Hit and Run Love

by Jennifer Peel

  “I think I’ll call a towing service. Thank you.”

  The unknown officer left. He too was grinning.

  I gave my attention to Harrison. “I guess I should park and assess the damage.”

  “It’s not pretty.”

  “I figured.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Anyway, it was nice running into you.”

  He raised his eyebrows.

  “I mean, it was nice seeing you again. Sorry I made you run into me.” The chill I had been feeling wore off quickly from the heat of embarrassment. I rolled up my window, without saying goodbye. I was good at that when it came to him. I found an empty parking space and pulled into it. I grabbed my phone to make those calls, but Harrison’s cruiser pulled in next to my vehicle on the passenger side. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe his car wasn’t safe to drive, though it hardly had a scratch on it, as far as I could tell.

  I grabbed my umbrella and decided I should look at the damage. Before I could exit, Harrison was at my door with a large umbrella ready for me when he opened the door. “I’ll wait with you.”

  “You don’t need to do that. I’m sure you have better things to do.”

  “It’s been a while, Kallie.”

  “Yeah, it has.”

  “Let me buy you a cup of coffee, or do you still swear it off?”

  I smiled that he remembered after all this time. “How about I buy you coffee and we’ll get a side of water.”

  “Deal.”

  I stepped out under the protection of his umbrella. “I better take some pictures of my car, or my grandfather will be disappointed.” Speaking of my favorite guy, my phone rang. I answered.

  “Are you all right? You should have been back by now.” Panic laced his words.

  “Yes, Mason.” I had always called him that, although when I was very young, I’d called him My Mason. “But my car isn’t looking so good. I’ve been in a little accident.” I stared at the huge gash in the passenger-side door.

  “Where are you? Are you sure you’re okay? Don’t say a word, and take pictures.”

  “Already on it. Can you pick me up at the Starbucks on Peach Grove?”

  “Of course, darlin’. I’ll be there within the half hour. I’ll call the towing service for you.”

  “This is why I love you.”

  I could hear him grin on the other end. He was a gruff old guy, but I could always hit his sweet spot. I ended the call and met Harrison’s eyes. He had them narrowed. “Is Mason your husband?”

  I laughed. “No.” I had forgotten I never introduced Harrison to my family. I had been trying to keep our relationship as superficial as possible. “He’s my grandfather. I call him Mason because apparently, when I was younger, ‘grandpa’ was too difficult to master.”

  Relief washed over his features. “Sounds like we only have a half hour. We should go in and get you out of the rain.”

  “Let me take a few pictures. I can’t believe this. I bought this car last month.”

  “That’s what insurance is for.”

  “I suppose.”

  I snapped a couple of pictures of the mangled metal with my phone before we walked into the coffee house together. This day was turning out much different than I imagined. I had always wondered what had happened to him and if I would ever run into him again. That thought crossed my mind anytime I came home to visit. This was never how I planned it.

  Harrison opened the door for us and shook out his umbrella before following me in. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Positive. How about you?”

  “This is nothing.”

  “Can we just get it out there, how embarrassed I am?”

  His blue eyes danced with amusement. “You should be.”

  “Thanks for that.”

  “It really is good to see you, Kallie.”

  “It’s good to be seen. Well . . . not like this.”

  “I always knew the next time we saw each other there would be sparks.” He turned a shade of pink.

  I tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “So, coffee?”

  “Coffee.” His tone turned deep and manly.

  We ordered and grabbed a small table toward the back. He sipped on his coffee, straight up with no sugar or cream. I took a few sips of water in the awkward silence. But at least it gave me a chance to get a good look at him without his hat and raincoat on. The last five years were good to him. His handsome features were more refined.

  “Your hair’s a lot shorter.” But it was still the perfect shade of light brown.

  He ran his hand over his head. “It comes with the job.”

  Yeah, his job. I looked down at my bottle of water. “Do you enjoy it?” I looked up and met his eyes. “That is, your job, not your hair. Not that you shouldn’t enjoy your hair.”

  He chuckled. “Same old Kallie.”

  I rubbed my neck. “Maybe I should stop talking today?”

  “Please don’t.”

  I smiled at him.

  He took a sip of his coffee. His eyes danced playfully above his cup. “You look terrific.”

  I ran my fingers through my damp hair. “I think you’re obligated to say that. I’m confident the rain-soaked look doesn’t work for me.”

  “I’ll have to disagree, counselor.”

  “I don’t get called that very often.”

  “Don’t see a lot of courtroom action?”

  I shook my head. “Lots of paperwork and people. I prefer it that way. You probably see the inside of a courtroom more than I do.”

  “Unfortunately.”

  I tilted my head. “Are you unhappy with your choice?” Was it terrible to wish that he was?

  “One of the best decisions of my life, but a lot of needless tragedy involves the courthouse.”

  I looked at the time on my phone to focus on anything but him. He was as happy as I imagined he would be with his choice. “Very true.” I had seen more than my fair share of tragic events inside and outside the courtroom.

  “I don’t need to ask if you’re happy with your career. You lived and breathed it before law school.”

  “I guess it’s in my blood.”

  “Even though I did score higher on the LSAT than you.” He grinned wickedly.

  “Would you like me to bow down at your feet?” It was a lighthearted joke.

  He grinned, but only for a second. “Just answer a question for me. Why didn’t you ever return any of my calls?”

  I was hoping he wouldn’t bring that up. He surely had a wife or a girlfriend and was long over me, just like I’d hoped I would be long over him. Except looking at him made me question that. I took a deep breath and put on my lawyer cap. I needed to tell the truth without revealing anything.

  He reached out and laid his hand over mine before I could formulate a logical yet truthful explanation for my behavior five years ago. “It felt like we were in the middle of a memory, and then poof, all I was left with was memories. You didn’t even say goodbye. Did I do something?”

  I stared at our hands. His touch still affected me. My heart skipped a few beats on its way to thumping rapidly. “The thing is . . .” I pulled my hand away from his. I couldn’t think.

  “Kallie.” A gruff but loveable voice called out my name.

  I turned around, more grateful than you can imagine, to see My Mason coming toward us with concern in his eyes, and at a pace that would shame most twenty-year-olds. He reached me in no time and touched my cheek. “Are you okay, darlin’?”

  “No need to worry. I’m fine.”

  He turned his gaze toward Harrison. “Are you the officer that hit my granddaughter?”

  “It was my fault,” I interrupted Mason.

  Mason’s shrewd brown eyes came down on me. “She’s not admitting fault.”

  I stood up and greeted my grandfather with a kiss on his cheek. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  His eyes softened. “We’ll talk about this later.” I didn’t ever need to see the inside of a courtroom to argue.
My favorite opponent stood next to me in his three-piece suit.

  I directed my attention toward a smiling Harrison. “Mason, this is Harrison Monroe. We knew each other at Georgia State.”

  Mason gave me a meaningful glance. I knew he would recognize the name. His memory was superlative, as were his grandfathering skills. I had cried on his shoulder for two days after Harrison told me he was going to the police academy instead of law school. It was silly. We had barely begun to really get to know one another, but the lost opportunity hit harder than I thought it would. There was something about the man now standing up to shake my grandfather’s hand that had me spell-bound. But Mason agreed with me. Not getting involved with Harrison was the right decision. He saw what my father’s death had done to his daughter. They had both died that day, in some sense.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Harrison reached out his hand.

  Mason took his and gave it a firm shake. “The pleasure is mine, Officer.” He respected the men and women that served our city so valiantly. My father had been like a son to him.

  “We better get going.” I looked at a disappointed Harrison. I never answered him. It was better that way.

  “I’ll give you two a moment.” Mason kissed my head and walked away.

  I wished he wouldn’t. I bit my lip. “It was nice to see you again. You’re happy, right?” I had to know.

  He narrowed his eyes. “I would say, yes.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” I neared him, stood on my tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. “Be safe. Goodbye.” I did my best not to breathe in his musky scent or look into his blue eyes that always got to me.

  He was quick. He grabbed my hand as I walked away as fast as I could. He pulled me back with one hand while rubbing his cheek where I had just kissed him with his other. “So this is a hit and run?”

  “It’s not like that. It wasn’t like that.”

  “What did I do? What changed that night?” He inched me closer.

  I didn’t know what to say or how to feel. I looked down at our clasped hands. I missed how it felt to hold his hand.

  “Kallie?”

  I looked up and peered into his enquiring eyes. “I have to go. Please take care of yourself.” I tore away from him. I was surprised how hard it was after all these years, but we weren’t meant to be. Our relationship had been adjourned.

  Chapter Two

  I found myself staring at some old photos of Harrison I had kept in a digital photo album. There were only a few. One was a picture of us in our caps and gowns right after graduation. He looked so happy smiling down at me. I was smiling up at him adoringly. My roommate Faith had taken that one. I remembered keeping my family and him apart that day. I hadn’t thought I was ready for that stage yet. After all, we were going our separate ways. I had sneaked off to congratulate him.

  The other two pictures were taken by me at the World of Coca-Cola museum. They had a tasting room where you could sample drinks from around the world. I dared him to try one called Thums Up. It was a spicy drink with a lot of bite, or so I was told. I wasn’t crazy enough to try it myself. The first picture showed his bulging eyes that said, what did I get myself into? The last photo was a perfect shot of him with soda spraying out of his mouth. The combination of the taste and kick of it made him cough and he couldn’t help it. I was lucky I had backed up. We laughed about it for days. It was probably one of the best dates I had ever been on.

  I touched my screen and outlined his handsome face. I could almost feel his sexy stubble. I lay back on my bed and sighed. I needed to stop or I was doomed to give myself a life sentence of second guessing my decision. What other choice did I have? Mason made sure to caution me about revisiting any old feelings I may have for Harrison. “Tread carefully,” he warned on the way back to the office after the accident today.

  I couldn’t entertain the thought, regardless of how much I wanted to. As far as I knew, he was in a serious relationship, even though my lawyer senses were telling me he wasn’t. I reviewed the day in my head, and the Harrison I knew wouldn’t have touched me the way he had if he was involved with someone. He wouldn’t have cared why I walked away without a word.

  I sat up and blew out a long breath. It didn’t matter. I grabbed my laptop and answered the twenty emails that had come in since I left the office earlier this evening. They were each marked urgent by my clients, though none of them were. They were stressed and I could understand that, but there wasn’t much I could do at nine o’clock at night to alleviate that, as much as I wanted to. I responded to each one and then began writing a brief to Judge Lowell in regards to one of my paying clients. Her scumbag husband was trying to get the judge to toss out their pre-nuptial, claiming she was unfaithful. I had seen the pictures and even I could have done a better job photoshopping them. He wasn’t going to touch her money or get custody of their children when I was through with him. The opposing side didn’t know yet, but I had pictures too, and they weren’t doctored. All I could say was the guy was a narcissistic pig.

  While writing my brief, I was reminded maybe love and marriage wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Unless you were Mason and Clara Porter. Married forever and still in love. Grady and my sister-in-law Alison also gave me some hope, and the cutest nephew ever. My little Hank was the smartest, most handsome four-year-old in existence.

  I worked on my brief well past midnight. There’s this perception that attorneys live a glamorous life. Think again. The hours can be grueling. It didn’t help that I was feeling a little sore from the accident, and that I couldn’t get Harrison off my mind. I wish he would have been a jerk to me like I had been to him. But that wasn’t his style. I wished I could make him understand why I did what I did, but it wasn’t my place to ask him to change his mind and I knew he couldn’t have changed mine.

  You don’t forget the crushing weight of losing a parent, especially under the circumstances. The days and weeks of everyone trying to console you. The articles and news pieces about the bravery of my father. Yes, he was brave and good and kind, but it was a traffic stop. He died because of a selfish act. A woman high on meth and out of her mind. She didn’t care that she stole a husband and father. She wasn’t the one who had to watch my mother lose herself in grief. My mother, who I had always wanted to be like. She had been a lawyer, too, though you wouldn’t know it now. Now she was a shell of who she used to be. She ran off with one of her clients and now lived a surreal life in New York. Grady and I were hardly a thought for her anymore. She’d never even met Hank.

  I could never allow that to happen to me or my children.

  I turned off my light a little after one in the morning. Too bad I couldn’t shut off my brain. I wondered what my life could have looked like if Harrison had gone to law school instead. Would I be lying alone?

  I managed a few hours of sleep. My day had to start early. I was headed to the courthouse to file a motion with the clerk to revise child support payments for one of my clients. I figured I might as well pay my ticket while I was there, since city hall and the courthouse were right next to each other. I hoped I didn’t run into Harrison. But just in case, I wore a form-fitting dress and did my hair sexier than I normally would have. And I ditched my flats for heels. After all, I had looked like a drowned rat yesterday.

  Getting into my rental car was another glaring reminder of the embarrassment of the previous day. I felt like I would never be able to look any policer officer in this town in the eye again, except for Harrison. Who I didn’t want to see. At least I was trying to convince myself of that.

  It was a beautiful, sunny day. A stark contrast from yesterday. It was a good thing. I think, for a while at least, every time it rained I would be a little edgy behind the wheel. Mason had made me drive back to the office for that very reason. Claimed it was like getting back up on a horse after it bucked you off. I didn’t protest. Mason was the best lawyer in the family and I hadn’t won an argument with him yet.

  I drove carefully down to the
courthouse in the morning traffic. Traffic was just as bad living outside of Atlanta as it was in the heart of it. But I wouldn’t choose to live anywhere else.

  I found a spot near the courthouse and paid the meter. I scooted myself and my documents over to the courthouse. I prayed the judge favored my client. Her louse ex-husband paid next to nothing in child support while she worked three jobs and took care of the kids on her own.

  Before I knew it, I was making my way to city hall. I swore it felt like each officer was staring at me like they knew it was me that had caused an accident with one of their own. I had to hold myself back from saying sorry to each and every one of them. Instead, I hustled it to the cashier to pay the massive fee.

  As luck would have it, I ran into Officer Jackson, the one who wrote my citation. “Are you here to see Harrison?”

  I stopped, shocked. “I’m here to pay my fine.”

  He grinned. “You can do both.”

  Did that mean Harrison was here? And why did this man think I would be there to see him? Did Harrison tell him about us? “I’m in a hurry.”

  “Maybe next time.”

  Next time? I wasn’t planning on any more car accidents that involved police officers, or anyone else for that matter. “Have a nice day.” I double-timed it to my destination. My adrenaline was flowing. Harrison was nearby. I knew it.

  I walked into the office where the cashier was. She sat behind bullet-proof glass. That wasn’t comforting. Her nameplate read Nadine. She eyed me like she knew my crime already. I wondered if the embarrassment would ever fade. She chewed and snapped her gum before asking, “What can I help you with?”

  I placed my citation in the double-sided drawer so she could retrieve it on her side. “I’m here to pay my fine for the ticket I received.”

  She reached for the piece of paper and read over the contents, smirking as she went. Yep. I had been talked about. I was the lady that hit a police car. Or, technically, made him hit me. “I just need you to mark you’re pleading guilty. And we only take credit cards or cash.”

  The words pleading guilty didn’t sit well with me. I knew I was guilty, but for some reason I didn’t want to admit it. “I was told I could take a driving class and have the ticket forgiven.”