C.J. Carmichael - Seattle after Midnight

“That’s Fred all right.” He’d been like a mother hen since she’d moved in. Warning her about the dangers of the big city and the need for a pretty, young woman to be careful. Meanwhile, he went to sleep with his front door unlocked at night.

Chuckling to herself, Georgia stepped over the hedge and found Fred on the porch, as if he were waiting for her.

“Thought I smelled something cooking over there.” He gave her a smile and a wink. “What did you make this week, Georgie-girl?”

“Let’s go inside and I’ll show you.”

She spent the better part of an hour talking to Fred, who insisted she share half a beer with him while he ate her stew. She stored the casseroles in his freezer and made him promise he’d eat one every night.

“Toast and cereal are fine for breakfast and lunch, but you need at least one real meal every day.”

He patted her hand. “You sound like my daughter.”

She knew Fred’s daughter could only afford to visit once every three or four years. She usually preferred to visit Seattle in the summer. Which meant Fred spent every Christmas alone. Maybe next year, she’d invite him to South Dakota with her.

“Did the show go well last night?” Fred asked, as she was preparing to leave.

“Pretty good, thanks.”

“I’m sorry I missed it.”

“That’s okay.” Fred was not a night owl, but it was sweet the way he always enquired about her show.

She left his house, hopped the hedge, then bounded up the shallow steps of her own porch. The second she opened her front door an obnoxious, unrelenting screeching filled the air.

Georgia shrieked, then covered her ears. Pierce galloped down the stairs, shot her a look of disbelief, then rounded the corner toward the back door where he’d installed the main control panel.

A moment later, Fred limped over, arriving on her porch just as Pierce managed to disable the alarm.

“I guess it works,” she said sheepishly to Pierce when he returned.

“I’d say so.” Pierce offered a hand to her neighbor and the two men chatted about the system for a few minutes. Fred seemed pleased that Georgia was taking security seriously.

“This neighborhood isn’t as safe as it used to be. Why just the other day I saw a strange man sitting in a car across the street. Seemed like he was casing the block, if you ask me.”

“Oh?” Pierce looked interested. “Can you give me a description of this guy?”

“Would if I could, but he was wearing a baseball cap and my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be. I tried to run outside to get his license number but my knees were acting up real bad that day.”

“Do you remember which day this was?” Pierce asked.

Fred traced back over the past week and finally settled on a day just before the first rose had been delivered.

“If you happen to notice him again, I’d be glad if you’d let me know.” Pierce gave Fred one of his business cards. “Now, let me show you both how this new security system works.”

Pierce led Georgia and Fred to the kitchen where the control panel had been installed next to the rear entrance. He explained how to activate the system and how to change the four-number code.

“Keep this portable unit by the front door,” he told Georgia, handing her a plastic box about the size of a fat TV remote control. “As long as you punch in your code within thirty seconds of opening the front door, the alarm won’t go off.”

Later, once Fred had returned home, he nodded at Georgia. “Your neighbor made it over here pretty quick for an old guy.”

“Fred’s one of the good ones.” She brushed a dab of flour from her jeans. If only she’d had time to change before Pierce showed up on her doorstep. “What do you think about that man he saw on the street?”

“Could be your guy. Can’t say for sure, of course. I hope Fred will call me if he spots him again.”

“I’m sure he will. Fred takes it personally if anything bad happens on the block.”

“I’m glad he watches out for you.”

They ran out of things to say at the same time. After an awkward pause, Pierce busied himself looking everywhere but at her. He gathered his tools and placed them in the cardboard box he’d brought with him. Georgia readied her checkbook, but as he’d already indicated, Pierce let her reimburse him for the cost of materials only, nothing for his time.

“You’ll let me repay you with dinner, at least?”

“That’s not necessary.”

Though she’d been expecting the rejection, she still felt hurt. If he liked her enough to install the security system for no charge, why not stay for dinner, too?

She could guess the answer. Pierce had connected to the radio Georgia, but not the real-life version.

She must have disappointed him by not living up to her airwave image. Not even the red leather coat and the fashion boots she’d been wearing that afternoon in his office had been enough to heat up her small-town-girl image.

“At least take something with you. You can microwave it at home.” She offered him the choice of the chicken or the beef and was rewarded with a grin.

“I feel like I’m on an airplane.”

“Trust me, my mother’s recipes are nothing like the food you get on an airplane.”

He held up one hand. “No insult intended.”

She ended up giving him plastic containers of both, as well as a bag containing a half-dozen biscuits. At the door he said, “I’m not sure I didn’t get the best deal.”

“I’m sure you didn’t. Thank you.” On her salary she could never have afforded the regular cost of a security system.

“The system only works if you activate it.” When she didn’t reply, he added, “You will activate it, right? Whenever you’re home and especially at night.”

“Of course.”

He looked at her doubtfully, then finally headed for his car. She watched him go with regret. This was it. She really wouldn’t see him again. She went back inside to clean the kitchen after her marathon cooking session. Five minutes hadn’t passed when she heard something in the hall.

She lifted her head and listened intently. A second later, she heard another creak. Her spine tingled. She tensed, grabbed the handle of her cast-iron frying pan, then whirled around.

Pierce put his hands up to shield his face.

She screamed. “What are you doing?”

“I had a feeling you’d forget to activate the alarm.”

“I completely forgot.” She’d have to get used to a new routine.

“I went to a lot of work to wire in that system. Don’t you think you could humor me and use the thing? Or at least lock the damn door?”

“I’m sorry.” Though they’d never locked their house on the farm, since she’d lived alone she’d been conscientious about doing so. Why she’d forgotten today, she couldn’t explain.

“I did have another reason for coming back.” Pierce’s harsh tone softened as he held up the bag of food she’d given to him. “I’ve changed my mind about dinner. If you’re still willing, I’d be glad to share this with you.”

GEORGIA SET the table with china plates covered in pretty blue flowers. Pierce looked at those plates with dismay. More evidence that Georgia was exactly the sort of woman he’d pegged her as in the KXPG parking lot last night. The sweet hometown type who baked biscuits without a mix and used her grandmother’s heirloom china. She was exactly the sort he had no business getting to know, no business encouraging, no business lusting after.

And that was the hell of it. Even though she wasn’t at all his type, he was attracted to her.

Just attracted?

Yes, he assured himself. He might not be the smartest man in the world, but he wasn’t foolish enough to make the same mistake twice.