Her Something Impetuous

by Hunt Harris, Kim

  “She’s going home with me, Karen.” He leveled his gaze at her.

  A chill went down her spine. Surely he wasn’t making a veiled threat that he would fight her for custody?

  But of course he wouldn’t. Little Miss Amazon Legs would never stand for having a teenager around her love nest.

  “Mrs. Way, Mrs. Bonnett, could you come in here please?” The chief of police stood in the doorway off the hallway.

  “Charles, what is going on here?” Michael asked.

  “Michael, just let me handle this,” Karen said.

  Michael ignored her. “Whose idea was it to drag my fourteen year old daughter down here?”

  “Sixteen,” Cait piped up.

  “Fifteen,” Karen corrected. “Please just take her home and I’ll straighten this out.”

  Michael and the chief ignored them both as they moved to a quiet corner and conferred in hushed tones.

  It was so like Michael to act like she wasn’t there. She hugged Cait and promised to pick her up for school the next morning. “Come on, Terri. We might as well make ourselves comfortable while they discuss what to do with us.”

  They took seats inside the smaller room and waited silently. When the detective came in, he cleared his throat and sat. “As I was just telling your husband, your being here is something of a mistake.” He threaded his fingers together and rested his hands on the table between them. “The arresting officer got carried away. When he told me you were there, I said I wanted to ask you a few questions. I never meant to imply that you were being detained in any way.”

  Michael must have ripped him a new one. “Then we can go.” Karen stood. Terri whipped her head from the chief to Karen, her eyes wide.

  The chief studied her for a moment. “Absolutely. You’re free to go. If I may say so…it’s your business what you do with your own body – ”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “But you might want to be a little more careful with the company you keep.”

  Karen stood and reached for her purse. That’s when she realized she’d left it at Under the Inkfluence. Damn. Now she’d have to go back. Wasn’t that just a crying shame? “Thanks for your opinion. I’ll give it the same weight I do all unsolicited advice.”

  They emerged from the building, and Karen drew in a deep breath of fresh air. “Sweet freedom. That was a nice flashback to the high school principal’s office. Think we’ll be able to get a cab? I don’t want to go back in there to use the phone book.”

  “Oh my God, me either,” Terri breathed.

  Karen looked at Terri. She was pale and trembling. “Are you okay?”

  “Okay? Karen, we were interrogated by the police!”

  “It’s not like they beat us with rubber hoses.” She frowned and hugged Terri. “I’m sorry, honey. If I had any idea this was going to happen we would have stayed home tonight and rented a movie.”

  “Wait till Arthur hears about this. Do you think I should tell him?”

  “Of course you should. He’s your husband. You didn’t do anything wrong. He’ll be impressed you had an adventure.”

  Terri crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “It was kind of an adventure, wasn’t it?”

  “How many women at Rockridge Neighborhood Association can say they’ve been interrogated by the police?”

  “Just us.” Terri laughed. “Hey, there’s a cab.” She waved.

  Karen heard the door behind them. She turned to see Will walk out, his shoulders drooping.

  “Hey,” he said when he saw them. “I’m really sorry about that. Are you two okay?”

  “We’re fine.” Karen felt sorry for him. “The strip search was actually quite pleasant.”

  “Karen, the cab is here.” Terri’s voice was strained as she opened the door.

  “Let me pay for your cab,” Will said, reaching for his back pocket.

  “That’s not necessary.” Karen stepped close to him. “And don’t worry about all this. We’re fine, seriously.”

  “I really am sorry.” He shrugged. “Kind of a little game the D.A. and I are playing. It’s too bad you had to get caught up in it.”

  “Karen, come on. The meter’s running.”

  “I’m coming.” She studied Will’s eyes, tired and worried. “What kind of game are you and the D.A. playing?”

  He shrugged. “Just a little abuse of power thing. He has it in for me.”

  Karen hid a smile. In the eight years since Michael had become the District Attorney, she’d learned that a lot of people felt that way. “If it’s any consolation, he has it in for me, too.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “He is the soon-to-be ex who couldn’t keep his dingus in his pants.”

  He frowned, then cocked his head. “Karen Way. I should have put it together.” He tucked his hands in his pockets. The night breeze teased at his long hair.

  She wondered what it would feel like, to run her fingers through that hair? “He didn’t know we were there tonight, if you’re thinking he had it raided because of us.”

  “Oh no, this goes back a lot further than tonight.”

  “Karen, we need to get going,” Terri said.

  But Karen was intrigued by what Will had just said. “So you know Michael?”

  He was doing it again. Smiling without really smiling. Except this time there wasn’t so much humor as irony in the expression. “We go back.”

  Karen cocked her head. “Would you like to get a cup of coffee or something?” It was strange, but she felt the need to comfort him.

  She heard Terri draw in a breath behind her, and she could only imagine her best friend’s warning look aimed at the back of her head. She knew Terri thought this entire night was one big foolish act. But right now Karen didn’t care. She’d spent the past nineteen years second-guessing every decision, wondering what other people would think, worrying about every impression she made. She’d decided this afternoon that, for a while at least, she was going to go with her impulses. Surely having a cup of coffee with a guy who’s already seen her naked butt wasn’t that big a deal.

  He smiled at her then, a real smile that showed even white teeth and crinkles around his eyes. “That sounds great.”

  “There’s a place around the corner.”

  “Which is frequented by cops. Nothing against the law enforcement profession, but I’d rather not see another blue uniform tonight.” He took a deep breath and rubbed his chest. “There’s a nice place down the street from my shop. Shirley makes a terrific coconut cream pie, and the coffee is always fresh. It’s just coffee, though. No lattes or cappuccinos or anything frothed. The creamer comes in powdered form. The table is gold speckled Formica.”

  Karen laughed. “That is exactly what I need right now. Besides, I have to go back and get my car. And my purse.” She wasn’t all that sorry to see Michael leave, but the Dolce and Gabbana purse he’d bought her, she wanted back.

  And anyway, Cait was back at Michael’s apartment, her older daughter Pam was off at college, and Karen didn’t look forward to going home to a silent house. She climbed into the back of the cab and scooted over so there would be room for Will. He leaned forward and gave the driver the address, his thigh rubbing lightly against her own.

  Her heart jumped a little at the contact. Okay, so maybe this wasn’t so wise. She was a woman in the middle of a divorce. She wasn’t even officially on the rebound yet; technically she was still bound. Probably she shouldn’t be having coffee with a guy who made her heart jump just by brushing his leg up against hers.

  To confirm it, she cut a sideways glance at Terri, who looked at her frankly as if she’d lost her mind.

  “Terri, would you like to grab a cup of coffee with us?”

  Terri narrowed her eyes and whispered something Karen couldn’t make out. Karen raised her eyebrows.

  “What are you doing?” Terri whispered, a little louder.

  “I’m having a cu
p of coffee with a strange and most likely dangerous man,” Karen whispered back. “Do you want to go with me?”

  “Quit making jokes.” Terri frowned. “He looks like Jesus, you know. You can’t have a torrid affair with a man who looks like Jesus.”

  Karen cast a quick glance at Will. Jesus? She supposed the long hair and beard gave him a faint…no, not even faint. Terri was crazy. “Who said anything about a torrid?”

  “You did just this afternoon. You said you felt like doing something impetuous, like getting a tattoo and having a torrid affair with a total stranger.”

  “Shh!” She wanted to look at Will again, but didn’t dare. Had he overheard? How could he not? “I’m going to have some coffee, get my purse, and go home.”

  Terri shook her head and leaned toward the front seat. “Can you drop me off up here at Stonybrook and Granville?”

  They were silent as the cab drove into the Rockridge subdivision, to the front of Terri’s house. Terri turned to Will. “It was…nice to meet you.”

  Karen watched her go up her walk, then scooted over to the other side of the seat. “Terri’s the voice of my conscience,” she said.

  “That’s what friends are for, right? To talk us out of what’s bad for us.”

  She nodded, then looked at him. “Except this isn’t bad for me, is it?”

  “No. Abso-friggin’-lutely not.” His voice was soft and he grinned that crooked grin.

  This time her heart did more than just jump. It bonged against her ribs so hard she had to lean back and take a deep breath. No, this wasn’t bad. She was being perfectly reasonable.

  And tomorrow the neighbor’s dog was going to get up on his hind legs and mow her back yard.

  “You were wrong, you know.” Will leaned back, resting his arm on the back of the seat.

  She raised her brows. “About what?”

  “I’m not dangerous in the least.” His fingers toyed lightly with her hair. “And I was impressed.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Karen followed Will into the diner and asked herself for the fourteenth time that night if she'd lost her mind. It seemed she had; she slid into the booth across from him and smiled like her heart wasn't slamming against her ribs.

  The diner was deep and narrow, with booths at the front and a counter in the back. As promised, there was Formica as far as the eye could see. A scary looking man with slicked-back black hair and a Basset hound face stood behind the counter, talking to a middle aged man who looked like he'd spent the better part of his life sitting at bars of various sorts. Will nodded toward the dark haired man, and the man nodded back.

  When he turned back, Karen said, “I'm afraid of that guy.”

  “Me too. But just for the record, I’ve eaten here at least twice a week for the past six months, and I’m still alive.”

  “Good evening,” Will said when Basset Man reached their table. “What kind of pie do you have tonight?”

  “Peach and coconut cream.”

  Will looked at Karen. “We have a tough decision ahead of us.”

  “I agree. I think our best course of action will be to cover all the bases.”

  “Right. Okay, we'll have two pieces of each, and two coffees.”

  Basset Man nodded and grunted before he walked away.

  Will stood and tugged off his denim jacket and laid it on the booth beside him. Karen couldn’t take her eyes off his hands, fascinated by the long fingers and wide, flat palms. He sat and clasped those hands together on the table. She finally dragged her gaze back up to his. Could a person actually laugh with their eyes? Because his seemed to think she was funny.

  “Quite an evening,” he said.

  She shrugged. “I guess. Not the first time I’ve been dragged downtown to talk about prostitution rings.”

  He laughed. He had a really nice laugh. She had to stop herself from melting into a puddle on the table.

  “We’re not, you know. A front for a prostitution ring.”

  “Where did they get that idea, anyway?”

  One broad shoulder raised inside the gray Henley he wore. “Out of Michael’s—” He stopped and gave her a wry look. “Like I said, Michael and I go back. He’s been welcoming me back to town with fun little adventures like that. Endless visits from building inspectors. Challenging the credibility of our permits. I get pulled over at least once a week. This was just upping the ante a little.”

  Karen hid a frown. Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard to believe Michael would really go so far as to harass someone. “What happened between you two?”

  Basset Man came back then with two cups and a pot of coffee. He clunked it all on the table and left again.

  Will poured the coffee and frowned as he sipped it. “It’s a long, boring story. Basically, we went through school together –”

  “Here, in Piedmont?”

  Will nodded. “Yeah, since grade school. We were best friends. And worst enemies. Rivaled over everything. Grades, sports, girls, cars. And we went to college together. Same major – “

  “You’re an attorney, too?” Then what are you doing with a tattoo parlor?

  He gave her a wry look and shook his head. “No. I’m not.” He took another sip of his coffee and thanked Basset Man as he plunked the pie on the table. “Anyway, our rivalry went on through college, and he won the last round.” He shrugged again. “Not fairly, but he won. And until I came back to Piedmont six months ago, that was the last I’d seen of him.”

  “What was the last round?” She was pretty sure it wasn’t a girl, since she’d married Michael his first year in law school.

  “Not important. Your turn. What happened between the two of you?”

  She forked a bite of coconut cream pie. “Also a long boring story, told a million times. Two people promise till death do they part, everyone knowing it’ll never work. He stuck with me nineteen years. I guess we beat the spread.”

  Will studied her for a moment, thoughtfully chewing his pie. How could he make chewing look so sexy?

  She felt herself flush and pretended great concentration on her own plate.

  Finally, he spoke. “One thing I’ve always been sure of about Michael Way. He’s a complete idiot.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you there.”

  “Nothing like making an ass of yourself by going after a hot young thing.”

  Karen blew on her coffee, then took a sip. “You want to know the really pathetic thing? She’s not even that hot. I mean, she’s pretty. In a cheap, flashy way. But she’s huge. She’s not fat, she’s just big. Tall and with muscles like a Russian weight lifter’s. And you should see the way she dresses. Like she’s just stepped off the runway of one of those really bizarre fashion shows. With the clothes that no real people actually wear. She wears them. Her wardrobe is infamous. She’s a partner at this firm downtown, and the rumor is that eighty-five percent of her salary goes to her wardrobe. That’s who he left me for.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “So, now you know how catty I can be.”

  He smiled. “You’re entitled.”

  “I sound like the jealous ex-wife. And I’m really not jealous. Just confused. You know? It’s not that my heart is broken. I know that’s terrible to say, since he was my husband and my heart probably should be broken. It wasn’t your typical marriage, I guess. But I was giving it my best shot. I thought we were both committed to sticking it out.”

  “He wasn’t as committed as you.” He braced his elbows on the table and folded his hands together.

  “Apparently not. He stayed long enough to get the girls raised. I guess long legs and big boobs turned out to be more important. I just…” She mashed piecrust with the tines of her fork and frowned. “You would think you’d know someone, after living in the same house with them for almost two decades. But I don’t think I know Michael any better today than the day I met him.”

  “I know him. Believe me when I say you’re better off without him.”

  “You sound like Terri. Sorry she wa
s kind of flaky tonight. She’s not usually like that. She’s just sad for me. Plus she had three glasses of Merlot before we left the house.”

  He nodded. “Merlot makes some people see divinity.”

  Karen covered her mouth. “You heard that part?”

  “That I look like Jesus? I heard.”

  Karen laughed. “Like I said, she was drunk. I don’t think you look like Jesus at all.”

  He cocked an eyebrow.

  “Seriously. You look more like a rock star who’s aged well.”

  He blinked.

  “Can you believe I actually thought it was a good idea to say that?”

  He shook his head and laughed. “Well, if I’ve aged, at least I’ve aged well.”

  She shrank back in her seat. “I just mean, you know, rock stars usually look like they’ve spent their lives partying too much and sleeping in someone’s bathtub.”

  “Oh. Well then, I am relieved.”

  “Okay, now that I’ve thoroughly embarrassed myself, let’s talk about something else. How did you go from being a pre-law major to owning a tattoo parlor?”

  “The easy way. I inherited it. The place was my – um – my father’s. Your turn. You said something about trapping Michael, and that you’d been married for nineteen years. But the daughter who was with you wasn’t nineteen. So you have another kid?”

  Karen’s mouth hung open. “I said all that?”

  He nodded.

  “I talk entirely too much.”

  “I just happen to be a good listener, with an ear for detail.”

  “A fact that I’m going to lament, when I look back on this conversation. Yes. Two kids. My oldest, Pam, is in her first year of college. At Roosevelt, your alma mater. Won't return my phone calls. Won’t come home for the weekend. I think she’s told everyone at school she’s an orphan. The divorce is really eating at her, and she blames me. I think she blames me. I’m just guessing, since she won’t talk to me. And you met Cait. She has no problem speaking to me, to tell me everything I do that she thinks is outrageous or just plain goofy. She goes from hot to cold so fast it makes me dizzy. I have no idea what kind of mood she’s going to be in. One minute I’m candidate for Mom of the Year with her, the next she’s ready to file for emancipation.”