Epilogue
San Diego, California
Sunday, January 15, 7:00 p.m.
“This is nice,” Kit said as she set her bags down on Sam’s kitchen counter.
He’d hoped she’d think so. “I thought we should have a nice table for our date.”
He’d set the table with his grandmother’s china, his own crystal, and a vase with a single small sunflower. Kit didn’t seem like a roses kind of woman. And the sunflower had made him smile.
She beamed at him, and for a moment he was thunderstruck. She was genuinely happy to be here. He’d been scared that she’d insisted on this date out of obligation.
“Thank you,” she said. “Dinner is compliments of Akiko. She caught the fish and cooked it.” She started unloading the bags, releasing amazing aromas. “Bluefin tuna. There’s some rice, too. And green beans almondine. We’re going fancy tonight.”
Sam sat on one of the bar stools and watched her move. She was fluid, graceful. She’d left her blond hair down and it was soft and framed her face perfectly.
And he was totally biased. But that was okay. She was here, in his home, and he’d been a nervous wreck all day. Every surface had been cleaned and recleaned and sanitized. Every pillow plumped at least twice.
He’d even made his bed with clean sheets, even though he was certain they were far from that point. But a man could dream, couldn’t he? Nine months ago, she’d told him they couldn’t even be friends and now, here they were. Having dinner. Together.
A real date.
“I didn’t think bluefin tuna were biting right now,” Sam said, taking an appreciative whiff of the dishes she was setting on his counter.
“They’re usually not, but Akiko took this charter group really far out. One of the clients caught a super cow.”
“What’s a super cow?”
“A fish over three hundred pounds. It was pretty exciting, honestly.”
“You were there?”
Kit nodded, her smile going a little tense. “Yeah. Akiko is…well, she’s a little on edge lately. Hasn’t been comfortable taking charters out alone and her usual first mate still has the flu. I didn’t want her to have to cancel another charter, so I went with her.”
“Why is she on edge?” Sam had noticed a change in Akiko. She had seemed more preoccupied and anxious over the past week, but he’d attributed it to the trouble with Rita and Christopher Drummond.
Kit sighed. “She said I could tell you if you asked, so I’m not breaking a confidence. A woman claiming to have known her mother called her and asked for a meeting. We’re going in two weeks.”
“We?”
Kit shrugged as she plated two servings of Akiko’s offering. “She’s nervous about it and so am I. It feels…wrong, somehow. Which is probably just me being paranoid like usual, but I made her promise to wait until I could go with her. She called the woman yesterday, but the woman’s out of town for the next two weeks. So…”
“You have good instincts and I’m glad you listen to them. I’m also glad Akiko listens to them, too. It’s good that you two have each other.”
“It is. We weren’t close at first. I didn’t want her at McKittrick House.”
“Why not?”
“She took Wren’s bed, and Wren hadn’t been gone that long.”
“Ah. That makes sense.” Kit had been grieving her sister. She’d been fifteen years old and hurting. “But you’re very close now.”
She smiled. “We are. Sisters in every way but blood. She’s always had my back and I’ve had hers. If you’re impressed with that move I do, taking down men twice my weight? Thank Akiko. She taught it to me.”
“I’ll definitely thank her, then.”
She took a final dish out of another bag. “Cheesecake. This one I bought. Mom was mad at me for not asking her to make something, but she was busy today getting the new girls ready to start school tomorrow. I didn’t want to stress her out.”
“She can make dessert for our next date.”
Kit grinned. “Okay.”
She seemed almost buoyant. If he didn’t know better, he’d wonder if she’d been drinking. But Kit rarely drank and never when she was going to be driving. “You’re in a good mood,” he said tentatively.
“I know. I woke up this way.” She sounded genuinely bewildered by this.
Sam laughed. “I’m glad. It’s just…”
“Abnormal?” she asked, but she didn’t seem irritated.
“A little. I kind of like sassy Kit.”
“Good, because this good mood won’t last long. They rarely do.”
That was something that Sam hoped to change.
“What did you do today while I was playing first mate to Akiko?” she asked.
“I cleaned the condo,” he said with a self-conscious laugh. “And Siggy and I took a walk to the comic book store.”
Kit turned from the fridge, where she’d put the cheesecake. “Ronald Tasker’s comic books. I should have known you’d remember.”
“I promised. And he did give us some valuable information.”
Kit sighed. “And he has another family in LA.”
That was the secret he’d kept, the one that Munro had blackmailed him over. It had been noted in Munro’s three-ring binder. “Yeah. That would be hard for his daughter to forgive.”
Kit pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Anyway. Nonwork topics. This bluefin tuna is ours because the guy who caught it lives in New York City. He got his picture taken with the fish, but he didn’t want to take it all home with him. Akiko offered to ship it, but the guy doesn’t even like fish.”
“Why’d he go on a fishing trip, then?”
“It was a bachelor party. Most of the group were from somewhere else. Even the groom lives in LA.”
He pulled her chair out for her and she beamed at him again. It was amazing how a smile from Kit McKittrick could make him feel ten feet tall. He sat beside her, still stunned that this evening was happening at all. “Then why have the party here?”
“Bride’s family is local and they wanted to throw a big country club wedding.” She shuddered. “I’ve had enough of country clubs for a while. But again, nonwork topics. The guy said that Akiko could have the tuna, and she was over the moon. We filled her freezer, Mom’s freezer, and the freezers of most of our brothers and sisters. When she brought that fish to Mom and Pop’s, I thought the girls’ eyes were going to pop out of their heads. They’d never seen a fish that big. Most people haven’t. It took all of us a long time to clean and chop up that fish.”
“I’m glad they got a new experience. And I’m glad I get to eat it without having to do any work.”
Kit chuckled. “And I didn’t have to cook anything, so I’m happy, too.”
“You must be tired. You had a long day.” But she was still here. She hadn’t rescheduled.
“I should be, but I’m not. I get a jolt of energy when I close a case, especially a big one. You ready to eat?”
Sam took a bottle of champagne from the ice bucket. “I know you’re not a drinker, but we can have a little.”
She smiled at him, and he felt like he’d already drunk the whole bottle, his insides all bubbly. “Just a half glass for me.”
He filled it all the way, anyway. “You have to get the nose-tickling experience of a full glass of champagne.”
She gave him a doubtful look. “If you say so.”
He held out his glass. “To second second dates.”
She laughed and tipped her glass to his. “And no murders.”
“Definitely.” He watched as she took her first sip, her eyes widening.
“Oh. This is good. I’ve never liked champagne before.”
“This is the good stuff. It was a gift from my boss, and I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.”
She dropped her gaze to her plate, her cheeks pinking up. But her smile was real. Shy, but real.
And so damn appealing. Everything about Kit McKittrick was so damn appealing.
She looked up and found him staring at her. Her cheeks became an even darker pink. “What?”
“You’re pretty.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m just me.”
“And you are pretty. Just say thank you, Kit.”
Another eye roll, but she looked pleased. “Thank you.”
He stopped staring and began eating the dinner Akiko had prepared. “This is delicious.”
She hummed. “It really is. I should learn to cook, but between Mom and Akiko, I don’t have to.”
“Must say I’m jealous.”
“You don’t have to be. Mom would cook for you every single day if you asked.”
“While tempting, it’s not exactly practical. I’m not a terrible cook. My father taught me a few recipes.”
“Not your mom?”
Sam chuckled. “No. My mother is an amazing woman, but she is a terrible cook.”
They continued eating in a companionable silence until Sam couldn’t eat another bite. “I want to eat more, but I’m stuffed.”
“I know.” Kit arranged her cutlery on her empty plate. “Akiko is a goddess in the kitchen.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I’m curious about something, but I’m afraid to ask.”
Her brows went up. “Okay. I’m kind of afraid to hear the question now. But go ahead.”
“That night I heard you telling Connor about those awful foster homes.”
Her eyes shuttered and he wanted to pull the words back. But if they were going to have any kind of relationship, he couldn’t be walking on eggshells around her.
“And?” she asked warily.
“I wanted to know if they were punished. If they were still allowed to foster kids.”
Her expression smoothed out immediately, and he was so relieved. “Pop took care of them. He met with the social worker who’d moved me from house to house, who’d refused to report the stabbing with the letter opener as an act of self-defense. It was in my record for everyone to see. It made me look like a little psycho, which Pop knew I wasn’t. He didn’t like the woman’s attitude and he…well, she got fired soon after. Turned out I wasn’t the only kid she was shafting.”
“Good. And then?”
“And then a better social worker took her place. The letter opener guy was denied a foster license after that and the reason was put in his permanent record.”
Sam lifted his glass, which he’d refilled. Kit was still working on her first glass. “To Harlan McKittrick.”
She smiled and touched her glass to his. “Best father ever. The second incident, where I put sleeping pills in the foster father’s whiskey? I kept that a secret for years , but Mom and Pop had known all along. That new social worker told Pop that she’d looked into that guy, too. I got Wren out, but the next girls who were placed there weren’t so lucky. The new social worker believed the girls, and that guy served time and is now a registered sex offender.”
She hadn’t shared the part about sleeping pills with Connor, and Sam wondered why. He wondered if this was what she’d been hiding. But he wasn’t going to ask. She’d tell him or she wouldn’t. Either way, he was happy to be by her side. “Excellent.”
She tilted her head. “That was it?”
“Yes. I figured they were no longer foster parents because I didn’t think you’d let that go on. But I’m even happier knowing it was Harlan who made sure they were punished.”
“He and Mom are the best.”
Sam considered telling her that his parents wanted to meet hers, but he figured that would scare her and he wasn’t ready for the evening to be over yet. He rose and held out his hand. “I’ll do the dishes later and return Akiko’s stuff to her. Let’s sit on the couch for a while.”
She swallowed hard and let him pull her to her feet. “Okay.”
She was clearly nervous and he didn’t want her to be. He cupped her cheek in his palm, gratified when she leaned into his touch. “To talk. And maybe have some dessert.”
She closed her eyes, still leaning into his palm. “That’s a little boring, don’t you think?”
He slowly drew in a breath, hoping he’d understood. “What would liven things up?”
“Something like this?” She slipped her hand behind his neck and drew his head down.
And kissed him.
It had been only a week since she’d last kissed him, but he felt like it had been twenty years. He made a little needy sound that might have embarrassed him if she hadn’t echoed it, rising on her toes to get closer. Sam kept one hand on her face and slid the other down her back, drawing her to him, elated when she allowed it.
The kiss went on. It wasn’t hot, not yet. Nor over-the-top passionate. Not yet.
This was a learning kiss. Sweet, yet far from simple. His body responded, but he could control himself. For her. Always for her.
Finally, she eased her heels back to the floor, her eyes opening to lock on his. “You are a very good kisser, Sam Reeves.”
His heart stuttered in his chest. “I’ll be better with practice.”
Her lips curved. “I bet you will be.”
Sam had leaned in to kiss her again when someone knocked on his door. Hard.
No way. No freaking way.
Sam’s head whipped around and he glared at the door, willing whoever it was to go away, but the kiss ruiner knocked again, even harder.
Kit sighed. “You’d better get that.”
Sam was halfway to the door, grumbling under his breath, when his caller knocked a third time. “I’m coming, dammit! Keep your pants on.”
He heard Kit give a little snort-giggle as he opened the door and frowned. “Navarro?”
Lieutenant Navarro stood there, his fist poised to knock a fourth time. He looked around Sam and blew out a relieved breath when he saw Kit. “Can I come in? It’s important.”
Sam stepped aside, his mind going a mile a minute. Had the police changed their minds? Would he be held accountable for the shot he’d taken at Peter Shoemaker?
Sam closed the door and walked over to where Kit stood. She too was eyeing Navarro nervously.
“What’s going on, sir?” she asked.
Navarro gestured to the sofa. “You should sit down.”
She shook her head. “What’s going on? Tell me. Is it my father? My mother? Rita?”
“No, no.” Navarro lifted his hands in a placating way. “They’re fine. I’m surprised they’re not here yet. I figured they’d rush over when they finally told me that you were here with Sam.” He glanced at the table, at the pretty china and the bottle of champagne. “I’m really sorry.”
“Why?” Kit asked, the single word coming out sharp and almost deadly.
Navarro squared his shoulders. “I’ve spent all day going through Munro’s dead-man’s-switch list. The three-ring binder.”
“I know what it is,” Kit said, without a note of inflection in her voice.
“There was…is a blackmail ‘victim’ on the list.” He used air quotes. “His crime was murder.”
Kit never moved a muscle. Her face seemed frozen in a neutral expression. Sam moved behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Just spit it out, Navarro,” he said. “You’re scaring her.”
“He’s pissing me off,” Kit snarled.
Navarro briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were filled with sorrow and trepidation. “This murderer threw his victim—a fifteen-year-old girl—into a dumpster.”
Like Wren had been, more than sixteen years ago.
Kit stiffened. “What?” she whispered.
Sam led her back to one of the dining room table chairs and gently pushed her to sit. That she followed without complaint was testament to how shocked she really was. “Who?” Sam asked. “And when?”
“It’s a fake name. A few of the names are fake. I don’t know why, not yet. He’s listed as John Smith. He’s been paying Munro for five years. Ten thousand a month. He might have nothing to do with Wren. He might be another sick bastard who treats his victims like garbage. But I didn’t want you to come in tomorrow and see this. Not with everyone around.”
Kit was staring off into space, her eyes unseeing. Sam ran his hand over her hair, resting his palm on the side of her neck. She didn’t move. Didn’t react at all.
“Kit?” Navarro asked, coming to crouch in front of her. “Say something. Please.”
She swallowed. “Thank you for telling me.”
That was all? Sam thought she’d be furious with the man who’d killed a girl and thrown her body in a dumpster. With Munro for knowing it was happening and not telling the authorities.
With Navarro for being the bearer of bad news.
But she didn’t get mad. She was just…numb.
Sam bent to kiss the top of her head. “Come on, Kit. I’ll take you home. To McKittrick House. Your parents will need you and you need them.”
She nodded, rising to begin gathering Akiko’s things.
“I’ll do that later,” Sam said, gently taking her hand. “Come now. Let’s go to Harlan and Betsy.”
“Okay.” She walked to the front door like a zombie, but then turned to Navarro. “We’re reopening Wren’s case?”
“Yes. I’m giving it to Marshall and Ashton.”
Kit nodded once. “Okay. Thank you.”
“I’m sorry, Kit,” Navarro said again. “I’m so sorry.” He did look sorry. He looked devastated. “We’ll find this guy and, even if he had nothing to do with Wren, we will make him pay.”
Kit’s lips firmed and her eyes grew sharp again, making Sam breathe a sigh of relief. “You’ll keep me up to date with every step of the investigation?”
“As much as I’m able,” Navarro promised. “I’ll see myself out.” He paused as he passed Kit, still standing by the door. “I didn’t tell your parents. I only got them to tell me where you were. I needed to tell you first.”
“We’ll tell them,” Sam said.
Navarro left and Sam turned Kit so that her head was close to his shoulder. But she didn’t lean in. She didn’t move at all. He didn’t put his arms around her. He thought she seemed too fragile for that at the moment. But he did rest his cheek atop her head.
“I’m here for you. I have your back. A lot of people do.”
Kit nodded. “If I find him,” she murmured, “I will kill him.”
“And if you kill him,” Sam promised with complete sincerity, “I’ll help you hide the body.”
She hiccuped, half laugh and half sob. And then the dam broke and she leaned into him, sobbing like a child. “I miss her. So much.”
“I know.”
“I’m going to find him, whoever did this. And I’ll make him wish he had never been born.”
“I know. I believe in you, Kit McKittrick.”
After a few minutes, the sobs had quieted and she lifted her head, her pretty face streaked with tears. “Thank you, Sam. I’m…glad you were with me. I…needed you.”
For some people, that wouldn’t be a huge declaration. For Kit, it was everything.
Sam pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m glad I was with you, too. I won’t leave, Kit. Not unless you ask me to go.”
Her arms came around his waist and she held on. “I’m not a good bet.”
“Too bad. I’ve already made up my mind. If you want me, I’m yours.”
“I should tell you no. I shouldn’t be selfish and keep you. But…yes. I want this. I want you. In my life. Don’t go. Please, don’t go.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
And Sam Reeves always kept his promises.