PASSIONATE ENCOUNTERS (2 page)

There was a significant pause before Amanda finally said,
“So, what about what we were talking about earlier?”

What were we talking about?
Several thoughts came to
mind: the upcoming move, shopping, working out. She vaguely remembered Amanda
mentioning something right about the time she’d discovered Cupid’s Arrow.
“You’ll have to refresh my memory.”

Amanda expelled a heavy sigh. “The policemen’s picnic this
Saturday? I asked you if you wanted to go this year.”

Oh, that.
Emma rolled her eyes because it wasn’t the
first time Amanda had asked her. In fact it seemed the topic came up every time
they talked. It occurred to her that Amanda was paying way too much attention
to her lack of social life lately, causing her to wonder if she had ulterior
motives behind her invitation. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d tried her
matchmaking skills on her.

“Come on, Mom, you’ll have a good time. You need to get out
more; you’re not an old maid,” she pleaded, using a tone especially designed
for getting her own way as it had many times in the past. “It’s been two
years,” she reminded Emma, not needing to say more.

Emma knew Amanda was trying to be kind so didn’t take
offense at her aggressive tone or the wise crack about her age. They were
sisters actually. Yet with the thirteen-year age difference and without their
mother around while growing up, Amanda had started calling her “Mom” at an
early age. And it had just stuck.

“I don’t know.” Emma wasn’t completely convinced she wanted
to be around a park full of men high on testosterone and attitude. She’d had
enough of that to last a lifetime.

“I don’t want to go alone.”

“Troy will be there.” He was Amanda’s boyfriend. These days
they hardly went anywhere without each other.

Misunderstanding her reluctance, Amanda offered, a little
too eagerly, “Well, what if I hook you up with…”

Emma eyes grew round; she wasn’t ready to be hooked up with
anyone. Yet that didn’t stop the vision of a sexy policeman’s face from
flashing before her eyes.
Will he be there?
Stratton was a small town
yet they’d never run into each other before.

However, in the next instant she shook her head with
disgust. “Forget it,” she broke in, panic over the thought making her heart
miss a beat. “If you’re planning on playing matchmaker then I’m definitely not
going.” Leaning her hip against the kitchen counter, she looked at the various
size boxes along the countertop. She still had a lot of work to do. “I’m not
finished packing and the movers…”

“I was joking and you have plenty of time for that. I’ll
come over and help you. Will you go or not?”

Emma smiled at the impatience and persistence in Amanda’s
tone. These days she had to remind herself that her little sister was all grown
up and living on her own. Well, when she wasn’t staying at Troy’s, which was
more often than not lately. She didn’t understand why they just didn’t move in
together and make it official.

“Give me the details.” It wasn’t as if Amanda was asking her
to take a ride over Niagara Falls or something. Emma didn’t have the heart to
turn her down, or the energy to think up an excuse that would justify her not
going. Besides, it was time she started getting out and doing things again.

“Great! You won’t be sorry.”

Emma’s brows rose with mild concern at the enthusiasm in her
tone. It was a little over the top. “Well I hope not; this is just a picnic, isn’t
it? Or did you miss my little comment about not setting me up?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Amanda rushed out. “You’re so
suspicious,” she went on with an obvious smile in her tone. “The policemen’s
picnic is always a lot of fun. The whole town turns out for it. There’s a ball
game, and tons of good food…”

Emma’s mouth turned down, thinking about her widening
waistline. She wasn’t fat, but lately she’d put on a few extra pounds. The
mention of tons of good food wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. Maybe if
she worked doubly hard at the gym the next couple of days she could afford to
indulge a little on the weekend.

In the end she found herself agreeing to meet Amanda on
Saturday. At ten, at the park behind the police station. She thought about the
last time she’d gone on a picnic. At least twelve years had passed. That is if
joining Amanda at school for lunch one day and eating on the playground
qualified as a picnic.

* * *
*

By the time Saturday arrived, Emma was almost looking
forward to it. However, when it came time to dress, she found herself in a real
dilemma. Her picnic attire options were practically nonexistent.

Amanda had often accused her of dressing older than her age.
After standing in her walk-in closet for twenty minutes she was inclined to
agree with her. She scanned the row of dresses and skirts. For the first time
it occurred to her that she’d been dressing to please Richard all those years.
How could she not have realized it before now? Memories flashed through her
mind as early as when they’d been dating. He’d always preferred her to dress
conservatively and feminine.

Thinking about her ex caused Emma to pause from what she was
doing for a moment. Two years had gone by since their amicable divorce. She
wondered how long it would take to wipe away the memory of being with the same
man for ten years. At least thinking about him and his betrayal with another
woman wasn’t as painful anymore. She actually hoped he was happy finally,
because she certainly hadn’t been able to make him happy. They’d sold their
restaurant business and most of their joint holdings, splitting everything
right down the middle. Once the divorce was final Richard hadn’t wasted any
time in marrying his little waitress, who was twelve years his senior, and
leaving town. The last she heard they were living in the sunshine state.

The house was the last asset between them and Emma had been
allowed to live in it until it was sold. However, that all changed once she’d
signed the papers two days ago. Now there was nothing left to prove they’d even
been married. She hadn’t kept so much as a single photo of just the two of them
together.

She gave herself a little shake, annoyed for letting Richard
monopolize her thoughts again. He was history. She was looking forward to
moving into her new town house down at the lake.

She reached for an old pair of jeans at the back of the
closet, wondering why she’d kept them. A long time had gone by since she’d had
a reason to wear them. She’d only purchased them to go on a weekend camping
trip with Amanda and her class one year. Ten years and at least ten pounds ago…
Doubts surfaced that she’d be able to get into them as she yanked them off the
hanger. By the time she managed to work them over her hips and zip them up, she
was gasping as if just running a mile on the treadmill.

She stepped out of the closet, and faced the full-length
mirror on the back of the bedroom door. Her mouth turned down at the picture
she presented in skintight jeans and lacy bra. Maybe an oversized shirt would
help complete the look she was going for. A quick glance at the clock on the
dresser revealed it was nine thirty and she was running out of time. Well, who
was she hoping to impress anyway? She quickly slipped the jeans back off and
took a pair of scissors to them, cutting them off at mid-thigh before grabbing
the ends of her shirt and tying them together at her waist. Sighing at her
reflection, she slipped into a pair of sneakers, grabbed her purse and keys and
headed for the door.

Amanda wasn’t going to recognize her.

Chapter 2

The Stratton Police Department was a small building located
on the outskirts of town. It took Emma almost five minutes to locate a legal
parking spot for her little car. The last thing she wanted to do was park
illegally at a police station of all places. Though it appeared some exceptions
had been made, she couldn’t bring herself to park in any of the no parking
zones. Recognizing Amanda’s black Toyota, she squeezed into the tight spot
between it and Troy’s red pickup.

She could hear the picnickers long before she saw them. She
followed the noise by walking around the station house and not cutting through
it as she noticed several others doing. Her eyes widened with surprise. Amanda
hadn’t been exaggerating when she said the whole town would turn out. Stratton
wasn’t all the big, twenty-two hundred according to the last census taken. It
appeared as if a third of them were there.

Smoke was turning the air blue as several grills had been
brought in. They were cranked up full blast, as was a huge smoker several men
were tending, beers in hand, laughing at something. Rows of picnic tables were
hidden beneath bright plastic tablecloths, covered with platters of food and
beverages. Huge coolers of ice had been set up on the ground next to the
drinks.

The park was little bigger than a few football fields, yet a
corner off in the back had been set aside for baseball. Right now there was a
game going on and Emma headed in that direction to find Amanda. She reached the
fence that protected bystanders from flying balls within minutes, and wondered
if the small speck she saw out in left field was Amanda. She was certain she
recognized the red and yellow
Winnie the Pooh
tee shirt her sister
favored.

All at once the sun made an appearance from behind a cloud,
reminding Emma she’d forgotten her sunglasses. Forced to shield her eyes with
her hand, she was aware of a noise that ended her search for Amanda. Her
attention swung to the pitcher’s mound where she watched him pitch the ball.
The batter hit the ball back toward the pitcher who caught it. He pivoted and
threw it to third base in one fluid motion. For a second she became absorbed
with the game, and the split-second reactions of the pitcher that promptly
ended the inning.

Everyone in outfield began running toward the dugout nearest
her. Yet, they were a blur of activity around her. She couldn’t seem to take
her eyes off the pitcher. Something about him struck a familiar cord in her,
making her wonder if she’d seen him somewhere before. He was handsome. Not
drop-dead gorgeous but good-looking in a rough, outdoorsy sort of way.
Definitely worth a second glance.

He was wearing gray athletic shorts and a faded blue tee
shirt with writing on it Emma couldn’t make out, stained darker in places that
revealed he’d been playing hard. As he stepped off the pitcher’s mound, he
whipped off his baseball hat, and ran his hand through his overlong matted
hair. It was black and glistened like a raven’s wing, probably because of
sweat.

She stared at his powerful well-muscled torso as he moved
toward her. Purely feminine interest compelled her to take in the thick, corded
muscles of his tanned thighs and long athletic legs. He definitely looked like
a male in his prime. The way his shorts clung to the outline of his shaft, he
wasn’t lacking there.

Realizing what she was doing, she gazed up at his face, and
felt her cheeks turn hot with embarrassment. He was looking directly at her, a
crooked grin on his masculine mouth that caused a little flutter in her belly.
To make matters worse, Emma finally recognized him as Officer Handsome.
Oh
god!
She was immediately reminded of the erotic delicious dreams she’d been
having of him.

Just the night before he’d done wicked things to her with
his hands and mouth. He’d loved her inside and out, literally! She grew
uncomfortably warm just thinking about what she’d done after waking. Hot and
wet. From that dream.

She began to touch her highly sensitive body under her
nightgown. Only it had been Mike’s hands caressing her breasts. His fingers
tweaking her nipples until she moaned with pleasure. Exploring her twisting
body at his leisure while seeing to her needs as much as his hunger. Before
Emma knew it her hands had moved beneath the elastic of her panties. And she
was touching her throbbing, wet clit. Pretending it was Mike’s tongue that was
there. Driving her wild until she came.
God.
The force of her orgasm had
surprised her.

Emma hadn’t expected to run into Mike again. Now she
wondered if she’d be able to retain her composure around him. She didn’t want
to be obvious about her attraction to him.

She immediately averted her gaze, pretending she hadn’t just
been staring at the front of his clinging shorts, or that he’d caught her. She
quickly focused on Amanda who was running in and had yet to recognize her.

Amanda’s gaze skimmed over her before she did a double-take.

“Mom?”

Emma couldn’t help be aware that several heads turned their
way as her voice carried.

“Where did you get those clothes?” She stared at Emma with
something close to awe.

“Would you believe in my closet?” She grinned, following
Amanda along the fence when she dropped her speed to join her. “I had to do a
couple of alterations for the occasion.”

“You look…” Amanda paused as if searching for the right
word, examining Emma as though she were a new species. “Different, sexy.”

Tugging at the shirt ends tied at her waist, Emma made a
face. “I don’t feel sexy. And I can’t remember the last time I wore cut-offs. I
think I cut them too short.”

“If I know the men around here, not short enough. And look
around you; there’s a lot of women here wearing the same thing,” Amanda pointed
out. Slipping off her glove she hung it alongside the others on top of the
fence. “Did you just get here?”

Emma nodded. “How much longer before the game is over?”

“This is the last inning. Come around and sit in the dugout
with us.”

Meaning her, Troy, and all the other players. Emma wasn’t
sure she wanted to be stuck in a dugout full of men, especially with the one
she’d been ogling a few minutes ago. Nevertheless, she found herself walking
around to join Amanda anyway.