Reclaiming Love

by Shirleen Davies

  She first thought to decline, citing her schedule, social commitments or family obligations. In truth, her heart was the real reason she thought it a bad idea. Then her gaze moved up his face to lock with rich brown eyes that drew her in. The sincerity showing through them caused her to stop her reply and reconsider. What if…she thought, and found herself accepting.

  A few days later, she found herself overcome by second thoughts, the butterflies in her stomach refusing to leave. She picked up the phone more than once to cancel, then thought better of it. It had been nine years, they were both older, more mature, yet neither had found anyone to replace the other. If she walked away now, she’d never know if they could reclaim what they’d lost. For the first time, she found herself seriously considering giving into her heart and allowing herself the chance for happiness.

  He picked her up after work, driving to a restaurant north of Peregrine Bay. A few minutes out of town, he reached over and took her hand, grinning to himself when she didn’t pull away. Instead, she slid toward him a few inches, not taking her eyes from the road.

  He’d reserved a table on the outside deck with a view of the lake.

  “I’ve never been here. What do you recommend?” Julia scanned the menu, spotting several items she’d like to try.

  “Mom and Dad brought me here last week to celebrate the new job. Mom raved about the salmon, and, as you’d expect, Dad liked the rib eye.”

  “And you?” She glanced up over her menu, reaching for a slice of bread.

  “The grilled chicken and wild mushrooms. In fact, I think I’ll have it again.”

  She laughed as he flipped the menu closed, reaching across the table for her hand. Once more she let her fingers entwine with his, the feeling nostalgic, like coming home.

  “Your hand is freezing,” he said as he pushed his chair back and took the one next to her. He took each hand in turn, using both of his to rub heat into them. “We can move to inside if you’d like.”

  “And lose this view? Not a chance.” She didn’t actually care about the view. What she wanted was for him to stay next to her, inches away, with his arm draped across the back of her chair.

  They talked of places they’d been, where they hoped to travel, until their words stalled at the mention of the future. Adam set down his dessert fork, pushed back the plate and turned toward Julia, his jaw working as he leaned forward, his thumb rubbing across her lower lip.

  “You missed a bite,” he said as he held out his thumb, then brought it to his lips, tasting the sweet tang of lemon.

  She watched his movements, unaware her lips had parted, her tongue peeking out to moisten them.

  He cupped her face in his hands, letting his gaze wander over her face to the fullness of her mouth, then to her deep green eyes. “I want you in my future. No other woman…just you.” He leaned forward, touching his lips with hers before delivering a searing kiss that sent tremors through both of them. The beginning of a devastating grin tipped the corners of his mouth up as he pulled back. “We don’t need to talk more of it tonight. I just didn’t want you leaving here without knowing how I feel.”

  He’d driven her home, kissing her lightly, asking if he could see her again soon. All she could do was nod, causing a crooked smile to brighten his face.

  She’d lain awake for hours rehashing Adam’s words the night before, words that curled around her heart, squeezing out the small amount of resistance still left. There now remained no doubt in her mind he wanted her. In all the years she’d known him, he’d never lied to her. She might not have liked what he said, but lying held no place in his life.

  Julia touched her lips with a finger, closing her eyes, remembering the sensations of his touch. No man had ever affected her the way he did and she doubted anyone ever would.

  She groaned at the thought, turned off the alarm, dragged herself out of bed, and headed for the shower, remembering his comment a week before about being certain he’d find the right person to marry in Peregrine Bay.

  At the time, she thought he meant someone else, one of several women who remained single and lived in town. Now she wasn’t so certain.

  Images of female classmates rolled across her mind as she shampooed her long hair. Not one seemed his type. Then again, she no longer had any idea what attracted him. She almost laughed. If she were to believe him, his type hadn’t changed—he still wanted her. She shuddered at the thought as she turned off the shower, grabbed a towel, and stepped into the bedroom to the sound of her phone.

  “Hello.” She adjusted the phone to her other ear when she got no response. “Hello,” she repeated twice more before hanging up.

  Thirty minutes later she poured coffee and read the paper, seeing a brief article on a new business, an announcement of another closing, and a schedule of activities for the opening of a new park. Her stomach fluttered as she thought of inviting Adam to sit with her family at the annual barbecue.

  She reached over to grab the phone as it rang a second time. “Hello.” Again she heard no response. “Hello,” she said with more force, knowing someone was at the other end. “Look, whoever you are, please stop calling. It’s wasting your time and mine.”

  Grabbing her purse, she walked into the garage and slid inside her car before noticing a package wrapped in plain paper on the passenger seat. It appeared to be about the size of a coffee table picture book, and as she picked it up, noted it felt just as heavy.

  Julia tore off the wrapping to find a class yearbook from her senior year, unsigned, with little wear. She thumbed through it, noticing the lack of signatures or comments common when friends passed their books around. Finding the senior class photos, she searched for Adam’s picture, then gasped when she found it.

  A red ‘x’ had been drawn across his face, a handwritten note below it.

  He was never good enough for you, also in red ink.

  Her hands began to shake as she thumbed to her own photo, one word scrawled across it.

  Mine.

  Julia tossed the book back onto the seat, wondering how someone had entered a garage with an electronic roll-up door. She always left her car inside and unlocked, but a deadbolt with a keypad secured the back entry door and she’d installed locks on the window.

  Julia thought of the flowers, a slight shiver running through her as she speculated on the chance all of this was just a coincidence. He father would say ‘no,’ and she tended to agree. She just didn’t know what to do. There were no threats and no one seemed to be following her, yet she felt as if she were being stalked.

  She dashed inside, grabbed the notes that accompanied the flowers, then got back in her car, hurrying toward the other flower shop in town.

  ******

  A bell jingled overhead as she walked inside Bayside Floral. It appeared to be about twice the size of the other shop with shelves featuring gifts, pottery, and candles as well as pre-arranged bouquets.

  “May I help you?” A middle aged woman with short black hair walked out, wiping her hands down her apron.

  “I hope so. It’s a bit of a strange request. You see, I’ve been receiving flowers from an anonymous sender—lavender, pink, yellow—all roses. I wondered if you might remember someone ordering them or recognize these cards.”

  “Let me check the sales log.” She pulled up a sales report and stared at her computer screen. “I have several orders of a dozen of all three colors being sold over the last ten days. Most paid with credit cards.”

  “Can you tell if the same customer placed three separate orders?”

  She studied the screen again. “One person bought a dozen pink and another dozen lavender using a credit card. There are several cash payments, so I can’t tell if it’s the same person or not as most don’t provide their names. Were these delivered to your home or office?”

  “Both. Two were left outside my front door at home.” Julia slipped the cards back in her purse.

  “It’s probably some shy admirer of yours. I’ll do my best to keep w
atch for anyone buying roses and paying with cash. Since I’ve been open less than a year, I still see a lot of unfamiliar faces. Wish I could be of more help.”

  “You’ve been wonderful. Thanks.”

  Julia climbed into her car, deciding she needed to speak to one other person about the flowers.

  ******

  “Here you go, Chief.”

  Adam took the package from the officer at the front desk and disappeared into his office, setting the parcel aside. He checked for voice messages and read the few emails waiting for him, then grabbed a cup of coffee, knowing it would be a long day. He had a meeting with the mayor in an hour, another with the county sheriff afterwards, a staff meeting in the afternoon, and one with the district attorney before he’d be able to settle down and study the budget for his meeting later in the week with Joshua Kerrigan.

  He turned toward the file cabinet behind him, ignoring the sound of the front entrance door as it opened and closed.

  “Good morning, Ms. Kerrigan. Are you here to see the chief?”

  Adam shifted back around, surprised and pleased to see Julia staring at him.

  “Yes. If he’s available.”

  “I believe you can see that I am. Come on back.” He wanted to pull her close, kiss her senseless, but desire gave way to professionalism. “Have a seat while I clear away this stuff.” He moved piles of paper and files, then sat down at his desk.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” She scanned the room, seeing a couple of pictures of Adam with his parents and another with his two brothers and sister.

  “Not at all. Is this a personal visit or business?” He hoped it might be personal given the way their evening the night before had ended. Then he noticed the way her brows knit together.

  “Business…I think.”

  “All right. Talk to me.”

  “First, I need to ask if you sent me any flowers since you’ve been back.”

  “No, I haven’t.” He sat forward, leaning his arms on the table. “When I saw you in the floral shop, I assumed Mark sent them to you.”

  “No, he didn’t.” She explained as best she could, showing him the cards and describing the phone calls. “So I have this mystery person sending me flowers, someone calling and not saying a word, and now a package placed on the seat of my car.” She glanced at his desk. “In fact, it looked quite similar to the one on your desk.”

  “This one?” he asked, nodding toward the package he’d been handed not fifteen minutes before. Adam didn’t like where this seemed to be heading. He slipped on evidence gloves, picked up the package, and tore off the wrapper, exposing a yearbook.

  Julia sucked in a breath. “My God, that’s just like the one I got. Open it up to your picture.”

  His gaze narrowed on her, but he did as she asked, turning to the location of his senior photo.

  “Did yours look like this?” He turned the book around, showing her a picture of him with a red ‘x’ across his face with wording beside it.

  “Yes.” She leaned forward to get a better look.

  You never were good enough for her.

  “Adam…” she breathed out, “mine said almost the same. Now, turn to my photo.”

  He did, muttering an oath when he saw what was written beside it.

  She’s mine.

  “What’s it say?” Julia asked, standing to get a better view.

  He turned it around, anger and dread swelling within him. “Is this what yours said?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Adam stood, slipped the book into an evidence bag and grabbed an evidence collection kit. “Where’s your book?”

  “In my car.”

  “I’ll put it in my truck, then follow you to your place.”

  ******

  Adam stared at the one box Julia kept. A simple blue flower container with no identifying marks as to who sent it or the floral shop. He knew of one flower shop in Pine Cove and a couple others around the lake, but felt certain whoever sent them paid with cash and didn’t leave their name. He’d already bagged the yearbook, then checked for prints in the garage and around the front door, expecting to find nothing except a match to Julia and her sisters.

  She held out a cup of coffee to him, then settled onto the sofa.

  “What do you think?”

  He sat next to her, taking her hand in his.

  “Whoever is doing this has made no outright threats, although it’s obvious he’s trying to scare and intimidate you. He lives in the area, knows both of us, probably since high school, and believes you and I are getting back together—he wouldn’t have left the messages otherwise.” He squeezed her hand before pulling out a notepad and pen. “I’m going to need a list of people from high school who still live in the area, plus the names of the men you’ve dated since we split up.”

  Julia snorted, the corners of her mouth turning up. “The list of locals who went to school about the time we did will be pretty long. The other one not so much, so I’ll start with it.” She stood and grabbed his empty cup, setting it on the kitchen counter. “Besides Mark, I dated Jeremy Butler for a few months, Joss Gremling, and Toby Pullman.”

  “You dated Toby?” The look he shot her said exactly what he thought of her going out with someone everyone considered way out of her league.

  She shifted toward him, pinning him with a look he couldn’t quite interpret. “He’s smart, a nice guy, dependable, and very funny. I hired him to take care of the technology set up and computer issues at the company.”

  “Then why aren’t you still with him if he’s such a great guy?” Adam smirked as he jotted down the names Julia tossed out.

  The answer, to her, was obvious. Because he wasn’t you. “We had fun but it was never a romantic relationship. Regardless, he took a high-paying job at a tech company in Seattle.”

  Adam scratched Toby off the list. “Who’s Joss Gremling? Does he work in town?”

  “Not any longer. He’s an engineer. Travels the world doing large construction projects. I helped him find some land for a vacation home he plans to build. It was short-term, casual, and quite uncomplicated.”

  Again, Adam drew a line through a name. “That leaves Jeremy Butler. The name rings a bell, but I can’t place him.”

  “I’m certain that would offend Jeremy as you played baseball with him. He joined the varsity team as a freshman during our senior year, played third base, with a batting average of over .400. He came back to town for a while after college, then left when he got a deal with the Detroit minor league system. I received a text from him a few months ago. They’ve moved him to the majors.”

  Adam’s hand stilled as he took in all she said. He did remember Jeremy, a real good player with a great attitude. Someone who Julia would find attractive.

  Adam hadn’t thrown a ball in close to seven years, yet there were days all he could think about were missed opportunities and what he’d give for another chance at the big leagues.

  “So you dated a guy four years younger than you?”

  Her face broke into a broad smile. “Three years. He missed a year of school back when he was nine. Heart problems as I recall.” She walked to within a foot of him. “Don’t tell me you haven’t dated women at least that much younger than you.”

  He glanced away, remembering one woman. At twenty-one, she was six years younger than him when they went out. Although there’d been no future in it, the fling had turned into a wild few weeks right before he’d been promoted to senior detective.

  He ignored her comment, reviewing the list. “Just the three guys?” None sounded serious. He put on his game face, trying to hide his relief at the few men she’d dated.

  She pursed her lips, trying to remember if there was anyone else. “No one else from the area.”

  “And outside the area?”

  “That would be none of your business, Chief Monroe.” She smiled, cocking an eyebrow. “So, what’s next?”

  Adam grinned, slapping the notebook shut, thinki
ng they’d get back to that question later. “I’ll run the prints but doubt we’ll find anything. I want to speak with Tricia at your office, and anyone else who might accept deliveries. Selena and Calypso should be told what’s going on so they can keep watch of people coming and going. I doubt he wants to hurt you. His intent seems to be to put a scare in you, keep us away from each other.”

  “That’s a good point,” she threw over her shoulder as she walked toward the kitchen. “If we keep a distance between us, he may give up.”

  He followed her, turned her toward him, running a finger down her cheek. She was right, but it was not in his plans. “Not going to happen, Julia.” He intended to spend more time with her, not less.

  She stepped away as heat strummed through her at his light touch. “I need to leave for the office. Is there anything else?” Julia slung her purse over her shoulder.

  “Let me see your security system before you leave.”

  She blinked a couple of times. It was one of the items still on her growing list of stuff to get done.

  “I don’t have one.”

  “An attractive, prominent, single woman, living alone outside of town needs a security system. I’ll call a friend of mine and get him out here tonight. If you can’t be here, I’ll meet with him.”

  She pulled out her phone and checked her schedule. “I’ll be here. Let me know when.”

  “I’ll be here also.”

  “There’s no need—”

  “It’s not a problem. I want to talk with them about my house anyway.”

  She started to respond when her phone rang. “Hello.” She waited a moment before repeating her greeting, then muttered a curse, holding the phone toward Adam and whispering, “Same thing. Calls, but doesn’t respond.”

  Adam grabbed the phone, noting no caller I.D. appeared. “Who is this?” he growled. “Whoever you are, take my advice and stay away from Julia…” his voice trailed off as the caller hung up. “I want you to get a record of incoming calls on your phone. You should be able to download it online. Identify any you don’t recognize.”

  “Wouldn’t he block it?”