Just Me - M J Marlow (reading strategies book .txt) 📗

combing his hair in my mind’s eye and I smiled. “To what do I owe this call?” “Do I need a reason to call one of my best buds, Brad?” I said loud enough for my visitor to hear. “I thought I’d call you and see if we can’t catch up now that I’m out of the hospital...” “Hospital?” Brad was instantly alarmed. His moods were always mercurial. “You’re not ill, Sweetness? Oh perish the thought…” “Save your dramatic oration for someone else, Rocket,” I laughed over what I knew from long experience would become a quote. Brad Coleman was a dear friend, but he was also very happily married. “I had a little scare and my doctor decided to have me checked out. Nothing serious,” I lied to him. He didn’t need to know about my health problems. “I need your help, Rocket,” I changed the subject. “Can I come see you tomorrow?” “Sweetness,” Brad crowed happily. “I look forward to your arrival in great anticipation.” “You are a nut, Bradley Coleman,” I laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow around two.” I jumped as I heard movement nearby and looked up to see James lounging in the doorway. His expression told me I would not be going alone. “I’ll be bringing one of Maxine’s friends with me. He is fascinated by all things science.” “Quelle tragique,” Bradley sighed. “I was hoping…” “No you weren’t you flirt,” I laughed. “Not if you want your wife to let you in the house.” I could hear his warm chuckle and I smiled. “We’ll be there at two. Goodbye, Brad.” “Is there a reason you’re calling the grad student in the Chemistry Department, Maggie?” James asked as I hung up the phone. I pulled the lens case out and held it up. “One of them didn’t flush?” “I want to know what Doctor Abrams was giving me,” I said to him defiantly. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Agent James Kerrigan Kellogg of the FBI, but…” “Don’t apologize,” James broke in, laying his fingers over my lips. “If I were you, I wouldn’t trust me either.” “Did you know I was Kerrigan Grady when you came here?” I asked him bluntly. He nodded and I felt the fear fill me. The man who was stalking me knew who I really was. “He’s coming to kill me, too. Isn’t he?” “You have such beautiful lips, Maggie, did you know that?” His eyes went warm and his fingers began to stroke my lips gently. I shook my head slowly, my eyes caught by his again. I felt like a fly on paper. I wanted to move, but my body would not listen to me. “Do they taste as sweet as they look?” he sighed as he leaned close. I whimpered and he pulled me to him, his lips brushing mine. I jumped as if I had been scalded and he pulled away. “I’m sorry, Maggie. I shouldn’t have done that.” I watched him walk away and I still could not move. My lips were practically throbbing from that gentle caress. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been kissed before so why did I feel as if this had been the first? I shook my head to clear it of that fancy and turned to see Maxine coming up the stairs with a tray. There was a pot of tea and three cups as well as the sugar bowl, creamer, cut lemons and honey. I saw her look and knew she’d seen that kiss. I burst into tears and ran into my room to give myself time to think. The phone rang and I went to answer it. “Who is he, little girl?” a man’s cold voice demanded before I could speak. I put my hand to my throat. “Get rid of him or I will.” “Leave me alone!” I sobbed as the receiver dropped from my hand. James was there and his arms went around me as we watched Maxine check the phone. She shook her head as no one was there and hung up. “He – he said I had to get rid or you or he would.” I looked up at the man in alarm. “He’s going to hurt you, James.” “Don’t worry about me, Maggie,” James smiled softly as he helped me up. He could see I was not convinced. “I’ll call in my team, if that will make you feel better.” “Team?” I repeated. The thought that he was not working alone did assure me and I felt the panic easing. “Yes, please,” I nodded. “I would hate for anything to happen to you.” I realized what I had said and I tried to look away. James made me look back and his expression assured me that he was touched by my concern for his safety. Something was going on here that was confusing me. This man would get the information he needed, and then he would be gone. He would never stay here and be a part of my life. That kiss earlier had just been his way of distracting me from asking questions he wasn’t prepared to answer. I pushed out of his hold and moved towards the stairs with some vague excuse. “Don’t push her, James,” Maxine warned as she caught his arm when he started to follow. “She’s not used to being pursued.” “What is wrong with the men in this town?” James asked her as he stayed where he was and watched me taking the stairs slowly. My fierce determination and independence was quite appealing. “Can’t they see what a beautiful woman she is?” “Easy, James,” Maxine hissed. “You are here for a very specific purpose. Don’t you start anything with Maggie you have no intention of finishing.” He looked at her for an explanation. “She is an innocent young woman with no experience. You start a romance and she will take it seriously. You’ll leave and I’ll be here having to help her nurse a broken heart.” She wagged her finger at him. “I won’t have it, James! I’ll have you reassigned…” “Don’t worry, Maxie,” James broke in, looking regretful. “I am not here to romance the pretty little bookworm. As you’ve said, I am here for a very specific purpose. I’ll keep my distance.” “And leave her thinking she’s ugly and unwanted? Oh no!” Maxine shook her head. “I’m counting on you to find a way to be her friend and help her get over this fiction she’s built in her mind of how inadequate and unworthy she is. Just don’t overdo it!” “Yes, ma’am!” James saluted as he grinned at his stepmother. “Any other orders, mon General?” “Oh get on with you!” Maxine sighed. “Honestly, James; if you weren’t my stepson, I’d have nothing to do with you.” “You adore me, you old fraud,” James laughed and gave her a quick hug, “and you know it!” He pulled out his cell phone and hit a speed dial number. “It’s K. Get the team mobilized,” he said as he started down the stairs to check on his charge. He entered my office and saw me kneeling in the center of the room. I looked up at him and the distress in my eyes made his heart ache. “We definitely have a situation brewing here in Briarton. We’ve found Kerrigan Grady.” He hung up and looked at the photograph I was holding in my hands. It was Henry and Fiona; one of the shots that should have been in the police file. Someone had written ‘Keep looking and you’re next’ across it in large red letters. He took it out of my hands and pulled me to him, and I burst into tears. “It’s all right, Maggie. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. I promise.” “It was sitting on the desk with a – another black rose,” I whimpered as I saw him slip the photograph into the folder I’d marked for the Grady investigation. I looked up at him anxiously. “Whoever this man is he means business.” I went to the phone. “I need to call Sheriff North.” “You need to go to bed,” James stated firmly as he picked me up in his arms. He carried me upstairs and set me down on the bed. “Drink your tea,” he said harshly and then turned on his heel and left the room. “He can’t just tell me what to do,” I fumed as I looked over at Maxine, “like I was a child and he was my father!” I saw her look and quieted. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt, Maxie.” “Neither does he, Maggie,” Maxine replied as she poured out some tea and brought it to me. “And, unlike you, he has the skills and knowledge to make certain no one is.” She stroked my hand, smiling at me kindly. “Drink your tea, dear. Then I think it’s time for you to take a nap. I promised the Sheriff I wouldn’t push you too hard, didn’t I?” she asked as I looked at her sharply. I nodded and kept my mouth shut. “He has eyes for you, Maggie.” “Sheriff North?” I sputtered. I set the teacup aside and found a napkin being handed to me. “No, Maxie. You’re mistaken. Joseph is just being thoughtful.” “He took you to the hospital himself, Maggie,” Maxine reminded me, “and stayed with you the whole first night.” I looked at her in confusion. “His sister was talking about it at the diner this morning. She seems quite pleased that he is taking an interest in you.” “But, he would never…” I was completely confused now and I could only shake my head. “Maxie, you’re reading more into this than there is. He is just…” She looked at me pointedly and I quieted a moment. Then I blushed as I realized that she was being serious. Sheriff North liked me? “No,” I shook my head. “He could have any of the pretty girls in town. He wouldn’t want to waste his time on someone as plain as I am.” “You are not plain!” Maxine chided me, as always. She sighed as she saw I was not convinced. “That’s it! We’re taking you for a makeover!” “We’re what?” “Makeover,” Maxine repeated. “Grab your purse, young lady. I am taking you to get a hair cut and have your nails done.” She nodded as I looked at her in panic. “A day of pampering is just what you need.” “I couldn’t agree more,” Cheryl Troughton’s cultured tones swept into the room with her Chanel No 5 hitting my nostrils and making them itch. “Maggie, dear,” she said as she helped me to my feet. “Prepare to be pampered.” “But, I…” I looked over at Maxine who was beaming. A twin expression lit her daughter’s face and I knew I had been manipulated again. “When did you two set this up?” “I called Cheryl last month,” Maxine said as she got my shoes and my purse. “We made this date then.” She hooked her arm through mine. “Come along, dear. We can’t keep the stylists waiting.” “Stylists?” I squeaked. “Maxie, this is too much! I won’t have you wasting this kind of time and money on me…” “Nonsense!” Maxine broke in firmly. “You are as dear to me as one of my own children, Maggie,” she continued as she saw the stubborn set of my chin. “If I want to treat you, then I will! Now quit pouting at me and come along. Everything is set up downstairs in the library. Liliana and Nora are waiting.” I quieted and let them take me to the library. Sure enough Cheryl had brought two of the friends she had allowed me to meet on my visit to her in New York at Easter along with her. She had always treated me like a little sister and I admired the older woman and wished I were more like her. Cheryl had the same