Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (30 page)

"I don't think we need anything else. Thank you
so much for giving us a place to stay
."

"No problem and if you need anything else just call. Good night and it
was
nice to meet you
Lana
."

"Same here and tell your wife thanks for the goodies."

He nodded and left.

She
noticed the house
was
a little smaller then Mike's. The colors were bright and vibrant and
she
wondered if Raymond's wife
decorated the rental
. T
his
house had a lot of bright greens, blues and yellows and master bedroom
was
blue. The colors matched the ocean.
Lana
is more like Mike when it comes to decorating because
she
liked the richer darker colors.

Exhausted, Mike turned on the TV and
she
snuggled in next to him and
with
in a few minutes they both fell asleep.

Chapter 21

Day 7

8:41 a.m.

"So what's the game plan for today?"
She
wanted to leave, all
her
things were at Mike's.

"We're waiting to hear back from Quent and get the scoop on what's going on
with
finding the third guy. I think we should stay put until we hear something. I could whip you again in a game of scrabble."

Not paying attention to
his
invitation,
her
mind
was
preoccupied
with
more important thoughts. "Mike, what type of women do you usually date?"

Wow,
that
question came out of left field, and it
was
a question he hoped
she
would
never ask.
That
subject he wanted to be off limits. These types of questions always preceded something disastrous.
His
piercing look let
her
know he didn't want to go t
his
direction, but he answered anyway. "Well," he took a deep breath. "I usually date tall thin women. I'm usually attracted to brunettes and thinner athletic type. Why do you ask?"

"I
was
curious,
that
's all. Are you saying you're not attracted to me?"
She
was
heartbroken. T
his
description didn't fit
her
at all, but
she
did ask so
she
had to listen to the answer.

He rolled
his
eyes knowing
her
reaction
was
inevitable. "I'm just being honest. I told you I fell head over heels for you the minute I saw you. I don't think it has anything to do
with
the way you look, it's just
a
feeling. And maybe I've been dating the wrong type. But it doesn't matter anymore, I have you, and I love you very much.
Besides
I'm beginning to lik
e the voluptuous look you have.
"

She
shrugged
her
shoulders. "I
was
just curious." The weird thing
is
,
she
pictured him dating
that
type. He
was
tall, dark and athletic and
she
pictured him
with
the same type of woman.

"What did you like in me?" He couldn't resist asking. He imagined
her
dating attorney types
with
suits
and briefcases and someone who might
wine and dine
her
, give
her
the best of everything. Visions
that
swept
his
mind were men around six feet talk, medium build, educated, wealthy, and into physical fitness. Definitely not cops, more the office types.

"I don't know, I guess the same answer you gave. It's
a
feeling you get. I always said I
would
never
date a cop. Also, I
would
never get involved
with
anyo
ne who lived over fifty miles from
my home. Look at me now, I have broken every rule I ever made. To answer your question, I've never been attracted to any particular type.
Most of the time, I'm more interested in their per
sonalities.
With
you, it
was
a combination of
looks and personality
. My heart skipped beats from the second I saw you. I think we have something
that
's called pheromones."

"What are
pheromones
?" Mike backed up and looked at
her
like
she
had just made
up a word.

"It's some kind of chemical our bodies release to attract the opposite sex. Don't look at me like I'm crazy. It's a scientific fact. I read about it."

"If you say so, but I think you're pulling my leg." He stared into
her
eyes trying to determine if
s
he might be teasing him
.

"Honey, I'm telling you the truth,"
she
said as
she
sprawled out across
his
lap so he could hold
her
.
She
decided
she
wanted to smooch on t
his
handsome man, and
she
did. Their kissing led to more passionate kissing when
his
phone rang.
That
damn phone
.

He grinned at
her
as if to say it happens every time. "Hello … hey Quent … yea … so they finally told you? …. Great … pick him up … We will be there … let's hope t
his
is the guy… thanks and we'll see you at 2:00." Mike looked at
her
as he pushed the hang up button. "Guess what, you got a reprieve. Quent thinks they have the other man who helped deliver the wood. They want you to come to the
police department and look at a line-up to identify the man."

"How does it work, me identifying him?"

"You will enter into a room
that
has a tinted glass
and
you will have you fill out a form
with
the number of the person you saw.
That
's all."

"He can't see me, right?"

"Not at all, and Quent will be there the entire time and I will be down the hall in another room."

"Will there be any other people in the room?"

"I don't know. When it's us, we don't allow anyone in the room but the detective and the witness. We are afraid of contamination and intimidation." Mike remembered one incident, somehow a mother of the suspect got into the identification room. When the victim pointed out
her
son the mother ran over and attacked the victim.
She
called
her
a liar and pulled
her
hair and hit on the poor girl. After
that
, the marshals changed their policy. He got angry just thinking about
Lana
in
the
room in case something happened. There
would
a long talk
with
Quent when
Lana
was
n't around
to hear
.

"
That
doesn't sound so bad, but I do have one concern."

"What
?"

"Do the police know what we were doing when t
his
pervert
was
masturbating? I don't want them to laugh at us. And if it is him do you think he's talked about what he saw?"
Her
face turned red just thinking about it.
She
started twisting
her
hair
out of nervousness
.

"Honey I
would
not think twice about what he saw. And yes the police know. I'm sorry babe, but they had to know the truth about everything. There will not be any comments or snickering, but if there is, I will handle it."

"A man masturbates outside a window while two people are making love, and the police know. It really bothers me they know." Hopefully they have enough respect for Mike they won't ask any questions. Worst of all what if
she
had to talk about it in court. The thought of
that
made
her
head start aching.

"You will have to trust me when I say the police have heard worse."

"I'm sure they have heard worse, but I don't feel better."

"How about we go get some lunch and head back to Plymouth and enjoy the drive today." Mike wanted to get
her
mind off
the hoopla
with
the police.
Maybe after they finished at the police department they could catch a movie.

*****

"I can't w
ait to eat I'm getting a migraine
headache."
Lana
said as
she
rubbed
her
temples.

"You
don't look like you
feel well. Do you want me to call Quent and cancel our meeting?" He could see it in
her
eyes
that
she
was
n't up to par. Guilt filled
his
heart for fussing at
her
last night. He didn't realize the stress
she
had
been under
and he should have been more considerate.

"No, I want to get
all
t
his
mess
behind me. If t
his
is the guy, I will feel better when t
his
is all over
and we get back home
." Deep down,
she
was
n't sure if
she
should be
more upset about picking him out of a lineup, or the cops knowing
they were making love.

Mike pulled into a diner and there were lots of cars parked.
That
was
a dead giveaway the food must be good. When they walked in, the place
was
overflowing
with
people. Mike noticed a buffet through some double doors.
His
height allowed him to see over everyone. He leaned down where
she
could hear him. "I'm going to check out the buffet, I might just get
that
if it looks fresh."

"I'll join you, I might get
that
too."
She
didn't see a buffet at first, then
her
eyes widened when
she
saw it
had
four rows of food.

As they walked closer, many people were filling their plates and the waiters were bringing out more food. The buffet had many items on it such as; shrimp, crab, fried and baked chicken, meatloaf, pot roast, and just about every veggie you can think of; corn, potatoes fried, mashed and baked, green beans, broccoli, pinto beans, and spinach. The other side of the room
was
a desert and salad bar. The food looked amazing.

Mike leaned down to
her
ear and said. "I'm getting the buffet."

"Me too,"
she
agreed.

They both piled their plates
with
food. They looked at each other's plate and laughed.
His
plate
was
piled with
seafood; shrimp, crab cakes, salad, and coleslaw.
Her
plate had pot roast, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, carrots, and salad. They were so opposite when comes to food. The only similarity
was
a
salad.
She
didn't think he
w
ould ever
survive in Tennessee.