Finding Home Read online

  The kid nodded and whispered, “Got you,” before they made their way out the front doors, the mother still cowering behind like a wilted flower.

  My eyes looked to Alan where he stood at his office door, watching them leave with suspicious eyes. He raised one finger in their direction after they were out of the room, pointing toward the door. “We need to be mindful of that,” was all he said before turning on his heel and stalking into his office. I jumped at the loud ‘crack’ of his door as he slammed it shut.

  Well shit, Alan must’ve picked up on something out of whack with the family, too. I scribbled a note on my desk to check into it tomorrow. Maybe do a drive-by, at least ask around and see if there’s been any instances of suspected abuse. I stuck the note to my desk calendar, along with the rest of my list of random shit to check on the next day.

  I was on the street tomorrow, taking my turn to patrol the good town of Glenview and a small surrounding area. Nothing much ever happened. There might be the occasional speeding ticket or calling a tow truck for a stall on the side of the road. I’d learned, in the past two months, patrol either meant sitting around twiddling my thumbs or being busy as hell handling everyone’s mundane problems.

  A small part of me longed for something major to happen. I could go for a little action around here. It was boring as shit to drive around town while the high school kids drove ‘the loop’ in circles all night and made piss-poor attempts to hide their burning cigarettes.

  Maybe there’d be a car chase, or a drug bust, or a shootout.

  Something.

  Anything.

  Hell, I’d settle for a simple burglary.

  Definitely not a good sign when I’m hoping for bad shit to happen.

  “I’m out,” Alan called as he walked out the front door before I even had the chance to tell him to have a good night.

  Okay then, I whispered to myself and looked around the empty room. Another night, all alone, just me, the darkness, and my racing thoughts.

  Super.

  2

  Liz

  The glug of the wine bottle as I poured myself one more glass sliced through the quiet house.

  Another Friday night, all alone, just me and my racing thoughts.

  Super.

  I pulled up the Amazon music app on my phone, hoping a little background noise would at least make me feel not so alone.

  Leaning down, I peered into another box and sifted through the contents with one hand while I sipped my wine. Okay, who are we kidding, I chugged that glass almost as quickly as the first one.

  Sigh.

  I needed to stop this incessant self-loathing. I seemed completely incapable of pulling out of the nasty funk I’d been in for the past month. It didn’t help that anytime I was alone my mind wandered to Erik, remembering the sweet way he had treated me, and wondering how the hell I missed any sign the asshole had been married.

  “Welcome to Schumann and Associates, Elizabeth. We’re glad to have you on board.”

  I reached across the table and gripped the hand of my new boss. A burst of warm heat hit my cheeks when we touched. I lucked out landing this job. Everyone knew Schumann and Associates was the best accounting firm in the city, servicing not only private clients, but many major corporations in the greater Chicago area. And to top it off with a sexy boss? Double score!

  “Thank you, Mr. Schumann. I’m excited to be here,” I replied, trying to keep my actual level of excitement in check.

  He handed me a file folder bursting at the seams. “You came highly recommended by your college professors. Even going so far as doing extra work, interning all through college. So,” he nodded toward the file, “I’m giving you the Morrison account. They are one of our biggest personal clients.”

  My eyes grew round in fear and he chuckled. “Relax. You’re starting off with only this account. Once you show me what you’re made of, I’ll add in more clients. For now, we’ll take it slow and get you acclimated to how we do things here.”

  Something about the gentle, encouraging way he spoke calmed any insecurities or fears. I wanted to do a good job, to show him I could handle this account.

  “Thank you, Mr. Schumann,” I said as I let my eyes wander down, pretending to shuffle the papers in front of me but really checking his left hand. Bare. Perfect.

  I felt my grin begin to spread as I lifted my eyes to meet his once again.

  His lips gradually tipped up as he grinned back, an intense heat blazed from his fierce green eyes. “Please, call me Erik.”

  I couldn’t come up with a thing. Not one damn clue to alert me he was married.

  Sigh again.

  Married.

  My boyfriend was married.

  “Huh,” I guffawed at my own ridiculousness. That wasn’t a sentence I’d ever imagined running through my mind. I lifted my wine glass to my lips once again, only to realize I’d already drained the whole thing. Too lazy to get up and get more—because the alcohol had begun to work its wonders nicely—I began to rifle through another box. Pulling out candles and picture frames, I set everything in respective piles based on what room they belonged in.

  By my calculations of how long it took me to unpack each box, and the time spent deciding where everything should go, I should be all settled into my new home in Glenview in no less than seventeen months.

  Damn.

  My phone chirped and I eagerly welcomed the distraction. Still, a month after that awful day when Veronica caught us on Erik’s desk, every time I had a new message, I secretly hoped it was from him.

  Okay, not really. Deep down, I hated the rat bastard for being a lying waste of human life.

  Still, was it possible to think that and miss the jerk?

  Charlie: Whatcha up to?

  Me: Unpacking. Slowly.

  Me: There’s wine involved. So… you know, it’s taking longer than planned. I’d love some help from my favorite sister.

  Charlie: I’m your only sister, genius. Hey – you want to come to girls’ night tomorrow? Just going up to the Hornet.

  My anxiety spiked. Charlotte had always been the social butterfly. Me? I preferred a good book in the peace and quiet. Going out and being in crowds of people didn’t sit well with me. Mostly it was the anticipation, not having any sort of plan or idea how the evening would go. I never seemed to do or say the right thing, making the night awkward for everyone around me. Girls’ night at the local bar appealed to me even less than watching a horror flick. Which is saying a lot, considering the last scary movie I was forced to watch resulted in sleeping with my little sister for the next three years.

  Yeah… that’s right.

  Three damn years.

  Me: I don’t know, I don’t really know anyone.

  Charlie: PLEASE!!! Lily will be there.

  Oh sure, dangle my favorite country music singer of all time in front of me.

  Me: Who else?

  Charlie: Her sisters-in-law. They’re super fun and crazy. And extremely nice. I promise you’ll have a good time.

  Me: We’ll see.

  Charlie: Perfect. It’s a date.

  I rolled my eyes. If I didn’t love Charlotte more than anyone else in this world I would be annoyed at her assumption.

  Picking up my empty glass, I set it in the kitchen sink before turning off all the lights and making my way to the back bedroom. As I crawled into the soft, warm cocoon of familiarity, I thought about letting myself loosen the reins a little. I knew I’d be fine at girls’ night once I got there, but I’d be quiet. It was my way of controlling the situation, to ensure I didn’t say anything stupid. But… what if? What if I had drinks and laughed and let my hair down, so to speak? Maybe there was a new, fun version of Liz deep down inside me.

  A different version than the slutty disaster that cost me my job and my life in Chicago.

  The next day, I decided to tackle the remaining boxes. A daunting task, but something that needed to be done. As I lifted the top box off the stack inside my walk-in cl
oset labeled ‘summer shoes’ the box beneath it caught my eye.

  ‘Garbage’ was written in big, black, capital letters.

  I froze.

  This box was not supposed to come along to Glenview. It was meant to be thrown away, so I never had to lay my eyes on it ever again. Inside held my entire relationship with Erik. Love notes, cards, gifts he randomly left on my desk. Hell, I had even gone so far as to dry the flowers he sent and then kept them.

  My emotions began to shift erratically from anger to sadness, hitting everything in between. Damn him. How could he have done this to me? The tears dripped from my eyes, pooling into a sea of lost hope on top of the cardboard box. I was loveable, right? My family loved me. Charlotte loved me. So why did it hurt so much to find out Erik never really loved me? Or maybe he did in his sick, twisted, cheating mind.

  “Ugh,” I huffed in frustration and brushed my hands furiously across my cheeks, wiping the tears away. I would not let him ruin my life. Fine, I’m a grown woman who fell in love and got duped. So what? It was time to pick myself up, dust myself off and move on with life.

  “Starting right now,” I announced emphatically to no one but myself inside the closet. It made me feel better, at least, like it was written in stone if I said it out loud. Picking up the soggy, tear-stained box, I carried it to the front door. I quickly slipped into my shoes, grabbed my purse and coat, and trudged through the snow out to my car. After tossing the box carelessly into my back seat, I slammed the door.

  Warm air blasted from the vents as I let the engine warm up a bit. I had no clue where the dump was in this town, but I had seen a Goodwill drop-off. I’m sure there was something salvageable in this godforsaken square of cardboard. And if not? They could pitch the whole damn thing.

  I drove through downtown and then remembered the drop-off point was on the outskirts of town near the high school. A woman on a mission, I tore around the corner of Maple, onto Chestnut and stepped on the gas. In my mind, I envisioned my hair blowing in the wind as Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” played as the soundtrack to my epic moment of moving on, of forging ahead to create a beautiful life for myself.

  Instead, my dull hair clung to my neck from static electricity and the sound of a siren sucked me out of my fantasy and into reality in a snap. I immediately pulled to the side and slid my eyes to the rearview mirror as an officer peeled his enormous body from inside the small cop car.

  “Well, crap,” I whispered and began to dig around my console for my paperwork. So caught up in my own head, I jumped when knuckles rapped against my window.

  At least I could lower my window with simply the push of a button, because the muscles in my arm actually felt wobbly. I don’t think they would’ve been much help. I’d never had a ticket before, let alone been pulled over. This was a first.

  “Morning, ma’am,” he said, his voice deep and masculine. “I’m going to need your license, registration, and insurance card.”

  Oh shit. I handed him the registration slip I’d dug from my console and reached for my wallet in my purse. After quickly slipping out my driver’s license, I started flipping through each of the little compartments to see where I’d stuck my insurance card.

  “Here’s this much for now,” I said, reaching through my window to give him my license. “Give me just a sec on the insurance. I can never remember where I put it, and this morning has been a disaster. Seriously. Like, the worst morning in the history of all the mornings of all time,” I rambled. “All I wanted to do was get myself unpacked and settled, but noooo, that would’ve just been too damn easy. First, I was upset, then I got mad at the whole stupid situation, and then I randomly cried because I need to get this damn box out of my life for good. I probably look like a… aha… here it is!”

  Proud of my accomplishment, I flashed the officer a toothy smile. He had dark glasses over his eyes—you know, the aviator kind that were totally Tom Cruise in Top Gun—but I could still see his shocked eyes behind the dark lenses.

  I’m sure I looked like a crazy person, mumbling psychotically about nothing. Still wearing my pajama bottoms from the night before, static-infused hair with a mind of its own, and red, blotchy eyes from crying. There was no such thing as a hot mess in my world.

  It was more like a chaotic, dorky mess.

  I lifted my eyebrows and looked to my hand as if willing him to take my information. He reached for my insurance card with his right hand as his left hand pulled the glasses from his face, safely tucking them into the neck of his shirt.

  “Thank you…” he looked down at my information for my name, “… Elizabeth. Give me a just a minute to run your information and I’ll have you on your way in no time.”

  I cringed at the use of my full name. The sound of it grating across my skin like nails on a chalk board.

  “Okee-Dokee, Artichokee.”

  He pressed his lips together and I wished I could disappear. I should not be allowed in public.

  Artichokee? Jesus. Smooth, Liz. Real freaking smooth.

  “Right.” He grinned. “Back in just a sec.” He took one step and looked back at me. “Get you on your way so you can get dressed for the day.”

  Then, as if the cosmic force of the universe saw fit to completely push my sanity over the edge, the hot cop winked.

  He winked at me.

  I let my forehead fall to my steering wheel, barely resisting the urge to pull back and bang it repeatedly against the sturdy leather. I swear I heard his deep, sexy chuckle before he finally turned and walked away.

  Of course, my eyes wandered to the rearview mirror to watch him stroll back to his car, probably wondering if he should call the looney bin to see if one of their patients had escaped. As my eyes flicked to the box still in my back seat, the thought crossed my mind that getting laid by a superhot cop was definitely the best way to get over a broken heart.

  Erik who?

  I giggled at the thought; mostly because it would never happen in a million years. Totally impossible. I couldn’t have a casual hookup like that. And there was no point in even dreaming about it because hot cops didn’t hook up with dorks.

  Especially ones that say shit like, ‘Okee-Dokee, Artichokee.’

  I sighed again. I’d been doing that a lot lately.

  My whole life was just one big, giant sigh.

  3

  Alex

  I’d been on patrol all morning cruising the quiet streets, my wish for any sort of excitement a distant memory. The only upside to the whole situation being I had a day shift; no dealing with the punk teenagers cruising the loop during the day. My shift ended at seven tonight, and I had the whole day off tomorrow.

  A Saturday night with a free Sunday? I grinned and pulled out my phone. Since I’d only officially lived in Glenview for a month, I hadn’t had a lot of time to make friends. When I was here undercover to keep an eye on Charlotte, I had mostly kept to myself. Surprisingly, my closest friend these days hated my guts just a few short months ago.

  That is, until I ran through a burning building carrying the love of his life. Funny how one’s attitude can change about a person after something like that.

  I clicked the phone icon on my screen, found David’s name and hit send. After only two rings he picked up.

  “Lexington, what’s up, buddy?”

  “Lyons, not a whole lot. On patrol today but off the job at seven. You up for a beer?”

  He chuckled on the other end of the phone. “When am I ever not up for a beer?” I smiled and pointed my radar gun at a little red car as it sped by. It registered only five over the speed limit, so I let them go.

  “I hear ya. Let’s hit up the Hornet tonight,” I said.

  “That should work. Charlie is headed up there tonight with the girls. She’d love to see you.”

  I groaned. “Shit, man, the last thing I need is your woman fawning all over me tonight.”

  “Why would that matter?” he asked. “You planning on being out on the prowl?”

 
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “Maybe.”

  “You should wear your uniform. Chicks cream their panties for that whole hot cop thing.”

  “Jesus, Lyons, you did not just say that to me.”

  His laughter filtered through the phone. “I’ll meet you uptown around seven.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Seriously, dude, think about the possibilities. Hot cop finds damsel in distress…”

  “All right,” I interrupted, just as a silver Toyota Camry came into view. I picked up the radar gun and aimed it toward the car as it whipped around the corner and accelerated. Fourteen over. “I’ve got to run, Lyons. Duty calls.” I hung up before he had the chance to answer, pulling out behind the Camry and flipping on my lights.

  After following the car for a full block, it made no effort to slow down whatsoever. Must be a distracted driver or something, I thought. Plus, this guy was all over the road. Taking a closer look, I noted the Illinois plates. Ahh, so maybe they’re lost. Either way, they still hadn’t slowed so I reached over and flipped on my siren. Soon, the car pulled to the side of the street. We were on the very edge of town, so I wasn’t concerned about impeding traffic.

  I entered the plate numbers into my computer, slipped my shades over my eyes and made my way to the vehicle. When I reached the driver’s side door the window was still up, so I rapped my knuckles against the glass to get the person’s attention.

  As the pane lowered into the door, my breath caught in my chest at the woman inside. With no makeup, I noticed she had a slight dusting of freckles across her nose. Her hair stuck out in every direction in a tangled mess, and… were those pajamas? Even so, she was gorgeous. “Morning, ma’am,” I said, having to force my mouth to form the words. “I’m going to need your license, registration, and insurance card.”

  She handed me a slip of paper and then her driver’s license. “Here’s this much for now…” She turned away from me to dig through her purse, so I only heard her low mumble as she continued to talk, the words spewing from her mouth so quickly I didn’t catch a single one. “Aha!” she exclaimed and gave me a blinding smile. “Here it is.”