Free In the Line of Duty by Ami Weaver Page B

Not wanting to scare them, Matt grabbed the remote and muted it, then herded them into the kitchen. He didn’t have much in the way of snacks, but maybe he had some crackers or something else kid-friendly. He pulled open the fridge. A carton of milk, a few beers. Eggs. Cheese. Takeout containers. He pulled out the cheese and pushed the door shut. Doubtful anything else in there was edible. Callie wouldn’t be happy if he gave the kids food poisoning.
    * * *
    What was she thinking? Callie rummaged around, unplugged her computer, flipped on a couple lights so they wouldn’t come home to a dark house. Aldo’s reaction had unnerved her. She didn’t like storms herself. Never had. Jason used to laugh at her, but he’d been only too happy to distract her from her fear in the sweetest of ways.
    Obviously Matt wasn’t going to do that.
    Refocusing, she tossed a few extra things into the diaper bag they didn’t really need anymore, but which still came in handy. Snacks, a couple movies so the kids could choose, a sippy cup for Liam. Her phone, charger, her keys. A book, so she could pretend to be detached. Glow sticks just in case the power went out. Heaven forbid.
    By the time she was on her front porch, locking the door, the wind had kicked up and the rain was starting. She raced across the street and found Matt waiting for her, the door open.
    “Just in time,” he observed, closing it behind her. The thunder crashed, earning shrieks—not entirely of fear—from the kitchen, and Callie jumped.
    She saw the concern on his face, and she felt her own heat in response. It was a silly thing, to be afraid of storms as an adult. He said nothing, though, and she turned away to rummage in the bag for the movies. “Is it okay if they watch these?”
    “Of course.” He led the way into the living room. Callie toed off her shoes and followed him. He lowered his voice. “We’ll need to keep an eye out though, Callie. Some of these weather warnings look bad.”
    “Oh.” She stared at the radar on the muted screen, at the angry swirl of reds and yellows rolling off Lake Michigan. That looked worse than “bad.”
    He changed the channel to the video setting. “I’ve got another TV in the kitchen, and my laptop is charged. So we’ll use those to keep an eye on the weather. Don’t want to freak out the kids.”
    She was touched by his thoughtfulness. “Right. Of course not. Thank you.”
    The kids came into the living room and wrapped themselves around her. She held them, tamping down her own dislike of turbulent weather so they wouldn’t pick up on it. Storms tended to be violent in the spring. Not always resulting in things like tornadoes, but high winds, hail and lots of noise. Messy.
    “Let’s get this started,” she said as cheerfully as she could manage. “Which one?”
    The kids picked a Bob the Builder movie and Matt got it going. The boys settled on the couch with their special blankets that she’d grabbed, hoping they’d help keep the kids calm.
    Matt met Callie in the kitchen. It was a guy kitchen, she thought, momentarily distracted by the huge coffee machine. He followed her gaze and gave a small smile.
    “Good coffee was at a premium in my unit,” he said. “Now that I’m out, it’s one of those things I make sure I always have on hand.”
    “Makes sense,” she agreed, and scanned the rest of the room.
    The counters were bare except for a TV and toaster, and his laptop was open. There were cracker crumbs on the counter, where the boys must have been sitting. Her own counters were cluttered with canisters, kid stuff, paper, a few other appliances. She wasn’t sure how Matt did it. Of course, when you lived alone, there was far less stuff. Especially if, as he claimed, he didn’t cook.
    He turned the TV on low as the wind picked up outside. She moved to the window to see tree branches whipping around and rain falling in sheets. It was dark enough that the streetlights had clicked on, even though it