Chapter 30
~~ James ~~
I wake at first light with Lorelai curled into me, and I let myself stay there a few minutes longer than I should. Her ass is shoved into my groin. My arm is resting in the hollow of her waist, my hand against the warmth of her stomach. I remember Naomi getting bigger as Emilie grew inside her, and how that felt under my hands. First a tiny flutter, then stong shoves and kicks. I wonder if Lorelai wants kids, and I allow myself to imagine her pregnant with our child. That thought makes my erection even harder.
I’d like to stay all day, but it’s my Saturday to work since Emilie is at Trev’s. So I ease off the bed, leaving her snug under the blanket.
I’m pulling on my jeans when I see her phone peeking out from under the edge of the bed. She’s going to need that later, and I certainly want to be able to reach her! I plug it in where a charger sits ready on the fancy side table. Then I set the pain meds on the bedside table with a fresh bottle of water from her tiny fridge and let myself out.
Stella is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, already looking her best in a pin-up girl dress. She still has that stage presence that won her more than her fair share of suitors in her heyday. I smile at her even though I cringe a little inside, knowing the word will spread across town that I spent the night with my daughter’s teacher.
“I heard about the accident.” Stella whispers. “How is she?”
“Doc Williams took a look last night. Said for her to just rest. Trevor talked to her, too.”
“There was a man here looking for her last night. She sped off on that deathtrap of hers and he was right behind her.”
My heart speeds up at the confirmation someone had been chasing her. “Do you have the camera footage?” I know Kaiden had his team install cameras on the exteriors of most of the buildings around the square. He wanted the Amato building covered from every angle, and all the citizens within its shadow protected.
“I do. I can get Mari to email it to him.” She looks up at me with a sly glint in her eye and asks, “You got an interest in our girl, Commander Carlo?”
“She’s too young for me, Ms. Stella.” I shake my head.
Stella laughs. “Love doesn’t care about numbers, sir.” Then her tone gets serious. “That girl is older than her age. Life can do that to a person. She could use some taking care of.”
“Seems she could, Ms. Stella.” She walks me to the revolving door. “I can tell Trev you’ll send that video?”
“Mari will do it. She’s good at that kind of thing.”
I’m pushing the call button on the way to my truck even though it’s barely light out. Trev picks up on the first ring.
“Expected to hear from you last night,” he says in greeting.
“Doc checked her out, said she was ok. Just rest. What did she tell you?”
“Said there was a car that tipped her bike into the rocks but that she didn’t really see it. Didn’t seem like that was the whole story, but I didn’t want to push it until I knew she was okay. Seemed a little skittish.”
“Yeah, she’s had it rough. She probably doesn’t trust the police very much. But there was someone tailing her last night. Ms. Stella at Bliss said Mari would send you the parking lot footage.”
“Good. I’ll let you know what my boys got from the scene, too.” He pauses. “Something between you two?”
The phone switches over to the truck’s speakers, giving me a second to clear my throat. “She’s uuum... She’s the girl from the cabin.”
“Oooohhh,” he lets it trail out. I had told him the basics, but he had filled in the rest in his head. “I can see it.”
“What do you mean?” I hate the defensive tone my words take when I assume he’s making a judgement. Trev is my friend. He doesn’t deserve that.
“Just meant I can see the attraction, that’s all.”
“Sorry, man.” I feel a little guilty for snapping.
“It’s okay. Given that extra info, though, you’re probably feeling a mite protective.”
“Well, I think she needs our help.”
“My boys are on it. I’ll follow up with them and put a rush on things.”
“Thanks, Trev.”
“Hey, I have a vested interest, too. She’s our girls’ teacher now.”
“Ah, you put that together?”
“I put out some feelers when Becca and Em started talking about how much they like her. Didn’t get too far.”
“I probably shouldn’t mention there was a file dropped onto my desk a while ago. Might be time to look at it.”
There’s a brief pause before he sighs. “Get with me if there’s anything in there we need to know.”
It’s a sensitive topic for Trev. He knows Kaiden wants the best for the community, but he also doesn’t like the gray area that is sometimes there. Like last year when Angela’s ex showed up and took off with little Kaylee. That situation dissolved suddenly as if there hadn’t even been an issue, and no one knows where the ex went. Not that anyone really cares, but that loose end makes Trev uncomfortable.
“Will do. How are the girls?”
“Breakfast Tea Party for the stuffed animals,” he laughs. “It’s great when Em’s here and I don’t have to try not to break any more cups.”
I laugh, too, at the memory of coming in with Emilie to see Trev more squatting over than sitting in a tiny pink chair wearing a tiara and a tutu while Becca cried her eyes out over a broken teacup handle. He’d glued it back together when Em and I arrived, of course, but he’s never lived it down.
I get a ping on my phone, and it feels like tiny hands squeeze my heart when I see the photo he just snapped. The girls are still in their pajamas, but there’s at least five shiny plastic necklaces on each tiny neck, and they’re laughing to each other. Joy shows in their twin-like little faces.
I know my voice is rough when I thank him, but I’m not embarrassed at the obvious emotion. I know he feels the same gratitude that we have Becca and each other in our lives.
I log off the call and rush to get a shower and dress for work. I’m not too far behind Stephen as he enters the code on the alarm system and opens up the office.
I pull the folder out of my drawer and hesitate. Should I dig into the secret life of Lorelai Mills, or should I ask her myself?
She wouldn’t want me to pry into her life. I’m very sure of that.
But she needs help, and how can I help if I don’t know what she needs protection from? I open the file and start reading.
I look up from the file a few hours later to find Kaiden leaning against my door frame.
“I heard about the accident. What do you want to do about it?” He heaves himself off the frame, pushes the door closed, and pulls up a chair.