by S. Nelson
“Good.” Paul tapped the top of my desk like he always did and walked away, closing his door for privacy when his office phone rang.
For the next two hours, I caught up on my paperwork, finalizing notes I’d taken during a few of my visits so far this week. Every time my mind strayed to Officer Bennett, I’d close my eyes and push out his image as quickly as it had barreled in. I was in danger of thinking about him again when Avery’s smiling face flashed on my screen.
“Hello?”
“Hey. You almost done for the day?”
I glanced at the clock on my laptop and saw it was ten to five. “Almost. Why?”
“Because I was hoping you would stop by my favorite Chinese place on the way home and pick up some food.”
“Why don’t you go?”
“I just got out of the shower.”
“And?”
She huffed into the phone. “It’s on your way. Please. I’ll owe you.”
“This will make it ninety-eight favors you now owe me.”
“Let’s make it an even hundred.”
It was my turn to huff. “Fine. Call it in and order me some General Tso.”
“Thanks, sis,”
“Yup.” Before we ended the call, I contemplated telling her who showed up at my unannounced visitation but thought better of it as I didn’t want anyone overhearing my conversation. If Krista or Eva thought for a second I was interested in someone, there would be a barrage of comments and questions, all of which I had no time or patience for right now.
A half hour later, I shut down my computer and gathered my things. Everyone else had left for the evening, all except for Paul, who was still holed up in his office. I was midstride toward his door to say good night when my cell lit up. Todd’s image danced across the screen, and for a brief moment, I was going to answer, if only to tell him to stop contacting me, but at the last second, I decided against it, as had become the norm, and let the call go to voicemail. A text soon followed, and because curiosity got the better of me, I read his message.
Todd: Scott told me he talked to you. Stay away from him.
My fingers hovered over the screen, the need to reply overwhelming. What exactly did Scott tell him? Was he brazen enough to tell his friend that he asked me out? Or did he falsify our conversation? My irritation quickly swiveled away from Scott and on to Todd. Who did he think he was warning me away from someone? He was the last person who should be trying to tell me what to do, even if I agreed with him. Scott wasn’t to be trusted, and I’d never go out with the guy, but the simple fact that my ex, my cheating ex, tried to exert some sort of control over the situation certainly didn’t sit well with me at all.
In the end, I didn’t respond because I didn’t want to open the lines of communication between us yet, if at all. I was sure at some point we’d run into each other and talking would be unavoidable, but for now, I was content living in my protective bubble far away from the dissolution of our relationship.
The entire drive to the restaurant to pick up dinner, all I could think about was how disappointed I was with the direction of my life. Not so much professionally, as I enjoyed my job, even though helping others wasn’t always easy, but personally. Todd and I had talked about getting married someday and starting a family. Then that plan went up in smoke.
I was old enough to realize life enjoyed throwing curveballs at people when they least expected, heartache accompanying many of the twists and turns in one’s existence. Jimmy’s untimely death was one such occurrence, but the knowledge didn’t make the pain any less. Or the worry over the future any less uncertain.
After finding a parking space close to the doors, I exited my car and was busy checking a text from my sister when I almost ran into someone, seeing the person from the corner of my eye before I made a fool out of myself.
“Sorry,” I said, sidestepping to allow the man to pass only to stop in my tracks when I heard a familiar voice.
“Fate is playing with us, I think.”
I tore my eyes from my cell and looked over to see Officer Bennett standing two feet from me, still in uniform, carrying a small brown bag of takeout.
“I’d say you were stalking me, but you were here first.”
He ignored my jest and pointed toward my hand. “Not paying attention again?”
“Excuse me?”
“You were looking at your phone and not paying attention to where you were going. Kind of like you not paying attention to the speed limit last night.” His tone was serious, but the hint of a grin on his handsome face told me he was joking. Even so, I narrowed my eyes at him. “Too soon?”
“Yeah. Too soon.” The corner of my mouth lifted a fraction. We stood staring at each other for the longest ten seconds before he broke the silence. But I was too focused on his tongue running over his bottom lip to hear what he said. He had to clear his throat twice before my gaze finally landed back on his.
“What?”
“I asked if the food is good here. This is my first time trying this place as it’s a bit out of my way.”
“This is the only Chinese restaurant my sister and I order from. So, yes, I think the food is very good.” I pointed at his bag. “What did you get?”
“General Tso. I stick to the basics.” The lines around his eyes creased when he smiled, and I could easily lose myself to just staring at the man for hours. How quickly I forgot about his rudeness from our first encounter. “How about you? What did you get?”
“Same thing as you.”
“We have something in common, then.” Another brief silence followed his comment, but this time I was the one to shatter it.
“I better get our order, or my sister will be blowing up my phone, wondering where her food is. She tends to be a bit of a diva when she’s hungry.”
“Okay.” As he turned to leave, disappointment washed over me that our encounter had ended. But then he turned back to face me, and I wanted nothing more than to disappear inside the restaurant. Such odd and conflicting thoughts made me question what type of effect this stranger was having on me. “Are you sure I can’t take you out for coffee? I’d really like to apologize for my behavior last night.”
“You already did. Multiple times now.”
He nodded, but instead of walking away, he stepped toward me and held out his free hand. “Then, at the very least, I should tell you my name.” I slid my palm into his. “I’m Nolan Bennett.” He held on to my hand longer than necessary, finally releasing me when I gently tugged on our joined hands.
“I knew your last name.”
“Now you have my first.”
“I’m Quinn Harris. But you already knew that.”
“I did.”
“Are you still on duty?” I switched the subject to something a little less personal. The last thing I needed to do was start daydreaming about this man, and knowing his first and last name was where I wanted the information to stop.
“Just got off.” He flashed me another smile, but all I kept focusing on was his response. His nonsexual response that I turned dirty in my head.
I glanced toward the restaurant, then back to him. “I better go. Have a good night.”
“You, too, Quinn.”
Hearing him say my name made my pulse thicken, but I gave him my back before he could see the evidence of the warmth painting my cheeks.
7
Nolan
My brief interaction with Quinn Harris intrigued me, and I wasn’t sure that was such a good thing. Our first encounter was a disaster, not that I had any other intentions at the time other than pulling over a speeding driver. When I saw her again late this morning, she glared at me, which she had every right to do. But our third encounter an hour ago was different. Not by much, but it wasn’t exactly like earlier today. She seemed to tolerate my presence a bit more, but maybe that was because she was shocked to see me again so soon.
Trust me, that made two of us.
Stabbing my fork into the container, I was surprised
to find I’d eaten my entire meal. I hadn’t consumed that much in one sitting in a long time, but I’d been distracted, too busy thinking about Quinn and our run-ins. The ringing of my cell was the only thing to stop my imagination from running away from me. The only person who ever called me anymore was my younger brother, Will. Both of our parents had passed when we were kids, and he was the only family I had left.
My phone stopped ringing only seconds before it started again, and this time I picked up, knowing damn well he wouldn’t stop until I answered. He was a persistent pain in the ass that way.
“Hello?”
“I thought I was going to have to drive over there to make sure you weren’t in a drunken stupor.”
“When was the last time I was that drunk?”
I drank, yes, quite a few times a week to be exact but only one or two glasses, depending on the day. I’d stopped drowning myself in alcohol until I couldn’t see, think or walk straight a couple of years ago. Now I liked to indulge, just not nearly as much. The hangover and loss of time weren’t worth it.
Not anymore, at least.
“I’m just checking in to see how you are.” Will was younger by three years, at thirty-two, but he often acted like he was the older brother. After the tragic and defining moment in my life three years ago, he was the one who made sure I kept breathing, moving in with me for a year. And while I hated someone watching over me so closely, looking back, I was grateful he’d been there for me because I had no doubt I would’ve ended up dead.
“Nothing new to report,” I answered.
“How’s work?”
“Again, nothing new to report.”
“Have you given any more thought about studying—”
“Nothing has changed from the last hundred times you asked me about it. You need to stop.” My frustration level was heard loud and clear, from my icy tone to my hesitation to continue the conversation about me becoming a detective. I’d had the goal to advance in the department years back, but then everything changed, and for a time, I could barely get out of bed, let alone think about my career. Nowadays, I was content with my current position, but apparently my brother had a different opinion.
“I just don’t want you to settle.”
“I’m fine.” I forced out an elongated sigh.
“How about your love life, or should I say lack thereof? Meet anyone lately?”
I instantly thought of Quinn, although meeting her most certainly wasn’t anything I’d tell my brother about because she was only someone I’d run into a few times. Hell, the woman didn’t even like me, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. She was smart to have her reservations.
“Nope.” I leaned back on my sofa and stretched my legs onto the coffee table, settling in for another lecture from Will on why I shouldn’t be holed up in my house every night.
“Let me set you up on a few sites. If you don’t like anyone, you don’t have to meet up with them. Although, you should bang one out with someone other than your right hand for a change. How long’s it been?”
“First off, hell no. Secondly, none of your fucking business.” I kept hammering away my points before he could respond. “And thirdly, I’m not even on social media. What makes you think I’m interested in meeting anyone online? I know you’re concerned about me, but you’ve got to stop bringing this shit up every couple months.”
“I don’t want you to end up alone for the rest of your life, Nolan. She wouldn’t want that. Neither of them would. They’d want you to be happy.”
“Did you get the Redwood Bay job?” I asked, tactically switching subjects in hopes he’d take the bait because I didn’t have the mental energy to delve into his last statement.
“I’m still waiting to hear. Should be any day.” The bid in question was for the upcoming development of a local resort, complete with its own golf course.
“That’ll be huge for you, right?”
Will owned his own business, started it right out of college after he earned his bachelor’s degree in landscaping architecture and environmental planning from Berkeley. The only reason I remembered the name of the degree he obtained was because he’d corrected me a thousand and one times.
“Beyond huge. It’ll set me up and allow me to expand.”
“I’m sure Molly will be happy about that. More money means more shopping trips.” I wasn’t a fan of Will’s fiancée, and I gave her a dig whenever I found the opportunity. It wasn’t that she wasn’t nice, but she didn’t work anymore and had been living off my brother, spending his money as quickly as he made it.
“Why have money if I can’t share it with the one I love?” His question was rhetorical because I knew damn well he didn’t really want me to answer.
“Just put some away for a rainy day. Trust me, you never know what the future holds.”
We ended our conversation in much the same way we always did, him telling me he’d call me in a few days and me agreeing to pick up. I realized our relationship was mainly one-sided, and I could be a better brother. I wanted to be, but I couldn’t move past the point of caring enough to consistently take the initiative.
One day, maybe I’d learn to breathe without wishing it was my last.
One day, I hoped the dreadful ache in my soul would subside enough for me to envision some sort of future where I wasn’t constantly plagued with sorrow.
For now, however, my grief comforted me, because without it, I feared they’d disappear forever.
8
Quinn
“Are you sure you’ve never seen him before last night?” Avery slurped noodles into her mouth, some of the sauce landing on her chin before she wiped it away with her finger. Even with her mouth full, I understood what she said, asking a question I’d wondered myself.
“Yes. I mean, I think so. I would’ve remembered him.”
“Because he’s cute and sexy?”
“Yeah.” She laughed as I stumbled over my next words. “I mean… no… well, yes, but not like that.”
“I think it’s exactly like that.” She plunged her chopsticks into her white carton and extracted more of her dinner. “Why are you getting so flustered?”
“I’m not.” I was but didn’t want to admit that to her because I’d open myself up to all sorts of other questions, not to mention the suggestions she’d throw my way, the first being that I should go out with him. The problem was I only knew his name and that he was a local cop. Other than that, I had no information, no way to get in touch with him if I wanted to, not that I wanted to. Or did I? My internal and idiotic ramblings annoyed me because I most certainly didn’t want to run into him again.
“You seeing him three times in two days has to mean something, though.”
“It was a coincidence. No more, no less.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I nodded, hoping the repeated rise and drop of my head would be sufficient enough to get her to change the subject. But I should’ve known better.
“What’s his name?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll cyberstalk him.” What I wanted to divulge was that I planned on doing the same when I had a bit of privacy.
“You’re damn right I will.” Her phone was within reach, but I snatched it before she made a grab for it. “Give it back and tell me the man’s name. I wanna see what he looks like.”
“No.”
“Why do you want to keep him a secret?”
“I don’t. I just think it’s pointless to research someone I’ll never see again. It’s a waste of time really.”
“I have a feeling you’ll run into him again.”
“Doubt it.”
“If that’s true, then give me back my phone.”
Realizing my hesitation was nothing but misused effort, as Avery wouldn’t give up anytime soon, I slid her cell across the granite countertop toward her outstretched hand.
“His name is Bob Smith.” It was hard to keep my grin
at bay, but I did. “Where are you looking first?” I walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder. “Aww… Facebook.”
“I knew you were just as curious as me to find out more about him. Now, stop breathing down my neck. Literally.” Her fingers glided over the keyboard as she typed in the fake name I provided, and I almost broke when she groaned at the sheer number of results. “Could he have a more basic name?” She clicked on profile after profile, scrolling through and checking out the personal information these men provided, looking at where they were from and their occupation, if listed. With every frustrated grunt and elongated sigh, it was harder for me not to start laughing. After a couple minutes, she clicked on Instagram, and when those efforts proved futile, she hit up Twitter. “Maybe he’s on Snapchat,” she mumbled, logging into her account.
“I highly doubt that. Nolan doesn’t seem like the type of guy to have a Snapchat account.” I didn’t realize my error until Avery briskly turned around to face me.
“Who is Nolan?”
“What?”
“You said Nolan. Is that his real name?” She didn’t wait for me to answer before she typed in the name that inadvertently flew out of my mouth. Mumbling to herself, she searched for a Nolan Smith. I wasn’t about to tell her his real last name because I didn’t want her finding him before I had a chance to look on my own. The only advantage I had now was that I knew what he looked like, and she had only the brief description I’d provided her. “There’s almost as many. What the hell?”
“Don’t you have to get ready for work?”
“Shit! I didn’t realize what time it was.” She scrolled through a few more profiles before shutting off her screen. “To be continued.”
“I doubt you’ll find him.” Avery opened her mouth in protest, but I told her something that would hold her off for a while, if not forever, depending on whether I ever saw Nolan again. “I’ll tell you what. If I run into him one more time, we can cyberstalk him together. Deal?”
