Killer Career (23 page)

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Julie said, slipping out to join
him.

So was she. She smelled good, too.

“Yeah, people in California don’t know what they’re missing.”

“That’s good and bad. The boy who does the snow blowing for me
left for the holidays along with his snow blower.”

“You’re not that far from here. I’m capable.”

“I wasn’t fishing for help.”

“I know you weren’t. The fact remains, I’m willing and
available.”

“In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

He followed her in his new BMW, planning his moves. He’d clear away
the snow. To show appreciation, she’d invite him in. Once inside,
anything could happen. Damn, he wanted her.

They pulled up beside her driveway and picked their way through the
snowdrifts to the garage. Julie pulled out two red shovels.

Some women would have waited where it was warm and let the man take
over the heavy work, but Julie hated being helpless and preferred to
do her share. He respected her fair-mindedness and didn’t argue.

They shoveled alongside each other.

“I didn’t know Avery had it in her,” he shouted above a gust of
wind.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, you know Avery can’t keep a secret. I’m amazed she
lasted this long without spilling the beans about the baby.”

Julie paused in her shoveling and gave him an amused glance. “You’re
right. Remember the time with the basketball? As I recall, it was
supposed to be a surprise present for your twelfth birthday, but she
caved in and gave it to you early.”

“Yeah, well that was different. It was kind of a mercy gift because
Chokowski ran over my old one with his pickup truck.”

“That’s true, but what about the time she had such a crush on
that weirdo? What was his name? You know, the one with the tattoos
everywhere you could see? Avery made me promise not to tell you, but
then she said straight to your face that you couldn’t stop her from
seeing him.”

“Oh, yeah, she called him Heath or something like that. He always
reminded me of a stale candy bar. Fortunately, the situation worked
out by itself and I didn’t have to intervene. To quote Avery, his
personality was a ‘big, fat zero.’”

“You’re right. She did say that.”

Julie broke into laughter. It pealed like sleigh bells in the frosty
air. He hadn’t heard the sound in a long time. He’d missed it.

They’d grown up together, for God’s sake. It had to be fate that
they keep together. How could he convince her?

He shoveled the last patch of snow onto the side of the driveway and
surveyed their handiwork with satisfaction. As partners, they’d
finished the job in record time. Damn that word. She didn’t want to
be his partner any more. That was the whole trouble.

“You’re awfully quiet. What’s the matter?” she said, leaning
on her shovel.

Thinking would get him nowhere. “Let’s go inside your house and
talk for a few minutes.”

She shot him a quizzical look. “Of course. It’s not like I’d
let you go home frozen.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said, following her in.

* * *

Julie handed Dade a steaming mug of coffee, which he placed down on
the kitchen table. He beckoned for her to sit in the chair next to
him and turned to her. “There’s no easy way to say this. I’ve
acted like a complete jerk. You have every right to your own life.
Personally, I’ll hate to see you go, but I won’t give you a hard
time anymore.”

In the act of swallowing a sip, Julie almost sputtered the coffee.
She stared at him in amazement.

“I don’t blame you for being surprised.”

He’d done such an about face, she must think he’d lost his
marbles. Actually, they were all there for the first time in a long
while.

Dade reached across to Julie and placed his palm over her hand. It
was warm. Her pulse beat fast.

Smiling crookedly, he said, “We go back way too far to let
something like this come between us. I’m sorry I shot off my mouth.
Friends?”

He felt her fingers tremble. Something inside of him tightened.
Neither were the reactions of friends.

“What made you change your mind?”

His thumb encircled her palm. “Suddenly, it all came to me. I’ve
spent my whole life chasing money, maybe because I never had much of
it when I was a kid. You know how that is. I figured law was the best
way to get it. The way you looked up to me and followed my lead was a
massive boost to my ego.”

She opened her mouth to protest. He silenced her by placing his index
finger over it.

“Hey don’t get mad, Julie. You might have followed, but you did
so with a vengeance. You’re damn good. Anyway, when you decided to
be yourself and do what you wanted instead, it kind of shook me.”

She nodded. “I can understand. It shocked me, too. We’ve grown
up, but in different directions.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to get used to. For a long time I had things
going real cozy and just right. I hadn’t a clue it wasn’t the
same for you.”

“I was happy for a while, but, like I said, things change. I don’t
regret being your partner. I’ll treasure every moment. Neither one
of us is right or wrong, just different. That’s okay, you know.”

Sliding his hand onto her shoulder, he looked straight into the dark
emerald eyes, dotted with ebony. Jungle drums beat loudly inside him.
This was deeper than he’d thought. Partnership was not all that was
at stake, but one thing at a time.

“You’re the best partner I could have asked for,” he said.
“I’ll never find anyone as great.” He let out a deep breath.
“Well, now that that’s off my chest, it’s time to move on.”

“To what, Dade?”

“To something better.” He leaned toward her and moved his hand
up to cradle the back of her head.

“And what would that be?”

Her lips quivered. Damn, they looked inviting. Why hadn’t he
noticed them before? What kind of man was he?

“Damn it, I can’t take any more of this.” He pushed her chair
closer then silently looked across at her. Before she could protest,
he dove straight in, kissing her smack on her quivering lips. They
were soft and sweet and yielding. He pressed deeper, leaning onto her
chair, almost grinding his lips into hers, encircling, nibbling at
the edges, pursuing entry.

He expected her to resist. Instead, she surrendered, allowing him to
take his fill. He groaned, as he felt the pressure inside of himself
build.

She gave back to him, pressing closer, rifling her fingers through
his hair. The nerve endings of each tendril flashed into high alert.
White hot need speared through and around him.

She turned into the aggressor, smashing, licking, nudging at his
lips. Now it was his turn to surrender. As he did so, a thrill of
victory shot through him. He had her.

He was lost in the wonder of Julie. With every breath, her special
flowery scent filled him. His heart pounded fast, making him
lightheaded.

That ragged breathing, was it his or hers? He couldn’t tell. The
two mingled as one. He was rock hard and ready to explode. She was
ready and willing. It was easy to ignore the lifetime of protective
instincts demanding he be careful and treat her with respect.

“I have to catch my breath,” she said breaking free.

His need to touch her was so great he reached to engulf her smaller
hands into his larger ones.

“Why the hell did we wait so long,” he asked, looking into her
shining eyes.

She blinked, as if coming out of a daze. “I guess it wasn’t the
right time.”

“And I thought I was the only one suffering.”

“I thought it was me. That’s why I kept avoiding you.”

“Me, too.”

They burst out laughing, then stopped and stared at each other.

“What are we going to do?” He brushed his hand lightly across her
cheek.

She leaned into his hand. “This is all so new. Let’s take it
slow.”

What do you mean, slow?
He wanted to yell, as disappointment
and need welled up. He shouldn’t have to jump through hoops. That
was for people who didn’t know each other.

Now was the time for action, the time to rush into the bedroom and
prove their love for each other. She should understand that.

A grain of doubt insinuated itself into his mind. Maybe she didn’t
really love him. He’d not grovel. Begging was not his strong point.
He stood up, turned his face away and stared at the kitchen wall.

“You’re not mad at me, are you? We have to do this right. It
means too much.”

Dade sighed. Julie knew him too well. Between the two of them, she’d
always been the voice of reason. He’d slow down, travel at her
pace, and hope to God she’d come around in time.

To soften her words, she flashed him a sweet smile. In other words,
the light was yellow, not red. It would change.

“We’ll make this work. It’ll be worth the wait,” she said,
almost as if she were trying to convince herself.

“You’re damn right.”

Her look spoke volumes. Apparently she wasn’t as strong as she
pretended to be. If he pressed her, she’d cave in.

“Would you like more,” she asked, rising.

“Much more.”

“Please, don’t make this difficult.” She reached for his coffee
mug on the table.

His hand clamped over hers and rested there. A warmth like he’d
never known before spread through and around him, starting at his
fingertips and spiraling to his manhood. He couldn’t think. He
could only want.

He pleaded with his eyes.

Having mercy on him, she whispered, “Don’t go.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

Julie felt shy, as if she and Dade had just met. She couldn’t move.
Her feet were stuck to the tiles, her hand rigid, still holding the
mug.

He grabbed the mug and almost flung it onto the table, then reached
out and crushed her to his chest. The air swooshed out of her. She
could hardly breathe, but that didn’t matter. She felt wonderful
resting in the circle of his arms.

This was how she’d dreamt it would be. Next, her shining knight
would carry her off into the bedroom and make fantastic love to her.
How could she not have realized who her knight was?

The world turned a pink haze. This was heaven. The church bells rang.
And rang and rang. They weren’t church bells.

“Don’t answer. Maybe they’ll go away,” Dade whispered in her
ear.

“Your car’s in the driveway. They know we’re here. It might be
important. I better go.”

“Damn.” He released her reluctantly.

Outside of his arms, a chill swept through her.

What rotten timing. She stumbled out of the kitchen, onto the slate
hallway, and over to the front door. Pushing back her hair, she took
a deep breath, then turned the handle.

An elderly lady with red-rimmed eyes stood on the doorstep.

“Sarah, what’s wrong?”

Her neighbor flashed Julie a desperate look. “Have you seen Jimbo?
He’s disappeared. I’ve called and called for him.”

“No, I didn’t, but I just got home half an hour ago and we’ve
been busy clearing off the snow since then.” A feeling of unease
filled her. It wasn’t like Jimbo to abandon his mistress.

With his white ear up and his black ear down, he zealously guarded
Sarah’s territory. Jimbo would never think of leaving her yard,
except to visit Julie, his only other human friend. Even then, he
always rushed back. What could have happened to him?

They had to find the dog. It was already dark. It was cold and it
would get colder, possibly zero tonight. He could die from exposure
or frostbite. He had to be nearby. He had to be okay.

“We didn’t see Jimbo when we came in, but we’ll be glad to help
you look,” Dade said, coming up behind Julie.

He could never turn down a plea for help, no matter how inconvenient.
Dade’s compassion was one of the many things she loved about him.

Though Sarah had interrupted a turning point in her life, Julie
couldn’t dwell on that now. “I’ve got a flashlight in my car,”
Dade volunteered. “I’ll meet you by the door.

“I’ll get mine, too.” She rushed to the pantry and fumbled in
the toolbox until she put her hands on it. She flicked its switch and
surprisingly enough, the light shone, though she hadn’t changed the
batteries in months.

She and Sarah met Dade outside and they silently walked to the next
lot.

“My Jimbo’s out there somewhere in the cold,” Sarah said.

“Dade and I will look. You go inside and keep warm,” Julie said.

Dade nodded and turned to the elderly woman. “In what direction was
Jimbo headed last?”

“He was barking at something by the maple tree in the back near
Julie’s property line.”

She pointed a gnarled finger toward the tree at the extreme end of
the lot.

“How long ago was that,” Dade asked.

“It must have been forty minutes or so. As soon as I let him out,
my daughter, Caroline, called again from Arizona and insisted I move
in with her. Caroline never gives up. I keep telling her I’m not
helpless. I can handle my own life, thank you. I’m perfectly
capable of getting around and besides, my Jimbo protects me. I
thought he’d already let himself back in through the doggie door,
but, when I called him, he wasn’t there. Oh, if he’s gone, I
don’t know what I’ll do.”

She rubbed her hands back and forth. A tear glistened and streaked
down the ridges of her face.

Julie placed her hand over Sarah’s slumped shoulders. “Don’t
worry. We’ll find him.”

Sarah flashed a wan smile. “I hated to bother you, but I didn’t
know who else to turn to.”

“It’s no bother. That’s what friends are for.”

Admiration vied with pity. Though bespectacled and thin, so bent she
often leaned on a walking stick, Sarah carried on uncomplainingly.
She’d never ask for anything unless she was in dire need.
Sacrificing her pride testified to her love for her pet.