Valentine Romance- The Best Short Valentine Romances of 2014

by Pat White, Jennifer Conner, . .

  The red-headed boy tugged on her gingham print apron and asked, “Are you married?” Not waiting for her answer he added, “You’re pretty.”

  “Thanks.” It wasn’t that she didn’t like little kids; she’d never been around them enough to feel comfortable. “No Billy, I’m not married.”

  “But it’s almost Valentine’s Day!” the blonde girl exclaimed. She was missing her two front teeth so her words came out with a lisp. “You need to be married if you’re a big person and it’s Valentine’s Day!”

  Kara laughed. “You don’t need to be married. You are just supposed to have someone special to spend the day with.”

  “Do you?” the girl asked.

  “What color eyes should your bear have?” Kara tried to distract them with a change in the conversation. “And then after that, you get to stuff your bear and pick out an outfit for them to wear.”

  There was a commotion out in the mall. Kara tried to see over the castle wall but her view was partially obstructed by grey blocks of Styrofoam. Angry voices filtered in, making her and the kids jump up from their seats to see.

  A crowd formed around two young men yelling at one another. One swung his fist and punched the other in the face. The crowd held their cell phones high to capture the event and egged them on. One clutched the other’s coat and swung him around and into the Make-Me-A-Bear store. He crashed through the flimsy castle wall and landed on the floor next to her and kids.

  Kara cried out and grabbed the children by the backs of their shirts. She yanked them behind her just as the man fell across the table. “What are you doing?” she yelled at the two fighters as one came after the other. “Stop! There are little kids here!”

  They ignored her pleas and escalated the fight.

  Brittany, her co-worker screamed and ran behind the counter that held the cash register. The store was small and crowded with merchandise so there wasn’t much room for the fighters to maneuver as more people streamed in. One of the fighters hit a table filled with bear merchandise and it flew into the air.

  The little girl next to her was crying. Kara turned the kiddie table over on its side and pushed the two kids behind it for protection. “Stay there!” she ordered. The dark-haired man tripped over the collapsed wall and tumbled towards her.

  She shoved with all her might at the man’s back as he stepped closer. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Brittany’s red apron. A second later spray missed the man, who’d dodged to the side, and hit her square in the face.

  The burning and gagging sensation was instant. Pepper spray. Brittany told her she’d bought it for protection. But not from her!

  Someone in the crowd yelled, “Let’s get out of here, the cops are coming.”

  “I have an outstanding traffic warrant!” Brittany screamed again and, in her blurred vision, Kara saw her run out into the mall with the can still in her hand. Kara stumbled back and fell to her knees coughing and choking. Her eyes were on fire and she couldn’t breathe.

  She patted her hands across the carpet and crawled across the floor until she found the two children. “Are you okay?” She had to rely on what they said since she could barely see them through her hazy vision.

  The girl choked back a sob. “I want my mommy.”

  “I know honey, but for now I want both of you to hold onto my skirt and not let go until I tell you to, okay?”

  “Okay,” two little voices said.

  Kara wanted to rub her face, but didn’t want to get any of the pepper spray on the children. Her body quivered as she fought for restraint. She reached down and felt the two little hands clutched tight in the material of her skirt.

  At least the kids were okay.

  Chapter 2

  Jack Hartman heard the commotion of people running and shouting before he saw it. Having eyes in the back of his head, his cop’s instinct took over.

  Something was wrong. He broke into a run.

  Seeing the turmoil was inside Make-Me-A-Bear, his heart stopped. He reassured himself he hadn’t heard gunfire. He grabbed a teenager and demanded, “What happened?”

  “Fight. But it’s over. I missed it.” The teen looked disappointed as he shook Jack’s hand off and went back to his friends.

  Jack pushed his way through the crowd. Two cops, Brad and Fred from the precinct were huddled around a young woman, a boy… and his niece, Ada. Thank God. He let out the breath he’d been holding for the last few minutes.

  The woman had a protective arm around the kids.

  “Uncle Jack!” his niece cried out.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, and dropped to his knees to hug her.

  Jack started to take the girl’s hand but the woman stopped him. “Sorry, sir. No one is taking these children until I can verify that your security bracelets match.”

  He held up his wrist. “It’s right here.”

  “Yes…” she paused. “But, that’s the problem, sir. I have pepper spray in my eyes and I can’t see your bracelet.” She sniffed, and broke hold of the little hands only long enough to wipe her running nose.

  “Hey, Jack,” Brad said when he spotted him. “What are you doin’ here? This is you day off. You go lookin’ for trouble?”

  “Isn’t this your sister’s kid?” Fred asked as he pulled a pad from his pocket to take notes.

  “Yeah,” Jack mumbled. “She was here making a bear… I thought she’d be safe.”

  “I’m safe.” Ada pointed to the green overturned table. “The lady tipped that circle over and told us to hide behind it. And then she pushed the guy in his back that was fighting.”

  Jack glanced over at the destroyed section of the store.

  “Why don’t you take your niece home,” Brad said. “We’ll deal with this.”

  “I can’t tell if they’re police?” the woman whispered, more to herself. “I can’t see them.” Panic slid across the young woman’s face as she grasped the kids’ hands tighter.

  Jack looked at her. With her blood-red eyes and running nose, she was in pain but stayed with the children. His respect for the woman went up tenfold. How could he be upset? This is exactly what he would have done in this situation. Being half blind, she had no idea who they were from Adam.

  He turned and answered Brad, “Ada and I are going to stick around here until the boy’s parents come back. With children this small, you can never be too careful with their safety.”

  “These bad men came in and broke up the castle, and then another lady screamed and sprayed icky stuff in her eyes!” Ada waggled a finger.

  Ada tried to pull her hand free and run to him, but he stopped her and stepped back. “Ada. Everything’s fine. I’m here and it looks like this nice lady helped you too. I want you to stay with her for a few more minutes.”

  “Ma’am.” He touched the woman’s arm. “What’s your name?”

  She flinched and blinked. He knew she was trying to focus her eyes as she dabbed at her running nose. “Kara. My name’s Kara.”

  “I know your first priority is keeping these kids safe. Do you have a back room with a sink?”

  She nodded.

  He bent down and asked the little boy. “What’s your name?”

  “Billy.”

  “Ada and Billy, I want you to keep hold of Ms. Kara’s apron… just like you are. You’re doing a great job.”

  The two little faces beamed after receiving the praise. He smiled down at Ada and fought to keep his voice steady. Ada was so little… God, she was so young and helpless.

  Jack reached for Kara and said, “Take my arm. The kids are attached to your skirt and not going anywhere.” The four of them wound through the destroyed store and into the back employee lounge. He led Kara to the sink and turned on the water. “I’m going to guide you over the sink.”

 
He spotted the small refrigerator in the corner and mentally crossed his fingers as he opened the door. The antidote he needed, a half-gallon of milk was there.

  Jack tried to keep the conversation light. “So who’s the healthy eater here? Milk and a salad?”

  “It’s mine,” Kara admitted.

  “Lean over.” He guided her head down toward the sink. “I’m going to pour milk over your eyes to clean out the pepper spray.”

  She followed his instructions. He emptied the jug over her face and then used his hand to scoop a stream of water.

  They did this for a few minutes until Kara said, “It helped. Thanks.”

  Jack lifted a clean towel off the counter and handed it to her to dry her face.

  She blinked again. “It still hurts, but I can see slightly better.” She looked down at the kids who were still clutching her apron.

  “They’re fine,” he said.

  Kara nodded, and he thought she was going to cry but instead, she tipped her chin up. “Can I see your bracelet, sir?”

  “Jack.” He held up his wrist. She stared at his bracelet for a long moment and then the girl’s. “They match. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before, sir… but….”

  “Jack, and that’s fine. Under stress, lots of people would have just let them go.” He looked around. “Are you the only one working today?”

  Kara shook her head. “No. My co-worker, Brittany, freaked out when the fight started. She’s the one who shot me with pepper spray.”

  “You got sprayed by your co-worker? Man— that’s messed up.”

  She smiled. Even with her red nose and eyes, Kara was pretty. Her hair was a deep auburn and her face a perfect heart shape. “Brittany doesn’t deal well under stress. I’m sure she’s still running.”

  “I’m happy Ada was here with you and not your ditsy co-worker.”

  Brad stepped into sight. “Miss, if you’re ready, I need to take a statement.”

  They turned when they heard an agitated voice from within the store.

  “Where’s my baby?” They came out to find a large woman waving her hands in the air. “Billy!” she shouted and ran towards the boy to scoop him up.

  “Can we see your bracelet, ma’am?” Jack asked. “The lady here needs to match them for security purposes.”

  The woman harrumphed as she held out her arm. Kara checked the bracelets and nodded.

  “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer! What kind of a place is this?” the woman yelled and took a step toward Kara.

  Jack stepped in front of her. “It’s a place that kept your child out of harm’s way when a random fight broke out in the mall. Instead of suing, I’d be thanking this woman.”

  “And just who the hell are you to be telling me what I should do?” The woman glared at him.

  “Detective Hartman, ma’am.” He reached in his back packet, pulled out his badge and flipped it open. “Would you like a piece of paper to write down my badge number? The little girl here with your son is my niece. I can tell you, this woman did everything she could to put the children’s safety first.”

  She coolly eyed him before her gaze slid to Kara. “I assssuuuume I get the bear for free.”

  Kara looked even glummer, if possible. “Billy didn’t get a chance to finish the bear. We were just about to stuff them when….”

  The lady grabbed her son’s hand and grumbled, “Don’t bother. We won’t be coming back and I’ll tell my friends to stay away.”

  “I’ll give you a free certificate…” Kara started to say, but Jack cut her off.

  “Let her go. It’s not worth it,” he said under his breath as they watched the woman stalk off. “Some people. I swear.”

  The two officers called mall security and made a sweep of the mall, but the fighters were long gone. Kara would need to give descriptions.

  He thanked Kara again, took Ada’s hand and led her out into the mall. He wanted to get away from this place as quickly as possible. It was Sunday night, and the mall was closing in about fifteen minutes. He’d take Ada to the burger and ice cream place next door.

  Ada could forget about her afternoon and drown her bad memories in hot fudge. He’d spend the time trying to figure out what he was going to tell his sister.

  Chapter 3

  By the time Kara finished with the police questions and gave a description of the two men, the mall was deserted. The officers offered to escort her to her car, but embarrassed to admit she didn’t have a car, she refused and headed out on her own.

  Lifting her cell phone from her pocket she verified her guess, she’d missed her bus by five minutes. The next one, this time of night on a Sunday, was in two hours. Rain pelted her face as she looked up. “Really…” Kara said to the skies. “You got anything else today… because… really.”

  She shouldn’t have said that. Murphy’s Law always proved her wrong. A car slowed as it approached the deserted bus stop. Great. What now? A serial killer?

  The Audi’s back electric window lowered and a little body struggled with the straps of a child’s car seat. Ada’s face popped into view. “Miss Kara. Uncle Jack saw you sitting there and said we’re giving you a ride home.”

  The window in the front of the car slid down. Jack smiled. A dimple creased the left side of his face. His dark hair and the shoulders of his jacket were damp from rain.

  “I couldn’t ask you to do that. I live a ways out of town.”

  The little girl screwed up her face with an exaggerated frown. “That’s silly. You’re not going to sit out there in the rain when you can get in Uncle Jack’s car and be warm and dry.”

  “I didn’t say it.” Jack laughed and shrugged a shoulder. “From the mouths of babes. But I was thinking the same thing.”

  Kara tipped the screen of her phone to read the time again. It hadn’t miraculously forwarded. Out of excuses, she asked, “Are you sure? It won’t be an inconvenience?”

  “I think after your day, it’s the least I can do. And, if you say it was all in the line of duty… you are taking my line.” He shifted the car into park, got out and came around to her side.

  Kara slowly stood and looked down at her ruined outfit.

  “Leather seats,” he said. “You can’t harm them. Ask destructo back there, even crayons, McDonalds orange soda and play dough comes out.”

  “Pepper spray?”

  “Yep.” He smiled a charming grin, and she felt something flip in her stomach. She must just be hungry.

  “You’ll be doing me as big of a favor as I am doing for you. First, I have to drop Ada off at her house. My sister will be home from work. Ada is going to be full of stories about what happened. With you there, you can tell Theresa, first hand, what happened. Then maybe she won’t lop off my head.” He braced his hand on the top of the driver’s door.

  “Today, I’m not the person you want protecting you.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” Jack grinned as she slid into the car and he closed her door.

  ****

  When they brought Ada home, it played out like he’d expected up to the part where his sister would be angry.

  Kara explained in detail what happened. Theresa understood, and even thanked her.

  His sister looked tired. She’d pulled another double shift at the hospital. But, she still found time to sit on the couch next to her daughter and listen to her long drawn out six-year-old’s story with even more details.

  He asked Theresa if he could help with anything. She turned down his offer and said she was giving Ada a bath and then both were off to bed.

  Jack drove Kara to her apartment at South Hill. He parked and followed her up the sidewalk and cement steps to her apartment door. She thanked him for the ride as he watched her reach in her pocket for keys.

  Her hand
shook as she tried to get the key in the lock. He took the key and opened the door for her.

  “You have a friend who can stay with you tonight?”

  “No.” She looked at him. Her eyes were still red rimmed from the spray.

  He sighed. “Don’t take this wrong, and I swear I don’t want this to come out weird. But I would feel a lot better if you let me come in for a little bit until you are settled in. No monkey-business, I swear.”

  He could tell she was fighting to try and make the right decision. “I really don’t want to be alone… but I…,” her words trailed off.

  “I owe you for taking care of Ada this afternoon. I’ll only stay an hour.”

  “Sure.”

  Kara opened the door, flipped on the light, and tossed her keys in a cup. Jack followed her into the living room. It was homey with hand-crocheted throws and pillows scattered about the furniture.

  “Have a seat.” He motioned to the couch. “Let’s give us a minute to unwind. Do you have anything to drink? I’ll pour us a glass. My nerves are a little frayed too.”

  “There’s a bottle of wine over the refrigerator and the glasses are on the side.”

  He poured two glasses and came back into the living room. She hadn’t moved from where she’d sat.

  “Let’s take off your coat. It’s soaked.”

  Kara pulled her arms free and he draped it over a chair to dry. She picked up the glass but didn’t take a drink and stared into the dark liquid.

  “It was fearless what you did today.” Jack tried to think of something to say to make her feel better, but his words didn’t work.

  Instead her chin quivered and a tear slipped down her cheek, followed by another. Her hands trembled. He removed her glass and set it on the coffee table.

  She looked at the ceiling and shook her head. “I told myself I wasn’t going to cry. Damn it. And here I go…”

  Jack scooted close and wound an arm over her shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay.”