by Dale Cadeau
Brad couldn’t resist her. As she leaned forward toward him, he reached out over the table and gave her a quick kiss.
Startled, Raven sat back with her hand now on her lip and just said, “Oh.”
“Sorry, couldn’t help myself. I don’t mean to keep stepping in things with you, but the truth is that you make me nervous.” When she started to interrupted him, he added, “In a good way, nothing to do with you being in a chair, I like you for yourself.”
Raven flushed under his scrutiny, took her hands away from her lips, and picked up her spoon, nodding at him to continue eating. “Well that’s good, eat up.” Bending her head, she took a bite of her stew and watched as Brad gave her a grin. He followed her lead, also taking a bite of the delicious stew that he couldn’t really taste now.
“So what do you do? I’ve never seen you leave the house. So do you do something online?
“I’m a writer.”
When she didn’t elaborate, Brad asked, “And what do you write? Maybe I’ve read one of your books.”
“Oh I don’t think you have ever read one of my books, they’re mostly for the ladies. Nothing you would be interested in.”
“Tell me anyway, maybe Avery or Cyn reads them. I’ll have to ask.”
“Who are Avery and Cyn? Girlfriends of yours?” Raven couldn’t help asking.
“No, they’re my partners’ wives. In fact, I was with two of them today. They were helping me pick out furniture for the house. With everyone gone now, it’s a bit empty.”
“Yes, I noticed that. A couple of months ago there seemed to be quite a few people living with you.”
“That’s my friends and partners that I was taking about. We had to hide out for a bit, while we cleared up a mess.”
“What kind of mess, nothing illegal?”
“No, nothing like that. We had a run in with one of our old generals from the army and Clay’s woman was caught in the middle of it. But we straighten it out eventually. Right now Clay is off in Cuba with Laura on a much-needed rest and honeymoon.”
“So are you working a job now?”
“No, I’m taking some time off, James just hired a couple of new men and we’re giving them a try out. So I will have to help manage the jobs but mainly just be back-up support for a couple of weeks. I want to get my house in order. Things happened so fast after I bought it, that it’s just now that I have time to move in properly.”
“How long have you lived here?” Brad asked her.
“All my life, this was originally my parents’ home. After they passed away, I was left the house and Les was left some money.”
“Les, is that your brother? What does he do?”
Raven laughed. “I guess you’re good at your job. You turned the conversation back to me without really tell me anything about yourself.”
“I will admit, it is part of our job to find out all we can about the person we’re working for. But that’s not it, I just find you interesting. If you think I’m being too nosy you don’t have to tell me anything. I can wait and find out as we get to know each other better.”
“Oh, I’ve got nothing to hide. But you will have to reciprocate and tell me more about your life. It must be interesting working and protecting different people every day. I’d like to know more about it. I’ll admit I’m always looking for new ideas for my stories. Okay, here goes. Yes, Les is my brother, he’s four years older and is running for city council now. He is very friendly with the mayor and has developed a swelled head from it all, if you ask me. He drops by once a week, so what you witnessed today was one of his weekly visits. Tell me, what are you going to do with your vacation, besides fix your house?”
“Not much if I can help it. I like to jog in the morning. This area has great parks.”
“You’re so lucky. I loved going to the park, especially at this time of year.”
“Why don’t you come with me in the morning?”
“Did you forget my chair?” Raven said, pointing at the chair she was sitting in.
“No, I didn’t, and that doesn’t mean you still can’t come with me,” Brad told her seriously, looking directly in her eyes.
“And how are you going to arrange that?”
“You’ll see in the morning. Anyway, I better get going, I have to check in with the fellows and see if everything is clear and on track. Just let me clear the table, it really was a great dinner.” Brad got up and started to pick up his plate.
Raven stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Leave that for me. You go and call your buddies, what time in the morning do you want me to be ready?”
“Would eight a.m. be okay? I like to go before it gets too hot.” Brad walked to the sink with his plate and set it in the sink and looked back at Raven. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help you? After all, you made supper, I should be the one to clean up.”
“I’m sure, I don’t have anything pressing right now, and it will give me something to do.”
“Okay, show me to the door.” Brad inclined his head toward the door.
“Sure.” Raven wheeled her chair back and made her way to the door with Brad following her. At the door she moved to the side and let him pass her.
Brad looked down at Raven and suddenly didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t remember the last time he had enjoyed a meal so much. Grabbing the door handle, he opened the door, then scooped down and dropped a kiss on her startled mouth and swiftly backed out and closed it behind him. When he didn’t hear any screaming after standing on the other side of the door for a few minutes, he took that as a good sign. He walked down the steps with a grin on his face and leisurely strolled over to his house, feeling on top of the world.
Letting himself into his home, he felt the emptiness surround him again. His home didn’t have the welcoming atmosphere that Raven’s had. Picking up the remote from the coffee table, he sat down in his one comfortable chair and turned the TV on for company. Maybe Angel had been right, he was finally growing up and wanted more. Angel, James, and now Clay had found their one and only, as they put it. They all seem to be happy Angel and James even had a family on the way. Shaking himself out of his pity party, he grabbed his cell phone and called Angel. Angel picked up and laughed into the phone.
“What’s up?”
“Just calling to check in and find out how the new guys are working out.” Brad could hear Angel telling Cyn to leave him alone.
“Am I calling at a bad time?” Brad asked as he listened to Angel laugh again.
Breathless, Angel answered, “Yes, it seem like it is a bad time. Cyn won’t leave me alone, you know women, after they get you hooked, they demand their rights.”
Angel broke off and Brad could hear the phone drop on the floor. A few seconds later Angel was back.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at the meeting, ten o’clock. Got to go.” The phone went silent and Brad just look at his cell and shook his head. That was one happy man he had been talking to. Brad walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge and went back and watched an old cop show on TV that reminded him of his friends Jared and Stan.
Chapter Four
Raven woke up the next morning, almost jumping out her skin at the excitement of meeting Brad. Wondering what he had come up with to allow her to go jogging with him, she couldn’t help grinning. Brad seemed like the kind of guy that could make anything happen, if he put his mind to it. She couldn’t wait to feel the wind on her hair, as she had as a small girl. Back then everything was easy, no worries about the day ahead. Now she wished she had some of that time back, to just do all the things people take for granted. Just being able to get up in the morning and shower without needed a special shower stall would be one.
Grumping at herself for bringing down her good mood with thoughts of what-ifs, she made herself push up and turn in bed. Sitting up, Raven grabbed the handles of her chair and maneuvered herself into the seat. She had become so adapt at getting out of bed it only took her a few minutes. Making her way into her
special-equipped bathroom and to the wheel-in shower, she threw her nightgown over her head and onto the floor. As she showered she wondered again what Brad would cook up for her? She knew that his surfer boy looks hid a very sharp mind. She had found that out in the brief conversations that they had had last night at supper. She had heard about Braden Security every now and then on the news, when they had taken down some under life. She knew with their reputation that the men of that firm were highly regarded for their skills. Just having Brad live across from her made her feel more secure in her home.
One cup of coffee later, Raven was sitting in her driveway waiting for Brad. She stayed near the step, in case he forgot, but she kept her eyes peeled to his door across the street hoping he hadn’t. Suddenly the door opened and Brad walked out of his house, walking her way with a rope in his hand. She watched as Brad walked to his bike and grabbed his helmet in his other. Raven held her breath, it looked like he had forgotten her and was taking off on his bike. She put her head down and looked at her hands clenched in her lap, trying to stop the tears from filling her eyes. Suddenly she noticed that the sun that had been shining down on her was blocked. Brad stood before her with a grin on his face, rope in one hand and his helmet in the other.
“Ready to go?” He crouched down in front of her chair. “You’re not backing out, are you?” He put the helmet down and gently took her chin with his hand and turned her face up to his.
Raven felt the smile break out on her face. His hand was rough to the touch, but made her want to rub her whole face against it, and stuttered, “No, I can’t wait to see what you have planned.”
“Okay, time to get ready.” Getting up, Brad walked behind her and took the handles of her chair and pushed her into the center of her driveway.
Once he had her situated, he dropped the brake on the chair so it wouldn’t move and came around, uncurling the rope. “Now here’s what we are going to do. I’m going to take this rope and tie you into this chair.”
When she went to object, he added, “I am going to do a slip knot in the front that you can hold on to. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, you can undo it and get out of the rope. Is that okay?”
“Yes, go ahead.” Raven raised her arms as Brad wrapped the rope around the back to the chair and through the arms and tied it in the front of her stomach.
As he tightened it, he looked down at the blue eyes looking so trusting back at him. It took him a couple of extra minutes to get the rope just right with his mind wandering.
Straightening up, he grabbed his helmet from the pavement where he had laid it and put it on her and adjusted the chin strap so it was comfortable on her.
“Okay, all set. Are you comfortable, are the ropes and helmet okay?” Brad stepped back and surveyed her sitting, holding onto the rope and wearing his helmet. On anyone else it probably would have looked stupid to him, but on Raven, it made him want to grab her in his arms and tell her he would always protect her. She looked so small and lost sitting in the chair in the middle of the driveway. Shaking his head, he took in the eagerness on her face.
“Oh yes, I can’t wait, let’s go.”
Brad walked around to the back of her chair and grabbed the handles and let the brake off and walked them down to the sidewalk and started to push her chair at a good pace. When he saw that she was holding the rope in a death grip, he sped up and soon they were at the park entrance. The day was clear and the weather couldn’t have been any better. Brad kept an eye on Raven and ahead on the path. He usually didn’t meet anyone this time in the morning, being a work day, but he wanted to be prepared if he had to stop or move fast. Brad had hardly broken into a sweat, as he found her light weight and the wheelchair not taxing him at all. He could do this every morning. Raven raised one of her hands and put it on his that was holding the handlebar. Seeing a bench coming up, he slowed down and made his way over to it. Coming to a stop, he put the brake on her wheelchair and walked to a water fountain and took a long drink, then sat beside her on the bench.
“Are you okay? Is it too much for you? We can walk back. I don’t have to jog.” Brad got up and started to grab the handles of her chair.
“No, I’m fine, that was great, but I just wanted to stop for a moment to see if you were okay. After all you have me and the chair as an extra weight to push. It can’t be easy, I don’t want to be a burden on you.”
Brad sat back down on the bench and took her hands away from gripping the rope and into his. Looking deep in her blue eyes, he could see her teeth bite into her bottom lip like she was worried, but her could also see the rose color in her cheeks and knew she was enjoying the ride. Brad just wanted to grab her from the chair and into his lap and kiss her bruised bottom lip. Rubbing his finger over hers, he assured her, “I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a jog as much as this one. As to your weight and the chair, it’s nothing. The chair is holding your weight and I’m just pushing it, and it goes great. Is it some special design?”
“Yes, my brother bought it for me. He told me if I had to be seen in public, he wanted me to have the best. He is always worried about first impressions.”
“I will admit, he did pick a good one. It lets me push you with no friction.”
“Well I’ll have to tell him. At least he did one thing right.” Raven stared at his hand, still brushing hers.
“It doesn’t sound like you like your brother too much. Is he causing you any problems?”
“Nothing that I can’t handle. We used to be so close before our parents died. Then he changed, he got a job in the government. After meeting the right people, he became overly ambitious. He now is running for council and nothing is going to hold him back.”
“Yes, I know the type, we meet them all the time with some of our security jobs. Their head is swelled so big, you think it might explode if they thought of anyone else but themselves. I try to steer clear and let Angel take those type of jobs. They take one look at him and back down. He has this hard glint that he gets in those black eyes of his that tell a person he won’t take any shit from them. But they like him, because with his height and that stare, they don’t have to deal with people getting into their personal space.”
“Is he the overly tall Native American I saw at your place a few months ago? I saw him with a small woman with copper hair and they always seem to look so happy together.”
“Yeah, that’s Angel and Cyn. They are a great couple. Angel said when he met Cyn that he knew had found his soul mate. And it turns out that he was right. I’ve never seem a couple more in love then those two, if you don’t count James and Avery.”
“Oh, tell me about them.” Raven noticed that Brad had started to look around and she realized that by her stopping him they had sat and talked for over a half an hour. He wasn’t getting his jog in. This might be her one and only jog with him.
“Sorry, I think I’ve delayed you too long already. Just blame it on the writer in me. I always want to hear everyone’s story and sometimes it gives me ideas for my books, but let’s get back to your jog. We’ve been here so long that you’ve cooled down. Why don’t you go ahead and I’ll sit here until you’re done, then you can come back and we will go home.”
Brad let her hand go and stood up. “Let go back home. I have to get ready for a meeting at ten.” Unlocking the brake, Brad turned her chair around and started walking back in the direction of their houses.
Raven grabbed the rope and twisted it on her lap looking down at it. “I’m sorry for wrecking your jog.”
Brad stopped the chair abruptly and pushed the brake down and walked around and crouched down in front of her.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s only a jog. Sometimes I don’t get one every day, depending on what I’m doing. So it’s no big deal. I told you this was the best one because you were here with me. Our talk was more interesting than that to me. I’m just sorry you didn’t get the full benefits of a full lap around the park. Maybe we could do this again tomorrow?” Brad reached out
and took her hands and unwrapped them from their tight grip on the rope.
Raven look at the sincere expression on his face. Maybe she hadn’t screwed up her chances with him. “I really would like that. I’d forgotten how nice it was to feel the wind in my face.”
Brad took hold of her chin and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, Straightening up, he continued pushing her chair back to their house. He didn’t say anything more, but Raven was comfortable with the silence. Both, it seemed, had a lot on their minds.
Chapter Five
After seeing Raven safely into her house, Brad hurried home, showered, and jumped on his bike, barely making it to the meeting at Braden Security on time. Walking out of the elevator, he threw the front office door open and noticed an older woman sitting at Grace’s old desk. As he went to pass her, she struck out her hand and grabbed his sleeve. Brad stopped and looked at the small gray-haired woman who was now standing beside him with a tight grip on his shirt.
“And where do you think you’re going?” she asked Brad.
“To the meeting.”
“You don’t look like their kind. Tell me another one,” she replied and started to tug him toward the door.
“Honestly, lady, I’m part of the team and you’re making me late. By the way, who are you?”
“You don’t need to know that, just get out of here and find yourself a job. And cut your hair. This is a private company that wouldn’t hire the likes of you.”
Brad put his hand over hers and loosened her grip on his shirt and came to a dead stop. Without his cooperation she couldn’t budge him.
“Lady, I don’t know what your problem is or your job, but just call James or Angel and they will come and vouch for me.”
“Okay, but don’t move. If you do I will call building security and they will haul you out.” Going to the reception desk, but keeping her eye on Brad, she picked up the phone.
