Love a Little Sideways Read online

  “Both,” Liz said, though she had no idea how either corresponded to s’mores.

  “And you’ll be there how long?”

  “A week. I was thinking maybe four books, but I might start reading one before I even leave, so maybe five.”

  On a mission, Hailey perused the new release shelves, her head cocked sideways to read the spines. She must spend a fortune at the chiropractor if she did that every day, Liz thought.

  Hailey would make a noise and pull out a book, handing it to Liz. She then looked at the cover and skimmed the blurb on the back before either handing it back or holding on to it. In no time at all, she had a half dozen books in her arms, ready to keep her company on vacation.

  “Did Paige talk to you about movie night?” Hailey asked as they walked back to the checkout desk.

  “Yes. I guess women are coming to my house to watch a movie?”

  “Awesome. It’s always fun to go to a new house.”

  Liz set the books down and slid them toward Hailey. “You guys know I don’t have any furniture, right?”

  “We’ll have food and drinks. Who needs furniture?”

  Liz shrugged, still not sure about this new turn in her social life. Fran had mentioned movie night when she was in the market the day before yesterday and Paige brought it up, but how it got to be Liz’s party, she wasn’t sure.

  “That’s a lot of books,” Hailey said once she was done stamping the return dates for all of them. “You know, for only ten dollars you can have an official Whitford Public Library tote to carry them in. All the cool kids have one.”

  With her reading material tucked away in her new tote bag, Liz hurried back to the car. She wanted to get the chocolate bars into her fridge before they became chocolate blobs.

  A car sitting in a parking lot across the way caught her eye and she smiled as she let the Mustang crawl out onto the main road. She stopped completely at the stop sign, counting all the way to five, and then gave Officer Durgin a friendly wave as she passed by.

  “Maybe next time, Bob,” she said to herself, and then hit the gas when she was safely out of his sight.

  * * *

  The Fourth of July had been a lot more fun before Drew was personally responsible for the safety of Whitford’s population, but it was still one of his favorite holidays. It was a day for barbecues and beer and lemonade and fireworks, and most of all for friends.

  Though everybody was on duty that evening, it didn’t really feel like work as Drew wandered on foot through the crowd gathered to watch the fireworks. Whitford put on a good show and he’d fought the budget committee to keep them from cutting the funds. The better the official town display, the fewer people who got hurt blasting them out of their own backyards.

  There were various fundraisers going on, and Drew spread his money around the different bake sales and lemonade stands until he couldn’t take any more sugar. Everybody said hello to him and he felt a sense of deep satisfaction. This community was almost like a family to him and he took pretty good care of them.

  Excitement hummed through the crowd when the first test shot went up, but Drew estimated it would be another ten to fifteen minutes before it was dark enough for the real show to begin. Off in the distance, a baby cried and a dog barked, but overall the crowd was a happy one this year.

  He spotted his dad waving to him and waved back, making his way toward him. The Kowalski crowd had carved out a space in the park’s grass, marked with several old quilts. Besides his old man and Rose, Josh and Katie were there, along with Ryan and Lauren. Drew had already run into Lauren’s teenage son, Nick, who was watching the fireworks with his dad, stepmom and little brother and sister. Mitch and Paige were on the far side of the quilts and, of course, next to Rose was Liz. Drew waved his hand in the general direction of all of them to say hello.

  “Come to watch the show with us, son?”

  He’d actually just been wandering aimlessly, but why not? “Crowd seems peaceful. No reason I can’t hang around for a little while.”

  Rose opened the cooler sitting at the foot of her quilt and pulled out a bottle of water. He wasn’t really thirsty, having had his fill of lemonade already, but he took it from her anyway. There was a lot of chatter around him, but he only half paid attention while keeping part of his focus on the crowd. Now that the test shot had been fired, the kids were starting to get antsy.

  Finally, another round went up and Paige clapped her hands. “Everybody lay down! You should lay down to watch fireworks.”

  Paige hadn’t had much in the way of family before marrying into the Kowalskis, and she seemed to take a lot of joy in things the rest of them took for granted, so everybody stretched out on the blankets.

  Rose looked up at Drew and then pointed. “Hurry up, Drew. There’s room there next to Liz.”

  There wasn’t much he could do short of standing over them like an idiot or walking away, so he kicked off his shoes, set the bottle of water in the grass and stepped onto the quilt. There was some maneuvering to make room for him, but there still wasn’t a lot of space between Liz and Josh. He scooted down into the opening and lay on his back, feeling as relaxed as a slab of concrete.

  “Sorry about this,” Drew said quietly, his head turned toward Liz. “It’s a little tight.”

  “Trust me, she knew exactly what she was doing.”

  It took a few seconds for her words to sink in and, once they did, he had no idea what to say. It sounded like she was implying Rose had wedged him up against Liz deliberately, which didn’t make a lot of sense, unless she’d picked up on some kind of vibe between them. Or she already knew.

  Josh was talking to Katie and the others were all in their own conversations, so he felt safe talking in a low voice. “Did you tell her?”

  “The morning after the wedding.”

  Rose had known the entire time. It was a tough thing to wrap his mind around, and he stared up at the sky. On the one hand, she hadn’t told Mitch, which meant she must agree it was best he not know. But on the other, Liz had implied Rose put Drew next to her on purpose. If she was matchmaking, she must believe it would be okay when Mitch inevitably found out.

  And if Rose knew, had she told his dad? They were a couple, so it was possible. But since Rose was like a second mother to Liz, maybe keeping her secret trumped telling the man she lived with. He was pretty sure his dad would have said something to him by now, so Rose was the only person who knew Drew and Liz had snuck away from the reception. It was interesting, but nothing he could talk to Liz about while lying on a quilt, surrounded by her family.

  When the first big rounds exploded high overhead, ripples of ooh and ahh went through the crowd. There were some whistles and woo-hoos, while another baby joined the first in wailing and more dogs barked. He barely paid attention, focused instead on the proximity of Liz’s body to his own.

  By ten minutes in, everybody was starting to squirm. Rosie had nice thick quilts and the grass under them was lush, but the ground was still the ground and none of them were kids anymore. He shifted, trying to work the various attachments on his belt—especially the flashlight—out from under his body. His thigh pressed against Liz’s, only for a moment, but he heard the quickening of her breath.

  Being chief of police was more about politics and paperwork than great powers of deductive reasoning, but it didn’t take a great detective to figure out she was just as aware of him as he was of her.

  Color exploded in the sky, much to the crowd’s delight. Around him, Drew was aware of the other couples on the quilts. Paige had her head rested in the cradle of her husband’s arm, while Katie had her leg hooked over Josh’s. Through his peripheral vision, Drew could see Ryan constantly turning his head to whisper things against Lauren’s ear that made her blush. Even his dad and Rosie were holding hands.

  He couldn’t do that becaus
e the woman he wanted was off-limits to him, and that sucked.

  Then her hand brushed his and, on the ground where their hands were hidden from everybody else by their bodies, he linked his fingers through hers. She was still for a few seconds, and he wondered if she’d pull away. But then her hand relaxed and she drew circles against his palm with the knuckle of her thumb.

  Such a sweet, innocent thing, holding hands. But the secrecy of it—the feeling of doing something forbidden—made the small touch seem so much more erotic. The sizzle of chemistry was as strong as ever between them and he savored this little bit of her that he could get. Each stroke of her thumb pulled at something deep inside of him and he lost himself in the sensation as colors continued to fill the night sky.

  Then the radio clipped to his shoulder squawked and everybody jumped. Liz jerked her hand away as her family and a good number of the people around them turned to look at him.

  “Sorry, folks.” As he pushed himself very awkwardly upright, hoping nobody would be looking below his belt, he radioed back to dispatch that he’d call in on his cell. In a town like Whitford, where everybody knew everybody else, he did his best to keep people’s troubles from being broadcast.

  “What’s up?” he said into his phone when dispatch answered.

  A big family barbecue had gone south and, fueled by significant amounts of alcohol, somebody had insulted somebody else’s mother. Sides were taken, punches were thrown, and Officer Durgin felt like he might need some backup with muscle.

  “Sorry, I have to run,” he said to everybody. It wasn’t easy, scooting backward off the quilt, and then he had to roll to his knees to stand up.

  “Is everything okay?” Rose looked concerned. “Was there an accident?”

  “Nope. Just booze making people stupid.”

  “Be careful,” she said.

  After making sure all of his accoutrements were still attached to his belt, he glanced at Liz. She was watching him, her head tilted back against the quilt so she was upside down to him. There was a hint of rosiness on her cheeks that intrigued him, but she just smiled.

  “Bye, Drew.”

  There was a lot more he wanted to say to her. He wanted to ask her why they were pretending they didn’t want each other. Was it only because of Mitch? Or maybe it was because, deep down, they weren’t right for each other in the long run. There was no denying they wanted each other, though.

  But it was neither the time nor the place, so he just smiled back. “See you later.”

  Then he walked off, picking his way through the crowd without stepping on anybody, and didn’t look back.

  * * *

  Liz wasn’t sure who first brought up the idea of her hosting movie night. Apparently, the first Saturday of every month, some of the women met to watch a movie and socialize without men or kids around. Somebody else had suggested making it a movie night and housewarming party combo. She was a little fuzzy on who had said what and when.

  She’d already bought a used TV/DVD combo unit from the thrift store, mostly because the thrift store was in Whitford and the nearest department store was an hour away, but that didn’t mean her house was exactly ready for company. Paige had assured her attendance was always low in July, thanks to the holiday, and that they’d take care of everything.

  Liz hadn’t expected pool toys. Paige and Hailey arrived early to help her set up, bringing with them two folding card tables. Liz helped Paige set those up in the kitchen while Hailey carried in a blender, which she plugged in on the counter, and plastic cups with a little package of what looked like colorful umbrellas.

  “There’s a theme,” Hailey said when she caught Liz looking at them.

  Next came a tiny air compressor and the pool floats. Liz laughed when Paige blew up the first one. It was an inflatable recliner float to use in pools and, once it was fully inflated, she tossed it in front of the television and started on the next one. There were half a dozen of them by the time she was done, all of them a different bright color, and Liz’s living room looked like drive-in night at the deep end of the pool.

  “They have built-in cup holders,” Paige said, pointing them out.

  “For the umbrella drinks,” Hailey added. “And to complete the beach theme—”

  “No sand,” Liz interrupted.

  “Of course not. Paige said no. Anyway, to complete the beach theme, we’re watching How Stella Got Her Groove Back.”

  “Good choice.” It had been years since Liz had seen it, but it definitely fit the beach theme.

  “You need to get your groove back,” Paige said, pointing at Liz. “How long has it been since you and that guy broke up?”

  There was nothing wrong with Liz’s groove. She and Drew had proven that at Mitch’s wedding, not that she could say so. “The last thing I want in my life right now is another guy. I’m enjoying being single, thank you, even if it means being groove-less.”

  “I, on the other hand, am sick of being groove-less,” Hailey said. “I’m going to have to move to the city and find my groove.”

  Paige snorted. “You always say that, but you’re not going anywhere. You love your house and you really love your job.”

  “They’re going to have to give me a raise just to cover the cost of batteries.”

  Liz was saved from having to respond to that by a knock on the door. She opened it to find Fran Benoit, wife of Butch and owner of the market, standing on the step with a dish in one hand and a small wooden bookcase in the other.

  “Open the door. This is heavy.”

  Liz took the bookshelf, which was more awkward than heavy, and let Fran into the house. “Nobody told me movie night was bring your own bookcase.”

  “I hadn’t told her yet,” Paige said. “So we wanted this to be part housewarming party, so everybody is to bring one useful item from their own house they don’t use anymore to give to you.”

  “That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard.” The sudden prick of tears in her eyes surprised Liz and she tried to blink them away.

  She hadn’t expected to be made so welcome into a group of friends so quickly. Sure, she knew them all, but most she hadn’t seen in years. And Paige was her sister-in-law, but she’d only met her once. Since that had been the weekend Mitch and Paige got married, she hadn’t had a lot of quality bonding time with the bride. The fact she and Hailey had set all of this up for her made her want to cry big, fat happy tears, but she sniffed them back.

  Fran gave a big shrug, making her thick gray braid sway. “I also brought nachos.”

  Paige and Hailey went back out to Paige’s car to carry in their contributions. Paige brought her a vacuum that was possibly older than her car, but she promised it worked, and Hailey contributed a toaster oven. Jilly brought her son’s infamous Buffalo Chicken Dip, a bag of tortilla chips and an over-the-toilet bathroom organizer.

  Tori brought a veggie tray and a small end table that was painted a glossy black, with neon flowers stenciled on it. “I’m a little weird. Sorry.”

  “I love it,” Liz said, and she did. It was funky and, strangely enough, it matched her blow-up furniture perfectly.

  Hailey made the drinks because Fran made them so strong they could only have one and, even then, driving could be an issue. Hailey made them more in the spirit of drinking, but light on the actual spirits. Then they popped the movie in.

  Fran chose to sit on the futon, but Liz claimed one of the pool floats and set her drink in the cup holder. It wasn’t the easiest thing to lower herself into while balancing a paper plate loaded with food, but it was fun and squeaked if she moved around.

  “You ready for the big camping trip?” Paige asked as she performed the same balancing act.

  “I think so.” She hoped so, since they were leaving in a few days and she didn’t want to spend any more of her meager savings on a
vacation that didn’t involve a real beach.

  “I can’t believe everybody can actually go. Even Drew managed to get the time off.”

  One of the reasons Liz had agreed to host movie night was to get her mind off Drew Miller for a few hours, but between talk of getting one’s groove back and the camping trip, that wasn’t really working out for her.

  Luckily, Hailey finished making the last drink and hit Play on the movie before maneuvering into the lime-green float. At last, a distraction.

  But nothing, it seemed, could stop her from thinking about the Fourth of July fireworks. Whatever had possessed them to hold hands, surrounded as they were by almost her entire family, she’d never know. But she’d liked it.

  It was delicious, the way her hand felt in his. And when her thumb stroked a certain spot, his fingers would tighten around hers for a few seconds. She wanted to play with that spot some more. And she wanted to see what other spots on his body would get a reaction like that.

  Since that night, she hadn’t seen him at all. The Fourth being on a Thursday meant a long holiday weekend for most people, and long holiday weekends meant busy law enforcement. Or he was avoiding her, possibly scared off by learning Rose knew they’d been together. She wasn’t sure which.

  But she was about to have a week of being with Drew twenty-four seven, and there would be no avoiding each other. And, once again, she’d be surrounded by her entire family. She wasn’t sure her nerves could take it, but, like it or not, she was going to find out.

  Chapter Eight

  The first thing Liz saw when they pulled into the campground was the black SUV with the light bar on top, and she realized riding with Mitch and Paige had been a bad idea. She was essentially a hostage, with no way to escape if she felt the need.

  But she hadn’t felt right about taking Drew’s Mustang on a road trip, and the thing got roughly the same gas mileage as a tank. Also, it wasn’t really designed to be packed with camping gear. Not that she had a lot, but the Mustang was safely sheltered in Mitch’s garage for the week and she was at the mercy of other drivers.