A Case of the Heart (19 page)

Alex held his fingers to his chin as if to focus, and continued. “She made a lot of money and had connections, one of which was a corporate guy with all the cash and charisma a woman could want.”

He dropped his hands between his knees and took in a breath. “And I was a cop, making much less than his six figures, and hers. She started enjoying the high life, fancy parties, charity functions, black tie affairs. When I told her I wasn’t comfortable with that kind of lifestyle, she told me she wasn’t ready for a serious relationship. She stopped all communication with me. I never heard from her again. One day not long after she broke things off, a friend told me she’d married the guy.”

“You were almost married once?” Liz was surprised he had ever had such a serious relationship and been so close to a lifetime commitment.

“Yeah.” He let out a mocking chuckle. “That was the first time, and I decided it would be the last, because it was the only one I really wanted.”

Feeling his pain, she reached around him with both arms to console him. “I’m sorry.” She laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and the rhythm of his breathing, wishing she knew what to say.

He returned the embrace. “Looking back now I can see we weren’t right for each other, but it took me a long time to get there. As they say, it wasn’t meant to be.” He pulled away slightly and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “So what’s your story?”

She sighed, thinking about the man who she had considered Mr. Right. Liz shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s complicated.”

“It’s not complicated. You’re complicated, remember?” His eyebrows straightened, and his lips curved.

She smiled as her own words boomeranging back to her. No one really knew what her relationship was like, and what she had been through. But he had trusted her with his pain.

She stood and walked over to study a picture on the wall of a mountain stream in the fall. The golden aspens shimmered as a ray of light from the sky cascaded over them.

“You’ve been very patient with me, Alex,” she said, still looking at the picture.

“I’d like to know what you’ve been through.” His rich voice warmed her.

“I fell in love with Nick the first time I met him. Everybody loved him—the women because he was handsome, and the guys because he was fun to be with.” She turned and walked back to the couch but didn’t sit down.

“He liked to have power, like a lot of people do, but Nick took everything to the extreme.” She crossed her arms and continued. “He controlled everything in his life and mine.”

“I finally told him I needed some space. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, he was suffocating me.” She took in a deep, calming breath. “That’s when the verbal abuse started. He had always been jealous and dominating, but it got out of control.”

“Why didn’t you break things off with him?” Alex’s voice was husky and clear.

“I tried, more than once. He would tell me he’d change, but he never did. It got worse. I knew better. I’d just finished my degree in social work.” She gave a soft, cynical chuckle. “He could have been the case study.” She paced and kept her eyes averted.

“So, you stayed with him?” Alex tried to keep the irritation from his voice, but she heard it all the same.

“He could be as charming as he was mean. He even came to me with a ring after one breakup.”

“He proposed to you?”

“Yes, but I said no.”

Alex moved to the end of the couch, listening intently. “So then you left him?”

She shook her head. “I was a newbie social worker, fresh out of college, ready to save the world…and Nick. I thought I could fix him. You rationalize a lot when you’re caught up in that kind of situation. He managed to do well with his job and moved up the corporate ladder quickly. He was still the golden boy who everybody loved.”

“Even you,” he said, his voice heavy with sadness.

She looked out the huge windows into the dark night, holding herself as she took a deep breath. “I was in so deep I didn’t know what to think anymore. Until one night, when he came over to my apartment in a jealous rage. He got so angry. He threw things, yelled and screamed. His words tore me to pieces. They still haunt me. I told him I was done with him and wanted out.”

Alex closed his eyes and worked his jaw. “I can’t imagine you with a jerk like that.”

She finally got up her nerve and looked at him. “Me either now, but I believed the promises he made, and I thought he would change.”

His eyes blazed bright blue, searching hers. “Then what happened?”

She shook her head, wiping a single tear from her cheek. “He snapped and pushed me down, told me I’d regret ever leaving him. He was so mad it scared me. I knew if I didn’t get out of there it would only get worse. I pushed away, but he grabbed me by the arm, yanking so hard I cried out. When I tried to fight back, he hit me.”

The memory came back in a rush, soaring through her mind like a gust of hot wind. Liz could still feel the stinging slap to her face that cranked her neck to the side. She’d stumbled and caught herself against a wall.

Alex stood and put his arms around her. The etched lines on his forehead and drawn eyebrows showed his concern. “What did you do?”

“I hit him back.” She lifted her hands to her face and let out a soft sob.

He put a finger to her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. “Then what happened?”

“I ran and never looked back.”

“Good for you.”

“I still feel horrible about it.” She looked away and put a hand to her head as if to push the awful memories away.

“Why, for defending yourself? No.” He shook his head. “I’ve always said you have grit. Sanders could attest to that.” He gave her a warm, affectionate smile.

Liz lifted her head. “It’s good I took a couple of self-defense classes.”

His eyebrows lifted in surprise, then nodded his understanding. “He’s lucky I wasn’t around.”

She rested her head against him, relieved her story was out. “I’ve never told anyone everything about that night, not even Brenda. I’ve prayed for forgiveness and want to leave it in the past.”

“Then that’s where it will stay.” He gave a slight nod.

“Do you think less of me for staying with someone like that? And for taking so long to tell you?”

The blue blaze dimmed to a glow. “I think more of you than I already did.”

She believed him. There was no question in her mind that Alex Demas forgave her before she even asked him. Who better for them to tell their stories to but one another?

Alex sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him. He reached out to hold her, his warm, broad chest cushioned her as his arms enveloped her.

After a long while, his chest shook with laughter. She looked up at him in question. He had a sad smile.

“That was a tough situation you got yourself out of.”

She leaned back on the couch and tried to smile. “I took self-defense classes shortly after I left Nick, and I started depending on the Lord more than I ever had. I put my energy into my clients, people who were going through the same types of problems I had. It made me a better social worker.”

Alex turned his head to face her as she talked. “That explains why you’re so devoted to your job, and have empathy for people like the Harris family. All of them, not just the victims.”

She smiled at his understanding, hoping it would fan the flames of his faith even more as it had done for hers, over a year ago. “It’s amazing how God can turn something like that into good. We just don’t know until we get there.”

“Yeah, I never would have thought I could care about someone the way I did with Sharon. But here I am with you.”

Liz beamed and brushed away the tears on her face as she brought her lips to his. His strong embrace made her feel safe for the first time in a very long while. Relief washed through her as she was finally able to let go of what she held so tightly.

When he released her, she remembered some news she wanted to share with him. “I filled out the paperwork for that promotion today.”

He sat up, lifting his arms up, his hands balled into fists. “Yes!”

“You act more excited about it than I am.”

“I can’t always be on cases with you or keep watching your back all the time, and I haven’t done that great of a job of it up to now.”

She leaned into him and put her hand on his arm. “You’ve always been there when I’ve needed you.”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “The supervisor position would be better pay and keep you off the streets.”

“But I’d miss the client contact and don’t know if I want to manage people.”

“I think you’d be great at it. You’re a good communicator.”

Liz smiled. “Thanks, but the other job would be outside the city, so it would be safer too.”

“But you’d be out of my district.”

When he emphasized “my” Liz understood his biasness.

They were both quiet, thinking until Alex finally broke the silence. “It doesn’t seem like we can come to a definite conclusion. Maybe we should pray about it.”

A warm sense of calm covered Liz. His suggestion and devotion to turn it over to God and not their own understanding, thrilled her. She decided to take a step out and asked, “You’ve really come a long way with your faith. Can I pray for you too, Alex?”

He nodded. “I think we both need some Godly wisdom in our lives.” He slowly smiled and then opened them up in prayer.

“Amen,” Liz responded after they finished praying.

Suddenly the day caught up with Liz and exhaustion washed over her. “I’m so tired. I’ve got to go.”

“It is almost midnight.” He touched his fingers to her chin and moved her face toward him. “And you do look tired.” His eyes circled her face as if memorizing it. Then he released his fingers. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

They walked down the hall and stepped into the elevator. As the doors slowly eased shut, Liz leaned her head back against the shiny metal elevator wall. He moved closer. “You have the most beautiful eyes.”

She echoed the words in her mind. It had been a long time since someone had given her such a compliment. She closed her eyes and waited, anticipating. His mouth took hers as he stroked his hand over her hair, a habit of his she had grown to like. Alex cradled her face in his hands and held his lips to hers until the elevator came to a stop. He pulled back, taking her hand as they walked out into the bitter winter air.

Chapter Twenty-Three

As Liz left the office the next day Margie waved a hand to stop her. She stood at her desk punching numbers on her phone with irritation. “Alex’s been trying to get a hold of you. Is your cell phone working?”

She looked down at the phone and unclipped it from her purse. “Nope. It needs to be charged. What does he want?”

“You have a date with him tonight at the Astarel restaurant in LoDo. He left directions so you could meet him there. He’s going straight from work.”

Liz dropped her briefcase to take the directions from Margie and stared at them, thinking he must be mistaken. No definite plans had been made, at least as far as she knew.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about, Margie,” she responded, irritated he’d made the plans without checking with her first.

Her arm was fully extended, handing Liz the phone with a huge grin on her face. “Then you should call him.”

Liz took the phone and tried to call, but only reached his voicemail and left a message. “I guess I’ll have to go to the restaurant.”

Margie sat down and cleared her throat. “Liz, I know you and Alex are spending a lot of time together, but you’re still going to come over this weekend, right?”

“Margie, a lot has happened since I made that commitment. I never wanted to. I only agreed because you kept asking me. I can’t do that to Alex, not now.”

Margie shook her head. “Alex is a grown man, he’ll understand.”

“He probably would, but I’d rather not have to deal with it at this point.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but he’s very interested in meeting you.”

Liz started for the door, feeling an urgency to end the conversation. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. We’ll talk later.” Liz groaned as she walked out.

She had hoped that whole thing would go away, but it obviously hadn’t for Margie. Unless she could think of something, she was going to have to keep her promise and go through with it.

She drove to the lower downtown Denver area referred to as LoDo. The trendiest part of the city was dotted with restaurants, dance clubs and expensive lofts, and the new baseball stadium had recently been built in the area. It was the yuppies haven, unfitting for her and Alex.

She found a parking spot and took a couple of minutes to freshen her makeup and run a comb through her hair before going to the restaurant. She pulled her long wool coat around her to ward off the cold and walked quickly through the dimly lit streets.

Alex met her at the door, looking great in a suit jacket and khaki pants. His affable but hesitant smile showed his apprehension, as he offered her his arm.

“I’m sorry, Liz. There was some confusion with our reservation. We won’t have a table for about an hour.”