Marrying Mike...Again (28 page)
She thought it was the first place they’d had both of them considered home.
There’d been other adjustments as well. Right after the beatings, Sandra and Mike had both spent a lot of time at the hospital, Mike with Koontz and Sandra with Vee. That had ended up being good for them. Mike needed quality time alone with his partner, and Sandra also preferred her own interests. She discovered that the less she begrudged Mike time alone with his cop friends, the more open and sharing he became when they finally had time together. They talked more now. They relaxed and laughed outside of the bedroom.
Sandra thought they appreciated and respected each other more. Two months ago, they’d even gone running off all by themselves and had a second wedding. Just the two of them and some little old lady they’d dragged in off the street to be a witness. It was the most wonderfully romantic moment of Sandra’s life. And not a bad wedding night…
Things were definitely going well these days. Sandra rested her hand lightly on her stomach. Then she saw the time and hastily returned to her seat. Mike was already there, grinning.
“Think he can get through it without breaking into a sweat?” he asked.
“Not a chance.”
“Department pool is giving only one-to-one odds that he cracks.”
“Department pool is smart.”
The mayor stepped up to the microphone and they obediently quieted down. Mike took Sandra’s hand. She squeezed his fingers. She knew he was secretly proud of his partner and Koontz deserved it. The gruff detective was now the number-one proponent of community policing in the department. He’d also spent a number of his weekends working on the community center. Somehow or another, he was never that far away from Toby Watkins. Recently he had even joined the Big Brother program. Twenty guesses on who he’d chosen to be his little brother. The two were good for each other.
The mayor gave his spiel. He talked about the “momentous” events of last spring, when the city had almost gone to war. He recapped Vee’s letters, the shooting, and then Vee’s life on the run. Standing beside Koontz in front of the crowd, the fourteen-year-old wiggled self-consciously. Then the mayor started talking about the capture of Detective Rusty Koontz, who had worked heroically to stem the riots. Koontz, beaten within an inch of his life, held hostage by five drunken teens.
Koontz turned bright red and looked as if he wished the ground would swallow him whole. Vee punched him playfully in the arm, happy to have the spotlight off him, and the crowd laughed.
Mayor Peterson revved up for the grand finale. Everyone coming together to find the captured detective and the kid named Vee. African-Americans working with Caucasians, civilians working with cops, old working with young. The power of community.
Everyone nodded. Most had become involved in various efforts and they liked to feel good about it.
Finally, the conclusion. For his heroic efforts in aiding Detective Koontz, Toby Watkins received a limited sentence for shooting at police officers. In addition to community services, Toby took weekly anger management classes and reported to a juvenile parole officer to make sure he stayed on track. Now, in order to reach out to other youths, Alexandria was officially opening this new community center, named the Toby H. Watkins Building. East side’s children would now have a safe place to hang out after school. They could blow off steam playing games and sports. They could receive tutoring or join mentoring programs. The community center was even trying to get its hands on a number of computers. Soon east-side kids could be exploring the Internet.
The potential was boundless, the way it should be for children. And now, Mayor Peterson officially declared the building open.
Together, Koontz and Vee held up the oversize scissors. At the last minute, however, Koontz backed up and let Toby do the honors alone.
Vee snipped the yellow ribbon. Lightbulbs flashed and everyone cheered.
“Koontz did well,” Mike said approvingly, clapping away.
“He wimped out.”
“He was showing respect for Toby.”
“He was scared out of his mind.”
“Ha. My kid’s better than yours,” Mike teased.
“In your dreams.” But Sandra was laughing, too. She drew down her husband’s head for a kiss that lingered, then grew. Second chances, Sandra thought, had never tasted so sweet.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1804-8
MARRYING MIKE… AGAIN
Copyright © 2000 by Lisa Baumgartner
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The Guiness Gang
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Maximillian’s Children
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