A Case of the Heart

by Beth Shriver

  “I hope you’re not going to kiss me right now,” she teased, looking over his shoulder.

  He took a step back and chuckled. “Why?”

  “Because your brothers are spying on us.” She pointed to the large window in the front of the house.

  He turned to see Damon and Chris looking out the window, all smiles. He shook his head, mumbled something and waited for Liz to get into the truck.

  He leaned forward and put his lips to her ear, causing a rush of sensation on the left side of her body. The warmth of his breath swept down her neck.

  “Thanks for coming with me tonight.”

  She gave a one-shoulder shrug. “It was fun. But I can see why some people might not feel that way,” she said sarcastically as she watched Chris and Damon walking away.

  He shook his head as he glanced at them. “It wasn’t too much for you then?”

  “Nope, I might even do it again sometime.”

  He touched her cheek tenderly. “I’m counting on it.” He shut her door and got in his side. “I think I’m going to have to call in my marker to get that kiss.”

  She drew her brows together, not understanding at first, and then understood what he was referring to. “You mean because I owe you?”

  He nodded with a silly grin on his face. She shook her head and grinned back at him.

  “That might be what it takes,” he said with childish frustration as he put the key in the ignition and started his truck.

  The chill of the night caused the roads to become icy making it more than the regular hour’s drive, but it didn’t feel like it was half that long. They talked about the evening’s events, and Alex filled her in on more family stories. Now that she knew the family personally, his stories were more interesting, and she enjoyed hearing him tell them.

  He spoke highly of his family and his childhood. “We didn’t have much money, but we really cared about one another. All the boys were terrors, and Alyssa was a bit mischievous too. Barbara, being the oldest, took on a more parental role, and to this day, she can look at us with that one certain expression and we jump.”

  Liz envisioned that look on Barbara’s face. “I think I would too.”

  They rolled into the driveway, and walked up to her house. She rubbed her hands together, making the cold run up and down her fingers. She let out a breath, causing white puffs of air to circle around her face.

  She realized how late it was and turned to him to say goodbye. He cupped her face in his hands. She tingled everywhere his hands touched her. His eyes swept along the curve of her neck, up to the line of her jaw, then to her lips.

  His touch was entrancing, and she found herself fighting the urge to lean closer. His fingers moved through her hair, following through its length.

  Realism fell on her like a weight. If things fell apart, she couldn’t handle it, not with him. She slowly pulled back. They held each other’s gaze for a moment.

  “See you bright and early.” She tried to sound chipper, but her voice was soft and low.

  He let out a long breath with a nod. “Good night, Liz.”

  She walked in and shut the door behind her. As she stood by the picture window, she stopped to see him standing on the porch looking at her. He hadn’t moved.

  His hands were in his pockets, his shoulders hunched against the cold. He held a serious expression, but his eyes looked soft and content. She caught the gleam in his eyes as he turned and walked to his truck.

  Moonlight reflected off the untouched snow in the yard, and the streets were still. She brought her hands up and crossed them over her arms hugging herself. For the first time in a very long while, Liz truly felt lonely.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The doorbell rang, waking Liz. Not just one ring but consistent ringing. Ding, ding, ding ...she sprang out of bed, with the feeling she was in a fire drill.

  She ran to the door and threw it open.

  “Alex!” She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. “What time is it?”

  “Almost nine o’clock. We said eight, remember?”

  She held her hand over her mouth, gasped and adjusted her flannel pajama bottoms. “My alarm didn’t go off, and I haven’t packed yet.”

  Alex shook his head in jest. “I guess I’ll just have to help you.” He glanced at her, looking at her red, white and black flannel shirt and matching pants. “Do you always wear those kinds of pajamas?” He stepped inside and took off his boots and then proceeded into her bedroom.

  “Yeah, do you like them?” she teased.

  He snorted. “Absolutely, just like Mom used to wear.” He stood in her room studying it, like a cop. She opened the closet and took out a suitcase.

  He sat down on her unmade bed, looking around the room. “This room suits you. Big pillows, squishy down comforter, everything warm and fluffy.”

  He looked comfortable, maybe too comfortable. The fact that they knew each other so well made things less formal, which made this new relationship between them puzzling at times.

  “Help yourself to some coffee or anything you can find to eat.”

  He sat up straight. “What coffee?”

  “The coffee you’re going to make for us,” Liz said as she started toward the bathroom.

  He shook his head and walked into the kitchen.

  After a speedy shower, Liz put on makeup and towel dried her hair. She slipped into her comfy faded jeans and sweater, then started packing.

  Alex walked in handing her a cup of coffee.

  “You made the bed and the coffee? You come in handy.” She smiled at him over her cup, cradling it in her hand for warmth.

  “Just trying to pick up the slack.” He grinned and took a sip from his steaming mug.

  She sat down on the floor next to the suitcase. “I’m sorry. I had every intention of getting up early to pack and to have coffee and donuts ready when you got here. I guess your family wore me out more than I knew.”

  “That I can understand.” He sat down next to her stretching his arms behind him and his legs out front. “We don’t need to hurry. Take your time packing, and I’ll check the weather. It’s supposed to snow again today.”

  Her cat, Monte came out from under the bed and rudely walked over Alex’s lap to get to Liz, as cats do. She put him in her lap and proceeded to pack.

  “I didn’t know you had a cat. What is he, an alley cat? He looks tough.” He reached for him and held him up.

  Monte hung there like a sack of potatoes and Liz laughed. Alex put him down and walked into the family room with Monte at his heels.

  She wondered how it would feel, going on a trip with him considering they had just started spending time together socially. But since they had known each other for so long, it seemed like just another adventure.

  She finished packing and took her bag out to the family room. Alex insisted on taking his pickup instead of her Honda and she agreed considering the weather. Alex methodically packed the truck and acted as if they were going on a two-week vacation.

  As they drove they spent the time sharing their ideas about treatment plans for clients and different calls they had been on together, especially lately. They would get off track and talk about everything taboo, like politics and how bad their salaries were. It felt good to have uninterrupted time to talk. And the more she found out about Alex, the more she cared for him.

  The snow started falling a couple hours away from their destination. She noticed the flakes begin to multiply and become thicker. “I’d hate to miss the Christmas Eve service. Do you think we can still make it tonight?”

  Alex squinted through the windshield. “You’re in a four-wheel drive truck. We’ll make it.”

  They got to her parents’ in plenty of time, thanks to Alex’s experienced driving. The old house was pretty surrounded by the white drifts. The brown shutters and front door stood out against the white snow. Bare branches on the big oak tree in the front yard hung low with the weight of the hea
vy flakes.

  Liz walked through the foyer and into the kitchen. Nothing had changed since the last time she was home. Her mom loved blue, and all the carpet and walls were varying shade of the color.

  Both parents liked antiques and had a number of pieces. Some family heirlooms had been handed down from relatives and added to the decor. The kitchen was dimly lit. The hardwood floors and paneled walls were all dark-stained with black appliances.

  The dining area connected to the kitchen. Mom already had the Christmas dishes set with silverware and platters and a bouquet of red and white carnations in the green centerpiece vase.

  Liz heard the blare of the TV coming from the family room. She yelled hello, and her dad came pounding in, hugging her and shaking Alex’s hand. “Dad, this is Alex.”

  “How were the roads, Alex?”

  “Not bad at all until we got close to town.” Alex mused at her dad’s eagerness to meet him.

  “And this is my mom.” Dotty descended the stairs and into the foyer then hugged them both. “I’m so glad you made it through that awful weather. Go in and sit down. Liz and I will get us something to drink.”

  “He seems like such a nice young man.” Dotty busied herself by getting out a tray to carry the coffeepot and cups. She got a dishrag to wipe the already spotless counter avoiding Liz’s stare. “You two act like you’ve been together for years.”

  Liz nodded and secretly pondered her mother’s words. “We’ve worked closely together for a while.” She took some cups from the cabinet and set them on the tray with the coffee pot.

  “Yes, I know. You’ve mentioned him before.”

  “I have?” Liz racked her brain trying to remember.

  Fans of lines sprayed around Dotty’s eyes as she smiled wide. “Yes, you have.”

  Liz grabbed the tray and headed into the family room, wondering how she could have talked about him so much before, and why she’d never noticed. “Are you coming?”

  Dotty followed after her into the living room.

  Lee leaned toward Alex. “So what kind of salary does a police officer make these days?”

  Liz set her coffee mug down, hard, on the coffee table, trying to get her father’s attention but got Alex’s instead. He caught her gaze and grinned.

  Then Mom chimed in. “Oh honey, don’t do that.”

  Good, Liz thought, at least her mother has some sense. She turned to Liz. “Here’s a coaster.”

  “Would you like to help me get dinner started, Liz?”

  Liz gave Alex an apologetic look and followed her mother into the kitchen. When Dotty got out her spices, Liz knew what they were having and smiled at the memory she had shared with Alex.

  When they all settled in for a lasagna dinner, Alex looked at his plate, then to Liz. “Hey, this looks familiar.”

  “I’m sure Mom’s will put mine to shame.”

  “Well at least she doesn’t have sauce all over her face,” Alex said with a grin.

  Liz giggled, and Dotty gave them a puzzled look.

  Her dad missed the whole thing due to his bum left ear and started in with his questions again. “So you were raised Catholic, Alex?”

  “Dad...” Liz thought Alex had probably had enough with the questions.

  “It’s okay, Liz.” Alex put his hand on hers, rubbing his fingertips against hers.

  They finished dinner and drove to church for the Christmas Eve service. It was the same every year with the nativity scene out front and Pastor Frank’s rendition of the Christmas story. Even singing the same Christmas carols never got redundant. That service was what made Christmas seem real and what it was all about.

  When they all got home Dotty made some cider and they sat around the Christmas tree.

  “That tree looks the same as when I was a kid.” Liz blew into her cup.

  “It is the same tree.” Lee laughed as he responded and the others joined in.

  “I can’t believe Pastor Frank can give the same exact sermon every Christmas Eve,” Liz commented.

  “I find it comforting,” Dotty said.

  Liz shrugged. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

  “I thought it was perfect. A small group of people who all know each other enjoying a message they can count on each year.” Alex took a sip of his cider. “I’ve never heard the Christmas story straight out of Matthew like that before.”

  “Well, we’re glad you enjoyed it, Alex. It’s nothing fancy but it’s from the heart.”

  “It’s been a long day. I’m going to turn in.” Lee helped Dotty take the mugs and said their good nights.

  After Liz’s folks went to bed, she and Alex took their bags upstairs to get settled in.

  Liz gave him a choice between the bedrooms he could sleep in. She showed him her sister’s room with big yellow smiley faces and peace signs on the wall and a purple flowered bedspread. Next was her brother’s room. Larry Byrd and Magic Johnson posters adorned the walls and a basketball hoop hung on the opposite wall of the bed.

  Liz grabbed the miniature basketball on the floor and threw it to him. “You can shoot baskets in this room.”

  He picked her brother’s room.

  They walked into her old room with horse posters and a horseshoe bedspread with matching lamp.

  Alex grinned approvingly as he walked in. “I didn’t know you liked horses.”

  “I used to ride all the time when I was a kid.” She pointed to a picture on the dresser of herself on her horse.

  “Come downstairs with me.” She took his hand, and he followed her down the staircase. They walked past the old grandfather clock to the living room with blue carpet, and into the family room with a huge picture window. The flakes twinkled as they moved through the sky, settling in on a soft layer that had fallen before them.

  He sat in her dad’s overstuffed chair, and she crawled into her mom’s recliner. They sat quietly and looked at the snow.

  His gaze followed the snowflakes falling to the ground. “Maybe we’ll be like this some day, grandparents sitting in our recliners with our kids coming to visit for Christmas.”

  She couldn’t hide the astonishment she felt at his comment. “Through all the years I’ve known you, I never in a million years, ever thought I’d hear you say something like that.”

  A slight look of disappointment covered his face. “You didn’t think much of me before we started working this case together, did you?”

  She tried to make light of it. “I always thought of you as the kind of guy my mother told me to stay away from when I was a teenager.”

  His brows drew together. “I wasn’t ever that bad. How did I get that reputation?”

  Liz sighed. It obviously bothered him enough to need some resolution. “What I figure is, you’re very handsome, and people like to talk.”

  He almost looked embarrassed, but that wasn’t his style. He reached out for her hand and held it, tracing small circles with his thumb in her palm. They sat quietly watching the snowfall until she fell asleep.

  Chapter Twenty

  Liz felt a soft kiss on her forehead.

  Alex peered at her from the top of the recliner. “Good morning. Merry Christmas.”

  She sat up, orienting herself to where she was. It took her a minute. Alex was waking her up, and she was at her parents’ house, sleeping in the family room, in her mom’s chair.

  Alex handed Liz a warm cup of coffee and sat next to her as she peeled off the blankets he’d layered on her. She took in the pungent smell of java, waking her to her senses.

  “Your sister just pulled up in the driveway, and your dad said your brother’s on his way over. You’d better get up and around.” He took a sip of his coffee and half smiled. “I can’t believe you slept here all night.”

  “Didn’t you?”

  “I went up and played a little ball.” He held up his palm and flicked his wrist as if throwing a basketball, then pulled her out of the chair.

  As she walked past the couch, she saw her dad reading the paper. They
said their good mornings as she heard her mom rattling plates around in the kitchen. She felt like a kid again and was glad to be home.

  When the whole family finally arrived, Liz went through the introductions. Liz introduced her much shorter but equally brunette sister, Marie.

  “And look at you, Marie,” Liz gushed. “You’ve lost weight, and you’re gorgeous.”

  Her brother Joel shook Alex’s hand. “I can see the resemblance in you and Liz.” Alex smiled. “Except for height difference.”

  Alex ribbed him about his room, and Joel laughed at the thought of Alex sleeping in his childhood bedroom. “Hey, Joel. I understand if you want your room back so you can play a little hoop before bed.”

  Joel chuckled. “I wouldn’t deprive you of the experience.”

  They sat around and talked while the kids ran through the house chasing one another and checking out the presents under the tree. They eventually tired and settled in to watch The Grinch.

  Liz grabbed them one at a time and asked questions to find out how they were. Since she only made the trip home a couple times a year, they changed quite a bit between visits. Alex on the other hand would physically torture the kids by tickling them until they begged for mercy. But they kept coming back for more. Liz watched him remembering an uncle she had that did the same thing to her. She loved it and hated it at the same time.

  They began to pester Liz’s father, knowing he was the one to decide when to open gifts. The boys grabbed his newspaper, and the girls planted kisses on him until he gave in.

  “I think we’re ready to open presents.” Lee laughed and pushed the little people off him.

  A shrill scream came up throughout the house from five little kids. They raced to the tree grabbing at presents until they found one of their own.

  The adults watched the children and laughed at the sight. By the time they were finished, the entire room was littered from wall to wall with wrapping paper and toys. The kids scurried off to play with their new treasures.

  Alex came up next to Liz sitting on the floor amidst all the paper and pulled out a small red velvet box and handed it to her. He went and sat on the couch without saying a word. She moved to the couch next to him with a look of surprise. “You didn’t need to get me anything.”