Gotcha!

by Christie Craig

  Macy’s mouth dropped open. Then, realizing her mom needed positive reinforcement, she pulled herself together. “Go, Mom!” She paused. “But don’t ever say ‘fuck’ again. Mothers don’t say that. And your belly button is fine without holes.”

  Her mother laughed—a deep, soulful, contagious laugh. The kind that hinted at newfound freedom. The kind that came with so much emotion, it brought on new tears. Good tears. And while they giggled and cried together, Macy saw strength in Faye Moore that she hadn’t known existed. Her mom really was Nan’s daughter.

  “I love you.” Macy gave her mom a hug. Then she turned back to the table and eyed the various boxes before she cratered and they had to arm themselves with tissues. “Do you want to be a sexy redhead or a sassy brunette?”

  “Do men find redheads sexy?” Faye’s smile was sly.

  “Probably.”

  Macy wondered what had nudged her mother into recovery. It couldn’t be a man, could it? No, not after she’d spent the last fourteen years trying to get over what the last one had done to her.

  The sparkle in her mom’s eyes had Macy rethinking. “Let’s do red,” Faye chirped.

  It was on the tip of Macy’s tongue to warn her mother against jumping back into the fire, but then her mom started humming again. Her mom deserved to hum, didn’t she?

  “Red it is.” Macy opened the box. And as she mixed the supplies, she refused to dwell on the fact that maybe her mother wasn’t the only person who deserved to hum.

  Jake pushed open the door to Yoga Works. His heart hadn’t slowed. The lights were off, and the silence shot adrenaline through his veins. He reached for his Glock and took another step, heard a murmur of voices in the back, and pushed open another door. The smell of burnt herbs filled his nose. Then he saw it: someone facedown on the floor. Was he too late?

  “Police!” Blinking his eyes, he needed another second to adjust to the dimness.

  Light suddenly flooded the room. Many people were spread out on the floor, their knees over their heads, asses in the air. Jake’s gaze shot around the room, looking for a certain heart-shaped posterior.

  “What are you doing?” The voice came from behind him. He turned and stared at Macy’s grandma, who was standing by the light switch. She eyed his gun. “No fair. I didn’t bring my paint.”

  He ignored that. “Where’s Macy?” he asked.

  “Upstairs.” The humor in her expression faded. “What happened?”

  Jake darted back to the front, where he’d seen a staircase. His gut now told him she was okay, but he needed to see her.

  He bounded up the steps and slung open the door at the top…and stopped short. Macy stood behind her mom, who sat in a chair. Macy’s startled gaze shifted from where she’d been squirting something onto her mother’s hair.

  “Oh, goodie,” Macy said, sounding anything but pleased. “We’ve got company.” Then she seemed to spot his gun. “What’s wrong?”

  Jake tucked his Glock into its shoulder holster. Macy’s grandma appeared beside him.

  “Is my son okay?” Macy’s mom clutched a green towel to her chest, and something dark red dripped down her brow.

  “It’s not Billy.” Jake met Macy’s concerned gaze. “I need you to come with me.”

  “It’s not Billy?” Macy turned his words into a question. Fear danced in her blue eyes.

  “No. I promise.”

  She looked at her mom’s hair. “Let me finish this first.”

  He tapped his watch. “I don’t have time—”

  “She can’t leave!” her mom insisted. “I’ll end up purple.”

  “And I’ve got a class to teach.” Nan bounded back down the stairs.

  Jake cut his gaze to Macy. “This is important,” he said.

  “So is this,” Mrs. Moore replied. “If she messes up my hair, I’ll cry. And I’m really trying hard not to do that anymore. Except if it’s about Billy. I can cry about my son.”

  Macy started squeezing the dark substance faster into her mother’s locks. “One minute.”

  It took two. Jake timed it on his watch.

  “What time is it?” Macy set the bottle on the table.

  The vision of Agent Mimms slumped over the steering wheel flashed in Jake’s head. “Time to go.” At her frown, he looked at his watch. “One fifteen.” He’d been gone ten minutes from a scene he should never have left.

  Macy looked at her mom. “Wait forty-five minutes and then rinse.”

  Frowning, Mrs. Moore pointed a finger at Jake. “I don’t care if you are Macy’s boyfriend. If I’m purple, it’s your fault.”

  “I understand.” Jake looked at Macy and waved toward the door.

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” Macy snapped. She grabbed her purse from the floor and hurried out and down the stairs.

  Jake followed, his gaze fixed on Macy’s backside. With each sway, he became determined of two things: hurrying back to the scene, and making a liar out of Macy. He was going to be her boyfriend.

  The moment she exited the building, Macy stopped. Jake didn’t. He wrapped his arm around her waist and forced her to keep walking.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  After hitting the clicker on his key chain, he opened his car’s passenger door. “I’ll explain while I drive.”

  “But my car. I’ll just—”

  “No,” he insisted.

  “Yes!”

  She opened her mouth to speak again, and with no time to argue, he did the only thing he could think of to shut her up. He kissed her. He expected nothing more than a chaste touching of lips that would surprise her enough to get her into his car. His expectations were more than matched. She melted into him, soft breasts to his abdomen. Her lips, warm and pliant, met his with enthusiasm. Damn, if she wasn’t kissing him back!

  But he had to get back to the church. He pulled away. “I…I need a rain check.”

  She blinked, dazed. “Why do you keep doing that?”

  “It shuts you up.” And with a nudge, he settled her into the passenger seat. Leaning inside, he buckled her in. As he started to draw back, he paused to stare at her mouth, which was still wet from their kiss. “And because I like it. A lot.”

  Billy sat on Andy’s porch so that he could breathe the fresh air. It smelled like trees and nature. The birds sang and the squirrels rustled. The thought of going back to only echoes—to a life regulated by guards and steel bars—made Billy want to hit something. But a good man didn’t hit things. That was a lesson he’d learned from his no-good dad.

  The door behind Billy opened, and Andy and his dog Spike stepped out. The porch wobbled as the boy sat down on the steps.

  “You gonna stay here tonight?” he asked.

  “If you don’t mind. Just for a few more days.” Or so Billy hoped. Last night he’d sensed it was a race: find David Tanks before the cops did…or before Tanks found him. Every time he left Andy’s trailer Billy knew he chanced getting caught. “I’ll make it up to you somehow.” He thought again about telling Mace and Nan about Andy. They’d help the kid.

  “I don’t mind.” Andy scratched his dog behind the ears. “It’s nice having company. And besides, Ellie cleaned my place. She cooks good, too.” The dog settled at Andy’s side.

  “That’s women for you. Cooking, cleaning…”

  “Yeah, women.” Andy stared off into the trees. “My mom didn’t cook, but she did get mad when I’d leave my schoolbooks everywhere.”

  “My mom fussed about my dirty underwear on the floor,” Billy admitted, wishing he could go back to the old days, when leaving clothes around was his biggest sin. Then again, he supposed not appreciating people was a pretty big sin, too.

  “Where’s your mom now?” Andy asked.

  “In Houston.” Billy watched a bird soar through the air.

  “Did she come to see you in prison?”

  “Every week.”

  Billy saw two squirrels chase each other up a tree. He listened to the scratchy sound of their
nails clinging to the tree bark, and reflected on how free they were. A breeze stirred, and Billy thought about flying a kite. His mom bought him one every Easter. He’d bet he had three of them in his closet, never opened. Crazy, but now he’d give anything to fly one.

  “And your dad, he come to see you, too?”

  Billy shook his head. “He left.”

  “Mine, too.” Andy petted his dog. “You miss him?”

  Billy almost said no. “I barely remember him, and what I remember isn’t good. But…yeah, I miss him. Or at least I miss having a dad.”

  “Me, too.” Andy paused as they were interrupted by a chattering squirrel. “What did you do to get put in prison?”

  Billy winced. “I let my friends talk me into doing something bad.”

  “What did you do?”

  Even the wind grew quiet, as if to listen. “They robbed a convenience store. I was in the car. I didn’t…I thought they were just going to shoplift some beer. It was still wrong. You need to be careful who your friends are.”

  “I just have one friend,” Andy said. His dog nosed him. “Nobody got hurt, did they? During the robbery?”

  “No. But it was wrong, and I’m paying for it.”

  Andy waved a bee away. “Ellie said you met her while you were in prison. So maybe going to jail wasn’t a bad thing.”

  “She’s the best thing in my life, but what I did was still wrong. And prison is a bad thing.” Billy looked back at the door. “What’s she doing?”

  “She’s using my phone to call someone.”

  “Damn.” Ellie obviously didn’t understand how important it was to keep a low profile. “To call who?” Billy watched Andy shrug, so he got up to go find out.

  “What happened?” Macy nipped at her bottom lip that still tasted like his kiss and watched Jake zip through the afternoon traffic.

  “I found Agent Mimms in his car in front of the church. Someone attacked him.”

  “Is he…is he going to be okay?” Questions ran through her head. “They don’t…they don’t think Billy did it, do they?”

  “It’s too soon to name suspects, but my money’s on Tanks. Whoever did this wanted to get to you.”

  Macy’s chest clenched, and she laced her hands together. “It’s my fault.”

  Jake moved a hand from the steering wheel to her shoulder. “You can’t control what Tanks does.”

  “I know, but—”

  “It’s not your fault.” He parked in front of the church just as two medics jumped into an ambulance. The sirens began to blare.

  “Was he shot? He’s not going to…” She couldn’t say it. The idea someone might die was horrible.

  “He didn’t appear shot, but I’m not positive.” He faced her. “Macy?”

  Their eyes met, and she fought the odd desire to throw herself against him and cry. That’s when she realized how dangerously close she was to depending on him. Depending on him emotionally.

  “It’s not your fault,” he repeated. “You got that?”

  Taking a deep breath, she watched the ambulance drive off.

  “Stay here and I’ll find out about Mimms’s condition and come back and tell you.” Jake leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You going to be okay?” Tenderness filled his voice.

  She glanced up to see the concern in his eyes. “Yeah.”

  He moved in to kiss her again. Her hand shot out, but he smiled. “I’ve got a rain check.”

  “I didn’t give you one.”

  “I took it when you weren’t looking.” He touched her cheek. “Stay in the car. I can’t have you running around a crime scene.”

  “But—”

  “Macy…Please?”

  She watched him get out and walk away. He went to talk to someone. Then, keeping his promise, he headed back to the car.

  She opened the door to meet him, started to get out, but he pushed her back into the seat. “Mimms wasn’t shot, just hit with something from behind. He’s regained consciousness. They think he’s going to make it.”

  “Thank God.” She let out a breath.

  “I’ve got to finish up here. It could take a while. I’ll check on you in a bit.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The tenderness in his touch made her heart ache.

  “Is this really necessary?”

  “What?” His hand lingered against her neck.

  “My having to wait here. Can’t I just go home?”

  He frowned. “I’ve seen what this guy does. I’m not going to let that happen to you. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together.” He studied her. “Am I such bad company?”

  “No.” She wished she didn’t like his company at all. Or his kisses. “I don’t get it.”

  A breeze sent his brown hair stirring. “Don’t get what?”

  “Why you’re doing this. We’re not even friends.”

  He leaned in until his breath touched hers. “We’re more than friends. We both know it.”

  Her denial, like hope, sprang eternal. “I don’t know anything.”

  He stared at her mouth and his lips tilted into a warm smile. “Really? Then why did you kiss me in the parking lot? Why is it that when I get close to you, I can see your pulse fluttering in your neck?” He put a finger to the spot and lowered his mouth to hers—not to kiss her, but just to whisper the words, “You want me, Macy Tucker, as much as I want you. Don’t fight it.”

  “I’m a fighter by nature,” she replied.

  He grinned. “That’s why I like you so much.”

  Hal raised his hospital bed a few inches. “And bring my razor and aftershave when you come back,” he told his daughter, who shouldered her purse.

  “Aftershave?” Melissa’s smile was so much like her mom’s that, seeing it, Hal always thought of Judy. “Why, Daddy? Are you trying to pick up one of the nurses?” There was teasing in her tone, but for the first time Hal wondered how Melissa would take it if he actually considered being with someone other than her mother.

  Melissa’s grin widened. “Are you getting sweet on a nurse?”

  His first inclination was to deny it, but he asked, “Would it bother you if I was?”

  The teasing glint in his daughter’s eyes vanished. “I…Well, I…” She stepped closer.

  “It would make you uncomfortable?” Hal’s chest grew hollow at the thought.

  “No. I’m just shocked. Honestly, Mom wouldn’t want you to be lonely.”

  Thinking of Judy, Hal wondered if he could do this. “I loved your mom more than—”

  “I know.” Melissa smiled again. “However, you know the dating rules, right?”

  “Dating rules?” He studied his daughter and missed his wife so much his throat tightened. Then, deep inside, he heard Judy’s words from his dream. Go back and live, ol’ man.

  “No dating anyone with tattoos or strange hair color. No French kissing—and she’d better not have ever seen the inside of a jail. Aren’t those the rules you made me live by?” She grinned. “Oh yeah. No piercings. You made me ditch a really hot guy because he had his ear pierced.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “I really do like you.” Jake’s lips were so close that Macy could taste him.

  She remembered his question. Then why did you kiss me in the parking lot? She answered with, “Temporary insanity. That’s why I kissed you back.”

  Humor brightened his blue eyes. “It does kind of feel crazy, doesn’t it? But we’ll find the answers…together.”

  “I’m not looking for answers. Believe it or not, I wasn’t looking for a romp in the hay when I kneed you in the privates. I don’t go around busting balls so guys will like me. As a matter of fact, it generally works just the opposite.”

  Laughter rumbled from his chest. “Well, you make me laugh, Pizza Girl. And it’s been too long since I laughed.” He shook his head. “I’ll try to hurry.” He walked away.

  Making him laugh was not necessarily a good thing, so why did she feel giddy? Why did his sexy smile make e
verything wrong in the world feel a little righter? She didn’t want this.

  Okay, she did want it, but that’s where the temporary insanity came in. “Crap!” She had to put a stop to this.

  Minutes passed with the speed of a three-legged turtle. She had nothing to do but worry—worry about Billy, about Ellie perhaps setting up her brother, about…that kiss. You want me. The memory of his dark voice kept tiptoeing through her mind.

  She glanced out the window, antsy. Agent James, wearing a Gulf Coast Violent Offenders jacket, motioned Jake aside. She couldn’t hear either man, but the agent’s expression radiated anger. Had coming after her instead of staying with Agent Mimms gotten Jake into trouble?

  If so, he didn’t look too nervous. The FBI agent finally jerked up his arms and stomped off.

  Jake walked over to the edge of the garden, alone. The way he stood, shoulders squared, a tad defensive, told her more than anything he’d ever said to her. Detective Sergeant Jake Baldwin played life like some people played poker. He didn’t show his cards. Or his emotions. Sort of like her.

  “You can’t fool me, Mr. Tough Guy,” she murmured.

  Seeing his frown, she was tempted to go to him. But he studied his watch, started toward his car and toward her. Even his walk struck her as sexy.

  He opened the driver side door and handed her his phone. “Here. It’s been forty minutes. Call your mom and tell her to wash her hair or do whatever it is she needs to do.”

  Was he for real? “You remembered that?”

  He shot her a charming smile. “I don’t want a purple-haired woman coming after me.”

  He was for real. And she studied his eyes for the remnants of emotion he tried to hide. “You okay? Agent James looked mad.”

  “I’m fine. Call your mom.”

  Yup, he was fine—except he was getting harder and harder to push away.

  Who was Ellie talking to?

  Billy walked into the trailer. She wasn’t in the front room, so he followed the sound of her voice down the hall and stopped outside the bathroom. The door stood ajar.