by Lyn Gardner
Looking around at her disheveled home, Maggie chuckled and flicked on the stereo. Adjusting the volume one decibel below waking up the neighbors, she headed to the kitchen to make a shopping list. Stunned to find the pantry nearly empty, she jotted down the necessities and then opened the fridge. Scrunching up her face at the foulness inside, she grabbed a rubbish bag and began removing any remaining evidence that Glenn Shaw ever existed.
Three hours later, Maggie climbed the stairs, stripped out of her clothes and fell into bed. Smiling at the smell of the clean sheets, she let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Alex hadn’t called, but Maggie wasn’t worried. There’s a lot to do when you return from the dead.
***
“How’s Sandy?” Alex asked, sliding into the booth.
Pushing a cup of coffee in Alex’s direction, Paige said, “Oh, so you do remember her.”
“Is she okay? What about the pups?”
“Sandy’s fine and so are the puppies,” Paige said with a smile. “She had them the morning after you left. Two adorable little girls, but Jesus Christ, Alex, they were so tiny. I almost shit myself!”
Laughing at Paige’s bug-eyed expression, Alex asked, “And they’re okay?”
“They’re fine. I called the vet and had them checked out. Sandy is keeping them fed, and Amy and I are keeping them in newspaper, which, I might add, we had to beg, borrow and steal.”
“What? I was saving it for weeks. I had stacks.”
“Yeah, well apparently puppies spend all their time sleeping, nursing and peeing, with an emphasis on peeing.”
“I owe you one.”
“I’m just…I’m just happy that you’re all right,” Paige replied, her eyes filling with tears. “When your dad called to tell me what had happened, I fell apart. If it hadn’t been for Amy, I…I don’t know what…what I would have done.”
Reaching across the table, Alex took Paige’s hand. “I’m all right, and it sounds like I owe you and Amy a night out on the town.”
Wiping the tears from her face, Paige snickered. “You owe us at least two.”
“Two it is then,” Alex said, smiling. Motioning to the waitress, she ordered more coffee, and then leaned back in the booth and looked at her friend. “Thank you, by the way. I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you.”
Grinning back, Paige said, “More importantly, what did you do to deserve that bruise you’ve got on your face?”
“It was an accident, nothing more than that,” Alex said quietly. Staring at the coffee cup in her hand, she ran her finger around the edge as she became lost in her thoughts.
Eyeing the woman across the table, Paige leaned over and asked, “So, are you in love with Campbell as much as I think you are?”
Continually impressed with Paige’s perceptive ways, Alex raised her eyes. “Yeah, I am.”
“And she doesn’t feel the same way?”
“No, she does.”
Confused, Paige leaned back in the booth. “Wait, let me get this straight. You love her, and she feels the same way. Right?”
“Yep.”
“And those men who greeted her at the airport were—”
“Her father and her boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Sorry…ex-boyfriend.”
“And you were angry because?”
“I’m afraid she’s going to do what Debra did,” Alex said quietly.
“And you told Campbell that?”
“No, of course not!”
“Oh…sorry, I thought that’s why she hit you.”
“Who?”
“Campbell.”
“Maggie didn’t hit me!”
“She didn’t?”
“No, she kicked me.”
“What!”
Laughing at Paige’s outrage, Alex quickly filled in the blanks. “We were playing around on the bed. I was tickling her and she accidentally hit me in the face with her knee.”
“You were playing around on the bed?”
Smiling, Alex replied, “Yes…to both your questions.”
“I only asked one.”
“You asked one. You thought the other.”
Nodding in agreement, Paige smiled. “So, you love her and she loves you. The sex is great, but you’re here with me. I’m confused.”
“Everything was fine when we were in the cabin, but apparently she’s changed her mind. As soon as her feet hit English soil, she was back in that prick’s arms.”
“Is Campbell gay?”
“What?”
“Is she gay? You know, out and proud like you and I?”
“No, and her name is Maggie.”
“So, before Maggie met you—”
“She dated only men.”
Thinking for a moment, Paige said, “So, with that being said, you expected her to shove her tongue down your throat in front of the ex and the father after all of us have spent the last two weeks worried sick about you two? In an airport, I might add.”
“Of course not!” Alex snapped. Glaring back at Paige, Alex watched as her friend simply raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side without saying a word. Suddenly, Alex knew words weren’t necessary. “Oh, crap,” Alex moaned. “I’m being a daft cow, aren’t I?”
“The only thing missing is a moo,” Paige replied with a laugh. “So why don’t just call her and see what her plans are?”
Alex smiled, reaching into her pocket for her mobile. “Shit! My battery’s dead.”
“Use mine,” Paige said, sliding it across the table.
“Thanks,” Alex said, flipping it open. Staring at the keypad for only a second, she exclaimed, “Fuck!”
“Oh, my God! Please don’t tell me that the great Alex Blake forgot to get her bloody number!”
***
While Maggie went about making a new pot of coffee, Douglas and Jean Campbell relaxed in the lounge, doing their best to digest the enormous brunch they had all just devoured.
“This place looks a lot better than the last time we saw it,” Douglas whispered to his wife.
“Yes, and I don’t see anything of Glenn’s around,” she replied.
“That’s because I told him to leave,” Maggie chimed in, carrying a tray of coffee and biscuits into the room.
“That’s a bit sudden, isn’t it?” her father said, taking the coffee he was being offered.
Plopping down in her favorite chair, Maggie swung her legs onto the ottoman, crossing them at the ankles as she sipped her coffee. Smiling at the familiar comfort, she said, “I actually asked him to leave before I went on assignment, but apparently he thought he’d just hang around in case I didn’t come back.”
“Maggie, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but he was quite the arse. I honestly never knew what you saw in him,” Jean said.
It was one of the many things Maggie adored about Jean, and the woman’s honesty put an even larger smile on Maggie’s face. “Well, shall we make it unanimous?”
Both women looked at Doug Campbell, and a low chuckle escaped his lips. “Okay, I’ll admit it. I thought the man was a daft prick.”
“Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?” Maggie said.
“Because I’ve always stood by your decisions, and I thought if I gave him enough time, he’d grow on me.”
“Are you saying that I should call him back? Maybe give him more time?” Maggie said, jokingly.
“Not if you value our relationship, you won’t,” Douglas said with a grin. Taking a sip of coffee, he said, “By the way, I’d like to meet that woman who saved your life. Alex, wasn’t it?”
Maggie beamed, unable to control her smile. “Yes, Alex Blake.”
Jean was thankful that no one was looking in her direction, because as hard as she tried, she could not suppress her knowing smile. Ever since greeting Maggie at the airport, she had noticed that something had changed about her stepdaughter. Maggie seemed happier, almost animated in her cheerfulness, and now, seeing the gleam in Maggie’
s eye as she spoke a woman’s name, two and two finally equaled four.
“Well, I’d like to thank her for all that she did. By what you’ve told me, she put herself at risk. I’m impressed with both her fortitude and determination to save not only herself, but you as well. Strangers aren’t always that noble.”
“Dad, we weren’t exactly strangers,” Maggie began. “We worked together a few years ago on that kidnapping case that I told you about. Remember?”
Silent for a moment, suddenly Douglas’ eyes flew open wide. “She’s the one that got you suspended!”
“Alex didn’t get me suspended, Dad. I did.”
“What in the world are you talking about? You told me that she was some sort of bully and goaded you into it.”
“That’s not exactly what happened,” Maggie said, finishing her coffee in a gulp.
Crossing his arms, and more than a little disappointed that his daughter had lied to him, Douglas leaned back on the sofa. “Care to tell me the truth, and why you felt the need to lie to me?”
Chewing on her lip, Maggie gathered her thoughts. “Dad, I coerced her into getting angry. I knew if I criticized her police work, she’d lose her temper.”
“And why the hell would you do that?”
“Because…because I found myself feeling things, and everyone was saying that after the case was closed, they were going to make us partners…and I was scared.”
“Maggie, you’re not making any sense,” Douglas said, frowning. “What do you mean you were scared?”
“Fuck,” Maggie muttered under breath. Realizing that all the words she had practiced the night before had become a muddled mess of nouns, verbs and adjectives, she got to her feet and strode to the window. Sometime during the night, the rain had changed to snow. While the sun had melted most, the shrubs and trees were still draped in white, and placing her hand on the cold glass, she remembered the cabin and the passion that had been ignited inside its walls.
Turning around, she faced her father’s stare. “Dad, three years ago, when I first met Alex, I found myself feeling things that, at the time, I didn’t think I should feel. I was confused, and I was scared.”
“Maggie—”
“Let her finish, Doug,” Jean said, placing her hand on her husband’s arm.
“Thanks,” Maggie said, smiling weakly at her stepmother. “Anyway, after that night, I made it a point to stay as far away from Alex Blake as I could, but then we got this assignment. I hadn’t spoken a word to her in over three years, and I thought I was okay. I mean, I was with Glenn, and I seemed to be heading in the right direction, but honestly, Dad, I never loved Glenn. I just used him to keep…to keep myself in check.”
Seeing her father’s confused look, Maggie swallowed hard, realizing she had reached the moment of truth. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Dad, I’m in love with Alex.”
The world stood still for a moment. Other than the tick of the clock on the mantle, not a sound could be heard as Douglas Campbell replayed his daughter’s words in his head. Placing his cup on the table, he said quietly, “You’re what?”
“I’m in love with her, Dad, and I have been since the day I met her.”
Getting to his feet, Douglas angrily ran his fingers through his hair, his face getting redder as his anger continued to build. Glancing at his wife and then back at his daughter, he walked over and grabbed his jacket from the hook on the wall. As he opened the front door, he said, “I’m going to get some fresh air and clear my head.”
“Dad,” Maggie called out as she tried to run after her father.
“No, let him go,” Jean said, blocking her way.
“But—”
“Give him some time, Maggie,” Jean said as she took Maggie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “He needs to think things through. He’ll talk when he’s ready.”
A moment later, Maggie’s mobile rang and her eyes lit up. Running into the kitchen, she yanked it from the charger.
In the lounge, Jean could hear the happy lilt in Maggie’s voice and instantly knew that she had to be speaking to Alex. Slowly gathering the cups and plates, Jean tidied the lounge, and it wasn’t until she heard Maggie say good-bye, that she walked into the kitchen and found her stepdaughter wearing an amazingly large smile.
“I’m assuming that was Alex,” Jean said with a grin, placing the dirty dishes in the sink.
“Yeah, she doesn’t have a land line. I left a message on her mobile last night, but she didn’t get it until this morning.”
Noticing something written on a pad of paper on the table, Jean asked, “What’s that?”
“Oh, it’s her address. She wanted me to come over, but until I talk to Dad—”
“I think you should go see her.”
“Jean, I can’t leave now. What about Dad?”
“Your father needs some space right now. That was quite a bombshell you dropped a minute ago, and we both know him well enough to know that he’s going to take some time to put his thoughts in order before he talks to you. So, why spend the afternoon with me when you can spend it with her?”
“You’re taking this very well.”
“I know love when I see it,” Jean said. “Go see your lady, Maggie, and I’ll wait for your father. It’ll give him and me a chance to talk, too.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve lived with the man for a few years. I think I know him by now,” Jean said, pointing to the stairs. “Now go get changed. She’s waiting.”
“Thanks,” Maggie said, flashing a toothy grin. After giving her stepmother a hug, she ran up the stairs.
“Maggie,” Jean called out.
Turning on the landing, Maggie said, “Yeah?”
“Just don’t put on one of those power suits of yours,” Jean said. “They are truly awful.”
“Why doesn’t anyone like my clothes?” Maggie mumbled, walking into her bedroom.
Chapter Seventeen
After hanging up the phone, Alex ran around her flat like a madwoman. Tossing the hoard of Sandy’s toys back into the small plastic crate in the corner of the lounge, she straightened magazines, fluffed pillows and made sure everything was perfect. It had to be perfect. Maggie was coming over.
Satisfied that she had nothing left to primp, Alex grabbed a quick shower and then pulled on her favorite black jeans, a red tank top and an oversized black silk shirt. Fastening the buttons on the cuffs, she knelt by the makeshift pen in the corner of the room and peeked inside.
Instantly, Sandy sprang to her feet, covering Alex’s face with endless licks of love. Laughing at the dog’s enthusiasm, Alex rubbed her behind the ears, and as she knew she would, Sandy tilted her head further, encouraging the friendly massage to continue.
“You’re quite the lover, aren’t you?” Alex said, scratching the dog’s head. “And speaking of lovers, you and I need to have a talk. I’ve met someone, and I’ve invited her over. She’s really special to me, Sandy. She’s the one…so I want you to be on your best behavior today, okay? I know you don’t like strangers, and you’ll no doubt run the other way, but I love her, Sandy, and I want you to love her too.”
Smiling over at the two tiny black lumps curled up asleep in the middle of a pink blanket, Alex reached out and gently touched their heads. “And you two,” she began, grinning at their newness. “The sooner I get you house-trained, the better.”
Gathering the wet paper, Alex jogged to the kitchen, threw it away and then returned to the bedroom with a fresh supply. Just as she finished arranging the shredded newsprint around the sleeping puppies, the doorbell rang.
Practically sprinting to the door, Alex jerked it open so quickly that the velocity caused Maggie to jump.
Chuckling at Alex’s apparent anxiousness, Maggie grinned. “Hiya, Alex.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Alex said, a hint of blush creeping across her cheeks.
Several seconds ticked by as they stared at each other before Maggie finally asked, “Can I come in?�
��
“Oh, yeah,” Alex said with a snort, standing back to allow Maggie to enter. Closing the door, she turned around and looked down into Maggie’s hazel-green eyes. Grinning, she leaned over and placed a light kiss on Maggie’s lips. “Hi,” Alex whispered.
Maggie took a deep breath, smiling back at the woman she loved, but as she moved to extend the kiss, Alex pulled away. Confused, Maggie said, “What? What is it?”
Shaking her head, Alex held up her hands and explained, “I was just cleaning up some puppy piddle papers. Give me a second to wash my hands, okay?”
“Sure, sweetheart,” Maggie said as her eyes followed the sway of Alex’s hips as she walked down the hall. “Take your time.”
Placing her coat and handbag on a chair, Maggie looked around the flat and wasn’t at all surprised by the simplistic décor. A lacquered ebony entertainment unit filled one wall, the center holding a flat-screen television while the surrounding cubicles displayed photographs and knickknacks. On the opposite wall, a matching bookcase stood practically overflowing with volumes stacked in every direction. The tables in the room were glass-topped, and Maggie smiled when she saw the bronzed female forms that created their bases. Foregoing a large couch, Alex had used a small loveseat and two overstuffed chairs to form the seating area, making the room appear much larger than it actually was. It was comfortable, just like Alex.
Unbeknownst to Maggie, Alex stood silently in the hallway admiring the woman as she perused the flat. Having only ever seen Maggie in business suits or the borrowed clothing in the cabin, Alex couldn’t help but smile at the woman wearing form-fitting blue jeans and a crimson sweater that dipped just low enough to make Alex’s mouth water.
Walking around the small sofa, Maggie laughed when she saw a little crate in the corner filled to the top with dog toys of every color, shape and size. Picking up one that Alex had missed, as she tossed it into the box, Maggie said, “Strong and tough, eh?”
