Being chief of police was more about politics and paperwork than great powers of deductive reasoning, but it didn’t take a great detective to figure out she was just as aware of him as he was of her.
Color exploded in the sky, much to the crowd’s delight. Around him, Drew was aware of the other couples on the quilts. Paige had her head rested in the cradle of her husband’s arm, while Katie had her leg hooked over Josh’s. Through his peripheral vision, Drew could see Ryan constantly turning his head to whisper things against Lauren’s ear that made her blush. Even his dad and Rosie were holding hands.
He couldn’t do that because the woman he wanted was off-limits to him, and that sucked.
Then her hand brushed his and, on the ground where their hands were hidden from everybody else by their bodies, he linked his fingers through hers. She was still for a few seconds, and he wondered if she’d pull away. But then her hand relaxed and she drew circles against his palm with the knuckle of her thumb.
Such a sweet, innocent thing, holding hands. But the secrecy of it—the feeling of doing something forbidden—made the small touch seem so much more erotic. The sizzle of chemistry was as strong as ever between them and he savored this little bit of her that he could get. Each stroke of her thumb pulled at something deep inside of him and he lost himself in the sensation as colors continued to fill the night sky.
Then the radio clipped to his shoulder squawked and everybody jumped. Liz jerked her hand away as her family and a good number of the people around them turned to look at him.
“Sorry, folks.” As he pushed himself very awkwardly upright, hoping nobody would be looking below his belt, he radioed back to dispatch that he’d call in on his cell. In a town like Whitford, where everybody knew everybody else, he did his best to keep people’s troubles from being broadcast.
“What’s up?” he said into his phone when dispatch answered.
A big family barbecue had gone south and, fueled by significant amounts of alcohol, somebody had insulted somebody else’s mother. Sides were taken, punches were thrown, and Officer Durgin felt like he might need some backup with muscle.
“Sorry, I have to run,” he said to everybody. It wasn’t easy, scooting backward off the quilt, and then he had to roll to his knees to stand up.
“Is everything okay?” Rose looked concerned. “Was there an accident?”
“Nope. Just booze making people stupid.”
“Be careful,” she said.
After making sure all of his accoutrements were still attached to his belt, he glanced at Liz. She was watching him, her head tilted back against the quilt so she was upside down to him. There was a hint of rosiness on her cheeks that intrigued him, but she just smiled.
“Bye, Drew.”
There was a lot more he wanted to say to her. He wanted to ask her why they were pretending they didn’t want each other. Was it only because of Mitch? Or maybe it was because, deep down, they weren’t right for each other in the long run. There was no denying they wanted each other, though.
But it was neither the time nor the place, so he just smiled back. “See you later.”
Then he walked off, picking his way through the crowd without stepping on anybody, and didn’t look back.
*
Liz wasn’t sure who first brought up the idea of her hosting movie night. Apparently, the first Saturday of every month, some of the women met to watch a movie and socialize without men or kids around. Somebody else had suggested making it a movie night and housewarming party combo. She was a little fuzzy on who had said what and when.
She’d already bought a used TV/DVD combo unit from the thrift store, mostly because the thrift store was in Whitford and the nearest department store was an hour away, but that didn’t mean her house was exactly ready for company. Paige had assured her attendance was always low in July, thanks to the holiday, and that they’d take care of everything.
Liz hadn’t expected pool toys. Paige and Hailey arrived early to help her set up, bringing with them two folding card tables. Liz helped Paige set those up in the kitchen while Hailey carried in a blender, which she plugged in on the counter, and plastic cups with a little package of what looked like colorful umbrellas.
“There’s a theme,” Hailey said when she caught Liz looking at them.
Next came a tiny air compressor and the pool floats. Liz laughed when Paige blew up the first one. It was an inflatable recliner float to use in pools and, once it was fully inflated, she tossed it in front of the television and started on the next one. There were half a dozen of them by the time she was done, all of them a different bright color, and Liz’s living room looked like drive-in night at the deep end of the pool.
“They have built-in cup holders,” Paige said, pointing them out.
“For the umbrella drinks,” Hailey added. “And to complete the beach theme—”
“No sand,” Liz interrupted.
“Of course not. Paige said no. Anyway, to complete the beach theme, we’re watching How Stella Got Her Groove Back.”