Be Mine (14 page)

Her laughter fled, and Sabina looked at him. Really looked at him. His eyes were as clear and sincere as a solemn baby’s. The man was serious. “This has gotten out of hand.”

Chad reached over and patted her hand. “Nothing would make me happier. Now, what about you? I know you have a secret addiction to slinky underclothes. Aunt Clara still hasn’t recovered from that thing you were wearing the day Sock bushwhacked you. Any other hidden vices I’m going to have to adjust to?”

Sabina thought she might be going mad, but she was so charmed she went along with the game. “I live a very boring, squeaky-clean life. My only vice is shooting the occasional mine operator who offends me.” Sure that would throw him a roadblock, she determinedly scooped a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“I’d already heard about that through the grapevine,” he said cheerfully. “What do you do in your spare time?”

“Cook,” she answered, waving an explanatory hand toward the stove. “I work long hours, and I hate junk food, so my freezer is well-stocked with homemade microwave dinners.”

“What else?”

“I read and swim laps at the Y when I’m in town.”

“And . . .”

“That’s it,” she said helplessly. “I’d like to travel to Mexico someday. The mountains there have some great rock formations to explore.”

Chad scraped his bowl and shook his head disapprovingly. “You don’t know how to really relax, deputy inspector. Have you been to a concert at the Ohio theater, to Schmidt’s for bratwurst and German music, or to the Columbus Zoo? Or more to the point, to The Wilds, which isn’t that awfully far from Calico?”

“I’ve only been here less than a year. And I hate zoos. Animals shouldn’t be penned up and put on display,” she said defensively.

“Let’s see. I’ll bet you’ve ignored The Wilds because you don’t want to admit someone could conceive of anything so creative as a wild animal preserve on reclaimed land. You should give thanks I’ve come to broaden your outlook, Sabina.” He stood and looked at his watch, then set his bowl in the sink and filled it with water. “Be ready by 9:30 tomorrow morning. I’m going to take you around town and show you what you’ve been missing.”

His assumption that she would drop everything at his demand irritated Sabina, and she rose from her chair and faced him across the kitchen. “What makes you think I’ll change my plans just to racket around town tomorrow.”

Chad rounded the table and kissed her fleetingly. “You just admitted you don’t do anything but work and cook. You cooked tonight, and tomorrow’s a play day. Be ready.” With that he was gone.

CHAPTER TEN

Chad looked around as he pushed the button at Sabina’s door. Dew sprinkled on the grass in the courtyard outside Sabina’s apartment. The sprawling, one-floor plan buildings looked as if the management crew had just painted all the woodwork. Fresh mulch surrounded each small shrub, and he knew without asking that geraniums would be planted within a month, probably exactly eight inches apart. The very perfection of the little complex made him sigh. Sabina had selected an apartment that matched her upbringing — sterile and perfect. He had his work cut out for him.

Still, he had no complaints about her prompt response to his ring. Nor about her appearance. The lady inspector looked good enough to eat in her crisp khaki slacks and pale pink cotton sweater. Before she could say a word, he leaned forward and kissed her heartily. “I love a prompt woman,” he said as he drew back.

“I . . . Chad, you said we were starting from the beginning. I can’t think clearly when you kiss me like that.”

“Good. That means I’m getting to you,” he said as he led her to his car. He liked her confusion. The poor thing had to learn how to separate her job from her personal life. “Have you been to Crater’s yet? Their omelets are famous.”

“I’m too cranky in the morning to go out to eat.”

“That’s a thing of the past.” The discovery that Sabina hadn’t bothered to explore the city for its hidden treasures appalled him. She focused all her energies on her work, never noticing the everyday pleasures that make life an adventure. Chad felt poetic, thinking of her as a bud that was just now blooming . . . and of himself as the master gardener.

She’d quickly masked her wistfulness when confronted with his plain-speaking, loving family, but on several occasions he’d seen her confusion give way to flashes of poignant envy. The world in all its infinite variety was out there, and he would be the one to show it to her. He felt as if he were about to take a child to the circus for the first time.

He knew his smile was beatific, even as he searched for a parking spot in the narrow German Village streets. Today he would knock himself out to expose Sabina to the world of simple, unthreatening relaxation.

“I’ve never seen anyone so happy about having to park half a mile from a restaurant,” Sabina teased, as, hand in hand, they walked along the brick sidewalk.

The breeze worried at the edges of her light jacket, the sun warmed her shoulders, and Chad treasured the way she was getting into the spirit of the morning. He watched each person they passed responding to her happiness. She’d already given in to his scheme to simply fritter away a day spontaneously.

“After breakfast, tell me if it was worth it.”

“The food can’t be any better than your aunt’s.”

“No, but it’s every bit as good.” He tugged her hand. “This is a necessity. A serious breakfast to start the day and fuel the body so we can do some serious time wasting.”

He remembered sitting next to her at the maple table in Clara Kincaid’s kitchen, scarcely conscious of the food he ate because of his awareness of her. This morning was even better. He had her all to himself.

“You look like a little girl on her first merry-go-round ride.” The glowing pleasure on her face humbled Chad. For one swift moment he experienced fear that he might inadvertently let her down. Fear was an unfamiliar emotion to him. He was accustomed to caring for others; he’d been raised with a sense of duty as natural as breathing. But that was different from making himself accountable for the happiness of someone he had suddenly realized was the most important person in his world. “Too bad there isn’t a circus in town. I’d take you.”

Sabina wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I hate the circus. The thought of those poor animals being dragged from place to place in cages, and never having any freedom makes me cry.”

“You’ll like the zoo. That’s a promise.”

“I’ll try,” she responded.

* * * *

An hour and a half later Chad tucked bills beneath his plate and picked up the check. “There are two sides to lots of things.” His quick grin removed any sting from his words. He reached for her hand. “Come on. Let’s go look at the baby gorillas. The only way they’ll survive is in captivity.”

Still later, in spite of her reservations, Sabina approved of the natural surroundings for the Columbus Zoo’s famous gorillas. She had to be dragged away for a late lunch at the French Market.

She even enjoyed the Center for Science and Industry, but she realized by midafternoon that she didn’t want to share Chad with wild animals or Campfire Girls on a field trip. His constant casual touches, and their rapid discovery of each other’s likes and dislikes as they made their way through the displays made her feel alive. For the first time in her life, she felt like a desirable, functioning woman.

“Look at that lace gown,” she exclaimed as they wandered the displays of life in the past. “Peoples’ lives were so different then. Corsets must have restricted the women’s activities something awful.”

Chad grinned back at her. “Kept them helpless and at home.”

Sabina made a face at him. “You’d have liked that. I thought all the chauvinists had been put in their places until I met you,” she teased.

“I prefer to think of my attitudes as chivalrous,” he protested.

“You sure didn’t sound very chivalrous that day at the mine site.”

Suddenly serious, he said, “I admit I might have overreacted. After what the twins have been through, I realize I instinctively want to keep them under a glass dome. Remember, I didn’t know about your experience. But then you should be even more aware that the cuts can be dangerous for anyone who earns his or her living there.”

Sabina knew his fears were legitimate, but her heart ached for Erica and her dreams. Instead she asked, “Does that mean you won’t take me down into the simulated coal mine the brochure mentions?”

“Down there in the dark? That’s an even worse place for a tender morsel like you. Do you really want to see it?”

“Actually, I might get the teensiest bit claustrophobic, even though I know it’s just pretend.” She looked at her watch. “Besides, we won’t have time. The center closes in twenty minutes.”
Where has the day gone?

“I’d better get you home,” he said, throwing his arm around her shoulders. “I’d take you out to dinner, but I have to get back. A desk full of papers is waiting for me to go through before I can hit the sack tonight.”

They made their way out of the building and into the parking lot where Chad had left his Jaguar. Sabina stopped several feet from the car and looked at it, shaking her head. “Conspicuous consumption, Chad. If I had money in your bank I’d run to check my balance.”

He unlocked the door and she stepped in, still teasing him about his car. As he joining her in the cozy interior, he said, “I earned this car the hard way, Ms Inspector. Don’t ask me to apologize for enjoying it.”

Seconds later, emitting a well-bred snarl, the Jaguar prowled the emptying downtown streets.

“You’ll get a ticket.”

“You work for the state. Flash your badge,” he shot back.

Sabina’s giggles filled the car. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so lighthearted. No one had ever told her she could talk nonsense with a man and fall in love at the same time. The realization shocked her, and her laughter faded.

“What have you been thinking about all this time?”

With a start, she realized they had come to a stop at her apartment entrance. She must have lapsed into a near coma for the past twenty minutes. Could she be in love with him after such a short time?

 Would an honest answer make him feel trapped? He’d liberated her from a life empty of human commitment. Causes were important, but they made unsatisfactory bedfellows. Chad made her feel wanted, cherished and beautiful. She found herself wanting to give more and more in return. If this weren’t love . . .

Without stopping to think, she looked him in the eye and said honestly, “I’m examining the reasons why I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Chad ran a not-too-steady finger across the shadowed vein beneath the thin skin of her temple. “I hope they’re all good ones.”

“It’s an impressive list, but I still don’t really know you.”

“As in . . .”

“You work hard. You give your family and your work more attention and caring than I’ve ever seen.” She frowned as she considered her next words. “But you were raised that way. What else do you believe in?”

“Mothers, apple pie and the flag.”

“I don’t suspect anything awful, Chad. I’m just curious.”

“Well, I can hardly go out and picket against surface mining or demand that banks donate all their profits to the poor, can I?” He shifted against the leather of the seat until he was leaning against the door. His eyes were wide and candid. “Love, I work for every charity and cause in the community where I live. I see to the welfare of my immediate family, not to mention that of shirttail relations from here to eternity. I try to keep two businesses as ethical and profitable as possible.” He sighed.

“There’s such a thing as burnout. If I don’t get away once in a while I become someone even
I
don’t like very well. Should I apologize if I go to sports events with friends, spend a week in the woods away from a telephone or occasionally enjoy the company of a female?”

Sabina ran both hands through her hair before smiling at him sheepishly. “I guess that’s my problem. I’ve never taken R. & R. There’s always so much to do . . . and so few to do it.”

He touched the tip of her nose. “There has to be a point where you step back and admit no one person can do it all. And once in a while you need a day like today. A day to just run out and enjoy yourself. And you have to dream something special for yourself. That’s half the fun . . . seeing if you can make the dream come true.”

She brightened. “I nearly forgot. I actually did that. I’m going to Chicago to see the Chicago Lyric Opera perform next month. And I’m going first class.”

“Sounds wild and extravagant. Just like something a person who spends her time trudging mining sites might do.” He answered lightly.

“Don’t make fun of me. The trip is a special treat.”

“You aren’t in the habit of indulging yourself, are you.” Chad paused. “I’ll make you a bargain. You come to a Cleveland Cavaliers game with me next weekend, and I’ll take you to Chicago . . . first class and no strings.”

Sabina drew back to look at him suspiciously. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I want you to love pro basketball as much as I do. Because it makes me happy to make you happy. Because I’m glad you think you’re falling in love with me.” His gaze was bottomless and tender.

The incongruous reasons satisfied her. She had no response except to kiss him.

* * * *

Chad knew whatever sacrifice he might make to get away for those weekends would be worth it. Had it been fate or merely coincidence which had brought Sabina into his life? Whichever, he owed providence a tip of his hat and undying gratitude.

He drew back from her warmth. “I’d better leave. I have a ton of paperwork to get through tonight, and when I checked my voice mail, there were no fewer than three messages from Erica demanding I meet with her and Daniel.”

“Demanding?” Sabina’s eyes were on her hands as she fumbled for her linen tote bag on the floor of the car.

“Probably `begging’ is a better term. Erica can get melodramatic at times. I’m never sure if the crisis is major or minor.” He suspected the latter. There had been a determined note in Erica’s voice, as if she had worked herself up to calling him, as if she dreaded the confrontation even as she requested the meeting. “You
will
come with me next weekend, won’t you?”