Chapter 7 #2
“Probably a smart move.” Law enforcement officials saved the missing child notification system for the most dire of circumstances so it wouldn’t lose its impact by becoming routine.
Since Nathan trusted the two detectives on second shift, he didn’t feel the need to rush in.
“Keep me posted. I’ll come in if you need me to. ”
“I’m heading home for now. McKee knows to call me if they get anywhere with the friends. If I hear from him, I’ll call you.”
“Cool. Thanks for the update.” Nathan returned his phone to his pocket and went back inside.
“Everything all right?” Ian asked.
Sliding onto the barstool, Nathan reached for his beer. “That was Andy about a case.”
“You look like shit, man.” Ian took a closer look at his brother. “Did you work last night?”
“Nope.”
“Something’s up.”
Nathan shrugged and trailed his fingers through the condensation on his glass. “If I tell you, do you promise not to be well . . . you?”
Hooting with laughter, Ian said, “I’ll do my best.”
“There’s this girl.”
Ian let out a low whistle and raised his glass in toast to his brother. “Well, thank you, Jesus. It’s about freakin’ time.”
“Is that you doing your best?”
Ian sobered. “My apologies. Please continue.”
Despite himself, Nathan smiled. Ian, who was three years older than him, was his favorite brother and the one he felt closest to.
There was no one he’d rather discuss this with, and Ian knew it.
“There’s not much to say. I like her, I know she likes me, we had one great night together, but she doesn’t want it to go any further. Frustrating, you know?”
“What’s the hang up?”
“She lives in Atlanta, and she’s only here for a couple more weeks. But tell me if this sounds weird to you—she says she’s here temporarily, but I know for a fact she recently advertised for roommates.”
“That is kind of odd. You don’t know what her deal is?”
“Nope. She flat out told me it was none of my business.”
Ian chuckled. “Sounds like she’s got spunk.”
“She does, but I know there’s something going on. I get all these strange vibes when I’m with her, and you know how I am about my vibes.”
Ian rolled his eyes. “You’ve built an entire career around them.”
“Exactly.”
“I hate to point out the obvious, but you are a detective, bro. Why don’t you do some digging around? Won’t take long in this town to get her story.”
“The thought’s occurred to me, but I don’t want it that way. I want her to tell me. I want her to want to tell me.”
“You like this chick, huh?”
“Yeah. There’s something about her.” Nathan chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought about Georgie.
“What’s she look like?”
“Blonde, kind of petite but not tiny. She has these great, big expressive eyes that are sometimes green and sometimes gold. And dimples. Really, really cute dimples.” Nathan smiled when he remembered that Georgie hated to be called cute.
“Hmm,” Ian said, sizing up his brother with knowing eyes.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Knock it off. What were you going to say?”
“I was told I can’t be me, so I’m refraining from comment.”
“Ian!”
Laughing, Ian said, “Fine, if you must know, I think you’re falling for this girl who wants nothing to do with you.”
“No, I’m not. It’s not like that.”
Ian’s raised eyebrow begged the question.
“I just want to get to know her. That’s all.”
“I’ve never known you to give up easily.”
“She was pretty adamant.”
“So?”
Nathan glanced at his brother in time to see a big lazy grin stretch across his face. “Are you suggesting I make a nuisance of myself?”
After taking a chug of his beer, Ian said, “At the very least. That’s what we Caldwells do best.”
“True.” Nathan studied his glass for a long moment before he turned to his brother again. “I really lost it with her the other day. Big time. She was jamming Styrofoam into a Dumpster, and I totally flipped out.”
Ian winced. “Uh-oh.”
“My reaction was way over the top. Hasn’t happened in a while.”
“That doesn’t mean you need to worry about that being an issue again. Something made you mad, so you reacted. Nothing wrong with that.”
“I can’t go back there. It took me so long to get to the point where I didn’t let my temper rule my life.”
Ian put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “You had a very good reason for letting your anger get the best of you, but that was a long time ago. It’s okay to get pissed off once in a while as long as you don’t let it go too far.”
Nathan nodded in agreement even if he didn’t entirely agree. He’d made it his mission in life not to allow himself to get pissed about anything. That was how he kept the demons at bay.
Ian’s cell phone rang.
He picked up the phone, checked the caller ID, and smiled. “Right on schedule. Hi, Cheryl, is she ready to come home?” He laughed, paused for a moment, and said, “I’m walking so I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Closing the phone, he said to Nathan, “Another aborted sleepover.”
“Poor baby. Give her a kiss from Uncle Nate.”
“Will do.”
“I need to spend some time with her soon. It’s been too long.”
“She’d love that.” Ian finished his beer in one long swallow. “If your vibes are telling you this girl likes you, Nate, don’t give up. She’ll come around.”
Wishing he could be as optimistic, Nathan shook his brother’s hand. “Thanks.”
“Anytime. Let me know if you hear from Ben.”
“You got it.”
Nathan arrived home thirty minutes later and was relieved to find Ben slapping together a sandwich at the table they were using while the kitchen was under construction.
The tallest of the Caldwell brothers, Ben’s dark hair was now shot through with silver, and his once-athletic build had been diminished by his injury.
He’d been pulling frequent disappearing acts since being released from the facility where he rehabilitated his shattered leg.
“How was Block Island?” Nathan asked.
“Fine.”
“Who’d you go with?”
“Some guys I met at Brick Alley,” he said, referring to a pub in town.
“Anyone I know?”
“Jeez! What is this, Nate? An interrogation?”
“No.” If anyone tested Nathan’s hair-trigger temper these days, it was Ben. “I’m just interested in who you’re hanging out with.”
“I could say the same thing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ben’s face twisted into the hard smile that was new since Iraq. “Who’ve you been getting it on with?”
“What’re you talking about?”
“Five condoms? I wouldn’t have guessed you had it in you.”
Nathan cursed under his breath. He should’ve emptied the trash before he left. Used to living alone, it hadn’t occurred to him.
“So who is she, and what’s with the floss spider web in the bathroom?”
“None of your business.”
“Must be something,” Ben said with a whistle. “Five times.”
“Drop it, Ben.”
“Stay out of my face, and I’ll stay out of yours, Detective.”
“Fine.” Summoning every ounce of hard-won self-control he possessed, Nathan started up the stairs.
He missed the old Bennett, the person his brother had been before he had gone to war and narrowly missed being killed by a roadside bomb that took the life of his friend.
Nathan knew Ben was dealing with grief and survivor’s guilt and more pain than any of them could imagine, but his nonstop prick routine was getting old.
Nathan gave Ian a quick call to let him know Ben had resurfaced and went into the bathroom to deal with the toilet situation.
As he cut the dental floss and fixed the malfunctioning toilet, his thoughts returned to Georgie—the way she tasted, her soft skin, those sizzling kisses.
The memory of her clutching him from within as she reached a shattering climax made him instantly hard.
He would be lying if he said he didn’t want another night in bed with her. But he had liked talking to her, too. The sharp sense of humor he’d seen fleeting glimpses of, those dimples. He loved those dimples.
Ian was right. He couldn’t let her slip through his fingers without a fight. Tomorrow he would get busy trying to convince her that he was worth a shot. They were worth a shot.