by Riker, Becky
“You’re nuts,” she tried to keep her voice calm.
“You doing anything tomorrow afternoon?”
She could not stop the thrill of anticipation. Tag was coming home, and she was going to see him.
“I’ll probably get off the set about four.”
“Care to try that jet skiing then?”
“I would if you think the city can spare you that long.”
He laughed, “I should have it all back in order by then.”
“You picking me up at my place?” she waved at the director’s assistant to acknowledge that she had seen three minute warning.
“I’ll be there by 4:30.”
Josie hung up the phone with just a slight twinge of guilt. She was supposed to be going to a ladies event at church the following evening.
She brushed the self-reproach away. Tag was her friend, and he needed her right now.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Josie looked at her reflection with some distaste. She had a meeting with the show’s producers in one hour, and she still hadn’t figured out how to cover the bruises on her neck and jaw. She could wear a turtleneck, but that was going to look strange in July.
She could give Hallie a call, but the makeup artist would want to know why she wanted them covered and wasn’t particularly good at keeping a secret. As Josie considered her options, her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Josephine.”
“Thaddeus.”
“I was calling to wish you luck, but if you’re going to be mean. . .”
Josie grinned but didn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing her laugh, “Thanks anyway, Tag.”
“You nervous?”
“Not really, but I wish I could find a way to cover some of this bruising.”
“What kind of bruising?”
“My face and neck.”
“I recall you telling me once that you didn’t usually get so bruised at work.”
“If you must know, these bruises are not work-related.”
“What happened?” Tag was on guard.
“Nothing like that, Officer Krupke. I did this to myself.”
He laughed, “Parkour.”
“Um, no.”
There was a little silence, then, “Tell me you didn’t.”
She chewed her lip.
“You did,” he had caught her. “You went windsailing.”
“I’m sorry,” she felt a little guilty about it. “You were working, and the opportunity came up.”
“Josie,” Tag groaned, “we were going to do that together.”
“We can go another time,” she promised.
“But it won’t be the same.”
She laughed at his injured tone, “There’s always base jumping – we haven’t done that.”
“Don’t try to butter me up,” his voice was gruff, but she was pretty sure he was laughing.
“I’m really sorry, Tag.”
He sighed, “So, how was it?”
“Very cool until I looked behind myself. I took my eyes off the target, lost my balance, and fell forward – face first onto the bar.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. My face isn’t so pretty right now, but it hurt my pride more than anything else.”
He hummed in agreement, “You want to get some lunch after your meeting?”
“Yes,” she decided to leave the bruises alone, “but not with you.”
“Big plans?” he laughed at her snippy tone.
“I’m meeting a friend from high school.”
“My love life has been kinda slow lately. You want to introduce me to her?”
Josie closed the door behind herself and headed for the stairs, “You want me to set you up with one of my friends? I don’t think so.”
“Why? I’m not good enough?”
“In the first place, I wouldn’t want to lose a friend.”
“Rude,” he interrupted her.
“In the second place, this one isn’t your type.”
“May I point out that you once told me my type was simply female, breathing, willing?”
“Well, my friend only qualifies on one of those aspects.”
“You’re meeting a guy?” he sounded appalled.
Josie craned her neck to see if the bus was coming around the bend, “Yep. The most popular guy in school, actually. I’m thinking about swooning because he called me.”
“What was so great about him?”
“Quarterback, tall, dark and handsome, nice to the nerdy type.”
“Sounds like a jerk to me.”
Josie saw the bus, “I’m gotta go.”
“Call me when you’re done to tell me how it went.”
“Supper?”
“The meeting.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“I’m on call.”
She stepped on the bus, “Bye, Tag.”
Her meeting went well. The terms the production company offered her were better than she expected. The only drawback was that she wouldn’t start until February.
“I could always get you a small role,” Ken offered.
“Ken,” she warned him not to pursue it.
“How about just a commercial?”
She planted her hands on her hips, “A commercial.”
“It’s a one-time deal. It wouldn’t lock you into anything.”
“No, thanks.”
He dropped it, and Josie left. She was on her way to the restaurant when her phone rang.
She answered it with a grin, “I suppose I should be grateful that the crime rate has dropped so far that you aren’t needed.”
“I thought you were going to call me.”
She looked both ways before darting across the street, “How do you know I’m not still in the meeting?”
“You wouldn’t have answered your phone.”
She couldn’t deny that.
“Did you sign the contract?”
“Yep,” Josie offered a smile to an elderly lady who was frowning as they stood waiting the traffic light to change.
“So you can tell me what it is now?”
“No. I told Molly I’d tell her first.”
“So, call her,” Tag hung up.
Josie laughed and called her sister. She was just ending that conversation when the call waiting sounded.
“And the answer is?” Tag didn’t wait for her to say hello.
“I’m doing the stunts for Jessica Morris.”
“Who is that?”
Josie darted in and out of people as she pressed through the lunch hour crowd, “She plays the lead on The Force.”
“That horrible cop show? It’s not even close to accurate.”
Josie gasped, “Bite your tongue, man. It’s one of the most popular shows on television right now.”
“I suppose those high ratings have nothing to do with the guy in that.”
“What guy?”
“You know,” he teased, “the one who goes shirtless every episode.”
“He doesn’t go shirtless in every episode,” she argued.
“When are you meeting your friend?”
“In about ten minutes.”
“You know, I was thinking I should come with you. You never know how people have changed. Maybe he’s gone off the deep end.”
“He’s a pastor now.”
“See what I mean.”
“He always wanted to be a pastor.”
“And what does he want with you?”
“To catch up.”
“You know that’s code for ‘I want to see if you’re still as sexy as you were in high school,’ don’t you?”
Josie rolled her eyes, “I wasn’t sexy in high school. I was a bit of a loner.”
“Goth?”
“No – just dorky and shy.”
“Weird.”
“Yes,” she agreed with his assessment, “yes, I was.”
“No. I mean it’s weird that you were like that in high school. You aren�
�t now.”
“I think I’m just more comfortable with who I am.”
“Talented and beautiful?”
Josie wasn’t sure what to say to that. Tag had never demonstrated any attraction to her before. Or, if he had, she had missed it entirely.
“Um, I’m being paged, Jo,” his tone was more stern than it had been.
“Go save the world,” she said as she hung up.
She crossed the final street before her destination and was about to open the door to Cloud Nine when she spotted a familiar face.
“Dave,” she reached out and gave her friend a quick hug, “you running a little late too?”
He opened the door and ushered her in, “As usual.”
“You find the restaurant okay?”
“No,” he admitted with a laugh. “That’s why I’m late.”
They sat down, and Dave got straight to the point.
“How’s Molly?”
Josie leaned on her elbows, “Why didn’t you just call her, Dave?”
He sighed, “Tired of her saying ‘no,’ I guess.”
They were halfway through their meal when Dave looked to the door, eyebrows raised.
“Something wrong?” Josie spoke around her bite of sandwich.
“A SWAT uniform just came in and sat down at the counter.”
Josie resisted the urge to turn around and look, “You sure he’s SWAT?”
“Yeah. He’s loaded for bear, and it says SWAT across the back of his shirt.”
“Is he ordering?”
He laughed and nodded, “I suppose even the tough guys have to eat.”
Josie smirked, “Is there a back door to this place?”
“Why?” Dave smiled at her, “you running from the law?”
“No,” she opened her phone, “Excuse me, Dave. I need to text someone.”
She pulled out her phone and texted with one hand.
I thought you were out on a call.
She set her phone down and leaned in toward her dinner date, “Can I just apologize ahead of time?”
“For what?” Dave took a sip of his soda.
“My self-appointed guardian.”
“Huh?”
Her phone beeped.
It was resolved quickly. May I join you?
She held out her phone to Dave so he could read the text.
“Your guardian?” he pointed to the phone.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He glanced up at Tag, “Is it the SWAT guy?”
She nodded.
Dave smiled and waved Tag over to their booth. Josie stood quickly and slid in next to Dave. There was no way she was getting trapped in the booth.
“Dave, this is Tag Madden, Molly’s nosy neighbor. Tag, this is my friend, Dave Howe.”
The men shook hands.
“Josie says you’re a pastor?”
Dave nodded, “I’m the education minister at our church.”
“Same church Josie and Molly go to?”
“No,” Dave glanced at Josie, and she could tell he was trying to figure out the relationship between Tag and the sisters. “I’m in Jersey. I’m just over for the day, so I thought I’d call Josie.”
“How nice,” Tag took a bite.
Josie kicked Tag’s shin.
He barely reacted.
“You have a wife over there in Jersey?” Tag almost managed to make the question sound natural.
“Not yet.”
Josie made an effort to kick Tag again, but he was ready for it. She found her foot trapped between his knees.
“And why is that?” Tag continued on undaunted.
“Frankly,” Dave picked up a fry and chewed on the end, “I’ve only loved one girl my whole life, and she’s turned me down a couple times already.”
Tag didn’t take his eyes off the other man, “Sorry to hear that.”
Josie kicked at Tag’s shin with her other foot. It was hard enough to make him drop her first foot.
“So, you met through Molly?” Dave was no dummy. He knew there was something going on that he couldn’t see.
“Not really,” Josie tucked her feet under herself and angled her body toward Dave. “Tag chased me through the street of New York because he thought I was a criminal. As if it wasn’t bad enough to do it once, he repeated the performance the following night.”
Dave looked at Tag, “Care to tell your version?”
He didn’t try to deny it, “She looked suspicious crawling out her sister’s window.”
Dave laughed at her, “You were always a bit unorthodox.”
Josie couldn’t deny that.
”She wouldn’t join the cheer squad because of their short uniforms, but she wore those horrible tights to the gymnastic meets.”
Josie rolled her eyes, “The cheerleaders wore far less than I did.”
Dave looked at Tag, “She used to practice her balance beam routines on the fence that went around the football field. It drove our coach nuts.”
“I’m sure it was distracting,” Tag looked a bit put out.
“I wasn’t doing it during practice,” Josie scoffed. “He just didn’t like it because his wife was the cheerleading coach, and she was irritated that I wouldn’t be on the team.”
“I was impressed with how you stood up to her,” Dave told her. “Most of us were scared of her.”
“I’ll bet,” Josie laughed.
“We were,” he insisted. “Molly only got out of it because she hurt her knee playing basketball.”
“My dad wouldn’t have let us do it anyway. He didn’t like the skimpy costumes any more than I did.”
Dave swallowed his food, “I knew I liked that man.”
Josie pushed her plate away from herself, “Even the first time you met him?”
“You mean the time I came to your house and he said there was no way he was going to let his daughter date a dumb jock who was more concerned with the football scores than his own soul?”
“As I recall, that didn’t go over so well.”
“I was fifteen,” he reminded her, “and it made a huge difference in my life.”
Tag was now just pushing his food around on his plate, “Sure.”
Josie and Dave glanced at each other before they looked back to him.
“You know, Tag,” Dave’s voice was soft. “I came over here with a purpose. It’s been a couple years, so I was hoping she’d change her mind.”
Tag stood up and threw some bills on the table, “I think I’d better get back to the station.”
Josie wondered if she should go after him.
“He’s not a believer,” Dave guessed.
She shook her head.
“That’s rough.”
“It doesn’t matter. He goes through women like a suburban goes through gas.”
“Nice analogy, but I don’t buy it. He really likes you.”
She laughed, “He likes all women, Dave. It’s all the thrill of the chase for him. Besides,” she scooted from the booth, “as you say, he isn’t a believer.”
They said goodbye and parted ways.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tag didn’t bother calling Josie in the following days. He missed the sound of her voice, but he knew it was a lost cause. She had a history with the other guy, he shared her faith, and Dave honestly seemed like a good person. Tag didn’t stand a chance.
“What are you doing?” Jacobson came into the gym.
Tag kept pounding his fists into the leather, “I’m knitting a scarf.”
“I can see that,” Jacobson stood on the other side of the bag. “I just thought you were going to come with us to the bar.”
“Well, I’m not,” he punched again.
“You seeing someone right now?”
“No.”
Jacobson steadied the bag, “When was the last time you were on a date?”
“You asking me out?” Tag put more force into his thrusts, “Cause you really aren’t my type.”
“I’m a little
worried,” Jacobson admitted.
“Is my work suffering?” the last word was punctuated with a blow to the bag.
“Not that I can see.”
“Then mind your own business.”
Jacobson shoved the bag back toward his friend, “Fine.”
Tag put his palms out to stop the bag from hitting him.
He planted his face on the bag. He knew he had been a bit surly lately. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with him; he had never been this affected by a woman before.
He wouldn’t even try to deny to himself that Josie was different. She was full of energy, adventurous, and had a quick wit. She was also compassionate and deeply devoted to her faith. The whole package was more appealing than any other woman he had met. However, Tag had never been looking for a relationship before, and he couldn’t imagine why the conviction that he couldn’t have one with her was so disturbing to him.
He hit the showers and went home. He was just about to sit down to a sandwich when the sound of arguing drew him back downstairs.
“I’m telling you, she’ll want to see me.”
A guy Tag didn’t know stood at the door leaning over Al.
“Why don’t you just ring her apartment then?” Al was standing in the entry, apparently refusing to open the front door.
“She’s not answering,” the guy yelled back.
Tag went downstairs and opened the door, “What’s the problem?”
The guy looked normal enough, but Tag wasn’t convinced.
“Thanks,” he tried to push past Tag.
“Where are you going?” Tag caught the guy and propelled him backward.
Al slipped inside and closed the door behind himself.
“Listen, buddy,” the guy’s tone lowered, “I’m just going to see my girlfriend.”
“Edna?” Tag folded his arms across his chest.
“Molly,” the guy mirrored Tag’s position.
“Molly’s not here anyway. She must have had some sort of dinner to do cause the upstairs smells like heaven.”
The guy allowed himself half a smile, “You sure she’s not here?”
“She never cooks like that for herself,” Tag felt no remorse about lying to the guy.
The guy narrowed his eyes, “Who are you?”
“I’m her neighbor, Tag.”
“Tag, huh?” the guy shook Tag’s hand. “I’m Brandon.”
