The Marriage Beat. Doreen Roberts

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      “And that’s an order.”

      Tyler clamped his lips tight shut before the curse slipped out. He waited a second or two, then muttered a quiet, “Yes, sir,” before turning on his heel to head for the door.

      “Jackson.”

      Tyler waited, his hand on the doorknob.

      “This week, Jackson. No later.”

      This time Tyler’s muttered, “Yes, sir,” was delivered through gritted teeth. On his way out he shut the door with a decisive thud. The old man was losing his marbles. Private lessons in self-defense? Where in the hell was he going to find the time? Who the hell wanted to spend what little spare time he had wrestling with a smart-mouthed woman who looked as if she’d break in two if he so much as touched her?

      The thought of having to throw Megan Summers down on the floor was bad enough. The idea of teaching Megan Summers to throw him down on the floor was intolerable.

      What was really intolerable, Tyler reluctantly admitted as he strode grimly back to the office, was that for a brief instant, when Megan Summers was scrambling to climb off him earlier, he had felt a distinct response in a place that hadn’t had a whole lot of action lately.

      Now he knew where trouble number three was coming from. That, as far as Tyler was concerned, was the worst trouble of alL If he had to spend the next six to eight weeks wrestling with a woman who could turn him on that easily, he was heading for total disaster.

      Inside the office, Megan looked up expectantly as the door swung open. Officer Jackson walked in, looking as if he would like to mow down everyone in his path. Obviously the news had not been good. She wisely decided to keep a still tongue as he sat down heavily at the desk.

      He stared down at the notepad for so long she wondered uneasily if the bad news was connected to her encounter with the purse snatcher. She was about to ask him when he tore a sheet from the notepad, and looked up with a formidable expression that made her forget what she was going to ask.

      “Read this over and sign here,” he said curtly, flipping the page across the desk.

      She scanned the lines without comprehending what she was reading. She knew he was watching her, with a strange brooding expression that stirred up all kinds of unrest inside her. Her hand shook slightly as she picked up the pen he’d pushed across to her. Quickly she scrawled her signature and thrust the paper back at him. “Now am I free to go?”

      “In just a moment.” He stared down at the page in his hand as if he’d never seen it before.

      He was making her nervous. Something was obviously bothering him and somehow she just knew it had something to do with her. She couldn’t just sit there and wait all afternoon for him to tell her what it was.

      “Officer Jackson—”

      “Ms. Summers—”

      They’d both spoken at once, and Megan waited, holding her breath.

      “Ms. Summers,” Tyler Jackson said, a little more quietly, “I have been authorized to offer you private lessons in self-defense. Starting immediately.”

      Of all the things she’d been expecting him to say, it certainly wasn’t that. She stared at him, forgetting to close her mouth.

      Tyler gave her a look filled with desperation. “Of course, you are quite at liberty to refuse—”

      She said the first thing that came into her head. “Who will be giving the lessons?”

      She knew by his hunted expression what the answer would be long before he blurted out, “I’ve been appointed your instructor.”

      Obviously under protest. She sat back, thinking furiously. She had no idea who had instigated this turn of events or why, but her first instinct was to refuse. Much as she would like to have the security of knowing how to protect herself, the mere thought of wrestling on a mat with the imposing, antagonistic cop was enough to turn her insides to jelly.

      The fact that she felt a distinct thrill at the prospect only intensified the problem. She didn’t need any more complications in her life right now.

      On the other hand, living alone did have distinct disadvantages. One of them was the feeling of vulnerability, brought home even more potently by Tyler Jackson’s observations on the criminal element in Portland. It was a feeling that did not sit well with Megan.

      “I accept,” she said, before she could change her mind and chicken out.

      Officer Jackson looked as if he were about to throw up. “Do you know Captain Stewart personally, by any chance?” he asked, his voice a little hoarse.

      “No. Not that I’m aware of, anyway. Why?”

      He shook his head. “Forget it.” He stared at the calendar, looked back at her, then back at the calendar again. “How does Thursday night sit with you?”

      “Thursday night’s just fine. Where?”

      “The gym.” He scribbled down an address on a small yellow notepad. “Can you make it by six? We’ll have an hour before the volleyball team takes over.”

      “I’ll be there.” She took the note and glanced at it. “Thank you, Officer Jackson.”

      He passed a hand across his brow, sweeping back his hair. “Look...Megan, it will make things a lot easier if you just call me Tyler.”

      He’d called her Megan earlier, she remembered. Then he’d changed it to Ms. Summers. Now he was back to calling her Megan again. She liked that a whole lot better. “Thank you, Tyler. You’ll let me know if you find my purse?”

      He started, as if he’d forgotten why she was there in the first place. “Of course. Though I wouldn’t hold out too much hope if I were you. We rarely recover snatched purses, and even if we do, they are generally empty.”

      He was just a little ray of sunshine, Megan thought, as she walked out of the office and down the hallway to the main doors. Whatever happened to positive thinking? But then, being a cop in today’s violent world probably didn’t allow much room for positive thoughts. More than likely, Tyler Jackson was just too busy trying to stay alive.

      She walked slowly back along the six blocks to her office, aware that particular thought bothered her a great deal more than it should have. Already she was beginning to have a protective attitude toward him. This was not good.

      She thought about calling him and canceling the lessons. Then she reminded herself that she was a grown woman and well able to take care of herself. If she couldn’t stay indifferent to a surly cop with an attitude, then she wasn’t her mother’s daughter.

      With that thought squarely in mind, she marched back to her office and did her best to forget the steely eyes of Officer Tyler Jackson.

      Chapter Two

      Tyler sat for a long time at his desk after Megan Summers had left, wondering what on earth had possessed his captain to order such a dumb assignment. Maybe he was being punished for something he didn’t know about. More СКАЧАТЬ