Peace of Infinity

by Maegan Abel

  We skirted out of the room, leaving a very unhappy Stitch behind.

  Introductions went fine and though Cara was nervous, Shawn remained quiet for the majority of the meal. I had to admit, I hadn’t tried as hard as I could have to engage him in conversation. Gavin tried a few times and they talked sports a little while Cara and I exchanged bored expressions. I was starting to think maybe I did have the wrong idea about Shawn, but there was just something about him and I couldn’t place why I was so uncomfortable.

  And sure enough, as Cara served the cheesecake she’d made for dessert, my gut feeling was justified.

  “I’m not sure you need that,” Shawn said. I glanced up from my own plate to see him looking at Cara and my jaw dropped open. He couldn’t be serious. Cara was at least two inches taller than me and probably twenty pounds smaller than the last time I’d seen her before I moved here. Now I was starting to understand why. She didn’t really have twenty pounds to lose and now this dickhead was giving her shit?

  “Who the hell needs dessert?” I asked quickly, hating the way Cara’s whole body shut down as she kept her eyes on the table.

  “This is between me and your sister, but if you want to be involved, you really don’t need it,” he said, gesturing to my backside and raising an eyebrow in challenge.

  Oh. Hell. No.

  I was in no way overweight. I’d been picked on most of my life for my ass, but as an adult, I’d come to love my body and I wasn’t about to let some creepy dickbag make me feel bad about it.

  He tipped back his beer, finishing the bottle. I hadn’t kept track of how many he’d had up to that point, but by the glassy look in his eyes, his bravado came from the booze.

  Gavin tensed beside me and I reached over, laying my hand on his thigh, as if that would calm him. Surprisingly, it helped.

  “Unless I’m sitting on your face, me and my ass are none of your concern,” I said in my sweetest voice, raising an eyebrow at Shawn.

  “Leave it alone, Evie. Please?” Cara asked, but her voice was so quiet, I almost didn’t hear her over the blood pounding through my veins.

  “Right. But your sister and her ass are my concern. I like that ass the way it is and I’d prefer her not end up like you.”

  “Whoa. Let’s just—” Gavin started, his voice tight with his thinly stretched control. He was trying to keep things civil, but he also didn’t like what was being said.

  “Why don’t we get going?” Cara asked, drawing Shawn’s attention. He narrowed his eyes at her, but she glanced at me. “You don’t mind cleaning this up, do you?” Her expression pleaded with me to let her pull him out of the situation.

  I shook my head, indicating I didn’t mind, and Gavin and I sat in silence as she grabbed her bag and they headed out the door.

  “Did that seriously just happen?” I asked, turning my head to Gavin, who was lost in his own thoughts. I realized his arm had come around my shoulders at some point as we sat side by side, and I didn’t mind the way it felt there.

  “How long has she been seeing that guy?” Gavin asked, the concern in his voice warming me to him that much more.

  “Two years.”

  “And you never met him until tonight?” he asked. I shook my head.

  “Cara moved out after high school and came here right after college, but I stayed in Portland until recently,” I answered. “Do you think I need to be worried?”

  His eyes searched my face. “I think I need to get to work.” He leaned in, his lips touching mine this time, and I closed my eyes, savoring the kiss for a moment before he pulled away. “Be careful, okay?”

  I nodded, sliding out of my chair and walking him to the door. “You be careful, too.” He looked at me, both eyebrows raised, and I laughed.

  “I’m a cop in Hawk Bay. Somebody told me this was the safest place in South Carolina.”

  “What I mean is don’t choke on a donut or anything. That would be embarrassing,” I said, smirking. This was what I’d missed over the last week—how easy this banter was.

  “Most dangerous thing that’s happened in Hawk Bay has been some beautiful woman blowing back into town, keeping everyone on their toes,” he said, his grin making his whole face soften. I could actually feel my cheeks heat and I scowled at him, knowing my reaction was just what he was after. With one final brush of his lips, he turned and headed to his car.

  I spent the remainder of my evening wishing I’d said something to that douchebag.

  What kind of man talks to a woman that way?

  Ignoring the fact that Evie was not overweight in the slightest, when I’d taken the time to look Cara over on her way out, she was almost too thin. I wasn’t an expert, I didn’t even pay attention most of the time and probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it if he hadn’t brought it up, but since he had, I was wondering if it was something I needed to look further into.

  Unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten enough information to run a background check on the tool and as much as I wanted to text Evie and ask her to get it for me, I decided to wait.

  Now, after a full shift, even though I was exhausted, I needed to see Evangelie again. I wanted to ask her out to dinner. I’d been agitated all week trying to keep my distance, but after last night, I was sure I’d made the right call. Seeing her had been exactly what I needed. She tried so hard to keep her emotions in check, but I knew her too well. I could see it in her face. I could feel the pull to be closer. And the way her eyes continued to find me showed the connection was just as strong on her end. As time passed this week, I’d worried the draw of our Infinity I’d experienced that night had been a product of some alcohol-induced dream, but seeing her proved our bond was building.

  Jogging up the front steps, I knocked softly on her door and frowned when I didn’t hear Stitch barking on the other side. I knocked again and the silence started weighing on me. I pulled out my phone to shoot her a text.

  Me: What’s a guy have to do to get you to answer the door in the morning?

  I hit send and watched my phone, waiting for it to signal a response. Just as I headed to my car to go looking for her, it finally sounded.

  Ev: At the pier.

  Letting out a relieved breath, I turned and headed toward the boardwalk. It was early, the sun barely strong enough to force its way through the leaves and morning clouds, but when I passed through the tree line and stepped onto the beach, it reflected off the water and blinded me momentarily. I blinked a few times, turning away from the boardwalk and heading in the direction of the pier. There weren’t a lot of people out this early; mainly those scouring the sand for shells and a few joggers. When I stepped onto the pier, I spotted her.

  Her back was to me, her arms crossed over the railing as she stared out at the water. Sweat trickled down her neck and my eyes, of their own accord, ran the length of her, taking in every perfect curve in her tight pants and top. Her body tugged to the left and she looked down at Stitch, who was pulling her to get to me.

  “Hey,” she said, her eyes skirting past me as they returned to the water.

  “Hey, babe. I…” I trailed off when I got closer and saw her expression. Her brows were drawn, her eyes sad. “What? What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head. “I thought I remembered. I thought this place was exactly the same.” She sounded almost wistful and I waited, not sure where she was going with this. “How could I forget?”

  “What did you forget?” I asked, keeping my voice as quiet as hers. She didn’t look at me.

  “The colors,” she whispered, the words nearly getting lost in the wind.

  I followed her eyes then, taking in the colors spanning the horizon as the sun continued to rise. The soft blues, pinks, and purples were giving way to brilliant orange and red as the morning clouds dissipated. The awe in her voice was apparent and I realized, for possibly the first time, how often I took the beauty of it for granted.

  But something else was on her mind.

  “What’s bothering you?” I ask
ed, turning to lean on an elbow so I was facing her. She turned and my body froze when she grabbed the front of my uniform shirt and pulled me to her, leaning her forehead on my chest. After my moment of shock, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, feeling her hands fist the fabric as she held on tight. She may as well have been gripping my heart with the way it squeezed painfully in my chest when she didn’t answer. Her needing me for comfort was unexpected, but the reason behind it worried me. “Evangelie, talk to me.”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice muffled by my shirt.

  “I wanted to see you. I was hoping we could have breakfast,” I said. It wasn’t a complete lie, but after seeing her this way, I wasn’t going to just ask her out and leave.

  “Breakfast sounds good. Come on. I’ll cook.” She released me and turned toward the beach. Taking a chance, I grabbed her hand and forced back the sense of relief when she slid her fingers between mine.

  We walked in silence to the house. It was nerve racking to know something was bothering her and not being able to help, but how could I when I didn’t know what the problem was?

  She slid a key out of the pocket on her armband and let us in the front door. Stitch took off the second she unhooked his leash, exploring like he hadn’t been there in days, and I watched Evie toss her phone and the key on the counter. Tugging the armband free, she added it to the pile.

  “I should shower,” she murmured, but I wasn’t sure she was even speaking to me. I watched, waiting to see if she’d remember I was even with her. It took a second before she looked up at me and sighed. “Breakfast first. You’ve been up all night and need sleep.”

  I reached for her again, but she shook me off, gesturing toward the table as she moved to the fridge.

  I walked forward, frowning. “How was your night?” I hedged. Even though it was a little prompting, I was hoping she would respond.

  She sighed again, her back still to me. “Bad.” It was barely a whisper.

  I stopped in the process of pulling out a chair and moved to stand beside her, leaning against the counter. “You can talk to me, you know.”

  She turned to me, eyes wary. “If I talk to you, can you listen as my…friend and not a police officer? I need to know you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone. Ever. Got it?”

  My eyes widened at her declaration and every nerve in my body tightened. Whatever this was, for her to point out I couldn’t be here as an officer told me it was bad. I nodded. “I’m here. Just as me.”

  “I came to Hawk Bay because I was worried about Cara. She’d been acting weird when we talked on the phone and then she didn’t come to Grandma’s funeral. She told me her boyfriend wasn’t comfortable with her going that far alone, but he couldn’t take off work. It wasn’t really suspicious by itself, but all of it together made me feel like something was wrong.” She looked away, staring toward the door, lost for words. Just as I opened my mouth to coax her to continue, she did. “She came home last week with a swollen jaw and a sprained wrist. She told me she fell on the porch steps because she forgot to turn the light on before she left, but I turned the light on before I went to bed. She wouldn’t tell me it was him, though. She kept clinging to the story that she fell.”

  “So, what was last night?” I asked, curious how Evie managed to sit at the table so calmly with the guy she was convinced was beating her sister. In my line of work, I was well aware of the signs, and the signs in this case were becoming crystal clear.

  “Last night was Cara’s way of trying to prove I was wrong about Shawn. And you were there. I was starting to think maybe I was wrong until dessert. Then…”

  Tears pooled in her eyes and she turned away, trying to hide them from me. It was like a physical blow to see her so upset. I had never been able to handle seeing Evie hurting. “Then what, Ev?”

  “She came home with a bloody nose last night. She tried to sneak in again, like I wouldn’t catch her before she cleaned it up, but that motherfucker…” She shook her head and turned to face me again. She wasn’t crying, but the tears were still there. “I tried to get her to go to the police, but she won’t. She won’t even admit to me what’s happening. I’m terrified she won’t leave him, even after all this.”

  It was hard to think clearly when all I wanted to do was get in my car, drive to the fucker’s house, and teach him a lesson about how to treat women. I wanted to do it last night and the damage had only been verbal then. Getting physically violent with a woman, especially someone as inherently soft and kind as Cara, from what I’d seen, was completely despicable.

  Evie returned to cooking and I watched her, trying to determine what the right course of action was. The actual fear coming off her, the remorse, was clear in every movement. She kept her head down, biting her lip from time to time and I struggled hard with what was going to happen next.

  Unfortunately, I knew what I had to do.

  Wanting to be closer to her, I reached out, grazing my fingers along her arm. What I was about to say would probably cause an explosion, but I had to hope she would understand. “You know I have to report this.”

  She didn’t look up, didn’t tense, didn’t react in any way. She kept her attention on the bacon and the sound of it popping echoed in the silence. “Can you do that? Even without proof?” Her eyes slid sideways to meet mine and then back to her task. “I mean, even if she won’t press charges and you haven’t seen anything.”

  I sighed and nodded, though she wasn’t looking at me. “I can report it—I’m actually obligated to report it, on suspicion. I didn’t realize…” I groaned, running a hand through my hair. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it last night. I could’ve…” I hated guilt, but the fact that Cara had been injured after I let her walk out the door with him didn’t sit well with me. “I’ve gotta go.”

  “Stay for breakfast first. Please?” The look on her face told me she didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts any more than I did.

  I gave her a smile, leaning in to kiss her temple. “Of course I’ll stay, beautiful. You only ever have to ask.”

  We talked while she cooked, continued while we ate, and Evie gave me all the information she had on him.

  “We could set her up with someone else,” Evie said, pausing on her way to the sink with our dishes.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, confused as to how her thoughts had led her there.

  “I mean, what if we can show her there are better men out there? She just needs to find someone new or she won’t be able to forget him.” She turned to look at me, her eyes wide as she started to build on this idea.

  “Wait, you just want to find someone else? Set Cara up and hope it works?” I lifted a hand, pressing my fingers into my temple as I tried in vain to figure out how that made any sense at all. The plan was beyond ridiculous.

  “Well, not exactly. I mean, yes, but she won’t go for it if she thinks it’s a date. We just have to find someone, then I’ll tell her they’re a friend of yours and since I sat through dinner with Shawn, she’s going to dinner with us,” she said, the words coming quickly. Her expression was more open than I’d seen it, her eyes bright and smile wide. She was genuinely excited about this insane idea of hers. “Your friend from the store. He’s hot.”

  “Dom? You want me to talk Dom into going on a blind date with your sister?” I asked, rubbing my hand over my chin as I tried not to laugh at the thought.

  “Why not? Cara’s shy, but she’s foxy. I think they’d look cute together.” She took the plates to the sink, sounding a little hurt by my skepticism.

  “I didn’t say she wasn’t, I…you’re serious about this?” I asked, still unsure.

  “Completely.” She turned to the stove, starting to clean, her posture telling me I’d offended her. I sighed and stood, walking up behind her.

  Leaning down, I placed a kiss on her shoulder and whispered, “I want to go on the record saying I think this is a horrible idea. But I’ll do it for you and Cara.”

 
She gave me a look that was almost soft and I knew I’d do anything she asked. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure she knew it now too.

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Dom said, his eyes skirting the restaurant as he shifted in his seat yet again.

  “I can’t believe you went along with it,” I replied, laughing when he narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m kidding, man. You’re not doing this for me and you know it. You’re doing this for the same reason I am. For Evie.”

  There was a moment of hesitation before Dom nodded, his eyes tight as he scanned the room. Dom cared a lot about Evie and, like me, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do if she asked him to. They were close in every cycle, even when she and I weren’t. I would be lying if I said there weren’t times I was jealous of their easy friendship and the closeness they shared, but this was a part of all of us. I’d never want it to change because the two people who meant the most to me in the world would always have someone to depend on in each other.

  “Do you even think this is going to do any good?” he asked, still not convinced.

  “For Cara, no. But I’m hoping it’ll help me with Evie,” I answered as the door open and yet another couple came in. “Fuck. Where are they?” I glanced at my phone again, considering calling her.

  I was exhausted, but I couldn’t say no to this dinner. I’d had less than three hours of sleep after leaving Evie this morning and heading to the station to fill out a report on Shawn. Then I had to go practically bribe Dom to cooperate with this ridiculous plan.

  “How did Evie talk her sister into coming on a date when she’s in a relationship?” He wasn’t impressed with the idea that she would agree willingly.

  “Getting Cara here was Evie’s responsibility. Talking you into it was mine,” I said, scrolling to Evie’s name on the screen.

  “I don’t think…” Dom trailed off and I glanced up from my phone to find Evie and Cara approaching the table. They were arguing about something, but their voices were too low to hear.