She glanced away.“Yes.”
“Did you wonder how that came about?”
“I did.”
“Why didn’t you ask?”
“It wasn’t an appropriate topic for a first date.”
“Oh, were we trying to be appropriate?I don’t remember that.I remember searching for a murder weapon and going down on you.”
Her lips parted on a huff of breath.“I didn’t want to cause more conflict between you and your mother, and it was none of my business.You’re the investigator, not me.It’s your job to notice things and ask questions.”
He couldn’t argue with that.“Are the similarities that obvious?”
“To me they are,” she said, “but I’ve spent a lot of time looking at your face and thinking about you.”
“Thinking about me doing what?”
She twined a strand of hair around her finger and didn’t answer.
Wade wondered if she fantasized about innocent stuff like kissing or imagined other wicked delights.Instead of pressing her for details, he fell into a contemplative silence.He wanted to make up with Meredith and move forward, but he wasn’t sure how to proceed.There were emotions to sort through, and hurdles to overcome.He was still in a state of shock from the events of the day.What he’d discovered about his parents would impact him forever.He felt vulnerable and uneasy.
Meredith reached for his hand, and he held it.Love for her swelled in him, drowning out his second thoughts.They could make this work, somehow.
Wade was about to turn on the gravel road toward his mother’s house when his phone blared with a loud warning notification.He glanced at the screen.It was an all-points bulletin with a request for immediate backup.Cursing under his breath, he bypassed the turn and stepped on the gas.
Just what he needed.Another crisis.
“What is it?”Meredith asked.
“There’s a hostage situation in Lost Lake.All officers in the area have been called to the scene.”
“Where in Lost Lake?”
“The Crazy Horse.”
She stared at him in horror.
“Call my mother.”
Meredith scrambled to pick up the phone and press the call button.It went to voicemail.She used the voice app to write a text message to Wynona about avoiding the bar at all costs.She sent a second message.No answer.
“She’s probably drunk at home,” Wade said.
“Probably.”
They were twenty minutes from Lost Lake, but Wade arrived in less than fifteen.He stopped behind a row of wooden barricades about a half a block from the bar.Several other duty vehicles were parked in the area.“Stay here,” he said to Meredith, and removed his gun from the locked box.
“Be careful,” she said.“Please.”
“I will.”
“I love you.”
He paused, uncertain he’d heard her correctly.Her gaze met his, reflecting with emotion.Then he leaned in and kissed her tremulous mouth.“I love you, too.”
And that was that.Saying the words was easier than he’d expected.They’d needed an emergency situation with an armed assailant to prompt them to share their feelings, but so what?No relationship was perfect.
