My knees are shaking slightly when I get out of my car in the morning. The auto shop is quiet, the doors down, and just some gentle tapping and noises indicating it’s open.
“Can I help you?” the young woman behind the counter asks hesitantly when I pull open the door to the office.
“Is Howler here? I need to speak to him for a minute, if I can.”
Her eyes open wide. “Howler? Um, sure. Just a sec.” She disappears into the back and a few seconds later Howler appears, wiping his hands with a greasy rag.
I swear there’s a brief flash of something before his eyes go flat. “Ariel?”
He almost sounds shocked, like he hasn’t seen me in ten years. “Um, hi. You, uh, never gave me your phone number, so, uh. Anyway, I’m graduating on Saturday, and I wanted to invite you…” My voice trails off as he’s already shaking his head no.
He glances over at the woman behind the counter before ushering me outside with an eye roll. “Ariel, I can’t…Baby, you need to forget you know me and concentrate on being the cop you want to be.”
My hands go to my hips without thought. “No. I can’t force you to date me, but I’m definitely not going to forget you. And I’m definitely not going to just walk away from you when you call me baby without thinking about it. That’s not a man who’s not interested.”
He sighs ruefully and wipes his hand over his bald head. “Ariel. Associating with me could put you in danger. I’m not willing to do that.”
I stare at him suspiciously. “What on earth are you talking about? You aren’t a bad guy, you rescue kittens!”
His lips twitch. “But sometimes in a manner that society frowns on. I’m okay with that, but I won’t see you hurt because of it.” He places both giant hands on my shoulders and physically turns me away so I’m facing the parking lot. “Just go, Ariel. You’ll do fine.”
I turn back around. “No. Not until you explain what the heck you’re talking about.”
He shakes his head. “Do you even know how to swear? Hell, don’t answer that. Someone explained to me what would happen if you and I… were seen together. They could give you dangerous assignments on the force, baby. Try to convince you to quit or, worse, get you injured. I’m not going to let that happen.”
Howler sounds genuinely convinced of this. I pat his bare chest, partly as an excuse to touch him finally. “That’s nonsense. And I can prove it to you if you’ll come to dinner with my family tonight.”
“Your family,” he echoes slowly as if tasting the words.
I nod. “Yes. Mom, Dad, Uncle Gary, Aunt Susan. Family.”
He glances down at his bare chest with a speaking glance, and I just giggle. “You’ll be the most interesting guest ever. Actually, I think you might raise some money for the shelter. Aunt Susan does a lot of charity work.”
Howler still looks hesitant, so I stretch up on my tiptoes and grab his ear. “Don’t make me get violent. Promise to come?”
I can feel the tenseness in him as I’m pressed up against his side, my calves straining to hold the position. A long minute later, Howler picks me up so we’re eye to eye. “Candy Cane, if things were different…”
The resigned look in his eyes is my undoing. He’s given up before we’ve even started anything. I twist his ear a little harder, his eyes water, but he doesn’t let go of me. I don’t want him to. “You don’t know what you don’t know, Howell James Beecham. Be at 1532 Carlyle Street at seven or I will hunt you down.”
With that, I let go of his ear and push out of his grip. I guess maybe if he doesn’t have it in him to do this one thing for me, then he might not be the guy for me after all. It’s going to take a certain amount of backbone and resilience to put up with me and my family on a daily basis.
“What the fuck am I doing?” I mutter to myself as Tameiko flies down the rural highway. I ignore the middle-finger salute from the asshole traveling in the other direction. I’m used to people judging me and my ride prematurely. Hell, I use it to my advantage half the time. But Candy Cane… she’s a different story. And the fact that I’m headed to an address in the wealthy outer suburbs of Snowberry simply because she asked spells trouble.
I grimace as I park two houses down from the number Ariel gave me due to the volume of cars parked along the curb. Do I need to mention they’re all Mercedes and Lexus and similar? The house is white, with four columns holding up the overhang and second-floor balcony. Every inch is bedazzled with holiday greenery and tiny white lights. I grab an old towel from the small saddlebag and wipe off the excess water from my back and chest.
Ariel doesn’t seem like the type to deliberately humiliate me, but I doubt I’ll be allowed past the front door.
I underestimated my girl. She’s peeking at me from the front window by the ginormous Christmas tree. The instant my foot hits the first step, she’s opening the door with a big grin. I stop in my tracks. She’s not in shapeless pajamas or a boxy uniform. A short, sleeveless,tightred satin dress hugs her perfect curves. Her dark hair is arranged in long curls pulled back slightly on one side. Diamond studs sparkle in her small ears.
“Well, are you coming? You made it this far,” she teases. I shake my head to clear it and cautiously approach.
“I’m here. Candy Cane. But you… you’re fucking gorgeous. I don’t belong…”
She interrupts with a fierce little growl before I can finish the sentence. “That’s enough of that kind of talk. Come on. There are people I want you to meet.”
She bounces inside the house with me in tow. The next thing I know, she’s pulled up a chair beside the Christmas tree, hopped up and is holding on to my left ear. This doesn’t bode well.
“Everyone! Can I have your attention? I have an announcement. Heck. I’ve got lots of announcements,” she calls out cheerfully. I gulp as all eyes turn to me. I recognize the County Commissioner among the crowd of about thirty people as well as some other county dignitaries. Worst of all, Cooper is staring right at me with eyebrows raised to his hairline.
