by Jo Leigh
Where was Kate? He struggled to get to his feet, and just as he caught sight of her, still alive, Fleming was on him again.
T.J. smashed him once in the jaw, sending him reeling. There was his Magnum next to a can of yams. He dove for it, and got a kick in the kidneys for his trouble.
“T.J.!”
He heard Kate’s voice, but he couldn’t look at her now. The gun was still too far for him to grab. He went for it just as Fleming lifted his own weapon and aimed.
Kate jerked sideways, away from the thrusting knife. Danny grunted in surprise and turned toward her again. She backed away, no longer held in place by the counter.
He lurched at her, and somehow she grabbed his wrist, stopping the blade inches from her chest.
“Calhoun! Damn it, shoot her!” Danny screamed. “Calhoun!”
Kate struggled as she’d never struggled before. Danny was strong, too strong. She felt the sharp tip of the knife on her chest, then the sting as it cut into her flesh.
She heard a shot and she froze, certain she’d feel the bullet enter her body. Instead, a shower of breaking glass hit her like a wave.
T.J. dove for his weapon. He heard the gunshot and felt the bullet hit his leg. Only it didn’t feel like a bullet. More like a sledgehammer.
His hand found his Magnum and he turned to search for his target. Another shot rang out, but that was behind him. Fleming aimed his weapon again. This time he couldn’t miss. T.J. pulled the trigger, the recoil sending a shock wave of pain down his right shoulder. Fleming jerked backward, the impact of the bullet toppling him like a felled tree. He went down hard.
There was no time to celebrate. T.J. glanced at his leg and saw that Fleming’s bullet hadn’t hit him. The sledgehammer had actually been a can of motor oil, and the wet pool on the ground wasn’t his blood at all. It still hurt like hell to stand.
The first thing he saw was that Kate was alive. But not for long. In the seconds it took him to get to her, he registered the police at the front door. The blue flack jackets, the SWAT team helmets. Then he was on Danny, his arm around the kid’s throat, jerking him backward.
Danny gasped and brought the knife straight back. It clipped T.J. on the ear. He let go, and Danny turned on him like a pit bull. He jabbed the knife again, and T.J. looked at the weapon. The jolt of recognition nearly got him killed. He swung to his right, lifted his gun and aimed.
Only Kate got there first. She spun in a perfect circle, lifting that long leg of hers until it caught Danny smack in the head. T.J. heard the concussion and watched as the bastard teetered sideways and then down.
The dagger twirled on the floor, catching a glint from the overhead light.
“Freeze!”
T.J. looked around. They were surrounded. He didn’t see the other gang members. They’d probably taken off when they heard the SWAT team arrive.
“Drop it.” The cops moved in closer.
T.J. let his gun go. It clattered on the ground right next to Danny Arcola’s prone body.
“I’m a police officer,” T.J. said. “My ID is in my wallet.”
It took forever for the cop to frisk him, to find his wallet and open it up. The whole time, all T.J. could do was stare at Kate. She was alive. She was all right.
The moment he was free, he rushed to her side. He wrapped her in his arms and held her tighter than he’d ever held anyone before. Then he kissed her, broke away to make sure she was okay and when he saw her smile, he kissed her again.
“Thank God,” he said, hugging her once more. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I thought he’d killed you,” she said breathlessly.
After another kiss, he looked at her again. “Kate, I—”
“Uh, you mind giving us a hand here?”
T.J. looked at the cop behind Kate. He wanted to tell him to go to hell, but that didn’t seem possible. The place was a madhouse and he had work to do.
He kissed her one more time and leaned close to her ear. “We’ll continue this later, okay?” he whispered.
When he pulled back to look at her, he felt sure the glimmer of tears in her eyes were from relief, not pain. When she nodded, he touched her cheek with his hand, then he got down to business.
An hour later, Kate had calmed down somewhat, but her hands were trembling and they wouldn’t stop. Shock, she thought. A delayed reaction. It would pass.
After the medics had patched them up, T.J. and she had both been swamped with questions. She tried to answer truthfully, but her brain was out of sync and she knew her responses were vague and disjointed. All she wanted was to go back to the center, to safety and, of course, T.J.
The way he’d held her when it was all over still made her dizzy. He’d been so glad. Almost as glad as she’d been to hold him.
She picked her way over some cans of chili, moving toward the front door. She didn’t want to be in here any longer. She wanted to breathe in the wonderful ocean air and feel the sunlight on her face.
Rounding the aisle, she saw the great splash of darkened blood on the floor and she turned quickly and headed in the other direction. Something tripped her and when she bent down to pick it up, she saw it was a box of condoms.
She stood up so fast she knocked over a whole pile of paper towel rolls. T.J. hadn’t used a condom. Was it only this morning? It felt like a week ago, a month ago. But no. It had happened today and neither one of them had had any protection.
Her hand went to her stomach. Was it possible? Could she? The idea wasn’t at all unpleasant. As a matter of fact, it was pretty damn wonderful.
She turned, scanning the small store to find T.J. He was standing by the storeroom, talking with a plainclothes detective. The two of them laughed about something and she got her second shock in as many minutes.
He’d changed. He’d become the T.J. of his other life. It clearly wasn’t the way he looked, but something about him had transformed. The way he held himself, or the shoulder holster, or just the way he seemed so relaxed in the midst of all this horror.
She rubbed her stomach again, the decision forming without hesitation. She wouldn’t bring up the condom. In all likelihood she wasn’t pregnant and nothing would come of it. If it turned out she was, she would tell him then.
She had to get out. Moments ago that had been a nice idea, now it was imperative. If she looked at T.J. one more time she would come unglued.
There was a crowd outside. The police held them back behind yellow wooden barricades. Channel 13 had a truck just behind the phone booth and she caught a glimpse of a man with a camera.
“Kate!”
Turning at the sound of her name, she searched until she found Molly. Kate almost wept to see her wonderful face. Naturally Molly didn’t let anything as quaint as a police barricade stop her and in two seconds she was hugging Kate with a vengeance.
When Kate opened her eyes, she saw Bobby had come through, too. She let go of her assistant and switched her attention to him, giving him a fierce hug of his own.
“What happened?” Molly asked. “We got this phone call. Is T.J. okay?”
Kate nodded. “Yes, he’s fine. He’s inside with the police. Bobby, you’re off the hook, kiddo. It was Danny and his gang who were setting the fires. We’ve got all the proof we need.”
Molly grunted. “I assume you knocked his block off.”
“Actually, I did. He’s on his way to the hospital. He’ll live to stand trial, don’t worry about that.”
“I wasn’t,” Molly said. “I just wish I coulda gotten a few licks in, too.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. T.J. and I managed to kick some butt. Fleming, I don’t remember if you know him, he’s a cop. He was in cahoots with the gang. T.J. took care of him. I was busy at the time with Danny. I did a pretty good job of that, if I do say so myself.”
“Damn straight.”
She spun around at the sound of his voice. T.J. stood behind her. His smile was warm, caring, but there was a distance there she didn’t want to see.
>
T.J. glanced at his brother. “Did she tell you?”
He nodded. “I told you I didn’t do anything.”
“I know, kid. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you sooner.”
Bobby frowned, but it wasn’t very convincing. “It’s okay.” Then he met T.J.’s eye. “I didn’t know about Gus. I swear I didn’t.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”
“I guess I see why you left.”
T.J. smiled sadly. He reached over and gave his brother a quick hug. “What do you say I take you over to see Mom?”
“Now?”
“Don’t you think she would like to know you’ve been acquitted?”
Bobby nodded. “Can Molly come?”
T.J. looked at Kate.
“Sure,” she said. “You guys go on. I need to get back to the center.” She smiled as best she could. “My car’s over there. I’ll see you in a while.”
“Kate—” T.J. held out his hand.
She didn’t take it. “I’ll see you later.” She turned then and fought the urge to run.
The last of the kids went home at seven. It felt to Kate as if this were the longest day in the world. Too much had happened. She needed to sleep, to shut off her brain for as long as possible.
Molly had called over an hour ago to tell her they would be home soon. She said they’d worked a lot of things out, that Bobby and T.J. were actually talking. Wasn’t that great?
Kate had done her best to sound enthusiastic, but it was hard. Hard, because now T.J. had finished what he’d set out to do. He could leave with a clear conscience. He’d made up with his mother, put Gus behind bars on a weapons charge, taken care of Bobby. It was all a nice, neat little package. Except, of course, for her.
The cleanup took a long time. She guessed the kids figured if she wasn’t there it was all right to toss their empty soda cans on the floor and to leave food wrappers on the tables. Oh, hell, what did it matter? At least she didn’t find any condoms this time.
After the last of it was put into the trash, she went to the back bookshelves and picked up some stray novels. It was important not to think right now. Just look at the name of the book and find its rightful place. But the words were blurry. She wiped at her eyes and her hands came away wet. Damn it. She didn’t want to cry.
It wasn’t the end of the world, for goodness’ sake. She still had the center and her work. She’d faced some real demons in the past few weeks and although she didn’t feel it, she knew she was stronger. In time the pain would fade and she would have memories to treasure. The laughter, the runs on the beach, the sweet hours in his bed. Even though it hurt like hell, she wasn’t sorry. For a while there, she’d had it all.
She put the books on the closest shelf and started walking to the light switch. In the quiet of the empty room, she heard the sound of the jukebox switching on. The music stopped her right beside the pool table. It was Elvis.
She turned slowly. T.J. stood by the old machine. He wasn’t wearing his jacket or his holster anymore. Just his worn jeans and a T-shirt. He headed her way.
Elvis asked if she was lonesome tonight and then the lights, in a burst of magic, dimmed to a low, soft glow. T.J. held out his arms.
Then he was with her, holding her tight, kissing away the remnants of her tears. And the only thing she heard was his voice as he said, “I love you, Wonder Woman. Will you marry me?”
The dance began.
“What about your job?”
“You know that detective at the store? He told me they’re looking for a new man right here in Harbor Bay. Said I just might fill the bill.”
She held him tighter as he spun her around in a lazy circle. “What about—?”
“Shh,” he said, touching her lips with his finger. “All I can tell you is that I was a fool. A big old king-sized fool. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, darlin’. And I want a lifetime to be the best thing that’ll ever happen to you.”
She nodded. “Well, seeing as how I’m crazy in love with you, that’s okay by me, Captain.”
He reached down and touched her stomach. “Know what I remembered?”
She nodded again.
“Wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants?” he asked, his voice filled with sweet expectation.
She smiled. “It’s an awful long shot.”
“Then we’ll have to better the odds. Say every night for...forever?”
She laid her head on his shoulder.
Elvis kept on singing.
And the dance went on.
Epilogue
Six months later...
“I am not going to name my child Spike,” Kate said. “Or Igor.”
Molly shook her head and sighed. “You have no adventure in your bones, Kate.” She turned at the sound of shoes in the hallway. “Captain?”
T.J. rounded the corner. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Will you kindly tell your wife that an unusual name builds character? It’s what sets people apart from the crowd. It’s what makes people sit up and take notice.”
He stopped and looked at Kate’s softly rounded belly. “Hmm... Maybe she’s right. What do you think of Captain Marvel, Junior?”
“That’s the ticket.” Molly got up from the chair she’d been straddling. “Listen to him, Kate. For an old guy, he’s got some pretty good ideas.”
“Don’t you have a movie to go to?” Kate asked, although she wasn’t looking at her assistant any more. T.J. had her full attention. His smile held all the satisfaction she felt. How had she gotten so lucky?
“No movie tonight,” Molly said. “Bobby has to study.”
“And you don’t?” Kate got up and walked over to T.J. “You’ve got mid-terms, don’t you?”
“You just want to get rid of me so you two can grope each other.”
“The girl is astute,” T.J. said, pulling Kate close. “You’ve got to give her that.”
“Comedians,” she said. “I’m living with a whole troupe of them.”
“Actually,” T.J. said as he rubbed the small of her back, “I promised to help Bobby tonight. Algebra. You didn’t know I was something of a mathematical genius, did you?”
“Genius?”
Kate turned at Bobby’s voice. He stood in the doorway, his mouth tight and his posture rigid. But she wasn’t worried. It was all for show.
“He’s got the teacher’s edition of the textbook. The one with the answers already in it.”
“You wound me to my very soul,” T.J. said. “As if I would have to look at the answers.”
“Uh-huh. So are we gonna do this, or are you gonna play with Kate all night?”
T.J.’s look told her that he’d like to do exactly that. She was in full agreement, but he’d promised. She kissed him once briefly, and when he tried to make it linger, she stepped back. “Go on. I hear isosceles triangles begging for attention.”
T.J.narrowed his eyes. “I hate school,” he whispered. Then he walked to his brother, put his hands on his shoulders and turned the kid around. “If we’re not back in two hours, call the cops,” T.J. said, as he disappeared down the hall.
Kate took in a deep breath and rubbed her stomach, hoping her little boy would make a move. Nothing pleased her more than the friendship that had blossomed between T.J. and Bobby. The darkness had left both of them, and although the relationship wasn’t perfect, it was solid and good and healthy.
She’d been delighted at Bobby’s decision to stay on here, even after school started. Molly, too. This was her family. Unorthodox, yes, but all hers. The baby was going to be surrounded by love. By laughter. What more could she ask for?
“Hey, beautiful.”
She turned to the door once more. As always, T.J.’s smile made her melt.
“About that groping thing. Meet me by the jukebox at ten, okay?”
“I’d be delighted.”
He nodded, and she went to tackle the dirty dishes in the sink. Who could have guessed she’d keep falling in love with
him? That marriage would suit them both so well?”
“Hey.”
She jumped at T.J.’s voice so close, then relaxed as his body pressed against her back.
“I got you a present today.”
He kissed her neck, so her question turned into a sigh. She closed her eyes, and felt him reach around her.
“There it its.”
She opened her eyes. And laughed.
There, on the counter, next to the fruit bowl, was a tiny, silly, impossibly yellow and pink plastic pony.
His hand went to her stomach, to their child. “Who says dreams don’t come true?”
ISBN : 978-1-4592-7962-9
EVERYDAY HERO
Copyright © 1996 by Jolie Kramer
Al rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition publishes by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
“I told you. This is not your problem,” T.J. said.
Letter to Reader
Books by Jo Leigh
