Love By Accident

by Michelle Beattie

  "I think it'll be good for both of you."

  "Yeah, maybe. Anyway, can he stay here until you're off shift? He's been at my place all morning playing video games, but he could use some company, and with the poacher thing, I can't get any time off."

  "Betty's in her office doing paperwork. I'll ask her. But you know she doesn't mind. She spoils him every time he comes in."

  Before she could leave to ask her boss, Nick grabbed her hand. "Lauren, you've been a good friend. I really appreciate this."

  "It's not a problem, Nick. I can't imagine what you're going through, so if this helps you in some small way, then I'm glad."

  His eyes were as bleak as his voice. "Thanks, Lauren. I'll never forget this."

  ***

  "Hey, old lady? Can we go soon?" Kyle asked from his perch at the counter. He'd finished three pages of math homework, eaten two pieces of Saskatoon berry pie, and consumed a large chocolate shake. He was now occupying his time fidgeting with something gold he'd taken from his coat pocket. The shadows were coming back into his eyes with his inactivity.

  "Listen, punk, I don't have to take your guff."

  Kyle rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. So, are we leavin' soon?"

  Lauren ruffled his hair, which he immediately fixed while throwing a panicked look in Juliet's direction in case she saw. Of course, the girl was absorbed in her latest gossip magazine.

  Wishing he was always free to worry about such silliness, Lauren checked her watch and grabbed another handful of cutlery. "Fifteen minutes, little twerp. Then we can go."

  He made sure Juliet wasn't looking before he stuck his tongue out at Lauren.

  Five minutes later the bells tinkled with an arriving customer. Lauren grabbed a menu, looked up and froze. Matt, his face hidden under the beige rim of his hat, strode into the café and headed straight for the counter. Lauren set down the menu, tucked her hands behind her back when she saw they were trembling. God, she wished she knew what he was thinking.

  "Matt. Can I get you anything?"

  His eyes fixed on hers, unasked questions and unfinished business clear in the blue depths.

  "Pepsi's good, thanks."

  Matt swung off his hat, looked over at Kyle.

  "Hi."

  The boy mumbled a response, but otherwise kept his attention on his hands. Lauren placed the fizzing glass in front of Matt. He too, she noted upon closer inspection, looked exhausted.

  "I didn't think I'd see you today," she said.

  "I wasn't sure if I'd come."

  "Oh." Lauren cut a glance to Kyle, who seemed very interested in their conversation. Her lips stretched into a smile.

  "Did you guys break up?" he asked. Hope danced in his voice.

  Matt and Lauren's gaze locked. He didn't say anything, but he was here. That had to mean something, right?

  "It's complicated," Lauren said when Matt remained stubbornly quiet. Why wasn't he saying anything?

  "Whatever," Kyle grumbled, as hope was once again ripped from him.

  The boy turned on his stool, grabbed his backpack. In his haste to get away, his trinket slipped from his hands and pinged against the tiled floor. Matt hopped off his stool and grabbed the dropped object before Kyle did.

  Gold gleamed between his thumb and forefinger. Matt looked hard at Kyle, then showed what he was holding to Lauren. She inhaled sharply when she saw it was a bullet casing.

  "Where did you get this?" Matt demanded.

  Kyle shrugged. "Nowhere."

  "Come on, buddy. Did you find this on the street?"

  Kyle glowered at Matt. "I'm not your buddy. I don't even like you."

  "Okay," Matt conceded, changing his strategy. "You're allowed not to like me, but this isn't something most kids play with and I was curious as to where you got it."

  "I don't remember where I found it. Can I have it back now?" Kyle held out his hand.

  Matt flexed his jaw, closed his hand around the gold metal. "No, sorry. I need this."

  Kyle glared at Matt with as much hatred and contempt as a boy his age could muster. "Fine, jerk, keep it; see if I care." He slung his pack over his shoulder. "I'll wait for you outside," Kyle said to her, then he slunk out the door.

  Matt turned to Lauren. "Lauren, I need to know where he got that. Is there any way you can find out?"

  "It's just a casing, why's it so important?"

  He hesitated, his expression pained.

  "You think that casing has something to do with the poaching? How could you possibly know that unless--"

  Oh. My. God. Cougar said Matt had pocketed something at the scene of the last carcass. Did he recognize the casing? And if he did, then what did that mean? Kyle didn't live around here. If he had a similar casing there was only place he could have found it.

  Matt narrowed his gaze. "You can't say anything, Lauren. It's a delicate situation."

  And likely one of the reasons he'd never confided in her. She was Nick's friend.

  Matt's hand reached for hers. "You wanted me to ask you for help. Well, I'm asking now. Can you talk to Kyle for me? Find out where he got it?"

  God, how could this be happening? In order to help her lover she had to hurt a friend. No, she really didn't want to talk to Kyle. The boy had enough going on his life right now and her heart bled for him. And his brother. If Matt had put the pieces together, then it was only a matter of time until the rest of Kyle's world came crashing down.

  Tears filled her eyes, but she wiped them away. She didn't want to hurt the boy, didn't want to see a friend go to jail. But, like Matt, she loathed poaching. And, hurting or not, she'd do what was right.

  After telling Juliet she was leaving a few minutes early, Lauren grabbed her coat and purse and slipped outside.

  Kyle was waiting for her on the curb.

  "Hey, brat. You okay?"

  He shrugged.

  "Matt wasn't accusing you of anything, you know."

  A grunt followed the shrug this time.

  "He's working on something, Kyle, and he needs to know where you got that. It's important."

  Kyle finally looked her way. "Why?"

  She couldn't burden this poor boy with Matt's theory, her own fears he was right. Not if she could help it. "He wouldn't tell me why, sweetie. Only that it was important for his job."

  "So it'd be important for Nick's, too?"

  Careful, she thought. "Yeah. I'm sure it would."

  He chewed his lip while he contemplated. Lauren didn't rush him, scared she'd frighten him off. Instead her eyes sought the snow-dusted peaks. They didn't offer any relief to her worries.

  "Are you afraid of getting into trouble?"

  His shoulders lifted again.

  "You won't get into trouble for helping Matt."

  "I don't want to help him. He's a jerk."

  Lauren sighed. "Kyle, I'm sorry I can't love your brother the way you'd like, but it's not Matt's fault. I've never felt anything more for Nick than I have for you. You're like my brothers."

  His eyes finally met hers. The waning sun caught the reflection of tears in them.

  "Nick told me not to go into the basement. He made me promise."

  Lauren felt like she'd been knocked breathless. Oh, Nick, why?

  "Is that where you found it?"

  He turned away, not answering. But the omission was as good to Lauren as a verbal confirmation. He sniffed loudly and Lauren wrapped her arm around his still bony shoulders. She felt the tremors shaking his body and held him tightly to her, aching inside for the boy's future.

  "Yeah," he finally whispered. "I found it at Nick's."

  TWENTY-THREE

  Matt read the e-mail report from the forensics lab. The bullet he'd sent in had very distinctive markings around its perimeter. Six lands and grooves with a left-handed twist. They also corroborated that the bullet came from a casing exactly like the one they'd found. They were looking for a .264 Winchester Magnum made by either Ruger or Browning.

  He didn't need to confer back
to his notes but he did anyway. None of the other suspects had a weapon made by Ruger or Browning. But Nick did. Still, that didn't mean the casing he'd found had come from Nick's gun. Feeling sick, Matt leaned back into his chair and stared out his office window to the darkened cubicles beyond. He'd come straight to the office after Lauren had confirmed for him what he'd already figured out. The casing had come from Nick's house. The email was yet another strike against Nick.

  Why the hell would he be poaching? Granted they didn't make a huge salary, but it was enough.

  "What the fuck was he thinking?" Matt wondered aloud.

  He didn't like Nick. Never had. But thinking of what lay ahead for the guy, what it would mean to Kyle, bothered Matt. Matt knew about their mother and it weighed heavily on him that he was about to add to the poor boy's troubles. Nick, he couldn't care less about. What he'd done was wrong. Period. There wasn't a grey area and because of that Matt didn't hesitate to finish what he'd begun.

  He sent his boss an e-mail explaining about the new development and that he was personally driving the casing Kyle had given them to Edmonton. He'd leave tonight and be back as soon as the lab had the results tomorrow. If they confirmed what Matt was already sure they would--that it was an exact match to the casing he'd found when he'd been out with Cougar--then they'd finally have enough to get a warrant for Nick's place. With any luck, the gun would be inside and they'd have enough to prosecute.

  Matt powered off his computer and shut off his light. He walked down the dim corridor, his mood as dark as the hallway.

  ***

  Lauren watched the headlights approach and stop at her curb. Releasing a breath, she lowered the curtain back into place and grabbed her coat off the hook. She peeked into the living room, saw Kyle texting on his phone, his iPod plugged into his ears, and knew she had a few minutes. She stepped outside and waited for Nick to approach.

  "Where's Kyle?" he asked, his hands buried in his jacket pockets. His breath came out in little white clouds.

  Lauren was too troubled to feel the cold.

  "He's inside. He did some homework, ate like a horse at supper. Now he's texting friends."

  "Okay, thanks. I'll just go get him."

  Lauren blocked his way with her arm. "Wait."

  Nick backtracked, eyed her warily.

  "Nick, you know you can talk to me, right? About anything."

  "Yeah."

  "And you know I won't judge you, right?"

  "What's going on? What's this about?"

  And there was her dilemma. She couldn't tell him. Though fairly certain he wouldn't run, she couldn't tip him off to Matt's theories. While she still prayed Matt was wrong, if he wasn't, Lauren didn't want to be responsible for compromising his investigation. If Nick had broken the law, she'd be his friend through it, but she wouldn't compromise herself to protect him.

  "I'm just worried about you; you look tired and I know your mom's health is worrying you."

  His sigh came from the depths of his soul. "It's been a hard go, lately."

  Wishing she could do more, Lauren did the only thing she could think of: she walked up to him and hugged him. He hesitated a moment, but then he hugged her back tightly.

  "Why don't you leave Kyle with me tonight and you can get some rest?"

  "Can't. Mom called earlier. She's had her moment of self-pity and realized if she has limited time left, she wants to spend it with him. He's going on the bus tonight. I'll go down on my next days off."

  "Are you okay?"

  His eyes were hollow and sad when he looked down at her. "My life is shit right now, but having you around, Lauren, helps. Thanks."

  She pulled away, looked him in the eye. "I'll always be here for you, Nick. No matter what."

  ***

  Matt parked on the garage pad and, using his key, let himself in the back door of his parents' house. It was after eleven and he expected everyone to be asleep. The house was quiet other than the hum of the refrigerator, but not everyone was in bed. There was a soft yellow glow coming from the living room.

  "You're up late."

  His father lowered the paper, peered over his glasses.

  "This is a surprise. Are you lost?"

  "I have some work to do here tomorrow. Thought I'd drive down tonight and save some time."

  The paper crinkled as his father folded it and set it on the coffee table. "Well, your mom and baba will be happy to see you." He continued the visual exam. "You want a beer?"

  "Hell, yeah," Matt responded, sighing deeply. Just being in the familiar surroundings of his childhood eased the knots in his shoulders. Matt took a long pull of the beer and a little more tension slipped away as he and his father sat in companionable silence.

  "Things not good at work?"

  Matt scoffed. "You could say that." And then, without naming names, Matt told his father what he suspected and why he was in town. His father whistled through his teeth.

  "Well, that explains some of it."

  Matt finished his beer and set it down. "Some of what?"

  "Some of the worry you're carrying. What's the reason for the rest? Is it Lauren?"

  "Some of it," Matt sighed, thinking of his last words to Gil and how he hadn't seen him since. "We were arguing about this stupid poacher, and how I hadn't confided in her, and she called me Gil."

  His father winced. "Ouch."

  "Oh, it gets even better." Sarcasm dripped off his words. "Lauren said Gil was cheating on her. She'd found out that night and they'd broken up just before the accident happened."

  "I find that hard to believe. Gil didn't seem the type."

  "That's what I said, too, Dad. Even when she said she caught Gil at it, I defended him, not her."

  The newspaper was folded, set aside and his dad leaned forward in his chair. "He was your friend, Matt, of course you'd believe him."

  "But she's my friend too and I all but accused her of slander." Matt sighed, looked at his hands. "She kicked me out." He felt his dad's stare and finally raised his head to meet it.

  "What do you want? In here," his dad tapped his chest.

  "Well, I can tell you what I don't want. I don't want to lose her and I sure as hell don't want her calling me by his name again." Matt blew out a breath, scrubbed his hands over his face. "It broke my heart, Dad. And then--"

  He stopped. God, could he tell his dad about Gil's visits or would the man think his only son was losing his mind? Because his father didn't press, simply waited silently and patiently for him to continue, Matt found himself wanting to unburden himself. What the hell? With his gaze solidly on his dad, he told him about Gil's "visits" and their "conversations".

  "It must have been good to see him again."

  Matt's chest swelled with emotion. "Dad, it was the best. I mean, after the initial shock and worry that I'd lost my mind." His thoughts went over their conversations again and feeling the pain rip through him, Matt leaned forward on the couch and braced his elbows onto his knees. "Gil admitted it, Dad. The cheating. And then," Matt had to take a minute as fresh pain jabbed in his chest. "And then he told me he'd been cheating on me with my own girlfriend."

  He heard his father shift in the chair. When he looked up, his dad looked as shell shocked as Matt still felt. Silence reined, other than a ticking from the mantel clock. Finally his dad just raised his hands in a helpless gesture.

  "I don't know what to say to that."

  "Yeah, I know how you feel. After Gil died, I'd put him on a kind of pedestal, you know? And now...?" Matt shook his head.

  "He was human, Son, like the rest of us."

  Words failed Matt, so he simply nodded.

  "Did he say he was sorry?"

  The flood of emotion slammed Matt, taking his breath, leaving tears. "Yeah," he choked. "He did."

  His father came to his side, placed a hand on Matt's shoulder. "Forgive him, Son. Forgive him and let him go. I think that's what Gil wants, why he came to you."

  "Oh, God," Matt cried. "I was so mad, Da
d, I told him to get the hell out of my life, that he'd ruined it enough. I was given a miracle to be able to talk to him again, and I threw it away."

  "You were upset. You didn't mean it the way it came out. I'm sure Gil would understand."

  Gil's image swam in Matt's eyes. "You should have seen his face. He begged me to listen and I told him to get lost. How could I turn him away? I don't want him to be gone, Dad," Matt wept. "I don't want to lose him all over again."

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Though it was only four o'clock, Lauren had candles lining the tub. It had been a crazy day at work and her feet felt as though she'd hiked a mountain in three-inch heels. As the hot water rose, Lauren added a large dollop of lavender bubble bath to the stream.

  The phone rang just after she threw her shirt onto the floor. Much as she longed to settle into the water and forget the hellish day, she nonetheless sprinted from the room in search of the cordless phone. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Matt since handing him the casing. He hadn't been in at all today and she was desperate to reconnect with him.

  "Hello?"

  "Lauren," Nick's voice rattled over the phone. "I'm so glad you're home. Can you come over, please? I really need a friend."

  Oh God, had Matt gotten the evidence he'd needed? Lauren didn't hesitate. "I'm on my way." Running to the bathroom she grabbed her shirt, blew out the candles and shut off the taps. Leaving the bubbles behind, Lauren snatched her coat, jumped on her bike and raced for Nick's house.

  When Lauren got there, Nick's front door was gaping open but he was nowhere to be seen. Nerves tightened her belly and for a horrible moment, she was scared to go inside. Good God, what would she find? He'd sounded so urgent, so needy. He wouldn't have--

  Lauren dropped her bike onto his lawn, raced up the steps.

  "I'm here, Lauren. In the kitchen."

  Relief washed over her. He hadn't done anything stupid.

  She found him at the table, head down on his folded arms. Stepping to his side, she placed a hand onto his shoulder.

  "I'm an idiot, Lauren. I was so damn naïve."

  Lauren grabbed a chair, sank heavily into it. Because she wasn't sure what point Matt's investigation was at, she couldn't very well say yes, he'd been very stupid, and tip her hand. Instead, she scooted her chair closer, covered his hand with her own.