by Kitt, Sandra
“No. I don’t want another dog.”
“I think Max would want you to have another pet.”
“Don’t, Lee. I don’t have much of a sense of humor about that. Max was very special. He can’t be replaced.”
Lee gave her back the puppy, who proceeded to try and climb up her chest and lick her chin. “This isn’t a replacement. This is starting over. Isn’t that what you said was happening to you? Like a rebirth, you put it. I’m going through one myself. You obviously love dogs. I appreciate that you loved Max. So get another dog.”
Still she shook her head. “I can’t. I need to find a new apartment. I have no place to keep a dog.”
“Fine. Then I’ll keep him in Riverdale until you’re ready for him. You can have visitation rights.”
She grinned, stroking the frisky animal. She bent down and set him on the floor, whereupon he promptly romped off to explore, his stubby little tail wagging like a metronome. She looked at Lee out of the corner of her eye. “You’re still trying to bribe me.”
He tossed his jacket over the top of one of the boxes. Standing directly in front of Carol, Lee put his hands on her waist and drew her against him. He kissed her mouth briefly, stroking her back until he felt her relax. Then he looked seriously into her eyes.
“Here’s the deal. I’m in love with you, Carol Taggart. I want a chance to do something about it. I’m not exactly in disgrace with the department, but I’m going to turn in my resignation at the end of the year anyway. That gives me enough time to lock in my pension.”
“I’m so sorry, Lee. I know you loved being a cop.”
“It had its moments. But being a cop doesn’t hold a candle to the love and respect I get from you and Erica. I’m exploring one job prospect with the Justice Department, but I don’t have anything solid to offer you right now.”
“Except a chubby little puppy and a very sad story.”
“Will you have me anyway?”
Carol took a lingering look at the romping pup, then ran her hands up Lee’s chest and gave him her full attention. “I’m glad you were up front with Wes and with yourself. We do have our work cut out for us before we make any promises or plans. If people discover how we met, we’re going to be a very unpopular couple.”
“It could be rough. I know that,” Lee said.
“It will be rough. And there’s the money I was awarded from the city. Wes is setting up an appointment for me with a financial planner. But I’d just as soon not think about it for a while.
“Here’s the deal,” she went on. “I’m in love with you, too, and I think we should go for it. I didn’t ask about your prospects or your pension. I’m very easy to please. All I want is love and respect.”
“You’ve got them,” he whispered, pulling her closer.
“You have to meet my parents,” she said.
“Of course. There’s my family, too.”
“You always have to make time for Erica. She thinks you’re the bravest man in the world.”
“Are those all your terms?”
Carol thought for a moment. “For now.”
“Okay. I have another one. I’m not interested in a short-term affair. I’ve already had those.”
“I think it’s too soon to talk about anything else. We have a long way to go and a lot to overcome.”
“Just so long as you understand that I plan to be here for the duration.”
She smiled at him and shook her head. “You’re not going to get a fight from me on that.”
Carol slid her arms around his neck and drew his head down so they could kiss again. She encouraged his possession of her mouth, the seductive dance of their tongues. She leaned into his firm body, feeling very much at home, and finally at peace. They had both survived major challenges and had lived to tell about them. There would be plenty more. But Carol had faith that, in sparing her life, God had given her a chance to discover real happiness.
Maybe He even had a plan. And maybe the money from the city was part of it. Maybe things had worked out for the best after all. She just had to think about what all the positive aspects might be.
Lee pulled away and looked into her face. “What are you going to call your new puppy?”
“Blue,” Carol said without a moment’s hesitation.
“Blue?”
She nodded, stroking Lee’s jaw and cheek and grinning at the rambunctious pup, who was now gnawing on the fringe of the rolled-up carpet.
“He reminds me of you,” she whispered. “Loyal. And true…”
Acknowledgments
MY IMAGINATION FREQUENTLY RACES ahead of its own accord with plot twists, characters, and adventures in my novels. Even so, in writing this book I relied on the many professionals and experts I met and interviewed, who helped me to fill in essential details, when nothing but the facts would do. I want to give sincere and grateful thanks to everyone who willingly shared their experience, knowledge, and honesty so that Close Encounters would ring true:
To Ronald Singer, retired police officer with community affairs for the 70th Precinct Brooklyn, who has been available with information about basic police procedures through several of my books. To Mike Keane, retired Narcotics Detective, who did a very dangerous job for a long time. To Detective Ricardo Kelley, who is still out on the streets, undercover.
To Dr. Stephen Menlove, Attending Physician in Emergency Medicine at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, who gave me anatomy lessons on the horrors of gunshot wounds and trauma to the human body.
Very special thanks to Captain William C. Wilkens, Commanding Officer of Highway Patrol, who has a great sense of humor and was open and honest with his information and anecdotes.
Finally… muchas gracias al Nancy Heredia y Luis Samot, para sus vocabulario y las palabras maliciosos.
Thank you all for being heroic and inspirational!
About the Author
Sandra Kitt is the author of more than twenty novels, including The Color of Love, Significant Others, and Close Encounters, as well as numerous short stories. Her work has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award and has appeared on the Essence and Blackboard bestseller lists. She is the recipient of the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award. A native New Yorker, Kitt previously worked as a graphic designer, creating cards for UNICEF, illustrating books, and exhibiting her own work, which is included in the collection of the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles. She formerly served as the managing director of the Richard S. Perkin Collection in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2000 by Sandra Kitt
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
978-1-4804-3877-4
This edition published in 2013 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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