He wasn’t an ass kisser that would get bumped up the chain of command long enough to ensure a good retirement either… not that permanent desk duty was appealing anyways. Most of the time he pushed the limits and patience of his supervisors… but he also had the best arrest and conviction record in the whole damn division. His dream had been to retire at fifty and then ride the motorcycle that Bobby Jackson was designing and building for him across the country. He also hoped to figure out how to spend the rest of his life in the process. He wasn’t ready to give up on that dream just yet but since he was screwed out of going back to work right now… he could at least help Carla work on her dream.
Now that she was at least talking to him again after his less than smooth attempts at coming on to her and since he couldn’t go back to work anyways, unless he wanted to spend forty hours a week being a pencil pusher, he might as well remain in Florida. After scheduling another appointment in a month he followed Carla out to the car. She glanced at him when she got in the driver’s seat as though to judge how upset he was at the doctor’s report.
After Carla started the car, he placed his hand over hers when she tried to put the car in gear.
“Where’s the paperwork for those classes, Carla? We aren’t leaving this parking lot until you sign them. Then we are going to drive over there and drop them off and finish up whatever else you need to do to start classes after the holidays. I figure I’ve got at least a couple of months more down here… and I think Matt and Ben like hanging out with me. Maybe not as much as they like Chuck but I’m working on that. So I’m pretty sure you have at least three babysitters… four if you count your dad. So sign it,” he finished.
The look she gave him made him want to kiss her worse than when she stared at his mouth. A mixture of excitement, joy, nervousness and wonder shone in her eyes. Then as though his thoughts were somehow transferred to her mind, her gaze went to his lips. His attraction to her only seemed to grow with each new look she gave him. The willingness to be patient and wait for her to finish grieving for her husband was completely unexpected though. Was he kidding himself? Holding out hope when there was none?
She shuffled through her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper and a pen. After unfolding the paper and briefly scanning it she glanced at him and a smile that took his breath away crossed her face and lit up her eyes. Pressing the paper against the center of the steering wheel, she signed her name and the pressure she applied made the horn blast, which resulted in giggles from her which in turn made him smile.
When they made it to the college and parked she looked over at him and said, “I don’t think I can do this after all. I’ll be the oldest one in the class and it’s been so long… what if I can’t learn anymore. You know that saying about teaching an old dog new tricks… what if that’s me?”
Without thinking he reached down with his right hand and grasped the door handle and when he couldn’t open the door, it hit him. This injury could be permanent… what if the last day he’d worked as a detective was his last?
Looking over at Carla it struck him… she’d never even had the satisfaction of having done something she loved for twenty five years. At least he’d had that… and he wasn’t giving up on going back to it just yet but he also wasn’t about to let her talk herself out of her dream… again. Not after seeing that light in her eyes when she’d signed the paper.
After letting himself out of the car by using his left hand to pull the handle, he went around to her side and opened the door. Reaching inside he took the keys from the ignition and stuffed them in the pocket of his jeans. Then he reached in again and this time he grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the car.
“Wait… I need my purse,” she squealed in excitement.
He enjoyed every look on her beautiful face as she turned in the paperwork and was given a list of her classes and the books she needed. Then he pressured her into going down to the bookstore and getting her books so she could look over them during the holidays. Instead of having her drop him off at the beach house, he took her up on the offer of dinner at her house. He hadn’t seen her boys in a couple of weeks and since he would be down here over the Christmas holiday he needed gift ideas for them and dinner was a great time to ask.
“How am I going to tell them all?” she asked after pulling into the garage.
“You’re asking me? I thought you had already aced the ‘family discussion’ class years ago. You’re like a professional at uncomfortable conversations… but you want my opinion on how to tell them?” he laughed.
“Okay… the sooner the better,” she said more to herself than him and got out of the car.
When they entered the house, Ben came tearing down the stairs and Greg almost felt the need to run interference between him and Carla but instead just cringed when he knocked her back a few steps by hugging her tightly around her waist.
“My teacher says I’ve been good and now I can play football… right mom?” he asked, holding out a gnarled paper that he had clenched in one of his meaty fists.
He watched Meredith give Carla a knowing look and before he could stop himself he was reading over Carla’s shoulder. The paper was from Ben’s teacher and it commended him on behaving himself better in class and turning in his homework over the past couple of weeks. However, it also said he was still struggling with his work and suggested tutoring.
Carla looked at him and even though he should take her advice and stay out of it he instead said, “He’s trying… compromise and meet him halfway?”
Chuck stepped in the room with Tommy McMurray’s daughter, Gretchen, right behind him. The little girl was the closest thing that Chuck had to a child of his own at this point and she was definitely his little shadow.
“Yes… you can play football but only if you keep up the good behavior and turning in your homework. We are also going to see about getting you a tutor,” Carla replied. Again, he cringed at the brutal hug the excited boy gave Carla but the look on her face eased his worries over her ability to take his roughness.
“My Mama Dana tutors me and now I’m the best in my class. You should get tutored from her too, Ben,” Gretchen advised.
Carla looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “Guess who else has news about school?”
Meredith smiled right at Greg as though to thank him for what she was about to hear. “You?” she asked Carla.
“Yes! I signed up for some nursing classes and I start after the Christmas break. The classes are in the evenings though… after the boys get home from school” Carla gushed and then hesitated.
“Is it after football, mom?” Ben asked.
The excitement and eagerness left Carla’s face in an instant when she realized that the classes would likely be during Ben’s practices or games.
Chuck, in his normal fashion, stepped in and said, “Maybe it should just be you and me at football practices little buddy and your mom can come to some of the games. Moms usually just sit around worrying that you will get hurt or some shit anyways.”
Ben glanced at Carla who looked away from him. It was obvious to Greg that Carla having been the center of their world and now suddenly unavailable from time to time was going to mean an adjustment for them all. As excited as Ben was to play football… the possibility of his mom not being there for it was disappointing to him. What Greg was unprepared for was the look of anguish on her face when she turned back to look at him.
“Hey why don’t we go to the basement and play twister with Meredith’s fake foot,” Chuck offered, clearly reading Carla’s mood on her face and playing interference.
“Edith’s foot is not a toy… my Chuckie!” Gretchen admonished him.
It took but a moment for Meredith and Chuck to usher the three kids out of the kitchen and Greg listened as they were herded down to the basement. Carla had again turned away from him and he knew she was struggling to maintain her composure.
“I have asked you repeatedly not to interfere… and still you do.
I knew I should have talked it over with them before I just made a decision like this but instead I let you talk me into it. Did you see the disappointment on his little face?” she choked.
Oh hell no… not this again. He approached where she stood and placed his hand on her arm once again and said, “So if Ben playing football would have negatively impacted Matt… you wouldn’t have let him play right? Is that what you are saying? Because what I hear is that everyone here is allowed to have their own interests, dreams and goals… except you… at least not if your interests, dreams and goals interfere in any way with theirs.”
“He’s just a child... and I’m his only parent now. I should be there for every game… every practice because… because… Doug doesn’t get to be,” she replied with tears shining in her eyes.
“So you think Ben will hold the fact his father can’t be there against you if you’re not at every game… every practice?” he asked.
“No… I think Doug would… it should have been me that picked up Meredith that night. He only did it because I was watching one of those learning programs on television. He told me he knew how much I liked the show because it had to do with… medicine… and offered to go and get her instead. I owe it to him to do all the things he won’t be able to anymore,” she sobbed.
He caught her by the back of her neck and pulled her to him. God he hated it when she cried… he completely understood why Chuck had such an issue with it. She was so sweet and kind that seeing her cry was painful to everyone around her.
When her tears subsided a little bit he said, “Yes you do owe him that much… but that debt also includes things like fulfilling a dream, learning to live and love again, and experiencing excitement like I saw on your face earlier.”
She turned away from him and grabbed a napkin out of a holder and wiped her eyes and blew her nose. When she finally pulled herself together she turned back to face him. She was even pretty when she cried but it still bothered the hell out of him when she did. He watched her eyes find his mouth and before he knew what to expect next, she crossed the floor to where he stood. Reaching up she pulled his head down to her and pressed her lips to his.
The fire in her kiss destroyed whatever was left of his defenses as her lips found his over and over again. Just as quickly as she had started, she broke off the kiss and leaned in one final time and rubbed her mouth against his, savoring the feel before stepping back from him.
“Thank you…” she whispered.
Now he was even more confused.
Chapter Five
It had been a week since she’d turned in her paperwork for the nursing program… and experienced a kiss that had turned her whole world upside down. God his mouth! Men over the age of forty shouldn’t be allowed to look that good and kiss like... he did.
Carla forced thoughts of Greg Sanders aside because she had things to do today. She could only pray that between going back to school and what she was about to do… things would work out.
She felt like Jarrod Tompkins was making it a point to conveniently run into her whenever she went into town on an errand. Having him so close by after all this time made her uneasy because each time she did come across him in a store… or the gas station… even at the post office… it had ended up turning into a long discussion about his new life and how much he had changed.
It was terrible to think so negatively about a person, especially one who was constantly apologizing for the past, but a part of her thought it was all just a big act. That he was doing nothing more than pulling the wool over her eyes yet again.
When Jarrod called mid-week and asked if she had thought anymore about allowing him to meet Meredith she’d been ready for his interruption in her life this time. Her decision making skills might be a little rusty, especially without Doug around to talk things over with and sometimes even make the ones she didn’t want to, but she’d made another big one… all in the course of one week.
Greg had forced her to make one decision on her own and it had felt good… so she’d voluntarily made another. Besides if she didn’t do something about Jarrod it was quite possible that he would eventually take it upon himself to contact Meredith on his own and then what? At least this way Carla had some control over the situation.
She had taken over the phone conversation with Jarrod by imitating the way Becca spoke to people. The deal was she would take Meredith and Chuck to a store in the mall on the pretense of looking at some invitations and decorating ideas for the wedding they were trying to plan. Jarrod would approach Carla and she would pretend to recognize him as an old friend of Doug’s and introduce Meredith to him.
He would then be given a few minutes to ask generic questions of Meredith before moving on. Carla had even threatened that if he in any way tried to give away more than that to Meredith, she would tell Meredith that he was crazy and that was why Doug hadn’t ever brought him around.
Jarrod had sounded surprised at her ability to completely orchestrate the whole thing and even more astonished at her forceful attitude about it. She was turning out to be a resourceful and clever girl.
The pride she felt at making another big decision all on her own… without Doug… and the resulting smile disappeared when her thoughts drifted back to Greg Sanders. Now he was a clever person. He must have checked out her tale about the nursing classes and figured out that all those times she’d ended up side tracked by Jarrod hadn’t been spent at the college.
He would occasionally hint that he knew more than she was saying which just made her a nervous wreck. Lying had never been her strong suit. At least Meredith and Chuck didn’t call her out on them or ask her questions trying to trip her up and get her to confess what she’d actually been doing.
Telling the kids about going back to school had given her an excuse to get Chuck and Meredith to accompany her to the mall. She’d simply implied that when her classes started up, she’d have less time to help them with wedding plans.
Besides… they really did need to start finalizing their plans if they were going to be married the first week of spring. The excuse and then rationalizing her actions sounded good in theory but the deceit was killing her.
Jarrod Tompkins had been the most dishonest person she’d ever come into contact with and it felt like the more often she ran into him, the more his treachery was rubbing off on her and she didn’t like it one bit. Could she even trust that by allowing him to meet Meredith this one time, he would then go away and not bother them anymore?
“You ready to do this thing, hot stuff?” Chuck asked, entering the kitchen and startling her out of her thoughts.
Ready as she was going to be to introduce her precious Meredith to the one man from Carla’s past that had been instrumental in getting her arrested. Looking at Chuck and knowing the crimes of his past, which were bad… somehow didn’t compare to what she had done.
Much like her, Chuck was out running his past and that she could respect... it was part of what she liked about him. She’d done the same with some help from her father and Doug. She could only pray that by helping Chuck rise above his mistakes, his past wouldn’t crop back up in twenty five years to remind him that he was once young and naïve… the way her past was doing to her currently.
“Sure, let’s go,” she smiled.
“You ready to get your sexy on and ride on the back of my bike? Meredith is going to meet us there and I thought you could drive her car back so she and I can take a ride out to the beach where she will promise to obey me… for life,” he teased.
She could only laugh at him. His constant attempts to try and get her feisty daughter to do anything she didn’t want to was some form of game to him. In his mind the winning play would be to get Meredith to include the traditional love, honor and obey promise in their wedding vows. So far Meredith had only agreed to it if Chuck was the one who would be saying them.
Carla, having only ever ridden on the back of his motorcycle once… at a very slow speed… had also become a challenge for Ch
uck. Now he constantly referred to her as hot stuff, sexy mama, biker babe or some other derogatory term as a way to tease her and relentlessly tried to get her to take a ‘real’ ride on his motorcycle. Well, if the third time was supposedly the charm… then why not a third big decision in the same week.
“Sounds like fun,” she replied nonchalantly. The ornery look on his face changed to one of complete disbelief which had her laughing hysterically.
“Are you serious?” he asked, his grin returning.
Her heart felt lighter than it had since before she lost Doug so she simply nodded. It felt good to finally get one over on the mischievous young man who would soon be her son-in-law. He picked on her constantly and it was great to finally give him back a little dose of his own medicine.
“Sweet… how about we hook you up with some ink too… maybe a piercing or two?” he laughed.
“Very funny…” she replied with a smile.
“Remind me to thank Detective Sanders next time I see him… he is the man! I thought Dickie corrupting Becca was awesome, but this… I bow to the man. Damn… and Meredith is missing it,” he laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. “Here I thought you were un-corruptible but boy was I wrong! Greg has got you kissing him, riding on the back of motorcycles and sneaking around doing God knows what… what’s next? Drinking? Gambling?”
“I highly doubt that… now let’s go before I change my mind,” she said unable to stop laughing at his antics. “I cannot believe you saw us kissing… you were supposed to be in the basement!”
“Don’t worry… your secret is safe with me unless Meredith specifically asks, ‘Did you happen to catch my mom planting a porn kiss on Detective Sanders?’ Now, if she asks me that, I cannot lie so I would tell her the truth, but aside from that I didn’t see a thing,” he laughed. Then he grinned and said, “Turning kind of red in the face there, Carla.”
Unexpected Ride Page 6
