JAMI
Despite Ely’s insistence on staying at the apartment with me instead of going back to work to finish his shift, I’m too annoyed to let him stay, but the truth is, it’s me I’m angry at … not him. Not Ely, the good man who has been nothing but good to me. No, I’m not angry at Ely.
I’m angry at myself.
I’m angry at Kasper.
I’m angry at life.
For a while, I lay on the couch with the curtains drawn to see if I can get any sleep, but after a couple of hours, I finally throw in the towel and slip my shoes on, more wide-awake than ever. It’s almost five, I’m getting hungry, and this is an excellent opportunity to grab dinner for Ely and me as an apology.
I climb into the car and swing by a popular fast food place, then make my way to the precinct, hesitating only briefly when I spot Kasper’s car already in the lot. I didn’t expect him to be at work – not after his wife’s funeral mere hours ago.
Then again, I shouldn’t really be surprised at all.
“You just can’t stay away, can you?” Jake teases me when he sees me come through the door. I reach into the fast food bag and grab a burger for him, then toss it along. He catches it, grinning.
“You spoil me.”
“Where’s Ely?”
“Here,” Ely says, coming out from the back. He’s holding a stack of manilla folders stuffed with papers, and he smiles when he sees me. A tiny breath of air escapes my lungs when I see him, and I realize that no matter how angry I ever get with him, all he has to do is smile that beautiful smile and my bones turn to putty.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” I murmur, dropping the bag onto his desk to step up and wrap my arms around his midsection. Ely drops his paperwork as well and returns the embrace, his chiseled muscles like granite against my body. In all of my life, I have never felt as safe and loved as I do now, in Ely Burton’s arms.
“You don’t ever have to apologize to me for your feelings,” he whispers in my ear, pulling me back a bit until it’s just the two of us in a small corner of the hallway, left alone in our own little world. “I love that you're so passionate about the things that matter, Jami, and that won’t ever turn me off of you.”
I lift myself onto tiptoes and kiss Ely, savoring the warmth of his skin against mine, the soft scratch of his stubble against my own chin and cheek.
“I saw Kasper’s car outside,” I say quietly. “Is he working?”
“He said he just stopped by to grab some paperwork, but that was an hour ago,” Ely says with a small shrug. “He told Jake that work keeps his mind off things.”
“Oh, yeah, I bet,” I mutter, and Ely presses his lips against my temple, calloused fingers resting on the bare skin of my arms.
“Madison is here,” he whispers. “She’s in the lounge room. I bet she’d love to see you.” He lifts my chin with two fingers and kisses me again, and all of the anger I had earlier dissipates to almost nothing at all. I kiss Ely back, then drop his hands and make my way to the staff room to see if Madison is still there. Sure enough, the sweet little girl is curled up on the couch when I enter, and she looks up as I come in and close the door behind me.
“Jami!” Maddy cries and tears well in my own eyes as the little girl jumps to her feet and rushes to wrap her arms around me, squeezing.
“Oh, Maddy,” I close my eyes and hug her, trying not to completely lose it for the little girl’s sake. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I missed you,” she mumbles into my shirt. “Daddy hasn’t let me see anybody but the babysitter.”
“I missed you too, sweetheart, very much.” I kneel down in front of the girl and smile, wishing I could hug her and keep hugging her until everything in the world is right again. I take the little girl’s hand and we sit down on the couch in the lounge. I’m happy to see that Maddy still has her precious teddy bear clutched to her chest. “Are you here with your daddy today?” I ask, and Maddy nods.
“The babysitter was sick so he told me I had to come with him.”
“That’s okay though, right?” I force a smile and wink at her. “Because you get to see Ely and me.”
Maddy nods and looks down at her hands. It seems like she wants to say something, but doesn't quite know how to say it.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” I say, reaching over to take Maddy’s hand. “It must have been very scary for you the night someone broke into the house. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” says Maddy, but the tone of her voice implies anything but. I glance over Maddy’s head towards the closed door of the lounge to make sure we’re still completely alone, then squeeze her hand.
“Is there anything you want to tell me, sweetie?” I ask. “Is your daddy treating you okay?”
Maddy shrugs, dropping my hand to focus attention on the bear in her lap. I keep quiet, hoping that if I don’t push her too hard, she might just tell me whatever it is it looks like she wants to tell me.
