by Mary Abshire
“Did you get the dinner out of the back seat?” she asked.
“Oh crap.” He jogged down the hall toward the door.
She shook her head as she grinned. Of all the things to forget, dinner should not have been one. The man ate at least twice as much as she did most of the time. After their busy day, they’d agreed to buy something to eat instead of cook. They were starved so they’d gone to the closest fast food joint, which happened to serve fried chicken.
Emily continued putting groceries in the pantry until Andrew returned with dinner. He set it on the dining table before he came to help in the kitchen. Together, they shelved the remaining items except for the dishwashing detergents, sponges, and toilet paper. Andrew stuffed all the plastic bags into one. The wrinkling noise was about to give her a headache.
“Where do you want this?” he asked.
The sound of her phone ringing prevented her words from coming out of her opened mouth. She dug the cell from her purse and checked the screen. The number looked unfamiliar, but it had a local area code. Brows scrunched, she answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Hello, I’m trying to reach a Doctor Stacy Keaton,” said the female on the other end of the line.
Emily’s gaze lifted to Andrew as realization came to her. He’d informed her in the car about his interview and the possibility she might get a call for a reference.
“This is Dr. Keaton,” Emily said. “How can I help you?”
Andrew set the bag on the counter near the water before he came to stand next to her.
“Dr. Keaton, my name is Cathy Murphy, I’m the hiring manager for nurses at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. I spoke with an applicant by the name of Spencer Reynolds today. He said he worked with you at Cook County Hospital.”
“Yes, he did. He was a valuable nurse. I was greatly disappointed to hear he’d been let go over cutbacks,” Emily said, and Andrew smiled.
“Can you tell me much about his job duties as a nurse while he worked with you?” Cathy asked.
“I can tell you he was invaluable to me. Spencer seemed to know exactly how to handle things without me having to tell him. I could always count on him to get things done. He kept files up to date and patients well attended to, even if they couldn’t do anything more than cry.”
“So he worked with you in the neonatal care unit?” Cathy asked.
“Yes. He was always working and he never minded staying past his scheduled time. He was very good with the infants. I never had a problem with him and I never heard any other doctors or nurses complain.”
“Would you say he knew how to perform his duties?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Emily said convincingly.
“Was he a team player?”
“Very much so. He got a long very well with the other nurses and doctors. The hospital could use more nurses like him.”
“That’s always good to hear. Thank you for your time, Dr. Keaton.”
“Give my regards to Mr. Reynolds.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Emily lowered the phone and ended the call.
“This is a good sign. If she called you, then she must have received approval from the doctor I met,” Andrew said.
“It also means she’s called or will call Troy for another reference,” Emily said.
The grin on Andrew’s face lessened.
“I’m certain he wouldn’t say anything to jeopardize your chances of getting hired. Don’t worry,” she said.
His chest expanded slightly as he took a deep breath. “You’re right. I just know how he feels and it probably bugs him to have to say something good about me.”
“He’ll curse some, but get over it.” She shrugged. Troy would hate singing praises for Andrew, but Troy would do it for Emily’s benefit. She had no doubt about it. “So if this Cathy talks to him tonight or tomorrow, it’s possible you could hear back from her soon with a job offer.”
“I hope so. I can’t stand the thought of the demon being around all those babies,” he said.
Emily disliked the demon so close to them too, especially after what she’d learned from talking to her ex-husband. If she thought about it too much, it made her sick.
The scent of the chicken drifted into the kitchen. She breathed it in and her appetite returned with a vengeance. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Andrew headed for the cabinets. “Where do you think the spoons are?” He pulled out a drawer and the contents clanked inside.
“Let’s use the utensils in the bag so we don’t dirty anything other than plates,” she said as she walked around the island, between it and him. She opened up a cabinet before he stepped to the left, bumping into her. His solid body forced her back a few inches.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said genuinely while she giggled.
“What are you—two hundred pounds of muscle?”
“I’m not that big,” he said.
She saw baking dishes and mixing bowls in the cabinet before she shut the doors and moved to the ones on the other side of the stove. “You’re pretty big and solid.” She opened the doors and found the plates.
“I’d always thought big and solid was a good thing. Women told me so.”
The two adjectives described more than his general physique and she wished she wouldn’t have said them. The conversation could easy turn into playful banter that would give rise to their heated hormones. Given her state of exhaustion and hunger, she wanted to avoid any talk leading to sexual innuendo.
Grinning, she grabbed two dishes from the shelf. “You were informed correctly. I have no complaints. Now, let’s eat.”
Andrew followed her toward the dining room. “Shall I get us something to drink?”
She paused and looked back. The case of beer lay on the countertop and the bottles of water near the fridge. She wanted alcohol of some kind, but warm beer tasted worse than a cold one to her. “Water is fine. I didn’t get a chance to put any bottles in the fridge, or the beer.”
“I don’t mind,” he said.
She continued to the table. He’d set her laptop case on one end and the food near the center. She stopped at the other side, set a plate at the end for him and one in front of her so they could both look out the window while eating. While Andrew ripped open the beer box, she removed the cartons from the food bags. The fried chicken scent quickly spawned a growl from her stomach.
Andrew headed toward her with a beer in one hand and water in the other. He had a cheerful expression on his face. “Our first night in our new house.”
“You’re sitting at the end,” she said as she set the box of chicken by their plates.
He walked behind her. “What should we do to celebrate?” He set their drinks on the table.
“Eat and sleep.” She gathered the plastic utensils from the bag, gave him one set, and then set the other near her dish.
“Sweet wife of mine, there’s more fun to be had.” He tugged the chair back before he sat.
Emily ignored his comment while she removed all the lids from the food cartons. She struggled with the temptation to play along as she always enjoyed their frisky conversations. But tonight she thought it best to relax and settle in to their new home, even if her desires disagreed with her.
“Help yourself,” she said as she opened the box of chicken.
Andrew twisted the cap from his bottle. “To anything?”
“Anything on the table.”
“You still owe me a kiss for my interview,” he said before he drank some beer.
With everything they had going on, she’d forgotten about the promise she’d made to him. The present was not a good time to deliver kiss since her stomach was yelling at her to feed it. “I’ll give it to you later.”
“I’ll be sure to remind you.”
She believed him and smiled.
Staring out the window, she tore open the plastic with the spork and knife. In the demon’s house, the older girl and little boy wer
e sitting at the table. Her husband occupied the seat at the end. The demon sat next to her spouse and across from the two kids. It appeared they were about to eat dinner too.
“Do you think they’re eating chicken too?” Andrew asked as he took a couple of pieces of meat from the box. He set the legs on her plate.
“Can’t see too well from here. We’d need binoculars.”
She took her spork and lifted the container with the mashed potatoes. Without asking, she dumped big globs onto his plate. From her experience with him, he ate anything. After she put some potatoes on her plate, she poured the gravy on top and put some on his potatoes too.
“Do you think they’re watching us like we’re watching them?” he asked, his attention directed out the window.
“Can’t you tell if they are?”
“It looks like they’re talking.”
Emily lifted the green beans next. She glanced at the demon’s family. The husband and the mother are moving their heads and hands while the kids are slowly eating. Emily returned her focus to the food before them. She scooped some beans from the container, put them on his plate, and then put two servings on her dish. Andrew had wanted macaroni and cheese too, so she’d ordered a small serving for him. She slid the container with it closer to his dish.
“You were older than your sister, right?” Emily asked.
“Ten years.”
She pushed the chair back before she sat. “Were your dinners like theirs?”
Andrew reached for the biscuits. “No, they seem tame compared to my sister and me. We weren’t wild kids. We had manners, but my sister and I picked off each other’s plates and threw food at each other. We had fun. My parents were mostly too busy talking to each other. They saw us, but they didn’t say much.” He set a biscuit on her plate before he took three for himself.
Emily started eating her chicken legs first. While she chewed on the drumstick, she gazed at the demon’s family. Andrew watched them too.
“What was it like with you and your sister?” Andrew asked before he ate a large scoop of potatoes.
“It was quiet. Not too different from what you see going on over there.”
Dinner at her house had been almost torture. Her parents questioned her and Erin as if they were police conducting an interrogation. They always found something to chastise Emily about. Erin would chime in and in little time they were all telling her not to do this and she needed to do that and the choices she made were foolish and would lead to blah, blah, blah. She’d hated dinnertime with her family.
For several minutes they devoured their food while they watched the family. The older girl had quit eating and held her head tilted down. The little boy seemed fidgety. He took a bite of food, waited a little while, and then ate more. The demon seemed to be focused on the young girl. The husband bounced his gaze off his wife and kids while he ate.
“The young girl is in trouble for something,” Emily said before she bit into her biscuit.
“I wondered. She hasn’t been eating.” He lifted his beer and drank more.
The demon rose from her seat with her plate. She walked around the table and collected the girl’s dish. The husband wiped his face as the demon passed him. He had his attention directed at the girl.
“I wish we could hear what was going on. This is better than watching TV,” Andrew said after he set his empty bottle on the table.
The girl rose from her seat. She pushed her chair under the table before she walked away. The demon appeared and stopped the girl not far from the husband. The demon’s hand gestures seemed abrupt and wild in front of the girl. The boy held his fork and stared at the two ladies. The husband observed from over his shoulder.
Emily set her spork down and swallowed the food in her mouth. She sensed something was about to happen. The girl kept her head low. Emily knew the feeling of shame and humiliation at a young age all too well.
In a blink of an eye, the woman swung her hand at the girl and struck her face. The girl began to cry. The demon grabbed her arm. She jerked it several times while the girl cried. After the demon let go, she slapped the girl two more times. The girl cringed. The demon pointed to somewhere and the girl walked away. The husband and little boy remained seated.
Emily’s appetite died. In fact, she started to feel nauseous. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and then tossed it on her plate. “I can’t watch anymore.” Dish in hand, she headed to the kitchen.
Anger and sadness coursed through Emily. She hated the demon for abusing the child. Emily believed in discipline, but not hitting in the face three times. If the child had done something so bad, why not use a belt on their ass? Emily couldn’t fathom being a mother and slapping her child in the face. And why did the demon need to grab her when the girl had no intention of running from her? Emily suspected the girl’s punishment far exceeded what trouble she’d caused.
She stopped in front of the sink and turned on the faucet. A light came on from a room on the second level of the demon’s house and captured Emily’s attention. The curtains were pushed aside from the window. The young girl shut her door before she ran to her bed.
Andrew appeared at her side with his plate. “I can’t believe the husband just sat there and watched.”
Emily set her napkin aside before rinsing off her plate. “I’m glad we have the house and I hope you get the job, because watching her treat her kids like that is going to drive my anger off the charts.”
Andrew rubbed his hand over her back. “I promise, I will kill her.”
“I know. Life would be better for a lot of people if you could do it now.” She set her dish in the next sink and then rinsed off his plate.
“You have to promise me you won’t do anything to her.”
She shut off the water. Since she’d forgotten to buy a dishtowel, she had to wipe her hands on her jeans.
“I won’t, but are you okay with killing a mother?” she asked, staring into his eyes. Earlier she’d thought she’d needed proof the woman had hurt or murdered children. After talking to the ex-husband and seeing the demon slap the girl, Emily had all the evidence she needed.
“I have to,” Andrew said
She crossed her arms. “But how does that make you feel?”
“I don’t like it, but she’s a demon. That’s what I’m going to focus on.”
“She has to be stopped and only you can send her where she needs to go. You’ll be saving the lives of children. Remember that.” She said it for his benefit and hers. Killing a mother couldn’t be easy, but the evil woman would continue to hurt other kids. Death wouldn’t be enough in Emily’s mind. When the time would come, she hoped Andrew would be ready.
He took her face into his hands. “I will put that demon bitch where she belongs. I promise you.”
His words brought a smile from her. “Ready for that kiss?” He’d more than earned it and she was eager to deliver.
“Always.”
She moved closer to him. He lowered his hands to her waist, but quickly withdrew them as if he’d burned himself from touching her.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay,” she said. “You can put them on me. We want to put on a good show for anyone watching. Right?”
He grinned as he rested his hands on her waist. “Right.”
She placed her palm on his cheek. He hadn’t shaved since the night before, so the start of an overgrowth tickled her skin. Staring at his lips, she licked her own. She’d promised him a kiss and she’d give it, but she had to be damn careful not to let it go too far.
“Ready?” she asked. Her heart accelerated in anticipation.
He gave a small nod as he gazed upon her with eyes full of longing. She leaned into him, hesitant to brush her body to his, but there was no way around it. He stood taller than her and the only way to give him a good kiss was to move in close and bring his lips to meet hers. She did just that and kept her mouth pressed gently to his. The vibrations of his heartbeat reached her chest. He
held her against his hard body. She moved her lips ever so slightly and he did too. Desire tingled through her, hardening her nipples and warming her southern depths. The temptation to taste him overwhelmed her. Just one lick was all she wanted. But when she slipped her tongue inside Andrew’s mouth, she got more than she’d bargained for.
The kiss took on new life as the angel captured her in his oral grasp. His tongue entwined with hers and neither of them seemed willing to stop. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he dug his fingers into her skin. Her heart raced, but not nearly as fast as his. Longing consumed her and she couldn’t get enough of their kiss. The need inside her she’d suppressed for far too long demanded attention. He took to sucking on her tongue and her knees began to weaken. She knew then if she didn’t back away, she never would. Against everything she yearned for, she slid her hands from his neck and pried her lips free from him. But something within her wouldn’t let her leave him completely. It seemed he didn’t want to let her go either from the way he held her close. The stiff rod against her belly might have been another indication. Breathing heavy, he kept his face near hers. Their mouths were inches apart.
“We have to stop,” she said, fighting like hell not send her tongue back for him to accept it. She knew he would.
“Why?”
He knew the reason. She shouldn’t need to remind him about the council’s sentence.
“I keep my promises. I gave you a kiss,” she said.
“How about another?”
“No.”
He pressed his lips and swallowed. “Please?”
The one word sounded desperate. She wanted to give in to her longings, but she knew they wouldn’t be able to stop. And that would lead to Andrew having to stay an extra year on Earth. Guilt would plague her conscious and she had enough already after dumping Libby’s body in a ditch in Chicago.
She pressed her hands against his brick torso. “We can’t. You know it.” She backed away from him and he let her go.
Surprising her, he turned and headed to the dining room. A few weeks ago, he’d been trying like a horny twenty-six year-old, which he was, to get her undressed and into his arms. After they’d had a heated argument in New York, he’d promised to change and abide by her wishes. Since then, he hadn’t touched her unless she’d given him permission, he treated her with more respect, and he kept the flirtations to a minimum. She had to give the man credit for trying to quash his rambunctious wanton ways.
