Healing Embrace

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Muddy Miser’s Café

Zanesville, Ohio

“Maybe we should eat,” Barb said to Janet. “They went to all this trouble to set us up and bring us together, after all.”

The two women tucked into plates of the house specialty steak. At the first bite, Barb moaned her pleasure, bringing a quick smile to Janet’s lips.

“So,” she whispered, “you moan when you eat too.”

Barb flipped a hand at her and kept eating.

When the dinner plates had been cleared and they were informed dessert and coffee were imminent, Janet found the courage to start talking about the future. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “So where do we go from here?”

“Good question,” Barb said. She thought about cracking a joke but decided against it. Too soon. “I think we should go slower than we, uh, started out; fall back a little bit and maybe date,” she said instead.

“Okay. That sounds good. Does this count?”

Barb grinned. She should have made the joke after all, she thought. “We’ll count this as a blind date, sort of. Neither one of us knew what we were getting into tonight. The next one, you get to plan and try to woo me.”

“Woo?”

“Yes,” Barb nodded, “woo.”

“When should this wooing commence? I’m off Friday. Does that work for you?”

“Mmm, Friday is a busy night at the bar. I’m usually in by 4:00 to help with the early after work crowd and...” At the look on Janet’s face, she stopped and changed course. “You know what? Friday it is. That’s what I have a GM and other managers for. I could use a night off.”

“Great! I’ll pick you up at 8:00.”

“Where are we going?”

“You just let me work on that but I will say that it won’t be a bar and you might want to dress casual and maybe keep an eye on the weather.”

“All right then.”

Their server set layered chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream down in front of them. Barb’s eyes grew huge.

“One piece would have been enough for both of us,” she told him.

“Speak for yourself,” Janet said. “This looks too good to share.”

“Coffee?” the server offered.

After pouring for both of them, and taking his leave, Barb shot Janet a look. “You already don’t want to share with me? I can see where this relationship’s going,” she teased.

“Hey; it’s chocolate cake. You’re on your own.”

Barb changed the subject. “I really hate to be a downer but, if I can ask, what’s going on with you at home? I mean, are you handling everything okay?”

“I’m not going to lie. Mom passing hit me a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would. I’d been away for so long but we were getting close these last four or five months since I moved back home. I felt like we were becoming friends.”

Tears welled at the corners of Barb’s eyes. She dabbed at them impatiently with her napkin. “Sorry,” she said. “I get so emotional anymore.”

“It’s okay,” Janet told her. “We can talk about something else.”

“No, no. You know so much about me; at least, I feel like you do. I want to know about you. What you think, what makes you tick?”

Janet nodded. “You know more than you think. I’m pretty straight forward, no frills. I did four years in the Army, got out, became a cop, we met in Indy briefly when policing was my whole life and then I moved back here when my mom got sick.”

“What are you going to do now? I mean, are you going to stay in that house...is it the house you grew up in?”

“Yes, it’s where I grew up and no, I’m not going to stay there. Dana’s mom has been helping me sort stuff and pack everything up so I can get it on the market.”

“Chloe? She’s great. She decorated my house.”

“I remember you telling me that when I was there...back when those bikers were busting up your bar.”

Barb shuddered. “We have met repeatedly under some truly odd circumstances, haven’t we?”

“Well, a couple of times, yes.”

“Where will you go then; when the house sells?”

“I don’t know yet. I don’t want to live right here in town. That’s not a good idea for a cop, uniformed or not. I really don’t want an apartment or condo somewhere either. I’d like to have a little bit of land out in the surrounding areas of the county. I could get to the station fast when I’m needed but I’m not right here in town.” She paused and took a bite of her dessert.

“I’m not that close to Zanesville but I have ten acres,” Barb said quietly.

Janet was silent for a beat and then asked, “What are you saying?”

“I don’t know; it was just a thought...maybe...”

“No,” Janet was firm. “We said we’re going to take this slow and we will. I know where you are, what you’ve been through. I realize how hard this must be for you. My mom owned that house free and clear. Whatever it sells for, it’s mine. There was a little bit of life insurance left after her funeral expenses too. I’ll be able to maybe rent a nice place somewhere just outside of Zanesville for a while and you and I, we’ll just take it slow like we talked about; a day at a time.”