Jessie looked around the apartment. There wasn’t much to pack except for some dishes and her clothes. Fortunately, other than the floral chair that was her mother’s, the one she disliked but couldn’t part with for sentimental reasons, she’d rented the apartment furnished. She could be out by the end of the month, only a few days away.
Jessie placed the last of her clothing in the dresser from the box sitting on the bed, shut the drawer and glanced around the room, releasing a satisfied sigh. Surprised to see that Zach had left the room exactly the way she’d decorated it made it feel more like home than just being a guest. She remembered the day he’d given her full reign to decorate the house so long as she promised not to make it look girly, and she’d kept her promise. Now, it was decorated in black and white making it sleek and stylish that was pleasing to the eye. She’d even taken advantage of the beautiful view of the water by having two-toned white on white striped panels on sliders installed that served for privacy or full view.
Zach entered the room and pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “I’m so happy you decided to move in with me again,” he said.
“Me too,” she said. “It feels like home.”
“That’s because it is.”
“I hope so.”
“I think the only thing we need to learn is agree to disagree.”
“Do you really think we can do that?”
“Agree to disagree?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He raised his palms in the air. “It might take a little getting used to, but we love each other. All we have to do is work on it.”
“Okay. I’m game.” She tipped her head back, her nose in the air and inhaled. “What’s that smell?”
“Dinner is in the oven.”
“Get out of here. You did not!”
“I swear,” he grinned and held up his hand, “I did.”
“When did you become so domesticated?” she asked.
“Since I fell in love with you. You’re the reason I get up in the morning.”
She gave him a playful tap. “You’ve become such a marshmallow. No more Mr. Tough Guy, huh?”
“Only on the job.” He put his arm around her waist and guided her down the hall toward the living room. “Dinner is almost ready.”
When she entered the living room, a candle flickered under the dim lights with a crackling fire blazing in the fireplace. Zach put his arm around her and kissed her tenderly. “Are you hungry?” he asked, handing her a glass of champagne he’d removed from the table.
“It depends on what you’re serving,” she said tapping her glass against his, pleased to see him in an apron. “You know,” she said, “I think the only thing sexier than seeing a man in an apron, is a naked man wearing one. She gave him a sexy smile.
“I think you’re trying to seduce me,” he said with a devilish grin.
She leaned in and kissed him again. “Is it working?”
“Uh huh,” he said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ABBY CAVANAUGH exited through the glass door of the precinct and walked to the luncheonette down the street to pick up food to take back to her desk. She was working on a time sensitive file for Jess and promised to finish it before she left for the day. Now that she had Justin, she rarely put in overtime. She smiled thinking about him. He was now enrolled in public school and he seemed to be doing well with the change. Having friends and inviting them home was a new thing for him and she wasn’t about to discourage it. In fact, she encouraged it. Justin needed to socialize more especially since he wasn’t able to do that during the seven years he was missing. She was also happy the school he attended offered after school programs that kept him busy until she could take the bus there after work and pick him up at the end of the day. She knew she was being slightly over-protective, but she wasn’t about to leave him on his own yet. And he didn’t seem to mind. The fact that he was getting a taste of freedom seemed to suffice.
What Abby did find hard was hearing Justin refer to his abductor as dad. It was hard to swallow, but knowing he was good to Justin forced her to think of it as a blessing. Her brother had been spared a dysfunctional family life and she’d learned to appreciate family more than she ever imagined. It taught her to respect life and to take responsibility for her actions. Something neither of her parents seemed to be capable of in their lifetime.
Walking inside the busy luncheonette, she stood in line and waited to place her order. Noisy chatter surrounded her. Glancing around the room, she noticed a man staring at her. She turned away, but something seemed familiar about him. She gave a quick glance then looked away as quickly, and caught him smiling. She felt a twinge of nerves attack her stomach, the heat of him staring at her. It made her uncomfortable. She reached for her cell phone when she realized, in her haste to hurry, she’d left it in her desk drawer. Unsure about what to do, she turned in the opposite direction. Within a few minutes he was standing next to her.
“Abby.” She turned because she recognized his voice and thought she was imagining that he sounded like her father. He was the last person she wanted to see, ever. He said her name again. “It’s me Abby, Dad,” he said.
Excitement shot up inside her and she wasn’t sure why. She hated him for what he did to her.
“Please talk to me,” he asked again in a low voice.
“What do you want?”
“I want to tell you how sorry I am.”
Hearing him tell her he was sorry made the hair on the back of her neck stand up straight. Fury surged through her. He was about to get what he deserved. “You, sir, are seven years too late for that.” She ignored him and placed her order when it was her turn, then did an about face and walked outside. Alex followed.
It was warm, but not too warm outside. She had always enjoyed Indian summer, the end of the warm weather that would soon become winter. The leaves on the trees were beginning to turn to brilliant reds and yellows making it very picturesque.
“Will you please listen to me?” Alex said.
“You can talk, but it isn’t going to do you much good.”
“I don’t blame you for being mad. Not a bit. I deserve everything you’re dishing out at me. Get it off your chest for every angry thought you’ve ever had about me. I know that I failed as a husband and I failed you as a father.”
“That’s an understatement!” she retorted.
“I heard they’ve found your brother.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve been keeping tabs on you, that’s how I know.”
“Isn’t that interesting. You’ve been keeping tabs on me yet never once did you think to pick up the phone to call. You walked out and left me with a mother who drank herself into oblivion, who couldn’t take care of herself, much less a child. But you didn’t care anything about that because you were too selfish to care. And now that I’ve found Justin, you’re back? Who for? Justin? Because I know it’s certainly not for me.”
“That’s not true, Abby. I did want to come back home, but I didn’t know how to go about doing it. I knew you wouldn’t accept me back. When I left that day, I knew your mom couldn’t take care of you, but I knew your grandparents would. And I knew you’d have a much better life than either one of us could offer you.”
“But then, you really didn’t know whether I would have or not. Did you? And why is that? Oh yeah, because you never tried.” The tears were now falling from her eyes. “Go back,” she pointed, “to wherever you came from and pick up your life where you left off because we don’t need you now. We’re doing fine and have been for years. Did you really think you could pick up where you left off? That we’d accept you back in our lives after what you did to us? Well, I’ve got a news flash for you—you gave up that right a long time ago. Please, go and leave us alone.”
“Abby, be reasonable.”
“Be reasonable?” she said, her voice increased in volume but she didn’t care. “Be reasonable? You’re out of your mind. And
if you don’t get away from me, I will call the police.”
“Call them, I don’t care,” he said with belligerence. “I don’t appreciate your disrespect.”
“Disrespect? I’ll tell you what was disrespectful. You walking out on your twelve-year old daughter and leaving her to fend for herself. That’s disrespect. You leaving your wife who couldn’t deal with the disappearance of her son by herself and finally committed suicide two months after you bailed. That’s disrespect! I came home from school and there she was, bleeding all over my bed, a broken liquor bottle right next to her that she’d used to slash her wrists. And you know what she left me? A note. You, disrespected me, and my mother, so don’t expect me to inflate your ego by showing you respect because you haven’t earned it. Oh, and spare me the attitude.” She threw her head back and laughed. “You’re as bad as I thought you were.” She saw a cop in the distance and pointed. “You have thirty seconds to walk away from me because I will ask that cop standing on the corner to cart you away.”
“Only thirty seconds?” he said. “Is that all I get after coming all this distance?”
“That’s all you’re going to get from me.” She turned and began to walk back toward the luncheonette, but stopped. Now shaking from head to toe, her heart pounded fiercely, she had more to say. “One more thing before I go. You also disrespected your parents by the way. You left your elderly parents who are now dead while you were off doing who knows what. You must be extremely proud of yourself!” She turned on her heels and walked away leaving him standing and speechless.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“I UNDERSTAND YOU want to see me, Jess?” Lieutenant Webster said.
“Yes, Lieutenant.”
“I have a feeling I know what this is about, and I have to say, I’m not going to be happy when I hear you say it.”
Jess quirked her head to the side. “You should know this decision did not come easy. I’ve really struggled with it for a while, but I’ve decided I have to do what’s best for my sanity.” She smiled. “I appreciate you finding a slot within the department for me, but I can’t take the heartache of the job. I’d be fine if I could only view this as a job, but that’s not who I am. I can’t turn off the emotions when it’s a kid who’s been abducted or chopped up into little pieces. Not when the majority of cases are the abductions of small children. Sure, the happy endings are wonderful, but the happy endings are too few and far between. I guess the hardest part right now is going to be leaving my peers. I’ve nestled in nicely with them and I hate doing this to them and Bud, but it’s something I have to do for me.” She released a sigh relieved she’d told him. “Homicide is where I belong.”
Webster puckered his lips. “Kids get killed all the time whether it’s Missing Persons or Homicide.”
“I know, but in homicide, there’s far less children involved than here.”
“I have to be honest. I’m disappointed. You’ve been doing a great job and I had high hopes for you. I really hate to lose you.” He blew out air. “But as much as I hate seeing you leave, if moving back to homicide is what you want, then I’ll help you find another precinct because you’re an asset to any unit.”
“Thank you. I’ve recently moved to City Island, so I was hoping to find something in one of them . . . other than the five-one, of course, but I’ll take what I can get.”
“Sounds like you’ve moved in with Zach.”
“I did.”
“Well, I’m pleased to know that you’re upfront about it. Many of these guys aren’t.”
“Oh, Lieutenant, don’t paint me as a saint. I’m not.”
He laughed. “I know that too. What I should have said is you finally came clean.”
“I got tired of hiding.”
“Well, it certainly sounds like you’ve gotten your act together.” He patted his hand on his desk. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thank you, sir.” She stood and headed out the door deciding she wanted to tell Abby first, then she’d tell Bud, a task she wasn’t looking forward to doing.
Abby smiled when she saw Jessie enter the clerical office. “Hey everyone, let’s give my hero a round of applause.” Noticing Jess, they the women stopped what they were doing and clapped. Jessie’s face turned a crimson red.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You truly are a hero in our eyes,” Cathy Jamison, the office manager said. “Congratulations for going the extra mile and digging into a case that seemed to have little hope.”
“But I wasn’t the only one. There were others who helped too.”
“Yeah, but if you hadn’t pursued it to begin with, nothing would have been done. Now, Abby has a family.”
“You’re very kind. Thank you.” Jessie said watching the women sit back down and get to work.
“So what’s up, Jess?” Abby asked.
“I have something to tell you before anyone else does.”
Abby nodded. “I think I already know. You’re leaving.”
“How do you know? The only person I’ve told was the Lieutenant.”
“I had a feeling. That Sloper case really knocked your socks off.”
“It did, but your brother’s case came along and picked me right up.”
“Does this mean I’m never going to see you again?”
Jess jerked her head back. “Not a chance of that happening. You’re not getting rid of us that quickly. Zach and I both want to continue to see you and Justin. He really took a liking to that little guy. How’s he doing?”
“Amazing, actually. I guess doing things he’s never done before has helped him.”
“I’m thrilled to hear that, and I know Zach will be too.” Jess looked around the office and waved to everyone. “Well, I’d better get back to my desk. Bud is probably looking for me.”
“How about lunch later? I’d like to tell you about an unwanted visitor I had.”
“Who?” Jessie knew who she was talking about but she didn’t want to rat on Zach. “Who was it?”
“My father, but we’ll talk later.”
Jessie waved and headed for her desk to talk to Bud.
Jessie breathed in the crisp air as she walked along Deep Water Way from the subway. She loved the clean smell of autumn. A gust of air kicked up and the smell of burnt leaves sailed past her nose. She inhaled again. City Island was really a nice place to live and the peacefulness of the area amazed her. She grinned. Who knew? She never thought she’d leave the city, but time and Zach changed all that. Maybe domestication was in her future after all. But she wasn’t about to rush into anything. Not yet.
So much had changed in the last year, she could hardly believe it herself. But what had mostly changed was her fear of commitment had all but vanished and she was no longer afraid. She’d been a little leery about moving back in with Zach, but the fact that they’d reached the one-month mile marker and they hadn’t killed each other was a good sign.
Passersby smiled at her as they eased past her on the leaf-covered sidewalk. Jessie smiled back, a contented feeling now washing over her, and she wondered if they knew she was their new neighbor. She doubted it because of her work schedule, but that was okay. The only person she knew in her Manhattan apartment was Mrs. Curly, the elderly woman downstairs who’d treated her like a daughter. Mrs. Curly had reminded her of what her mother might have been like had she lived to a ripe old age. Two neighbors sitting on their porch waved to her and she happily waved back excited that they weren’t afraid of making eye contact with a stranger.
Reaching the bungalow, she walked up the front steps and inside. Zach was already home—she could tell by the smell of his aftershave looming overhead. It brought a smile to her face bringing with it the memory of their first official date. Although at the time, she didn’t think of it as such. But she’d had one too many drinks and didn’t even realize she’d slept with him until the next morning. She remembered praying she hadn’t slept with him and was happy when she stretched her han
d across the mattress and it was empty. That is until she covered her eyes with the pillow and smelled his aftershave embedded in the pillowcase. Coming home to him now was an amazing feeling. Every day was a new experience.
“Hey,” he said, and handed her a beer. “How was your day?”
“Actually, better. I told the Lieutenant I wanted to leave and he’s going to help.”
“Terrific! I’ll bet he was disappointed.”
“He was, but this is for the best. How was your day?”
“It was okay, but it’s much better now that you’re here.”
He helped her remove her coat, then opened his arms and waited for her to walk into them. “How about we forget all about work and just focus on nothing else but us?” His lips slowly lowered onto hers and sent a shiver of ecstasy through her body. It was at that precise moment she knew moving in with him was one of the best decisions she’d ever made.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
K. T. Roberts writes romantic suspense and is frantically working on her next series in the cozy mysteries genre that will feature Glitzy Nash. She’s an amateur sleuth, but please don’t tell Glitzy—she thinks she’s a pro.
Elusive Justice (Kensington-Gerard Detective series Book 2) Page 19
