Friday nights seemed to be the nights Katie stayed late to help Melanie finish claim batches. “Get out of here, Kat. I’ve got a couple more things to do before I can leave for the weekend.”
“No problem.”
“No word from Sergeant Blake? Have you seen him since last week?”
“No. Is there a reason I need to?” Katie grabbed her keys and shook them.
Melanie smiled. “I’m sure the big hunk Mitch will be knocking on your door for a personal visit soon. He’s nice looking, heard he is a gentleman, and has no girlfriend. At least not in this area.”
“Are you trying to hook us up? I’m done with men forever.”
“Whatever. See ya.” Melanie flapped her hand to wave Katie away.
Katie left. Her stomach growled but she had no urge to cook or stop by her parents’ house for leftovers. Buddy’s Burgers sounded perfect.
Order made and received, Katie continued her drive home, shoving French fries in her mouth to calm her hunger. Two blocks from her apartment complex a car spun around the corner and got on Katie’s tail. She sped up some and so did the car.
Bump! Bump!
She looked in the rearview mirror and saw the car back off. Katie pulled over to the side of the road to see if they would stop. They didn’t and sped on by. Katie could see the outline of two people in the front of the car. “Gosh darn it.” She hit the steering wheel with her fist. “I bet Matt and Conner are out having fun. Guess I need to make another bite mark.” She pulled out her cell.
“Mitch here.”
“Hi, it’s Katie. Um, you told me to give you a call if I needed any help. I’m not sure if I do, but a car hit me.”
“A car what?”
“Rear-ended me when I was driving.”
“Location?”
“On Maple between 1st and 2nd Streets.” She shoved a fry in her mouth.
“On my way.”
Katie finished her cheese burger as lights closed in from behind her. She rolled down the window as Mitch approached. “Can I get out and see the damage?”
“Sure.” He opened the door and helped her out. “Did the car pull over too? I don’t see one.” He crouched down to look at the bumper and saw a few marks. “Nothing a scrub and wash won’t fix. And I have a plunger that can take out most of the small dent.” He stood and took out his little notebook and pen and jotted a few sentences. He popped the trunk of the police car and pulled out the suction plunger. “Watch this.” With a couple pumps, the bumper was close to being smooth again.
“Thanks.”
Mitch put the plunger away.
Katie spoke before Mitch could. “I know your next questions. First, they didn’t stop. They slowed down before I pulled over and then sped by. Second, I didn’t see the make but know it was a four door and had two people sitting in it. I bet Matt and Conner are getting back at me for biting Conner’s arm.” Katie took a sip of her milkshake. “Wait. They don’t know what car I drive. Stupid high school boys I bet.” She looked at her cup. “Want a sip?” A mental slap. I’m done with men but can’t help my emotions when looking at Mitch.
Mitch smiled. “No, but I do know I want to put my lips in place of your straw.” He leaned over, grabbed her shoulders, and a car drove by and honked. Mitch looked at the car and shook his head.
He tried to kiss me. Katie looked back at him and smiled.
“I’ll get in touch with Con and Matt and tell them to leave you alone if it was them. I’m doing a night shift and have got to get back to work. I’ll follow you home.”
“Sorry it wasn’t anything major.” Katie got in her car and went to her place with Mitch behind. He drove as she turned in to park. To clear her mind, she watched a Hallmark movie curled up on the couch.
***
“Hello.”
“Katie? You sound horrible,” Melanie said.
“Saturday morning and I’m sick as a dog. Throat hurts, body sore, the whole shebang.”
“I’m sorry. I wanted to see if you would go with Eric and me to the Antique Show and Flea Market at the Fair Grounds in Garden City.”
“I would love to, but I’d better stay home.”
***
Katie slept all day and lied to her parents that she was fine and had to work so she couldn’t go over for dinner at five o’clock. A knock on the door at 6:30 p.m. woke Katie up. Oh man, I’m not in the mood for company, and it had better not be Melanie and Eric; she knows I’m sick.
“Wait a minute.” Katie got off the couch and opened the door, forgetting she had on sweats, a big t-shirt, and no bra.
Mitch stood with his arms full of groceries bags. “Hi,” he said, walking past her into the apartment and over to the kitchen counter. “Go get cozy on the couch and I’ll have some dinner ready in a bit.”
She looked at her attire, happy the shirt was dark blue and not white. “How’d you know I was home?” Katie looked over at Mitch, folding her arms to cover her chest.
Mitch smiled. “I ran into Melanie at the grocery store and she told me you were sick as a dog and had bare cupboards.” He looked around and found a small pot to put some soup in. “Best thing is soup, crackers, and ginger ale. My mom gave it to me when I was sick. Now go, sit.” He flapped his hand and shooed her away.
Katie put the quilt on her lap to cover her front. Her cell rang and messed up her comfort. “Hello. Hello.” No reply.
Mitch gave a questioning look. “You always hang up on people?”
She smirked. “No. It was the third time I’ve gotten a call and they either hang up or breathe heavy. It’s listed as unknown on the caller ID.”
“Computer makes the calls for telemarketers. If another phone number picks up, the computer hangs up on your number.”
The TV was playing old black-and white-cartoons. Katie watched until Mitch came over and placed a bowl of tomato soup, a glass of ginger ale, and a napkin with saltine crackers on the coffee table.
He sat on the middle cushion, leaving a small space between the two of them. “Can I see the remote, please?”
“Sure, if you can find it. I fell asleep with it in my hand and must have dropped it when there was a loud bang on my door.” She looked between the cushions and saw Mitch bend over to look underneath the couch. His shirt raised a little and Katie saw an inch of his bare skin. She got shivers and wanted to pull the shirt off.
“Here it is.” He pushed a couple buttons and a soft rock station came on. “I talked to Conner and Matt.” He sat back and looked at Katie. “They swear they didn’t bump into your car last night. To the point, they’re covering their butts so more community service time isn’t added on to their records.”
His phone started ringing and he quickly answered it. “This is Mitch. Yes. I know. You sure? Okay. Give me a few and I’ll be on my way.” He put the cell back into his pocket. “I’ve got to run. Turn on the news. A business caught on fire by the skating rink.” He placed his hand on Katie’s thigh. “I hope you get better; sorry we didn’t have much time to talk.” He leaned over and Katie wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but they were interrupted by his cell phone again.
“I’m not talkative when I’m sick, but I do appreciate being taken care of.” She bit into a cracker. “Be careful.”
“No problem. I’ll see you later. Finish your soup; it’ll help.” He got up and let himself out.