The Guarded Widow

by K M Gaffney

  “I had wondered.” Laughing, she glanced at Michael. “I’ll have to give Maddy a call and let her know to call off the dogs.”

  They whipped into the first available space in the school parking lot and Michael rocketed out of the car while his mother was still engaging the emergency brake.

  “Come on, Mom,” he called, impatiently. “The quicker I’m signed up, the sooner I can go hang out and practice with the guys.”

  So they hurried up the stairs into the middle school and rushed down the hallway to the registration area located outside the gym. He took off with his friends to practice while his mother completed the registration forms and paid the necessary fees.

  Within twenty minutes, Olivia was ready to leave and went to find Michael in the gym. She stopped to watch him as he dribbled down court and attempted to make a basket. When the ball bounced off the rim, he dramatically bent over at the waist and groaned in despair. Raising her voice over the din of sneakers pounding up and down the basketball court, she called to him. “I’m ready to go Michael!”

  “Mom, I need to practice. I just missed my second basket. Can I stay, please?” Michael begged.

  He was standing half bent over with his hands on his hips, panting heavily. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes sparkled as he gave her his mischievous grin.

  “I bet I can get a ride home with Jordan Masters’ Dad.”

  Jordan skidded to a stop in front of her.

  “Oh yeah! Mrs. Jones, let me just ask my Pop.”

  Instead of crossing the gym to go talk to his father, Jordan whipped around and bellowed across, loudly.

  “Pop, can we take Michael Jones home tonight?”

  After giving his son the thumbs up sign, Jeff Masters scanned the crowded basketball court in search of Olivia. Once he spied her, he nodded his head in acknowledgment while continuing his previous conversation, his eyes never leaving her person.

  Olivia gave her son the, I know when I’ve been railroaded look.

  “Alright, I’ll see you when you get home tonight.”

  “Thanks Mom.”

  “I guess I need to go thank Jordan’s dad before I leave,” she muttered aloud, even though Michael had already run off to rejoin his friends.

  Reluctantly, she crossed the gym, being careful to not collide with clambering boys as they scurried after the ball. Relieved to have navigated the sea of players without any mishaps, she found it rather unsettling, to say the least, how Jeff Masters promptly ended his conversation with another Dad, in order to give her his undivided attention.

  “Thank you Jeff,” Olivia said, forcing herself to smile at him. “Not a problem,” Jeff crooned with an admiring sweep of his eyes. Then a slow cocky grin spread across his face. “So are you interested in taking me up on my offer of an unforgettable date yet?”

  She groaned inwardly.

  “Jeff, I appreciate your interest, I really do. But as you already know, I do not intend to go out with anyone right now or in the near future. I’m really just interested in raising my boys,” she told him with a kind, apologetic smile.

  “Well, I guess I just figure if I keep asking you, then one day you’ll eventually say yes. You’re as pretty now as you were in high school,” he drawled as he kept on grinning at her. Then he decided to offer her reassurance. “Don’t worry, Olivia. Even though you shot me down again, I’ll still give Michael a lift tonight.”

  “Thank you for bringing him home and thank you for the boost of confidence. You’ve always been quite a charmer, Jeff Masters,” she told him, forcing a smile.

  After deliberately making eye contact with Michael one last time, she walked out of the gym to head home.

  As Olivia slid behind the wheel she sighed. I finally have some peace and quiet. I have some time to remember. Turning the key in the ignition, she listened to the engine roar to life. I’ll need to give Maddy a call tomorrow and thank her giving the kids a heads up, she decided as she merged into the evening traffic.

  Then she flipped on the radio to her favorite station and settled in, planning to enjoy her solitary trip home. As she drove through town, her thoughts began wandering toward Tom. She affectionately recalled their first year of marriage, restoring the house, moving in, and the joy of finding out they were expecting their first child. She mentally relived the day they’d brought Tommy home from the hospital. Remembering with vivid detail how her home had looked, the feel of her child in her arms and the sense of contentment in their marriage during that time in their lives. Within another year Michael had arrived, and then a short twenty four months later they’d experienced the shock of learning she was pregnant again, with twins.

  “We were very fortunate to have those years together,” she murmured as tears began to fall.

  Deeply engrossed within her memories, she didn’t realize the traffic light, just a few hundred feet ahead, had turned yellow. Until, it too late. Instinctively increasing her speed, Olivia glanced up through the windshield as she raced under a disputable yellow light. That was certainly a close call, she thought, lifting her eyes to her rearview mirror to check behind her. The radio had now become a distraction, so she reached over and turned it off. When she lifted her eyes to glance back into the rearview mirror, she noticed a black sedan speeding up behind her.

  Seconds later, flashing lights and a shrill siren startled her.

  “Apparently, it wasn’t a yellow light after all,” she murmured in disgust.

  Maneuvering her vehicle onto the shoulder of the road, she took a quick glimpse at her reflection in the lighted visor mirror and grimaced at the sight. Dark streaks of mascara left meandering gray trails down the sides of her face, making her look eerily similar to Alice Cooper. Not wanting to scare the cop, she vigorously rubbed her hands across her cheeks, wiping them off. As she finished, a dark figure approached the SUV so she lowered the driver side window

  “Good evening Ma’am, are you aware of why I pulled you over?” the officer asked while making a quick perusal of the vehicle.

  “Yes, it seems I wasn’t paying attention and I must’ve run a red light,” Olivia reluctantly replied with a curious glance up at the man who continued to speak to her.

  “I’m Officer Rafferty and I’ll need to see your license, registration and proof of insurance, please.”

  For her, recognition was immediate.

  Isn’t it just my luck? What are the odds that he same man who’d delivered the worst news of my life manages to pull me over for running a red light as I indulged in a crying jag, on my twelfth wedding anniversary?

  “I’ll need to see your license, registration and proof of insurance, Ma’am,” Officer Rafferty repeated with impatience sounding in his voice.

  She slid the license out of her wallet and handed it to him. The rest of her information was stored in the glove compartment and since she’d heard horror stories of people accidentally being shot if a cop thought they were getting out a gun, she proclaimed her intentions in a loud voice. “I’m going to get my registration and insurance card out of my glove compartment. Is that ok?”

  “Yes Ma’am, that’s fine,” he answered dryly as he watched her stretch across her car. Rummaging through an overflowing glove box, she retrieved a bulky yellow envelope. Then she handed him the registration and insurance card through the open window, tilting her face up to study him.

  Wow, he’s really tall. He must be at least six feet five inches. Slowly, her eyes traveled the entire length of him. Hmm, he really fills out his uniform quite well. Her detailed assessment of him was completed by gazing into a striking pair of intense blue eyes. For one startling instant, all she could see was his eyes, as they seemed to captivate her, drawing her in. Distracted by the intensity of his gaze, she purposely averted her own, but not before allowing one more self gratifying moment to look at his face as a whole. She evaluated his straight nose, the full stern mouth and his strong square jaw. He’s a very good looking man, Olivia surmised. And those eyes, she thought again. Why c
an’t I remember ever noticing his eyes before?

  Suddenly feeling embarrassed by her immediate reaction to eye up a police officer, Olivia deliberately stared straight ahead through the windshield. This is the man who supplied me with the information about my husband’s death, she firmly reminded herself. Not only that, but how cliché was it for a woman to drool over a man in uniform?

  Officer Rafferty, not missing her long scrutinizing assessment of his person, glanced down at the driver’s license he held in his hand.

  “I’m going to run these. Just wait here,” he stated, his tone commanding.

  Upon returning to the unmarked police car, he climbed in and started entering her data into his laptop.

  Mrs. Olivia Jones, he’d remembered her immediately, as soon as he saw her face turn toward him as she’d glanced up through the open window.

  After sliding her driver’s license through the scanner, his long fingers moved rapidly over the keyboard as he typed in the registration information.

  How long ago was that?

  He could still recall sitting in her warmly lit kitchen, during one of the worst snowstorms of the last decade, astonished, by her tremendous display of self control. To be told her husband was dead and yet complete caring for her children before satisfying her own desperate need for answers, was truly impressive. He remembered the way her eyes had remained focused on her hands when he’d read aloud the police report faxed from Vermont. Stoically, she’d thanked him for making the trip out, “under such terrible weather conditions,” and shown him to the door without so much as shedding one tear.

  I didn’t realize how pretty she was, he thought bitterly. Too bad, she’s so cold.

  When he’d glanced down at her inside the vehicle he’d noticed her eyes were a bit puffy and swollen, as though she’d been crying. However, once he’d approached the vehicle, she hadn’t shed one tear. Olivia Jones didn’t strike him as the type of woman who would try to cry her way out of a ticket. Realizing that about her, he couldn’t help but like her for it. At least, a little bit. As a cop, as a man, it drove him crazy when a woman turned on the tears.

  A few more strokes on the keyboard completed his search for information so he climbed back out of the unmarked car and strode back to the SUV.

  “Mrs. Jones, I’m going to issue you a warning for this occurrence,” Officer Rafferty said, scowling in disbelief. He couldn’t believe the words that were rolling out of his own mouth.

  Her eyes widened with surprise and seemed to sparkle from the dome light shining within the interior of the car.

  “Thank you, I appreciate that. I don’t know if you remember me or not but…” She was in mid-sentence, just forming a smile when he interrupted her.

  “Yes, I remember you, Mrs. Jones. Now pay attention when you’re behind the wheel of your vehicle. You could’ve caused a hell of an accident back there.”

  He was being unnecessarily rude and he knew it. But, quite frankly, he hadn’t appreciated how his insides had clenched up when she’d smiled and thanked him. Irritation, with her, coursed through him and his distaste was shown clearly on his face.

  Sensing his outright hostility, Olivia narrowed her eyes. “Well, thank you just the same, Officer Rafferty,” she drawled with a hint of sarcasm.

  He said nothing.

  “Am I free to leave now? I need get home to my boys.”

  “Yes Ma’am,” he retorted before issuing a mocking reminder. “Do try to drive careful now you hear?”

  Eager to be rid of him, Olivia stomped on the accelerator.

  “What in the world was wrong with him?” she wondered aloud. “He could’ve just given me a ticket instead of acting rude and condescending. Humph! I’d have rather had the stinking ticket than deal with his nasty change in attitude.”

  Angrily, she toyed with the idea of speeding the rest of the way home. Just out of spite. But then common sense kicked in and she decided she probably shouldn’t push her luck. Now though, instead of feeling melancholy and reminiscent, she felt tense and irritated from her encounter with the arrogant police officer.

  Olivia turned into her driveway, followed the lane to her house, and since she was home for good, parked in the garage.

  She started getting out of the car and then remembered the mail Michael had dropped. Leaning across the passenger seat, she reached down to blindly grope around on the floor of the vehicle. After discovering the numerous envelopes, haphazardly strewn about, she picked them up and began stuffing them into her purse. The last envelope briefly caught her attention; it was from Tom’s previous employer. But, still irked from the traffic stop, it barely made her radar so she shoved it into her purse with the rest of the mail and slammed the car door shut. She walked out of the garage and gazed up at the clear night sky.

  Oh…there are so many stars visible tonight. I’ve always loved looking at my house all lit up against the darkness.

  While she enjoyed the serenity of her peaceful woods, uninvited thoughts of Officer Rafferty began drifting back into her mind. Completely unaware that she was even doing so, she enthusiastically entertained them. His strong handsome face was certainly easy on the eyes. My, oh my, he looked like a force to be reckoned with, poured into that uniform. And those eyes, his intense blue eyes had actually created a strange tightening within her belly. Desire, a virtually forgotten sensation, flashed through her, electrifying her blood like a bolt of lightening.

  Suddenly, a loud crash inside the house shattered the blissful silence. Within seconds the cries of shrieking children pierced the still night air, successfully disrupting her amorous thoughts of the distracting police officer. Olivia looked up in time to catch a glimpse of her twin sons, running by the dining room window, laughing manically. So much for an evening of relaxation, she conceded. After checking underneath the third flower pot to verify that Tommy had returned the spare house key, she went into the house to wrangle up her two youngest boys.

  Officer Gavin Rafferty prided himself on being the type of cop who’d never allowed a few tears or a pretty face to determine how he performed on the job. So when Olivia Jones sped away in her SUV, he stood on the side of the road wondering what the hell had just happened to him.

  “I must be getting soft,” he said with a shake of his head, trying to clear his jumbled thoughts.

  Navigating the unmarked police car down the quiet streets of Liberty, he mulled over the fact that Olivia Jones was an attractive woman and seemed to have dealt with the death of her husband rather well. Maybe a little too well. Had it even been two years yet? Gavin wondered with a sneer.

  Earlier, when he’d run her information, he’d noticed she still lived at the same address he’d traveled to on that snowy night.

  He recalled, quite clearly, how his friend and partner, Officer Ron Barton, had suggested flipping a coin to decide who would risk the drive out there and deliver that kind of news. Since Gavin had called tails, he’d found himself battling snow covered roads instead of sitting in the police station drinking hot coffee as Ron had done.

  Yeah, two years sounds about right, he decided as he entered the precinct parking lot and parked the cruiser.

  It had been late December, just around the time Missy had determined our long distance relationship should end. He could still remember returning home to see a Steelers game at Heinz Field and seeing for himself the true reason his five year relationship had abruptly ended.

  Of course, Gavin hadn’t handled it well. And eventually Ron, being the good friend that he was, had needed to come over and help pull him out of his week long drunken stupor.

  “It’s never easy to see your lady with the man she threw you over for,” Ron had told him, bluntly, then grinned. “But dude, look at that face, women are always drooling all over you. Enjoy it for a change.”

  So Gavin had enjoyed it, at least for a few months anyway. But the bar scene gets old after a while and when he began feeling the need to do something constructive with his time he decided to try his h
and at refereeing youth basketball games. He was beginning to feel lonely. At thirty seven years of age he’d never contemplated marriage or desired to start a family, so he really enjoyed the camaraderie with the local coaches and participating with the kids at the games. He’d found his niche.

  Gavin entered the police station and headed to his desk. He’d already decided, just out of curiosity, to check the date on that Olivia Jones report. A few keystrokes later, he realized two years really does fly by quickly.

  His concentration was interrupted as a shadow passed over his computer screen, followed by his partner’s gravelly voice.

  “What’re you doing with that report again?” Ron asked, chewing on a toothpick. He was constantly chewing on some foreign object.

  “I pulled over Olivia Jones tonight for failing to stop at a red light,” Gavin told him, not looking up as he scanned the old report.

  Ron rolled the toothpick around his mouth as he peered over his friend’s shoulder.

  “So you cited her and now you’re pulling a report from two years ago. Why?”

  “I didn’t cite her. I gave her a warning,” Gavin replied.

  Ron’s snort of disbelief finally had him glancing up from the computer screen as he closed the report.

  “You? You never give a warning. You getting soft on us, Rafferty? Or is she one hot piece of …” Ron’s words trailed off as Gavin abruptly stood up. .

  “Shut it, Ron. She’s a widow with four young sons. I figured she could probably use a break. So yeah, I guess I’m getting soft,” he angrily grumbled, his final words trailing off almost inaudibly.

  Gavin stalked away, irritated with Olivia Jones all over again. My shift’s over, he decided as he shoved open the front door of the precinct. I’m heading on home and going to bed.

  Chapter Two

  Maddy strolled through Olivia’s front door with her filmy linen skirt swirling about her shapely legs and silver bangle bracelets clinking on her arms. Tossing back her thick, wild mane of curly long blond hair, she exclaimed with delight. “Olivia, the autumn colors in your yard are just breathtaking.”