Touch Me Once (10 page)

“Well
hello there, Mr. Westfield, how are things on the left coast?”

“Hello yourself
, Ms. Matthews. The left coast is bustling, but I have to admit it’s kind of lonely,” he said with a warmth in his voice that made smile. “What’s going on there? Are the numbers adding up?”

I answered, “Everything looks good.
The place is turning a profit, and that’s the most important thing. I’ve got a couple of suggestions, nothing earth-shattering. You’ve done a really great job in a tough business. And by the way, Mr. Romantic, thank you very much for the flowers—they’re beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like them.
I know it’s corny, sending flowers, but I haven’t had a lot of experience wooing a woman,” he said with a smile in his voice.

I chuckled, “It’s not corny;
I don’t think there’s a woman alive who doesn’t like getting flowers. I also appreciate being wooed—I’ve never had anyone woo me before. I have to admit that I like it.”

“The
re’s more where that came from—hopefully a lot more. On a more serious note, I gave Robo all of the information you gave me and he went right to work on it. He’s already come up with some stuff that he just calls ‘very interesting’. He tried explaining it to me, but I don’t speak computer. I can tell you that he perked up when I gave him that last password that you sent me.”

“That’s good news, I guess,” I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.
“I should tell you that after you sent the flowers, I had to have a talk with my mother to explain where they came from.”

“I hope I didn’t cause any trouble.
Uh… what did you tell her?” he asked, cautiously.

“Don’t worry
, Casanova, I didn’t tell her that you violated her little girl several times. I told her that we had dinner and that you fixed my flat tire. No carnal information was revealed,” I answered. “I’m afraid that you’re going to have to meet my parents sooner rather than later, though.”

“I can’t wait to meet them,” he said cheerfully.
“I want them to know that you’re in good hands. Not to change subjects too quickly, but have you seen any signs of the blue Ford?”

“I haven’t,
but I have been keeping an eye out, and I get a little jumpy whenever I see the color blue. Don’t worry about it. You just take care of business out there, and stay away from those California girls,” I told him.

He laughed.
“Don’t worry about that, I prefer Carolina girls. Unfortunately, though, it looks like I’ll have to stay an extra few hours to meet with another set of lawyers. That should put me back home around ten o’clock tomorrow night. I’d love to see you, but I understand if it’s too late.”

“Are you kidding?” I barked.
“It’s not like I have to get up and go to work. Call me when you get close to home and I’ll come over and show you how we welcome people home in the Lowcountry.”

“It sounds like a date
, then. I really can’t wait to see you. Take care of yourself…until tomorrow night, that is, then I’ll take care of you,” he said, his voice full of promise.

“That’s a deal.
Good luck with your meetings and be safe,” I said and ended the call. Just hearing Alex’s voice gave me an unfamiliar sense of well-being, and I realized just how badly I wanted to be with him. It scared and excited me at the same time.

I looked around the small office and rubbed my hands on the armrests of the chair where Alex had spent so many hours.
I was trying to feel something of him in that gesture, but all I felt was smooth leather. I decided that I had done enough for one day, so I shut down the computer and put the papers I had been looking at back in order. I wanted to leave a little something to do tomorrow so I could fill the hours until Alex got home. I turned off the lights and locked the door, bouncing the key in my hand as I went downstairs and into the bar.

There were four people in a booth at the end of the bar and a lone person sitting outside watching a pod of dolphins slowly sur
face and descend in the calm, grey water of Shem Creek. Jerry was sitting on a stool behind the bar and reading the paper. A glass of iced coffee sat sweating onto the napkin where it was resting next to his elbow.

I sat down on the other side of the bar and placed the key next to Jerry’s drink.
“Well, it’s been a few hours, so, how are you doing?” I asked him.

He set the paper down and smiled at me,
“I’m doing great, but it’s still early—ask me again in a few hours.”

We both had a good chuckle
, and I said, “Is that your answer whenever anyone asks how you’re doing?”

“Unless I’m walking out of the door after work
, when nothing else can go wrong, that is indeed my usual answer. How was everything upstairs? Did you have any trouble finding anything?”

“No,” I answered, “e
verything looks good. The place seems to be doing really well. I guess I’ll come back tomorrow and finish looking at some expenses that I think are deductible, but to tell you the truth, I’m really just killing time.

“Look
, Kat,” Jerry said, resting his hands on the bar in front of him, “I know about waiting. Sometimes you want something so badly, even if you know that what you want is just around the corner, it feels like it will never get there. So you just keep killing time, and don’t let the time kill you.” Still holding my gaze, he slid the key back across the bar to me.

“You may as well hang on to that,” Jerry told
me, “it’s a spare, and it’ll give you something real to hold on to until something better to hold on to comes along.”

“Thanks
, Jerry,” I said, pocketing the key and getting out of my chair. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You have a good night—
just keep moving forward, and tomorrow will be here before you know it,” he said as I walked out of the door.

Jerry’s words gave me a little comfort, but just a little.
It wasn’t just waiting for Alex to get back that had me feeling like I was spinning my wheels, it was everything going on in my life. I felt like I wasn’t in control of the events that were shaping my destiny. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me if Alex couldn’t find any evidence to support my story about the embezzlement; however, I knew it wouldn’t be good.

From the high vantage point of
Westy’s front porch, I looked out over the parking lot, and for a moment, all I could see were blue cars. My next breath came in a short gasp, and I shut my eyes tightly. When I opened them, the parking lot looked normal with a usual assortment of cars. I shuddered and laughed quietly to myself as I went down the stairs and got in my car.

I started the car an
d felt the cool stream of the A/C wash over my face. I thought to myself that I have to get it together and stay calm. If I let my imagination take over, I was in real danger of just shutting myself in the house and ignoring the outside world until it came knocking on my door.

Actually, staying inside for the night sounded pretty good
, so I pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the Piggly Wiggly to pick up some groceries. I got one their precooked rotisserie chickens, some potato, salad and a cheap bottle of wine. I was putting my stuff in the backseat when I saw a slow blur of blue out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw a blue Ford Focus drive very slowly past the rear of my car. The driver turned her head and pushed a few locks of dirty blond hair behind her ear, then wiggled her fingers in a mockery of a polite wave while fixing me with chilling smile.

My heart was racing as I got in the car.
I turned the key while I watched the Focus creep up the driveway and pull out onto the road. I put the car in gear and drove in the opposite direction as quickly as I could. I took the rear exit out of the parking lot so I could cut through a neighborhood that is a back way to my parent’s house. I really didn’t want this nut job knowing where I lived. Hopefully, she didn’t already know.

I kept my eyes in the rearview mirror almost as much as I looked out of the windshield.
I began to relax a little as I spotted my parents’ house just down the street, and my hands finally stopped shaking when I pulled up in front of my little cottage and shut the car off.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
There was a quick sharp knock on my window, and I let out a shriek that filled the inside of the car. When I whipped my head around to see who was there I came face to face with…my father.

My father opened the door
quickly and said,“Honey, I’m sorry I scared you. I thought that maybe you saw me when you pulled in.”

I slowly got out of the car and pulled him into a tight embrace
, “I didn’t see you in the yard; I guess my mind was somewhere else.”

“Hey, you’re shaking.
I really put a scare in you,” he said, lightly rubbing my back.

I let out a chuckle that I hope di
dn’t sound as hollow as it felt. “It’s okay, Dad, I was just preoccupied and got a little startled, that’s all.”

“Well, I’d sure hate to see you terrified.
You’ve got a good set of lungs on you, girl. I’m surprised the windows didn’t shatter,” he said as he let me go. “Let me make it up to you. Your mother and I are going to the new Italian restaurant for dinner. Why don’t you come with us?”

“Thanks, but I think I’m just going to take it ea
sy tonight. I’ve got some food, and I thought I’d just watch a movie and turn in early.”

He gave me his concerned-father face and said, “Baby d
oll, are you sure you’re okay? Your mother told me that you went out on a date with that Westfield boy. She thinks it might be too much for you, but I think you should have as much fun as you want to have. I think it’s good to keep your mind off of things for a bit. That said, if he doesn’t treat you like you deserve to be treated, I will cut him into tiny little pieces and fertilize my roses with him.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’ll keep that in mind, but I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

“Okay then.
If you change your mind, we’ll be leaving about six-thirty,” he said and headed back to his rose beds.

I gath
ered my groceries from the backseat and went inside. I took the bottle of wine out of the bag and opened it. I got a glass and filled it up halfway, then thought better of it and filled the glass almost to the top. I took a big swallow and felt the red wine’s subtle heat blossom outward from my stomach to the rest of my body. I sat down on the couch, turned on the TV, and mindlessly flipped through the channels.

I checked my phone and was disappointed to see that I had no messages.
I was hoping to hear something from Alex, but I would just have to keep waiting, killing time.

I ha
d some more wine; just a half a glass this time, then ate a little food while I watched the news. After rinsing off my plate, I refilled my glass and tried to decide what movie to watch. I thought about
Out of Africa
, but I didn’t think that seeing a woman’s true love die in a plane crash would do much for my mood, what with Alex flying back. So I went with
Love Actually
. At least most of the relationships worked out in that one.

I must’ve dozed off
, because I opened my eyes when I heard my phone ringing. I looked at the screen and awoke immediately when I recognized Alex’s number. I cleared my throat and said, “Westy’s accounting office, how may I direct your call?”

Alex’s throaty laugh filled me
with just the comfort I needed. “You can direct my call to the enchanting head of accounting, if she’s not too busy.”

“She’s never too busy for the boss.
How are you?” I asked, leaning into the pillows on the couch.

He sighed, “To tell you the truth, I’m ready to get the hell out of here and come home to you.
All these lawyers speak their own language, and I am not fluent in it. And my hand is getting sore from signing so many papers.”

“Poor baby,” I said
, playfully. “With great money comes great responsibility.”

“I can see I’m not going to get any sympathy, so tell me how you are.”

I didn’t want to worry him, but I thought he needed to know about my encounter with Mandy—at least that’s who I assumed it was. So I told him about the mocking wave and asked if I was right about her hair color.

When I was done
, he said, “Yeah, you’re right about the hair, dirty blond is a good way to put it. So, she didn’t follow you home and you haven’t seen her car in the neighborhood—that’s good. I don’t want to scare you but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know where you live.”

“I know,” I said,
trying not to sound worried, “You’ll be home tomorrow, though and then you can protect me.”

“I’m going to do more than protect you, I’m going to make sure that this shit
stops so we can get on with our lives.”

I liked the way that sounded, like we were going to have a life together.
“You just get back here in one piece. Then we can take care of whatever needs to be done together. I’m safe tonight; the doors and windows are locked. We have floodlights in the backyard, and where I’m parked, you can’t see the car from the street. So don’t worry about it. Just finish your business and get back here as fast as you can.”