I made my way to her, slipped up behind her, and kissed the back of her neck. She giggled when my scruff tickled her, but I felt the shiver that ran through her. I loved the way she always responded to me. Now, if only things always went so smoothly in the rest of our relationship. I wanted so much to make her happy, but the demands on my time kept pulling us apart.
“I’m trying to make a salad,” she said and playfully pushed me away. I refused to let go. Instead, I spun her around in my arms and kissed her lips.
“I’ve got good news for you,” I said, when the kiss was over. News I knew would put a smile on her face. “Authorities in Tampa picked up Seamus yesterday. It looks like you’ll get your money back soon. All of it.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up, exactly what I was hoping to see.
“They’ve seized whatever assets he hadn’t spent, and once he’s had his time in court, he’ll be expected to make restitution for the rest.”
“Wow. I’m…oh, wow.” She kissed me, and I felt a thrill go through me. Every positive moment I spent with her seemed like proof that our relationship could work out. “That’s super good news because I’ve been talking to Melody again. She’ll be excited to hear this.”
My heart sank instantly. I wanted Caitlin to reconnect with her friend, but that friend was also her potential business partner in Austin. “I’m glad for you,” I choked out with a fake smile.
“She’s been looking at storefronts for our tattoo parlor, and she’s found a couple of awesome possibilities. It’ll be tight, but we should currently have enough for the deposit. Getting the money back from Seamus would give us a nice cushion.”
I released her and took a step back. I didn’t want to be the cloud to her sunshine, but any plan that had her living in Austin away from me wasn’t something I wanted to hear about.
Her face went still, as if she were reading my thoughts. “That is,ifI settle back in Austin,” she said. “It’s good to at least consider what that might look like, right? I’m trying to imagine staying here as well, but it’s important to look at all the possibilities.”
I forced a smile. “Sure, we need to know what our options are before we can make a decision.” I was relieved that she was speaking about us aswe, plural, as if we were a couple who made plans together.
“Exactly. Let me show you the possible stores while the chicken finishes baking.” She opened her laptop that sat on the table and flipped through several tabs, showing me pictures of the variousproperties and talking about their advantages. I knew Austin well enough to know that three of them were in ideal spots for a tattoo parlor, surrounded by clubs and restaurants that attracted a hip crowd.
I tried to make the right comments and be encouraging, but after viewing all the locations, I had to ask the question that was on my mind. “You haven’t made up your mind, have you?”
“About a location? Not yet,” she said, closing the laptop. “These are just possibilities.”
“I didn’t mean about the store.” I forced myself to say the next words. “It’s starting to feel like you’re leaning toward moving back to Austin.”
“Nothing’s definite. I’m not making that decision without you because it affects both of us. We have to decide together where we want to live and how we’re going to raise our child. It’s just such a relief to me to have options and to be able to prove my parents wrong,” she said. “I know that probably sounds silly to you, but they’ve always discouraged any idea I’ve had. When I told them that Mel and I were going to start a business together, they declared it doomed from the beginning. But it’s not doomed. I’m so close to getting what I want and proving that I can make it.”
I wanted to ask where I fit into her vision, but the oven timer went off and I let the subject drop while we ate. During dinner I kept the conversation light, telling her a story about how a woman had reported seeing a mountain lion in town. She’d insisted that it was walking right down the street, and so I’d made the call to lock down the nearby elementary school while I investigated.
“Was it really a mountain lion?” Caitlin asked.
“Extra-large house cat,” I said, making her laugh. “I drove it home in the back of my patrol vehicle. It belonged to a new neighbor who was delighted to have her cat returned. She’d let him out that morning, and he’d run off after a squirrel.”
“Strange things happen in small towns,” Caitlin commented as she picked up the dishes and headed for the sink.
“Good things, too. The women became friends after that. I see them together all the time now. They’re both widows, and they formed a support group for other widows. They’re excited about the community center because their group is growing and they need a larger location to meet.” I needed her to see the advantages of living in a close community. It wasn’t all neighbors gossiping about you, and the town wasn’t filled with folks like her parents. Life was special here.
But maybe that was the wrong approach. Maybe I needed to show her more romance and assure her thatwewere good together. I’d been trying to sell her on the town, but I really needed to sell her on me. I realized that I hadn’t done a great job of it. I needed to convince her that she couldn’t live without me, because the thought of losing her was too much to bear.
“Ice cream?” she offered, taking a carton of butter pecan from the freezer. “I’m developing a definite sweet tooth, which I’m blaming on being pregnant.”
“I’ll scoop.” I got up and grabbed bowls from the cabinet. “What do you think of going on a date tomorrow night?”
“I like the sound of that.” She took spoons from the drawer and met me at the table. “What did you have in mind?”
“How about a picnic at the lake?” I suggested. “We can watch the sunset and stay long enough to see the stars come out.” It worried me out to think of being out of cellphone range if my deputies needed me but Caitlin had been so happy that day at the lake. She’d let down her guard and let me in. I needed her in that mindset again.
“You’re willing to be out of contact? You remember it’s a dead zone, right?” She eyed me over her bowl with one eyebrow raised.
I gave a casual shrug. “It’s a weeknight, and the rodeo is long gone. I’m not worried about it,” I said.Mostly. Sofia could handle whatever happened while I was out of contact for a few hours. “I’ll be coming from training in Carson, so I can meet you there about seven.”
Caitlin hesitated. “I’m not sure meeting there is such a good idea. If something came up and you were running late, you wouldn’t be able to call me to let me know. Maybe it would be better if we left from here together, even if that shortens our evening. That way when…if you cancel, I won’t be stuck alone at the lake.” She glanced away, and then back at me, her cheeks flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that.”
Her slipup drove home what I was up against. I had to prove to her that I would be there for her when she needed me to be. “You can count on me. I’ll be there—on time. Sofia can run the office as well as I can. She won’t need me.”
