Love a Little Sideways

by Shannon Stacey

  Liz ducked away to hang the slip for the cheeseburger before Gavin started grilling chicken for the salad. Then she grabbed Drew’s diet soda and went back to the counter. “Did I tell you I talked to the insurance company?”

  “No. How did that go?”

  “I guess they sent somebody out while we were camping and they’re totaling it. And they say it’s not worth a lot. I knew it was coming, but a little part of me was still hoping to get it fixed. I guess Butch told them he couldn’t even find the parts for it.”

  “Is it enough to put a down payment on something made in the modern era?”

  She gave him a sour look. “It wasn’t that old. And I’m not sure. I’m going to go online and research what’s out there and go from there.”

  “I can help you out if you need it, you know.”

  “Thanks, but my car may have been ancient, but I’m fairly computer literate.”

  He shook his head. “I meant with the down payment.”

  “Oh.” She wasn’t sure what to say to that. You didn’t make that kind of offer to a woman who hadn’t been your girlfriend very long, if that was even the term he’d use. But, then again, he was a close friend of the family, so he might have made the same offer to any of them. “Thanks, but I’m okay. If I can’t find something soon, I’ll take the truck from the lodge so I don’t rack up miles on the Mustang.”

  “You can drive the car as long as you need it.” He took a sip of his soda. “Well, until mid-October or so. The heater in it sucks and she gets tucked away until spring in the garage before they start salting the roads.”

  A few other customers wandered in, so Liz was back and forth for a little while as he ate his lunch. A couple of people stopped to talk to him, and then his dad entered and sat down next to him.

  “Hi, Andy,” Liz said when she went over to set him up with a napkin and silverware. “Coffee?”

  “Yes, please. I was in town and stopped in to say hi to Drew, but Barbara told me he was here. What’s good on the menu today?”

  She sighed. “We have a wonderful roasted chicken breast with arugula.”

  “I’ll try it.”

  She wasn’t sure she heard him correctly. “With the arugula?”

  “Of course. Roasted chicken breast with arugula just isn’t the same without arugula, now is it?”

  As she went to give Gavin the good news, she heard Drew say, “Do you even know what arugula is?”

  “Nope. But Gavin has yet to serve anything inedible, so I’ll give it a shot.”

  Because it was almost time for Ava to take over, Liz left Drew and his dad to visit while she started doing her cleanup and making sure everything was stocked and ready for her. By the time she was done, so were the guys.

  After cashing them out, she leaned across the counter so Drew could kiss her goodbye. “Are you going to stop by after work?”

  “I have a meeting with a guy from the EPA later this afternoon. If it doesn’t run too late, I’ll be there. If it’s going to be long, I’ll text you.”

  “Okay.”

  When he was gone, she turned to go bus their dishes and almost ran into Ava. The older woman gave her a knowing smile. “It’s so nice to see Chief Miller smile like that. He’s a nice boy and Mallory was no good for him. You two are a much better couple.”

  They were a pretty good couple, Liz thought. They enjoyed each other’s company, respected each other’s jobs, and certainly had sexual chemistry.

  Ava put her hand on Liz’s arm. “And you’ll make the most beautiful babies. That Rose is a lucky woman. With the Kowalski looks and her Katie being so pretty and Drew being a looker, she won’t have a homely grandbaby in the whole damn bunch.”

  Liz smiled, her cheeks feeling tight. Why did it always have to come around to babies?

  * * *

  Drew grabbed the huge box that had been delivered to the police department out of the back of the SUV and walked up to Liz’s front door. He was saved from having to kick at her door for help when she opened it, and it gave him a jolt of pleasure to imagine her watching for him out the window. Or she’d heard his truck pull in, but he preferred the former.

  “What is that?” She stepped back to let him and the box through.

  “You’ll see.” He went straight to the kitchen and set the box on the floor. After using his pocket knife to slit the tape, he opened the flaps and pulled out a smaller box. “This is how you make coffee.”

  “You bought me a coffeemaker?”

  He heard the confusion in her voice, which wasn’t a surprise since he knew she was strict with herself. “It’s one of those single-cup brewers and there’s more.”

  Reaching back into the shipping box, he pulled out two boxes of the little cups, both decaf. She smiled when he held them up for her to see.

  “Most guys start with leaving a toothbrush.”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t have to because you had an extra in the drawer, so I went big.”

  “I hope it has directions.”

  While she started pulling the coffeemaker out of its packaging, he took the last small box out of the bigger cardboard one and worked his way toward the stove. When he was certain all of her attention was on getting the brewer out of the plastic sleeve, he opened the cabinet over her range hood and stuffed the box in.

  “What was that?”

  Busted. He gave her an innocent look. “What was what?”

  “Don’t even try it. What did you put in that cabinet?”

  “Coffee. The real kind. I was hoping to hide it from you so you wouldn’t be tempted to drink it, but I need my coffee.”

  She laughed at him and went back to what she was doing. “You don’t have to hide your coffee. Trust me, I felt crappy enough back when I was guzzling the stuff that I’m rarely tempted. Or I’m tempted a lot, actually, but I don’t have too much trouble resisting.”

  “So you feel better now?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Was it all the coffee, or do you think it was making changes in your life?”

  “All of it, probably,” she said, shrugging one shoulder. “The coffee was the big thing, but I was also lonely and unhappy and had a lot of stress about it.”

  Drew stepped up behind her to wrap his arm around her waist. With his other hand, he pulled her hair to one side so he could kiss the back of her neck. “You don’t seem lonely and unhappy anymore.”

  “Mmm.” She relaxed against his body and he slid his hand over her stomach, feeling some of his exhaustion slip away. “Speaking of not being lonely, Rose and Andy invited us over for dinner. Just a small one in the kitchen, since the lodge has guests.”

  Disappointment surged through him, but he tried not to let her feel it in him. He did slide his hand away from the snap of her jeans, though, and back to her hip. “She did, huh?”

  “I think she wants to gloat. I’m sure she’s managed to convince herself—and half the town—that us being a couple was all her doing.”

  “So what time are we supposed to be over there?” Judging by the clock, it would be soon enough so they wouldn’t have time to get naked before they left.

  “I passed on the invitation. I told her you’ve been working overtime and that we just want a quiet night. Do you mind?”

  He kissed the back of her neck again. “I don’t mind at all. I’ve been looking forward to it, but I don’t know how quiet it’ll be.”

  “You realize that means frozen pizzas in the oven instead of Rosie’s cooking, right?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” He was too busy nuzzling the side of her neck to make words, but hopefully she’d get the message. Frozen pizzas was a small price to pay.

  “Okay, show me how to use this thing.”

  He lifted his head, scowling at the coffeemaker she’d just plugged in.
“Right now?”

  “Yes.” She stepped away from him to set the temperature on her oven. “As tired as we both are, if we get horizontal right now, we won’t have supper until tomorrow morning and I’m starving.”

  “Good point.” He could wait a little while to get her naked, if the waiting involved food and coffee.

  He showed her how to use the machine while the pizzas baked, brewing them each a mug of the decaf. As much as he preferred the high-test, her alarm was merciless and the sooner he fell asleep after sex, the better.

  An hour later, they were snuggled on her futon, watching a DVD she’d popped in since she didn’t have cable yet. He had his feet up on her coffee table and she was tucked under his arm with her head on his chest.

  “The book was better,” Drew muttered. They were watching It, which was based on his favorite Stephen King novel. “I must have read that book ten times when I was a teenager.”

  “Needful Things was my favorite. It was more about people turning on each other, which was fascinating to me. Maybe because we live in a small town.”

  “I was always running with Mitch and your brothers, especially on our bikes, so I could imagine something like It happening to us. The clown was scary as hell, though.”

  He felt her chuckle vibrate against his chest. “You even had Katie, most of the time, since she was such a tomboy. The token girl.”

  “While you were with Rose, learning how to keep house and cook. Maybe you should have paid more attention.” He kicked at the paper plates near his toe, bearing the remains of their frozen pizzas.

  She slapped his leg. “Don’t be a wiseass. Watch, this is a good part.”

  Drew slouched down a little more on the futon, trying to get comfortable. It was tempting to try out one of the blow-up pool floats still scattered around the room, but he didn’t want to let go of Liz. When he’d told her he’d read It but hadn’t seen the movie, she’d been so excited for him to watch it, he didn’t have the heart to tell her what he really wanted to do was stretch out on the bed with her.

  But this wasn’t so bad, either. As a matter of fact, he could imagine doing it forever—coming home to Liz and having dinner and curling up in front of the television for a while. But, in his imagination, they’d need a few more frozen pizzas and the curling up would wait until the kids were tucked into bed.

  His chest ached at the visual, so he tried to push it away. Kissing the top of Liz’s head, he let himself feel content with holding her because ruining the here and now out of fear of the future was a stupid thing to do. And, right now, holding her was enough.

  * * *

  Liz lingered at the diner when her shift ended, chatting with Ava and a few of the customers. Drew wouldn’t be out of work for several more hours, anyway, and when your house didn’t have a lot of clutter, it didn’t take a long time to clean.

  She was starting to accumulate things, though. Like the coffeemaker Drew bought for her. And the extra razor and shaving cream in her bathroom. And, as of last night, a crisp WPD uniform hanging in her closet. Just in case he overslept on a night he stayed over, he’d said.

  Part of her knew it made sense. He spent a lot of time there and rushing in the morning because you didn’t have anything you needed at hand could throw off an entire day. But another part of her was waving a yellow flag, urging her to slow down.

  She loved spending time with Drew. Hell, if she was being honest with herself, she was in love with him and that scared the crap out of her. He seemed to be marching resolutely toward the finish line, which in his mind was marriage and babies, while she was content to go on as they were for a while. Spending time together, out of bed as much as in it, was enough for her since she was still adjusting to the changes in her life since leaving Darren and New Mexico behind her.

  “You okay, Liz?”

  She blinked at Gavin and realized she’d been standing in the kitchen with her keys in her hand for who knew how long. “Yeah. Just got lost in thought. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Doing errands took up some time. She went to the library and visited with Hailey, who had a fresh stack of books to recommend to her. Then she went to the market to pick up a few things and visit with Fran. Since Fran loved to talk, Drew’s cruiser was already in her driveway when she pulled the Mustang in.

  He got out when she shut her engine off and opened her door for her. “How was your day?”

  She climbed out of the car and kissed him. “It was another day. Better now.”

  “I would have gone inside, but chiefs of police aren’t supposed to pick locks.” He winked at her, but she heard the seriousness in his tone. He was hinting at wanting a key.

  “You know what they say. It’s only against the law if you get caught.”

  He put his hands on his hips and gave her a stern look. “People who say that usually end up in trouble.”

  “Again, only if they get caught.” She opened the trunk and he reached around her to grab the few grocery bags. She grabbed the library tote bag and followed him up the steps.

  She felt slightly awkward when he had to step aside so she could unlock the door. Maybe she’d managed to put off the key conversation by being funny, but it was going to come up again and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Despite his toothbrush on her sink and his uniform in her closet, his having a key to her house seemed like a big deal.

  “How was work today?” she asked once they were in the kitchen. “Any crime sprees?”

  “Not today. Maybe tomorrow.” He helped her unload the groceries, but he kept glancing at her. “You okay? You seem a little off.”

  Liz wasn’t one to let things fester. If something needed to be said, she usually said it. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to say something that might lead to a heavy discussion. They’d only been home from New Hampshire a week and it just didn’t seem like it was time for the exchange of keys yet.

  Not that it would be an exchange. She hadn’t even been to his house yet. Logically, she knew it was probably because she got out of work first, but some part of her wondered if it was because it had been Mallory’s house. Because it was the house he dreamed of filling with children and he didn’t see her in it.

  Which made no sense. He must think there was a chance she’d be that woman or he’d have moved on to a more likely candidate. It gave her a headache, trying to figure out where they stood.

  He took her chin in his hand and tilted her head to face him. “Talk to me, Liz.”

  “Just had a long day, that’s all.”

  “Don’t lie to me. Please.” The look in his eyes made her want to wrap him in a hug. “No matter how bad it is, just say it. Don’t ever tell me what you think I want to hear.”

  “We’re moving really fast,” she finally said. “It just makes me nervous.”

  “Because I made a joke about breaking into your house?” He shook his head. “Or is it the uniform in your closet?”

  “It’s a little bit of everything, I guess. I just want to keep spending time with you without worrying that you’re in the fast lane and I’m in the slow lane just trying to keep up.”

  He tossed his WPD cap on the counter so he could run his hand over his hair. “It’s not a race. And I’m not trying to rush you. I know you’re still exploring your options and I just want to stay near the top of the list, I guess.”

  “Why does it have to be a one or the other kind of list? I can’t have you and explore other options in my life, too?”

  “The time will come, though, when I’ll ask you to commit to exploring those options in Whitford, though. This is my home and it’s where I want to spend the rest of my life and raise my kids.”

  Liz turned and grabbed a jar of peanut butter to put in the cabinet. “See? Back to the kids.”

  “You know that’s what I want in the future.” He took
the jar out of her hand and set it back on the counter before turning her to face him. “The future, Liz. I’m not stupid. You’ve been back, what? A little over a month? But I’m also not going to pretend having children isn’t a big deal to me just because that’s what you want to hear.”

  “That’s not what I want, either. I just want some reassurance you’re in this relationship for me.”

  “I’m here because I like spending time with you. Because there’s nobody else I’d rather be with and nothing else I’d rather be doing. It’s that simple, Liz.” He looked at her, his jaw clenching for a few seconds. “If you want me to take my uniform home and give you some space, I’ll do that.”

  “No.” She didn’t want that. “I like spending time with you, too. I want you to stay.”

  “Good choice.” His expression cleared and he smiled at her. “Because I was going to fix that drip in your faucet while you made dinner.”

  “Plumbing skills are a very sexy quality in a police chief.”

  When he put his hands on her hips and hauled her in for a kiss, Liz sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Now that she wasn’t feeling pushed, she was free to enjoy Drew without the nagging doubts rattling around in her head.

  And she intended to enjoy the hell out of him tonight.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Drew wanted to take the phone from his desk out to the parking lot, put it under the wheels of his truck and drive over it four or five times. Or quit. He could resign and go fishing until he ran out of money. Then he’d fish some more because he wouldn’t have a lawn to mow and he’d need food.

  His body was still adjusting to going to bed a little earlier and getting up a lot earlier, and today everything that came across his desk was pretending to be an emergency.

  “Chief,” Barbara’s voice came from the doorway. “I really need an answer from you about scheduling the school emergency response drills because it takes time to pull it together and it needs to happen before school’s in session again.”