Unexpected Love

by Melissa Price

  Sean dropped his hand. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

  She looked back at him, “It hurts to breathe so it’s not you.”

  He looked at her firmly, “We still need to talk.” She didn’t move or look at him. “Taylor, you did not listen to me. I know you saw me shake my head at you.”

  Her voice raised, “What? I don’t want to talk about it Sean. You weren’t the one with a gun at your head.” Her voice cracked, “You weren’t the one who was shot. It’s over.”

  His voice was raised too. “Dammit, Taylor. You could have been killed. You were provoking an unbalanced and angry man.”

  She yelled back, “I saw you but I was not going another foot with that creature. I was not going to just stand there and let him hurt me anymore. I would rather have gone down fighting.” She looked at him with anguish and tears in her eyes.

  Sean sighed as he pulled her into his arms and held her as tightly as he dared, being careful not to touch her side, “I would not have let him kill you. You needed to trust me.”

  “I did trust you. I knew you would be there when I needed you and you were. I knew I couldn’t do anything once we were down, but I knew you would.”

  He pulled back and took her face in his hands and made her look at him, “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” He kissed her.

  She smiled, “You were scared? How do you think I felt?” She kissed him back.

  She sat down on the couch and pulled his arm to sit with her. He brushed his fingers lightly on her side.

  “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

  “I know you were fine, woman. And I know it hurts. If I could trade places with you I would. I’m sorry about not going with you to the hospital and staying. I really wanted to.”

  She leaned against his shoulder while he put his arm around her. “It’s okay. At least you came to check on me. That made me feel better.”

  They stayed that way for a long time, neither of them watching but both looking at the images on the TV.

  He finally got up and heated up some soup and insisted she eat. She took it reluctantly. She did not want to eat, but she was supposed to take her pills with food. After he got her the pills and she swallowed them, he carried her upstairs.

  Forty-six

  Later, after she had changed for bed, she padded barefoot into his room. This is becoming a habit for me, she thought, but she didn’t care. She needed to be with him right now. She hobbled on the bed and laid down next to him. She asked, “Sean, were you in trouble today?”

  “For what, being unprofessional and not obeying orders without question, which can get you killed by the way, or for letting myself be too emotionally involved? Oh, and let’s not forget stopping at the hospital instead of going straight back without permission.”

  Wow, she liked that. Too emotionally involved? “All of the above?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  She whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  He turned on his side up and touched her face, “It’s not your fault. I knew better. Just like you knew you shouldn’t have said those things to that crazy man.” His lips touched hers.

  She put her arm across his chest and rested her head on his shoulder, “I hate this getting shot stuff. Not something I’m going to tell my grandparents. Did you know I heard the shot but did not realize I had been hit? Is it always like that? Have you ever been shot?”

  He said softly, “Yes, but it hit my vest. But it did hurt. I think it depends on where and when you are shot. Some feel it right away and some are so focused on what’s going on around them, they don’t realize it right away.”

  “Did you feel it right away?”

  “Oh yeah. I was shot at close range and it knocked me down. I knew why I was down and it hurt, but I got back up.”

  “Even though you were shot?”

  “I had no choice since my partner and I were in trouble.”

  “Wow. John?”

  No. It happened when I was a rookie.”

  “It wasn’t my fault, Sean.”

  “I know.” He had heard the story of what had occurred in the school.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “The other day when we had Maggie and Walter over, you said you had never had anyone over to your house. Does that mean anyone?” She emphasized the last word.

  “Anyone. Why?”

  “I was just curious. Not even a girl?”

  “No, not even a girl. Why the questions?”

  “I was just curious. I thought you would have had a woman overnight at least.”

  He stared up at the ceiling, “Are you fishing for information about my sex life?” He decided not to look at her since the room was now dark and he would not be able to see her facial expressions.

  She half laughed, “No, of course not. Why, do you have one?”

  “Taylor, just come out and ask or change the subject.” He was feeling very uncomfortable about it. He wasn’t interested in the past, only the present and her.

  She tried to sound innocent but she knew the path she was going down was a slippery slope, “I don’t want to know. Really, I don’t.”

  “Good, go to sleep.”

  She settled down and closed her eyes, but she really wanted to ask. Maybe later.

  At 2 am she awoke. Her side was aching. She tried to reach across him for her water and pills, but she couldn’t reach them. He reached over and handed her the water and got out a pill.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “I was awake. Is it hurting a lot?”

  “It’s kind of like a dull ache rather than a sharp pain like earlier, but it is uncomfortable.”

  “So, do you always wake up at exactly 2 am?”

  She giggled, “No, sometimes it’s 1 or 1:30. I’ve always slept that way. I don’t know why, but I like waking up and then going back to sleep. Are you always grumpy at 2 am?”

  “I am never grumpy. I’m just sleep challenged sometimes.”

  “Oh, is that what you call it? It’s still grumpy.” She was laughing.

  “Call it anything you want, but it’s not grumpy.”

  When they had settled back down she asked, “So have you had many girlfriends in town?”

  He sighed, “You are persistent. Is it important?”

  “No, of course not. I met someone named Amanda or something when I was shopping with Maggie. She asked Maggie about you.”

  He knew she wasn’t going to let it go and it would come up eventually again. He sighed, “Fine. I’ve dated three women over the past four years and slept with two of them but this last year I realized I didn’t want short relationships. It wasn’t what I really wanted. Yes, Amanda was one of those women. Are you happy now?”

  “So you slept with Amanda?”

  He sighed, “Yes. It turned out to be a big mistake and I was too stupid to realize it at the time. I finally figured out we were not right together and I found out she was dating someone else at the same time she was going out with me. She’s engaged to another guy now. It seems like other people knew but I was too stupid to figure it out or maybe I just didn’t want to know. Anyways, I finally wised up and told her it was over and she got mad, called me a few choice names, and I left. What about you?”

  “Me?” She hadn’t expected it to come back on her. “Uhm, well, I think I’d better try to get some sleep. I was shot, remember? Thanks for telling me about Amanda. You were not stupid by the way. Other people always seem to know. Sometimes we want to see the good in people even when it’s not there.” She thought about her mother. “Good night.”

  He understood she was referring to her mother, maybe others he did not know about. “Oh no. You wanted to talk about it and had to know so now you have to answer the question.”

  “What question?”

  “You know what question.”

  She just was not going to get out of it, was she? It was only fair since she had pried into his personal life. She could st
ill try. “There’s not much to say really. You’d better get some sleep since you have to work. I don’t want to be responsible for you being grumpy on the job.”

  “Oh, you’re not getting out of it. Spill.”

  “Okay, fine. I had a boyfriend in high school that convinced me I needed to have sex with him if I loved him. I desperately wanted him to love me. It was awful. He insisted we do try again and I told him no and he dumped me.”

  “That’s it?” He asked incredulously.

  “What, it’s not like I’m an old woman yet. Let’s drop the subject.” She shifted uncomfortably.

  He murmured, “You brought it up.”

  She did not reply.

  What was it with women and needing to know about a guy’s sex life? She was not the first woman to ask. He was with her and only interested in her. Did she not get that? Just because she was not ready did not mean he wasn’t. But, she was worth the wait. He had no doubts about that. He had brought her to his house, hadn’t he? She was in his bed, wasn’t she? Did she not understand the significance of all that? He decided not to even try to figure it out. She was smart, maybe she knew but was not going to let on that she knew.

  Taylor lay quietly, pondering what he had said. She realized that it had happened. How did it happen to her? She had fallen in love with Sean. She shouldn’t have. She had never thought she would find someone special. What did people call it? Her one true love. No, it would never happen to her, she had been so sure.

  She suspected he might love her, or hoped he did. But what did she know about what a guy was feeling? Even though he did not share his feelings a lot, but for the most part, he shared with her. What was it Maggie had said? Think about it and you’ll figure it out? Did he love her?

  So much for timing tonight. Her side hurt too much to try to test the waters and engage him in any activity. She would have to come up with a plan. And a way to tell him she was ready. She was afraid to tell him about her feelings. She had never been so totally and completely crazy in love with someone, she mused. It had seemed an impossibility and it was nerve-wracking.

  What if he did not feel the same way? What if she would love him for the rest of her life and he didn’t return the feelings? She just couldn’t imagine loving anyone else. She went drifted off to sleep.

  Sean laid there soundlessly. He wondered if he should tell her he loved her, but she was not ready for further advancements, so maybe she was not ready to hear it. What if she didn’t want to hear it? It wasn’t something he had never told another woman. But he had never felt so intensely and deeply about anyone else. She knew more about him than anyone ever would. He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but what if that was not what she wanted? What if she wanted to leave?

  He just did not know so he decided to remain silent on the subject. Besides, she had given him no indication of how she felt about him. But he did feel he was making progress. She admitted she trusted him.

  Forty-seven

  Sean took for her check up at the doctor’s. When she was called back, she glanced at him. He knew she was uncomfortable so he went in with her.

  As they waited in the room, he held her hand. Her hand was cold and she was way too tense. “Relax. He’s just going to look at your wound and let you go. It’ll be over quickly.”

  She smiled and nodded her head but she kept hold of his hand. The doctor came in, looked at her quickly and let her go. He told her to take it easy for a few more days.

  She looked with chagrin at Sean. “I made it worse than it was.”

  He gave her a quick hug and led her out to the car.

  As he was driving home, she suddenly yelled, “Sean stop.”

  He stopped the car and stared at her, “What?”

  She pointed to a spotted brown and white, very skinny small puppy hunkered down next to the road. His ribs stuck out and he was covered in dirt. He had a sad look in his eyes. She hopped out of the car.

  “Taylor, wait.” He jumped out after her.

  She was talking softly as the dog coward down on his belly, “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. You poor baby. I bet you’re so hungry.”

  “Taylor, he might bite.”

  “You won’t bite me, will you?”

  He lowered his head, crawled over to her cautiously on his belly and she pet him. He looked at her with big sad eyes. She looked over at Sean, “Can we take him home, please? He needs some food and love.”

  Sean stood there. He wasn’t sure what to say but he suddenly felt bad for the dog. He looked like he had not eaten in quite some time. He needs some food and love. Don’t we all?

  Taylor realized that he might not want a dog in his house. “It’s okay if you don’t want him but please, let’s not just leave him here.”

  How could he possibly say no to those eyes? He wasn’t talking about the dog. He shook his head in agreement. Taylor coaxed the dog into the car and they took him to Walter’s house.

  Walther looked him over and told them he was healthy but terribly skinny. “He looks like he is about 3 months old, but he’s undernourished. Definitely a mixed breed, maybe some terrier mixed in. He looks like he is going to be on the small side when he grows up. He is cute though.” He gave Taylor a smile. “Bring him by the clinic tomorrow and we’ll get him some shots.”

  Shots? That would cost money. Not something Taylor had even thought of earlier. Oh well, what could she do? He needed someone to take care of him and she was not going to abandon him.

  Walter gave them advice on feeding him, so they went to the pet store to get the food they needed, two dog bowls, a dog bed, collar and leash, dog bone, and a squeak toy.

  Sean picked up a pink stone studded collar, “How about this one?”

  Taylor rolled her eyes at him, “He’s a boy. Pink with dazzle is just not right.”

  Sean grinned at her, “How about this one?” It was a loud lime green.

  Taylor liked the purple with bling. Sean said it was not a boy dog collar. They compromised and got blue with black paw prints.

  As they wandered around the store, Sean knew she would stop and admire every pet near them and talk to the owner and she did not prove him wrong.

  They finally got to the check out. Sean paid with his credit card.

  When they got to the car, the little dog was sleeping in her arms. She said, “Sean, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would cost so much. I’ll pay you back.”

  He said nothing. He did not want to get into an argument over money. He decided to compromise, “You pay for the shots tomorrow and I’ll pay for this stuff.”

  She gave him a happy smile, “Okay.”

  When they got home, she fed him a little, put water in his new bowl and was rewarded with a tail wag and kiss. When they gave him a bath in the downstairs sink, he shook his wet body really hard and Taylor and Sean were instantly soaked. Taylor giggled.

  Sean did say anything but smiled at her. He tried not to look at her now wet shirt hugging her body. She looked down to where his eyes had just gone. She could see the outline of her breasts and nipples. She looked at him and nervously laughed. “Sorry.” She hugged her arms to her chest.

  Sean said nothing. She started to bend down to dry the dog off with an old towel Sean had found, but he stopped her when she winced at the pain in her side. Apparently bending over was not a good thing to do right now. “I’ll do that. Go change.”

  She gave him a big smile and kissed him on the cheek, “Thank you.” She left him to dry off the dog.

  When Taylor came downstairs, the dog was in his bed and had his toy with him. Sean was on the couch. “What are you going to name him?”

  She smiled, “What are we going to name him? Have any ideas?”

  “Hmm, we can go with cooking terms or police terms.”

  “Police but something nice.”

  “How about Tango?”

  “What does that mean in police language?”

  “Thank you.”

  She laughed, “I lov
e it.” She threw her arms around his neck, “I knew you had a big heart, cop.”

  He kissed her and offered to help her in the kitchen, but she told him to keep an eye on Tango. When she came out of the kitchen after fixing a quick meal, she found Tango with his head on Sean’s lap and they both looked like they were watching TV.

  Yep, her two guys were going to get along just fine, she decided.

  Forty-eight

  When she looked outside the next morning a light snow had begun to fall. Sean had left for work and said he would call her. Ever since she had gotten shot, he called her three times a day to check on her. She was finally feeling more like her old bad self instead of the shot, bad self. She giggled. Only she would understand that. Maybe Sean would.

  The weather channel had said a big storm was moving to the east coast and they could be in for a lot of snow. Maybe she should go to the store and stock up on some things after taking Tango for his shots. She waited an hour and then called Sean. She asked if she should go pick up some groceries in case the storm was bad.

  “Good idea, use my credit card. It’s in the top drawer of my dresser. I can bring the bags in when I get home. When I bought the house, I was told that there is a generator that will run the refrigerator, but nothing else in case we lose power. I’ll stop and get some gas for it. Oh, and pick up a couple of packs of double A and C batteries.”

  She went upstairs and looked for his card. It seemed like an invasion of his privacy to rummage around in the drawer, but she found the card.

  She picked up the car keys he had given her and put on her coat. “Come on, Tango.” She put his leash on.

  Her cell phone rang. It was Maggie asking her if she wanted to go to the store.

  “I have to take Tango over to see Walter for some shots first.”

  “Oh, great. I wanted to ask him something anyways. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  So she and Tango waited and went with Maggie.

  At the clinic, Walter told her he looked better. He gave him his shots and then checked him over. “He’s healthy, just undernourished. He’ll need to gain some weight before he gets neutered.”