Carol Steward - Her Kind Of Hero

“How are your eyes doing, Calli?”

“They still tire easily, but other than that, just fine, Mrs. Polanski. The doctor says there doesn’t seem to be any permanent damage.”

“Is there any loss of vision?”

Calli smiled and shook her head in lieu of an answer. She ran the boxes past the scanner, thinking about Luke Northrup’s request for her to help him teach the self-defense classes. She did little but think about it since their class. On one hand, she firmly believed in the cause. But on the other, she had to be crazy to consider spending even one evening a week with the very man she should be avoiding.

She glanced nervously at the kids wearing gang colors, and totaled her neighbor’s order. “Twenty-five dollars, fifty-three cents, Mrs. Polanski.” While the elderly woman dug through her tapestry bag for money to pay her bill, Calli turned to the bagger and whispered, “Jake, help Mrs. Polanski into her car, and be sure it’s locked before she leaves.” He nodded. Feeling a bit easier, Calli watched Jake and her neighbor walk out the door.

The manager tapped Calli on the shoulder. “It’s time for your break.”

“Thanks.” She turned her light out, signed off her money drawer and strode to the back of the store for some fresh air. It had been a long day already. She stepped outside and headed for the abandoned loading docks. Taking a deep breath, Calli leaned to one side, the other, then forward, stretching her tired back.

She took a sip of soda, admiring the clear sky. The brisk wind tousled her hair and refreshed her senses. Finding a clean spot on the cold cement, Calli sat down. The breeze and drastic drop from the dock reminded her of the day she’d met Luke at the ski slope.

Don’t get any ideas, Calli. That man is off-limits. Her watch beeped, alerting her that it was time to get back to work. She went down the steps and around the corner, surprised to find three kids spray painting graffiti on the wall of the store in broad daylight.

“Hey, guys. You need to clear out of here.”

They laughed. “You going to make us?” the kid with the blue bandanna around his head taunted.

Calli took a deep breath and quickly dispelled the notion of doing just that. The odds were stacked on their side. Tiger glared at her. “Just a bit of advice. Take it or leave it. It’s your choice.” She hurried past them and turned the corner to the front of the store, relieved to see the flurry of activity.

Knowing they had followed her inside, she went straight back to her lane and entered her number into the register. For the next half hour, they lurked nearby, she supposed to make sure she didn’t call the police. One picked up a candy bar and started eating it. She pretended not to notice, until he opened the second one. Calli was ready to confront him, when he stepped up to the register and handed her two onedollar bills.

“Remember this, lady, you talk, you pay.”

She snatched the bills from his hand and waited for him to take the change from the automatic dispenser at the end of the counter. “Your bill is paid, now leave.”

Another customer stepped into her lane, and she decided to ignore the boys. Why me, God? Why did I have to find them out there? I’m trying to convince myself that these kids aren’t all bad, and this happens. I’m not convinced If you don’t want me to get involved, why do you keep bringing trouble to my door?

“Good afternoon. Would you like plastic or paper?” Calli addressed the customer absently, pulling the cart forward until it rested against the stainless-steel counter.

“What a coincidence meeting you here, Miss Giovanni, ” a smooth voice answered.

Calli looked up, stunned to see Luke. He looked over her shoulder, also surveying the boys she’d been watching. She looked nervously at him, then at the teens. “How did you find me?”

“What, you don’t believe in coincidences?” Then he lowered his voice, still smiling. “Just keep checking, Calli. I’m watching them. Why are they bothering you?”

He reached under his leather jacket.

When she saw him release the snap of his holster, her shoulders tightened. Then her neck. She could feel her throat constrict. “Call me a skeptic, but no, I don’t believe in coincidences,” she said, squeezing each word out. In no time at all, she’d sound like a child with croup.

Calli turned toward the gang. Tiger was gone, and the remaining kids acted as if they’d never seen her. “Nothing. They’re just loitering,” Calli added.

Luke’s rigid profile exemplified power and control. “Loitering?” Smiling, he leaned over the counter and whispered, as if he was flirting. “You’re lying through your teeth, Calli Giovanni. They have you terrified. Now what’s up?”

She looked at him wide-eyed, stunned at the sparkle in his eyes, despite the seriousness of his words. “That is quite a performance, Sergeant. You should get an Oscar.”

“All in a day’s work. Now are you going to tell me why they are harassing you and none of the other clerks?”

She thought of the kid’s threats and backed away. “I can handle it myself, but thank you anyway.”

Luke paid for his groceries in silence and took them just outside the door. He asked an employee to watch his basket and stepped back inside and behind the pop display. Easing his way closer, he listened as the two remaining gang members grilled Calli about their conversation. After hearing implications that threats had already been made, Luke addressed the suspects, obviously surprising Calli as well as the kids by his return. “Afternoon, boys. I don’t know what this is about, but it’s obvious that you’re not shopping. Why don’t you get on your way?”

“What you talkin’ about, Sarge?”

“Well, Pete, maybe you’d like to tell me what the lady here won’t.”

The two looked at Calli, then back to Luke. She recognized the steely look in Luke’s eyes. A cop’s eyes.

“Nothing. We didn’t do nothing.”

“Then I suggest you leave before I haul you all downtown to get answers.”

The two left the store without any more “encouragement.”

Unable to deny her relief that he’d returned, Calli struggled to maintain her composure. They had shaken her. There was no doubt about that.

Luke touched her shoulder. “You okay?”

She nodded, knowing her scratchy voice would again give her away.

“How long until you’re off?”

She’d walked to work this morning, not concerned with walking home alone midafternoon. Now she couldn’t deny the fear. Calli wanted company, even if it was Luke. “About an hour.”

“I want to make sure you get home okay. Will you wait so I can get these groceries home and let my son know I’ll be out for a while longer? He was still asleep when I called.”

Calli assessed him openly, her doubts softened by the silver cross dangling from the chain around his neck, and the surprising news that Sergeant Luke Northrup was a father. “I’ll wait. I don’t want to walk home alone after this.”

The hard-edged cop again faded, replaced with a caring, gentle man. “I’ll hurry back.”

Surprisingly enough, she wanted him to do just that.

Before she had time to consider leaving without Luke, he appeared in the employees’ locker room. When he gazed at her, she fought to conquer the involuntary nervousness that overcame her.

“The manager told me where I could find you.”

She smiled weakly. “Hi. I really don’t need a police escort.”

“Good, because this isn’t official.” He tilted his head to one side. “To be honest, it wasn’t a coincidence that I came here.”

She’d been unable to take her mind off Luke Northrup since he stepped into her checkout lane. This guilty feeling was due to the joy of his return. “Oh, really? Isn’t it a little unethical to use police records for personal interests?”