Free Macy’s Awakening by Pepper Anthony

beginning to gather. The timer had tripped the little lights that lined the pathway to the stairs leading up to her door.
    He’d made dinner salads for them both, big concoctions of greens and chopped eggs and ham and tomatoes and slivered almonds. They waited in the fridge under plastic wrap, next to the fresh bottle of ranch dressing.
    In the past year he’d gone from a guy who could barely open a can of soup to somewhat of a gourmet cook. While his repertoire of special dishes was limited, he took great pride in the small touches like sauces and dressings made from his own recipes. He was master of the barbeque and salad bar. Arlene would be amazed to know how rarely he went out to eat any more.
    Restless, he crossed the room and turned on the floor lamp by the couch. He really had expected to see the girl before now. What could she be doing up there all afternoon on her own?
    And what about Chuck?
    All day he’d warred with himself, knowing the man must be going nuts with worry, but unwilling to put Macy on the spot by getting Chuck on the phone without her permission. What was he supposed to say about why she wasn’t the one calling him back?
    No, it was better to have her call him later and make up some excuse about them being out for the day. Yeah, it was pretty lame, but he couldn’t come up with anything better.
    A flicker caught his eye, a dark moving shadow breaking the soft rays from the pathway lights. It might only be Peter. But just in case, he flopped down in the nearest chair and grabbed the TV remote, flicking it on. Pretending interest in the home improvement show that lit up the screen, he listened for the doorknob to turn.
    She crept in and closed the door quietly behind her, then stood not moving, half in shadow. He couldn’t see her face, so he had no idea what was going on with her.
    He tried for a light tone. “Hi. How was your day?”
    “Fine,” she said, taking a step into the room.
    “Do you want dinner? I made big salads for us.”
    “Oh. You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble.”
    “No trouble. I was already making one for myself. Hungry?”
    “A little.”
    He walked past her without making eye contact and went into the kitchen.
    “Shall we eat outside?” he called.
    “Okay.”
    They settled in chairs separated by several feet of patio and the glass-topped café table. He set her plate on the table along with the bottle of dressing.
    “Ranch okay?”
    She smiled up at him. “Yes, thanks.”
    He lit a couple of tiki torches to keep the mosquitoes at bay. They threw just enough warm, flickering light to add a golden glow to her face. He tried not to stare. She’d put on coral lipstick, and her eyes looked especially big and lovely. She was wearing the yellow sundress again. For a moment he thought she had dressed up specifically for him. Then he remembered that she only had a few articles of clothing with her in that suitcase. Her choices were no doubt limited. It wasn’t as if she had put on the dress to entice him.
    But her slim legs and ankles, her beautiful bare shoulders made his groin ache.
    Thank God tomorrow was Monday. Business as usual. He’d be safe at his downtown office on the twenty-third floor. He’d call Jeff and see what progress he’d made in checking out the jewelry store heist, see if maybe the police had a suspect in custody yet. The sooner this mess got cleared up and Macy was on her way home, the better it would be for everyone.
    They ate in silence with the sounds of the patio fountain and the television droning in the background. Finally, as he wiped the last of the dressing from his plate with a piece of bread, he decided he needed to address things head-on.
    “I think you should probably call your dad back tonight before it gets any later.”
    She sighed and put her fork down. “Yes. I suppose so.”
    “You can tell him we were out for the day and just got his message.”
    “Okay.” She frowned. “Where should I tell him we were?”
    “How