The Mill River Redemption (23 page)

It took her a couple of hours to work out, shower, and prepare a lunch-to-go for two. With a little chuckle to herself, she included the strawberries left over from their dinner the night before.

The police station was on Main Street several blocks up from her house, and the weather was perfect for the walk. Besides, strolling through the little town always left her with a cheery, friendly feeling. She would almost always pass a person or two who would smile at her as they went about their business, and this time of year, the window boxes on many of the homes and businesses were overflowing with blooms. She approached the front door of the station humming, her skin warmed by the sunshine, and feeling a bit of a rush as she looked forward to seeing Kyle again. A small bell atop the door announced her arrival.

There was a tall counter in the main office of the station, in front of the desk where the receptionist and the officer on duty typically sat. She couldn’t see Kyle seated below the counter, but she could hear his voice. The woman with whom he was speaking was standing in front of the counter with her arms resting lightly upon it.

“I’d love to have you come by—” the woman was saying, but
she stopped talking suddenly as she became aware of Claudia’s presence. “Oh, hey, Claudia,” Emily DiSanti said with an awkward smile.

Kyle’s head popped up above the counter, and he stood up. “Claudia! Hi! What are you doing here?” He, too, gave her an odd smile before glancing back at Emily.

“Um, I just decided to bring you lunch. As a surprise,” Claudia said. “Hey there, Emily.” As they all stood silently for a few seconds, Claudia had to make a conscious effort not to gape at Emily’s exceptional beauty. The younger DiSanti sister wore a sleeveless shirt and Daisy Duke shorts, both of which accentuated her toned limbs. Her long red hair was pulled up into some sort of a messy bun, and tendrils of it had fallen down around her face. Even without makeup, her perfect skin was dewy and flushed, as if she had just finished some strenuous activity.
She looks like a sweaty pinup girl
, Claudia thought.

Emily looked down at the bag in Claudia’s hand and then back at Kyle. “Wow, you’re a lucky guy.”

“The luckiest,” Kyle agreed with a smile, and Claudia felt a satisfied grin spread across her face. “Judy’s on phones today, but she’s out running an errand on her lunch break. I’m just finishing up something here. Do you want to go back to the break room and wait for me?”

“Oh, sure,” Claudia said. She’d been in the break room before and knew where it was.

“Nice seeing you again,” Emily said.

“You, too,” Claudia said, still beaming. As she walked past the counter and down a hallway, she looked back over her shoulder at the two of them before they were out of view. Even though she was tickled by Kyle’s reaction to her surprise lunch, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had walked in on a conversation she wasn’t meant to hear.

As Claudia unpacked the lunch she’d brought, the sound of
Kyle and Emily speaking in muted tones drifted down the hall. “Take care,” she finally heard Kyle say in a louder voice, followed by the sound of the bell that rang when the front door opened. It seemed that the door didn’t close right away, though, and soon enough, she heard the bell again and realized that someone else had entered the police station.

“Hello there, Officer,” Claudia heard a distinctive, singsong voice say to Kyle. “I came over to ask about something. You know I specialize in potions of all kinds, right?” Daisy continued. “Well, I had a great idea. Since it’s pretty hot outside, I wondered if I could set up a potion stand in town to sell my famous cooling potion. Sort of like a lemonade stand is how I picture it.”

Oh, dear
, Claudia thought. She had to stifle a laugh, and she listened closely to see how Kyle would respond.

“I see,” Kyle said. “Well, where exactly were you looking to set up the stand, Miss Delaine?”

“Someplace near all the businesses on Main Street would be best,” she replied. “The more people who see it, the better.”

“Well, I don’t know that we could allow a stand in the business district,” Kyle said gently. “The town code requires sidewalks to be kept open and free of obstructions. That’s why the shops are required to shovel their walks after snowstorms, and it’s also why we couldn’t let you put a potion stand there.”

“Oh,” Daisy said. “Well, could I put up a stand in my yard?”

“Of course,” Kyle said. “That would be fine, since it’s your own property. I’m curious, Miss Delaine … what exactly is in your ‘cooling potion’?”

“I’m sorry, Officer. I wish I could tell you, but all my potion recipes are
top secret
. I brought along a sample, though, to show you what I plan to offer at my stand.” Claudia heard a soft clunk as a hard object was set on the counter. “Go ahead, Officer. Try it while it’s nice and frosty.”

Claudia bit her lip to keep from giggling out loud.

“You know, I was just getting ready to take my lunch break, so I’ll have it in just a few minutes,” Kyle told her. “But, thank you. It does look refreshing.”

“You’re welcome, Officer. If you like it, there’s plenty more where that came from!”

Claudia tiptoed to the door of the break room and peeked out just in time to see Daisy, wearing a bright blue sundress, leaving the station.
Finally
. She was about ready to sit down at the table when she heard the rolling chair behind the counter out front pushed backwards and footsteps running down the hall toward the break room. Kyle flew into the room holding a Mason jar filled with a bright pink substance. Before she could say a word, he’d set the jar on the table and pulled her into his arms.

Although Daisy’s request had temporarily helped distract her from thinking about Emily’s visit to the station, Kyle’s mouth against hers, moving along her jawline and down her neck, banished whatever negative feelings remained.

“I didn’t want to leave you this morning,” he said in her ear, which caused the familiar weakening in her knees, the rush of heat that colored her face and left her breathless. She eased herself backwards a few steps, pulling Kyle along by the large buckle on his duty belt, until she felt the reassuring support of the break-room table against her backside. Kyle lifted her onto the table and stepped forward, drawing her thighs up around him. He kissed her forehead and brushed a still-damp strand of her hair from her face. “I’ve been thinking about you … and last night … all morning.”

“Me, too. I didn’t want to be apart from you the whole day,” she said, which prompted him to tighten his arms around her and move his mouth back to hers. “It’s too bad you have to work,” she added when she could speak. She moved her hands from his waist to a lower location, delighting in his sharp intake of breath. “I
don’t suppose …” She glanced around at the table and then looked back at him with a naughty question in her eyes.

“Claudia …” She knew he was tempted, but he closed his hands over hers and pulled them back up around his waist. “We can’t. I don’t dare, as much as I want to,” he said, reading her expression. “Judy could be back any time. Besides, it wouldn’t be that comfortable.”

“Hmm. How about in the Jeep, then? We could wait ’til Judy’s back and go out on patrol.”

“Oh, God, no,” Kyle said, laughing a little. “That’s crazy. In the department’s vehicle? Can you imagine what would happen if somebody saw us? Especially Fitz or Ron?”

“All right,” Claudia said with a mild pout. “I was just thinking that its windows are tinted, and the seats in there might be nice and soft.”

“They are,” Kyle admitted. “Buttery-soft leather, and heated, too. But I can’t risk it.” He kissed her again and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “Tonight, okay? Can you come over after Rowen’s asleep?” When she nodded, he took a deep breath and turned his attention to the lunch she’d unpacked. “So, what did you bring me?”

“Nothing fancy, just sandwiches and fruit … the strawberries we didn’t eat last night.” Kyle smiled as he sat down. “So, are you really going to drink Daisy’s potion?” Claudia eyed the Mason jar.

“Of course not,” Kyle said. “I just took it to be polite.” He picked up a sandwich Claudia had unpacked and took a bite.

“It doesn’t look that bad, actually,” Claudia said. The outside of the cold jar was covered in small droplets, which had begun to run down the sides and pool on the table. “Go on, try it. I dare you.”

Kyle hesitated. “I will if you will.”

Claudia looked at the jar and back at Kyle. “Okay,” she said,
raising her chin. “But you first.” She pushed the jar toward Kyle and sat down in a chair opposite him. He took it in his hands and carefully twisted off the lid.

“Smells fruity,” he said after he sniffed at the pink liquid inside. “A little minty, too.” He raised the jar to his mouth and took a small sip, then a bigger one. “You know, it’s pretty good. See for yourself.” He pushed the jar across the table to her.

Somewhat reassured and wanting to appear brave, Claudia took a swig of the potion. It was basically a runny, watermelon-and-mint-flavored sorbet, but it was so tart. Her face puckered and her eyes started to water. Kyle laughed as she whirled around and rushed to the sink in the corner of the break room.

“Ugh, what is in this? And how did you manage to swallow it without letting on it was so sour?” Claudia filled a cup of water and rinsed her mouth out.

“I just kept thinking about how funny it’d be to see your reaction.”

“Uh-huh.” Claudia shot a nasty look at Kyle as she rejoined him at the table. “I just lost my appetite.”

Kyle laughed again. “Well, I still have mine. And I should hurry so I can get back out front.” He resumed eating.

“So, why did Emily DiSanti stop by earlier?” Claudia asked, trying to keep her tone casually curious.

“Somebody slashed her tire, and she wanted to report it.”

“Really? That sort of stuff doesn’t happen much around here. Did she see who did it?”

“Nope, but she thinks it was her sister.” Claudia remembered what Kyle had said about the possibility of the sisters’ dispute taking a turn for the worse. “Regardless of who was behind it, Emily asked if we’d drive by the house while we’re on patrol, just to deter any more vandalism.”

Claudia focused on keeping her expression neutral to hide her
annoyance. No matter how secure her relationship, she didn’t think any woman in town would be happy to have her partner doing the bidding of Mill River’s resident supermodel. Apparently, though, Kyle would have to deal with the DiSanti sisters, and she would have to deal with her stupid insecurities. Thankfully, she completely trusted him with her heart.

E
MILY RETURNED HOME FROM WORK AT THE HARDWARE STORE IN
the early evening. Normally, she would have walked the few blocks to Turner’s. Today, though, even with the puny spare tire still on her car, she’d driven to work so that she would have a way to transport home a few things she’d purchased for herself. In addition to the tire swing, Emily had another surprise in store for her nephew, and she couldn’t wait to show him. She had a little something for her sister as well, but she would have to wait until nightfall to deliver it.

Back at her house, Emily let Gus outside and grabbed the list of things that she’d compiled. She also took her drill and a utility knife from her toolbox before going back to her front porch. After her visit to Russell’s, she’d returned home with one of his old tires and scrubbed it all over with a mild bleach solution. It had dried nicely on the front porch while she’d been at work. Now she quickly drilled several holes along one side of the tire and rolled it over to the large oak tree that stood between her house and Rose’s.

It was an enormous tree, sturdy and strong, and it had one lower limb that stretched out almost horizontally. The Weider kids had had a tire swing on that limb years ago, and she and Rose had spent countless hours playing on it. She doubted that Alex had ever been on a tire swing, and she wanted him to be able to experience the fun of something that many kids took for granted.

While Gus sunned himself in the grass, Emily went to her
garage. She found an old garden hose among the junk there, and she used the utility knife to cut a short piece from it. It would serve as a protective sleeve for the rope, to keep it from fraying against the limb. The folded stepladder leaning against the wall would also be useful. She was carrying the length of hose and the ladder toward the oak tree when Alex came outside. He had a notebook tucked under one arm.

“Hey there,” she said to him. “I didn’t expect to see you again today.”

“What are you doing?” he asked her as she laid the ladder on the grass. He stood next to it, shifting his weight from side to side.

“You’ll see.” She jogged over to her car and removed another of the shopping bags. “I got you something to help you do some bird-watching.” She reached in and removed a pair of binoculars. “These are pretty powerful. You should be able to spot birds from quite a distance.”

Alex’s eyes opened wide. “Wow,” he said. He set his notebook on the lawn and accepted the binoculars gingerly, as though they were a rare treasure. “I don’t have anything like this, but … wow. Thanks, Aunt Emily.” He smiled at her and looped the carrying strap attached to the binoculars over his head. His growing delight was plain on his face.

“They’re adjustable, and they have a special wide-angle view. The box and instruction manual are in this bag for you. Oh, and here.” She reached into her pocket and gave him back the blue-jay feather. “I picked this up for you. You dropped it earlier.”

Alex accepted the feather as well. “Yeah. I was afraid Mom would see me with it and yell about how birds carry diseases or something.”

“Ah. What’s your mom up to, anyway?”

“Taking a nap on the couch.”

“Hmmm.” Emily’s brow furrowed, but she did her best to
hide her worry. “Well, she’s right—birds do carry diseases. But, it’s not like you’re going to eat that feather, and I’m sure you’ll wash your hands well after touching it, right?”

“Right,” Alex said. “I’ll even give the feather a shampoo, so it’ll be clean, too.”

Emily laughed. “That’s a good idea.”