Catch Your Breath (18 page)

“That’s probably why they couldn’t afford to continue doing it.”

“That was fun.”

He led the way to his car. “I’m surprised you liked it. They only had a handful of
rides every year.”

“But they always had the Tilt-A-Whirl. God, I love that ride.”

The thought of spinning uncontrollably in circles held no appeal for him. Before he
unlocked and opened the passenger door for her, he asked, “Is your car locked?”

She shrugged, but said, “Yeah.”

“Go check and make sure.”

“My car is a piece of crap. No one is going to steal it, and there’s nothing of value
inside.”

He grabbed her chin to face him. “You’re inside the car. If it’s unlocked, someone
could sit and wait for you.”

She shuddered. “You have a lot of creepy thoughts.”

But she pulled away and went to her car. When she tugged the handle, the door popped
open. She pressed the button to lock and slammed the door. When she returned, he held
his car door open for her and tried not to look smug. Had her brothers taught her
any personal security measures?

He settled behind the wheel and drove to the carnival. Moira chatted about dinner
with her family and the new baby, Patrick. One thing he could count on Moira for was
chatter. He never had to make small talk, and it didn’t seem to bother her that he
didn’t need to fill every moment of silence.

The odd thought struck him as he half listened to her. For as long as he’d known Moira,
she’d been a talker. Not forced and uncomfortable conversation, but something natural
for her. She drew people out and into the conversation, but never forced participation.

She suddenly grew quiet. “Were you even listening? Or is this another ‘shut up, Moira’
moment?”

“I was listening. You’re totally in love with your new nephew and you hope that Colin
and Elizabeth get married soon and have babies. You’re thinking about who you can
set Liam up with because you don’t want him to be lonely.” He glanced at her fast
enough to see her mouth hanging open. “If you want my input, leave Liam alone. When
he wants to find someone, he will.”

Personally, he didn’t think settling down was even a blip on Liam’s radar. He’d known
Liam to have girlfriends, but nothing serious, and ever since setting his sights on
getting a restaurant of his own, he’d focused all of his energy there.

“Are you kidding me? My brothers don’t do anything without a bit of prompting.”

“They seem to be doing fine.”

He didn’t have to look to know she was rolling her eyes at him. “Liam’s different,
you know? I always feel like he’s a little lost.”

Jimmy couldn’t argue. The description fit Liam. Jimmy turned down Lawrence and hit
a traffic jam. Looked like everyone wanted to get one last night at the carnival.

“Can’t you turn on your police lights and zoom through?”

“No. First of all, this is my personal vehicle. Second, that would be abuse of power
and wrong.”

He cut down an alley and drove a couple of blocks. He managed to find a spot on the
street that didn’t require a permit to park. Unfortunately, they’d have to walk to
get back to the carnival. Jimmy checked Moira’s feet. Gym shoes.

“What are you looking at?”

“Making sure you can walk back to the carnival without breaking your ankle.” He exited
the car and walked around. Before he got to her door, she’d already stepped out.

“Who the hell would go to a carnival wearing heels? Or to family dinner at home for
that matter?”

He shrugged and locked the car. They walked to the carnival in relative silence. As
they neared, he felt his muscles tense. The crowd was thick and many were already
drunk.

“Something wrong?” Moira asked as she took his hand and tugged on his arm.

“ No.”

“Liar.”

“You look at this place and see lights and laughter, fun and excitement. All I can
see are the drunks who are going to get belligerent and the gangbangers looking for
an opportunity to start trouble or steal something. Parents who aren’t paying attention
to where their kids are wandering off to and the pedophiles who might strike at any
time.”

He expected her to shoot a cocky remark back at him, but instead she released his
hand and circled her arms around his neck. He felt her sigh against his ribs. “I wish
you could forget being a cop for a little while.”

“I don’t know how.”

“I know, but it’s got to be hard always waiting for the bad and not being able to
see the good.”

He hadn’t thought about it quite like that, but she was right. His vigilance was always
on high. Holding on to Moira reaffirmed the need for that vigilance, though. He despised
the thought of anything bad happening to someone he cared about.

And just like that, she slid from his embrace and took a few steps. She turned and
walked backward. “Come on, let’s go play. I want to see if I can make you relax a
little.”

Then she winked and crooked her finger at him. He had many ideas of how she could
help him relax, but a carnival didn’t appear anywhere on the list.

Moira slid through the crowd without a care for all of the dangers he saw, even though
he’d pointed them out to her. Part of him loved that about her, despite the fact it
scared the shit out of him.

Of course, she walked straight to the Tilt-A-Whirl, but forgot they needed tickets
to ride. He hooked right to the ticket booth while she stood in line. He bought enough
tickets for her to go on whatever ride she wanted.

He joined her on the Tilt-A-Whirl and decided one trip was enough, but for the sound
of her giggling as she spun, a queasy stomach might be worth it. As they stumbled
down the metal ramp, clomping their feet toward the exit, he asked, “Where to now?”

She pointed toward the row of carnival games designed to take money and give little
or nothing in return. “Let’s play some games.”

A
s Moira strode through the midway of games, Jimmy scanned the options. She hoped he
wouldn’t pick something like basketball; she sucked at basketball, and he was like
a foot taller than her. It wouldn’t be a fair competition. She walked a few steps
in front of him, but he caught her quickly and put his arm around her shoulder. Other
than kissing her, he hadn’t initiated any displays of affection, but she tried not
to read too much into it.

“This way,” he said, and pulled her to the side.

When she saw where he was headed, she groaned. A shooting game. “This isn’t fair.
Of course you’re going to be a better shot than me—you carry a gun for a living.”

“I just thought you wanted a prize. I didn’t know you wanted to play too.”

She stopped abruptly. “Have you met me? Of course I want to play.”

He nudged her forward while pulling money from his pocket. “Pick a prize for me to
win for you. Then we’ll play something else.”

She smiled and studied the stuffed animals hanging all around. Pandas, ugly clowns,
and strange-colored gorillas stared back at her. Then she saw it: a lion that had
to be three feet tall. The light brown mane fluffed around the golden fur. Its eyes
were dark and watchful. It made her think of Jimmy and his protectiveness. She pointed
to the lion.

“I should’ve known better than to think you’d take it easy on me.”

In order for him to win the lion, he’d have to hit every target on three different
turns. Jimmy set his money on the counter and then began to negotiate with the carny.
Jimmy wanted free practice shots so he could get the feel for the gun. He argued that
if he was going to spend twenty dollars to win a lion that only cost five at the store,
he should get a couple of free shots.

The carny was a teen who looked more interested in ogling girls than whether Jimmy
took a couple of free shots, so he let him. Both plastic darts flew wildly away from
the target. Moira snickered. She should’ve felt bad about setting Jimmy up for failure,
but she didn’t. The man needed to have a few harmless flops.

He stared at the gun intently and then at the darts the teen stacked up next to him.

“Want a kiss for good luck?”

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “Luck has nothing to do with it, but
I’ll take a kiss anyway.”

She moved closer and waited for him to lower his face to hers. She slid her arms around
his neck and kissed him. Their lips interlocked, but he kept it pretty innocent.

When he stepped away, he said, “Stand behind me so I don’t get distracted.”

She ran her fingers up his bicep. “You find me distracting?”

“Always.” He shoved her hips gently to get her moving.

She stood behind him, a little off to the side so she could see. If she stood directly
behind him, it would’ve been like trying to see through a mountain. The set of his
shoulders told her he was in deep concentration.

Slowly, methodically, he started picking off targets—
ping, ping, ping
—not missing one.

When all of the darts were gone, he pointed at the lion and the teen took it down.
“Great shooting, man. That’s the first big prize I’ve handed out all weekend.”

Jimmy turned and handed her the lion. Figures. The man did everything perfectly. She
hugged the stuffed animal, which was harder than it appeared, much like Jimmy. This
was not a snuggly animal.

“Where to now?” Jimmy asked.

“Let’s stay here. Teach me how you won.” She set her lion on the counter.

Jimmy laid a ten-dollar bill beside it. While the teen gathered her darts, Jimmy picked
up the gun and handed it to Moira. Then he stood directly behind her and wrapped his
body around hers. Maybe he was a bit snuggly after all.

As if oblivious to how quickly her heart began beating and how nicely she fit into
his frame, Jimmy lowered his mouth to her ear. He started talking about lining up
sights and aiming. Squeeze. Don’t pull. It took everything she had not to laugh.

When he was done instructing, he put a dart in the gun and guided her hands back toward
the target. She pulled the trigger—correction, squeezed—and jumped a little when the
gun popped. The dart went wild, and Jimmy sighed in her ear, causing a tingle to dance
down her spine.

“I said squeeze the trigger.”

“I did. Maybe I could focus better if you weren’t literally breathing down my neck.”
She shifted her shoulders like she needed to make space.

Instead of indulging her, Jimmy kissed her neck and worked his way over to her earlobe.
Moira’s eyes fluttered shut, and she didn’t care that the horny teenager stood in
front of them staring. Jimmy’s quiet breath in her ear made her knees weak, so she
leaned on him.

Then he grabbed her hips and thrust them forward, away from the warmth of his body.
“You have a few more shots to take. I’ll try not to crowd you.”

She forced her eyes open and focused on the circling targets. The sudden realization
hit her that she wouldn’t be able to beat Jimmy at this game or any other. She squinted
at the targets and attempted to aim, but all she wanted was to feel Jimmy’s body around
hers again, his tongue exploring, making her weak.

Releasing a pent-up breath, she tried to relax. The dart flew from the gun and pinged
off the target. Since she missed the bull’s-eye, the target didn’t fly back.

“Not bad,” Jimmy said.

She shot a look over her shoulder. “Better than you thought I’d do.”

“Even Lois Lane had her good days.”

Moira aimed the gun again. “And Superman had his off days.” She shot the rest of her
darts without hitting any of the targets hard enough to win.

Jimmy handed her the lion.

“How’d you manage to hit all of them?”

“I can’t share my secrets.” He led her away from the booth.

“Spill.”

“The gun pulls down and to the left. I adjusted, knowing where it wanted to go, so
I aimed high and to the right.”

Moira slugged his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

He put his arm around her shoulder again. “I tried, but you were too busy panting
to listen. I didn’t want you to hyperventilate.”

Oh, God. He wasn’t as oblivious as she’d thought. Now she felt foolish because he
knew exactly how turned on she’d gotten just standing in his arms and having him whisper
in her ear.

“You’re pretty when you blush,” he said and stroked his finger down the side of her
neck. He pulled her closer and whispered, “If it makes you feel any better, you do
the same to me. It just takes more to make me blush.”

She smiled and wondered what it would take to make Jimmy blush. “Let’s go to the Ferris
wheel.”

The line for the ride was shorter than most. Moira knew that comparatively, the Ferris
wheel wasn’t exciting, but she always thought it was romantic. To be up above the
city with a guy you like, maybe stealing a few kisses where no one but the stars could
watch. While they waited for the cars to empty so they could get on, Moira turned
slightly while in Jimmy’s arms. She shifted the lion to her left arm, so she could
wrap her right arm around his waist. Her hand encountered a hard lump, and she realized
he had his gun with him.

She yanked her hand back.

He stiffened, but his hands rubbed her shoulders. “Don’t freak.”

In a whisper that came out more like a hiss, she said, “Why do you need to have a
gun on our date? What do you think is going to happen?”

“I feel better knowing it’s there, that I’m prepared for anything. I never know what’s
going to happen, so I’m ready.” He kissed the top of her head. “It’s no big deal.
It’s part of who I am.”

They moved forward in line, next to get a car. “Do you always carry it with you?”

“Pretty much.”

She inhaled deeply. Jimmy was a cop, before that a soldier. She shouldn’t be surprised
that he carried a gun.

With his hand at her lower back, the same place he carried a gun, he ushered her toward
the Ferris wheel. He held her hand while she climbed in and then sat beside her. She
squished the lion between her hip and the side, trying to give Jimmy as much room
as possible. Sometimes she forgot how big he was.

Jimmy settled in with one arm along the back of the car behind her head. His knee
bumped hers and the crisp hair on his leg tickled her. The attendant slammed the bar
shut to lock them in, and the car jolted forward.

“You okay?” Jimmy asked.

“Yeah, just processing. I never thought about you carrying a gun all the time. I thought
it was something you took off, like your badge.” She twisted her body, further squishing
the lion so she could look into Jimmy’s eyes.

“I can. I choose not to.”

“Doesn’t it make it easier for you to stay in cop mode, though? Harder to be a regular
guy?”

“I’m never a regular guy, I guess. I’m always a cop.” He cocked his head. “You’re
always a reporter.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Sure you are. You might not print everything, but you’re always interviewing people,
getting their stories. It’s as natural to you as scanning for danger is for me.”

He had her there. She never quite thought about the fact that she was always a reporter.
It was so much more than just what she did; it was part of who she was.

“Speaking of which, Liam said you weren’t happy with your current job. Do you have
a plan?”

The Ferris wheel had picked up all of the new occupants and began to increase speed.
The cool air smelling of an impending storm rushed up at her, flinging her hair around
her face. She shoved it behind her ears, buying time to answer Jimmy’s question. “It’s
not that I don’t like my job. I like it a whole lot, actually. I’m just not sure it’s
enough. Everyone thinks it’s not a real job, that all I do is party and then slap
some words on the page.”

She waited, sure he would agree with the statement, but he didn’t. “I’m thinking about
other possibilities, articles I could sell that will carry more weight and allow me
to break into more serious markets. I have you to thank for that.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, running into you because of this case has given me ideas.”

The car reached the top of the wheel and paused.

“You need to stay out of my investigation.”

“What I’m working on has nothing to do with your job.”

Swoosh over the arc and down the back side.

“Then what is it?” He toyed with her hair that was still flying around.

Should she tell him? She never talked about stories with anyone, mostly because she
always feared someone stealing her ideas. But this was Jimmy, not a fellow reporter.
“It’s a slightly different angle. I’m looking into sex for hire in the Viagra Triangle.”

He laughed and the sound echoed across the carnival. The sound was rich and full and
big, just like him. “Do I need to worry about the research you might be conducting
for this story?”

She slapped his chest—his very hard chest—and let her hand linger. His hand caught
hers and he leaned over for a kiss. His lips were warm and insistent. He didn’t use
his tongue at first, just his lips as if the kiss was a preview. She immediately wanted
more.

Her hand dropped from his chest and landed on his thigh. When he deepened the kiss,
she caressed his leg, moving higher, wanting to feel more of him. He stopped her progress
without breaking the kiss. She felt his lips curve into a smile.

The ride stopped as they were halfway to the top. More people getting off. How she
wanted to be one of those people. She wiggled her fingers beneath Jimmy’s palm, and
he pulled away from her mouth.

“I’m not going to let you stroke me on a ride in public.” He laced his fingers through
hers.

“Shows what you know. I was thinking of a hand job.”

He groaned and moved in for another kiss.

Between the rush of her blood and the air swirling around them as the ride picked
up speed once again, Moira felt dizzy. His kisses turned her on so much, she was ready
to get naked in public.

Jimmy pulled away again and shifted, causing the car to rock. “This is getting out
of hand.”

“Out of hand can be fun.”

His chest rose with a deep breath and his smile was strained. “Tell me more about
your plans for work.”

“I don’t really know. I get restless easily, but I’ve always known I wanted to be
a journalist.”

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

She sat back in the car, still holding his hand, but staring up into the cloudy sky.
When did she last think about a five-year plan? College ?

In five years, she’d be thirty-three. In the back of her mind, she’d expected to be
married with kids, doing the mom thing. She’d never separated her job from that, though.
Part of her assumed she’d always work.

“I think that’s the longest you’ve ever been so quiet. I didn’t mean for the question
to freeze your brain.” His fingers rubbed her gently.

“I got caught up in thinking about it. I realized I no longer have a plan. I have
some hopes and dreams, but no real plan.” Plenty for her to think about later. “How
about you?”

“I’ll still be a detective, making my way up the ranks. One day, I plan to be a commander,
maybe even chief, although the politics of the position might be too much for me.”

She liked hearing him talk. Jimmy had never been much of a talker, at least not while
she was around, so having him open up warmed something deep in her chest. The conversation
she’d overheard him having with Liam at the block party pushed her to probe. “What
about personally?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have a plan for your career. What about your personal life?”

“I know what I want, but that’s not something you can really plan for. I want to be
married, soon, so we can have two kids.”

The car shuddered, and Moira knew their ride was almost at an end. “What about your
dad?”

“Tommy and Sean are both living in the house. Hopefully by the time I get married,
they can handle taking care of my dad.”