Page 9 of Falling for the Enemy

My sister wasn't answering the phone and it became quite clear that she wasn't going to. I could have stopped by her house, I thought about it, but I was also trying to give her privacy. The problem was, I had one more shift before I had a couple of days off. I didn't want to have to do it, but Alice seemed to really like Amber, and I was hoping that she could watch her again. I wasn't used to needing somebody else, especially someone who was so determined not to like me.

I walked over to Amber’s; it was a few minutes before I had to go pick up Alice from school. She would be out of school in a short amount of time. I had to talk to Amber, see if she would help me out of a jam, again, and I didn't know how to ask. By the time she answered the door, I still didn’t have my angle.

“Can I help you, sir?”

I grinned at her false formality. “I was wondering what you were up to?”

She gave me a strange look. “Why do I think that there is more to that question than you trying to figure that out?”

“It’s just a question,” I insisted. “What do you do all day to keep yourself busy?”

Amber looked standoffish and I wondered if she was going to say anything at all and then she finally sighed and said that she was just getting the house straightened out. Instead of standing at the doorway, she moved back and let me in. It felt like that was a step, but a step toward what, I really didn't know. I was still trying to feel out the situation with Amber, and she was not helping. I didn’t even think that she knew.

“I can see you are making changes.”

“You notice them?”

“Yeah, you already know that I did her yard. I also helped her with things around the house. She would make me zucchini bread. I have to admit that Shirley paid me in zucchini bread more than cash. You know the one, double chocolate?”

Amber got a look on her face, a faraway look that made me realize how close the two of them probably were and how my insisting on talking about her grandmother probably wasn't helping anything. I guess I just wanted to talk to somebody who missed her like I did. It was funny how it hit me so suddenly. It should have been quite clear the whole time. Amber obviously missed her more.

“She did like to help anyone, even vagabonds.”

I agreed. “Shirley really was something else. Feisty probably was the word that came to mind most often. She never did meet anybody that was a stranger.”

Amber looked at me suddenly. “I say the exact same thing. She really hadn’t either. If she didn't know somebody, even somebody in front of her in line, she was going to get to know them a little bit by the time they walked away from each other. It was her gift, or at least that's what I used to call it. I didn't understand it, because I was shy. I still can't walk up to people like she could. It really was something truly amazing.”

“Everyone loved her here, Amber, I just want you to know that. I'm sorry for what I said the other day about her. It wasn't right.”

She said it was fine. It wasn't. “It kind of broke me a little bit to hear it, but at the end of the day, you are right. I should have made more time to visit her and now I will never have a chance again. It's not like I was just now realizing that, I'd known that for a while, but it hit me like a ton of bricks and made it hard to breathe. My chance is over, and I think that was the worst part of all.”

I moved toward her, sorry I’d said anything at all. What was I thinking?

9

Amber

Ifelt tears clouding my vision and I started to turn away until I was wrapped in his warm embrace. He wasn't soft though, nothing but hard muscle, and I didn't know if he was trying to distract me from my thoughts, but he did a very good job of it. I quickly had to pull away, completely disoriented. What was wrong with me? Why did he make me go so up and down with my emotions?

I tried to get myself together. Frank apologized, said that he didn't mean to, and I told him it was fine. It was fine, the fact that he had showed compassion and gave me a hug, but all the resulting feelings that came from it was not fine.

“No, it's just, I wasn't expecting that. And you are very hard.” I couldn’t believe that I added that last bit in.

“I have a shirt on today.”

I didn't even notice, how sad was that? I was too discombobulated with the feel of him against me. I wasn't worried about material between me and him. It was probably for the best though. The idea of him shirtless doing the same thing made me tremble inside. How different my reaction was to him than to anyone else. What was worse was how badly I wanted him. I didn't want to feel this way about him.

I finally asked him what he was there for. I was distracted by his attention to me and his mention of a shirt. It just made me think of his hard body against me and how it felt. I also thought about how he looked without said shirt on.

He had a strange look on his face as well and I asked him if he was alright. He nodded his head, but no sound actually came out. When he finally did pull it together, actually looked at me, he seemed lost. Our eyes met for several seconds before I turned away and asked if he wanted some coffee. I knew that I needed to at least have decent manners. When he asked me for another favor, I was partially relieved because it meant that he wasn't there for something else.

“I can’t guarantee anything. You're going to have to tell me what it is first. I mean, that’s the least I can do for you taking the time to cover up your man-chest.”

He chuckled and told me that he had done it just for me. I believed him too.

“I need a babysitter for one more night. I know that you’re probably busy, but I can't get ahold of my sister to find out if she is coming back to get her. I don’t trust anybody else.”

“You trust her with me?”

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