by Susan Stoker
She turned her head and looked up at him. “Did you have cockroaches in your house when you were growing up?”
“No.”
“Whew. Good.”
“Mice.”
“What?” Sophie asked, sitting back up.
He tugged her down and resettled her against him. “We had mice. It was hard to keep them out. They were everywhere.”
Sophie felt him shrug under her.
“We didn’t have the money to buy airtight containers for all our food, so they tended to get into a lot of our sacks of corn and stuff.”
“Wow.”
“As often as I can, I send boxes of those snap-top plastic containers back home. My mom and the others who live near her never ask for anything else.”
“I don’t blame them,” Sophie said quietly. She couldn’t imagine living the way they did. “Are they happy?”
“Absolutely,” Chief said immediately. “Just because they don’t have a lot of money doesn’t mean they aren’t satisfied with the life they lead. It’s fairly uncomplicated. It’s actually nice to go back and visit now and then, to reconnect with my ancestors and see some of the elders. It’s truly a slower pace and it’s amazing how much it helps rejuvenate me sometimes.”
“It s-sounds nice,” Sophie said wistfully.
“It is. I hope you’ll come with me someday.”
“What?”
“I hope you’ll come with me someday,” Chief repeated. “I know we just started dating, but with every day that passes, I feel more connected to you. I’d love to introduce you to the elders, my mother, and all my brother- and sister-cousins.”
“Wow. Okay. Yeah.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, Chief. I’d love to m-meet them.”
“Want to tell me about your day?”
Sophie sighed. She turned until she was on her side and forced her hand behind him between his back and the cushion. She laid her cheek on his chest. She felt Chief pull the blanket up once more, making sure she was covered.
“The m-morning was good. Quinn is the only one who can come to the thing tomorrow. I s-spent s-some time talking with m-my friends about their research. Then I s-said hi to Tadd, Frank, and S-Sam—I don’t think you’ve m-met Frank and S-Sam yet, but they’re good friends with Tadd. M-Mark and I then talked a bit. Apparently, M-Miss M-May, his caretaker, has a new boyfriend and he had to tell m-me all about him. Then I s-sat with a few patients, and you know about m-my conversation with Traynesha. I was in s-such a good m-mood.
“Then in the s-staff m-meeting, we were informed the abandoned building was officially going to be demolished, the lot had been purchased, and the new wing of the hospital would be built there. We’d been discussing it for s-so long I truly thought that m-maybe the outcome would be different. Don’t get m-me wrong, I know it needs to go, but s-seeing S-Shane s-smirking at m-me was just s-so infuriating.
“The chief of s-staff asked to s-see m-me after the m-meeting and he told m-me that there wasn’t anything else he could do. The board didn’t s-see any reason not to m-move forward. I asked if s-something would be done for the people who are living in the building and all he could tell m-me was that the company who was hired to knock the building down was aware there were people living there, and they’d m-make s-sure they were all out before they m-moved forward.”
“That sucks,” Chief said softly.
Several moments went by before Sophie said, “I know a lot of people think I’m a do-gooder. But when I told Tadd and his friends about the decision, I s-saw the s-sorrow in their eyes. I feel like I’ve let them down.”
“Oh, Soph, you haven’t let them down.”
Sophie sniffed and turned her head into Chief’s chest. “I want to try to get them into a s-shelter or s-something, but I know they won’t go. Tadd told m-me as m-much. I’m just s-so worried about them. I’m afraid I’ll never s-see them again.”
* * *
Knowing nothing he said would fix this for her, Chief simply tightened his arms around Sophie as she cried. Remembering what Crash had said about Adeline crying, he realized his friend was exactly right. He’d move heaven and earth to keep Sophie happy. He didn’t like when she was unhappy, and he really didn’t like it when there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
Glad he hadn’t listened and he’d pushed her to let him come over tonight, Chief brought one hand up to Sophie’s head and took out the elastic in her hair. Then he ran his hand over the pale strands again and again. One of the girls he’d grown up with had told him once how her boyfriend stroked her hair and how much she liked it.
He hadn’t understood it then, and hadn’t ever bothered doing this for anyone else he’d dated, but as Sophie melted into him and her crying slowed, he realized that he was getting as much out of it as Sophie apparently was.
It relaxed him. The soft strands of her hair were like silk falling through his fingers. The scent of her shampoo wafted up to his nose with every stroke and Chief could feel himself relaxing into the cushions.
Her house wasn’t as clean tonight as it had been the first evening he’d seen it, but instead of it turning him off, it made him realize just how sterile his own house was. He’d never be the kind of man who could have a dirty house, but as he continued to stroke Sophie’s hair, he looked around her living area. The pictures on her bookshelves were full of smiling, happy people. Some of the books were lying on their sides, as if she’d finished reading and just placed them any which way back on the shelf. There was an empty DVD case on the floor in front of the television, most likely for the movie that was currently playing. There were papers on the coffee table, another pair of shoes on the floor, and, of course, the dirty dishes he’d put into the dishwasher. All in all, her place was comfortable. Lived in. He liked it.
“Are you s-sorry you came over now?” Sophie asked softly, more into his chest than to him.
“Absolutely not. There’s nowhere I’d rather be,” he told her.
“I’ll be better tomorrow,” she promised. “M-more positive. M-More m-myself.”
“I like you this way,” Chief admitted.
She lifted her head then and gazed at him in disbelief. “Unkempt, a m-mess, and crying all over you?”
He pushed on her head, encouraging her to lay it back on his chest. “Real. Not putting on a happy face because you think it’s what I want to see. Feeling the way you feel. Not hiding anything from me.”
“Well, good. Because if you like this then you’ll probably be s-seeing a lot m-more of it in the future.”
“Fucking fantastic,” Chief murmured.
He sensed Sophie’s smile against him and felt ten feet tall. He’d made her smile again. He could die a happy man.
He resumed his stroking of her hair, and just when he thought Sophie had fallen asleep, she said, “Thanks for coming over.”
“My pleasure, Soph.”
“How was the rest of your day?”
Her words were slurred and Chief wasn’t sure she was even awake.
“It was fine.” He wasn’t going to mention the domestic violence call they’d been on. The boyfriend had stabbed his girlfriend twenty times. Chief could tell the woman was deceased, but he’d had to check for a pulse just to be sure. Seeing how someone could be so violent toward another human never got easier. “Now, shhhhh, go to sleep,” he murmured to Sophie, putting his not-so-great day behind him.
“Mmmmmkay.”
As the woman in his arms drifted off to never-never land, Chief closed his own eyes. He knew he should encourage her to get up and get into bed and he should go home, but he couldn’t. She somehow fulfilled a deep need inside him. When she was in his arms, nothing seemed to matter but her. Not the stress of his job. Not his OCD.
Deciding he’d get up in a while after a short snooze, Chief put his hand on the back of Sophie’s and scooted down farther on the sofa.
Four hours later, Chief woke up when Sophie shifted on top of him. He looked and she was out cold. He
wanted to stay, man how he wanted to stay, but decided that it would most likely make Sophie feel awkward if she woke up with him there.
He consoled himself with the thought that hopefully before too long, he’d have the privilege of sleeping all night with her in his arms and waking up the same way.
He eased out from under her, making sure one of the throw pillows was under her cheek and she was covered from head to toe with the blanket before he left her side. Chief leaned over, kissed the top of her head, and inhaled her unique smell before standing. If he didn’t go now, he wouldn’t be able to tear himself away. He wandered into the kitchen and silently got her coffee ready to go for when she woke up.
He wrote out a quick note and propped it up against the coffee maker, assuming that she’d most likely go there first thing when she woke up. He slipped his shoes on and made sure the knob on her front door was locked before he closed it behind him. Once again, he crossed their yards, smiling to himself as he wondered if anyone who saw him would think he was doing a walk of shame.
He let himself into his house, taking off his shoes and petting Mósí and Łibá as they came running up to him. He went into his kitchen and got a glass, poured some water, and guzzled the whole thing down.
Placing the used glass in the sink, he stared at it for a long moment. He wrestled with himself before turning and heading for his bedroom. He could leave the dirty glass in the sink. He totally could.
Chief got ready for bed and slipped under the cold covers. He lay there for a long while before sighing, throwing back his comforter and stomping into the kitchen. He picked up the glass and put it in the dishwasher, closing it with a flick of his wrist.
Okay, so maybe he couldn’t leave a dirty dish sitting in the sink all night.
Scooping up Mósí on his way back to his bedroom, Chief didn’t feel as bad as he might’ve if he hadn’t just spent the best couple of hours he’d had in a long time with Sophie. He might not have conquered all his demons, but he had a feeling with Sophie in his life, he had a better chance of doing so than without her by his side.
He fell asleep anticipating the next day’s outing. He couldn’t wait for his friends to get to know Sophie. He had no doubt she’d click with both his friends and their women.
Chapter 10
Sophie smiled as she listened to Mackenzie talk. The woman was hilarious. She’d been nervous about the barbeque, but having Quinn at her side went a long way toward making her feel better…not to mention Chief.
He’d also stuck by her side almost the entire time, only leaving to get her a glass of wine. He hadn’t hovered though. He’d had side conversations with his friends, but Sophie had felt his warm hand on the small of her back all the while. Every so often his thumb would move up in a gentle caress, sending goosebumps shooting down her arms. It kept her awareness of him at an all-time high.
The get-together wasn’t packed, but it wasn’t an intimate gathering of a few friends either. All of Chief’s friends from the fire station were there, including Beth and Adeline, the girlfriend and wife of Sledge and Crash, respectively. A Texas Ranger named Dax was there, with his girlfriend, Mackenzie, an FBI Agent with his girlfriend, Mickie, and Conor, a game warden, and who Sophie recognized from that fateful night at The Sloppy Cow.
Sophie had been a bit overwhelmed with all the people and names, but Chief seemed to know, and he did his best to interject his friends’ names in conversation.
They’d eaten and were now sitting around chatting.
“…and me and Mickie were like, no way, and she was all like, yes way. It was hilarious and sad at the same time. I mean, who does that? The lady was ready to go all MMA on us in the middle of the coffee shop. All Mickie and I wanted was a cup of coffee…we didn’t really expect we’d end up in the middle of a domestic situation. Seriously, it was an accident, and the only reason I spilled my drink on her in the first place was because she totally ran into me. Right, Mickie? So then we…”
“Having a good time?”
Sophie tuned out Mackenzie and looked over at Chief. They were sitting next to each other and he had his arm around her chair. His warm breath tickled the hair near her ear and Sophie shivered. She smiled and nodded. “I like your friends.”
“Good. They like you too.”
“How could you possibly know that? You haven’t left m-my s-side long enough for them to tell you s-something like that.”
“I can just tell.”
Sophie raised an eyebrow at him.
“Soph, if they didn’t like you, they would’ve found a way to pull me away. They would’ve let me know by their actions, if nothing else. But if you have to know, when you went to check out the kitchen with Penelope, Quinn, and the other girls, Crash slapped me on the back and told me I did good, Moose said, ‘I like her,’ Squirrel said you looked like an angel, and Dax and Cruz gave me a thumbs-up. Driftwood probably would’ve also approved, but he was too busy staring at your friend, Quinn, like a lovesick fool to look my way. They like you, but you know what?”
“What?”
“Even if they didn’t, I wouldn’t care. I know that I like you, and that’s what matters.”
Sophie felt her heart melt a little further. The more she was around Chief, the more she liked him. What had started out as a crush had grown into something bigger.
“Driftwood likes Quinn?” She needed to change the subject before she embarrassed herself and threw herself into his arms.
“I think that’s definitely safe to say,” Chief said, motioning toward his friend with his head.
Sophie looked across the yard and noticed the firefighter’s eyes glued to her friend. Glancing at Quinn, Sophie saw that she was either ignoring him or oblivious. Sophie figured it was the latter. Time and time again, Sophie, Tory, and Autumn had tried to tell Quinn how pretty she was, but their words hadn’t sunk in. Her friend might have a birthmark on her face, but she was beautiful. Sophie smiled and turned back to Chief.
“Is he a good guy?”
Chief nodded. “He is. He can be rough around the edges, and he’s been trying a bit too hard lately, but your friend could do a lot worse.”
“Trying too hard?” Sophie asked.
Chief shrugged. “He signed up for an online dating service and has been on a lot of dates. The stories he’s told would put anyone off dating for a really long time, but he’s been stubborn and won’t give up.”
“Quinn doesn’t know s-she’s pretty,” Sophie informed Chief. “All s-she can s-see when s-she looks in the m-mirror is her birthmark. S-She’s not going to believe he’s interested in her.”
“Kinda like you with me?” Chief asked with more insight than Sophie was comfortable with.
“I’m s-serious,” she told him, ignoring his question.
“I know you are, Soph. I’ll talk with him. Find out what his intentions are…and I’ll let him know he needs to go slow with her. Will that work?”
Sophie beamed at him. “Yes. Thank you.”
Chief brought his free hand up to her face and tucked a curl behind her ear. “I swear to God, all you have to do is smile at me like that and I’d move heaven and earth to do whatever you wanted.”
Sophie could feel the blush in her cheeks, but she didn’t drop her eyes from his. They widened when Chief leaned forward. She licked her lips in preparation as he came closer.
“Hey, Chief, have you told Sophie about how you interrupted Adeline’s asshole boss when he—whoops…sorry,” Crash said, obviously seeing that Chief was about to kiss Sophie.
Chief pulled back and turned to smile at the group. “Believe it or not, I do talk to my girlfriend about stuff other than you guys and work.”
Sophie tried to act as suave as Chief, but inside she was screaming “no, no, no!” She wanted his lips on hers and hated that they’d been interrupted. As the conversation went on around her, she felt Chief’s thumb brush against the nape of her neck. He caressed her with the arm that was on the back of her chair. It was like a
silent acknowledgement of his disappointment.
The rest of the evening went by fairly quickly and Sophie found herself fascinated by the conversations going on around her. From Beth’s amazing, and horrifying, story about how she came to be agoraphobic, and Adeline’s experiences with her ex-boss, to Mackenzie being buried alive and the death of poor Mickie’s sister. Sophie had shuddered at Mickie’s story, because she’d read a few motorcycle club romances and had been entranced, but after hearing the realities of the clubs, decided she would stick to more lighthearted romances for a while.
Toward the end of the night, the talk had turned to the guys’ work.
“You find out anything more about the arsonist?” Moose asked Dax.
“Unfortunately, no. We’ve been assisting the arson investigators and haven’t come up with much. It’s their opinion that it’s a single perpetrator who has a grudge against the government or something.”
“Why?” It was Taco who asked.
“Because near most of the scenes, there’s been graffiti with phrases like, ‘Down with government’ or ‘Taxes suck.’”
“What does that have to do with burning down buildings?” Driftwood asked.
“The investigator thinks he’s making a statement,” Dax said.
“That makes absolutely no sense,” Crash said, the frustration easy to hear in his voice.
Dax shrugged. “I know. But the problem is that they don’t have anything else to go on. Each scene is similar, but not exactly the same. It’s like the perp is mixing things up on purpose to throw us off. One fire was started with gas, the next with lighter fluid. Another with something like nail polish. One building is in the suburbs, and the next is downtown. The only things each scene has in common is that they’re all run-down buildings and it’s arson.”
Sophie could feel how tense Chief was next to her, so she reached out and put her hand on his thigh, trying to show him without words that she was there. He immediately covered her hand with his much larger one. She smiled at him and he returned it.
