Love Is a Battlefield (12 page)

Kristy cradled the phone to her ear as she loaded the dishwasher. How did one person use so many dishes?

“So what exactly happens on these stakeouts?” Vickie asked. “You just look out the window and wait on something to happen?”

“Pretty much. They don't make us do it every night, but since tonight is Friday, we'll be out there again later. They haven't been all that bad, actually. Ace has this crazy game for us to play while we sit in the truck.”

“Game, huh? That sounds fun...” she trailed off. “So are you guys friends now, or what?”

“Friends might be pushing it. I've accepted the fact that he has my job. I'm just trying to make the best of an unpleasant situation.” Kristy watched Sam out her kitchen window. He was running in little circles, chasing a fly. Silly dog.

“That's very grown-up of you.” Vickie laughed. “So what about the church guy? Any news there?”

“Actually, he's taking me to dinner tonight. It'll be an early evening, though.” Kristy opened the patio door, and Sam bolted inside.

“Right. Because of the covert undercover operation. With the handsome ranger. Boy, your life is tough.”

“Stop it. You make it sound much more exciting than it is. Anyway, I should go. I'm not close to being ready, and Robert should be here soon.”

After all the effort she'd put into what she thought was going to be their first date, she couldn't bring herself to get too fixed up for this one. Dark jeans, a red sleeveless sweater, and her favorite black heels would have to do. She raked a brush through her hair and swiped some rose-colored lip gloss on her lips. When the doorbell rang, she was ready.

Outside, Robert walked her around to the passenger side of the Honda and opened the door.

He climbed into the driver's seat and carefully fastened his seat belt. “How does Chinese food sound? There's a pretty good place in Savannah,” Robert said once they were out of the driveway.

“That sounds perfect.”

Kristy racked her brain trying to think of something to say. Savannah suddenly seemed very far away, and she wished they'd just gone to Hagy's. “Have you had a nice week?” she finally asked.

“It was uneventful.” Robert adjusted his rearview mirror. “How about you? Has it been an exciting week at the park?”

“Actually, we're still trying to find out who is vandalizing some of the monuments. Even though the vandal hasn't struck since Memorial Day, the park superintendent is afraid it might happen again soon. So I'll be putting in a lot of extra hours these next few days, on top of my regular schedule. It's not bad, really. And of course, the overtime pay is nice.”

Kristy kept a steady stream of small talk going until they reached the restaurant. Finding something to say to him was a lot of work. Or maybe she was just out of practice. She had been out of the dating game for a long time, after all.

Robert finally found a parking spot in front of the China Garden. Based on the number of cars in the lot, everyone in Savannah must've had a craving for kung pao chicken. The tangy aroma of Chinese food greeted them as they stepped into the packed restaurant. After a twenty-minute wait, they were seated at a table near the kitchen.

“So have you had any more luck with the house hunting?” Kristy asked once their plates were piled high from the buffet.

“I'm actually getting ready to make an offer on one.” Robert wiped his mouth with a napkin. “It's a fixer-upper, but I think it has a lot of potential.”

“That's great.” Kristy concentrated on her food. The conversation wasn't quite as easy as during their impromptu lunch. Maybe the fact that it was a real date made Robert nervous or something. “This food is really good.”

Robert shrugged. “I've had better, but for a small town I guess it's okay. My mom is the one who told me about it.”

Another long silence passed, and Kristy heard uproarious laughter from an adjacent table.
Too bad we aren't sitting with them.
Time to take a page out of Ace's playbook. “So, Robert, how about we play a game?”

Robert didn't seem too enthused about the one-question game, but he was a good enough sport to go along with it.

Kristy finished explaining the rules. “I'll go first. What scares you?” she asked.

“Tax season. And a stock market crash.” Robert chuckled. “How about you?”

Kristy bit her lip and tried not to compare Robert's face-value answer to Ace's articulate and thoughtful one. After all, Robert didn't invent the game. “Oh, you know. Spiders and snakes. Stuff like that.”

Robert took a sip of his soda. “Right. A typical girl, huh?” He smiled.

She shrugged. “That's me. Typical.” she looked at her watch. “You know, we're really going to be pushing it to get me back to the park. We're supposed to start our stakeout at nine. Since it's the weekend, Arnie wants us out there earlier than last night.” she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “So I guess we should go.”

“We can't leave until we open our fortune cookies.” He passed her the tiny tray. “You first.”

She gave him a small smile. Insisting they open their fortune cookies surprised her. And the fact that Robert had done something unexpected was even more astounding. She kept her eyes on him as she tore the plastic wrapper off of the cookie and pulled out the little slip of paper. She looked down at it and grinned. “Your luck is about to change.” she brought her gaze back up to meet his. “That's good news. What does yours say?”

He unfolded his own piece of paper. “You will soon find what you are seeking.” He snorted. “Sounds like a bunch of hooey to me.” He wadded his paper up and threw it on the table. “Let's go.”

Once again, Ace found himself pacing. And waiting on his blond stakeout partner. Where was she
this
time? Had the neighborhood raccoon eaten some more of her plants? Although he wasn't convinced a raccoon was the culprit.

Headlights in the distance caught his attention. Since it was after dark, no one should be on park grounds now unless they lived here. Or were visiting someone who lived here. A maroon Honda Accord pulled up beside him. Probably someone needing directions. Ace waited for the driver to roll down the window, but instead a well-dressed man emerged from the car. He nodded at Ace and walked over to the passenger side to open the door.

Kristy climbed out, looking embarrassed. “Thanks,” she said to the man who stood awkwardly beside the car. She glanced at Ace waiting on the sidewalk. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “Our dinner ran long.”

“Not a problem,” he said, stepping toward them. He stuck his hand out. “Ace Kennedy.”

The tall guy clasped his hand and shook it firmly. “Robert Aaron. Nice to meet you.”

Ace nodded then turned to Kristy. “You ready? We're late.”

She looked at Robert. “Thanks for dinner,” she said. “I'll see you later.”

“Sounds good,” Robert said stiffly. He stood there for another second, as if unsure whether it was okay to leave Kristy with Ace or not.

Don't worry, buddy. I'll take care of her.

With another backward glance, Robert finally climbed back into the Honda and drove off.

“Hot date?” Ace asked once they were in the truck. He tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

She grimaced. “Dinner. Sorry I was late. I guess everyone was in the mood for Chinese tonight.”

“Don't worry about it. You look nice, by the way.” He started the ignition and backed out of the parking space. Nice was an understatement. She was beautiful in the green and gray uniform. In her sporty flower-planting clothes, she'd been adorable. But now, all fixed up, she was a knockout. He tried to push the thought out of his head.

“Thanks. I thought I'd have time to run home and change.”

“What? You don't enjoy staking out in heels?” He laughed.

“To tell you the truth, I don't especially like
wearing
heels. Much less staking out in them.”

Ace slammed on the brakes as they went by the road leading to the residential area. He put the truck in reverse. Maybe there was still time for him to get on her good side.

“You don't have to do that. Really. It's my own fault for being late.”

“I don't want you to be uncomfortable. Tonight might be the night we have to chase on foot. I wouldn't want you getting your heels all stuck in the mud and not being able to get any traction.” He pulled up in front of her house. “According to my watch, you've got two minutes before we need to be in place.”

She hopped out. “I'll hurry,” she called over her shoulder as she ran up to the door.

What was the deal with the Honda guy? Robert, was it? based on her reaction to Mark showing up on her doorstep, he was pretty sure she hadn't dealt with the breakup yet. So what was she doing on a date with some preppy guy? And how could he get over the jealous feeling growing inside him?

Kristy threw on an old pair of Levis and a Buford Pusser 5K T-shirt. She glanced in the full-length mirror. It wasn't going to put her in the fashion hall of fame, but it would certainly be more comfortable than her date clothes. She slid on her tennis shoes without even untying them and grabbed a ponytail holder from the counter. “Bye, Sam. You're in charge.” she patted his head and closed the door behind her.

“So you're a quick-change artist, huh?” Ace asked as she climbed into the truck. “Less than two minutes. Impressive.”

She glanced over at him. “You can accuse me of being many things, but high maintenance isn't one of them.” she pulled her hair back and quickly wound it into a bun, securing it with the ponytail holder that was around her wrist.

“Yeah, I'm not high maintenance either.”

She laughed. “Good to know.”

As they backed out, the headlights shone across her yard.

“Wait. Can you stop for a second?” she asked.

He mashed on the brakes. “Did you forget something?”

“No. Look over there.” she pointed at the side of her house. “Did you just see someone standing there?”

Ace maneuvered the truck around so the side of her yard was lit up. No sign of anything strange. “I didn't. Do you think you saw a person?”

She peered out the window, scanning the side yard. “I guess not. It was just for a second, I thought I saw something running. Could've been an animal.”

“Doesn't Chief Strong have a cat?” he asked.

“Yes. General Grant.” she laughed. “And he does like to explore, so it very well could've been him.”

“General Grant the cat? Wow.”

She grinned. That cat had been the bane of Sam's existence ever since they'd moved in. It wasn't unusual for her to come home and find General Grant on her porch, locked in a staring contest with Sam through the window. And people say animals don't have personalities.

Ace turned the truck onto the tour route. “So tonight we're supposed to be stationed at Albert Sidney Johnston's death site?”

“Right. And here's a bit of Shiloh trivia for you. A few years ago, the park service had to remove the tree that General Johnston was supposedly propped up against when he died. You'd have thought we'd changed the name of the park. People were outraged.” “It was that big of a deal?” Ace slowed down as they passed the Bloody Pond.

“Seriously. After many, many complaints, we put a little marker up where the tree used to be. But in our defense, the tree was completely rotten and there was nothing else that could be done. It had to be removed.”

“Plus, anyone who knows their history knows General Johnston was actually taken down into the nearby ravine by his comrades.” Ace pulled the truck as far off the beaten path as possible and cut the engine. They had a clear view of the Johnston Mortuary Monument.

“Well, well. Someone's been studying his history. And what's the lesson we can all learn from the death of the highest-ranked American general in history ever to be killed in battle?”

“Well, first of all, if you have your own personal physician, keep him with you at all times rather than sending him to other areas of the battlefield. And second, if you have a lifesaving tourniquet in your pocket ... remember to use it!”

“Poor Albert Sidney.” Kristy shook her head and unbuckled her seat belt. “But in his defense, he didn't know he'd been hit until it was too late.”

“Indeed.” Ace turned toward her in the seat. “So, not to be nosy or anything, but how was your date?”

Kristy tensed. “Fine.” she shrugged. “We had Chinese food. It was nice.” nice enough anyway. At least Robert would never break her heart. That was one thing she knew for certain.

“Good. Glad you're moving on.”

“It was time.”

Whip-poor-wills sounded in the distance. Kristy cracked the window, and the truck filled with the faintest scent of honeysuckle. She took a deep breath and leaned her head against the seat. This would've been a perfect evening to sit out on her back porch swing with a glass of tea.
Stupid vandals.

“You ready for round two of our game?” Ace finally asked.

She sat upright and looked over at him. In the darkness, she could barely make out the shape of his face. “Round two. Sure thing.”

He nodded in her direction. “Your turn to ask this time. But remember the rule.”

“Okay.” she bit her lip. What did she want to know about him? That she didn't mind him also knowing about her? Tricky game. “I've got one. What's your biggest regret?”

He regarded her seriously for a long moment.

“Too tough? I can think of another one if you'd like.” she paused, giving him another minute to think. “What's wrong? is your life filled with so many regrets you can't narrow it down?”

Ace raked his fingers through his thick brown hair. “Not too tough. And if you must know, I do have a lot of regrets. But I'm learning to get over them.”

“Fair enough.” she kept an eye on the mortuary monument for a second. Nothing. This stakeout stuff was such a waste of time.

“Remember when I told you I'd lost someone close to me in an accident?”

She nodded. “Yes. And I'm really sorry about driving crazy that night. I didn't know.”

“Of course you didn't. How could you? it's not something I talk about much.” He shifted in his seat. “Anyway, it was my best friend. Her name was Caroline. We met our freshman year of college and just clicked. You know?”

Kristy nodded that she did, in fact, know.

“Every time some guy would break her heart, she'd cry on my shoulder. She'd give me pointers on how to be a good boyfriend, and we'd even double-date sometimes just so we could check up on the other's significant others.” He laughed. “My roommate thought I was crazy for not dating her myself, but I was always afraid of ruining the friendship. After college, we both lived in the same city. We had standing plans every Thursday where we'd talk about our week, celebrate the highs and lows. Looking back, I know now why I never had a successful relationship. How could anyone compete with how close Caroline and I were?”

“That makes sense,” Kristy said. “Sometimes there's a fine line between friendship and more.”

He nodded. “Anyway, one night over dinner, Caroline was acting weird. She'd just broken up with her boyfriend, so I assumed that was what was bothering her. But I was wrong. At the end of the evening, she grabbed my hand and told me there was something she needed to tell me. She ended up saying that she was in love with me and had been for years, but she'd been waiting on me to make the first move. I was floored. I had no idea she felt that way. I mean, sure, we flirted and all, but I guess I never saw any of the signs. Looking back, they were definitely there. I felt like such an idiot. The problem was that I was afraid of losing my best friend. So I tried just brushing her off. I told her she was probably just feeling down because she was alone and it was nearly Christmas. I could see immediately that I wasn't handling it right. She left, furious with me, and I was just such a stupid guy. The truth was, I didn't know how to handle it. I knew that if she and I got together, it would be the real deal. And at that point in my life, I wasn't ready for that.”

Ace shifted in his seat. “I just sat there at the restaurant, trying to figure out what to do. But before I could do anything, the waiter came rushing to my table. Caroline had left the restaurant, and I guess she was so upset, she didn't see the car coming around the corner until it was too late. The guy was speeding, and even though he swerved, he still hit her.”

Kristy let out a gasp. “I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how horrible that must've been for you.”

Ace nodded. “I went with her to the hospital, but it was too late. At least I was able to talk to her in the ambulance. I told her I loved her, too, which was the absolute truth. I did love her.” He met Kristy's gaze. “I did. I just wasn't ready for that kind of love right then. Long story short, she died a few hours later at the hospital. She was a registered organ donor, though, and because of it, she saved the lives of seven people.” He smiled. “That was the only bright spot. Caroline would've loved that.” He cleared his throat. “So there you have it. One of my many regrets, but definitely the biggest one. I wish I would've known what to say in that moment. That I'd have gone after her immediately. Or that I'd been able to say what she wanted to hear. Anything that would've prevented her from rushing out like that.”

“Wow.” Kristy fought the urge to reach out and grab his hand. “Ace, that's awful. I don't even know what to say.”

He shrugged. “Not a lot anyone can say. But that's my answer. Now your turn.”

She could see he was ready to change the subject. Not that she blamed him. It must be tough to shoulder the blame for something like that. Even though she knew Caroline's death wasn't his fault, she could see that he hadn't been able to forgive himself for it. Would he ever be able to let that guilt go? At least her regret didn't involve a loss of life.

“I, too, have a lot of regrets. But I can easily narrow it down to one.” she took a deep breath. “I had just turned twenty-five,” she began.