Santa's Posse (18 page)

“Just trying to
spare you this misery.  Trust me, this misery does not like company.”

He stretched
across the desk to check her forehead.  She slapped his hand away.  “You just
don’t learn, do you?”

“And you need a
nap,” he replied, unaffected by her fit of temper.

“It’s Black
Friday!”

“And it’ll still
be Black Friday after I take you home.  Grab your coat.  I have just enough
time to run you home, and then head over to the station downtown.  I’ll be
there most of the day.”

She waved at him. 
“See you.”  Her phone rang.  She snatched it up, listened.  “I’ll be right
there,” she said. 

Miles took the
phone from her before she could hang up and said, “No, she actually won’t be
there.  She’s really sick and you don’t want to catch it.”  He listened to
whomever was at the end of the phone line.  “Yeah, John, it’s me, Miles.”  He
was quiet again for several seconds.  “No, she won’t be on her way.” … “Yeah,
she sounds awful.” …  He chuckled.  “Good call.  Run, don’t walk, away from her.”

“Nice,” she said,
when he hung up the phone.

“I’m trying to
be,” he assured her.

She met his gaze
through watery eyes, and finally relented.  “I think I’ll go home.”

“Glad to hear it,”
he said with a smile.  “Come on.”       

She rose and
slipped into her coat.  “I’ll drive myself.  I don’t want to leave my car
here.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“I’ll walk you
out.”

She sighed,
shaking her head at his stubbornness.  He laughed, but followed her out of her
office.  “Jill, I’m heading home.  Call me if you need me,” she said.

Jill nodded, and
then sent a glance at Miles.  “Good job persuading her to go home.  She
wouldn’t listen to me.”

He made a mock,
frightened face.  “She’s scary when she’s sick,” he whispered, prompting Kellie
to give him a withering glance.

The couple stepped
out of the executive offices and into the wide corridor beyond.  Kellie spotted
a deputy walking briskly toward them.  “Hey, Commander, can I have a word with
you?”  Miles paused and turned toward the approaching deputy. 

“I’ll see you,”
Kellie said, intending to head for the parking lot.  He grasped her arm,
bringing her to a halt. 

“Just a second,”
he told her, turning his attention to the deputy.  “Hey, Mack, what’s up?”

The deputy turned
to Kellie briefly, and Miles made quick work of introductions.  The man smiled
broadly and extended a hand to her.  “So you’re the lady who tackled the
convicted felon in the mall lot.  Wow!  Remind me not to make
you
angry.”

She attempted a
smile, but couldn’t quite pull it off.  She neglected to accept his proffered
hand, so as not to spread her germs.  “Sorry.  I won’t touch your hand, since I
currently have the plague,” she told him.

“Sorry to hear
that,” he said, beaming at her.  “How are the knees?  I hear you got pretty
scraped up the other evening.”

She waved off his
concern.  “Skinned knees.  No biggie.”

“No biggie!  You
tackled a known felon!” he said with unconcealed admiration.

Miles cleared his
throat.  She turned toward him.  “We really should go,” he said.  To the
deputy, he asked, “What was it you needed to tell me about?”

“Oh, right.  I
just took a report from a couple parked in the east lot.  They did some
shopping and stowed their bags in the back seat of their car, before coming
back inside to continue shopping.  Anyway…”

  He shook his
wearily.  “Why didn’t they lock their purchases in their trunk?”

“Said they covered
the stuff with a blanket.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s
effective,” he said with a sigh.  “All right.  I’ll be right back after I walk
Kellie to her car.”

“Good to meet
you,” the deputy told Kellie, his brown eyes passing over her delicate frame. 
He smiled with pleasure.  “Hey, if we ever put together a flag football team,
we’ll sure give you a call.”  He flashed a quick grin.  “You won’t get to
tackle anyone, but…”  He shrugged.

Miles cleared his
throat.  “We really need to go.”

Perhaps the deputy
heard something in his commander’s voice that prompted him to give him an
assessing glance.  New to his position at the mall, he hadn’t heard the rumors
about Miles’ interest in Kellie, or vice versa.  It was apparent by the look on
the boss’s face that he was interested in this young woman.  He decided then
and there to step away.  The last thing he wanted to do was offend his new
commander.

Miles took
Kellie’s arm and they walked together to her car.  “Will you be all right?” he
asked her.

“Oh, yeah.  I’m
heading home and straight to bed.”

“Good.  May I call
you later?”

“Sure.”  She
started to climb in, but stopped.  “Sorry I’m cranky, and … thanks.”

“Anytime.” 

***

“You look better,”
Jill said.

“I should,” Kellie
told her.  “I think I slept the whole weekend.”

“Did Miles stop by
to see you?”

“Yes, but I
wouldn’t let him in.  If he doesn’t catch this, it’ll be a miracle.”

Jill beamed
cheekily.  “Oh, do tell!”

“Nothing like
that,” she scoffed.  “It’s just that he was around me when my fever was at its
highest, so he was exposed at the very worst time.”

“He’s such a gentleman,”
Jill mused.  “Sacrificed his own physical well-being for you.  The whole mall
is talking about it.”

“What?” she said,
shaking her head in puzzlement.

Suddenly, Jill’s
eyes widened in alarm.  “Oh, actually, I’m sure I’m wrong about that.  Forget I
said anything!”

Kellie folded her
arms and crossed them over her chest.  “Jill, are
you
the little bird
with the open beak you’re always talking about?”

She gasped.  “Of
course not.  It’s just…”

“What?”

“Well, I was
having lunch with Carolyn the other day.  You know, Carolyn who works at Best
Belts and Bags?  Anyway, she was saying that she was toying with the idea of
trying to set Miles up with her daughter, but I nixed that idea post haste.” 
She nodded her head in measured intervals.  “I told her, don’t waste your time,
he’s sweet on Kellie.”

“Sweet on me?”  Kellie
smiled at the archaic term, but shook her head.  “He is simply a nice man.”

“A nice man who
likes you—a lot.”

“He doesn’t know
me very well.”

“He wants to get
to know you better.”

Kellie narrowed
her eyes and pinned Jill with a look.  How did she know that?  It could have
been an assumption based upon his behavior over recent days, but he had
actually told her that he wanted to get to know her better.  She stroked her
chin, like a detective sleuthing a hidden truth.  “Who told you that, Jill?”

“I really should
get back to work,” she said, dropping her eyes to the folder on her desk top.

“Jill…?”

“Okay, look,
Jessica from the candy store told me that she overheard Roxie from the cookie
store tell Myrna from the shoe store—the one on the lower level by the
arcade—that she overheard Donna at the Bath Boutique talking to Linda from Bras
or Bust, who happens to be Meagan’s cousin—.”

Kellie stared at
Jill, mouth agape, her brows furrowed in confusion.  “What?  Who?”

“You know,
Meagan…” Jill asserted.  “She’s the receptionist at the precinct…  Anyway, she
was apparently talking to Linda about Miles and how some of his coworkers were
giving him a hard time about fabricating reasons to talk to you, and that after
a lot of teasing, he admitted that he wanted to get to know you better.”

Kellie shook her
head as if to clear it.  “Okaaay.”  She frowned.  “People are teasing him
because of me?”

Jill waved off the
question.  “He’s a good-natured kid.  He’s not going to let a little ribbing
get to him.  Anyway, you see, I’m not a gossip.  I just
hear
gossip.” 
She shook her head ruefully.  “Can’t be helped.  We’re like one big happy
family at this mall.  But,” she said, lifting a finger in the air, “it’s good
news for you, since he likes you a lot and wants to get to know you better.” 
She grinned.  “Aren’t you delighted to hear that?”

“I already knew
that.  He told me,” she said, giving her assistant a dispirited look.  She
shook her head.  “I’m just not so sure how I feel about being the object of so
much gossip and speculation.  I’m not sure how I feel about Miles being the
object of gossip and speculation.  I know for me, it’s important that people
take me seriously in this job, and if all they think about when they see me
coming is how Miles and I are getting along, then…”

“Oh, don’t you
worry,” Jill cut in.  “Everyone thinks you’re doing a terrific job.  Granted, some
of the ladies aren’t too fond of…”  Her eyes widened, as if she’d almost said
too much.

“What?” Kellie cried
in a shrill voice.  “You’re telling me people don’t like me?”

Jill waved off her
concerns again.  “The men like you just fine, but some of the ladies are a bit
upset that you’ve caught Miles’ eye, but they’ll get over it,” she assured her. 
“But anyway, you mentioned that
Miles
told you that he wanted to get to
know you better.  Fill me in…”

She shook her head
and waved a hand dismissively.  It was simply inappropriate to be having this
discussion at the workplace.  She wasn’t being paid to discuss her personal
life with a coworker.  “Hey, I finally read through all those envelopes from
Dolores,” she said, changing the subject.

Jill gave her a
scathing glance.  “Okay, then, don’t tell me anything.  You know, I wouldn’t
have to listen to gossip if you’d start talking.”  She shifted in her seat. 
“So, anything of importance in those envelopes?” she asked grumpily.

Kellie nodded. 
“Turns out I have quite a few pickups to make at several businesses in the
upcoming days.  I’ve made a list of dates, times, and places, so I won’t forget
anything.  I feel like I have a better handle on this Santa’s Posse business.”

“Well, that’s
something anyway,” she said.  “Now that Thanksgiving is over, time is going to
fly and Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye.”

Kellie gave a
chagrined laugh.  “Heck, by the looks of things at the mall, it’s already
here.”

“I love all the
holiday decorations,” Jill commented.

“I love the
holiday cookies at the cookie store,” Kellie said, arching her brows.  “Be
right back.”

Kellie had just
placed her cookie order when she felt a warm, gentle hand on her back.  “How’re
you feeling?”

She spun around,
her face registering pleasure at the sight of Miles’ handsome face.  She
squelched her enthusiasm post haste when the woman behind the counter gave her
a hostile glare. 

“Your order’s
ready,” she said in a monotone voice, but then to Miles, said sweetly,
“Commander, can I get you anything?  We have chocolate chip cookies hot from
the oven.  I know how much you like them.”

“No thanks, I’m
sure Kellie here has plenty.”  He flashed a quick grin.  “She usually does.”

“Hey,” she protested. 
“Can I help it if I have a sweet tooth?”

“Nope,” he said,
taking her arm and leading her out of the store.  “You look better,” he said,
pleased.  “I was worried about you.”

“I do feel better,
but I’m still worried about you,” she said, studying his face.  “You look a
little rosy-cheeked yourself.”

He shook his
head.  “I’m fine.  I don’t get sick.”

“Hmmm,” she
muttered dubiously, and began walking toward her office. 

“So, any word on
how well the stores did Friday, in terms of sales?” he inquired, falling into
step beside her.

“Actually, the final
numbers haven’t come in, but it looks pretty good.”  She frowned. 
“Unfortunately,
I
didn’t get any shopping done.”

“Ah, there’ll be
more sales,” he assured her.

“Any more trouble
with would-be car prowlers?” she asked.

He sighed.  “As a
matter of fact…”

Miles words
trailed off, as suddenly, Kellie was grabbed from behind by a very large man. 
Before either could register what was happening, she was flung in the air and
spun around like a toy.  Just as Miles was about the grab a hold of the guy and
take him down, he heard the man’s jovial voice.  “There you are, sis!  We’ve
been looking all over for you.”

Kellie laughed,
stumbling slightly when her oldest brother put her back on her feet.  She was
subsequently hugged by the remaining trio, as Miles looked on in shock.               

Another of the men
said in an accusing tone, “We missed you on Thanksgiving, sis!  Since when does
a little inclement weather stop you?”

She was about to
respond, “Always,” but remembered Miles, who stood silently by, looking on.  “Commander
Miles Blake, these buffoons are my big brothers...”

The biggest and
apparently oldest of the group thrust out his hand.  “I’m Keith, and these
yahoos are Ken, Kyle, and Book.”

Keith spotted the
slight question in Miles’ eye when he’d introduced the youngest of the bunch.  “Book,
as in
bookworm
.  Beats ‘Worm,’” the man said with a hearty chuckle.

“The name’s
Kevin,” the younger man said, giving his older brother a thoroughly disgusted
look.

Miles shook hands
with each man.  “Good to meet you all.”

When Kellie had
mentioned having brothers, he hadn’t imagined these guys.  Two were as tall as
him, the other two nearly as tall, and all but the youngest built like
linebackers.  Could she really be related to these guys? he wondered.  She was
so tiny in comparison.

“Hey, sis,” the
oldest said with a grin, “is it true you tackled some guy in the parking lot
last week?”

“Who told you?”

“Oh, your
assistant, uh, Jill, mentioned it when we stopped by to see if you were in your
office.”