Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
The bell over the door of the food pantry rang and Atlee looked up, smiling when she saw who was entering.
Simon.
Every time she saw him, she got goose bumps.
She couldn’t believe he was hers. At least, that he was her boyfriend.
They’d spent every night of the last three weeks together.
They didn’t always make love, although when they did, it seemed to get better every time.
And she loved falling asleep in his arms and waking up the same way.
Simon was an easy man to be with. He went out of his way to be a good friend, lover, and roommate.
He cleaned up after himself, cooked (when he wasn’t at the office), and did his own laundry.
Sometimes they stayed at his place, and other times he came over to hers.
It didn’t matter where they spent the night, she was just thrilled to be able to be with him as much as possible.
They’d even been snowed in once, and it was the best twenty-four hours of Atlee’s life. She and Simon had spent the time in their pajamas snuggling on the couch, making love, watching TV, and eating junk food. He’d needed the break.
He was still working long hours, trying to outsmart whoever was still breaking into houses.
He now had footprints, fingerprints, and lists of stolen goods at every pawn shop all the way to Roanoke, but was still no closer to finding whoever was terrorizing the Fallport citizens than he’d been after the first break-in.
They’d talked about the kind of person who would continually break into people’s homes, and they both had a lot of theories, but no concrete answers.
The person’s prints weren’t in the system, and the shoe treads, when not covered by some sort of tape to mask them, weren’t anything out of the ordinary.
Common tread found on boots that were sold in the millions.
In short, they could belong to half the people in town.
There was blood found at one of the homes he’d broken into, thanks to the owner’s dog, who’d taken exception to a stranger suddenly being in his space. But as of now, Simon had no one to compare the DNA from the blood to. And again, there was no match to the DNA in the national database.
So he was at a standstill, and Atlee could tell it was eating him alive.
She hated that she couldn’t do more for him.
Couldn’t do anything but listen and act as a kind of sounding board for him in the evenings.
She did her best to make his life easier by making dinners, and bringing him lunch when she could get away from the food pantry, but she was as frustrated as he was.
Her man took the break-ins personally, and they were both worried that the person would escalate to violence if he was caught in the act. It was only a matter of time, because judging by the prints and treads left at a few of the more recent crime scenes…the person was getting more careless.
But today, Simon was getting a break from the stress of the investigation.
Fallport was celebrating St Patrick’s Day.
The businesses in the square were getting together to throw a party for the town.
The community loved their festivals and had thrown themselves into this one almost as much as they did in the summer for Pickleport.
And thankfully the weather was cooperating as well.
It was supposed to be a beautiful March day, with mild temps for this time of year and no rain or snow predicted.
There would be vendors set up, games for the kids, green beer, and cider.
Everyone had spring fever and was itching to get out and about and socialize.
Atlee had a table set up, as well, to take donations and to highlight the importance of what she did for the town.
So many people had misconceptions about the food bank and who it was for.
She wanted to make sure everyone was aware that it was a resource to combat food insecurity.
It wasn’t a term a lot of people understood, and she wanted to take the stigma out of accepting food when a person was down on their luck.
She was currently at the pantry, organizing her employees and helping figure out what they were bringing to the festival. They would be passing out fresh fruit that had been donated by Harry Grogan, the owner of the General Store, and giving out info cards explaining how to sign up to receive food.
When Simon walked in, Atlee felt a tingle of pleasure zing through her. It didn’t matter what she was doing or when she’d last been with him, he always had that effect on her.
“Hey,” she said, straightening from where she’d been bent over a box, taping it closed so the oranges inside wouldn’t spill out during transport to their table on the square.
His gaze flicked around the room, probably checking for nonexistent threats—it was something she loved, because it made her feel valued and safe—before fixing on her. He walked up to her and, despite there being four other people in the room, put an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Atlee had time to smile before his lips met hers. She loved that he didn’t shy aware from public displays of affection. He didn’t care who saw him kissing her, and in fact, frequently went out of his way to make sure everyone around them knew they were together.
Being the police chief’s girlfriend had taken some getting used to, however.
She’d been the talk of the town for weeks now.
Everyone seemed happy for both of them but, as was typical for a small town like Fallport, they wanted to know how they’d met, and how serious things were between them.
Their questions and curiosity came from a place of affection for their police chief, something Atlee reminded Simon of when he got irritated by their nosiness.
“Hey,” he returned belatedly, when he lifted his lips from hers. But he didn’t loosen the arm around her waist. “How can I help?”
That was another thing Atlee loved about this man…he was always willing to help out in any way he could, even when he was exhausted from his own job.
“It’s all under control,” Atlee told him, resting her hands on his chest and leaning into him. “How’re things at the office?” She was a little reluctant to ask, not wanting to dim his good mood, but thankfully he simply shrugged.
“The same. I came over to see if you needed help getting set up, but also to let you know I’ve planned a special dinner for us tonight. At my house.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s our eightieth anniversary.”
Atlee blinked. “What are you talking about? Eightieth? I try not to do math in public, but even I know it hasn’t been eighty years since we’ve been together.”
Simon chuckled. “Not years. Days. Eighty days ago, we were sitting in my cruiser on the interstate, and we admitted that we both had a crush on each other. Being with you that night made what could’ve been a horrible experience actually fun.”
“Simon,” Atlee whispered, feeling overwhelmed.
“I love you,” he told her, with no hesitation and not sounding the least bit concerned that her employees were shamelessly eavesdropping as they continued to box up fruit.
Atlee could only stare at him in wonder.
She’d dreamed of this moment for longer than she cared to admit.
It was unbelievable that this was happening to her.
She was past her prime. Past the point in her life when she thought she’d find her soul mate.
And yet here he was. Staring into her eyes and saying the three words she’d longed to hear for so long.
“You do?”
The second the words left her lips, Atlee was mortified.
Simon simply chuckled. “Yeah, sweetheart. I do. You’ve swept me off my feet, and while this probably isn’t the best place or time, I couldn’t wait a second longer to let you know.”
To her horror, Atlee promptly burst into tears, overwhelmed with emotion.
Simon gathered her against her chest and held her tightly.
When she got control over herself, Atlee pulled back and looked up him. “I love you too,” she said, ashamed that she hadn’t immediately said the words after he’d made his life-altering pronouncement.
The smile that formed on his lips sent shivers through Atlee.
“Happiest day of my life…for now. I have a feeling the day I put my ring on your finger and make you Atlee Hill will top this one.”
Atlee felt as if she couldn’t breathe.
“And for the record, that wasn’t a proposal. When I do ask you to marry me, it’s gonna be a big deal. Bells and whistles, and a beautiful ring worthy of gracing your finger.”
She was overwhelmed, but so darn happy. “For the record, when you do propose, I’m gonna say yes.”
His eyes sparkled, and she could read the lust in their depths. She shifted on her feet, wanting nothing more than to take this man somewhere private and show him without words how happy she was and how much she loved him.
“Good to know. So…tonight. I told my deputies that I’d stay until the end of the event today, supervise cleanup. Not that I think anyone will leave a bunch of trash around, but I want them to be able to patrol. To have their eyes on the streets and houses.”
Atlee understood. And approved. She had no problem sharing her man with Fallport. He not only made her feel safe, but did the same for everyone in his jurisdiction.
Simon reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny key attached to a bigfoot keychain.
He grinned. “Thought this was appropriate. It’s a key to my place.
When you’re done here, head on over to my house.
Get comfortable. Do. Not. Cook. I’ve got that taken care of.
Just relax. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I’ll text when I’m on my way.”
This man.
He was everything she’d ever wanted and had never gotten in her first marriage.
“All right.”
Simon stared at her for a long moment, then licked his lips and said, “I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I’m going to do everything I can to make you happy. To never make you want to leave.”