Eventually, it would all have to come to an end. If she decided to stop following Pierre, then there would be no more reason for Luke to come over each night. After the last three nights of not being out in the swamp, she was now reluctant to continue going out.
She’d come to the realization that catching Pierre digging up the missing book was a very long shot. As much as she wanted to see him behind bars for her mother’s murder, she no longer believed she was the one who could get the evidence.
She wasn’t a quitter, but she also wasn’t ignorant. Besides, she was tired of spending hours of her nighttime, when she could be sleeping or reading a good book, watching a man who did nothing but fish and hunt gators.
In fact, tonight would be her goodbye to Luke. She knew he would continue to work on discovering who had tried to kidnap her, but he would no longer need to be her bodyguard at night.
He would probably be relieved. He would be able to go back to his regular hours and routine. The idea of no longer seeing him in the evenings broke her heart just a little bit, but releasing him from his bodyguard duties was the right thing to do.
She knew Luke wanted to find a special woman who would be his wife, but how could he find that woman with Dominique taking up all his nights? She realized now she’d been selfish. In her quest to catch her mother’s killer, she hadn’t thought about how much she had affected Luke’s life.
She tried to push all her thoughts out of her head as she got busy preparing the evening meal. At ten to six, a knock fell on her door and she knew it was Luke.
He identified himself and then she unlocked and opened the door. As always, her heart fluttered a bit at the sight of him. He was clad in a pair of jeans and a dark green polo that emphasized his bright green eyes.
His slightly shaggy dark hair gleamed with rich highlights and she immediately wanted to dance her fingers through the silky strands. The scent of his delicious cologne radiated out from him and enveloped her with a sense of familiarity and comfort.
“I see you got the memo to wear green,” she said as she led him to the kitchen.
“Great minds think alike,” he replied with one of his gorgeous grins.
“Have a seat,” she said. “Dinner will be ready in five minutes.”
“Good thing I brought my appetite because everything smells really good.” He sank into the chair he’d sat in the last time she’d made dinner for him. “So, how was your day?”
“Nothing exciting or troubling happened, so in that aspect it was a good day.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” he replied.
“What about you?” She turned from the stovetop to look at him. “How was your day?”
“It was okay,” he replied.
She turned back to the stove where everything was ready to serve. Instead of placing the plates on the table, she had them on the counter next to her.
The butter and honey and corn bread were already on the table, as was the cucumber and tomato salad. The fish was golden brown and she put several of the bigger pieces on his plate, along with a large serving of the broccoli rice.
“This all looks amazing,” he said as she placed the plate in front of him.
She filled her own plate and then joined him at the table. “Eat up while it’s warm,” she said.
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” he replied and then used his fork to cut into a piece of the fish.
“Feel free to use your fingers. This is a manner-free zone.”
He shot her another one of his dazzling grins, set down his fork and then picked up the fish by his fingers. Oh, she was going to miss that boyish grin of his.
The conversation was light and easy as they ate. He entertained her with more stories of when he had first become a police officer, making her laugh over and over again.
They finished the meal and she cleaned up the mess, then they moved into the living room where they both sat on the sofa. “So, are we going out into the swamp tonight?” he asked.
“No, and I’m ready to give up on spying on Pierre,” she replied.
He sat up straighter and looked at her in surprise. “What made you decide to stop?”
“I just realized how futile it is. Like you told me before we even started following him. I could watch him for months and he might never dig up the book.” She shifted her position, bringing her a bit closer to him. “I don’t want to waste any more of my time, but I especially don’t want to waste any more of yours. I’ve been quite selfish in using you as my bodyguard.”
“There isn’t a selfish bone in your body,” he replied in protest. “You were just hurting and frustrated, but never selfish.”
