by Natalie Ann
“That’s my guess. I’m hoping he’ll retire soon, as having him on is like having half a body. Not sure where he was or what he was doing exactly. Not that I’m complaining, as it brought us to this dinner tonight and gave me the excuse to get you alone.”
“But we aren’t alone,” she said. “There is a room full of people surrounding us. And this country girl isn’t naive in the least.”
“You put me in my place,” he said. “So I guess that means I’ll have to hope for another date and one where I see those jeans Bri talked about.”
“I think you might get that hope.”
Especially when two hours later he brought her home and they were sitting in the driveway. “Sorry for the early night.”
“You’ve got to work tomorrow. I understand.”
“Wow, that made me feel really old. I bet you’re a night owl.”
“Working my job I kind of have to be. But as I said before, I keep to a schedule. Nights off I’m still in my room watching TV in bed no later than ten. Bri and Amanda both work days and I don’t want to be in the living room keeping them up. We all just go to our own spaces half the time. I’m sure you’ve been on your own since you moved back.”
“I had an apartment with my brothers for a bit. Jarrett moved out first. He’s with the state police and was stationed in Boston before coming back here. Then it was just Alex and me.”
“Alex is the fireman, right?” she asked.
“He told me he hit on you a while back. It’s a good thing I didn’t have to wrestle him over it.”
“He’s not my type. He’s what I’d call a female Bri. Am I right?”
“Close enough. Anyway, real estate is limited on the island so when my place went on the market a few years ago, I grabbed it, leaving Alex alone. He’s still in the apartment we shared.”
She turned and saw the curtains move, then caught his eyes going there too. “The joys of roommates. That’s Bri checking to see if we are making out.”
“We wouldn’t want to disappoint her, would we?”
“Not at all,” she said, leaning toward him.
They met in the middle, his mouth light on hers, his tongue coming out to trace and then nudge her lips open. She wasn’t sure what she expected from a kiss with Mac, but it wasn’t softness. Tenderness even.
On the outside he seemed so rough and tumble. In private...he was anything but.
That is until his hand slipped into her hair and pulled her closer, his mouth getting more aggressive, their tongues dueling and making her want to find a way to crawl in his lap.
Now this is what I’m talking about.
He eased back after a minute and she heard a laugh, forcing her to open her eyes that she hadn’t realized she’d closed.
“Are we back to...until next time?”
“Yes, we are,” she said.
“The ball is in your court. You’ve got my number.”
“I do. Night, Mac.”
“Night, Sidney.”
She climbed out of his SUV, watched him pull away and then made her way to the front door. Both Bri and Amanda were standing there with massive grins on their faces.
“How was your date?” Amanda asked.
“Who cares about the date. It had to be good with that make out session in the car. Tell me how he kisses.”
She looked at Amanda and rolled her eyes. “The date was great. Good enough to get the make out session. Which by the way was one for the books. And that is all you are getting from me.”
“No fair,” Bri said. “I’m in a dry spell. Amanda won’t share either. And you changed your jeans.” Bri put her hands on her hips and pouted. “If you kept them on you might have gotten more than a kiss.”
“Those jeans are for another date,” she said, looking over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs. “Night, girls.”
Once she was in her room she went and sat on the bed and grabbed her pillow hugging it to her chest. The minute she did, she pushed it away as if it’d bitten her.
The last time she’d done that, she was in her room talking with Anne about Todd Taylor. Anne had such a crush on Todd and when Anne described the first kiss the two of them had, Sidney grabbed her pillow and held it close, sighing. She’d never kissed a man and felt that before.
Why now? And why with Mac?
6
Look Forward To
The next morning Sidney was up and making coffee. The house was quiet and she felt she could take the time to think of her next step with Mac.
The ball was in her court? Hmmm. She’d never been much of an athlete and wasn’t sure what to do. For once she really wanted to do the right thing too.
After she’d had her coffee and breakfast, she went back upstairs to shower and change into leggings and a sweatshirt. She had nowhere to go and nothing to do today so she was keeping her hair in a ponytail and relaxing.
With her notebook in her hand, she went back down to the living room and curled up on the couch where it was more comfortable than on her bed and started to sketch the first thing that came to her mind.
Mac.
But she put him in a uniform. One in her mind. An officer’s uniform.
Wouldn’t this be a good book for kids. The Friendly Officer. She’d work on the title but didn’t mind that one. So many kids were distrustful of police and they shouldn’t be.
Words were the easy part for her children’s books. It was drawing the pictures and then scanning and uploading and putting the books together that took longer.
An hour later, she flipped the page and started on a police officer that wouldn’t be as realistic as the sketch of Mac’s face. She’d make it more cartoonish for the book. Maybe the theme could be trust. Trust your gut, come to us if you’re hurt or scared.
Again, things to work on and now she had an idea and was going to run with it once she could settle on what she wanted the officer to look like. She’d get him drawn, get him uploaded into her software that she spent a lot of money on, then she could tweak it more that way for each page, but keep the same features on his face and so on.
She was just stretching her legs when her phone rang. She remembered she’d left it upstairs and ran to get it thinking maybe Mac was calling. But when she saw it was her mother she realized that Mac wasn’t the type of person to call her. Least of all the very next day.
“Hello,” she said with the phone to her ear.
“Sidney, how are you?” her mother asked. “I haven’t heard from you since Christmas.”
Well over a month ago. Normally they went longer between talks and she wondered why her mother was reaching out now. “I’m good. Enjoying the calmness right now. The island is busy for so long and this time of year it’s a bit slower.”
“You’re still working full time, right?” her mother asked.
“Of course. It’s just not as busy during the week and the tips are less.”
“Do you need any money?”
“No,” she said. She knew her parents cared. They listened. They tried. It was just hard all around. “I’m good. I’d never ask.”
“I know you wouldn’t. But you’re our only child and well...”
It was the wrong thing to bring up. “I wasn’t your only.”
There was a sigh on the other line. “I know. No one could have known what was going to happen that day. She had the flu, Sidney. How many times do we have to talk about this? You think your father and I don’t live with enough guilt that we need you to put more on our shoulders?”
She knew that. She was trying, but the truth was she was struggling so hard. “I know. Maybe I’ve got guilt of my own that I’m trying to outrun.”
“You’ve got nothing to feel guilty about,” her mother argued.
“She was my twin and I should have known something more was going on. I should have felt it rather than go to school like nothing was different.”
“That’s my point, Sidney. We can’t beat ourselves up over this. I look back at what I could h
ave done differently but the problem is, I can’t go back in time and change it. All I can do is try to make my relationship with you better.”
She felt her eyes fill up. It seemed like the past twenty-four hours might be a sign. First the thoughts of Anne last night when she was hugging the pillow and now the call from her mom.
“I know. I’ll try too.”
“We’d like to see you. It’s been years. Maybe your father and I could come visit and take a vacation on the island?”
“I’ll let you know. Is that okay? I just need to think on it.”
“That’s fine. It’s a step. We miss you. These talks a few times a year are all I look forward to.”
“What made you call today?” she asked.
“You’ll think it is funny or odd or maybe not believe me. I’m reluctant to even bring it up.”
“Just say it.” Even if she didn’t want to know at this point by the sounds of it.
“I had a dream about Anne last night. One of the two of you girls in your room talking and laughing with the door shut. I’d opened the door and you both stopped and told me to get out. It was girl talk. I reminded you both I was a girl, but you said being our mom didn’t count.”
Sidney laughed. They’d said that plenty in life to their mother as a joke. Especially when their mom opened the door when she and Anne were talking about boys. Talk about freaky since she was thinking of Anne last night too.
“We did used to say that to you,” she said. “Okay, I’ll buy it.”
“I’m glad you aren’t mad or upset I brought it up.”
“No. I’m not. I’m not sure what I am anymore. I’ve been numb for so long and yet for some reason today, I’m not feeling it.”
There was silence on the other end and she wondered if she’d said too much and wished she could take it back.
“I’m glad, Sidney. Please think about letting your father and me come visit. We know we could come but we’d never just show up without telling you. I’d rather it was a discussion and not a surprise.”
“Thanks.”
Thinking back, her parents were good about that. After Anne had died they all needed space. She became withdrawn, then she rebelled. Part of them were thrilled she stayed close to home for college even though she’d lived on campus. But when she said she wanted to study abroad they’d expressed their concerns.
She should have listened, but she didn’t. She did it because Anne couldn’t and had always talked about wanting to.
That was one life experience she’d never forget that helped her be the strong woman she was.
And as much as she said the relationship with Rod hadn’t been holding her back, she was starting to realize it really was.
She didn’t trust men fully. She didn’t trust many people at all. She found herself looking over her shoulder and waiting for them to change on her or not be the person she wanted them to be.
Then why the hell was she getting ready to write a children’s book about a police officer and trust?
Only one way to find out, she thought, picking up her phone to text Mac.
Mac was having his own family conversation right now with his father. He shouldn’t have been surprised when his father walked into the police station, but he wasn’t expecting it.
“What brings you by?”
“Boredom. I promised your mom I’d retire years ago and I did, but this time of year gets to me. I’ve got nothing to do and she’s working.”
He laughed. “You need a hobby.”
“I know. I’ve been thinking about tinkering on some cars. You know how much I loved to work on the old cars with you kids. Fixing them up and doing repairs.”
“There you go. Why not start doing some things part time for some friends? Oil changes, brakes. Things like that. You’ve got that big garage.”
“It’s a thought. Your mother might throw a fit though. Maybe I can turn the garage in back into something. Expand the driveway back there.”
“See, you’ve got a plan in your head,” he said. “You don’t need me.”
“Maybe I do.”
“Because you need someone on your side when Mom gives you crap over it?” he asked, fighting the grin.
“You know me well. What do you say you come to dinner on Sunday? That gives me time to work on your brothers and get them behind me too.”
“I can swing dinner,” he said. It’s not like he had anything else going on.
“Where’s Chris?”
“Patrolling, he said.”
“And you don’t believe it?” his father asked.
“Would you?”
“Nope. Chris is ready to go but doesn’t want to. We butted heads a lot, but he’s just set in his ways.”
“Lazy ways,” Mac said.
“That too. Maybe I’ll have a talk with him about how great retirement is.”
Mac started to laugh. “Yeah, he’ll believe that. Especially if he was here right now and heard this conversation.”
“Good point. Well, you’ll figure it out. You always do,” his father said. Bill Bond was a big guy like Mac and even bigger with his jacket and hat on. Looked like it was just a quick conversation as his father was turning to leave.
“Now if I could only figure out the budget,” Mac said, knowing his father could understand.
“And that is what pushed me to retirement. Good luck there.”
He shook his head and watched his father leave.
His parents had a decent marriage. His father was quiet and gruff like him, but those that knew him understood him. Maybe Mac understood him the most because they were so much alike.
Unlike his mother who was patient and sweet. Jarrett and Alex got that from her. The sweet likeable part.
Though maybe there was a tiny bit in his pinky toe that was coming out because he seemed to be winning Sidney over if last night’s date was any indication.
When his phone went off, he reached for it and saw it was from Sidney. Even better.
Plans tonight? he read.
No. You?
I was thinking dinner tonight? I’ll cook if you don’t mind it at your place?
Interesting. Sounds good to me. Anything I need to have?
Nope. I’ll have it covered. Give me your address and time.
He typed them in. See you tonight.
Damn, something might be going right in his life for once when it came to a woman. Not that he expected much more than dinner tonight.
Didn’t matter. He’d take two dates in a row with a hot sexy chick who filled jeans out damn fine!
7
Best Kind of Cook
Mac opened the door and pulled the bag out of Sidney’s hand. “Dang, it’s cold out today,” he said.
“I think it’s the wind more than anything. As long as it’s not snow, I’m good.” She took her jacket off and hung it on the hook by the wall, giving him a good look at her in a green cotton long sleeved shirt that appeared soft and touchable. She had another pair of jeans on. These looked a bit more worn, a bit more comfy, but a whole lot of stretchy and fitted, showing him the body she had.
“Let me just go put these in the kitchen and I can show you around if you want. Not that there is much to see.”
“It’s a nice house,” she said. “And I’ve got to tell you I made it to the store without any mishaps today.”
“Good to know,” he said.
“So show me around. This is a really cute house.”
He snorted. “Cute?”
“It’s old and charming. Not the decor but the house and the wood and built-ins.”
“It’s pretty old. A hundred years or so. Real estate is limited on the island as you know and when this went on the market I jumped. Thankfully I’d cheated and told Drew I was looking and to let me know of any listings within my range before they hit.”
His range wasn’t big enough to get him much, but this saltbox house was perfect for him. It’d been updated about ten years ago and it suited his needs.
<
br /> “I like it. It’s not open like so many newer houses. It’s a lot like ours only smaller.”
“Houses back then were more cut up and separated, but I’m good with it. So you saw the living room when you came in, this is the kitchen, obviously. Dining room in there.”
“And the only table to use is the dining room when most people don’t.”
“I will tonight,” he said.
She laughed. “Meaning normally you eat in the living room in front of the TV?”
“That sums it up.” They moved back to the living room and to the front of the house. “Half bath right there. It’s like a closet, but does the job.” Up the stairs he went knowing she was following. “Three bedrooms and one full bath.”
She popped her head in the bathroom. “Damn, that’s huge and modern.”
“It was a major selling point having that big shower. I could care less about the clawfoot tub, but some people love it.”
He’d scrubbed all the dust out of it before Sidney showed up. He’d even left work two hours early so he could come home and make sure the house was presentable.
He wasn’t a messy person, but he didn’t bring out the Spic and Span and mop his floors weekly either. By the time he’d finished sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor and all the hardwoods, then vacuuming the throw rug in the dining room, he ran upstairs to shower.
When he was drying off he glanced at the tub and realized the dust was collecting in there like birds building their nests in the spring.
“I’m a bath girl myself but don’t get to take one often. Since I’m home alone a lot during the day I could, but there is something about soaking in the tub at night that has more appeal.”
“And you can’t do it with roommates?” he asked hoping his eyes weren’t roaming over her body too much with thoughts of her naked and covered in bubbles up to her chin.
“Amanda has her own bathroom. The house had an addition build on at one point with a master suite downstairs. Bri, Kayla, and I shared the upstairs, but now it’s just Bri and I. Normally she is out with some guy and I can sneak in the tub when I’m not working.”
