Chapter 14 #2
He drove out of the parking lot and on the street leading to an on-ramp to the Loop and headed to Holly’s work. He’d had flowers delivered there, but he’d never been there. That was about to change.
* * *
Holly walked into work with a smile on her face, got a doughnut and a cup of coffee from the breakroom, and took them to her desk. The yellow roses were still perky, but she added some water to the vase just in case, then picked up her work from where she’d stopped last night.
One hour passed, and then another, and then she pushed away from her desk, picked up a file, and carried it to Gene Morris’s desk.
“The deed to the Powers property is officially cleared and up-to-date. You can finalize the sale.”
Gene nodded. “Fantastic. Good work, Holly.”
“Thanks,” she said and took a quick break to wash up, then came back and sat down to check her to-do list to see what came next. She was shuffling through her notes when she heard footsteps in the hall outside their office.
The door opened.
Everybody looked up from their desks, including Holly; then she saw the look on his face. He was smiling. She stood up.
Without saying a word, Gunner went straight to her, took her in his arms, and laid a kiss on her lips that had every woman swooning.
When they came up for air, Holly grabbed his arms. “It’s over, isn’t it? Oh my God, Gunner. Tell me it’s over!”
“I’m over it, that’s for sure. Resigned, and turned in my gun and badge. The Feds came while I was there and arrested the informant in front of all of us.” Then he turned around to face the room. “I have a house to sell. I want Holly Dillon to list it, and then I’m gonna steal your girl.”
Holly looked straight at her boss. “Then that’s where I’ll be for a while. I have contracts in my briefcase, and I’m going to take the Nikon for the photos.”
Gene nodded. He was all for another listing, while facing the fact that he was going to lose a valuable employee. Nobody was as good as Holly with clearing deeds.
A few moments later, they were gone.
Leigh put her head on her desk. “Why can’t that happen to me?” she groaned.
Josie leaned back in her chair. “OMG… What just happened?”
Lisa was dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever witnessed. Straight out of An Officer and a Gentleman.”
Leigh raised her head from the desk. “Never heard of it.”
“Probably because it came out before you were born. Treat yourself some night. It’s bound to be on some streaming service,” Lisa muttered, then turned back to her computer, trying to remember what she’d been doing.
* * *
Holly buckled her seat belt and leaned back in the seat as Gunner gunned it out of the parking lot, heading for the nearest on-ramp to the Loop, then shooting out into traffic like he’d been launched.
“This is the first time we’ve been in a car together,” she said.
Gunner arched an eyebrow. “But we have been in bed together.”
Holly was still trying to catch her breath from their entry into traffic.
“True, and I can say with all honesty that I am forever grateful you are not this fast in bed.”
He burst out laughing.
“What?” she said.
He shrugged. “You are going to be so freaking good for me. My whole life has been lived behind dark glasses.”
“Oh, honey…” Holly’s voice was suddenly shaky. “My heart is so sad for the little boy you were, and how damaged your faith in people became because of what happened.”
“I have the best family. The best support group. I’m just missing the genetic component to adapting.”
Holly shook her head. “It’s not that. Don’t ever think it’s a fault of your own for what happened.
It hit you the hardest because you were also the youngest. Children almost always form their first bond with their mother.
The first nine months of becoming us happens inside our mothers’ bellies.
Even after a child is born, tiny pieces of the child’s DNA stay with her.
My mom told me something years ago that has stayed with me.
The bond between mother and child is eternal, even if that mother fails to nurture.
When your mother did what she did, she took that tiny piece of you with her but left nothing tangible of herself within you except a feeling of abandonment. ”
The hair crawled on the back of Gunner’s neck. It all made sense. Emotions can be so complicated, but answers could be so simple.
“Damn, girl. You just nailed me to the wall with that. There’s no denying everything you said.”
“All you have to do is let people love you again. I’m the beginning, but it’s going to get better… I promise. You don’t have to keep running anymore.”
Gunner was suddenly blinking back tears, and he didn’t cry.
“Heard, with thanks. I love you, Holly Dillon.” Then he noticed he was coming up on his exit. He shifted lanes and took the next off-ramp in one smooth move. “It’s not far now, and you’re gonna get the biggest hug when I get you out of this car.”
“Something more to look forward to,” she said. “And I can’t wait to see your house.”
“It’s Spanish in design. Adobe walls, arches, and colorful handmade tiles.
Asher’s house is similar, and neither of us knew we’d chosen similar styles until I went there when he and Nora were about to get married.
My house is a three-bedroom, two and a half baths, with an office, a chef’s kitchen, and a great fireplace.
Oh…and a big, covered patio and a funky escape hatch from the back of my garage. ”
“The escape hatch is intriguing, and you just described my dream home,” she said.
“Then we will recreate it in Crossroads, with everything you want in it,” he said.
“I still can’t believe this is all happening… Getting to move home. Making a forever life with you and filling a house with the sounds of children’s laughter.”
“We will be invincible when we work together,” Gunner said. “It’s going to be a hassle to move, but we’ll get it done.”
“I rent. Moving will be simple for me. What are we going to do with two sets of furniture?” she asked.
“Sell or donate, and buy new stuff? Anything we want.”
Holly’s eyes widened, and so did the smile on her face. “We are on such an adventure.”
“Yes, we are, darlin’. It feels a little like a dream, doesn’t it? Like a quest, but without any more dragons in wait.”
As he neared his house, he tapped the remote. The garage was open when he went up the driveway and rolled inside. That’s when Holly saw the Rubicon parked in the other bay, and a single exit door in that bay at the back of the garage.
“Oh wow… If that’s an exit through your backyard, I can’t wait to see.”
“The remote to that exit also opens the back gate that leads into the alley. It’s how I got out of town while the hit men were still hunting me. Nobody saw me leave this house, and I don’t drive it around Dallas, so it was an unknown to anyone hunting me by car tag.”
“Car tag? Those hit men were looking for you by the number on your tag?”
“So says the dude I sent flying into the concrete barrier.”
She paled. “You must have been so afraid.”
“Honestly, my first reaction was surprise, and then anger. It got scary later, not knowing the faces of my enemies. But that’s over, and that back exit helped me get away unseen.”
She shook her head. “A man with an escape hatch. Amazing.”
As soon as they exited the car, Gunner hugged her, then kissed the top of her head.
“Okay, Miss Dillon. That’s the hug I promised. Now put on your Realtor shoes and let’s get down to business. I am in your hands.”
* * *
Holly was a pro at her job.
She began with the exterior photos front and back and then moved to the interior. As she worked, it became apparent that Gunner was more of a neat freak than she would have believed. It made taking photos much easier.
He stayed out of her way, watching her setting up a shot by moving a pillow, tilting a lamp shade a certain way, and making sure all of the lights were on in every room. It was eye-opening, witnessing how adept she was at her job.
“Lighting is everything when selling a house. The curtains always need to be pulled back. The shades up, lamps and overhead lights on. Bright is uplifting. If people want to live in a cave-like atmosphere later, they can close shades to suit them,” she said.
When she got to his bedroom, her eyes widened at the sight of his bed.
“That might be the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. ”
He grinned. “I have a foot and leg problem.”
She turned, mirroring instant sympathy. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“My legs are too long, and my feet hang over the edges. The bed and mattress were special orders.”
She laughed. “You are always teasing. I should have known.”
“I don’t remember teasing you,” he said.
“Remember that big barbeque they had at the high school to raise money for new equipment for the baseball team?”
“Vaguely,” he said.
“You were serving in the food line. I was standing beside my mom. Extended my plate to the food you were serving, and I asked you what it was.”
His eyebrows arched. “Are you talking about the calf fries?”
“You told me they were meat patties. Little pieces of beef.”
He was smiling now. “I did not lie to you.”
She rolled her eyes. “That was the worst joke anyone has ever played on me. I gagged for a week every time I thought about it.”
Now he was laughing. He swooped her up in his arms and swung her feet off the floor. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I’m sorry.” And then kissed the frown off her face.
By the time the kiss was over, she was breathless. “Truce. Let me finish up here with the pictures, and then we’ll go over the contract.”
“You’ve already taken all the pictures you need in the kitchen, right?”
She nodded.
“Then I’m going to make us some sandwiches. Not sure what’s in the fridge, but I’m hungry.”
“I’m not picky. As long as it’s not calf fries, I’m good to go.”
He was laughing as he left the room.
* * *