It took her twenty minutes flat to get to Harm s apartment. As she neared the door she heard blues music coming from his stereo. He seemed to always be playing music of some sort lately, perhaps a testament to his efforts to be a happier person, to be free. She wasn t sure, but she liked it. It was so different from the cold shadows of Webb s townhouse. That fact alone made her feel more at ease.
The door was slightly ajar, and Harm was standing in his bare feet mopping the kitchen floor. His Levis where rolled up to just above his ankles, and his white T-shirt was damp. He looked good enough to eat.
"Hey."
Harm looked over his shoulder. "Hey Mac," He answered, setting the mop handle against the counter and wiping his damp hands on his jeans. "What's up?"
Mac picked up the remote and shut off the music. "I came to say I'm sorry."
Harm gave her a small smile. "Didn't you already do that in court?"
"Yeah, I did, but that was just for my comments about Mattie. I mean I'm here to say I' m sorry for everything."
"Oh." He regarded her for a moment before he said, "Apology accepted."
"Thank you."
Silence.
Harm cleared his throat. "You're moving your arm better now. Does it still hurt?"
"Only a little."
"That's good."
He gestured toward the living room and they moved to sit down. He chose the chair next to the couch. Mac cocked her head to the side and smiled at him, as he sat down in the chair, and slung his leg over the arm. His bare foot stuck out below his cuffed pants. He smiled back. "What?"
"Just looking." He blushed. Mac chuckled, set her purse on the table, kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet underneath her. For a moment she stared down at the arm of the couch, brushing imaginary lint from the surface. The lightness was gone. He waited. "Harm, are we still friends?"
"Yes."
The confidence in his voice strengthened her. "Why are we still friends?"
"Because Mac, that s just the way it is." He met her eyes. "That's the way it's always been hasn't it?" He paused, easing in to the answer that she was searching for. "It's our pattern, I get a little crazy, you watch my six, you get a little crazy, I watch your six."
"What happened this time?"
"We BOTH got a little crazy. We didn t have a game plan for that one, so we fell apart."
"We're broken?"
"We were, but we're fixing it."
"We are?"
"Little by little."
"How can you be so certain?"
"Because it takes two sides to keep a war going, and I gave up fighting a long time ago."
Mac paused, recognizing the truth in his statement. Barring anything case related, he hadn t fought her in quite a while. She looked down again; her fingertips traced the seam of the couch cushion. "You were right you know. I am afraid you re losing interest in me. Afraid that you've moved on."
"I have moved on Mac." Her face fell. He continued. "I've moved on from the whole situation. But I'll never move on from you. Try as I might, I've never been able to lose interest in you."
TBC...