Love To The Rescue (7 page)

Rover woofed.

“Good. I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding.” Amy dragged her hands through her tousled hair. “Now, let’s go see what we can scrape together for breakfast. I need to go shopping this afternoon, but first I’ll be busy on the computer, big guy. I’m doing a guest blog on a very popular website, and my lawyer is calling today about a contract I dropped off for him to review. But later, while I’m picking up some people food, you can check out the lady dogs sitting in the cars in the grocery store’s parking lot.”

****

Three days had passed since the MacArthur B and E, but Kevin often caught himself thinking about Amy. Why couldn’t he rid his mind of the woman? Because she’s beautiful, intelligent, with twinkling hazel eyes and a killer smile. He was totally smitten and he’d do anything for her. If she ordered him to leap off the Peace Bridge into the frigid waters of the Bow River, he’d do it.

He would never forget the panic in Amy’s eyes when he first arrived on the scene. The pain-filled expression he saw on her gorgeous face while she wandered among her possessions strewn around her home would haunt him forever.

Last night, as happened every night, he’d relived the incident in a dream. But this time he’d encountered a faceless intruder who fired a shot at him, forcing him to return fire. And then he’d awakened drenched in sweat. His youthful looks got him assigned to work undercover in high schools for several years, and then he started working as a street cop. He loved the work so much that he’d passed up opportunities to train as a detective investigating murders. With almost twelve years on the job, he’d never fired his weapon except on the practice range.

While his heartbeat returned to normal after waking from the nightmare, he’d recalled the strand of hair that fell across Amy’s face and the way her slim hand brushed away the tears she attempted to hide from them. He remembered the soft, lyrical cadence of her voice, and the smile that she bravely pasted on her face as she thanked him and Wilson for their thoughtfulness during the ordeal.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

For his own sanity, he needed to banish the beautiful young widow from his mind. After all, he would probably never cross paths with her again, wouldn’t have any reason to. Unfortunately, he’d met Amy MacArthur on the job. If he’d spotted her in a bar or caught a glimpse of her from across the room at a party, he could have initiated a conversation, asked her out for a cup of coffee, or lunch, or dinner. A romantic weekend alone in a deserted cabin in the woods with a roaring fire and…

Get a grip, Robertson! What part of banish her from his mind had he missed?

Kevin fought Friday afternoon rush hour traffic to stop at the grocery store for a few things after getting a haircut at a local mall. As he searched the aisles for peanut butter, he was distracted by the caller ID on his ringing cell phone. He turned the corner in the grocery store and rammed carts with another shopper. His head whipped up and he recognized Amy MacArthur.

“Ms. MacArthur, I’m so sorry,” he hurriedly apologized.

“Don’t you know it’s illegal to drive while using your cell phone?” she asked smiling.

Kevin watched her face turn pink. No doubt her teasing question had just slipped out. “Are you going to write me up a ticket?” he countered.

Sally Wilson’s call was totally forgotten and he stuffed his cell into his pocket. He suspected a stupid grin covered his face, and he feared the sudden rapid increase in his heartbeat might qualify as a medical emergency. Right now, he didn’t care. He would worry about cardiac arrest later.

He attempted to remain cool under pressure, but he had an unexpected urge to wrap Amy in his arms and kiss her until her bones melted. He had genuinely missed her and no other woman had ever turned him on like she had.

“I should force you to pay for my groceries.” Amy chuckled, her teasing manner returned, despite her brief embarrassment. “With the way food prices are climbing, a ticket would be less expensive.”

Kevin laughed, hoping to put her at ease. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“Thank you,” she countered.

Amy smiled at him, and his heart skipped a beat. “Seriously, how are you doing?”

“You’ll recall Leslie stayed with me the first night. I’m doing well.” She shifted from one foot to the other.

Kevin couldn’t read the expression on her face. Was she nervous around him? He wasn’t in uniform, choosing jeans, sneakers, and a collared golf shirt for the trip to the mall. He hoped the fact he was a cop didn’t intimidate her. He’d heard that most women were turned on by guys in a uniform. His luck, Amy was the exception.

A lock of hair fell across her forehead when she moved, and he leaned forward and brushed it out of her eyes before he could stop himself. She reached up at the same moment and their hands collided sending an electric current racing up his arm. He met her eyes and his heart plummeted to his feet and back up to his chest again.

“It should be illegal...” He’d almost added to look that beautiful and sexy, but stopped himself in tine. She probably wasn’t even aware of how gorgeous she looked.

“Illegal?” Amy met his eyes.

He would swear her pupils dilated as if he’d aroused her just by talking with her.

“Nothing. Just thinking aloud. Those counseling services are there if you change your mind.” Kevin straightened up and told himself to just go for it. “Would you consider having dinner with me tomorrow night? If you can fit me into your busy writer’s schedule. Leslie mentioned you were quite successful, and I assume that translates to busy.”

“Dinner?”

Kevin watched Amy’s face pale, could almost see the thoughts whirling in her mind. Was she searching for the words to decline his offer in the kindest way possible? Maybe he should just retract the offer, suddenly remember a previous engagement he couldn’t avoid, say he felt a case of bubonic plague coming on. Why had he just blurted out the invitation? Because Amy was damn beautiful and he hadn’t thought of anything but her since they met!

“I’d love to go out to dinner with you.”

He almost blurted out, ‘really’? But thankfully, he caught himself. Good law enforcement training, no doubt. Think before you speak. She’d even smiled at him seconds after agreeing to go out with him. She hadn’t displayed any sign of her acceptance being uttered under any self-perceived duress or as an obligatory gesture resulting from his helping in her time of need.

Maybe she genuinely found him attractive, or interesting, or who cared. She’d said yes!

*

“Perhaps we could fit in a movie, too.” Constable Robertson sounded cheerful.

Amy’s heartbeat slowed. When he first asked her to dinner, she panicked. She hadn’t accepted a dinner invitation from a man since her husband’s death. Not a date for a movie. Or even to meet for a drink or a cup of coffee. Finally, the single men in her circle of friends got the message and stopped asking.

But this man tempted her in a way no other man had. She wanted to accept his invitation to dinner. But that would mean leaving Rover home alone and a vision of Macaulay Culkin’s hands on his cheeks flashed through her mind. Would Rover panic if she left him? She should have inquired at the Humane Society if he suffered separation anxiety. Of course, the poor critter had been on his own for so long who would he have been separated from? Other than the person who’d abused him, and that was probably a blessing.

“Hmm. Just dinner, I think. I don’t want to be away from home too long.” Amy realized she’d have to test Rover by leaving him alone for a few hours eventually.

And she would be testing herself as well.

Would she enjoy dating again? Would being out with a new man feel like a betrayal? Like she was cheating on Allan’s memory? You’re a widow, she reminded herself. Leslie and Tiffany had begged her to start dating again, and she’d recently admitted to herself that they were right. For some reason, the thought of starting a new relationship scared her to death. But she wasn’t committing to anything long term. It was just a date, she told herself.

Apparently, both Rover’s and her testing would begin tomorrow night.

“Am I pulling you away from an exciting scene in your next book?” asked Kevin, raising one eyebrow. He lowered his voice. “One of those steamy sex scenes where the guy does unspeakable things to the heroine.”

“And what would you know about steamy sex scenes in romance novels?” Amy laughed and then tilted her head. “Are you a closet romance reader?”

“Never been reading in a closet or come out of one either.” Kevin shrugged. “I have a married sister who lives in Texas now. She buried her nose in trashy romance novels for hours when she lived at home.”

“Trashy? I’ll have you know there are millions of copies of romance novels sold every year in a variety of genres, thank you very much.” Amy stood hands on hips. “The day of the bodice ripper is long gone and authors of romance consider them adult entertainment.”

“Sorry, I stand corrected.”

“Well, you’ll see what I’m talking about when you arrive for our date, Constable Robertson.” Amy suspected such a cryptic response would pique a cop’s interest. And judging by how intently he’d been staring into her eyes and watching her every move, he might be extremely interested in her already. Was that little comment about the closet to let her know he wasn’t gay? The thought had never crossed her mind. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her racing pulse and rapid breathing while defending her livelihood, all the time visualizing herself as the heroine he’d spoken of and he as the hero. And she sincerely hoped he was attracted to her. Lord knows, she found him attractive. Dating again might be fun, especially a slightly younger man. She’d peg him at twenty-five, maybe twenty-six. Of course, nothing permanent would ever come of it.

“Okay.” He frowned for a minute and then smiled. “Please, call me Kevin. I’ll see you tomorrow night at six-thirty.”

“Six-thirty works for me.” She set aside her shock at being asked out on a date and playfully wagged her finger at him. “But no more driving while using your cell phone.”

“Wouldn’t think of it. I have a professional image to maintain.” Kevin maneuvered his cart around hers. “See you tomorrow.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Amy was standing in line at the checkout counter when Kevin pushed his cart toward the grocery store exit fifteen minutes later. She heard him whistling. And then his cell phone rang.

*

Kevin pulled his cell phone out of his pocket while he steered his cart through the automatic doors and exited the grocery store. “Hello.”

“Kevin, this is Sally Wilson.”

“Yeah, I noticed your call awhile ago, but I couldn’t answer just then.” Kevin unlocked his truck and stuffed his bags of groceries onto the passenger seat.

“Driving?”

“Something along those lines.” Kevin chuckled, recalling the chastisement he’d received from Amy for ‘driving’ his grocery cart while using his cell. He returned the cart to the cart stand.

“The reason I called...I thought you’d like to know the latest.”

“About what?” Kevin rounded the truck, climbed into the driver’s seat, and fastened his seat belt. All the exciting stuff always happened on his days off, he lamented.

“That teen that broke into Amy MacArthur’s house?”

“The one in rehab? What about him?”

“His parents were just informed that he’s missing,” announced Sally.

Kevin’s heart stopped for a second before resuming a normal rhythm. “You’re kidding me! What happened?”

“His parents signed him into rehab, dropped off a suitcase of clean clothes, and informed him he was staying put for at least three months until he got his life together.” Sally coughed, sipped something, and then continued. “Sorry. Anyway, I called the rehab and talked to the supervisor in charge. Seems our thief traded a pair of designer jeans for another kid’s help in causing a diversion of some sort to facilitate an escape. Apparently, it worked perfectly. He’s gone.”

“Shit!”

“Yeah, exactly. And plenty of it hit the fan when the supervisor found out. The kid has been missing for a couple of hours now. He didn’t go home, obviously, and nobody has a clue where he went.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Sally.”

“I wish we could inform Amy. He did threaten her.”

“Let’s wait and hope they catch the little bugger before much longer.” Kevin’s index finger tapped the steering wheel in a rapid staccato. “If he isn’t apprehended by tomorrow, maybe I’ll ask our supervisor’s opinion. Maybe he’ll grant permission.”

“Okay. Garrett doesn’t think he’ll attempt to contact her. But a couple of cars will patrol her neighborhood on a regular rotation until he’s caught.”

“That’s good.” Kevin paused. “Between you and me, I’m having dinner with her tomorrow night, so I’ll decide then whether or not to recommend she be advised of his escape.”

“Okay. Let’s hope our guy is found before then.”

“And behind bars, not returned to the damn rehab, so we know where his ass is.”

“Exactly. But with his dad being a bigwig in town, lots of money and pull, the son could be allowed to return to rehab under tighter security.”

“Maybe, if they ever find him. Call me the second you hear anything.”

“Will do.”

“Bye.” Kevin disconnected the call and punched the steering wheel.

Amy seemed troubled enough by the incident, learning that the burglar escaped from rehab was the last thing she needed to hear. Of course, she wasn’t even aware he’d been placed in rehab. As he pulled out of the lot, Kevin cursed the fact he had to keep this info to himself.

Chapter 5

Amy shuttled her reusable cloth grocery bags from the shopping cart to the second row seat of her Lexus. Today marked their second trip to the grocery store. On the way there, she’d stopped at the pet store and bought a metal barrier to ensure Rover stayed in the back third row area of the vehicle and couldn’t trample any more groceries on the way home.

“Is that your dog, lady?”

Amy turned and discovered a freckle-faced, red-headed little boy about four-years-old, standing on his tip toes, attempting to peek into the SUV’s back window. “Yes, he is. His name is Rover.”