“Good news at last. Your freedom is at hand. We’ve solved it, have picked up both, and they’re being brought back from Maine.”
“Both…from Maine? What was their goal?”
“Vincente was the target of a hired hit that went bad. We’ll have more pieces of the puzzle when you get back into the office next week. But all danger is over, and you can deposit your assignment back on her bench and be done with her. Happy?”
There was silence. Rance was hearing the words again in his mind. “Over…done…freedom at last…good news.” Those were the words that replayed. Good news?
“Hello? Did the news make you speechless with joy? Relief? Anything?”
His captain was waiting and then he would be wondering what was up and that was not wise to do with such a smart man.
“I was just shocked since all the calls had been no news and now here it is. Of course it’s good news. The best. I’ll make arrangements and get things closed here, and we’ll head back once the chopper can get here.”
“The chopper is on loan for a drug deal in Hidalgo County, but it should be free in two days. So, if you can wait that long…maybe catch some fish or whatever…then it will be on its way to bring you back home.”
Home. Funny how he realized in that moment that home was where he already was.
The captain was speaking again. “Well, you deserve a few days after this hazardous duty dealing with a hard-nosed judge used to being the boss. Put her on the chopper and you take a week. Don’t celebrate too much!” He hung up.
And that is that. As quickly as it had begun, it was over with the same speed. The assignment had seemed as if it was going to last forever. That was a ridiculous thought. But then things changed. And reality and life and family and emergencies…and kisses…had all happened and transformed everything. He’d made the biggest mistake you could make when trying to protect someone. He got involved. That thought hit like a brick to the head.
He got involved. Involved… What did that mean? It had gone from impersonal as in assignment, to personal as in flesh-and-blood reality. He didn’t know how to feel…what to feel…what was different? The chopper was on call. They would retrace their steps back to the city, back to her front door, and then he would leave her and that would be that. Except his boss had said to put her on the chopper and then he should take some days to stay and fish. Not a care in the world. Except he would not do that. Two days. That was what was left.
Why had that scenario become less appealing? There should be no reason why this assignment would be any different than any other he had done over his career. Yet, it was. The woman was not what he had expected…maybe in the beginning, but not later. The tough judge had become a real live human being with a heart for helping others and a flesh and blood woman whom he had felt close enough to kiss. And then it had all changed. It went from impersonal to personal. That was high on the list of what not to do in his job. Do not fall for the protectee.
And that stopped the merry-go-round of his thoughts…full stop! Do not fall…as in care? That was pushed aside. It was more than care that stared back at him. It shocked him. Why now? Why her? He had never been a playboy, but he’d had his share of women come into his life and then they usually were in mutual agreement when they each moved on. Never serious. And he stayed heart whole. But now, that had changed without warning or his permission. He cared. And he fought to keep the other word out of his brain. Four letters…but it shook his world. He made a call.
*
“So, what do I owe this surprise to?” Matt commented as Rance slid into the booth across the table from him. “And where is Erin?”
“She’s at the cabin. I ran in to pick up some of Tillie’s burgers and fries.”
“I see,” Matt said, taking a sip from the coffee mug in front of him. It sat beside an empty dessert plate with only a few crumbs of Tillie’s apple pie left on it.
“And I see that you are here alone and enjoying a slice of pie. Where’s your family?”
“They are having a girls’ spa thing…the nails and stuff, with our two sisters, et cetera. You should take a couple of slices of pie with you, too. Goes good with burgers. But why do I feel that ordering your dinner is not the real reason for me sitting here, after your call a little while ago, and asking me to wait and meet you here?”
“It gets a little annoying having siblings in law enforcement who have minds that move to ulterior motives so fast.”
“What’s up, little brother?”
“You know I don’t like it when you still give me that tone of voice and the look that means you know there’s a problem and you need to pull rank and be the obnoxious big brother and put me on the hot seat.”
“And you’re stalling…just like you did as a child. Some things never change. Spill it.”
“Is it true when you said not long after you met Ally, that you took a look at her and felt something right then…like more than a casual caring for a hurt person in a wreck, but it was deeper? Maybe it had been love at first sight? If that is a real thing.”
Matt sat back against the upholstery of the booth’s high back. His arms crossed over his chest a considering look on his face as his gaze stayed steady on Rance. The silence stretched.
Rance was antsy. And his brother was enjoying his discomfort.
“This is ridiculous. I shouldn’t have called you.”
“Yes, you should have,” Matt said. “I’m just basking in the moment. How long have your sisters and I envisioned such a time? And I also know how much grief they’re going to give me because I heard it first and not them. But…this is a valid question. And I can see that it was difficult for you to broach it. So, here goes.
“Is love at first sight possible? Yes. Is that what happened with Ally and me? There was something there…in those first few minutes, hours. But humans can be stubborn. As Ally says, it is the male human that is stubborn. After we give up denying and ignoring the truth, then we can open our eyes and figure it out. I can agree with that. We don’t want to give up our freedom without a bit of a struggle. Except I was blessed enough to meet two extraordinary women in my lifetime. And with Ally, I was afraid…what if I brought Jillie and myself into a situation where she would leave us? Except, what if she didn’t? You need to think of your life now…and the life that you could have if you gave in to your heart. Better off or not? Anything worth having is not going to be easy. Simple. Is she worth it? I know it is. Ally is everything.”
