she said, “Twenty-four hours ago, this entire town was under the impression you were a murderer because you told them you were. Emily doesn’t know you well enough to accept your word as quickly as Ron does. You have to give her a while.”
“I don’t have time to win a popularity contest.”
She shook her head.
“I’m sorry,” he added with a sigh. “I have a feeling Emily isn’t going to be the only one in town who will feel that way about me.”
Liz unlocked her car door and slid inside. “Thank you for telling them you’re innocent. No matter what, they’re friends and I don’t know how I could have kept seeing them and talking to them without them knowing.”
“Ron is a good listener. I told him just about everything except about your scarf and your late-night visit to your uncle. Those details have to be kept secret, honey. I’ll meet you at home after I see Dave. We need to talk.”
Liz had a very quick internal dialogue about whether or not to set Alex straight regarding such mundane things as respecting boundaries when this greater issue hung over their heads like smoke hangs over an imploding volcano. She decided she might as well be honest with him. She said, “You shouldn’t have followed me today. I told you I was going to a business meeting. You showing up like that made me feel as though you didn’t listen to a word I said.”
“But it wasn’t business.”
“That’s not the point. I just want you to know that from now on, you need to respect my independence.”
One hand on top of the car, the other propped on his denim clad leg, Alex leaned down. His face was so close she could smell his aftershave. It had been months since she’d sniffed this exact odor and the way it came when mixed with his body heat. It made her head swim.
“I have nothing but respect for you,” he insisted.
She made herself get over the arousing sensation of his proximity. She made herself get over the desire for him that seemed to permeate every inch of her body and grew stronger with each passing moment. “Good. I’ve been on my own for six months.”
“On your own because of me.”
“And in some ways, it’s been a good thing.” At the hurt expression that flashed in his eyes, she added, “Don’t get me wrong, I would rather be part of a team than all on my own, but that means I’m an equal partner, not a child.”
“I never think of you as a child, honey. You are all woman, every little delicious bit of you.”
She nodded. “Well, as long as we understand each other.”
“I think we understand each other, don’t you?”
She wasn’t even sure what he was talking about anymore. Giving up, she returned his smile. “Perfectly.”
Chapter Four
Thanks to the phone call, Dave was outside waiting when Alex pulled up in front of Ocean Bluff’s only fire station.
“I don’t think you’d better come in right now,” his friend said as he met Alex a few steps from the truck. He accepted the bag filled with his brother’s clothes and tucked it under one arm. Dave himself was a wiry man who barely came up to Alex’s chin.
“Battalion Chief Montgomery heard about the new trial but he still thinks you’re guilty as hell,” Dave added.
“Great,” Alex said, looking longingly at the station house, the doors all open. He could see the three red engines parked in the bay, all as shiny as the day they came out of production. He knew the big cardboard box inside to the left was used to collect toys for disadvantaged kids. This place had been his second home for three years; it might never be his to enter again and that thought created still another layer of ache in his heart.
“It’s politics,” Dave said, glancing over his shoulder. He seemed nervous, which wasn’t his normal state by a long shot. Any man who could share the responsibilities of raising three little kids under the age of four, let alone maneuver seventy feet of hook and ladder through the narrow roads of Ocean Bluff, had to have nerves of steel.
“Most of the guys think you got railroaded,” Dave added, lowering his voice a notch or two. “The rest think the old man pissed you off to the point where you were justified in stabbing him. Some of them think you should have received a medal or something. But Battalion Chief Montgomery, well, you know how he is.”
Cautiously, Alex said, “He’s the logical choice for Fire Chief when Purvis steps down next year. He’s also as honest as the day is long.”
“Plus he and Sheriff Kapp are suddenly buddies.”
Alex stared at Dave. “What do you mean?”
“Kapp was here earlier today.”
“What did he want?”
“I don’t know. Montgomery doesn’t exactly confide in me.” He looked over his shoulder again. His behavior made Alex jumpy and he found his gaze straying to the towering brick building, too.
“Listen,” Dave said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I’ll ask around. Meanwhile, this is a lousy spot to hold a serious conversation. I’m off tomorrow. Why don’t you come by the house? Ginny is taking the kids Christmas shopping so we’ll have a little privacy.”
“Sounds good,” Alex said. “There are a few things I’d like to explain to you.”
Dave nodded tersely and backed up a few steps, effectively cutting short Alex’s inclination to clap him on the back or shake his hand.
Alex drove off wondering what was going on. Dave had said Chief Montgomery and Kapp were buddies. Did it matter? Alex couldn’t see a connection or that even if there was one it pertained to him, but it was bothersome, nevertheless.
Well, no matter what Dave dug up, telling him the truth about the night Devon Hiller died would feel great. Even talking to Ron had been a relief. Emily—well, Emily was another matter.
Just how much sway did that fiercely protective woman have over his wife? he wondered. Hopefully, not too much because she was going to be one tough nut to crack. Would he try for Liz’s sake? Absolutely.
What wouldn’t he do for Liz’s sake? After high school, after years apart, they’d been lucky enough to find one another again. He’d known immediately he still loved her. The miracle occurred when he discovered she still loved him.
Would she really leave him when and if this was ever resolved? Once before, he’d felt it all slip away from him. Those weeks of sitting in his cell had been a nightmare. Then the trial, the divorce papers, the hopelessness—
When Liz had told him last night that she hadn’t killed her uncle, he’d felt a surge of hope he was not going to relinquish. Liz loved him, he knew she did. She was just feeling the shock of having her husband back, looking out for her. He understood how hard-won this new independence of hers was. She would have to learn how to balance being self-reliant and protected by the man who loved her because he wasn’t going to go away.
He
