Just a Memory

by Lois Carroll

  Mac had told her to pay attention to strangers and here they had opened the door right up without looking out to see who was there. Terri didn’t have to unlock the chain first because Carolyn had forgotten to fasten it when she got home. Habit. She’d never felt the need for much security. This was Lakehaven, after all.

  Not even small towns are safe anymore, Mac had said. She would have to start remembering bad guys were everywhere, even in Lakehaven. And that changed everything.

  Her quiet, safe life would never be the same again.

  Chapter Six

  “Why does a Police Chief in a tiny town like this get so much mail?” Mac said after Ellie dumped another stack of envelopes on his desk the next morning.

  “Just lucky, I guess,” she quipped as she went back to the outer office.

  Mac struggled through the stack, sorting it into ‘today’, ‘this week’, and ‘lose it’ piles. Much of the last pile lay on the floor because he had missed the paper-recycling bin. The cleaning crew last night had moved it from its usual spot.

  Still sitting at the bottom of the second pile for about the fifth day was an invitation to attend the formal retirement dinner of the Chief of Police of a Syracuse suburb. Mac was ignoring it, of course, because he just couldn’t picture himself at a black-tie affair. All those years in undercover work meant no ties at all, much less a black bow. Two tickets were available for him and a guest, the invitation said.

  Carolyn would fit in perfectly at that kind of thing. He wondered if she would even accept his invitation. Figuring the worst she could say was ‘no’, he reached for the phone but was stopped by the buzz of the intercom.

  “Chief, Mavis just called to confirm that Elliot White, who owns the property where The Costume Nook is located, hasn’t bought or sold any other properties within the past year. She also mentioned that the gray sedan was illegally parked by her building when she got home last night a few minutes after six. A man was in the driver’s seat just like last time.”

  “Did she get the license number?”

  “Said she couldn’t see that well without walking right up to it. She’s convinced he’s ‘up to no good’, to quote her exactly.”

  “The next time she calls, have whoever is on duty run right up there and check it out.”

  “Will do. And Ms. Houseman is here for you. She says you have a date–” Through the intercom, Mac could hear Sandi’s voice correcting Ellie, but without much conviction. “I mean, ah, an appointment. To show you a house.”

  Mac didn’t bother to depress the button to respond. He grabbed his uniform jacket and coat and strode out, pulling them on. He would ask Carolyn about the banquet at dinner tonight. Right now he hoped this house was the one he was looking for. He needed to have his own space to start living his own life.

  With a smile on his face at the thought of living on the lake, he went to greet Sandi. He quit smiling when she brightened as if his smile was all for her.

  They drove back along the west side of the lake. This time, instead of passing the point Mac had noticed the last time, she turned and headed down the blacktop drive entering the woods there. The lake views could only be described as spectacular.

  With plenty of land around it for privacy, the house rambled on one floor, with a wide deck across the lake side. The view from there was fantastic enough to convince him to buy it even if the insides were a shambles, but the house was in nearly new condition. He poked through every nook and cranny before he walked out to the point where he stood at the water’s edge. He could see up and down the lake from this vantage point. He drew in a deep breath.

  He felt like he’d come home.

  His decision was the easiest one he’d made since coming to Lakehaven. “When can I move in, Ms. Houseman?”

  “I knew you’d like it. If you’ve seen enough, let’s go to the Lake Inn and have lunch. I’ll tell you all about what the owner’s son told me. And please, you must call me Sandi. No one’s that formal here in Lakehaven.”

  Mac nodded and followed her to her car. This house looked perfect. There would be plenty of good exercise for his bum shoulder by cutting the deadfall in the woods. When it was too cold or wet to work outside, he would enjoy installing wall cabinets in the den. Yeah, living in Lakehaven was turning out to be not half as bad as he once thought it would be.

  “I spoke to the owner’s son this morning and I feel we can do business.”

  Sandi beamed at the smile that spread across Mac’s face. She never stopped talking about the house all the way to the restaurant. Mac listened carefully this time because he wanted to learn all he could about the place. Sandi was certain the owners wouldn’t mind talking to him directly. Mac planned to call them the minute he got back to the office.

  All the time they talked in the car and at the Inn after they ordered lunch, Mac found himself planning to bring Carolyn out to the point to see the house.

  Funny, but it seemed important that she like it.

  “Well, thanks anyway.”

  Carolyn replaced the receiver in the cradle and flopped back in her desk chair. She’d just called nearly every one of the Merchants Association members for suggestions for programs for their meetings during the coming year. They were quick to criticize some past programs they didn’t like, but they couldn’t think of much they wanted beyond the Chief’s appearance next week. It was a good thing she had begun an idea list as soon as she was elected last month.

  The phone ringing so close made her jump. “Isn’t this the week you wanted to get together and bounce around program ideas, or have you got them all set already, Ms. Efficiency?” Susan, owner of the craft shop, asked.

  Leave it to Susan to come through. While they weren’t close personal friends, Carolyn had a good professional relationship with her. They had worked together well on Merchants Association committees before, and each had learned she could depend on the other. Neither held any petty jealousies of the other’s successes the way some businesswomen did.

  “You make a great committee of one, Susan. Your timing is perfect. I’ve spent the morning phoning my list. Just finished, in fact. When can we get together to compare notes?”

  “I’d love to do it real soon. The ‘getting ready for winter’ buying season is here. My customers want to have craft projects on hand during the long winter days. This may be the only week I have time to help you.”

  “This week is perfect,” Carolyn agreed. “How about using it as an excuse for lunch?”

  “Fantastic. I do miss going out to lunch now that I have to work through the noon hour so often. Why not do it today?” Susan asked brightly.

  “And treat ourselves to lunch overlooking the lake at the Inn?”

  Susan was all for it. She had to be back at her store by one, but that should be time enough, they agreed as they ended the call.

  Carolyn gathered her notes into a pile. One look at her watch sent her rushing to the front door to hang out the “Back at One” sign.

  She liked the fact she could be casual about her hours during the slack times. A week and a half after Halloween was definitely slack time in a costume shop. Carolyn believed worrying about slack times was still a lot better than working eight hours every day for someone else. Then she would have to worry about after-school care for Terri as well.

  Susan was already at the Inn when the waitress took Carolyn to their table. “I come here so seldom that I forget how beautiful the view of the lake is,” Carolyn said as she sat down.

  “Wouldn’t it be something to be able to look at that view from your living room each day?”

  “I’d love it, but it won’t happen in this lifetime,” Carolyn remarked with a laugh.

  They both ordered the fresh fruit salad, a delicious out of season splurge. The waitress left them each a hot cinnamon roll fresh from the oven. After enjoying this delicious trademark of the coffee shop, they turned to the business of program speakers. With efficiency and thoroughness, they reviewed and analyzed both their l
ists and then composed a list of their best suggestions for Carolyn to work from. By the time their salads were finished, the list looked quite promising.

  As they relaxed over a cup of herbal tea, Carolyn surveyed the now busy room. Her glance swept the lake view and the tables in the bay when the same face that had kept popping into her mind all morning came into the center of her field of vision. Not only that, but Mac was looking right at her as if he’d been waiting for her to look up.

  Their gazes locked. His smile made her arms feel so weak she almost dropped her teacup. It clattered as she set it back down in the saucer. Her heart sped up, but she could feel the blood draining from her cheeks. All the while, she couldn’t look away from him.

  “Carolyn, what is it?” Susan’s voice showed concern. Susan turned to see what was commanding her attention. “Oh, that’s Chief Macdonald, right? Isn’t he a hunk? Can you see who he’s with?” Susan leaned over in her seat to see him better. “Oh, isn’t that the realtor, um, Sandi something or other?” Susan turned back to Carolyn and added excitedly, “I wonder if they’re dating?”

  Carolyn had already been forced to admit that unwelcome possibility to herself, but she couldn’t say that to Susan. There was no reason why Mac shouldn’t be dating Sandi. No reason at all, she thought, feeling unaccountably sad.

  “I…I don’t know,” she offered weakly.

  Mac and Sandi rose to leave their table. Embarrassed at having stared at him, Carolyn wanted to crawl out of the restaurant without being seen. Seeing no way to accomplish the feat, she kept her eyes on her teacup.

  With a very visible jump, she responded to the warm hand that suddenly squeezed her shoulder. Her teacup forgotten, she looked up into his gray eyes and realized her vivid imagination hadn’t even come close to remembering their depth.

  “Carolyn. Nice to see you again so soon.”

  That smile of his. Her voice evaporated.

  Susan wasn’t bashful. “Chief Macdonald, isn’t it? I’m Susan Kline. I own Gifts and Crafts.”

  The warm hand left Carolyn’s shoulder and shook Susan’s hand.

  “Susan is my program committee of one,” Carolyn managed to say. Feeling better now her lungs were working again, she went on, “We’re planning the other speakers for the Merchants Association monthly meetings.” Carolyn hoped no one would notice she’d spoken with a voice that didn’t sound like her own.

  Sandi finished whatever she’d been saying to the waitress and walked up next to Mac. Everyone turned to her, but after only the briefest of nods to the seated women, she directed her comments only to Mac. “It was a lovely morning. Such fun having lunch with you. You’re sure you don’t want a ride back to the police station?” She didn’t wait for an answer other than the shake of his head from Mac. “I do hope I’ll hear from you real soon.”

  She was expecting hers to be the last word when Mac spoke in a deep voice that cut through her flourish like a hot spoon through whipped cream. “Thanks for showing me the house, and for lunch, but I don’t need a ride. I’ll enjoy getting myself back to work.” Her exit spoiled, Sandi nodded curtly and spun around, leaving quickly.

  It had not been a lunch date. Carolyn smiled and couldn’t deny feeling relieved, though she had no right to.

  The warm hand rested on her shoulder again. “I have some things I’d like to discuss with you, Carolyn.”

  “Ah, I have to be at the shop the rest of the afternoon, but–”

  He interrupted her again like yesterday, but she didn’t notice because she didn’t know what more to say. “Oh, that’s no problem. We can talk about it over dinner tonight. I’ll see you at seven.”

  Carolyn’s eyes widened and she smiled again. He’d just gone to such lengths to let them know the lunch with Sandi was strictly business. Now he was talking about their dinner date in front of Susan whose face, Carolyn noticed, reflected her envy and surprise. These were moments Carolyn savored, all the more precious to her because they were such a rarity in her small-town life.

  “And I promise it will be something nicer than pizza this time.”

  Was there no end to the surprises in this man? “No, it’s my turn,” she insisted suddenly. “Instead of going out, how would you like a home-cooked dinner?”

  His smile told her he would. “You’re sure?”

  She nodded. “But give me some extra time to get it together, say, seven-thirty?”

  “How about seven and I’ll help? Terri and I can set the table,” he suggested with a laugh. “And we’ll check out that other restaurant this weekend.” Carolyn smiled. “Nice to meet you,” he added to Susan and with a goodbye to them both, he left the restaurant.

  Susan erupted the second he was out of earshot. “Why didn’t you tell me? Aren’t you the sly one! He just walks right up and talks about your dinners together. And here I sit, wondering out loud who he dates, calling him a hunk, and you just let me go on and on–”

  “That’s okay. He is a hunk.” Carolyn joined in Susan’s laughter and it felt good, but it sharpened her realization that recently she’d felt weighed down by her responsibilities and felt old despite her age. Mac’s attention would do nothing to lift the burden of being alone, making her own way in the world, and providing for her daughter, but it made her feel…well…young and almost carefree again.

  Their bills paid, Carolyn thanked Susan for her help and they headed for their cars. Life felt better than it had in a very long time. Much better.

  Digging out her keys from her purse, Carolyn rounded her fender and headed for the driver’s door. Because she was looking down, the first thing she saw were his powerful legs encased in the uniform dark blue and posed in a comfortable wide stance. Her gaze rose quickly across the belt and over the white shirt, exposed by the hand inside the jacket on the hip, to the loosened tie. She had to swallow before looking up across his full lips curling in a smile that flashed all the way to his eyes. Their gazes locked.

  “Hi.” She didn’t sound like a mouse squeaking this time, thank goodness.

  “Hi, yourself.”

  No clue as to what he was doing beside her car. “Am I getting a parking ticket, or have you decided you can’t face my cooking?”

  He shook his head and tossed away the toothpick he’d been fiddling with. “No on both counts,” he assured her with a grin. He took her keys and unlocked the car door. He held it open for her, handing her the keys as she slid in. Before he shut the door, he asked, “Any chance you’d want to give me a ride back to work?”

  She looked at him for a long moment, thinking of all the clever things she could say about him declining a ride with Sandi. All she did though was smile and say, “Get in.”

  Carolyn was waiting for Mac to circle around to the other door and climb in when she heard the crunch of tires on the gravel in the parking lot behind them. A glance over her shoulder revealed a Lakehaven patrol car behind hers with Hines getting out from behind the wheel. “Looking for a ride back to work after your leisurely executive lunch, Chief Macdonald?” he said in a way that let Carolyn know he was kidding Mac.

  Mac remained standing by the open door to the passenger side of Carolyn’s car while Hines walked over to him. “Not anymore, thanks,” Mac replied.

  Surprising both of them, Hines dodged past Mac and slid into the front seat next to Carolyn. Blatantly, but teasingly, he looked her over, head to toe. “I’d say you made the right choice,” Hines told Mac without moving his gaze from Carolyn. “Mrs. Blake, maybe you remember me from Monday in your store. I’m sorry we had to meet that way. The name is Hines and I’m glad we got this chance to talk under more pleasant circumstances.” Hines extended his hand to her.

  “I don’t believe this,” Mac exclaimed, hitting his forehead with his palm in mock disbelief. “You’re hitting on her right in front of me!”

  Carolyn shook his hand and tried not to laugh. “Of course I remember, Officer Hines. Anything connected with that day is hard to forget. Call me Carolyn.”

  “
Sure. And you can call me Hines. Everyone does.”

  “No first name?”

  “Not one anyone will ever find out,” he responded. “I have nine brothers and sisters. Mama named all us kids after famous people, and I’m not fond of her selection at the time I was born. She was getting to the bottom of the barrel by then.”

  “Okay. Hines it is,” Carolyn agreed with a laugh she could no longer stifle.

  Mac stuck his head in the door. “If you two are done holding hands, I’d like Carolyn to drive me back to work now. Some of us do have to get back to work, you know.”

  Hines gave Carolyn’s hand another shake before he released it. “Duty calls.” With an exaggerated wink he was out of her car and heading for his own. “Be good, kids.” With that, Hines drove out of the parking lot grinning.

  Mac climbed in next to Carolyn and shut the door. He put his arm across the back of the seat. It had all been friendly jesting, but Carolyn began to feel an exciting swirl of warmth deep within her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun joking with men. And with two good-looking ones, no less.

  Mac picked up her hand from the seat between them. Without taking his eyes from her, he pulled off the glove and raised it to his lips. Then he replaced the glove and propped her hand on the steering wheel, then turned deliberately to fasten his seatbelt. When finished he turned back to a stunned Carolyn and asked, “Can we go?”

  A sound escaped from Carolyn that sounded very much like a giggle as she fastened her own seatbelt and proceeded to drive to the best of her ability to the police station. This would not be a good time to break a traffic law, she decided.

  “I saw the greatest house this morning.” Mac told her all about wanting to find a lake house he could use for vacations for years to come. “I really liked the one Sandi showed me today.” He proceeded to describe it to her.