Lie Catchers (33 page)

“Parker!”

He smiled. “The shine of your stones caught our attention at the Sandy Beach shelter, proving you’d been there. Once we were sure you were safe, I drove back in the police car to gather as many parts of the necklace I could find.”

“I searched for them, too,” Liv said. “When Nilson twisted my necklace and broke the string, I could hear them shooting everywhere, but I was baffled when I couldn’t find a single stone even though I crawled all over those grounds in daylight. I figured the big crows took them since they like shiny things.”

He smiled. “I’m your big crow. I decided you’d feel worse if I handed you the paltry pile of stones, so I took them back to Fresno to have them strung. The hard part was finding matching stones to fill in for the missing ones.” Removing the necklace from its hanger, Parker clasped it around Liv’s neck. “What do think? About the right length?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect. You can’t believe the feeling of completeness in my soul right now.” She stroked the jewelry and sighed. “I wish this stuff wasn’t so important to me.”

He led her to the love seat and sat down with her, taking her hand with his to rest on the necklace. “I may not remember everything, like you do, Livy, but the important stuff is grooved into my memory. On November 23
th
, a rainy night in Petersburg, Alaska, I touched these stones and said, “Your skill was born with amber; you and I will begin with the same stone.”

Another balloon rose in her throat so she couldn’t speak, but she leaned over to touch her forehead with his, tears falling on her lap.

“I’ll have you know that when I came over here to hang this necklace, I touched every piece of your jewelry.”

She drew away, wiped the tears and looked in his eyes, warmed by his proud smile. “Some form of marking, hmm?”

With a chuckle, he said, “I guess you could call it that. My take on it is a little more romantic.” He kissed her cheek. “I was kind of letting each set know I’d be around when you wore them.”

Liv laughed. “You got into my calendar, you mean? You’ve inserted yourself into every day of my life?”

His answer was to gather her into his arms, pull her to his lap and hold her tight, so tight, she let out a gasp.

“Sorry,” he said softly in her ear. “I don’t want to lose you, Livy. But I’ve learned that the more excruciating pain comes with
not
being able to love you.”

She hugged him and surveyed her little sanctuary, which now comfortably held Parker, a man who accepted her quirky way of ordering the world.

Parker adjusted himself in the loveseat and Liv gasped at the feel of his arousal. He smiled and said, “You’re the one who brought up marking. Maybe we should consider one more imprinting exercise for this room.”

A ping of electricity warmed her. “So everything I wear reminds me of you.”

His eyebrow winged up. “Which means when you buy something new, we’ll be back.”

“Gives a new kick to shopping.”

Parker laughed with her, embraced her and kissed her deeply.

After Liv shrugged off her sweater and bra and he’d removed his shirt, she hesitated at the clasp of her necklace.

“What?” Parker asked. “Is something wrong?”

“Absolutely not. In fact,” she lifted her necklace, “I’m feeling a pleasant sizzle here.”

“Ah, approval.” He touched the necklace and trailed his finger to her breast. “You can leave them on, Liv. For me, you’ll always come with jewelry; I won’t complain.”

Liv sighed, soothed by the synchrony of date, place, jewelry, and her man. “We’ll love you forever, Parker.”

Scandinavian, Army brat, English teacher, high school principal, golfer, boater, world traveler, author. With her experiences, Rolynn Anderson fairly bursts with stories about extraordinary people and amazing settings, real and contrived.

Now add her competitive nature and her love of “the makeover.” As a principal, she and the staff she hired opened a cutting-edge high school; as co-captain with her husband on
Intrepid
, she cruises from Washington State to Alaska and back. As a writer, she delights in creating imperfect characters faced with extraordinary, transforming challenges.

Her hope: You’ll devour her “makeover” suspense novels into the wee hours of the morning because her stories, settings, and characters capture your imagination and your heart.

She’d love to hear from you at:

http://www.rolynnanderson.com