Carol's Image Read online

  *

  Tom and his partner Jake raced into the ER, wanting to be there for James and his wife. James had been working with them on a robbery case, and they were close to making an arrest when the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed James. Jake managed to disarm the suspect and he was in custody, but that did not make Tom feel any better. James was a rookie cop and a good one at that. Riding to the hospital, Tom berated himself for not seeing the knife.

  “Fuck, I knew something was up when that shithead acted so goddamn calm as we entered his house.”

  Driving, Jake looked over at his partner. “Tom, you can’t blame yourself. We were all following protocol. James entered first, and we couldn’t see clearly into the room.”

  Tom was still angry as they pulled into the parking lot. How was he going to explain this to James’ pregnant wife? As they were jogging up to the entrance of the ER they saw the ambulance unloading James. Tom stopped in his tracks. His angel was leaning over James, talking to him as they went into the hospital.

  Jake looked at him, eyebrow cocked in question.

  “It’s her. Fuck man, it’s the girl I’ve been looking for.”

  Hurrying into the ER, James had already been taken back to treatment and the blonde nurse was nowhere to be seen, so they settled in the waiting room, making sure James’ wife was cared for when she came. One of the firemen on the rescue team was Rob, who settled in a chair to wait with them.

  After college, Rob settled into the life he had always wanted – working with his father, the fire chief. Jake had returned after the police academy when his father was diagnosed with cancer and then his mother became ill. Tom was the only one of the three who had moved away from Fairfield for a few years before discovering that being back home with his familiar friends was important. Following Jake to the police academy, he then returned to Fairfield also.

  Rob had never outgrown his frat-boy ways of casual “fuck and run” as he liked to call them. Tom, another notorious one-night stand man, decided several years ago that Jake was right about being a detective and casual sex in the same hometown was difficult. He managed to spend most weekends at a neighboring town, enjoying the night life and bar hookups there.

  The ER doors opened. Tom’s breath caught in his throat. The angel was walking through the doors.

  A halo of thick, yellow blonde hair framed her porcelain face. Her body, hidden by hospital scrubs, was tiny, almost fragile. Her large, blue eyes widened as she scanned the room filled with policemen. As she called out James’ name her roving gaze settled, directing the bluest eyes he had ever seen just on him. The room appeared empty, leaving only the two of them. Her gaze never wavered from his.

  Suddenly, he realized that James’ wife had approached the angel and her attention was diverted. Talking in soft tones, she began to usher James’ wife away. Before re-entering the double doors leading away from him, the angel turned, piercing him with her gaze once again, a surprised look on her face. Tom smiled. He knew she was feeling it too. Whatever it was, he was not alone. She must have noticed his smile as she walked away, because he saw her blush. When was the last time you saw a woman blush? Too damn long.

  Jake looked over at his partner staring at the closed doors then caught Rob’s gaze, both men smiling. Shaking his head, Jake wondered if Tom even knew what hit him.

  *

  All eyes turned to her, but Carol only saw one pair. Blue eyes, the color of the ocean on a sunny day, staring back at her. The eyes belonged to a Nordic god of a man. Him. It’s him. His blond hair, trimmed neatly, stood out in stark relief to his chiseled tanned face. Unlike most of the men in the room, he was not in a uniform, wearing navy pants that stretched tightly over his massive thighs. He was over six feet tall, muscular shoulders pulling at the material of his white dress shirt. Huge arms crossed over his chest, his feet standing apart, she could imagine him standing on the deck of a Viking ship. He looks so much bigger than he did lying on the pavement.

  Carol’s attention was slowly pulled away by the approach of a very pregnant woman, assisted by a policewoman. Focusing on the victim’s wife in front of her, she gently took her by the arm and began to explain what the surgeon would be doing as she led her to the surgery waiting room. Turning, she glanced back one more time at the only man in the room she noticed. This time, she noticed one more thing about him. His smile. His face was illuminated by a beautiful smile. Straight white teeth. Full lips. Breathtaking. And it was directed at her.

  *

  Carol’s shift was technically over, but she stayed with Sofia and Jon to make sure all the charts were completed. Looking at the clock, she decided to run back up to the surgery waiting room to check on the policeman’s status and see his wife one more time before heading home.

  “Guys, I’m going upstairs before I leave. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, same time, same station,” Carol joked.

  Jon, raising one eyebrow, looked her up and down. “Uh hmm, are you sure you don’t want to go check out mister tall, blond, and gorgeous?”

  “Who?” Carol asked, feeling the blush creep back onto her face.

  Sofia laughed, “Oh lordy girl. Don’t think we didn’t see that hunk of a detective staring you down in the waiting room earlier. He looked like you were the last pop-sicle on a hot summer day.”

  At that, Carol had to laugh in spite of her embarrassment over being caught ogling the Viking. “Guys, I swear, I’m going upstairs to check on Mrs. Whitten. I honestly never thought about that hunk being up there. He’s probably long gone by now.” Pushing her hair behind her ears again, she wistfully said, “And why on earth would he look at me? I don’t think I would fit his image. He looks like the type that goes for all tits and ass.”

  Jon and Sofia exchanged looks.

  “Hon, have you looked in the mirror recently?” Sofia asked. “You are drop dead gorgeous. Blonde, beautiful, sweet on top of all that, and hell, you make the rest of us look like chopped liver. What’s not to love about you?”

  Carol opened her mouth to speak, but found Sofia’s hand shoved up in her face before she could utter a word.

  “And don’t give me that crap about your parents. We all know your parents only love each other, their money, their big ass house, and their country club friends.”

  At that, Carol had to laugh again. “I know. Believe me, years of counseling taught me that no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t ever get them to see the real me.” Pausing momentarily, she looked back over at her friends. “But it’s all good, guys. I’m not looking for a gorgeous hunk to fight my dragons and carry me off. I’m fine with who I am and what I am doing now.”

  Waving to them, she walked over to the elevators. The fourth floor surgery wing was packed with the crowd of policemen who were in the ER waiting room and had simply moved upstairs. It looked as though Mrs. Whitten was well attended, so Carol turned to leave.

  “Miss? Miss?” she heard a soft voice call. Turning, she saw Mrs. Whitten walking over. Moving toward her, she gave her a gentle hug.

  “I just wanted to come up and check on you, see how you were doing and see if there was anything I can do for you,” Carol explained.

  “Thank you for your kindness,” Mrs. Whitten said.

  “Please, call me Carol.”

  “I’m Jen,” the woman answered, giving a tenuous smile. “The surgery nurse has been out several times and said that things were going well.”

  Reaching over to hug her once again, Carol said, “I’m so glad. I will be back on shift tonight, so I’ll come check on you again. Now make sure you get some rest. You and the little one,” she said patting Jen’s very pregnant belly.

  Turning around, she ran face first into a brick wall. A brick wall with arms that reached out to catch her before she could fall. Looking up in shock, she saw what…or who she ran into. Her Viking.

  Blushing a deep red, she stammered, “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She tried to move away, but found that his hands held her
upper arms. His grasp was firm but not in any way painful and would not allow her to move.

  “My apologies miss, I was in your way. Are you sure you are all right?”

  Carol stood rooted to the floor staring up into a face so handsome it almost hurt to see all of that beauty. His blond hair, like hers, was almost yellow blond. Trimmed neatly, she wanted to see if it felt as good as it looked. His square jaw, slightly stubbled, led to a strong, thick neck. His wide shoulders tapered to trim waist, leading to thick thighs. His clothes were tailored to fit his muscular frame.

  Her eyes made their way back up to his face where she found his twinkling blue eyes looking deeply into hers.

  “Like what you see, miss?” he asked with a smirk.

  Blushing even deeper, Carol jerked back from his hands as she saw the open elevator doors about to close. Jumping inside as the doors shut, she refused to look at the man left standing there. Grateful for the empty elevator, she leaned heavily on the back wall as it descended back to the first floor.

  *

  Tom, stunned that the angelic beauty ran out on him, stared numbly toward the closed elevator door. Jake, walking over, clapped him on the back.

  “Losin’ your touch, man?” he asked Tom.

  “Damned if I know. God, she was gorgeous, wasn’t she?”

  “So what are you doin’ still standin’ here, dumbass. Go find her.”

  Snapping out of his trance, he ran for the stairs next to the elevator. Racing down the four flights of stairs, he pounded out of the ER into the parking lot looking all around.

  His angel was short, but her blonde hair made it easy to find her in the crowded parking lot. Seeing her weave through cars, he took off running again. “Miss, miss,” he called.

  She turned around as she reached her car, one hand already on the door handle. Emotions flitted across her face. Surprise, fear, irritation.

  “Is there something I can do for you?” she asked, attempting to be polite.

  He stopped several feet away, knowing that his size could be intimidating. “I’m sorry, miss. I think I offended you upstairs, and I never meant for that to happen. I wanted to offer my thanks for the way you spoke to James when he came in and for being so kind to his wife.”

  Visibly relaxing, she replied, “You don’t have to thank me. I’m glad he is going to be all right. Were you friends?”

  “Yeah, we were on a case together. It went bad and well, you saw the aftermath.”

  “Did you get the person responsible?” she asked.

  Surprised that she asked, he answered, “Yeah, Jake took him down.” Seeing her questioning look, explained further, “He arrested him.”

  “Oh,” was all she could think to say. Looking down, she could feel the blushing begin again.

  “I hate to keep callin’ you miss. What’s your name?” he asked.

  Looking up sharply, she asked, “Why do you want to know?”

  “You want the truth, darlin’?”

  She just nodded, keeping her gaze on him.

  “Because I want to know the name of the woman I’m gonna take out to dinner.”

  Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You want to ask me to dinner? Why?”

  Not used to this reaction, he faltered. Most women he approached were already flirting back or had already propositioned him.

  “Well,” he replied, running his hand through his hair in frustration, trying to figure out what to say next. He lifted his gaze back to her face. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I already know you’re special.” Do I tell her I recognize her from the accident? Fuck, then she will think this is a gratitude date. “I wanna have a chance to get to know you.” Looking down at her face, he cocked his head to the side, grinning. “Is that so bad? The idea of havin’ dinner with me?”

  Shyly looking down, she was quiet for a moment. Realizing he had never had to wait for a woman’s answer, he began to get nervous. Please say yes, angel. Don’t shut me out.

  She raised her face to peer into his eyes. Blue eyes met blue eyes. His gaze never wavered. He’s telling the truth. “I work the graveyard shift, so dinner is kind of out.”

  Noticing that she wasn’t turning him down completely, he quickly pushed his advantage. “Well, how about a quick breakfast. At the diner just down the street. You’ll feel better if you get some good food in you.”

  Sucking her lips in as she thought over his proposal, she looked back into his eyes. Nodding slowly, she agreed as she reached out her tiny hand toward him. “Okay. I can do breakfast. And my name is Carol.”

  Taking her small hand into his much larger one, he gently shook it. “Pleased to meet you, Carol. I’m Tom.”

  She turned to get into her car. Tom, still holding her hand, held her back. Raising her hand to his lips, he gently kissed her knuckles. Then he assisted her into the car, shutting the door.

  Driving the short distance to the diner, she wondered what she was doing. What does he want with me? I haven’t been to the diner in a long time. What’s on the menu? I don’t even know him. This is a mistake. She pulled into a parking space before the tangle of thoughts running through her mind had a chance to convince her to turn around and drive straight home.

  Meeting a few minutes later at the diner, Tom held the door open for her. The waitress behind the counter waved them toward a booth, and they slid in facing each other. His long legs reached under the table, touching along the side of her much smaller ones. Normally wanting to distance herself, she found that she liked the contact. Glancing up at his face, she caught his smile and found it was easy to return it.

  Breakfast at the diner was a noisy affair, with townspeople coming in and out, greeting each other, catching up on each other’s lives. Tom discovered it was hard to talk during breakfast in the busy diner and craved a chance to be with her alone. Looking over at Carol, he noticed her eating slowly and deliberately, as though afraid of eating too quickly. Hmm, maybe she is trying to prolong this meal to spend time with me.

  After a few more minutes Carol pushed her plate away, and as the waitress walked by, she called for their check.

  Tom’s eyes darted over to her face, confused by her hurry, when half of her breakfast was still on her plate. Damn, guess she’s not trying to prolong the meal after all!

  “What’s your hurry, Carol?” he asked, trying to keep the pouting out of his voice.

  She looked up in surprised, realizing that she had asked for the check when he still had more to eat. Blushing, she rushed to explain. “I’m sooo sorry. I’m so used to eating by myself and grabbing the waitress whenever I can.” Shyly she looked back down at the food left on her plate.

  “Did you not like the food?” he asked gently, still looking for some clue to her behavior.

  Shooting her eyes back to his, she admitted, “Oh, I love the food here! It was just a long shift and I really need to get to bed.”

  Feeling foolish for forgetting that she had just come off of a night shift, Tom grabbed the check that the waitress just laid down on the table. Pushing his plate away he stood, reached for her hand and assisted her as she slid across the booth to stand. He didn’t let go of her hand as they wound their way through the crowded diner.

  She couldn’t remember the last time a man held her hand like that. Craving his touch, she kept her hand firmly in his, only letting go when he paid the cashier. Not sure what to do then, she let her hand hesitantly drop to her side.

  Without skipping a beat, he clasped her hand in his again as they exited the diner. Walking to her car she couldn’t help but notice how right it felt to hold his hand. It was so much larger than hers. It had so much power in its grip. But that power felt…comforting, not overbearing. Concentrating on the feeling of their entwined fingers, she was surprised when he pulled her to a stop.

  Looking up, she realized that they were already at her car. Blushing, she laughed nervously. “I guess I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  “You seemed lost in thou
ght. I hated to interrupt,” he admitted. “What were you thinkin’ on so hard?” Come on. This is where you tell me that you want to see me again. That you had a great time with me and you’ve changed your mind about dinner.

  Shaking her head gently, she just replied, “Oh, nothing of importance.” Not knowing what else to say, she nervously said, “Thank you for breakfast. It was nice to eat before heading home.”

  A strange, warm feeling washed over Tom. She’s gonna make me work for this. This thought was followed by the realization that he liked that.

  “When can I see you again? I still want to take you to dinner.”

  She realized that she wanted that more than she had wanted anything in a long time. I want to see him. I want to talk to him. I want him to hold my hand again. “Well, during the week, my life is basically sleep during the day, take a run in the park in the afternoon, then I go to work at night.” Shrugging her shoulders, she admitted, “Not much of a life, but it’s mine.”

  “What do you do when you are off work?” he asked, surprised at how curious and possessive he felt.

  “Usually I clean the apartment, read, run errands.”

  He looked down at the stunning beauty in front of him, honesty pouring off of her. No bar hopping? No clubbing? No dancing till dawn?

  “When are you off next?”

  Smiling that he still seemed interested, she replied, “I work three more night shifts and then I am off Thursday and Friday.”

  “I’ll pick you up on Thursday at six o’clock.”

  Sucking in her lips as she nodded her agreement, she said, “I live at the apartments near Cherry Grove Park. Number three-seventeen. I’ll see you then.”

  Kissing her hand again as he assisted her into her car, he watched her as she pulled out of the parking space. Oh, you’ll see me before then, angel.

  Driving away Carol looked into her rear view mirror, seeing him standing in the parking lot staring after her. Could he possibly be interested in me? Smiling, she drove home, thinking of the Vikings in her romance novels. Maybe, just maybe, there is a little truth to them after all.

  Tom stood in the parking lot, watching her drive away, still feeling the jolt from kissing her hand. That girl is going to be mine.