14

June 10, 1997

Mac walked into the break room, mug in hand, trying to stifle a yawn. Harm grinned at her. "What's the matter, Marine? You had such a late night your head's not in the game?"

Reaching for the pot and pouring herself a cup, Mac glared at him. "My new neighbors moved in on Saturday and had the housewarming on Sunday, which lasted into the early hours of the morning." She shrugged. "Here's hoping they'll be done partying when I get back tonight. How was your weekend?"

"Meghan took pictures of the apartment, finally. She was fussing over details all afternoon, almost me made glad it was over." He winked. "Other than that, nothing special."

Leaning against the counter, Mac took a sip. "She must've been excited."

"She was. It was fun, though. She's more easygoing than I gave her credit for."

"Good." Mac pulled her lips into a smile. "Tally like her?"

"Tally had a play date. I picked her up from Rose's afterwards."

Okay. "So, when's your next date?"

Harm grinned, looked at her over the rim of his cup. "Who said last Saturday was a date?"

"What? She didn't stay for coffee?"

"She did." He flashed that smile that was becoming her undoing. "And fun as it was, I made sure that we both knew it wasn't a date."

"Good for you." Mac was glad he at least got that right. Again, she stifled a yawn. "I should get going, see if I can work on something that's called the Stewart-case. Opening statements are tomorrow."

"Good luck."

Her morning was uneventful, and she managed to stay awake. But she was distracted. Harm was going to go on a date. She'd known that. It bothered her, though. It had set off something inside that she couldn't define. Well, maybe she could. Maybe she just didn't want to. By the time she finally finished her opening statement, lunchtime had come and gone. Sighing, she rubbed the bridge of her nose and leaned back in her chair.

"Not your day, huh?"

Without opening her eyes, she shook her head. "I forget that I function terribly on less than normal sleep."

"Tally does, too."

She looked up. "I bet."

Harm placed a brown bag in front of her. "Turkey sandwich with extra mustard and pickles from your favorite deli around the corner. Because I know that you work through lunch when you're distracted."

His thoughtfulness almost made her blush. "That's really sweet, Harm, thank you."

"No problem." He leaned against the doorjamb. "I'd invite you over for dinner, but I would completely understand if you want to have an early night."

Mac thought about it for a moment, reaching into the bag for the offered sandwich. "I do want to get an early night. But I might be tempted if you tell me what you're going to make."

"No idea yet, honestly. I have to stop by the grocery shop on my way home anyway. Anything you fancy?"

"How good are you at making curry?"

One eyebrow pulled up. "Indian curry?"

"Is there any other kind?"

"Never tried it before."

"Mmm." She swallowed her bite. "In that case, Chinese is fine."

Harm laughed. "Oh, come on, Marine. It can't be that hard to make a curry."

"It's not." Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she gave in. "Tell you what: you go get Tally, I'll run by the grocery store, and I'll show you how to make a proper curry."

"What? You cook something other than spaghetti? You're only telling me this now?"

She shrugged. "A girl's gotta keep some secrets."

"Apparently." He nodded. "All right. Deal." Gesturing to her file, he took a step back. "I'm going to leave you to your opening statement, then. Out of here by 1730 at the latest?"

"Yup. Thanks for lunch again, Harm."

"No problem, Marine. See you later."

When he disappeared out of sight, Mac sighed. Sharing dinner was probably not the brightest idea she had, but it was so much fun to be around the two of them. She could hardly help herself. And cooking only for herself… She refused. Cooking for three people was way more fun.

So that night she taught Harm how to make a curry, under Tally's watchful eye. For as long as the three-year-old wasn't distracted with a toy, anyway. Harm asked her when she had learned to cook as he pulled open a can of chickpeas.

"You want the long of the short version of that story?"

"I don't have anywhere else to be."

"All right." She took a breath, gathering her thoughts. "After Deanne left, I fell into a bottle, and Chris and I had a car accident. It wasn't serious injury wise, but it was serious enough for the authorities to be involved. Joe couldn't be bothered, but by some miracle, Uncle Matt was also in the ER with Aunt Helen. I can't remember why they were, but I knew they hadn't been back long, or I would've known. Anyway, he overheard a conversation between a nurse and a police officer and found me." She chuckled. "He chewed me out. Which was completely deserved, of course, but I so hoped the ground would swallow me. Told the officer that he was going to take me home and they did. Got me to dry out. I stayed with them until Chris and I got married and Aunt Helen made sure I knew how to care for myself."

"And they were actually okay with you marrying Chris?"

"No." She stirred in the pan, giving him a glance. "But I can be very headstrong when I want to be."

He had no trouble believing her. He'd seen her argue cases, and if their occasional arguments were any indication… The woman would not let up if she thought she was right. "Don't I know it."

"So, yeah, they weren't happy, but there was little they could do with both of us eighteen and over. Instead, they decided to support us, well, me mostly, whenever and wherever they could."

"Why didn't you just stay with them?" he asked, peeking over her shoulder as she added tomatoes to the pot and stirred again. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But if they were so great, why didn't you just stay with them?"

"Because Uncle Matt is still a Marine and he got a new duty station on the other side of the country. And I thought I had found the love of my life." She shrugged. "Try telling a headstrong eighteen-year-old blinded by love, she is making a mistake."

"I'd drag her out of city hall if that was what it would take."

Mac threw her head back in laughter and poked his ribs. "Oh, Harm… No. If she ever gets there, there are other things to do. Besides, if she's as stubborn as I think she will be, she'll find another way to make it happen. Some mistakes you just have to make for yourself."

"God forbid," he muttered through gritted teeth. "I'd rather die than hand her over to the first scumbag that comes along."

Still smirking, Mac put the lid on the pot and turned around, leaning against the counter. "I'm sure she'll be smarter than that."

"You're going to tell her, Mac. The first time she falls in love, you're going to sit her down and tell her that story, and tell her that it was the worst mistake of your life." He was adamant.

"I will," she assured him. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay." He eyed the clock. "How long until dinner?"

"Fourteen minutes and twenty-three seconds."

"How do you do that?"

"No idea." At his raised eyebrow, she swatted him with a near tea towel. " I don't! Some things are still a mystery to me, too."

He easily caught her wrist in his hand and caught her gaze. Were her eyes always this dark? His thumb grazed her soft skin and he watched the tip of her tongue wet her lower lip. Suddenly, the air felt electric, and he dropped her hand as if he had burned himself. "Um… I should get Tally to wash up and set the table."

Swallowing, Mac nodded. "Yeah, you should."

"Yeah." He turned around and ran a hand through his hair. What had just happened? He had not reacted to a woman like that in… A while. "Tally, time to wash up!"