by Yvette Hines
Her brows furrowed slightly at the center and she shrugged. “I’ve never really thought about it. Everything just fell into place after college and I liked it, so I stayed.”
He nodded his understanding. For him there had never really been a choice. His father was a banker and he made sure Steve was groomed to do the same thing. A small part of him envied her freedom to decide, but the other part of him knew he enjoyed his job. He’d always had a head for figures and numbers and if it wasn’t banking, it would have been accounting.
“I want to be straight with you, Mandy.”
“Okay.”
“I care about you. I didn’t set out to feel this way, but I do.”
A small grin graced her mouth, taking away some of the tension that was on her face moments before. He almost felt sick his self thinking about what he was about to say.
“I feel the same way,” her voice was filled with cheer.
The sound dug the knife deeper into his heart.
“I’ve always wanted a family. A wife, maybe three kids.” He paused, “Have you considered those things?”
“Not for myself. Probably because it never really seemed like a possibility.”
“Because of your job?”
“No.” She sighed. “Maybe.”
“Well. It’s a concern for me,” he admitted.
Crossing her arms underneath her breasts, she asked, “In what way?”
Placing his elbows on the table he leaned forward, speaking in a low tone. “I don’t know if I can be with a woman that’s a cop. Have her as the mother of my children when she’s willin’ to put herself in danger.”
Clarity of what he was hinting towards became evident in the way Mandy’s eyes stretched wide and her mouth dropped open. She closed it quickly, then asked him through clenched teeth. “Are you saying you don’t want to see me anymore because of my job?”
Looking away briefly, he took in the few other guests. With the late lunch hour, the restaurant was practically empty and he was glad about that; he wasn’t trying to embarrass her. Recapturing her gaze, he answered, “Yes. I need some time. I need to think.”
She gave a dry chuckle and shook her head. For a moment, he noticed a small amount of wetness in her eyes, but she blinked and swallowed and it was gone.
“Well, you can have all the time you need.” Her voice dropped as she leaned toward his face. “While you’re at it, you can kiss my ass, Steve. You either take the package deal or stay the hell out of my life.” She shot up out of her seat and turned to exit. Making an about-face, she slapped her palms down on the table and announced, “By the way, Fred Flintstone, cops have kids all the time. Welcome to the new millennium.” This time she exited the place, her long strides eating up the distance quickly without her taking a single glance back.
Dropping his face in his hands, he groaned. He felt like shit, unsure of a decision he had been so convinced he had to make.
* * * *
“What cat dragged you in here?” Danni called out, eating her chicken wrap and fries.
“Very funny.” Mandy moved deeper into the break room with her peanut butter, strawberry jelly, and banana sandwich. It was the only thing she could stomach. Her headache had decreased in the last two weeks, but she was still exhausted and sick all the time. “Well, Dale is finally back. I’m planning to take a few days off and sleep. Starting tomorrow.”
Danni nodded and dipped a steak fry in a gloppy pile of honey-mustard on the edge of her wrapper. “Glad to hear it, because you look as bad as Liza says she feels.”
Sighing, Mandy said, “Maybe something’s going around. I guess it can’t be a case of ‘I was dating an egotistical jerk’ then.” She made quotation marks in the air. “Because Liza has Brad and he’s great and a cop.” Steve rebuffing her because of her job hurt like hell. She only allowed herself one night of crying, but it still hurt. She still missed him. It amazed her how they’d only been together for a short period of time, but she’d fallen hard for him. He’d made her live and dream about being something other than the name on her badge.
“Still no word from, Steve?” Danni asked, concern on her features.
“Nope.” She bit into her sandwich. “I didn’t expect to hear from him, though. He was pretty clear on how he felt.”
“I never pegged Steve for a Neanderthal.” Danni finished, polishing off her fries.
“I should have.” Mandy got up and grabbed her small carton of strawberry milk from the fridge. “He’s always had a straight-laced appearance.”
“Good thing it didn’t show in the bedroom.”
Almost choking on her milk, Mandy grabbed a napkin and wiped her face, feeling the warmth in her cheeks as she recalled the way Steve treated her when it was just the two of them. “There was that.” Reclaiming her seat, she asked, “So, what’s wrong with Liza? It’s a little early in the season for the flu. Summer is barely over.” She bit into the second half of her sandwich.
Danni stared directly at her. “She’s pregnant.”
Swallowing slowly, Mandy said, “Is she?”
“Are you?”
Her hands started to shake. Mandy placed her sandwich back on the plastic wrapper. There was no need for her to even believe she was pregnant. “That’s doubtful. I’ve been on birth control for six years. I’m as faithful in taking it as I am my allergy pills in the spring and summer.”
“You still takin’ those antibiotics at night?”
“No, I stopped those almost a month a—” She stopped talking and her mind started calculating. She’d quit taking them the night before Liza’s wedding. The night before she and Steve had made love so many times in the condo she couldn’t keep track.
“Don’t worry. It may be nothing. When was your period?” Danni’s voice was calm.
Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, Mandy checked the calendar. Scrolling back she noted the date two weeks ago. She should have had a period. In blue the words read possible start date, but there was no red star confirming she’d started. She was faithful in keeping track of her cycle because she’d been irregular as a teen, it was an old habit. To keep herself away from an embarrassing situation, she wrote it down when it started and counted twenty-eight days until the next time.
“It never showed,” she whispered.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Danni said. “We need to make a drug store run—”
“All available officers respond.” Both of their shoulder radios barked, interrupting the conversation. “We have a two-one-one at the Claremont County Bank. All officers proceed with caution.”
The message repeated as they both jumped up, leaving the scraps of their meal on the table as they headed to the squad car alongside fellow officers.
Mandy darted behind the wheel as Danni hopped into the passenger side. The car was already in motion by the time the doors were closed.
The sandwich she had eaten began to churn in her stomach, making her wish she’d avoided it altogether.
* * * *
“Look, just bring that fuckin’ bag of money over here and the old lady won’t get hurt.” A tall white guy dressed in a suit and tie looking like a businessman with the exception of the gun he had pressed against Mrs. Ida’s temple. That hand had a tattoo of a skull with a bullet between its teeth.
Steve had seen the red light of the flashing silent alarm in his office, and he’d come up front to see what was going on. He had a new teller starting today and he figured she had accidentally hit the button. It would not have been the first time something like that had happened.
When he entered the main lobby he’d been caught off guard to see the scene playing out. The man had swung around, pointing the gun at him before he pointed it back to Ida.
Ida’s watery gaze stared at him, pleading with him to help her. His heart thumped in his chest. They practiced this scenario quarterly, but it was something that didn’t happened in Claremont County. He attempted to communicate that everything would be f
ine. He knew the cops would be here soon if they had not already arrived outside.
“The fuckin’ bag, bankman,” the robber barked. “I don’t have all god-damn day.”
Nodding, Steve walked over to the tellers, who were standing behind their stations with their hands held high in the air. The new girl Penny, who was twenty, whimpered. The top of her shirt was soaked with her tears. Patting her on the shoulder, Steve grabbed the money before her and moved cautiously to the man.
“Look, here’s the money.” Steve held it out before him as he approached the man. He knew the same thing he told his employees, the money at the bank was insured and no one was expected to risk their life for it. However, he needed Ida away from this madman. “Let Ida go.”
Curling his other arm around Ida’s throat, the man yelled, “What do you think this is a mother fuckin’ negotiation?”
“No, I just don’t want to see an old woman get hurt,” Steve acknowledged.
The man’s soulless gaze pierced him for a moment. “You think I care two beans about this old lady?”
Hell, no. Steve thought better of saying that. “I do and a lot of people in this town as well.”
Grumbling something about her getting in his way and slowing him down, the man shoved Ida away than grabbed the money bag and turned toward the door.
At the same time, blaring sirens reverberated through the windows from outside into the bank, and the man’s eyes stretched and became wild. “You set me up! Holding me here so the cops can get me. Those feds can kiss my ass!” he ranted, waving his gun around. “They got my money,” he shook the money bag high, “but I ain’t going to prison for no one.”
Steve watched as the man pointed his gun at him and fired. In his peripheral, Steve saw the door burst open. Mandy entered and another shot rang out.
He couldn’t see who the second bullet hit, because the impact of the bullet that struck him knocked him to the floor and everything went black moments after he prayed that Mandy was alright.
* * * *
Pacing the waiting room floor at Smith Northview Hospital in Valdosta, the next city over, Mandy couldn’t stop replaying the scene at the bank. She’d been crouched down, staring through the bank window alongside Danni, while Brantley had gone around back to try and get in. The robber, Rodney Phelps—the ring leader in the drug trafficking bust—had already had his money and was headed out the door. She was prepared to grab him then with no one hurt. That wasn’t how things had played out. Instead, the newest cop on the force had come barreling down Main Street with his sirens blaring. The gunman had freaked and turned on Steve, and she’d thrown protocol aside and entered the bank then and shot the man as he was pulling his trigger on Steve. There would be no trial for Phelps, he was presently at the pearly gates being shown the direction to Hell by St. Peter.
Steve was now in surgery. The bullet had lodged in his shoulder.
“Any word yet?” Danni asked, coming into the area with Liza beside her.
Accepting hugs from her two friends, she shook her head. “Nothing yet. The shot was low in his shoulder but a good distance from his heart was all that the doctor said before they took him to surgery.”
Liza handed her a bag. Mandy opened it and peered inside.
“While you wait, you might as well find out.” Danni said.
* * * *
Struggling to open his eyes, Steve fought against the alluring sedative that attempted to pull him back into a deep, dreamless abyss. Someone appeared beside him, pressing ice chips into his parched mouth. Even without opening his eyes he knew it was Mandy by the spicy scent of ginger and honey.
After several chips and sheer determination, he was able to shove the drug haze away and gaze at the beautiful women before him in a uniform that appeared to have seen better days. There was blood on one sleeve he assumed was his own. She looked tired and pale beneath her lovely brown complexion, but he enjoyed the sight.
“How does the other guy look?”
“Dead.” Her body shuddered as if cold. “I killed him.”
“Was this your first?”
“Yea.” Her face paled even more. She looked like she was going to be sick. “I’ll have to meet with IA and the department psych, tomorrow.”
He squeezed her hand that was lying on his arm, attempting to lend her some support, no matter how weak it maybe. How could he have ever considered living his life without this woman? He sighed. “I was a fool, Mandy.”
“Shh.” She placed her cool fingers against his lips. “You need to rest.”
Shaking his head, he said, “I have days of rest ahead of me, I’m sure.”
She stroked his hair back from his forehead. “Probably.”
“I’m sorry, I let my fears about your job get in the way of us.” Lifting his right hand, of the uninjured shoulder, he caressed her cheek.
“You don’t have to say that because of what happened.” A twinge of doubt laced her voice.
“I’m sayin’ it because I want you in my life.” Bringing her head down, he kissed her lips softly.
“I love you, Steve.” She buried her face in the curve of his neck.
“I love you, too, nightingale. There’s not another woman alive that I want. I don’t care what you do for a livin’.” Waiting until she met his gaze again, he said, “Just promise me you will be careful.”
“I promise.” Her light brown eyes shied away from his as she said, “It will not be an issue for a while because I’ll probably be sitting behind a desk at the station.”
His heart skipped a beat. “Why? Did you get hurt during the robbery?” He allowed his gaze to travel along her body looking for a bandage or any sign that she had been hurt.
She shook her head and whispered, “I’m pregnant.” Nervously she bit down on her bottom lip as she waited for his response. Speaking again before he could, she said, “I didn’t lie to you when I told you I was protected. Before Liza’s wedding my allergies got bad and I got sick, and got a prescription from my doc. It’s done that many times before. Since my sex life hasn’t been very active, I never considered the warning side effects about birth control and—”
He squeezed her hand stopping her flow of speech. “Marry me?”
“What?” Her voice was soft and questioning.
“Getting’ shot made me realize that I was being an insensitive jerk. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He caressed her face and then lowered his hand to her stomach. “Now that I know your carryin’ my baby, I don’t want to wait.”
“Are you serious?” Her eyes filled with water and the tears spilled over her rims, her normal control evaporating.
Cupping her cheek, he brushed a stream of water away with his thumb. “How about you find out how serious I am and meet me at the courthouse on tomorrow afternoon.”
“But, your injury?”
“I’ll be out of here by tomorrow morning if I have to escape. That still gives you a few hours to buy somethin’ pretty or change your mind.”
She shook her head. “I’m not changing my mind. Ever.”
“Stevie?” His mother burst into the room followed by his father.
“I’m fine, mom.” He called out.
Mandy stepped back and allowed his mother to embrace him. Gently his mom kissed his cheek and stared down at him. “When Chief Dennison called us and said you were here and what happened, I was so scared.”
“I’m okay, Mom,” he attempted to reassure her again.
“Steve, you gave us both a scare.” Stepping closer to the bed, his father said, “I’ve told you never to stop the robber. They can have the damn money.”
Shaking his head, Steve corrected his dad, “I’m not a fo—”
“Steve gave him the money, Mr. Ewing.” Mandy chimed in from where she stood by the wall. “It was one of our new officers that spooked the robber and he shot Steve.”
Smiling at her for coming to his defense, he added, “And Mandy shot him.”
“Thanks for sav
in’ my son, Officer Franklin,” his dad said from the other side of his bed.
His mother stepped to Mandy and embraced her. “Thank you.”
“Come here, Mandy.” Steve beckoned her to him. Looking around at his parent, she slowly crossed the floor to him. He took her hand, holding it tight and then glanced at his parents. “Mom, Dad this is Mandy Franklin, my fiancé and soon the mother of your grandchild.”
“Oh, my goodness.” His mother called out, her eyes bright and a smile on her face as she pulled Mandy into another hug.
“Well, it’s about damn time you decided to get married and start a family. I thought I’d be dead and gone before that happened,” his father announced with a large smile stretching across his face as he slapped him on his thigh.
Steve exhaled a pent up breath he didn’t realize he was holding in.
“Please tell me the weddin’ will happen before the birth,” his mother said.
“What are y’all doin’ tomorrow afternoon?” he asked them.
“Welcome to the family, Officer Franklin,” his father winked at Mandy.
Giggling, Mandy said, “That’s soon to be Mrs. Ewing and only Mrs. Ewing.”
Pinning the woman he loved with a stare, ensuring he’d understood what she was saying, he questioned, “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Being your wife and the mother of your children is enough for me.”
Hesitantly, he asked, “Can you cook?”
Laughing, she frowned at him and said, “Yes. Not as good as Danni, but I beat her hands down on desserts and homemade candy.”
“Good, because ginger and honey is my favorite treat.” Right before his parents he pulled her mouth down to his own and kissed her deeply, not caring if they saw the passion he had for her. It amazed him how one night he’d walked away from a moonwalk exhibit believing he’d encountered the wrong woman. Now he realized he’d captured the right woman in his life for all time and he was never going to let go of the prisoner of his desire.
