She nodded her head.
“Good night then.” He stepped outside, strode down the curved walkway, whistling as he climbed into his car.
Amy noticed him wave from the driver’s seat as he passed under the streetlight at the end of her driveway. She waved back and then closed and locked the front door. A smile crept across her face while she punched in the code to set the security system for the night.
She returned to the family room, turned off the TV, and carried the tray filled with the coffee mugs and the bottle of liqueur into the kitchen.
“That went splendidly, Rover. But I’m exhausted. I’ll race you to bed, big guy.” Amy kicked off her pumps and charged up the staircase, but halfway up a streak of red fur flew past her. “That’s not fair. You have four feet and I’ve only got two.”
She changed into deep rose-colored silk pajamas, sighing contentedly. She couldn’t imagine why she’d been so stressed out about her date with Kevin. She hadn’t enjoyed an evening so much in ages. His playful teasing and intelligent conversation contributed greatly to the dinner’s success. He’d made friends with Rover. And could that man kiss! He’d promised to call her again, and she looked forward to their next date.
While she brushed her teeth, she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. “Kevin Robertson just might be a keeper, Rover. I wonder how long it will be before he calls again?” she asked aloud as she stuck her toothbrush back into the holder.
And then she mentally kicked herself for thinking such a thing.
“Darn it! If Fate heard that, I’ve probably jinxed any possibility of a relationship,” she groaned. Back to dinner alone in front of the television set, and she would have no one to blame but herself.
But at least she’d have Rover.
She wandered into her bedroom, pulled back the covers. And then she recalled Kevin and her peeking under the bed at her frightened dog. When she’d kissed him, lying beside her on the carpeted floor, she’d wondered if he’d suggest they skip dinner and make this first date exceptionally memorable.
But he’d stopped at kisses and caresses.
A true gentleman.
She’d come to grips with losing Allan. Had even removed her wedding rings. She was ready to move on, unequivocally. Her heart wouldn’t survive another loss, and she wasn’t interested in anything long term. But dating again would be fun, especially dating Kevin Robertson.
Gentlemanliness was one habit she’d love to break Kevin of, however, and sooner rather than later.
*
While Kevin drove home from his date with Amy, he recalled that he’d almost swallowed his tongue before he could reply to her question about the teenager who broke into her house. Thankfully, there was good old ‘I’m not at liberty to discuss the case’. She was probably getting sick of hearing his reasons. But they were reasons not excuses. He couldn’t discuss it with her. Period.
Kevin had come to grips with his decision to let the matter be for now. Hopefully, the police would recapture the little punk and it wouldn’t become necessary to inform Amy of his escape and frighten her all over again.
Kevin felt certain Amy was safe, but in the unlikely event the kid showed up at Amy’s house, Rover would alert her. Before the dog high-tailed it under the bed, he had barked his head off until Amy answered the door and let him in. If the dog barked a warning, Amy would call 9-1-1 without hesitation. He felt certain of it.
In his estimation, Kevin figured adopting that dog was the best decision Amy had ever made. She just didn’t know it.
Chapter 7
She’d been dating Kevin for a little over two months now. He called three days ago to inform her that one of his co-workers had traded shifts with him, and he had the entire weekend off. They agreed to a backyard barbecue at her house on Friday night. A perfect way to spend an exceptionally hot evening in mid-June.
Amy settled onto the green floral lounger and Rover flopped onto the deck floor at her feet. She took a sip of her ice-cold kiwi wine cooler, and then held the cold bottle against her forehead, attempting to cool herself as she watched the muscles ripple across Kevin’s bare back. He wore nothing but khaki cargo shorts and brown leather sandals. She couldn’t say whether it was the weather or Kevin that had her feeling so warm. Probably both.
His tanned hands carefully placed the gourmet burgers she’d prepared onto the hot grill. She’d almost brought out Allan’s old apron with the words ‘Kiss the Cook’ on the front, but a last minute pang of sentimentality stopped her. That faded and stained old grilling apron held too many precious memories to be shared. She made a mental note to purchase another one for the new man in her life next time she was at the mall.
“We couldn’t have ordered up a better day for this,” said Kevin, reaching for his beer and taking a quick swig. He set it down on the corner of the patio table and returned to his grilling duties.
Amy took another sip of her cooler and nodded. “I’ve applied sunscreen twice today already, and still my arms are turning pink. Shouldn’t have run through the sprinkler next door with Tiffany’s girls. Maybe this stuff isn’t waterproof.” Amy’s foot trailed down the dog’s paw while he slept beside her.
“I can raise the umbrella if you’d like some shade,” offered Kevin.
“No way. Summer is too short as it is.” Amy reached across the patio table, grabbed the tube of sunscreen, applied another layer on both arms, and then wiped her hands on the hand towel she’d brought out specifically for that purpose.
“This is such a quiet neighborhood. Except for the kids laughing and shouting while drenching each other with the sprinkler, I haven’t heard a peep from anyone.” Kevin stood, hands on hips, with the wood-handled flipper in one hand.
“A lot of people head out to their cottages on the weekend. I own one, too, but I never go out there unless Leslie and Tiffany and the gang come along.” Amy sipped her drink before continuing. “Allan and I loved it there. And we spent a lot of weekends camping and hiking. He bought my SUV for my birthday the year before he died. I think the main reason he bought it was to accommodate all the equipment for our jaunts into the great outdoors.”
“Your Lexus is a great vehicle, but I love my old car. Still runs as good as it did the day she rolled off the assembly line.” Kevin grinned. “I usually drive my Ford pickup, so the car comes in handy on evenings when I take a lady out to dinner.”
“You keep it in remarkable shape. Even the interior is like new.”
“I bought if off an older lady, after her husband died. She told me the old guy was meticulous when it came to caring for his vehicles. If I’d had the cash I would have bought the boat she had for sale, too.”
“I hate to admit it, but I own a boat I never use.”
“What kind?”
“An open bow 16 ft. something or other out at the cottage in the boat shed. Allan used to spend hours water-skiing or fishing with his buddies at the consulting firm. I haven’t used the boat since he died.” Amy sighed, remembering the fun times and laughter her husband had shared with his friends. And the other wives would help her prepare enough food to feed an army every weekend when they entertained at the lake. “Maybe we should spend a weekend at the cottage one of these times, and we could give that boat some exercise?”
“Sounds like a lot of fun. These burgers are almost done. Do you want to bring the rest of the food out here?” Kevin polished off his beer and set the empty on the table.
“That didn’t take long to cook. I’ll bring everything else out. And I’ll fetch the buns for you to toast on the grill for me.” Amy leapt to her feet and charged into the kitchen through the open patio doors.
Amy pulled the bowl of potato salad out of the refrigerator, grabbed the bag of hamburger buns off the counter, and reached for the screen door handle on the sliding glass doors. When the snippet of conversation reached her ears, she froze in place.
“Sarah, I would never forget our date tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it, too.” Kevin
stood with his back to her.
Amy heard the affection in Kevin’s voice and almost lost her grip on the glass bowl. Surely, she hadn’t heard correctly. She set the bowl and bag of buns on the counter top, tiptoed closer to the patio door, and peered through the screen.
“Yes, and then a movie.” Kevin turned slightly.
Amy noticed the wide smile that creased his face, and her hands fisted at her sides. Under normal circumstances, she would never eavesdrop on a private conversation. But she considered witnessing her two-timing boyfriend confirm a date with another woman to be the exception.
A horrendous pain stabbed her heart.
Why had she so willingly trusted him? If he dated her, what was stopping him from dating any woman he’d met in the line of duty? And he probably encountered any number of women while on the job. How many other females had fallen victim to his handsome face, mesmerizing voice, and twinkling eyes?
Maybe dozens!
She paused for a moment, concerned that maybe her insecurities were getting the better of her. Was she just too new at this dating business? Had she missed the signs that Kevin didn’t consider their relationship exclusive, as she had? Apparently, she’d missed something.
Well, thank goodness she’d found him out before getting into the relationship any deeper. And then she remembered. She’d told herself she didn’t want anything permanent because she wouldn’t risk the pain of losing it all again. Obviously, her heart hadn’t been paying attention.
*
Kevin hung up and stuffed his cell phone into his pocket. When the screen door slid open, he turned to greet Amy’s return.
“These burgers smell so good I can’t wait to taste…” The murderous expression on Amy’s face stopped him mid sentence. She just stood there. Hadn’t she gone to fetch some buns for him to toast? “What’s wrong?”
“As if you don’t know!” she spat the words at him.
Hell, what had he done now? Should he have offered to help her in the kitchen? Were the burgers burning? He glanced toward the grill. No, that wasn’t it. She looked spitting mad whatever he’d done.
“I thought you were one of the good guys, like my late husband. But you fooled me completely.”
Kevin noticed the unshed tears welling in her eyes. Damn, whatever he’d done the woman considered it huge. He hadn’t seen her in tears since the night Rover decided out of the blue that he wanted to shake a paw. And those had been happy tears.
“What did I do? Why are you crying?” He stepped toward her but stopped in his tracks when she took a step back. What the hell was going on here?
“I thought we were…I thought something was…I thought…” She grabbed a paper napkin off the patio table and wiped her eyes. When she turned back toward him, her eyes were blazing with anger. “You could have at least had the decency to confirm a date with another woman later at home, and not on my back deck.”
“Another woman?”
“Don’t deny it! I overheard your conversation with Sarah. I would never have believed you were a womanizing two-timer. Apparently, I’m not as good a judge of a man’s character as I thought I was. You completely fooled me.” She stood with her hands on her hips, eyes blazing.
She probably hoped she appeared brave, he thought. She looked ready to collapse into the puddle of betrayal that she believed he’d created. “Please, let me explain...”
“Just leave. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”
Kevin noticed Rover had crawled under the patio table as soon as he heard their raised voices. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he asked incredulously, “You think I’m two-timing you?”
Amy must have also noticed the dog cringing under the table and followed his lead. She growled through clenched teeth, “I don’t think, I know what I heard. I know you’re two-timing me.” She stepped over to the patio table.
“Why do women always flip out over everything?” he muttered to himself. “I never told you because...”
“Yeah, I know. Confidentiality. I’m really beginning to hate that word. You never tell me anything. I get it. You’re a cop. You can’t discuss your work with me. So it’s certainly understandable that you wouldn’t discuss the other women you’re dating with me either.” Amy brushed at the tears trailing down her cheeks. “Just get the hell out of my house!”
Technically, standing on her deck, he wasn’t ‘in’ her house, but he’d learned long ago arguing semantics with a woman was a useless endeavor. He scrubbed his face with his hand. If she’d only hear him out.
“I thought we meant something special to each other, but clearly I was mistaken.”
“If you’d let me explain about that...”
“I won’t tolerate you two-timing me.” She pointed toward the deck door. “Out!”
“If you believe I’m a cheater, then I’m going.” Kevin grabbed his polo shirt off a nearby chair and strode into the house through the screen door she’d left open.
*
A few seconds after Kevin disappeared into the house, Amy heard the front door slam. “Good riddance,” she whispered aloud.
Her mind reeled with what she’d overheard. She was just another woman he dated. How could she have so thoroughly misread him? She’d done the right thing, sending Kevin away. Whoever this Sarah was, she was welcome to him.
But her heart was having a hard time accepting her decision. She would miss him terribly. Despite how badly he’d misled her, she’d miss his smile, his laugh, his warm arm around her while they sat close together in a darkened movie theater. The way he groaned in appreciation from the first sip of a cold beer after a hard day’s work, or tasted a perfectly grilled steak, or popped a handful of chocolate chips into his mouth while he watched her bake a batch of his favorite cookies.
And then she felt a cold nose on her hand.
She looked down, met Rover’s terrified eyes. “I’m so sorry we frightened you, big guy. It’s all right now. That two-timer is gone.” Amy slumped into a lawn chair and reached out her hand to the trembling dog.
Rover crawled out from under the table and laid his head on her thigh. She could feel the poor dog trembling like a leaf in a wind storm, and then he settled his head on her leg and crossed his paws over his nose, hiding his face from her.
“Are you just frightened, Rover? Or are you praying?” Amy caressed one silky red ear. “It’s going to be okay.”
The dog raised his head and lifted his hind leg up, attempting to clamber onto Amy’s lap. “You’re not a lap dog, Rover.” She laughed and slid off the chair, settled onto the deck floor. Rover lay across her legs, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Kevin is gone, and we’re not going to miss him, you hear? I don’t care if you liked him or not. He’s not the man we thought he was.”
Rover stared at her, confusion evident in his eyes.
“I know you’re wondering what happened. Well, it’s like this. Most men, like my late husband, are exceptional guys—thoughtful, loving, excellent providers, affectionate, good companions. Faithful. Of course, if there’s a big game on TV, forget it. You might as well talk to the wall as talk to a man during a football match or a hockey game. I never did understand that sports-on-TV thing. But that’s no big deal when you think about it. At least, you know your man isn’t out carousing with other women in a bar or something.”
Rover licked her hand and stared at her, as if taking in every word.
Amy continued, “Now in your case, your first owner short-changed you, Rover. He was mean and abusive. And then when you escaped from him you lived on the streets—starving, cold, frightened and alone. I’m sure that really sucked. But third time’s the charm, big guy. Now you’re mine, and I’ll never allow anyone to harm you again.”
Rover’s tail wagged, and Amy smiled. This dog understands every word I say, she thought.
“My husband, Allan, never cheated on me. He travelled extensively, and we’d be separated for weeks on end. He never cheated, and neither did I. He was a great guy. You woul
d have liked him, Rover. Anyway, if I become involved with another man, I refuse to settle for anything less than what I had with Allan. Fidelity or forget it.”
Rover whined and wandered over to the patio doors.
“Okay, we’ll miss Kevin. At least, for awhile anyway. Maybe someday we’ll find another guy, and we’ll work on that trust thing again.” Amy struggled to her feet and met the dog’s eyes. “And I’m not just talking about you.”
Chapter 8
The next morning, Amy awoke to someone persistently ringing her doorbell. Probably some darn kid looking for empty pop cans for his hockey team or Boy Scouts troop. Then she decided that wasn’t it, or she would have found a slip of paper in the mailbox announcing the collection date.
Rover barked from beside her on the bed. When she opened her eyes, blinding sunlight streamed through her bedroom window. She glanced at the bedside clock and blinked in disbelief. Eleven o’clock.
No wonder.
She’d tossed and turned until four, and then she’d finally dozed off cuddled up beside Rover. The dog’s warmth comforted her and soothed the gaping hole in her heart resulting from Kevin’s betrayal. She cringed recalling how loudly he’d slammed her front door when he departed. She’d never seen a trace of anger in Kevin during the entire time they’d dated. Obviously, being caught in the deception triggered such an uncharacteristic response.
But she’d been the injured party, she reminded herself. She’d every right to send his butt packing.
The doorbell rang again and again.
Amy dragged herself out of bed, slipped into a silk dressing gown to cover her skimpy nightie, and staggered downstairs. She shoved Rover out the deck door to do his business and then headed for the front entryway.
“Coming,” she called, tripping over one of Rover’s stuffed toys while making her way down the hallway. She peeked through the peep hole and almost rubbed her eyes, not believing what she saw.
Love To The Rescue Page 9
