Part 7 of Who Are You?

Chapter 7

If Max had been harboring any ideas that Lauren Stevens was his Bat Girl, he certainly wasn’t now.  He had no idea why that woman could get under his skin the way she did; and had since he first met her.  DA’s and defense attorneys always butted heads.  It was just part of the job.  But every word that came out of that woman’s mouth grated on him like finger nails on a chalk board.  And her clothes?  She’d been wearing a shapeless dark blue blazer and a skirt that went down to her knees.  Her hair was in such a tight knot at the back of her head that he was surprised she could still move her facial muscles.  Yeah, she was still a pretty woman, but there wasn’t a chance in hell she was a closet sex goddess.  And now he was stuck spending part of his Saturday with her.  Great.

            Max sat down behind his desk again and picked up the brochure.  Even though he hadn’t wanted to admit it to her, he actually agreed with her about Marshawn Devereaux.  He discovered the same things when he had been gathering evidence for his case.  Marshawn seemed to be a good kid who got caught up in something he couldn’t handle.  And he had saved the man he stabbed.  Even after the paramedics arrived, he was reluctant to stop applying pressure to the wound, afraid the man would die if he did.  This Second Chance Ranch might actually be a good solution to cases like Marshawn’s.  Certainly he had to pay for his crimes, but throwing him in prison with a bunch of hardened criminals who would eat him alive didn’t seem to be the right thing to do.

            Looking at his watch, it was already six o’clock.  Damn it, this was the second week in a row that The Shrew had kept him late.  Last week hadn’t really been her fault.  A case had come in right at five that kept both of them late.  But he could blame her for this week.  She had claimed that five thirty was the only free time she had in her schedule today.  Well, maybe she didn’t have a life but he did.  He was supposed to meet Jane and Riley for happy hour at six.  Turning off his computer, he shrugged into his jacket, turned out the light and headed out; determined to put any thoughts of The Shrew out of his mind until tomorrow.

            Later that night, Max was tossing and turning in bed.  It had been a week and he still couldn’t get thoughts of his Bat Girl out of his mind.  Why hadn’t she tried to contact him?  He didn’t believe for a minute that she hadn’t enjoyed the evening every damn bit as much as he had.  If she hadn’t, then she was one hell of an actress.

            After a long and restless night, Max finally rolled out of bed around eight Saturday morning.  Lauren Stevens had left a message for him to meet her at the Second Chance Ranch at one.  After puttering around the house for a while, he still had a few hours to go work out.  Showering and dressing in the locker room, he drove straight from the gym to the ranch.

            Pulling up to the main building of the ranch, he was already impressed with the scenery.  A woman with long curly strawberry blonde hair was bending over to pet a black and white spotted cat.  Her tight jeans and fitted lilac jogging jacket fit her ample curves perfectly, and her knee high brown boots were sexy as hell.  Seeing her made the half an hour drive out to the ranch worth it.

            Max parked in one of the visitor spots and got out of the car, locking it as he walked towards the main building.  Hearing him approach over the gravel drive, the woman stood up and turned towards him.  His jaw just about hit the ground when he realized it was Lauren Stevens’ curves he had been admiring.  She had been hiding that under those ugly suits and hairdos?

            Brows furrowed together, she asked, “Are you alright?”

            Realizing he was still gaping like a dumb ass, Max closed his mouth.  “I’m fine, I just wasn’t expecting to see you with your hair down.”  Oh god, could he sound any stupider? 

            Lauren smiled.  “I’m not always dressed for court.”

            “Of course.”  He felt more like an ass by the minute.  “Can we start the tour?”

            “We’re just waiting on David.  He had to take a phone call but he should just be a few minutes.  I told him to meet us in the barn.  It’s this way.”

            Max followed Lauren, trying hard not to stare at her ass as they walked.  It was difficult considering how her hips swayed with every step.  What the hell!  This was Lauren Stevens, Miss Prude herself.  He refused to have these thoughts about her.  Catching up to her, he walked next to her to avoid temptation.  Unfortunately, since she was a good five ten, her breasts were now in his peripheral vision, and those were even harder to ignore.

            The barn was about fifty yards behind the main building.  It was large enough to house ten horses and all the equipment necessary to take care of them.  “Lightening here is my favorite,” Lauren said as she scratched the nose of the gray horse in the first stall. 

            Max looked at the bow-backed nag who hopefully had seen better days.  “Lightening?”   

Lauren laughed and Max couldn’t deny he liked the sound of it.  “She was a racer when she was younger but now molasses is a little more her speed.  She’s sweet, though.”

            Max smiled.  He liked seeing this softer side of The Shrew.  “Do you ride?” he asked.

            “Not well, but I enjoy it.  As long as my horse is nice and slow like Lightening here.  How about you?”

            He shook his head.  “Never tried it.”

            “If you’re up for a ride today, David wouldn’t mind.”  As she turned around towards him, her foot caught the handle of a brush that had been left on the floor and she stumbled.  Max caught her before she could fall.

            As his arms wrapped around her to keep her steady, Max couldn’t help the instant arousal he felt from the feel of her breasts pressed against his chest.  Guess maybe he had been wrong about The Shrew after all in at least one regard.  She was one hell of sexy woman when she let her hair down.  Literally.  Lauren looked up at him with her bright baby blue eyes and the thought of kissing those pink full lips of hers crossed his mind.  He couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t pushing him away either.

            “Am I interrupting something?” a curt voice asked from behind him.  Immediately, Max dropped his arms back to his side and Lauren took a guilty step backwards.  Turning around, Max took in the tall man standing in front of him with the murderous expression on his face. 

            “I tripped,” Lauren said in a tight voice.  “David Spencer, this is Max Canter with the DA’s office.”       

Max held out his hand.  “Nice to meet you.  Thank you for giving me a tour of your ranch.”

            David shook his hand with a forced smile.  “Nice to meet you as well.  It’s always a great opportunity to give DA’s a chance to see an alternative for teen rehabilitation.  Shall we begin?”

            “Of course,” Max said and he followed David as he walked farther into the barn.  Max gave a quick look to Lauren who was shooting daggers into David’s back with her eyes.  Hmm, lover’s quarrel maybe?

            “As you can see, we employ Equine Therapy into our program.  Equine Therapy has long been recognized as an effective treatment for children who have poor socialization skills or troubled childhoods.  Just being around horses will change our brain wave patterns creating a calming effect that helps us move past negative events and begin to focus on the healing processes.”

            Hmm, Max thought.  Maybe it was the horses’ faults then that made him suddenly find The Shrew attractive.  “Do you teach all the kids to ride?”

            “No, riding the horses isn’t necessarily needed for the therapy to be effective.  But all of the kids help take care of the horses, so they’re all interacting with them.  If anyone wants to learn to ride, we teach them.”

            Reaching the end of the barn, David stopped and opened the pasture door.  “The horses have about five acres of land to graze and exercise.  To the northeast,” he said pointing in that direction, “is where our fields for growing wheat and corn are.  To the northwest is the blueberry field.  The kids work the fields and bring in the harvest.  Any profit from the harvest is divided up between them and placed in a trust fund that may only be applied towards college.  ”

            “What happens if the kid decides not to go to college?” Max asked.

            “They each have two years to begin after receiving their GED.  If they don’t start classes within that amount of the time, the trust fund is closed and the funds are put back into the general fund to be put towards the running and upkeep of the ranch,” David explained.

            “Where does your funding come from?”

            “We have some state and federal grants but about half of our funding comes from private donations.  We hold a fundraiser twice a year and we are always looking for sponsors.”

            David showed him the dorms where the teens slept and the main house where they attended classes five days a week.  The kids were allowed to watch limited amounts of television after they participated in group activities and therapy.  Max was impressed with the tight security and the guidelines that the kids had to follow if they wanted to stay in the program.  The program had a zero tolerance policy for violence and the use of drugs or alcohol.  Kids who participated in those activities were sent back to their original county where they faced time in a juvenile facility or adult penitentiary system.

            Now seated in David’s office in the main building, Max asked, “Do you accept everyone the courts want to send you?”

            David shook his head.  “No, we have a rigorous screening process.  When we receive a recommendation from a judge, I perform a battery of psychiatric tests as well as an in depth interview with the teenager and his or her family or foster family.  This program is not meant for everyone.  Our residents are only successful if they truly want to make positive changes in their lives. Unfortunately, I’ve had to deny almost as many requests for residency here as I’ve accepted.”

            Max’s eyebrows rose.  “So, the other kids are deemed lost causes?”

            David’s lips pressed together for a moment before he answered.  “Not lost causes, they simply would not benefit from a program such as this.  The kids here work hard to change their ways.  Bringing in kids who would constantly be bucking the system would only make their work harder.”

            “So, you don’t take on the kids who are most in need of help such as the drug addicts or the repeat offenders?” Max asked.

            “No,” David said tightly.  “We are not a rehab center.  We recommend other programs for those kids.”

            Max sat back in his chair and assessed the man in front of him.  They hadn’t really warmed up to each other since they had met in the barn when Lauren had fallen into Max’s arms.  But, as much as he didn’t care for the pompous jerk, he did seem to be running a good program.  Even if Max couldn’t help the need to needle him about being so selective over whom he chose to accept.

            Rising to his feet, Max said, “I appreciate the tour.  You’ve certainly given me something to think about when making recommendations for some of the teenagers who come into the system.”

            David stood up and came around the desk.  “I’m glad to hear that.  We have a fund raising gala in three weeks and the DA’s office is on the guest list.  I hope you’re able to make it.”

            Max could smell bullshit a mile a way and this guy was full of it.  He wanted Max at his gala about as much as he wanted to watch Max kissing Lauren.  Damn, where had that thought come from?

            Shaking David’s hand, Max followed Lauren out of the office and outside to the parking lot.  She had been quiet during the tour which was unusual for her.  She always seemed to have an opinion on everything – and it was usually the opposite of his

            “Your boyfriend seems to run a good program here,” Max said as they reached his car.

            “He’s not my boyfriend,” Lauren said immediately.

            “Sorry, my mistake.  I just assumed from that little jealousy act he pulled in the barn that he was.”

            Lauren sighed.  “We dated years ago but we’re just friends now.  Sometimes David forgets that.”

            “What happened?  He seems perfect for you.”

            Frowning, she asked, “What do you mean by that?”

            Max shrugged.  “I don’t know.  You’re both do-gooders and you’re both self-righteous.”

            Lauren started to get mad until she saw the twinkle in his eye and his grin.  She could tell he was teasing her.  “Are you always such a jerk?” she asked.

            Max thought for a moment and then grinned wider and nodded.  “Yeah, at least that’s what my friends tell me.”

            “Well, they’re right,” Lauren laughed.  She had a beautiful throaty laugh.

            The sound of gravel crunching under fast approaching tires drew their attention.  A jacked up Monte Carlo squealed to a stop in front of the main building and a Hispanic man in his mid to late twenties got out of the car and fired a single shot into the air from the chrome .45 he had in his left hand.  Before the thought even had time to process in his mind, Max had pulled Lauren to the other side of his car where they both knelt down with him making sure his body was shielding hers.

            “Where is my brother!” the man was screaming.  Six armed guards came out of nowhere and had the man surrounded.  The stand off only lasted for a few minutes once the man realized he was outnumbered and outgunned.  The guards had him subdued and in hand cuffs with the police on their way within five minutes.  If Max had doubts about how tight the security here was, he didn’t any more.  He was impressed with the speed and professionalism in which the guards had handled the situation.

            “Um, you can probably let go of me now,” Lauren said against his chest where he had her crushed to him.

            Max let his arms fall from around her slowly, still hesitant to let go of her completely for some reason.  “Sorry, instinct.”

            “It’s okay,” she said meeting his eyes.  There was a fire there he hadn’t seen before and it ignited something inside of him.  Dipping his head to hers, he kissed her.  Not a gentle peck on the lips kind of kiss but a passionate kiss which she responded to in kind. 

            “And here I thought maybe you’d be frightened by the little scene here, guess you had other things on your mind,” a disgusted voice said from behind them almost immediately after the kiss began.

            Pulling apart abruptly, Max swore under his breath.  He didn’t know what he was angrier about – that he had kissed her or that they were interrupted.  Standing up, he held his hand out to her.  “Lauren, I’m sorry, that was really inappropriate of me.”

            Lauren accepted his offered hand as she stood up next to him but she dropped it immediately.  She seemed to have trouble meeting his eyes.  God, she must be really pissed at him.  “It’s okay,” she said softly.

            “Lauren, are you okay?  Did you get hurt?” David asked with genuine concern in his voice now.

            “I’m fine, David.  I’m a little light headed, though.  Maybe I should sit down.”  As the words left her mouth, she started to go down in a faint.  Both Max and David reached for her at the same time.

            “I’ve got her,” David growled.  Max backed off and let David swing Lauren up into his arms and carry her into the main building.

            It was another hour or so before Max could leave the ranch.  He gave his statement to the police and learned the details of the incident.  Apparently, the man’s younger brother had been sent to the ranch and his brother had been threatening to break him loose, probably to use the kid as a drug mule again.  There was a restraining order against the man who had a record a mile long, so he’d be going to prison for a long time.

            Max had hoped to speak to Lauren to apologize again before he left.  But after she recovered from her faint, she began working with the police as a translator since the man spoke limited English.  Max was amazed at her quick recovery and professionalism.  He couldn’t understand everything she was saying to the man, but he could tell she wasn’t taking any crap from him.  Maybe she wasn’t the sympathetic bleeding heart he had thought she was.  With nothing left for him to do, Max got in his car and drove home.  For the rest of the day he had a gnawing frustration clawing at his psyche but he couldn’t finger on why he was so antsy.

Part 6 of Who Are You?

Chapter 6

Oh God, what if he knows?!  Lauren sat at her desk dreading the meeting she had in a few minutes with Max.  She would never live down the embarrassment if he knew it was her.  And what if he had told people?  She’d be mortified. 

A knock on her open door startled her out of her internal panic attack.  “Hey, sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump.  Just wanted to make sure we were still on for happy hour.”  Lauren looked up at her best friend, Audrey Stillwater, standing in the doorway.  They had started last year around the same time and had instantly connected.  Audrey had only been on staff for a couple of months before Lauren, so they learned the ropes together and in the process, found they had a lot in common outside of work as well.  But as close as they were, Lauren still hadn’t confided in her about what she had done with Max.  She was going to take that secret to her grave.  Unless Max had already outed her.

            Lauren sighed wishing they could start happy hour now.  “Yes, but I have a meeting first.  I have to meet with Max Canter about a case.”

            “Ugh, really?  That sucks.”  Audrey came in and took a caramel out of the bowl Lauren always kept on her desk.  “What about?”

            “A recommendation to send one of my kids to David’s ranch.”

            “Yeah, good luck with that.  He has the compassion of a toad.”

            But he’s excellent in bed, Lauren thought, and then quickly squelched that line of thinking.  “I know, but I have to try.”

            “Who’re the flowers from?  They’re beautiful.”  Audrey leaned over to smell a flower from the large bouquet of tropical flowers on her desk.

            “Take them if you want them.  That creepy person who’s been sending me flowers at home has decided to send them to me at work now.”

            Audrey frowned.  “Are you sure it’s not David?”

            “Yes.  He’s more worried about them than I am.  He thinks I should file a police report about it.”

            Audrey snorted.  “Like that would do you any good.  I think half the force would be glad if someone was making our lives miserable.”

            “That’s what I told him.” 

“Who’s making our lives miserable?” Jeremy Beckman asked from the doorway.  Great, just what she needed.  Jeremy was another defense attorney and he always chose the most inopportune times to show up at her office.  Usually it was to ask her out.  She had told him several times that she wasn’t interested but he kept coming up with new and unique ideas to try to tempt her. 

An inch shorter than Lauren, Jeremy was average in just about every way.  He wasn’t ugly, per se, but with his dull brown hair, roundish acne-scarred face and a nose that was just a little too big, he definitely wasn’t handsome either.  His murky brown eyes reminded Lauren of a basset hound.  And a receding hairline had him parting his hair in an awkward pattern; not quite a comb over yet – but it was getting close.  The beginnings of a spare tire around his middle made his clothes not fit properly, giving him an unkempt look.  Nothing about him screamed ‘date me’ to Lauren.

“Nobody,” Audrey told him.

Ignoring her, he turned to Lauren.  “Hey, I have an extra ticket to the Red Wings game this weekend.  A buddy of mine canceled on me.  I’d be happy to give it to you because I know you’re a big fan.  We could even car pool.”

Lauren tried not to laugh at the faces Audrey was making behind Jeremy’s back.  It took her about half a second to determine if the six hour ride to Detroit and back in a car with Jeremy would be worth seeing the Red Wings live.  “Sorry, Jeremy, I already promised my grandmother I would help her clean out the attic this weekend,” she lied.  Her grandmother’s house didn’t even have an attic.

“Can’t you do that next weekend?” he asked.

Lauren shook her head as solemnly as possible with Audrey being oh so mature behind Jeremy’s back.  “You know how grandmothers get.  It would break her heart if I went back on a promise.  Otherwise, I would have loved to have seen the Red Wings.”  She was careful not to say she would have loved to have seen them with him.  Not in this lifetime. 

Snapping his fingers, he said with a grin, “Hey, maybe I could trade them in for a future game!”

“I appreciate the thought, but I don’t want you to miss the game this weekend.  You should just take someone else.  I’m sure you can find someone who wants to go with you.”

Obviously disappointed, he sulked, “Yeah, sure.  I bet one of my other buddies will want to go.” 

Looking at the clock, Lauren sighed and stood up.  “I have to go, I have a meeting.  Meet you a little after six?” she said to Audrey.

Jeremy’s face lit up again.  “Are you ladies doing happy hour?”

“Yes,” Audrey said cocking her head to the side trying to look as innocent as possible when Jeremy turned to look at her.  “Because I want to tell Lauren all about how heavy and crampy my period is right now.  I’m hoping if I describe it in great detail, she’ll be able to tell me if there’s something wrong with me.  Do you want to come?”

Looking a little green now, Jeremy said, “Um, no, I think I already have other plans.  Maybe next time.”  He turned on his heels and hurried out of Lauren’s office before Audrey had the chance to say anything else.

Coming around her desk, Lauren shook her head and chuckled.  “You’re so mean.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Audrey asked smugly.  “I’ll have a drink waiting for you.  You’ll need it.”

            “Thanks,” Lauren said over her shoulder as she walked out of her office.  She probably would.

A few minutes later, Lauren stood staring out the window in Max’s office trying to calm her nerves.  The receptionist had shown her in explaining Max was running a few minutes behind but would be with her shortly.  She should have been annoyed he was keeping her waiting.  Instead, she was relieved to have a moment or two to compose herself.  She had been dreading the first time she would have to see him since the party and her nerves were about shot.

            “Good afternoon,” Max said briskly from behind her, startling her enough to make her jump.  She could have sworn she heard him snicker but his face was blank when she turned towards him.  “Cup of coffee?” he asked holding out one of the Styrofoam cups he had in his hand.

            “Yes, please,” she said being careful not to touch him when she took the cup.  She didn’t trust herself.

            Max sat down behind his desk and Lauren sat in the chair across from him.  Trying to avoid looking at him for as long as possible, Lauren looked around the room as he got situated.  Only one picture graced the walls, a modern art print in shades of gray.  Cheery, she thought.  There wasn’t a single personal item or photo anywhere.

            Max opened the file that was on top of a short stack of files on his desk.  “You’re here to talk about Marshawn Devereaux, right?”

            “Yes,” Lauren croaked out.  Darn it!  If she didn’t stop being so nervous she’d give herself away!  Clearing her throat, she tried again.  “Yes, I am.”

            Not only did Max seem oblivious to her nervousness, he wasn’t acting like he knew they had slept together, either.  Maybe her secret was safe.  Looking up from the file, he said, “The boy was caught with the knife, in the store he was attempting to rob, with the man he stabbed.  This is a pretty simple case of armed robbery and attempted murder.  He’s sixteen so I’m going to try him as an adult.”

            Annoyed enough not to have to worry about her voice any more, Lauren glared at him.  “He was found with the man he stabbed because he was applying pressure to the wound that he never meant to inflict in the first place.  He had panicked when the man came at him with a baseball bat.  If he hadn’t stayed in the store continuing to apply pressure until the police and ambulance arrived, the man would have bled out.  He saved that man’s life even knowing he would be caught.”

            “He saved the man’s life after he attempted to end it.  Not exactly what I would call a Good Samaritan act,” Max countered coolly.

            “In his statement he admitted to the attempted robbery but said that he was coerced into it by the Logan Street Gang.  It was either rob the store, or they go after him and his mother.”

            Max shrugged.  “If that was the case, he should have gone to the police.  He had options besides robbing the store and trying to kill the proprietor.”

            Lauren wished she could reach across the desk and throttle him.  No one else in the DA’s office had the ability to make her as angry as Max did.  Actually, no one else anywhere.  “You know how these things work,” she said trying to keep her voice calm.  “They were watching him.  How do you think he was supposed to go to the police?  And even if he did, what would have happened?  The police would have taken his statement, maybe, and that’s a big maybe.  Then maybe they would have talked to some of the gang members and written a meaningless report, leaving Marshawn in even more trouble with the gang!”

            “So I’m supposed to take the word of every gang member who comes before me and claims to have been coerced?  They all say that,” Max rebutted practically growling at her.

            “Most of them probably were!” Lauren almost shouted.  Taking a deep breath, she tried to get her blood pressure back to normal and started again.  “I’m not saying that you should believe everyone who says that, but I believe Marshawn is telling the truth.  He’s a straight A student and has never had a run in with the law before this.  I interviewed his neighbors and they all said the same thing.  He’s a good kid.  He even mows the lawns in the summer time for some of his elderly neighbors and does some light shopping for them from time to time just to help them out.  Does that really sound like a hardened criminal to you?”

            Max sat back in his chair and glowered at her for several moments.  With a clenched jaw, he finally asked, “What are you proposing?”

            “There’s a facility called Second Chance Ranch that has been very successful with kids like Marshawn.  Kids who ended up in the system but shouldn’t really be there.  Judges from all over the state have sent kids to this program.”

            Max raised his eyebrows and looked at her doubtfully.  “Second Chance Ranch?”

            “Yes, I brought a copy of the brochure for you to look at.”  Lauren handed him the brochure, again making sure their hands didn’t touch.

            Max looked it over for a minute and then set it down in front of him.  “So it’s a Dude Ranch for teenagers.  Sounds like fun, can I go?”  He didn’t even bother to try to cover his sarcasm.

            Lauren counted to ten before answering between gritted teeth.  “It is not a Dude Ranch.  It’s a secure facility dedicated to giving kids like Marshawn a second chance.”

            “It still sounds like a vacation to me,” Max scoffed.

            “Well, it’s not.  David makes sure those kids work hard to accomplish their goals!”

            Max’s eyebrows rose again.  “David?”

            Lauren wanted to kick herself.  She hadn’t meant to give away the fact that she knew the person who ran the facility.  “Dr. David Spencer runs the program and he happens to be a friend of mine.  That doesn’t change the fact that it’s an excellent program.”

            Max stared at her for several minutes with an expression on his face she couldn’t read.  Finally, he leaned forward with his arms on his desk.  “How secure is it?”

            “There’s armed security and the kids are housed in male and female dormitories with regular bed checks.  The kids are supervised twenty-four seven with no possibility of escape.”

            With a hard expression on his face, Max sat back in his chair again and crossed his arms over his chest.  “What I’m afraid of if I say yes to this recommendation, and I’m not anywhere near saying yes at this point, is that you’re going to want to send every kid who comes through the system there.”

            Fuming now, Lauren was beyond the point where counting to ten would help calm her down.  “I know how to do my job, Mr. Canter.  This program has been up and running for four years and this is the first and only time I have come to you, or any of the other ADA’s, with anyone I thought would be a good candidate.  So, your fear is not only unfounded, but insulting as well.”

            For several minutes, the two of them sat glaring at each other.  Lauren’s desire to throttle him had morphed into a wish to run him over with her car.  Twice.  Only Max Canter could make her contemplate murder.

Finally, Max leaned forward and put his arms on his desk again.  “I apologize if I insulted you,” he said without sounding at all like he meant it.  “I would like to see this place.  Do you think you could arrange it with your friend?”

            Lauren didn’t like the emphasis he put on the word friend, as if implying she had a more intimate relationship than friendship with David.  “That wouldn’t be a problem.  I start teaching a Spanish class there tomorrow.  I could arrange for a tour after that.”

            “Fine, leave me a message to confirm the time when you have it arranged.  But in the meantime, Marshawn Devereaux stays right where he is in county lock up awaiting trial.”  Closing Marshawn’s file, he stood up.  He walked to his office door and opened it.

            Still fuming, Lauren took his oh so subtle hint and rose to leave.  Neither of them bothered to say good bye as she walked past him.  She hoped Audrey was true to her word and had that drink waiting for her.  She needed it.

Part 5 of Who Are You?

Chapter 4

“Thanks for switching breakfast to brunch,” Lauren said as she opened the door to David at eleven.  Trying to stifle a yawn, she added, “Come on in, I just need to grab my jacket.”

            “Is that David?” her grandmother called from the kitchen.

            “Yes, Lydia, and how is the most beautiful woman I know?” David called out.  Lauren rolled her eyes.  He was always sucking up to Grandma.

            Her grandmother came into the room.  “I’m just fine,” she said as she turned her cheek for him to kiss it.

            “I love the hair.  Did you do something new to it?” he asked.

            Her grandmother tittered as she patted her perfectly coifed snow white hair, “Oh no, I just ran a brush through it this morning.”  Lauren looked at her pointedly.  She knew darn well her grandmother had spent a good twenty minutes in the bathroom brushing and curling and patting her hair down. 

            “Okay, if you two are done flirting, I’d like to get some food,” Lauren said, maybe a little more testily than she had meant to say it.

            David raised his eyebrows.  “Someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”

            “If someone hadn’t come in at four thirty in the morning maybe she wouldn’t be so crabby,” her grandmother tattled and Lauren glared at her.  Her grandmother pretended not to notice.

            “Well,” David said with a tight smile, “you’ll have to tell me all about your night over brunch.”

            Great, now she had to deal with David’s jealousy.  She wondered for the thousandth time if staying friends with him was good for either one of them.  She and David had dated when they were both at U of M; she was a freshman and he was a grad student.  Young and smitten, Lauren had loved him dearly and he was the first man she had made love with, but most importantly, he was her best friend.  They dated for three years and Lauren finally broke it off when he started talking about moving things to the next level.  Meaning marriage and kids.  She was about to start law school and it was hard enough without throwing a husband and a baby into the mix.  She also knew in her heart that he was not her forever man.  Something that David had yet to come to terms with.

Despite the breakup, Lauren and David remained good friends over the years.  But unfortunately, no matter how many conversations they had to the contrary, David still held out hope that they would be together romantically again.  Needless to say, he hated it when she dated other men.  Well, too bad for him, she thought as she slipped her arms into her jacket.  Her sour mood was only getting worse as she regretted making plans with him this morning. Saying good bye to her grandmother, she reluctantly followed David outside.  What she really wanted to do was go back to bed for a few hours and then watch the Red Wings play later. 

 “So,” David said as soon as they were in his beige Camry.  “Who kept you out until four thirty in the morning?”

Sighing, Lauren said, “David, please don’t start.  You promised you wouldn’t ask me questions like that anymore.”

He forced a smile onto his face and held up his hand.  “You’re right, you’re right, it’s none of my business.  I am firmly back in friend mode now.”

“Thank you.” Lauren appreciated his effort even if she didn’t believe him.  She wished he would move on and find someone who wanted the same things he did.  He was a great looking guy and women flirted with him all the time, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have other options.  He was tall, around six feet four inches, with broad shoulders and a stocky build that he worked hard to keep fit.  He had sandy brown hair, a chiseled jaw and pale green eyes that sparkled when he laughed.  Her physical attraction to him had never been the problem and more than once over the years since they broke up, she had seriously considered climbing back into bed with him.  She was smart enough to never act on it.

Changing the subject, she asked, “Where are we going to eat?”

“I thought we’d go to that place you love downtown.  The one with omelets made out of ten different types of goat cheese and that green stuff I can’t pronounce.”

Lauren laughed.  “Not ten types, just two, and you know perfectly well how to say arugula.”

Taking his eyes from the road to look over at her, he said, “You’re beautiful when you laugh, you should do it more often.”  Before she had a chance to respond with a frustrated retort, he changed the subject again.  “Have you thought any more about teaching that class for the kids on Saturdays?”

David ran a ranch just outside of town.  A halfway house of sorts for teenagers who were teetering on the edge of either being law abiding citizens or criminals.  They were boys and girls who experienced their first run in with the law and instead of going to juvenile detention or jail, they came to David.  He had his PhD in child psychology and had done his thesis on the rehabilitation of teens in crisis.

David, like many in his field, believed these were all good kids who were being led down the wrong path as a byproduct of their environment.  Most of them came from downtrodden, lower economic areas where gangs ran rampant.  After a referral from the courts and a careful screening process, David took them out of their environment and gave them the opportunity to better themselves.  The kids worked the ranch, and with ten horses and a hundred acres of farmland where they grew hay, corn, and blueberries, they didn’t have time to get into any more trouble.  They sold their harvest and each of them received a percentage of the profits that was put into a special trust fund towards college.  The kids stayed in the program until they were eighteen and completed their GED, which was a requirement for release. 

The kids were home schooled by a wonderful retired teacher David had hired.  Unfortunately, a foreign language was not in the woman’s repertoire of knowledge.  So, he wanted Lauren to teach a Spanish class for the kids on Saturday afternoons.  She had double majored as an undergrad with both pre-law and Spanish, which she spoke fluently.  She groaned inwardly as she thought about the time commitment on top of her already busy schedule with the court system.

David gave her a sideways glance when she didn’t answer right away.  “I know you’re busy but it would be a huge help if you could do this for me.  Learning a second language will better round out their education.”

Lauren knew he would be relentless in his begging until she finally agreed to do it.  “Fine,” she said trying hard not to sound annoyed.  “One class, for two hours, on Saturday afternoons.  But no more than that.”

“Thanks, you’re a life saver,” David grinned as he reached over and squeezed her hand. 

Gently removing her hand from his, she said, “I received more flowers this week.”

David frowned.  “I’m getting worried about that.  You have no idea who’s sending them?”

Lauren shook her head.  “No.”  A beautiful bouquet of flowers had arrived at her door once a week for the past four weeks, and she had no idea who was sending them.  Each one had the same message – ‘It’s almost time for you to be mine.’  At first, she had thought David was sending them; but his concern seemed too real for it to be him.  “It’s a different florist every time.  When I call to ask who sent them, they say an envelope had been taped to their door with the typed note inside and the cash for the flowers.  They all assumed it was someone stopping on their way to work or something and had found the store closed.”

“Lauren, I really think you should go to the police with this.”

She snorted.  “And tell them what, a secret admirer is sending me flowers?  It’s not like I’m being sent a dead rat or something.  They’re just flowers.  And since I’m the one who defends the people they arrest, I’m not exactly on good terms with most of the officers on the force.”

“I still think you should file a report.  Whoever is sending them obviously knows where you live.  What if it’s one of the criminals you’ve defended?  Maybe if a police officer questioned one of the florists, he’d get more information,” David pushed.

“I don’t think so.  I’m just going to ignore it for now and hope whoever is sending them gets tired of wasting their money.”

David shook his head in frustration.  “That seems like a really bad plan.”

Lauren agreed but she couldn’t come up with a better one.

Chapter 5

“I’m a good looking guy, right?” Max said as he slumped down in the chair across from Jack’s desk late Friday afternoon.

            “Sure,” Jack said never looking up from the case file he was reviewing.

            “I’m charming, well educated, successful, right?” Max continued as he stretched his legs out in front of him.

            Jack finally looked up.  “Are you planning out your internet dating profile or are you trying to convince me to date you, because I have to tell you, you’re really not my type.”

            Max ignored him.  “Most of the women I know would be thrilled to go out with me.”

            “Go ahead and add modest to that list of yours.”

            “So why the hell hasn’t she tried to contact me?”

            Jack leaned back in his chair and chuckled.  “This woman really has you tied up in knots, doesn’t she?”

            “Did you ask everyone form the party?  Someone has to know who she is.”

            Jack shrugged.  “Sorry, but Abby and I have asked everyone and you seem to be the only one who saw this Bat Girl.  I’m still not convinced you didn’t imagine the whole thing.”

            Max glared at him.  “I have a great imagination but even I couldn’t have imagined sex that good.  And then she doesn’t even have the decency to call me.”

            Jack’s eyebrows shot up towards his hair line.  “Really?  You’re going to tell me that out of all the women you’ve slept with that this woman was that good?  No wonder you’ve been acting like a hurt puppy all week.  Now you know how all those women in college felt,” Jack chided.

            “I always called them the next day,” Max mumbled embarrassed now that he had let slip how bothered he really was.  He was starting to sound a little pathetic even to his own ears.

            “Yeah, you called them, but more often than not, it was to tell them that you didn’t want to see them again.”

            “Yeah, and she didn’t even bother to do that.”

            Jack pursed his lips in thought.  “Maybe she’s married.”

            Max closed his eyes and groaned.  He hadn’t even thought about that.  That would explain the mystery and lack of communication since.  Maybe he had been some lonely housewife’s fling.  Though, she hadn’t really struck him as the housewife type.  “Okay, then where was her husband when she was leaving the party with me?”

            Jack shrugged.  “I don’t know.  As far as I know, all the spouses left together.  Maybe she crashed the party?”

            “Who was she then?  A lonely neighbor of yours who just happened to have a drop dead gorgeous costume hanging in her closet?”  Then another thought struck him.  “Hey, were there any single women you invited who you thought didn’t show?”

            Jack stared up at the ceiling as he thought about it.  “Hmm, I don’t remember Judy Postma from legal aid being there.  Abby’s cousin Nancy Wright was a no show.  I don’t remember seeing Lauren Stevens, either.”

            Max snorted.  “Yeah, we can rule out The Shrew.  No way would she have been caught dead in something that showed any leg above the knees let alone wearing vinyl.”

            “You never know, sometimes putting a mask on frees a person,” Jack said with a smirk.

            The idea of having spent the night with The Shrew made Max laugh out loud.  “Yeah, maybe in a parallel universe but not this one.”  Getting up from his chair, he said, “Speaking of The Shrew, I have a meeting with her in twenty minutes.  I need to mentally prepare for the agony.”

            Jack shook his head.  “The man doth protest too much, methinks.”

            Max narrowed his eyes.  “It was the lady protesting and Shakespeare was a idiot.”  Jack was still chuckling as Max walked out of his office.

Part 4 of Who Are You? Let me know what you think!

Chapter 3       

Max woke up around eight and stretched his arm to the other side of the bed expecting to find the amazing body that had been there when he fell asleep.  But his arm felt nothing but pillow.  Opening up his sleep deprived eyes, he sat up and searched for any traces that she was still in the house.  He peeked over the side of the bed to where he had tossed her panties and they were gone.  Throwing back the covers, he got up to check the bathroom.  She wasn’t there either.  Still naked, he took the stairs two at a time to discover that her dress and cape were no longer in the living room.  She was gone.

            “Dammit!” he swore out loud.  He looked around for a few more minutes to see if she had left him a note with her phone number on it.  Unfortunately, his search of the kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom turned up nothing.  The best damn night of his life and he had no idea who she was or how to contact her.  Swearing again, he walked back to his bedroom and lay back down on the bed.  Maybe he could at least get some more sleep, he thought.  But thoughts of last night kept going through his mind and his body was ready for many things, but sleeping wasn’t one of them.  Even more frustrated now, he got back up and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed his gym bag.  Maybe he could sweat some of the frustration off.

            Gina, the bubbly, and hot, blonde who worked weekends was behind the registration desk when he walked into the gym.  “You’re here awfully early,” she said with a flirty smile as he signed in.  Max grunted a reply.

            “And cheerful as well,” Gina remarked.

            “A lot on my mind,” he muttered.  Usually he liked flirting with Gina, but he wasn’t in the mood for it this morning.  “I’m going to head over to the weight room.  Think you could ask one of the guys to spot me?” he asked.

            “Sure,” Gina replied sounding much less perky than she had when he first came in.

            “Thanks.”  Max picked up his bag and headed to the locker room to change into some shorts.

            Sweaty and sore three hours later, he still couldn’t get Bat Girl out of his mind.  As images of her flowed through his brain, he had to make the spray of the shower considerably cooler than he normally did so his body didn’t betray his thoughts.  If only he had insisted she tell him who she was before he drifted off.  Or at least begged her for her phone number.  Slapping his palm against the tiled wall, he mentally kicked himself for going along with the whole anonymous stranger thing.  Sure, it had been sexy as hell at the time, but now he wouldn’t have a chance to repeat the experience.  What an idiot, he berated himself.

            Relieved that Gina wasn’t at her post at the desk when he was leaving, Max signed out and left.  He knew he had been rude earlier and he needed to apologize, but he didn’t have it in him right now.  He and Gina had hooked up a couple of times which had been a huge mistake.  He tried not to be an ass to her, but she didn’t seem to understand that he didn’t want to see her again no matter how bluntly he put it.  It was his own fault for not turning her down when she had asked him out that first time.  He didn’t usually date women from the places he frequented, but she had been hard to refuse with her perky little body and pretty face.  But she didn’t even begin to compare to his Bat Girl.  God, he wished he had something better to call her than that!

            When he got home, he put his gym stuff away and made himself something to eat.  He didn’t like eating before working out, so he was starved.  After making a sandwich of turkey breast and all the fixings, he brought it into the living room and set it down on the steel and glass coffee table and picked up the remote.  The Lions were playing, great.  Just what he needed; watching his team lose when he was already in a foul mood.  He put the volume on mute and opened his cell phone.  Maybe Jack had figured out who she had come to the party with.

            “Hello?” Jack yawned into the phone.

            “Are you still sleeping?” Max asked looking at the clock.  It was almost noon.

            “One of us has a sexy wife who likes to stay up late doing naughty things with her husband,” Jack said followed by, “Ouch!”

            “Guess she doesn’t like you bragging any more than I do,” Max almost growled into the phone.  He didn’t even bother to add that his night had probably been better.  “I called to see if you figured out who Bat Girl was and who she came with last night.”

            “Bat Girl?”

            “Yeah, the woman I left with.”

            “Oh, the figment of your imagination!  No, no one besides you even saw her at the party.  And if you brought her home, why don’t you know who she is?” Jack asked through another yawn.

            “Because she wouldn’t tell me,” Max grumbled.  He almost threw the phone when Jack started laughing loudly in his ear.  “What’s so funny?” he demanded.

            “You took a woman home and had sex with her, and then she refused to tell you her name?  Were you that bad?” Jack sniggered.

            “Very funny,” Max grumbled.  “She thought it would be sexier if she kept her identity a secret.  But then she left before I got up this morning.  Now, I don’t know how to find her.”

            “I don’t know, it sounds like she doesn’t want you to,” Jack replied.

            Yeah, Max had already thought of that.  Then why the hell did she come home with him last night!  He may have sleep around a bit, but at least he always had the decency to call the woman the next day.  Even if he didn’t intend to see her again. 

            “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Max said in annoyance and disconnected the line.  Well, that was humiliating, he thought.  He turned the volume back on and sat back to watch the game.  He had lost all interest in his sandwich.