by Heather Gray
Pleasure curled its way through Lily’s middle. A quick glance around told her a couple of tree stumps were arranged for sitting, so she tucked her dress around her legs and settled onto one. Caleb surveyed the remaining ones before choosing his seat more than ten feet away from her. She smiled. He took his no-kissing promise seriously.
“I’m old-fashioned.” He offered no apology. “When God makes something clear to me, I go for it. No hemming and hawing, no hesitating. Just an all-out leap of faith in the direction He’s given me.”
Anticipation built inside Lily until her fingers and toes tingled with it. He was going somewhere with this, and while tempted to rush him along, she decided to stay silent and savor every moment of their time in the trees.
“The hooking up and hanging out thing isn’t really my way. I’m more of a let’s-date or be-my-girlfriend guy. What do you say?”
Not many people would describe Lily as shy, but looking at Caleb sitting there in his jeans, boots, button-up shirt, and cowboy hat, she couldn’t help but hesitate. You’ve been saying it to me since the first moment I saw concern in his eyes about his mom’s condition, Lord. I know in my heart You’re telling me yes, but a part of me is scared. This is going fast.
“I want to say yes, but can we talk about a couple things first?”
“Of course.” He nodded his agreement, but his slate grey eyes hid his thoughts.
Lily chose her words carefully. “Different people have different expectations when it comes to dating. We share chemistry, maybe too much of it.” How to say it? She’d never been this tempted with a man before, so this was new territory for her. Calling it awkward was like calling a military cargo plane a crop-duster. “I, uh, I wonder what your expectations are for, uh, for…”
Caleb’s eyes rounded and his skin flushed hot red — whether from embarrassment or desire, Lily couldn’t tell. He parted his lips as though to say something, then swallowed instead. He at last found his voice, and it brooked no room for argument. “I was raised in the Bible belt by God-fearing parents who drummed right and wrong into my head from the time I was old enough to breathe.” He winked at her. “So, basically forever. Some things in this world are sacred to marriage, and I don’t aim to mess with God’s plan for that.”
Lily’s thoughts jumbled together in her mind until she couldn’t sort them out. She should be relieved. She was, too, but… “Good.” Her mouth was dry, and she couldn’t think of any of the other dozen things she’d wanted to ask him.
Thankfully, he took the conversational baton and carried it. “Sometimes when…”
The deafening sound of far too many sirens roaring past his mom’s house drowned out his words. Caleb transformed into law enforcement mode. The casual cowboy disappeared. Intelligence and curiosity snapped in his eyes. He tugged on her hand and hurried her through the trees and back toward the house. The luncheon party had broken up somewhat. Most of the guests had left. Those who remained were gathered on the side of the house, peering in the direction of the wailing sirens.
Caleb made sure his mom and her friends were all safe, then he brushed his lips against Lily’s cheek and ran toward the tangle of police cars, fire trucks, and an ambulance three doors down on the opposite side of the street. With most of the homes sitting on more than an acre of property, it wasn’t a quick sprint.
As he approached the melee, Caleb flashed his badge to an officer. “I live on this street and heard the commotion. What’s going on?”
Behind the officer, firefighters finished unrolling hoses as orders were shouted out. To a civilian it would look like chaos. He understood, though. They were methodical in their approach in everything from how they unrolled the hoses to how they approached the house. No flames were visible from the front, but smoke rose from the back of the property and filled the air with an acrid stench.
The officer looked him up and down before scowling. With the jerk of his arm, he pointed Caleb in the general direction of a weathered man in a suit who stood out of the way of the fire department personnel while giving orders to a young group of officers to secure the scene and silence the sirens.
Caleb was at the detective’s side in seconds. He again showed his badge. “I live across the way.” With a wave, he indicated his mom’s house and the gathering crowd of mature gawkers in the distance. People were coming out of other homes, too, no doubt drawn by the commotion and their own curiosity. “Can I be of help?”
“Graham! What are you doing here?”
He spun toward the voice. His captain stalked toward him, enough fire in her eyes that he could imagine it tripping a smoke detector.
“Captain. I could ask you the same thing.” Had he just gotten a break in his case?
“I live here. Why are you on my property?”
Yeah. He really needed to get out and meet the neighbors.
The detective hooked a thumb. “Says he lives a couple houses down.”
Captain Browning glanced from the collection of white-haired folks at his mom’s house and back to him. “Mr. Graham was your dad?”
Caleb nodded.
The frown didn’t leave her face, but she said, “I never made the connection. I knew Mrs. Graham’s son had moved in…” Some of the fire left her eyes. “I’m sorry for your loss. Your dad was a kind man and a good neighbor.”
“Thank you.” He would examine this softer side of his captain later. “Now tell me what happened here.”
The captain spit in the dirt. “Arson. Someone set my home on fire.”
“Um.” No way had the fire investigator been able to determine cause yet.
She fisted her shaking hands at her sides. “Don’t you dare patronize me. I was home. I know what I saw and heard.”
Never rile an already angry woman. “Any suspects?”
The fire was already out thanks to the efficiency of the firefighters. Property damage appeared to be localized to one outer wall of the garage where the siding was charred and buckled, a small portion even melted. Thankful for the breeze that carried away most of the unnatural chemical smell of burnt vinyl, Caleb studied the burn pattern. Even from this distance and with his untrained eye, he could distinguish the splash pattern of an accelerant. It would be interesting to see what the arson investigator concluded, but for the moment, Caleb was just thankful he hadn’t openly questioned her claim of arson.
Captain Browning stared at her house, a myriad of emotions chasing each other across her face. When she turned back to Caleb, her reaction was under lockdown. Her eyes reflected nothing but cold fury. “You and Flannigan. You because proximity gives you opportunity, and Flannigan because he hates me and I’m rattling his cage.”
“Flannigan is…?” Being on the list himself wasn’t a surprise. The other name was new to him, though, and in her current mood, he didn’t dare ask if she had any evidence to back up the claim.
“He’ll be running the panel you’re testifying before about the maintenance malfeasance out on our stretch of Lee Highway. Virginia’s one and only transportation chief.”
No matter how Caleb twisted himself around, he couldn’t quite reach that itch. There had to be more. “People don’t start fires over a couple of random potholes. What else does Flannigan have against you?”
The detective intervened. “You’re on the suspect list. That means you’re out of the investigation. Head on home.”
Amazed he’d been allowed to stay this long, Caleb studied the captain. “I’m not on duty again till Saturday night. Do I report, or am I suspended pending the outcome of this investigation?”
The detective started to answer for her, but Captain Browning cut him off. “I’m the only one who controls which troopers work in my station.” She dipped her chin in Caleb’s direction. “If they haven’t arrested you, I expect you to show up for your next shift.” Each word etched into the air with razor blade precision, she added, “Be late, and I’ll string you up myself.”
He gave her a sharp nod then veered toward home, but
a minivan arrived on the scene and three teens tumbled out. The kids, smelling of sunshine and sweat, yelled for their mom as they rushed past. Of all the words he might have used to describe his captain, motherly wasn’t one of them. The second she saw the kids, though, her entire posture changed. She opened her arms wide and welcomed them as they all crowded close, hugging her and, Caleb suspected, making sure she was okay.
“She’s a good mom.”
Caleb peered at the man who had also exited the van. Captain’s husband? Brother? Hmm.
“You’re Mr. Graham’s boy, aren’t you? There’s a resemblance.”
“Yeah. I’m also a suspect in the fire, just so you know.”
The man held out his hand. “Roger Flannigan. Pleased to meet you.”
He stared from the hand to the man’s face. This wasn’t a villain with hate dripping from his pores.
Flannigan continued, either ignoring or not noticing Caleb’s perusal. “I pulled the kids out of soccer practice as soon as Margaret texted me about the fire, but I wasn’t supposed to bring them home till it was under control.” He nodded toward the side of the garage. “Looks like it could have been a lot worse.”
Home? Nothing added up.
Captain Browning hurried over. “Roger, this is Caleb Graham. He works out of my station.”
Flannigan’s eyes widened. “Ah. You’re going to be testifying about the potholes.” He angled his head back to the captain’s house. “Margaret talked about the Graham in her station, but I never connected him to the couple down the road. It’s the funny thing about living in this neighborhood. We’re far enough apart from each other that it feels like the country, but we all keep our distrusting city ways and don’t bother meeting each other.”
Had Caleb stepped through the looking glass? Eyeing the captain, he asked, “Flannigan?”
The man in question slapped him on the shoulder. “Ah, I should have mentioned I’m the good one.”
Implying there was more than one…
Flannigan continued, “I’ll let Margaret explain, but remember, sometimes family is a messy thing.” Then he pulled the captain close, gave her a kiss on the temple, and whispered hoarsely, “You took years off my life. Let’s not do this again.” Before she could respond, he moved off toward the teenagers attempting to talk one of the firemen into letting them into the house. His gait was easy, but his hands shook as he tucked them into his pockets. At least he wasn’t as unflappable as he seemed.
The captain cleared her throat. “I dated Ed Flannigan back in college but things didn’t work out. Years later, I ended up marrying his brother. Roger… He’s a good man. We’ve been together twenty years, married for seventeen of them, and Ed has hated me for every single one of them. He didn’t take kindly to the rejection. He’s tried interfering with my career at every opportunity. When I married Roger, though, Ed’s anger turned into an all-out vendetta.”
“That explains how your husband and the transportation chief have the same last name. What about you, though?” Caleb prodded, even if it was only to see how she’d respond. “You kept your maiden name because…?”
Her scowl would have made a puppy wet itself. “You’re right. It’s none of your concern, but since you managed to show up in the middle of my family drama, I’ll tell you. My career was important to me. It was hard enough moving up through the ranks as a woman. A name change seemed like a bad idea at the time. And I’d hoped keeping my maiden name would politically distance me from Ed. Turns out I needed more than political distance. He and Roger haven’t spoken in more than a decade. The last time Roger tried to talk sense into Ed, things got ugly. Right or wrong, I made Roger promise me he’d stay away after that.”
Caleb pushed for more. “And you think your brother-in-law started the fire?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to think so. It’s over the top, even for him. It’s…” Captain Browning turned away from him and stared at her kids and husband. When she spoke again, her voice was tight. “There’s no reason to suspect him except that I’m angry this happened, and I want someone to blame. If someone doesn’t like me, fine. They should be civilized about it and attack me in the media or go after my job. But don’t set a single foot near my family. Whoever did this is going to pay dearly for their mistake.”
Caleb tucked his hands into his pockets, glad the captain was acting more like herself. “Are you going to let the fire department handle the investigation?”
“It’s out of my hands, but don’t think I won’t be sitting on top of the arson investigator until he figures it out.”
“All right, then.”
“I think you’re one of the good ones, Graham. If you prove me wrong, you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it. Understood?”
Caleb tipped his hat to her. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Captain.”
As he walked back toward his mom’s house, Caleb mulled over what he’d learned. The transportation chief wouldn’t go after his own sister-in-law in such a public manner… would he? It didn’t settle well in his gut that Ma was so close to what could be a dangerous situation. He needed to re-evaluate his opinion of the captain, too. Hard-as-nails no longer seemed to fit, not when he’d witnessed the affection between her and her children and husband.
Hm. A woman who refused a name change for the sake of her career didn’t seem like she’d be the doting mother type. His captain was a study in incongruity.
His long legs ate up the pavement, and he was bombarded with questions before he even made it back to Ma’s lawn.
“Was there a murder?”
“Was it arson?”
“Was there a suicide?”
“Is it a serial killer?”
Caleb held up his hands to quiet his mom’s friends. “I think y’all read too much. There was a small fire, but it’s contained now. Nobody was hurt.”
“Was it arson?” Bernice wouldn’t let that particular question go.
“I don’t know much about fires. An arson investigator will be handling things, and he’ll be the one to determine the cause.”
“Gertrude is wondering why so many police responded if it’s such a small fire.” Bernice, of course, did the actual asking.
Ma fielded the question. “The wife works in law enforcement. County police, I think. Nice family, though. Good kids.”
County police… That explained why Ma never mentioned that his captain lived down the street.
Hoping to cut off any other questions, or at least get out of having to answer them, Caleb grasped Lily’s hand and tugged her behind him as he maneuvered around to the back of the house again. “Want to go back to the stream?”
She shook her head, and the breeze caressed her hair in a way that made him want to tangle his fingers in it. “I think the tranquility’s broken for today.”
“I’m not ready to let you go back home yet. Let’s go out. Park, movie, zoo, roller rink — you name it. I’m game.”
Lily glanced down at her dress. “I’m not wearing my roller derby gear, sorry.”
Caleb pulled on her hand until she closed the distance between them. Then he let it go and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “What do you say I follow you home, we ditch your car, and we go somewhere? Anywhere. We can chase taco trucks or sunsets. I don’t care. I just want to be with you.”
His heart, previously thrumming at a steady rate, revved up as Lily reached around his middle and snuggled into his embrace.
He’d had a simple strategy: hold her too close to kiss. Fool! The full length of her body pressed into close contact with his was… He kept his hands still and arms relaxed, but every fiber in his being argued against his forced nonchalance.
Lily pulled out of the hug. Caleb peeked at her, hoping he’d been able to mask his reaction enough not to scare her off. The quiet in her eyes told him he’d succeeded.
“Sure. Let me go say bye to your mom, then you can follow me home.”
She walked away and he made himself rela
x against the wall, tilting his head back till it made contact. With his eyes closed, he decided to hum a good old-fashioned hymn. That would do the trick more effectively than a cold shower. Besides, what would he say if his mom asked why his hair was wet? In its current muddled state, though, the only tune he could grab onto was a children’s song.
The words ran through his head as he hummed. Jesus loves me, this I know…
“We’re all set. Let’s go!”
His eyes snapped open. The sun was sinking into the horizon, and the blaze fell right behind Lily, turning her hair into a golden halo. Life didn’t get any better than that.
Caleb wandered around while she went into her bedroom to change.
Her apartment suited her.
The walls were dotted with frames that showcased family and even some pictures of her with patients. The photos were interspersed with an eclectic display of art, but the place still maintained a relaxed and uncluttered air. The living room opened across a bar into the kitchen, which displayed towels, potholders, and other assorted culinary paraphernalia in bright hues of pink, green, yellow, orange, and blue.
When she came back out, he followed her lithe movements across the open space of her apartment. “So, uh, what’s your favorite color?”
She shrugged. “I don’t have one.”
“No favorite color?”
Lily shook her head. “Why do you ask?”
“Your kitchen has its fair share of variety.”
Her eyes lit up. “My living room is my relaxing room. Calm colors, soothing décor. My kitchen is my wild and crazy room. Bright colors make me happy, and I like to bake, so I transformed that room into a rainbow. I love spending time in there.”
If her living room was neutral and her kitchen was bright… What color was her bedroom? Caleb shook his head to rid himself of the question.
“I listened to the radio on the drive over. They talked about a meteor shower tonight, but we won’t be able to watch it from the city.” Her voice was hopeful.
