28.

~ Alex looked at Norma curiously. She must be joking.

"What?" he asked. He felt the smile blooming across his face. A sensation he was still getting used to. His body felt happy and satiated for the first time in a very long time, and he didn't feel as if anything could bring him down from these dizzying heights.

"What are you talking about?" he asked again as he took his side arm off the top of her dresser and quickly re-holstered it. He knew Norma didn't like guns in her home, but old habits died hard and he felt naked without it.

She was looking serenely modest with the bedspread covering her body, as if he hadn't seen her well sculpted form already.

"Norma?" he asked again when she didn't respond.

She looked up and her face seemed withdrawn.

"Alex, I don't think you should talk to Wilson. Or Dylan, or… anyone." she confessed. She looked away again. "About us." she said meekly.

"Why?" he asked. His mind reeling against the very nature of her words. "I thought you said-"

"I know what I said last night. That was last night." Norma interrupted. "I don't want you to throw everything you've worked so hard on for… for something that might not even last."

"Something that might not last." he repeated.

He could hear ocean waves, loud and thunderous in his ears now.

Norma Bates was no different than Rebecca Hamilton. She'd fooled him into thinking he'd be welcome into her world, into this lovely home of hers. A world where things were cozy and clean and he had a place to sit at the table. In reality, she didn't want to acknowledge him in public. Rebecca hardly glanced his way if they were in public together. She didn't want people to know she wasted time with the forever stoic and cold hearted Alex Romero.

A man so incapable of love that he turned his own father in to the DEA after his mother checked herself out of life. A man who's only companion and partner who could stand to be around him for more than a few months was a dog.

Alex found himself breathing hard at the idea he wasn't welcome here after all. That Norma had just wanted him physically, or maybe she felt indebted to him for the piano, which was worse. Much worse.

"You said so yourself, Alex." Norma went on. Her voice trembling. "You said that you could get into a lot of trouble for being with me. Wilson had told you not to. Everything you've worked for. This might not even last. What if it doesn't work out? You'd have thrown away your career for nothing. I won't have you do that. Not to mention you could get investigated for Sam's death. I mean, I'm sure they couldn't prove anything. I just-"

"Stop." Alex said. He closed his eyes when he started to feel dizzy.

He looked over at her and saw her face looked just as crushed and saddened as his.

"Alex, I'm just not worth it." she whispered.

"So that's how it is?" he asked. He felt defensive at being rejected and knew his time in her word was coming to a close.

"Last night was a mistake. I was weak, we both were." she confessed. Her eyes refused to meet his and he couldn't tell when color they were now.

"A mistake?" he repeated. Last night was many things to him but he felt it wasn't a mistake.

"It can't happen again. We can't see each other again. If it was found out…" she breathed.
"Yeah, if it was found out the worst that could happen is some stupid investigation and maybe I'd lose my job. That's a big maybe, Norma." he said.

He saw she looked ready to cry and he couldn't bare the sight of her in pain.

"Listen." he said stepping closer to her and sitting on the edge of her bed. Norma quickly looked away as if embarrassed by him sitting so close to her.

"Norma, if the county did investigate me, and that's a big maybe, the worst that could happen is they would ask me to resign. My only worry would be people talking about you and the boys." he said.

His hands went to hers and her felt how lovely and soft her skin was.

"I'd hate for you to be the subject of gossip." he admitted.

"Again." she said dryly.

He had to nod at that. Norma Bates had nothing but bad luck when it came to public opinion here in town.

"They won't be able to prove anything against me. It's been months since Sam died and we can honestly say we didn't have a relationship before. If it's too much, Norma, I'm willing to just leave and start over. Maybe that's something we should think about." he offered.

She finally looked up at him in amazement. Her eyes a bewitching shade of blue that could drown him.

"Alex, we don't know if what we have is even real." she whispered.

"Okay." he said. "Let's be practical."

"Practical?" she grinned and glanced down under the sheet to show she still had nothing on.

"We should see each other, but remain discreet. We can pretend were having an illicit affair or something." he teased.

Norma didn't want to smile but she did.

"I'll still have to tell Wilson, I owe him that much. He'd be on my side if things went sideways." Alex confessed.

"You're supposed to be Sheriff soon." Norma said sadly.
"Who says I even want to be Sheriff?" Alex told her honestly.

Norma looked confused.

"Lets just… lets not give up on this." he pleaded. He leaned over and kissed her sweetly.

"You should go before the boys wake up." she whispered.
"Can I come over tonight?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm…" Norma sighed and seemed reluctant to promise anything. "Just to talk." she said at last.

"Talking's good." he said.

"No fooling around." she said quickly.

"We'll see." he grinned. His mood returning to that wonderful happy place he so long had been denied entrance into.

"Okay, you need to go. The boys will be up soon and I need to get ready for work." Norma scolded suddenly very modest about her body. She kept the blankets wrapped tightly around her chest as she skirted out of bed and found her blue robe on the floor. Quickly slipping it on with her back to him.

"You know I've seen everything, right?" he teased.

"Go!" she hissed and shoved him out her bedroom door.

Alex surpassed the urge to laugh as she pushed him out the hallway and towards her front door, shushing him to be quite and to not let the neighbors see him leave.

"What neighbors?" he asked as he struggled to put his shoes on. He felt like he really was the illicit lover being given the bum's rush and that the jealous husband might be home any second.

"You didn't come here in the police SUV did you?" she asked worriedly.

"No, I brought the farm truck." he nodded to the dark blue pick up truck that he only used for hauling things on the family farm.

He'd parked it a few yards away and deep into the turn at the end of the lane so no one would see it right away.
"Good." Norma nodded. She didn't bother to ask him why he had a farm truck or kiss him goodbye.

"Come by tonight for dinner." she said quickly when she heard a noise down the hall. Her sons were awake now and would barge out their bedroom at any second. Unless they wanted to answer a lot of awkward questions, he had to leave now. "About six." she added before slamming the door shut.

~ "You know who that old man was at the nursing home was right?" Hillary asked. "The one who keeps talking to you?"

"No. Who was he?" Norma asked as she went to work decorating a wedding cake for that evening. Already she had helped make and deliver a truckload of lunches to a funeral, a gender revel party and to the senior luncheon at the White Pine Bay Nursing home.

There were too many people here in town that she'd been meeting and Norma didn't have time to keep track of them all anymore. She just put on a nice smile and tried to get through it. They all seemed nice to her and sympathetic to what she'd been through with Sam.

Every week since she'd started work Norma helped Hillary deliver special foods at the nursing home and every week a nice older gentleman made it his mission to talk to Norma and become a little flirty. He'd even dressed up and gone so far as to ask her about her sons and if she was seeing anyone.

"Simon Romero." Hillary said with a knowing grin. "He's the grandfather of Deputy Romero."

"Oh." Norma said in surprise. The older gentleman hadn't said anything about Alex and vic versa. Norma had to wonder why not. Maybe like his father, Alex wasn't on good terms with his grandfather.

"You know, Simon is the only family Deputy Romero has left anymore." Hillary said with her knowing look. Norma tried to concentrate on her work and not give any clue that she cared about the conversation.

"He was a big war hero. Simon was. Was in the Marines and went to Europe and was even captured by the Nazis. Made it home though to his wife and son. Alex's father, you know. Made everyone forget what a scandal it was when he married that girl." Hillary said.

"I can't believe Simon Romero had the gaul to talk to you after his grandson shot and killed your husband in your own home." One sour faced looking cook said. She was chopping vegetables and never had anything nice to say about anyone. She'd taken it as a personal insult that Norma had allowed herself to be a battered wife and had somehow escaped.

"Nancy." Hillary said calmly.

"They were getting a divorce and he was going to kill her, Nancy." another cook chimed in defensively.

"It must have been so scary." Hilary added. "Thank God Deputy Romero came when he did."

Norma felt her cheeks go red and she stayed focused on her work.

"I heard your little boy flagged him down. You must be so proud." the cook who came to her defense added.

"I am proud of Dylan. For a lot of reasons." Norma admitted.

"I wish I had seen Deputy Romero carrying your baby." Hillary said with a grin. "One of the lady paramedics told me he looked very sexy. Even more so than the newspaper picture showed. Everyone had thought that little baby had wandered into the woods during the storm. They thought he was dead, but Alex wouldn't stop looking. He just insisted he was alive. Then to see Alex Romero carrying that child in his arms like that? It was all any of the girls were talking about the next day."

Norma stood a little straiter. She'd kept the newspaper article of course. Alex carrying her son in a way that his own father never did. She felt her heart beat stronger when she saw how carefully and securely he held her little boy and could understand why all the girls were fawning over it.

The reality wasn't nearly so romantic. She hadn't told anyone, not even Sybil or Alex, that she had given Norman cough syrup to keep him sleeping during the ordeal. She was worried that information would make people think she was a bad mother. Everyone in town wanted to hail Alex as a hero for shooting and killing her abusive husband, conveniently forgetting that she had another child that had been likewise traumatized. Forgetting that Alex should have just as easily arrested Sam as killed him.

That wasn't the story people wanted. They wanted a story where Norma was being hurt by a bad man and Alex Romero come to her rescue. They wanted a helpless child to be saved from the jaws of certain death and they all wanted to have been there to see it unfold with a nice color picture on the front page of the newspaper.

Norma tried not to laugh at the absurdity of it. Alex wasn't a super hero after all. He was just in the right place at the right time.

"I still can't believe Deputy Romero is still single." the cook said. "He's so good looking."

"Well, he's not the nicest person to talk to." Nancy grumbled. "He pulled me over last winter for speeding, and I got a ticket AND lecture because my break light was out. The damn thing had been broken for months and no one pulled me over for it. Why he decided to make a big deal about it then is beyond me."

"Yeah he is a bit of a grump." the other cook agreed. "I miss Zac Shelby. He was so sweet and good with the kids."

Norma froze and strained her ears.

"I wonder why he just left like that?" Nancy mused. "Seems suspicious."

"I heard it was something to do with Keith Summers." Hillary offered. "That he owed him money."

"The girl at the Walgreens said Zac Shelby was messing around with a high school girl, and that Sheriff Wilson made him resign or he would arrest him." the other cook said.

Norma didn't offer her theory on why Zac left. All the women agreed Zac was better looking than Alex, but they all wished they had seen Deputy Romero rescuing Norman.

"You know, there is nothing sexier than a man who's a good father, Norma." Hillary said.

"Why are you telling me this?" Norma laughed.

"Because, you are a single woman." Hillary teased. "You're free to find a new man."

"I don't want a new man." Norma told her honestly. "I like being on my own. I like being able to take care of myself and my boys."

"All you modern feminists say that." Hilary told her. "But there will come a time when you're going to be lonely for warm body to wrap your legs around."

"Hilary!" Norma laughed and felt her face flush.

"And it needs to be a man who's good to your children." Hilary went on. "Besides, you're still young, Norma. Who's to say your done having babies?"

"No, don't jinx me." Norma said quickly. The thought of being pregnant again, of another baby now that Norman was fully potty trained wasn't something she even wanted to think about. She was suddenly very thankful Alex had taken the time to ensure protection last night. She hadn't bothered with any birth control since she wasn't dating anyone seriously and realized it was very foolish and irresponsible of her to trust someone else with something so important.

She'd have to make a doctor's appointment as soon as possible.

"Oh, I bet Deputy Romero would make pretty babies." the cook sighed.

"Yeah, pretty angry babies." Nancy agreed bitterly. "She can do better than him. Weren't you seeing Deputy Shelby for a while there, Norma?"

"You know Alex's mother was very pretty." Hilary offered ignoring Nancy. "She won all those beauty pageants when she was younger. Before she married his father and then killed herself."

Norma almost ruined the wedding cake when she dropped the icing bag. This latest piece of gossip had thrown her off her game.

"Wait, what happened?" Norma asked. She tried to sound casual, but she wanted them to tell her everything.

The ladies didn't disappoint.

"It was tragic." The first cook said.

"Sad." Nancy added.

"Theresa Reyes married Alex's father when she was just nineteen years old." Hillary explained. "Sherif Romero was just a deputy then and wasn't corrupt yet. I was still in high school and I remember. He was so handsome, he looked just like Elvis."

Norma remembered Shelby telling her all about the DEA arresting Alex's father.

"Back then things were a lot different here. Anyway, Theresa married him because she just fell head over heels in love with him. They got pregnant right away and she miscarried. Then she miscarried three more times before she finally had Alex. It was a shock to everyone that she had him at all. Didn't even tell anyone she was pregnant and we all thought she'd given up trying. Then, a miracle happened and she has this baby boy in secret who's perfectly healthy where the others never made it to term. Rumor was that she couldn't have anymore babies after Alex, and that's where the real trouble started. Once Sheriff Romero was elected, it was all downhill from there. He made deals with bad people, took bribes and helped cover up murders. On top of that, he was fooling around on poor Theresa who was always a saint out of heaven. Alex had to grow up watching his father turn into this mean, abusive monster. When he was in high school he would always stay with friends and he left for the military as soon as graduation was done. Then, he came home after his service was finished and joined the Sheriff's department. With his father as the Sheriff! All this time he takes his mother to Sunday mass and out to lunch every week. That's the kind of son he was; but he refused to have anything to do with the Old Bear even though he worked for him. One Sunday, Alex goes to collect his mom and finds her dead in her bed. She had taken pills or something. Then, not long after, the DEA rolls into town and arrests half of the police department along with some very big names who had a lot of money and influence around here." Hilary explained.

"Lot of people think Alex Romero turned his own father in." Nancy added sourly. "I was surprised he was exempt from all the arrests."

"Anyway, Wilson was brought in to keep things from blowing up. He's been re-elected and he does a good job." Hillary said. "He and Alex got to be friends on account of they were such outcasts I think. Wilson's dog was killed and everything."

"Surprised Wilson didn't quit." Nancy grumbled.

"So Simon Romero is really the only family Alex has left anymore." Hillary finished sadly. "Shame to. The Romero's were right up there with the Lawson's as part of the founding members of this community. They either left town, died off or went to prison in disgrace."

"Old Bear had it coming." Nancy said. "Never liked him."

Norma finished decorating the wedding cake. Her thoughts on how sad Alex's life had been. A life she didn't know about because he had never told her.

I know the teaser didn't match the chapter. Sorry. My bad. This chapter wanted to be something else.