Nicole lay close to Connor with her head on his shoulder. She slowly ran the fingers of her right hand through the brown curly hairs on his chest and made circles with her fingertips on his nipples. He pulled her closer to him.
“Nicole, I...”
“Shhh. Don’t talk.”
“But we need to talk.”
“We’ll talk later.” She continued to rub his chest.
“But I want you to know...”
“I know, Connor.”
“You don’t know what I was going to say.”
“I can guess. You want to apologize for what happened between us. You want to assure me it’ll never happen again. You want to know if I’m going to be alright with it.” She smiled. “Am I getting close?”
“Pretty close.”
“Connor, you didn’t force me into anything. It happened so gently and so naturally that I came into your bed willingly. I know you needed to be with a woman tonight.” She kissed his shoulder. “I want you to know I needed you too.”
“It was special to me, Nicole. Very special. I never thought I’d be able to make love to another woman again. The accident left me.... Well, you know.”
She smiled. “It was special to me, too. There are times in our lives when we need someone. I’m glad we were here for each other.”
“I’m glad, too, but I don’t really understand why you needed me. You seem to have it all together.”
Nicole wanted to tell him why it was important to her to belong to someone, even if it was only for one night. She wanted to tell him she was lost and she found comfort in his arms and in his nearness. But she could tell him none of these things.
She whispered, “I’m running away from a terrible incident, and I had the good fortune to land in your office. You’ve been my saving grace ever since the day you put me behind the desk and let me answer the phone. You’re special to me, and I’ll always feel close to you because of that.”
He folded his other arm around her and pulled her even closer. “What are you running away from, Nicole?”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “Maybe I’ll tell you sometime.” She giggled. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not a serial killer or anything like that.”
He chuckled. “Of all the things in the world, I would’ve never suspected you of being a serial killer.”
“Well, you never know. All kinds of people kill.”
“That’s true. Look at me.”
“Oh, Connor, don’t say that. You had an accident. A horrific accident, but you had no intention of killing your family. It just happened. Nobody blames you.”
“I blame me, Nicole. I wish I could get past it, but...” He kissed the top of her head and changed the subject. “Since you have run away from something or someone, I assume that explains why your closet was so bare.”
“My closet?”
“Yes. I’ve wondered why you had so little to wear ever since you sent me to get the blouse for the cops. Remember doing that?”
“Oh.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice how bare it was? Most women have closets running over. Yours looked like you were there for the weekend, if that long.”
She shook her head. “I just wanted to get rid of the police; I didn’t even think about you noticing how sparse it was.” She took a long breath. “When I came here, I had the clothes on my back and a few dollars in my pocket. Lita was good enough to rent me the room on credit. I intend to pay her with my first check.”
“And I’ll write you that check first thing in the morning.” He shifted his position and his hairy leg rested against her soft smooth one.
It made her feel good inside, but she didn’t say anything.
He went on, “I wish you’d told me you needed money. I would’ve given you some.”
“I don’t want you to feel obligated to help me financially, Connor. I’m doing fine. I don’t need a lot of money. I only want to pay Lita and maybe spend a little on a couple of skirts or something. I’m sure you’re getting tired of seeing me wear the same things over and over.”
“I don’t care what you wear. I think you always look great.”
“You’re sweet.”
“I’ve been called a lot of things, but sweet wasn’t high on anyone’s list.”
“Well, you are sweet. Very sweet, and don’t be surprised if I call you that again.”
There was a moment of silence then he asked, “Nicole, how’s it going to be between us at work tomorrow? Will you act differently? Will I look at you and feel guilty? Will you hate me for this night?”
She took his face in her hands. “Listen, Connor. You’re the best friend I have in Macon, Georgia. I’m not about to let what happened in this bed tonight come between my friend and me. We’ll get to work in the morning and I’ll say ‘good morning, Connor,’ and you’ll say ‘good morning, Nicole’ and we’ll smile a knowing little smile at each other and get to work. That’s how it will be and nobody will ever be the wiser. Tonight will always be just between us.”
“That sounds wonderful to me.” He kissed her and pulled her to him again. “I don’t want to ever lose the friendship I have with you.”
Nicole felt his passion begin to rise. She pulled away and sat up. “Methinks it is time you took me home.”
“What kind of talk is that, methinks?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Shakespeare or something old like that.”
“You’re probably right.” He reached up and brushed her bare arm with his hand. “Then, is taking you home what me really thinks?”
“It is.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek.
“I wish you’d stay the rest of the night.”
“You know I can’t do that. If Lita didn’t go on the trip with her bridge friends, she’ll be at home worrying about me. Besides, when it gets daylight I’d have to sneak out so your neighbors won’t talk about this strange lady in your house.”
“My neighbors would probably be delighted to see a woman here. They already think I’m weird because I stay to myself so much.”
“Then it’s up to you to change their minds, but I don’t want my reputation to be sullied in the meantime.”
“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Of course.” She eyed him and smiled. “Now come on, big boy. Let’s get our clothes on.”
He swung his feet to the floor. Nicole almost reached to pull him back to the bed when she saw his manly build. The muscles in his back rippled as he bent over and pulled on his shorts and picked up the rest of his clothes. “Do you realize we dropped our clothes from the door to the bed?”
“Doesn’t surprise me. You were in a hurry.”
He turned, tossed her the yellow lace underwear she’d had on, winked at her, and said, “And you weren’t in a hurry?”
“I was just trying to keep up with you.” She slipped her legs into her panties and fastened her bra. “Where’s my slacks?”
“Here.” He handed them to her and began buttoning his shirt. “I guess you want your sweater now.”
“Of course.” She looked around. “Where is it? I don’t see it here.”
“I don’t see it either. Look in the hall. We may have gotten it off there.”
It was in the hall. She picked it up, came back into the bedroom, and slipped it over her head. “How come my clothes were scattered further away from the bed then yours?”
“I guess you were more anxious than me.”
“How dare you say that!” Laughing, she picked up one of his socks and threw it at him.
He ducked. “The truth is I couldn’t wait to see your beautiful body. I got your clothes off of you as fast as I could.”
She arched her eyebrow. “I hope you weren’t disappointed.”
He put on his socks and slipped on his shoes. He dropped his arm around her shoulders. “Nothing about this night was a disappointment to me, my friend.”
“I’m glad,” she whispered. “I wasn’t disappointed either.”
Before she could change her mind about leaving, she started toward the hall.
* * * *
Dora Hildebrand rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes.
“Hi, Mama,” Janice said. “How are you feeling?”
Dora gave her a little smile.
“It’s okay, Mama. Don’t try to talk.” Janice took her mother’s hand. “We’ll talk later.”
Dora closed her eyes and again smiled a little.
Janice watched her mother for several minutes. She then pulled her hand away and walked to the window. She wondered if her mother would remember who hurt her. She wondered if her mother would forgive her if she found out she’d fired the private investigator. She wondered if Nicole Lynch—. She wouldn’t finish the thought. Nicole couldn’t be. There was no way. The dates didn’t fit. She wished that damn woman had never come to Macon. She also wished there was a way to get rid of her.
She moved back to the bed and took her mother’s hand again. “It doesn’t matter, Mama. All I want is for you to get well. The rest of it we’ll work out in time.”
The nurse walked in and began to take Dora’s vital signs. “She’s going to be fine, dear. It will take time, but the doctor says she’s doing well now.”
Janice nodded. “I know. I’m thankful. I was so afraid I was going to lose her.”
The nurse patted her shoulder. “You hang in there.”
“Thank you. Everyone here has been very kind and I appreciate it.”
“Well, honey, we want to help all we can. You know some families get to be special to us.” She smiled at Janice and slipped out the door.
Janice looked at her mother again. “She doesn’t know how really special you are, Mama. I’ll be so glad when I can talk with you again.” She leaned over and kissed her mother’s head. “I love you.”
For the first time a big smile appeared on Dora’s face.