Courting Alley Cat (13 page)

              The closest he’d ever come was with Cynthia. They had stayed together for nearly five years. He had proven his ability to have a long term relationship. But in the end, they had grown apart after college graduation and held on when there was nothing left. It had messed Justin up for the better part of a year, despite it being a mutual breakup. Tad had been there every step of the way. He knew Justin at his worst. He had, in fact, helped to pull him out of it.

              And here they were again. Justin sighed and slumped back in his seat, closing his eyes. He had so wanted this time to be different.

              This had been his secret dream for as long as he could remember. He hadn’t even told Tad about his infatuation with Alley. It had seemed a little too strange at the beginning, now he was just too devastated to talk about it.

              “Sometimes I think I know you better than you know yourself,” Tad was saying.

              “Don’t be ridiculous,” Justin said, though he had to admit that sometimes it seemed like the truth.             

              “Have you been talking to Cynthia again?”

              “No,” he snapped, feeling the sting of indignation. He hadn’t spoken to Cynthia in at least four months. And even if he had been talking to her, first of all, it was none of Tad’s business, and second, talking to Cynthia never left him in this shape, at least not for the last several years.

              Tad pulled into Justin’s driveway, put the truck in park, and turned to study his friend.

              “What?” Justin asked.

              “If it’s not Cynthia, then what is it?”

              “Do you really think my life is so one-dimensional?”

              “Ah ha!” Justin said. “It’s the little blonde.”

              Justin turned to him sharply. “What little blonde?”

              Tad shook his head. “I don’t know her name. The pretty one you’ve been hanging out with.”

              “How do you know that?” Justin asked, feeling himself jerked out of the pleasant haze the beer had put him in.

              “You were sighted.”

              “Sighted? Like a rare bird or something?”

              “For you to be out with a female, it’s as unusual as seeing a rare bird in the wild.”

              “You’re obnoxious.”

              “Just stating the obvious. Nonetheless, I’m a little perplexed that she - what’s her name?”

              “Alley,” Justin answered, then immediately regretted it. He was telling Tad much more than he had intended.

              “Anyway, I’m a little perplexed that Alley can have the same effect on you as Cynthia.”

              Justin stared at his best friend. His mind was unfocused. He knew he had been intrigued by Alley first, but he had been going to marry Cynthia. Besides, he had never really known Alley. Until now. And now he was at a risk of losing her. No, actually he had already lost her. And all because of his clandestine work.

              He had thought about giving up this line of work, and the sooner he did, the sooner his dad could go into permanent retirement. Well, he couldn’t worry about that now. It was just too late.

              “Justin?” Tad asked, pulling Justin out of his train of thought.

              “I think I might need your help,” he said.

              “What do you need me to do?”

              “I need you to talk to her.”

              Tad looked at him with a puzzled expression. Then, he shrugged and held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

              “She won’t answer.”

              “Give it to me anyway.

              “No, she won’t answer. Use your phone.”

              Tad groaned and pulled out his own cell phone. “What’s the number?” he asked.

              “555-4234"

              Tad closed his eyes while the phone rang. Then he hung up. “Voice mail.”

              “I know. I told you.”

              “I’ll call back and leave a message,” he said, hitting redial.

              “No!” Justin said, grabbing for the phone. “Don’t.”

              Tad hung up. “You just said I need to talk to her. Are you having a schizophrenic break?”

              Justin ran his hand through his hair. “Maybe I am. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

              “Maybe you should just give up.”

              “Maybe so.”

              “Ok, then. It’s settled.”

              Justin nodded, looking down at his cell phone at Alley’s cell phone number until it blinked off.

              Maybe it was just that easy. He didn’t bother to say goodnight to Tad. He just got out of the truck, slammed the door, and walked to his back door.

              Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard Tad drive off.

              All he could think was that he couldn’t just give up on Alley. She was the one. He knew it just as sure as he knew his own name.

              Besides - he still wasn’t convinced that she hadn’t been kidnaped. And until he knew she was safe, there was no way he would give up on her.

              Alley pulled into Granny’s driveway, took Charlie from the back seat, and slammed both doors shut with her hip. As she fished her keys from her handbag, a tall, slim man in his early forties walked over from the Bark and Purr and stood next to her gate. He wasn’t near enough for her to see his face. She felt a moment of panic as she realized how vulnerable she was. Here in Hanover, she hadn’t really thought about being careful, but with the recent kidnapping of the local girl, she was reminded to be more cautious - though it was probably too late.

              “Hi,” he said.

              “Hi,” she answered, glancing toward the Bark and Purr. Right about now, she had just one more reason to wish Justin had come out to welcome her home.

              “I don’t mean to startle you,” he said, “but I need to talk to you about something.”

              “What is it?” she asked.

              “Can I come in?” he asked, nodding toward the back door.

              She glanced at the unlocked gate - the only thing separating her from the stranger. “No,” she said.

              He smiled. “It’s really important.”

              “Then tell me now.”

              Just then Justin’s back door opened and he stepped out on the porch. Alley was so happy to see him, her knees felt weak.

              “What’s going on?” he asked.

              “Do you know this man?” Alley asked.

              “No,” Justin said.

              “I was just asking the young lady for directions,” the man lied.

              “Directions!” Alley said.

              “No problem. I’ll just be on my way,” the man said, and headed down the driveway, then started walking down the street.

              “I’m calling the cops,” Justin said. “Go inside and lock the door. Don’t open the door until they get here.”                           

              Alley went toward the door, fumbled with her keys, and managed to get inside with Charlie. She was trembling so hard she could barely turn the lock. She opened the carrier door to let Charlie out, then ran to the front window to see if she could see the man who had approached her. He was nowhere to be seen.

              Pacing nervously, she went back into the kitchen and looked out the window toward the Bark and Purr. There was no activity there either.

              She paced back and forth. Thought about going out to the car to get her suitcase and decided against it.  Justin had told her to go inside and wait for the cops. She would do what he said.

              Justin. Seeing him had been so unexpected. So fraught with emotion. She hadn’t wanted to see him. She couldn’t wait to see him.

              She paced back to the living room.

              She jumped when someone knocked on the back door. She desperately wanted it to be Justin. She was terrified that it would be Justin.

              She went to the back door and looked out. It was Justin.  Her heart did a little skitter. She had missed him terribly. Seeing him was like a balm to her heart.

              She opened the door and stepped back. She had no idea what to do now. She wanted to hug him. To kiss him. But they had left on such uncertain terms, she wasn’t free to do either. Unless, of course, he initiated. He didn’t. He just looked at her. Studied her, actually. With a strange expression on his face. As though he, too, was trying to read her to see what to do next.

              They must have stood there, just staring at each other for at least two minutes.

              “Are you ok?” he asked, breaking the silence, but not the uncertainty.

              “Yes,” she answered.

              “The police should be here any minute.”

              “Do you think it was the kidnapper?”

              “I don’t know. I don’t like having to even suspect it.”

              “I don’t either,” she said, rubbing her arms as shivers ran over her skin.

              “I’ll stay with you,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but a statement. He looked genuinely concerned, protective even.

              She didn’t answer, but turned back to allow him to enter. Suddenly she felt ok again. Her world was tilting back into place.

              He stepped inside, closed the door, and locked it. “It’s good to see you,” he said, but stood with his back against the door, making no move toward her.

              “It’s good to see you, too,” she said, her heart sinking again. He didn’t want to hug her or kiss her. He was only here because of the stranger. She went to the kitchen table and sat down, feeling defeated.

              “Has Charlie been ok?” he asked, as though he had nothing else to say.

              She nodded, staring at her hands.

              They looked up at the same time as the police car pulled into the driveway. When Alley didn’t move, Justin went to the door and let him in. “Liam,” Justin greeted the man.

              “Justin.”

              Alley felt even worse. Justin even knew the local law.

              Two hours later, the sun had set and darkness left them vulnerable and blind to the outside world behind open curtains. Alley shivered and closed the curtains. She and Justin were alone again. Alley was drained. How had a one minute encounter become a two hour ordeal? Of course, a lot of it had been Justin and Liam catching up on old times. Despite the occasional levity, Alley had seen the looks that passed between the two men. They were genuinely concerned that Alley had been targeted by the kidnapper.

              “I think I’m going to bed,” Alley said.

              “It’s early.

              “I’m tired.

              “You haven’t eaten.”

              “I’m not hungry.”

              Alley turned away from Justin’s scrutiny.

              “Let me send out for a pizza.”

              Alley whirled back toward him. “Is that your answer to everything? Order a pizza?”

              Justin stood up and grasped her arms. When she struggled to get away from him, he pulled her close to him and held her until she was calm.

              Then she started to cry. She was appalled at herself, but she couldn’t stop.

              He whispered reassurances until she quieted.

              “I didn’t do anything to deserve this,” she said, against his chest, when her tears had stopped.

              “No one ever does,” he said.

              “I don’t like being afraid.”

              “I’ll stay with you.”

              “You can’t. You have things to do.”

              “They can wait.”

              “What could you do?”

              “I can protect you.”

              “How?”

              “Trust me.”

              She shook her head, but didn’t pull her face away from his chest.

              “I can’t ask you to do that.”

              “I didn’t say you asked. I’m telling you what I’m doing,” he nudged her back to look into her eyes. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. And I won’t let it. Would you like me to sleep on the couch or in the bed with you?”

              She laughed and took a deep breathe. That was an easy answer. She wanted him as close to her as possible. The closer he was - the better he could protect her. She also wanted him close for her own nefarious reasons - mostly because he was like a magnet for her. All the more reason to keep him at bay. “On the couch,” she said firmly, stepping away from and pulling herself together.