WindSwept Narrows: #11 Mariah Peyton

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “They are and bail was denied because of previous indiscretions,” Eli said carefully, his voice only high enough for her to hear at his side.

  “Good…” She sighed and drained half the water glass before reaching to refill it. “Good…” She glanced at him curiously, taking a bite of the creamy pasta she’d spooned to her plate. “So how did you wrangle an invite?”

  “People owe me favors,” Eli answered with a casual shrug, ignoring the laughter from his friends.

  “He’s worse than a nagging little brother,” Logan told her dryly.

  “Hey,” Ian scowled at his brother.

  “Like I said…” Logan chuckled warmly.

  “You get used to it in this group,” Sam looked at Mariah and grinned. “I am so glad to have you aboard, Mariah.”

  “It is a vast relief, believe me,” Anya agreed with a sigh.

  “The last thing you two need is stress,” Eloise said firmly, glancing from one to the other. “I bet Frannie is all over you…”

  “Please…do not remind me,” Anya winced and drained her water. “I promise her I will slow down…”

  “And you will…” Ian said flatly. “If I have to come up with an answer myself…and we both know you won’t like it.”

  Everyone laughed at the face Anya made. “He loves me,” she said with a wink.

  “Frannie is your midwife?” Mariah looked at the women and their joint nod. “I’m going to stop in on Monday and look around. I keep thinking I want to wait until the new year arrives, but…”

  “The excitement of waiting gets to be too much,” Gwen said with a smile. “I understand. I wasn’t supposed to begin with the new restaurant until January, but…I couldn’t resist…”

  “I’ll show you the thrift shop and the spare room filled with stuff, Mariah, believe me, almost anything you might want, is probably in there.” Eloise told her a short time later, their conversations wandering the gambit of news to baby rooms to the new community being built. “And if you want to paint, enjoy yourself and we can help. I love colors! Accent walls are so perfect and creative.”

  “That would be marvelous…let me know when you’re available.” Mariah began to mentally make notes of things she needed. Her own place. It seemed like it had been a very long time coming. And a family.

  “Not to tread on your toes, Eloise…but I can play tour guide,” Eli said as the plates were being cleaned away.

  “I’ll show her where the storage room is and you can use your muscles to help move furniture,” Eloise said with a bright smile that brought laughter around the table.

  “Do you feel used and abused yet?” Morgan asked with a chuckle.

  “Somehow I think that’s probably yet to come,” Eli replied but didn’t seem to mind much.

  Mariah wasn’t sure how he managed it, but the dinner was slowly breaking up and he held her cloak up for her.

  “Who did you bribe?” She asked, fastening the unfamiliar clasp at her throat and pulling the hood up as they stepped into the chilling winds.

  “Can’t reveal my sources,” he said with a grin, his palm at her waist and guiding her to the sedate looking four door car.

  “You’ve been staring all night, Eli…is something falling out?” Mariah asked when he slid behind the wheel and started the car, adjusting the heater for them.

  “Sorry…and here I was trying to be casual,” he shifted in the seat to look over at her. “I’m working to reconcile the woman I met last night to this one from a bygone era,” he admitted after a quiet pause.

  “Hmm…so you’re saying you didn’t quite get what you went into the fray after?” Mariah felt the corner of her mouth tilt.

  “I most certainly am not thinking that,” he replied hurriedly.

  “Have you ever ridden a bike before?”

  “With or without training wheels?” Eli relaxed when her soft laughter filled the inside of the warming car. “No…I haven’t…how long have you been riding?”

  “Since I was about fifteen,” she answered easily. “I’ll take you for a ride. There’s nothing like it,” she said softly. “It does leave a little to be desired in weather like this,” she admitted with a wrinkled nose.

  “So I’ve impressed you enough for a second date?” Eli guided the car onto the road.

  “Have you been to their compound before?”

  “I’ve got the address programmed into the GPS,” he told her, lifting a small metal plate from the dash. “And I charmed Eloise enough to gain entrance.”

  “My, my, my…you do plan ahead, detective…impressive,” Mariah watched him driving. A second date, her mind repeated slowly. “It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve had a date, Eli.”

  “We’ve managed to complete one without any hazard,” he pointed out quietly. “It’s hard to be a civilian again.”

  “Most of the guys tonight were military, weren’t they?” She asked as they both watched the gates part for their entry, staring into the night around them.

  “They were…most in the Balkan thing. Some in other places,” Eli told her.

  “And you?”

  “Bosnia. It’s how I met Ian and Anya. I met the others through them,” he answered. “Eloise said you were on a medical ship in the Gulf.”

  “Part of the time,” she said softly. “Some time on the sand…doing evacs and triage.”

  “Are you alright, Mariah?”

  She smiled softly. “No one’s ever asked me that before. But I suppose I am. I have both my arms and legs, and all the holes in my head are factory issue,” she shrugged and laid her head back on the soft rest. “I have nightmares…wake up and can’t breathe…things you see…might not be in front of your eyes any longer, but they’re inside, waiting…what about you? Are you alright?”

  “I don’t think I’ve seen half the things you have,” he admitted. “I ran security check points at headquarters for the most part. I ventured out against orders when we needed extra help. Ran escorts for the medical guys.”

  “I’d ask you inside for a bit…but at the moment, there’s tons of work to do and bags of groceries and clothing everywhere,” Mariah opened the car door and stepped into the winds, her hands up and gripping the edges of her cloak together. Her head was down as she went to the keypad outside the ornately carved door. She felt his palm on her waist at the same time she tapped in the numbers and pushed the door inward, both of them sweeping inside with the gust of wind behind them.

  “Wow…it’s going to be a wild winter,” he slammed the door behind them, the dim interior a cluster of shadows in front of them.

  “I like it,” Mariah breathed happily. “So totally different…so totally alive,” her hands went to the clasp at her throat.

  “So very different than the Gulf,” he added, his hands covering hers on the clasp. “I don’t mind being put to work…especially if we can continue talking.”

  Mariah blinked in the darkness, her head tilted slightly to peer up at him. Slivers of light shimmered in the circles of his blue eyes. She took a step back, the door against her head. Her sigh was soft when he reached over and tapped the light switch, filling the very large main room with light.

  “Should I ask about the pierced ear, Eli?” Mariah dropped the cloak on the sofa and stared at the collection of bags on almost every surface.

  “A long night on leave a couple years ago,” he said with a wince, sliding the suede jacket from his shoulders and dropping it next to her cloak.

  “You know if you just don’t put anything in it, it’ll close up on it’s own,” she said with a light laugh. “I think it’s cute. Your birthstone?” She asked, looking at the small green stone.

  “Yeah…a gift from my sister,” he admitted. “It kind of grew on me. Did a little shopping, did you?”

  “Ya know…at the time…it didn’t feel like this much stuff,” she admitted, shaking her head. Her hands went up absently, removing the clips holding the sides of her hair back and dropping them to the counter. She f
ound one of her bands next to the brush on the stairs and quickly wound the long hair into a high riding ponytail.

  “How about I lay stuff out of these sacks…” Eli lifted one paper bag and quickly had it snatched from his fingers, one brow arching when an infusion of color struck her cheeks. “That’s an interesting reaction.”

  “Just mind your business,” she tried for stern and turned away, closing that bag and setting it on the stairs. “I’ll handle that one, thank you. But the rest…yes, just lay the clothing out on the sofa, fold the bags for recycling. I’ll deal with the tags and get some hangers tomorrow. I’ll start in the kitchen. I have ice water and I bought juice…orange…milk…”

  “I’m good…”

  Mariah was surprised at how fast time flew past them. He joked and laughed with her about everything and anything, even the Christmas music she had found on the portable radio he brought from his car.

  “I’ll make arrangements Monday for the things I have to be delivered,” she looked around at the stack of clothing, partly bought, partly donated.

  “If you’re like me, you left with a lot of nothing,” Eli leaned back on the stool, watching her move around the kitchen, all the cabinets open and betraying her organization.

  “Very little civilian clothing…lots of books…” she sighed and perched on a stool next to him, frowning at the thoughts in her head. “I need some paper and a pen…I need notes…”

  Eli glanced around, his head shaking. “I’ve got some in the car…be right back.”

  For the first time in two hours, she noticed the shoulder holster he wore like others would wear a wrist watch. Maybe it was their military background, but neither of them thought about it. His sleeves were rolled up, his hair touching his ears and collar in a dark blond shade. He was constantly dragging his hands through it, raking it off his forehead where it fell in a wave less heap.

  “Notepad and pen, ma’am,” he closed the door with a shiver, offering the items to her with a flourish. “I’m after some of that juice. You want some?”

  “Please,” Mariah frowned at the blank sheet of paper, writing out things she wanted to buy in the next few weeks.

  “We even got ice,” he said, adding a few cubes to both glasses.

  “I don’t know how to thank Eloise and her family…it’s so nice and peaceful here. I was dreading finding an apartment,” she admitted with a sigh.

  “Can I claim some of your time? I know the area,” he added with a grin.

  “And you’re willing to shop…hmmm…”

  “I figure you got the clothes thing out of the way…” he peeked over at her list. “I can definitely deal with the TV and computer part. Not to mention I got the vehicle for it all.”

  “How come you’re single?” Mariah allowed him to remove the pen from her fingers, his gentle tug pulling her between his open knees.

  “I was married. I was all of twenty…it didn’t work for a hundred reasons, least of which was deployment, school and being a cop,” Eli told her honestly. “To be frank…a lot of girls don’t handle a guy with a gun well.”

  “Ahhh…and you figure since I came armed, I might be different,” she moved willingly closer, her hands on the parted edges of his shirt.

  “In this dress, not many places to hide your gun…”

  “Weapons come in many types and shapes,” she leaned to the side and lifted the skirt of her dress, betraying a smooth expanse of curved thigh and a strapped on sheath with a folded blade.

  “It’s hard to break habits learned during wars…” he said softly. “What gun do you carry?”

  “A nine mil Beretta…Italian.”

  “Where’d you learn to shoot?” Eli watched her face, the long column of her throat and the steady beat of her pulse.

  “When I was a kid…about twelve…it seemed to go with the bike when I got older. I had grand parents that believed I should be able to defend myself, no matter what,” she met his eyes without hesitation. “There are times it came in handy.”

  “Boys that don’t take no for an answer?”

  “Men that cause nightmares from something that should have been a dream,” she answered cryptically, forcing a smile and leaning in to kiss him softly. “You are very sweet…”

  “I’m not sure if I should be offended or not,” Eli said cautiously.

  “I would like to spend time with you, Eli…I’ve had a relaxed, fun time with you the last few hours and…and I think I need that,” she admitted aloud, sighing and stepping closer, laying her head on his shoulder.

  For a moment he was back in high school and hit the winning ball out of the park. His palms gathered her close, an odd sense of peace surrounding them both for a few quiet minutes.

  “I need to go,” Eli tilted her face gently, brushing her lips with his. He eased her away and met the wide brown eyes. “Tomorrow?”

  “I’d like that a lot…” Mariah took a step back and moved to lift his jacket from the sofa.

  “Mariah…I don’t want to…” Eli ran his hands over his head. “I’ve known women in the military but I’ve never known a doctor that carried a gun or knives before. I have to ask…mostly because I don’t want to do something that…”

  She stared at him with a puzzled frown, her tongue out when it dawned on her what he was trying to put into words.

  “I’ve never been raped, Eli,” she held her head up, eyes not wavering. “But I did shoot someone raping a friend of mine. And I testified against him. He was her superior officer in the motor pool.”

  Eli nodded and put his jacket on, his palm up and brushing her face.

  “Tomorrow morning?”

  “I’ll be here,” she said with a smile, closing the door firmly and turning the extra locks before shutting the lights off. She peeked through the narrow glass at the side of the door, watching his lights disappear into the night.

  Mariah frowned when the knock came on the door ten minutes later. She peeked through the side window and opened the door to find Eli standing there with his phone in his hand. A shank of dark blond hair covered one eye, the wind coming in and making her shiver.

  “Number…please…” he looked up only long enough to see her nod and recite her number.

  “I gave you my card last night, Eli,” she said, her lower lip pulled between her teeth to stop her from laughing at his expression.

  “I’m not really a crazy person…” he said before quickly running back to the purring car and disappearing inside.

  Mariah laughed all the way to her bedroom, her head shaking when she picked up the phone and looked at the number. She slid open the phone and listened.

  “You do know I’m not a crazy person, right?” Eli listened to her laughter and smiled. “Good…I’ll see you in the morning, Mariah.”

  “Good night, Eli,” she closed the phone and laid back on the bed. For the first time in months, she slept.

  Chapter Four

  Mariah watched Morgan and Eloise cross the room with an arm load of boxes, setting them on the floor. Morgan sunk to the sofa and put his head back. It was just past nine and Eloise had him awake at dawn to dig around in the storage room with her. Somewhere he knew there was the word ‘no’ in his vocabulary, it simply wasn’t associated with Eloise at the moment.

  “What’s all this?” Mariah watched Eloise open one of the boxes and smile.

  “Just stuff you need,” Eloise went and perched on one of the counter stools. “Hangers, lights for the windows…”

  “You work with computers,” Mariah said, drawing on something from her memory of their conversations.

  “I do…what do you need?”

  “You can build one for me? I’ll buy the parts…”

  “What do you want to do with it? So I have an idea…”

  “Warcraft…music…banking…usual net stuff…I don’t want a boxed computer, I’d rather have one made so it can be upgraded when necessary,” Mariah paced thoughtfully. “I want it to have a really good video card…I want to ma
ke my own CD’s and watch movies, maybe…”

  “I can build it for you, easy as pie,” Eloise said excitedly.

  “I can give you money…”

  “Absolutely not. I can easily…”

  Morgan watched the next move with an impressed nod. “Now why didn’t I ever think of that?”

  Mariah stood in front of Eloise, one hand behind her head and the other over her mouth. Eloise frowned, brows knit and aimed at Morgan.

  “Now…you listen…I will pay you for building the computer. Or I will donate the money to the fund at the Emporium you and Gwen told me about for the kid parties. I want a good, high capacity hard drive and video card. I will go out today and buy a monitor, keyboard, printer and track ball and speakers…and I guess that’s all else I need. You’ve already given me more than I could ever have…it’s a wonderful apartment, Eloise…and believe me, I needed the peace…and I might even have a boyfriend and he’s so cute…” Mariah stopped speaking, the sound of the front door opening and closing in the back of her mind. “Oh…” She groaned when she saw Eloise look over her shoulder. “He’s here, isn’t he?” Dark lashes closed tightly when Eloise nodded.

  “He’s not quite sure how he feels about being referred to as a boy, but he’ll deal,” Eli whispered in her ear.

  “On that note,” Morgan stood up and took Eloise’s palm. “We’ll see you later, Mariah. We’re off to Christmas shop. Take care of her, Eli. See you later.”

  “You’ll be there later?” Eloise dragged her feet, looking at Mariah.

  “I told you I’d love to help. I’ll be there at four,” she promised with a smile, waiting until she heard the door behind her to clear her throat and turn around. Her lower lip was pulled between her teeth, their eyes meeting. “Hi…”

  “Ready to go explore and shop?” Eli laughed at the nod, deciding he liked the high riding ponytail she wore with the girl T-shirt and jeans. Even though there was something vastly appealing about the old fashioned dress and ankle boots she wore the night before.