A Picky Wicket
Mac walked with his head down, troubled by his predicament. At first glance, you'd think the man's puppy died. If you knew him, you'd say a case was bothering him and he hadn't slept. If you were Stella Bonaserra, you'd know immediately he was deeply unhappy about something. It just so happened Stella was the cause of his worry today.
She'd spent most of her time in an orphanage, foster homes, and only God knew where else. He knew she'd had a tough past, but the newest tid-bit of information she'd thrown at him smacked him in the face and he hadn't been able to steady himself yet.
"It's not hard to become a good pickpocket when you live the life I did. Between St. Basil's, the foster homes, sometimes even streets, you learn how to take care of yourself. Sometimes that means taking what you get and what you can't get, take. I never actually needed to, but..."
Stella never told the whole story, just bits and pieces now and then, and even then, only he got to hear it. Family was a hard thing for her to deal with, and she saw it every day in her line of work. He always wished he could help, and yet all he could do was look at her sad jade eyes and soft loops of caramel colored hair. She'd sit there and stare at their latest disaster with her jaw set and her tan skin flushing ever so slightly and slowly as her rage built.
In the last few years alone, she'd been held captive, targeted quite a few times...okay...deep breaths. That's what Stella says.
She always knows exactly what to do for him. She was his rock, his constant, his strength well that he dipped into more often than not. She was a storm with legs...attractive legs too. She was a fiery intense person who never EVER stopped until she was done. EVER.
Well...sometimes there were less negative things to think about, even for Mac Taylor. Sometimes there were things that could magically make him smile no matter what. Like when Stella would do something so irritating, so mocking, so STELLA, that he had to smile and laugh.
Because that was his Stella. That was why he loved her so much.