Winter's Thaw (4 page)

Touching her soft hand briefly to get her attention startled her into focusing on him, then she offered him a half-smile that looked at home on her face. He smiled in return. Obviously asking her how she was would be the dumbest question ever, so he amended it to, “Still feeling okay? Sorry, you were kind of lost in thought. But it just occurred to me that I wanted to make sure you had a ride home from the airport.”

A slight grimace crossed her face. “I won’t know until I land, I guess. I wasn’t able to get hold of Sam—my friend,” she clarified and he nodded. “I’ll probably just take a taxi. It’s the weekend, so the light rail doesn’t run out to my neck of the woods.”

“You live down in the southwest ’burbs? That’s a long taxi ride.”

She shrugged. “Works both ways. By the time I get hold of Sam then wait for her to get to the airport, I could be home already, even by taxi.”

He made the offer that had been circling in his head. “My car’s in the airport parking garage, and I live down that way. I don’t mind giving you a ride.”

Her gaze turned wary, and he figured she was thinking about getting into a car with a virtual stranger, having him know where she lived. He held up a hand. “Only if you’re comfortable with that. But honestly, I live in Lake Grove, so I have to go down there anyway, and I can guarantee my car’s more comfortable than a taxi.” He smiled reassuringly then had an idea. He pulled out his wallet and extracted his license.

“Here.” He handed it to her. “You can text my info to whoever you like when we land so someone knows who you’re with, if that makes you feel safer.” He watched as she studied his ID for a minute, then looked up at him, startled.

She scrutinized him. “You’re younger than you look.”

Nick burst out laughing. “Should I feel insulted that I look ‘old’?” he teased, and watched as a blush crept up her neck and face.

“I didn’t say that…exactly. Just old-
er
. Than you actually are. Oh, man.” She dropped her face into her hands and groaned theatrically, and Nick felt a burst of affection for her. At least he’d gotten her mind off things for a moment.

“It’s okay. See? I’m of legal age and everything.”

“Barely,” she mumbled under her breath, but he managed to catch it even under the white noise of the plane.

“Oh, come on. You’re not that much older than I am.”

She finally peeked back over at him, this time with her brow arched skeptically. “Well, you just keep on thinking that. That’s fine with me. As for me, I
know
exactly how much older I am, so I’m entitled to comment.”

She maintained her serious look for a few moments then they were both laughing. She handed his ID back and caught his hand for a moment. The grip surprised him and sent a shiver of awareness through him.

“In all seriousness, thank you.” She gestured around them. “For everything. I was really dreading this flight. I don’t do well with a lot of time to think, and… Well, you’ve made it pass by much more easily than I ever would have guessed possible.” She glanced at their joined hands and let go quickly. “And thanks also for the offer of a ride, but I don’t want to put you out.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Nick interjected, sensing that she was wavering. He put all his sincerity into the gaze he locked with hers. “I’m happy to do it, if it will make this day any less stressful for you.”

Maggie’s cheeks puffed out as she blew out a quick breath. “I never do this, have anything to do with strangers…”

“We’re not really strangers anymore, are we?” Nick heard the overly serious tone of his own voice and purposely lightened it up. “I mean, you cried all over me, we’ve held hands, heck, even the flight attendant thinks we’re together.”

He got his desired response as her lips turned up in a slight smile once again. “Okay, that would be really nice. I’m not a huge fan of taxis.” Her nose wrinkled up.

How adorable is that?

A shadow crossed her face as her expression smoothed out once again.

“What is it?” he gently queried.

She shrugged then hugged herself. “I was just thinking about walking into the house. Alone. It’s never empty. I mean…” She looked out of the window pensively. “Between me and Wade and Cass and Champ—the cat, who’s with Sam,” she explained and he nodded. “It’s…just going to seem really quiet.”

He didn’t have a response for that, so kept silent, letting her follow her own thoughts. After a moment, she shook herself out of her ponderings and shot him a curious glance. “You’re awfully comfortable with this. Are you some kind of counselor or something?”

“Or something,” he agreed. “I’m a police officer.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Really?” she blurted, then grimaced apologetically. “I don’t know why that surprises me, but it does.” She looked puzzled. “You might have mentioned that when you were trying to get me to trust you enough to take a ride from you.”

Nick frowned, hoping she wasn’t that naïve. “You wouldn’t trust someone just because they
said
they were in law enforcement, would you?” She appeared to think for a moment then shook her head decisively. He relaxed a bit. “Good.” He reached in his other back pocket and pulled out his flat badge and departmental ID in their slim case and opened it for her to see. “Always ask to see their ID. Most departments require we carry our credentials at all times while armed, which is most of the time. Oh, not right now,” he clarified as her eyebrows shot upwards and her eyes dropped to scan his waistline. He tucked his ID back away. “But I’m just in the habit of having it on me.”

“Okay,” she acknowledged, and he wondered what was going on behind those wary eyes. “I guess I am a bit naïve.” She had somehow plucked the word right out of his head. “I don’t know much about cops… Uh, is ‘cops’ okay?”

He nodded, amused at her worried expression. “I’ve been called worse,” he commented wryly.

Her lips twitched and he had to look away from her as some very inappropriate thoughts went through his head. He looked at his wristwatch. One more hour.

Nick shifted uncomfortably as her scent and nearness and the intimacy of their more relaxed conversation combined to make his cock start to thicken.
Damn it
. He finally gave up and headed to the lav for a little breathing room before he shocked her with an inappropriate display.

He washed up but didn’t linger in the small space. Just meeting his own somber eyes in the mirror had been enough to quell his out-of-the-blue reaction. Maggie was dealing with a life-changing tragedy right now, and he needed to concentrate on doing what he could to help make things easier for her.

When he walked out of the door, his eyes went straight to Maggie, who was watching him come out. It sent a smile of greeting to his lips. She followed him with her gaze as he walked toward her, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of pleasure that she had perhaps missed him while he’d been gone.

“Hi. Miss me?” he teased, wanting to see her smile again.

He was rewarded with a pursing of her lips as she tried not to react to his humor. “Oh, did you go somewhere?” she joked back.

He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. It was nice to see her spirits lighten a bit. He knew in a very short time she would be plunged into a very emotional and stressful situation. “Just ran to the store and the gym.”

Maggie’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, I thought you were going to the dry cleaners.”

That surprised a laugh out of him. She was quick. “They were closed, so I didn’t want to waste a trip out. I mean, it’s a looong way to go for no reason.” He glanced pointedly out of the window and down toward the earth.

She giggled and the sound seemed to trigger some sort of realization in her, because she immediately sobered. He instantly missed her smile.

“Hey. It’s okay to have a laugh or two,” he tried to reassure her. “There’s nothing wrong or disrespectful about taking a break for a short time. It does your body and mind good to have some relief from it.” He patted her arm then withdrew his touch. “Try to remember that in the days and weeks to come. Okay?”

Her uncertain gaze was glued to his. “Wow. How did you know what I was thinking? About it not being appropriate to laugh under the circumstances, or even just”—she waved her hand around—“take a mental break from the reality of it, as you said. Must come from being a police officer.”

Nick didn’t want to say that he felt particularly in tune with her, more so than with people in general, so he took the easy route and just nodded his agreement. “That and you wear your emotions on your face. I could see the guilt after you caught yourself laughing, and you shouldn’t feel guilty for being human.”

Maggie cocked her head. “Huh. That’s different. People usually tell me that I have a poker face. In fact, Wade used to say that—” She abruptly cut her words off.

“Wade used to say…” Nick prompted.

She had looked down at her hands in her lap. After a few moments, she turned to him again. “He used to say that he could never tell what I was thinking or feeling—that I was too stoic.”

Nick frowned. He couldn’t think of anyone less stoic than Maggie, though he had to acknowledge that he might be seeing a different side of her than most people in her life after so recently experiencing such a huge loss. “I don’t see that at all,” he finally responded with the truth.

“What do you see?” The question seemed to slip out before she had a chance to think about it.

Nick held her gaze as he turned more fully toward her. “I see a woman who feels things very deeply, who is utterly trustworthy and committed to the people she loves. I see someone who is struggling with how to cope with the unthinkable, yet is trying to put everyone else first. Most of all, I see a lovely human being, inside and out.”

Her lips had parted during his heartfelt assessment and her cheeks had colored. Tears rose once again in her beautiful eyes.

“I’m sorry. Not for what I said,” he clarified, “but because you have to go through this. And for making you cry again.” He held out his arm and after a moment, she leaned against him across their barrier. They barely touched, just where her head came to rest on his upper chest and his arm across her shoulders, but those points radiated warmth straight to his heart.

It was just his luck that he’d finally run into a woman he felt true chemistry with, and she was a widow of less than a day. And right there, practically in his lap for hours.

Longest frickin’ flight ever
.

Chapter Four

“How do I ask this without sounding rude?” Maggie wondered aloud, not surprised when Nick tipped her a grin from the driver’s seat of his SUV. He was a really likeable guy and she enjoyed their conversations. He was the kind of man she imagined people would gravitate to, take their troubles to and share things with they wouldn’t tell other people.
Just look at me, I’m talking his ear off and making him play chauffeur for the ‘damsel in distress’.

“Lay it on me. If it’s really rude, I’ll just drop you off here.” He waved his hand vaguely at the interstate highway rolling by under the vehicle.

She was unused to all this teasing and banter with a member of the opposite sex, but somehow he effortlessly brought it out of her. She found herself responding in kind. “Oh, that’s too much. Police brutality!”

Nick’s eyebrows shot up and for a moment, she thought she’d gone too far. Then a deep rumbling laugh built up and she spent the next couple of minutes trying not to smile as he regained his composure.

“You finished?” she mocked, checking her bare wrist for the elapsed time of his outburst of humor.

“Mmm-hmm.” He was pressing his lips together. “You had a questionable question?”

She cleared her throat. “What were you doing flying first class?”

He huffed out a short laugh. “Oh, that
is
rude. What—you think because I’m a cop I should be stuck back in cattle class?”

Maggie sputtered for a minute before she noticed the teasing light in his eyes as he glanced away from the road at her. “Of course not,” she answered, then conceded, “You got me. I thought you were seriously offended for a second there.”

“Oh, I’m offended all right.” He paused then clarified, “Offended that you don’t think you can ask a reasonable question without me overreacting.”

That’s because I was married to the king of touchiness
, she thought, then winced as she mentally chastised herself for thinking ill of the dead. “Touché.”

Nick shrugged. “I’m a pretty big guy, I need the leg room. And I don’t fly that often, but when I do, it’s worth it to me to upgrade to first.”

Her eyes had begun to roam over his form without conscious thought as he spoke, as if they needed to confirm he was indeed a big guy. Tall, yes—and muscular in a fit, athletic way. For the first time since she’d learned what he did for a living, Maggie tried to imagine him dressed for work, combining that physical strength with the authority of his uniform, and suddenly had an appreciation for how ‘badge bunnies’ must feel.

Okay, enough of that. Eyes forward.

Traffic wasn’t too bad, and before long, Maggie was directing Nick to turn into her driveway. The house looked deserted in a way it never had before, even with the unforgiving daylight. He turned off the engine and Maggie still couldn’t make herself move from the passenger’s seat.

Then her door opened, and Nick stood there, a concerned expression on his face, holding his hand to her. Striving for courage, she swallowed and accepted his help, feeling the need for a connection, wanting to not feel alone right now.

“I’ll walk you inside. Okay?”

Sheer relief made her a little dizzy. “Thank you.”

She pulled out her keys and cell phone as they walked to the door. Maggie closed her eyes briefly at the thought of how many calls she was going to have to make, how many messages had piled up.

Maggie made herself stop thinking, unlock and open the front door. Despite her earlier thought of it feeling deserted, in actuality, the house looked no different than when she’d left it.
Why would it?
Maggie doubted Wade had been there in the brief time between their departure for the airport and his accident. In fact, ironically enough, that was exactly why Sam was watching Champ at her place instead of Wade checking on him here. Wade’s apartment complex didn’t allow pets and he had thought it would feel too quiet, too odd being here alone without Cass and Maggie.