Running Northwest (15 page)

“Okay, Dad it’s cool; but only if Tracie tucks me in tonight,” he said as he stared down his dad, making Thomas laugh a bit.

“Yeah that’s fine why don’t you go brush your teeth and change for bed all right?” Thomas said, making his son beam with excitement; Daniel literally
jumped up and ran down the hall
way and into the bathroom.

Thomas sat down and looked over at Tracie who was looking at him and sort of biting her lower lip like she does when she had something to say but won’t. She stood up and sat on the couch next to him and rested her head on his shoulder and rested one hand on his forearm.

“Thank you for this Tommy,” she said. Tracie only called him Tommy when they were outside of work. It was something Thomas never minded and actually liked.

“For what Darlin?” he said slowly not sure what Tracie meant.

“For dinner and just tonight I guess, I really needed it. I like seeing you outside of work, sometimes I forget you’re a normal person when you’re not at work.” she said as she looked up at him.

“Well I do my best, I hope Daniel wasn’t being to
o
clingy with you,” he asked her

“No, not at all, he’s great. I love that kid. You were kind of fun to hang out with tonight too, you old man. And you’re an okay cook I guess,” Tracie said with a cheesy smirk as she gently poked Thomas in the rib with her finger.

Thomas looked at her, smiled and said, “Well us single guys do what we can,” as he stretched his arms out to his sides.

Thomas and Tracie sat quietly for a few minutes relaxing and just stared into the fireplace. Neither one said a word to the other. A few minutes later Daniel came walking into the living room smiling all dressed and ready for bed.

“You ready to hit the hay bud?” Thomas asked his son

“Sure am Dad, brushed my teeth and everything. Is it still okay if Tracie tucks me in tonight?” Daniel asked quietly

“It’s okay with me Kiddo, I think she’s kind of looking forward to it anyway,” his dad answered as he looked at Tracie and smiled.

She smiled back and slowly stood up and reached out her hand towards Daniel. “Come on handsome, let’s get you in there
,
” she said to him.

Daniel turned and gave his father a hug goodnight and grabbed Tracie by the hand and started toward the hallway that led to the bedroom.

“Good night Kiddo. Tracie when you’re done I’ll be out on the deck okay?” he said smiling.

“Okay, see you in a few,” Tracie said with a wink and a smile, then flipping her long black hair as she walked away.

All Thomas got from his son was a small wave as he walked away.

Thomas picked up the poker cards and chips and put them in a drawer in the coffee table. He grabbed the empty wine glasses off the table and set them on the counter next to the sink. Then
he
walked out the slider door in the kitchen and out onto the deck. He leaned his large frame on the railing causing it to creak and got lost in thought.

It was a nice night out and not all that cool. The wind was light and Thomas could, in the moonlight see the ocean in front of him. The waves weren’t terribly big; it was somewhat calm by Pacific Coast standards. Thomas decided to start a small fire. He walked over to the stone fire pit and threw some logs into it. He shoved some small pieces of wood and newspaper underneath. Deciding to cheat he squirted some lighter fluid onto the paper underneath to get it going faster.

As he stood there waiting for the fire to improve he thought about his son inside. Daniel was only nearly eight, but he had daringness with the ladies that made him seem a few years older when it came to maturity. For only being a 7-year-old, the boy was an incredible flirt, something he may have picked up from his father. Thomas wasn’t sure whether to be nervous or proud of that learned attribute. Although in many ways Daniel was just like his mother Sarah. But occasionally bits of Thomas would show through in Daniel
’s
personality and attitude. He briefly wondered if his son would try and plant a big kiss on Tracie’s lips and he laughed hard at the thought of it. He couldn’t be mad if he did though, and Tracie would know how to handle Daniel if he did try.

He
, for a moment
started thinking about Tracie and how great she looked tonight in her dress. He was used to seeing her in the cloth
e
s she worked in and it had been a while since he had seen her look that beautiful. She looked incredibly sexy and he felt weird thinking that way about her. So he forced himself to get lost in thought thinking of something else…anything else.

A few minutes later he felt a light tap on the back of his shoulder and he slowly spun around and saw Tracie standing there. She had a small throw blanket over her shoulders. And had two glasses of wine in her hands one of which she handed to Thomas.

“Oh hey, thanks,” he said smiling at her.

“I thought you’d like more wine,” she said smiling at Thomas.

Tracie turned and looked out onto the ocean, the wind of the Pacific blowing her long slightly curly hair back. Thomas took a sip of the dark red wine and glanced at Tracie.

“Are you trying to get me drunk, Ms. Adams?’ he said with a cheesy smile.

“Tommy, I’ve drank with you and Derrick before, don’t forget that. You could drink God under the table,” she said causing Thomas to nearly spit his wine out.

Thomas and she were standing next to each other in complete silence. Thomas turned his body slightly and kept glancing at Tracie. Seeing the way the light from the fire lit up
her face, the wind blowing through
her hair. Again, noticing how beautiful she was and he was trying not to be obvious about checking her out. He looked away and thought to himself “Tom what in the hell are you doing?”

Suddenly Tracie turned her head and looked directly up at Thomas and into his eyes. “What are you thinking about right now Tommy?” she asked him quietly and smoothly, catching him off guard.

Something about the way she said his name, the way it rolled off her tongue he found exciting but he didn’t know why.

Thomas hesitated, knowing he had been caught and answered, “I was just looking at the fire.”

“Hmm is that all? Because the fire is in front of us you know, and you weren’t looking at the fire,” she said raising a knowing eyebrow and smiling.

He stammered again not knowing what to say.

“No, I mean…” he started to say then let out a heavy, nervous breath not finishing what he was going to say.

Tracie laughed a little, smiled then said, “Let’s go for a walk Tommy, it’s a nice night and the moon is full.”

“Sounds good,” he said, trying not to convey the awkward nervousness he was feeling.

Tracie walked over to Thomas and wrapped her arms around his, resting her hand on his bicep and held on to it as she guided him down the beach. They walked for a little while, slowly making their way down the shoreline, talking about all sorts of things, but nothing about work and business. They talked about Daniel, hopes and dreams, things they had done in their lives, memories of things they had done together. At some point Layla, Thomas’ mastiff had caught up to them down the beach and was walking a little bit in front of them. Harley the lab was in the bedroom with Daniel and Thomas wasn’t concerned about leaving the boy alone, they had not walked to far down the beach.

After fifteen minutes or so they sat next to each other on a group of flat rocks that sat about 6 feet off the sand. Thomas leaned back on his hands slightly, and Tracie leaned against him and rested her head on his chest.

“Fine, I’ll tell you what I was thinking back at the house,” Thomas said finally giving in to the prodding Tracie had been doing on and off since they had left the house.

Tracie looked up at him and smiled and said, “Finally…about time, so out with it, stud.”

“I was thinking that you looked really…well, beautiful and gorgeous tonight,” he said realizing he was nervous in a way that he had never been before with Tracie.

“Why was that so hard for you to say?” she said.

“Because you work for me and you’re one of my best friends, and…I don’t know,” he said and then continued, “I guess it freaked me out a little bit and now I’m embarrassed as hell.”

“You shouldn’t be Tommy, not at all.”

“And why not?” he said.

“Well because for one, Tommy, I already suspected you were thinking that. I could tell by the way you were looking at me by the fire. Don’t forget, Mr. James, that I know you pretty damn well,” she said with a wink as she lightly jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “And besides, I think you looked pretty handsome tonight also and I don’t feel bad about that; so neither should you, okay?”

Thomas squinted his eyes a bit and studied Tracie’s face. Then he looked at her smiling with an obvious nervousness and said, “Well…all right then.”

Tracie reached over, grabbed his hand and pulled it over her shoulder, curling up against him. They sat there playing with each other’s hands silently for a bit longer and eventually continued the talk they were having on their walk down the beach. He liked the way her hand felt in his, he liked the way it sounded when she called him Tommy. And he liked the way she rubbed his palm with her thumb which she was doing now. He was realizing he liked a lot of things about Tracie as he sat there thinking about what was going on.

The two sat curled in each other’s arms staring out at the dark black expanse of water in front of them, the blurry reflection of the stars and moon above on the water’s surface below. Tracie started telling Thomas about her family and how and where she grew up, places she had been. He was surprised to learn so much about a woman he thought he knew quite well. He sat and listened to everything she said watching her fingers play with his hand while she talked. After talking for a little while longer Tracie started yawning and sat up.

“What time is it Tommy?” she asked.

Thomas hadn’t even been paying attention to the time. He looked down at his cell phone.

“It’s almost 11:30 hun,” he told her.

Then he reached behind him to pet Layla who had joined them on the rock and curled up against them. Thomas hopped down off the rock onto the sand.

“I should get going before I’m too tired to drive. Do you mind if we start walking back to the house now?” she asked as she grabbed his hand and entwined her fingers in his. She looked at Thomas and wondered what he was thinking.

“Yeah, we probably should, I’m sorry, Hun, I didn’t realize it was so late,” he said slowly as he looked down at their hands.

“No, it’s fine really. I don’t mind,” she said with a sweet smile and adding quietly, “This was really nice Tommy.”

“Yeah it was…we should do it again soon,” he said nervously.

Tracie looked at him studying his face and looking into his eyes and the way they moved. She could see the nervousness behind his gorgeous blue eyes.

“I’d really like that,” she answered.

She could see the smile forming on his mouth, but she also knew inside he was much more excited than what he showed. She was felt the same way.

“All right, well let’s head back now. Let me help you down, Hun,” Thomas said as he stepped forward and put his hands on Tracie’s hips.

She put her hands on his broad shoulders and looked at his eyes as he gently lifted her up and set her down on the soft sand. Their eyes never broke contact with each other. Tracie was surprised at how easily Thomas had lifted her off the rock, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

“Thanks,” she replied nervously.

Her hands gently glided off his shoulders as she slowly slid them down his large arms, stopping them just above his elbows. His hands were still on her hips. They stood there looking at each other for a moment, the same thought going through both their minds, the same urge going through both their hearts.

Thomas took one hand off her hip, reached up and slowly and gently brushed her cheek with his fingers, running them up the side of her face, over her ear and through her hair, staring deeply into her eyes. Any amount of nervousness had suddenly and without reason left his mind. He felt one of her small, soft hands run up and over his shoulders lightly caressing his muscles as her hand crept up higher, finally resting it on the back of his neck. Tracie moved her face closer to Thomas’, slowly closing her eyes and lightly biting her bottom lip, her body tense and wanting. Thomas guided her closer to him and then slowly and gently their lips met. He lightly pulled Tracie tight against his own body running his fingers through her long black hair as they kissed deeply and passionately. Long pent up emotions and desires burning through their lips. He could feel her fingertips gently rubbing the short hair on the back of his head. For the two of them, here tonight on this dark moonlit beach time seemed to stop. The world around them ceased to exist and the only place they wanted to be was in each other’s arms.

Eventually they stopped kissing and stood there quietly, just holding each other. Tracie rested her head on his chest, her eyes closed as he ran the tips of his fingers up and down her spine. She loved the way she felt wrapped up in his arms it made her feel safe and warm. The way he touched her skin and the way it fe
lt when he ran his fingers through
her hair made her feel more alive and wanted than she could ever remember feeling. After a minute or so Thomas backed up slightly and reached down for her hands and held them tightly. She looked up at him, confused and excited at the feelings that were rushing through her.