he looked back and winked at her. Alabama closed the door in a daze. Oh crap. Did she just agree to a date with the best looking man she’d ever met? What the hell had she done?
Abe couldn’t sleep. He’d risked a lot tracking Alabama down. He usually wasn’t so aggressive. Hell, who was he kidding? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to chase a woman. It was pathetic that asking a woman out for coffee was aggressive for him. He’d gotten way too used to women throwing themselves at him. No wonder he was bored with women. He’d gotten complacent. He’d gotten lazy.
Caroline had scolded him for just that earlier that week. She’d hated Adelaide and wasn’t afraid of letting him know.
Alabama was different. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but somehow he knew it. It wasn’t just that she was a bit shy, or that he’d had to track her down. She certainly wasn’t a chatterbox, and he found he liked it. In fact he didn’t think she’d said more than her name the entire time he’d been at her door. But that lack of nervous talking was calming. He didn’t have to pretend to be interested in inane conversation.
Growing up as the only male in a family full of women made solitude hard to come by. He’d never associate “calming” with women, at least he hadn’t before Alabama.
He loved his sisters to death, but they sure could talk. Their family dinners were always full of stories and laughter. He’d had a great childhood. He loved his family. His sisters drove him crazy, but he wouldn’t change anything about them. Susie was the youngest at twenty five. Alicia was the middle child and was twenty eight. Abe was thirty four. Abe figured the six years of age difference between him and Alicia made him the way he was today. He felt it was his responsibility to protect her. He’d spent most of his school years looking out for her and fighting her battles when he could. He’d honed his protective Alpha instincts from an early age and hadn’t looked back.
He didn’t begrudge his sisters or mom anything. Abe loved being the man in the family. He’d never really known his father. Even though Susie was nine years younger than him, his dad hadn’t been around much. There was a reason, but it wasn’t one he liked to think about.
His dad would be around for a while, then he’d be gone for a month or more. When he’d come back his mom hadn’t seemed to care. Abe wasn’t even really sure what he’d done for a living. A part of him felt bad about that.
All he knew was when he was eleven his mom took him aside and told him his dad had passed away. He tried not to think about what his dad had done to his mom…and him. He knew his father’s actions were why he was the way he was today and Abe figured some psychologist would have a field day analyzing him and his protective personality. They’d link it back to his dad, and try to get him to talk about it, but he was who he was and he wasn’t going to change.
Abe had always looked after his family. Family was the most important thing in his life and he’d protect them to the end of his days. Nothing was more important than his sisters and mom. Abe once brought a woman home for a family dinner and at the end of the night knew the relationship was over. His date had been rude and hadn’t veiled her contempt at his mom’s homeliness. He knew he turned sappy when he was around his sisters and mom, but he loved them more than anything and he’d be damned if anyone would feel it was all right to belittle that. He’d dumped her on the way home and wouldn’t listen to her attempts at explaining her words had come out wrong.
He hoped like hell Alabama would get along with his family. It was way too early to be thinking anywhere along those lines, but Abe couldn’t help it. He knew he’d bring her around to meet them before too long. He hated it was a test of sorts, but he was getting old enough now to want what he wanted and the hell with anyone who thought he was inflexible.
Abe was ready to have someone of his own, especially after seeing Caroline and Matthew and how happy they were. He hadn’t even thought about Adelaide being his. He’d known he was biding his time with her. Adelaide was good in bed and had been enough for him. Other than her being catty and pretentious, he hadn’t even known what it was that really bothered him about her or any other relationship he’d been in.
It struck Abe in the middle of that inferno with flames licking at the walls and the air in the room running out—what it was that made Alabama different from any other woman he’d ever dated. Abe’s entire life he’d taken care of others. He didn’t begrudge anyone that, it was the way he was. It was second nature for him to open doors, buckle a woman’s seatbelt, pull out chairs, and basically be courteous and helpful. Abe’s job with the SEALs only reinforced that protectiveness. He was always the one rushing in to save someone else. He performed best on missions where they’d been sent in to save someone’s life or rescue them. It was his job, his duty, and he did it well.
But Alabama’s simple act of taking the time to douse him with water and find a coat to cover him up wi
But what sealed the deal for Abe was when they were crawling across the floor and Alabama had reached back and handed him something to breathe through. She hadn’t said anything; she hadn’t wanted anything from him. She’d simply acted to do something for him. That was it.
Abe doubted she even realized how momentous her actions were to him. No one “took care” of him. He took care of others, always. Even his mom hadn’t taken care of him in a long time, since he was little. He still called her every week when he wasn’t on a mission to make sure she was all right, to see if she needed anything. He’d do little chores around the house and generally make sure all was right in her world.
It was the same with his sisters. Abe would always take care of them. He loved them, of course, but it was more than that. He didn’t want them to suffer any hardship if he could prevent it. He went all out on their birthdays and the holidays.
But no one took care of him. Abe hadn’t even noticed it until Alabama and that damn napkin she’d handed him. Even when he was sick, he cared for himself. Once when he’d gotten in a minor car wreck, his family and SEAL team were there in the hospital for him, but as soon as he was discharged, they’d gone back to their homes and lives. Abe didn’t feel slighted at the time, but now? That damn napkin meant everything to him. He wished he still had it. He’d frame it and put it on his wall.
He wanted to ask her why she’d done it. The thing that really struck him was that they were in the middle of a life-and-death situation and she’d done it. Hell, they didn’t even know each other. Abe couldn’t name one other woman that would’ve taken the time look out for him in that same situation. It was human nature to look out for yourself first. He’d seen it over and over on some of the rescue missions he’d been on and in all the foreign countries he’d been to over the years.
He chuckled bitterly. Adelaide certainly hadn’t cared how he was or what he was doing. It wasn’t until they were outside and safe and the EMT had come over to them, that she’d even tried to pretend to have any kind of concern for him. It had been too late for that. Way too late.
Abe still had a lot of unanswered questions, but the bottom line was that he had an urgent drive to find Alabama. He had to get to know her better. He had to see if this feeling was mutual. Tex had made fun of him and wanted to know more about the mysterious Alabama, but Abe told him to mind his own business.
Abe had hunted her down and was taking her out for coffee in the morning. It was almost pathetic how excited he was. He hoped to get to know her better. Abe wanted to know everything. How old she was, where she was from, if she had brothers or sisters...hell, he wanted to know anything she’d tell him. He chuckled to himself. He’d be lucky if she said anything. Alabama was quiet as a mouse. He couldn’t deny a part of him wanted to be the one to bring her out of her shell. To hear her call out his name in her quiet melodious voice while be brought her to orgasm.
Hell, Abe was already picturing them in bed together and they hadn’t even had a first date. He tried to reign in his overactive imagination. There’d be time for that later. For now he had to think about how he was going to get Alabama to go on a second date with him.
Chapter Five
Alabama didn’t sleep well that night. She tossed and turned and couldn’t stop wondering why Christopher had asked her out for coffee. She worried he might be doing it on a dare, or because he thought she was a challenge. She really had no idea why he’d ask her out. Adelaide was beautiful, and it was obvious they were dating. Was he cheating on Adelaide? If so, Alabama would be extremely disillusioned. She wanted him to be the gallant man she’d dreamed about.
She started worrying again why he’d be asking her out. Once in high school one of the boys on the football team had asked her if she wanted to meet him at the skating rink. She’d been ecstatic. She wasn’t the type of person guys noticed. She’d spent a long time getting ready and trying to make herself look as pretty as possible. She’d even shown up at the rink early, she’d been so excited.
As she sat and waited for the boy to show up, she’d quickly realized it was a set up. Every other football player had been there along with most of the cheerleading squad. They’d skate by her table and giggle and laugh. After an hour of sitting by herself enduring the stares and giggles, she’d slunk out of the building, humiliated. She’d found out later it had been a type of initiation for the guy. The rest of the team had dared him to ask out the school “weirdo.” He had, and the joke lived on in infamy in the halls of her high school.
Alabama had honestly thought he’d asked her out because he saw something in her worth dating. It wasn’t until she was out of high school that she’d dared to try to go out with a guy again. Unfortunately, that had been a disaster as well. She’d lost her virginity to that man, only to find out he’d been trying to make his ex-girlfriend jealous, and he’d really not even liked her all that much. Of course he’d “stooped” to sleeping with her, even though he hadn’t wanted to see her again. The whole experience was embarrassing and just another disappointment in a long line of them when it came to men.
With Alabama’s history she just couldn’t understand why Christopher would ask her out and be serious about it. She was just a cleaning lady, he was….hell, she had no idea what he was, but she was sure whatever it was, he was good at it.
After a few hours of twisting and turning in her bed and worrying herself sick, she made the decision that he probably asked her to coffee to some way to get back at Adelaide. She decided she just wouldn’t answer the door when he got there in the morning. She’d pretend to not be at home. He’d knock then go away. Alabama could avoid any embarrassment and humiliation he was sure to be trying to pile on.
Alabama was way too nervous to eat any breakfast in the morning. She’d gotten up very early and paced the house. She finally decided to put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved V-neck shirt. She wasn’t expecting to see Christopher, but just in case, she wanted to be prepared.
At the last minute Alabama figured she probably should’ve left the house altogether instead of staying inside and pretending to be out, but it was too late by the time she’d thought about it.
At ten fifty five sharp, Christopher knocked on her door. Alabama sat on her couch staring at the door, wishing he’d give up and leave. He knocked again and she heard his voice through the door.
“Alabama? Are you there? Come on, sweetheart. Open the door.”
Alabama stayed silent and bit her lip in trepidation.
“I know you’re in there. Open the door and talk to me, well, at least let me see you so I know you’re all right. If you don’t come to the door I’ll assume you’re sicker from the fire than you let on and I’ll have to break the door to get in to make sure you’re okay.”
Alabama wrestled with herself. Damn. She had to open it. She didn’t want to have to pay to have the stupid door replaced. She figured he’d do just what he said; he’d break it down if she didn’t open it. Christopher was certainly strong enough to do it without even breaking a sweat.
She walked quickly to the door and cracked it open, just as she had the night before. Christopher was leaning against the doorjamb looking way sexier than anyone had the right to look. He was wearing a faded pair of jeans and a scruffy pair of tennis shoes. He had on a polo shirt with a few buttons undone at the collar and a light windbreaker was over his shoulder to top off his outfit. His hair was messy, as if he’d run his hand through it a couple of times.
“Hey, Alabama. You ready to go?” Abe acted as if he hadn’t just told her he’d break her door down if she didn’t answer it.
Alabama knew she should be scared of him, he’d just kinda threatened her after all, but she couldn’t be. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. How she knew that she had no idea, but she did. She nodded at him and backed away from the door to get her purse.
Abe gently pushed the door open and took a step inside her apartment. It wasn’t very big, but it was clean and homey looking. She had placemats set out on the tiny kitchen table and there were two stools pushed under the table. There was a vase with some wildflowers in it. The one room didn’t have a lot of furniture in it, but it still seemed a bit cramped. There was a small bed up against one wall with a blanket thrown over it. There was a tattered loveseat couch across from the bed. It was obviously a second hand piece of furniture because it had a sheet thrown over it and he could see the legs on the thing were chopped off.
There was a small television across from the couch that was sitting on an, again, obviously second hand table. Even though he could tell many of the things she had were hand-me-downs, it didn’t look ragged. Alabama had gone to great lengths to try to clean and polish everything up. She’d put in a lot of effort into her home and he actually liked it much more than Adelaide’s large, polished, perfect apartment.
Abe watched as Alabama walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a small purse. When she turned around he couldn’t help but be dazzled by her. The V-neck T-shirt she was wearing wasn’t provocative at all, but she still looked sexy as hell in it. He could see a hint of cleavage and being a breast man, he could tell she was all natural. He hadn’t realized until this very moment how much he disliked fake boobs.
Alabama turned back toward Christopher, who was now standing just inside her front door. She was embarrassed he’d seen her little apartment. She knew it was nothing special, but it was all she could afford. She’d worked hard at finding just the right furniture for her home. She’d spent a few weeks going to the different thrift shops and garage sales to find what suited her. It wasn’t new, but it was comfortable, that was all that mattered to her.
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