the rumors I’ve heard about you, that might be an insult.”
“They’re probably all true. It’s good to meet people’s expectations. It saves me a lot of conversation on dates.”
“Yeah, and it probably saves you a lot of second dates.”
He nodded without any sign of remorse.
A loud knock startled both of them.
“Sounds like they finally gave up on you going outside,” Rusty commented.
Julie felt a flutter of panic in the pit of her stomach. “I don’t want to talk to them.”
“Maybe a quick wave and a ‘ No Comment’ would satisfy them.”
She shook her head emphatically. “No, I can’t … uh, I don’t want to be on the news. I didn’t do anything. They have no reason to bother me.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied her thoughtfully. “Then ignore them. I’m sure you can get the PR department to issue an official statement on Monday. Maybe by then, they’ll be distracted by a new story.”
She glanced at the front door, imagining that the person outside was waiting impatiently. Surely, they would give up and move on to something else if she didn’t offer them anything to make into a story.
“How did you get in here without them following you?” she asked him, suddenly curious how he had managed to make it through the gauntlet.
“I parked a couple blocks down, ducked my head and just walked up the driveway. They thought I was the pizza guy.”
One eyebrow arched accusingly as she said, “So now they think I’m involved with a pizza boy because you’ve been here way longer than a normal delivery.”
“Maybe you’re a good tipper.”
“You’re ruining my reputation.” But her complaint was softened with a reluctant twinkle in her blue eyes.
“Yeah, well, that’s my reputation.”
She stood and started cleaning up. Instead of hanging back, he, too, got up and joined her, throwing away the trash and recycling their bottles. When the kitchen was back to normal, she wiped her hands on a towel. “Hey, thanks for the pizza. That was a nice thing for you to do.”
“I’ll admit that it wasn’t all altruistic,” he admitted. “I really wanted to talk about … well, everything. I’m sure they’ll run me through psych next week, but I knew I could be totally honest with you. You were there. I saw you outside with my mom … and I wanted to thank you. You’re really good at your job.”
She shrugged off his compliments. “It helps just to have someone there, standing next to you when you’re going through something traumatic. I didn’t want her to be alone.”
“Thanks for that. And for listening to me. I just can’t figure out why he thought this would fix anything.” He shook his head, baffled by Joe’s story as much as by the man’s twisted solution to his grief.
Julie hung the towel on a rack so it would dry. Her expression was bitter as she shrugged. “Yeah, well, it’s just another way that love can kill you.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
As Rusty predicted, the news crews were gone the next morning, thanks to a bi-polar Santa who had gone berserk at Cherry Creek Mall. Apparently, an old, wrinkled naked man with a long, flowing white beard, wearing only black boots and a red cap was more newsworthy than a woman making a phone call to a kidnapper. Julie made a mental note to send Santa a thank you note. He had given her an early Christmas present.
It was Sunday and she was on call. She thought she would have a few hours respite before the end of the first round of football games, but the first call came in just after 3 p.m. Julie jotted down the address on a blank form, pulled on her coat and a stocking cap and hurried outside after pressing the garage door opener. A light snow was falling and as soon as the cat stuck his nose out the door, he turned and ran back inside before she shut the door.
“I don’t blame you, Cat,” she muttered as she locked the door, then ran to the garage and got into her car. It would be a good day to
“They’re probably all true. It’s good to meet people’s expectations. It saves me a lot of conversation on dates.”
“Yeah, and it probably saves you a lot of second dates.”
He nodded without any sign of remorse.
A loud knock startled both of them.
“Sounds like they finally gave up on you going outside,” Rusty commented.
Julie felt a flutter of panic in the pit of her stomach. “I don’t want to talk to them.”
“Maybe a quick wave and a ‘ No Comment’ would satisfy them.”
She shook her head emphatically. “No, I can’t … uh, I don’t want to be on the news. I didn’t do anything. They have no reason to bother me.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied her thoughtfully. “Then ignore them. I’m sure you can get the PR department to issue an official statement on Monday. Maybe by then, they’ll be distracted by a new story.”
She glanced at the front door, imagining that the person outside was waiting impatiently. Surely, they would give up and move on to something else if she didn’t offer them anything to make into a story.
“How did you get in here without them following you?” she asked him, suddenly curious how he had managed to make it through the gauntlet.
“I parked a couple blocks down, ducked my head and just walked up the driveway. They thought I was the pizza guy.”
One eyebrow arched accusingly as she said, “So now they think I’m involved with a pizza boy because you’ve been here way longer than a normal delivery.”
“Maybe you’re a good tipper.”
“You’re ruining my reputation.” But her complaint was softened with a reluctant twinkle in her blue eyes.
“Yeah, well, that’s my reputation.”
She stood and started cleaning up. Instead of hanging back, he, too, got up and joined her, throwing away the trash and recycling their bottles. When the kitchen was back to normal, she wiped her hands on a towel. “Hey, thanks for the pizza. That was a nice thing for you to do.”
“I’ll admit that it wasn’t all altruistic,” he admitted. “I really wanted to talk about … well, everything. I’m sure they’ll run me through psych next week, but I knew I could be totally honest with you. You were there. I saw you outside with my mom … and I wanted to thank you. You’re really good at your job.”
She shrugged off his compliments. “It helps just to have someone there, standing next to you when you’re going through something traumatic. I didn’t want her to be alone.”
“Thanks for that. And for listening to me. I just can’t figure out why he thought this would fix anything.” He shook his head, baffled by Joe’s story as much as by the man’s twisted solution to his grief.
Julie hung the towel on a rack so it would dry. Her expression was bitter as she shrugged. “Yeah, well, it’s just another way that love can kill you.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
As Rusty predicted, the news crews were gone the next morning, thanks to a bi-polar Santa who had gone berserk at Cherry Creek Mall. Apparently, an old, wrinkled naked man with a long, flowing white beard, wearing only black boots and a red cap was more newsworthy than a woman making a phone call to a kidnapper. Julie made a mental note to send Santa a thank you note. He had given her an early Christmas present.
It was Sunday and she was on call. She thought she would have a few hours respite before the end of the first round of football games, but the first call came in just after 3 p.m. Julie jotted down the address on a blank form, pulled on her coat and a stocking cap and hurried outside after pressing the garage door opener. A light snow was falling and as soon as the cat stuck his nose out the door, he turned and ran back inside before she shut the door.
“I don’t blame you, Cat,” she muttered as she locked the door, then ran to the garage and got into her car. It would be a good day to
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