26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
DYLAN
“You’ll be here, then?” my dad verified for the third time since we’d been on the phone that I would, in fact, be making it home for my mom’s birthday in three weeks.
“Yes, shouldn’t be a problem.” This case better be wrapped up by then. If not, I’d lose my fucking mind.
“Okay.” Dad sighed. “Just want this party to be perfect for her.”
My dad had been planning this for months, and given it was my mom’s sixtieth, he wanted to go all out.
A smile lifted my lips at the idea of bringing Hattie home to meet my parents. “Mind if I bring someone with me?”
Was it too soon for this step? Maybe…
I glanced up at the opening to the kitchen in hopes of seeing her. She was usually down by eight thirty, yet the clock was inching toward eight forty.
“Oh,” my dad started, his tone suddenly low. “Did you and Becca get back together?”
“No.” My gut twisted at the thought. Why on earth would he think that? “Not Becca. I’m dating someone new.”
“That’s great.” He perked up, his voice jovial again. “Definitely bring her.”
We chatted about Hattie and plans for the party for a few minutes, but when a knock sounded at my front door, I said my goodbyes and hustled for the entryway.
After checking my doorbell camera, I opened the door to the dark-haired man cautiously.
Quickly, he introduced himself as Seabass. Everything about the guy screamed special ops, even his name. Had to be a nickname.
When, in his next breath, he explained that Kyle had called and told him I could use his help, I glared.
“Kyle did what?” I must have misheard the guy.
He cocked his head. “I’m gathering he didn’t mention I was coming?”
No, Hattie’s overbearing pain-in-the-ass brother did not mention he was sending a fucking frogman to assist me with my case.
Jesus . Red crowded my vision. I’d never noticed until this debacle began just how nosy and over-stepping Hattie’s family could be.
“He did not.”
On Sunday, Kyle had made it clear he was frustrated. So was I, but I assumed he had faith in me, in the entire damn police department. Clearly, I was wrong. Yesterday, Aiden and I had spent fifteen hours combing through footage from outside cameras around and near The Dock and examining the names of buyers we received from the place that had sold the blue lady orchids. So far, we were only looking at buyers who’d provided addresses located in North Carolina, but none lived here in Half Moon Lake.
I didn’t need more help. I needed this douchebag to make a mistake. I needed him to show himself. But Seabass worked for the private security firm Kyle had considered working for before ultimately choosing to remain in Half Moon Lake with Tina and the kids. That meant the guy had come all the way from New York.
Not to mention it wasn’t Seabass’s fault Kyle hadn’t bothered to mention to me that he’d asked his friend to come assist.
I waved him in and led him into the kitchen. I spent the next fifteen minutes updating him on where we were on the case.
Hattie stepped into the kitchen as the coffeepot was brewing.
“Coffee’s almost ready, and this is Seabass. Your brother sent him to help us out.”
“Oh, that works out perfectly.” The smile she directed at me came off forced. She was probably even more annoyed than I was about Kyle over-stepping. “Now you don’t have to ask Ethan to stay here with me today. Seabass can.”
Damn. I’d forgotten that she was off today since she’d closed for Rhett on Wednesday night. The smile she wore when she greeted Seabass was anything but forced. Almost flirty.
What the fuck? I planned to come home to give her a case update after her text last night, so it was strange to find she was already asleep. On top of that, she was back in the guest room rather than in my bed. I was tempted to climb in beside her, but I didn’t want to wake her. All this shit was stressful. She probably needed the rest. So after a kiss on the forehead, I went back to my bed.
Now she was flirting with this asshole? Was she pissed that I’d worked late last night? Becca had always taken issue with the unpredictable hours, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Although I had hoped that Hattie would be different, and until this moment, she’d seemed to be.
But not only had I seen it in my own relationships, but in relationships throughout the station. I wanted this to work, though, so first, I had to get rid of Seabass. Then we could talk.
“I’m planning to work from home today,” I blurted out.
Hattie narrowed her eyes at me. What the hell? Was she seriously upset about it? Seabass cocked a brow, clearly reading into the expression the same way. But I didn’t care, and I sure as hell wasn’t leaving her here with him all day.
“You should head to the station,” I told Seabass. “Getting a fresh pair of eyes on what we have so far would be good. I’ll let Aiden know you’re coming.”
Fifteen minutes later, Seabass was gone, and I was exhaling a sigh of relief. I’d lose my damn mind if I had to watch Hattie smile at and laugh with this guy any longer. Especially when she was giving me nothing but indifference.
I turned to head back into the kitchen and almost collided with her. She jumped back, then turned, as if trying to brush past me. With a sharp breath in, I grabbed her forearm, but when she flinched and pulled away, I immediately released her and stepped back.
What the hell was going on?
I was fucking great at my job, but unfortunately, I couldn’t read minds. We needed to have a conversation. Becca and I hadn’t communicated well, and I’d learned the importance of being transparent—and asking for transparency from my partner—a little too late in that relationship.
“What’s up with you?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest, bracing myself, certain a blow was coming.
As much as it killed me to think that Hattie couldn’t handle the way my job affected my personal life, I’d rather know now than weeks or months down the road when I was more invested. Even now, though, I was already pretty damn invested. It was why I was busting my ass to solve this fucking case. For her. For us.
“What do you mean?” Her words were laced with feigned nonchalance. Maybe the act would fool most people, but I’d been trained to read body language and expressions, as well as tone of voice. And there was no hiding her stiff posture or the pain swimming in her eyes.
I sighed and let my hands fall to my sides. Talking about it now would hopefully allow us to figure out the best way to handle issues we were met with in the future. I wasn’t planning to let her walk away without putting up a fight.
“I thought it was weird that you fell asleep in the guest room last night, but brushed it off, assuming you were tired and didn’t want me to wake you when I came in.”
She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing, but she didn’t respond.
“Then this morning, you were openly flirting with Seabass.”
She opened her mouth and sucked in a breath like she was ready to argue, but I went on before she could.
“And just now, you literally flinched at my touch. Please, if you’re mad at me, just tell me. Because I’m at a loss. What did I do to upset you?”
She stared at me for what felt like forever before she sighed and wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach. “I’m not mad. I realize that we haven’t had a real conversation about what’s going on between us. But I’m not interested in anything temporary…”
Good. Neither was I, but what did that have to do with her strange behavior?
“And I don’t know…maybe you changed your mind,” she rambled on. “But it’s fine. I got your message yesterday.”
My message? Changed my mind? About what? What the hell was she talking about? We barely spoke yesterday, other than for a minute before I left for work and a few random texts throughout the day. None of those messages were about anything important. Were they? Maybe I needed more sleep, because my brain was having a hard time putting the pieces together.
She shifted on her feet and looked away, her throat bobbing.
“Hattie, if you’ve decided you can’t handle my job, I understand. I’ve heard it before. It’s a lot.”
She frowned, her brows pulled low as she studied me.
“I’m usually good at deciphering things, but I’ll be honest, I’m lost.”
She locked eyes with me, her irises swirling with indecision.
“Can we sit and talk?” I waved at the open archway that led into the living room.
With a nod, she shuffled to one sofa. Rather than sitting across from her, I sat right next to her so our thighs touched. Then I forced myself to give her a smirk. “Maybe my brain is too full of thoughts of you and this case, because it’s not working too well. But I need you to spell it out for me. What’s the problem?”
She sighed, head bowed and fingers fiddling with the hem of her shorts. “On Wednesday, after you thought you saw someone outside the restaurant, it seemed like you didn’t want me in your bed. Then yesterday, you had Ethan drive me. That’s fine, I swear. But then you didn’t even come out to say hi when I brought your lunch to the station.”
My stomach sank. She delivered my lunch? Shit. If I’d known, I would have had Chris send her back. Not sure why he didn’t say something. And why the fuck didn’t Ethan give me a heads-up?
Hey asshole, probably because you haven’t told any of them she’s officially your girl .
As far as any of them knew, we were only letting people think that in order to draw out the stalker.
With a huff, Hattie went on, her words tumbling out quickly, making it difficult to keep up. “I texted you in the car when Ethan brought me back here, but you only responded with one-word answers and then you didn’t text to let me know you’d be late. I waited up, but when I started dozing on the couch and you still weren’t home, I went to bed.” She looked down at her hands, wringing them. “It felt like maybe you had changed your mind. Or that you weren’t looking to get involved in a relationship.” She slowly looked back up, meeting my gaze once more before squaring her shoulders. “I need to know what we’re doing. If I don’t, then I’ll end up listening to my stupid insecurities like I have been for the last twenty-four hours.”
Gut twisting, I grasped her hand. “I’m sorry if I’ve been distant and not super fucking clear about my intentions.” I pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I have not changed my mind, and I sure as hell don’t want something casual or temporary.”
She smiled, and a blush crept up her neck. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I chuckled. “You’re the reason I’ve been hyper focused on finding this guy since Wednesday night. The thought of him watching us, getting that close to you that night, made me angry and scared all at the same time. If anything happened to you because I was distracted, I’d never forgive myself.”
She squeezed my hand. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
With my hands on her hips, I guided her onto my lap. She melted into my chest and let me hold her. Let me breathe in the intoxicating smell of rain. My dick jumped in my pants, but right now, that was not the priority. Making sure Hattie knew exactly what I wanted was. I was not walking away from her until she understood that I wanted her, insecurities and all. I couldn’t fault her for them. Not when I had my own. And the only way this would work was if we communicated clearly.
“I need to solve this, Hattie. I need to know you’re safe and that we can finally be together without having to look over our shoulders or worry that some creep is out there watching and waiting until the perfect moment to hurt you or take you from me.”
Whimpering, she clung to me. My chest tightened at the mixture of fear and devotion radiating from her. With a knuckle under her chin, I tilted her face up. Brushing my thumb along her lower lip, I searched her expression for an indication that she truly understood.
“You really mean that? Like this is…I mean we’re…” Her nose scrunched in the cutest way.
I rested a hand on her knee and pressed a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. “Yes, Hattie. I really mean that. This isn’t something casual, at least not for me.”
“Me either.” She shook her head and shifted in my lap, the move causing her thigh to brush against my already hard as fuck cock.
I groaned, desperate to be inside her. But I needed to tell her one more truth, and I hoped like hell it wouldn’t change things for her. “But there will be times like this, where I spend hours at the station, desperate to solve a case. It becomes an obsession, almost. It’s been a point of contention in most of my relationships. Even before I took the detective exam, I picked up extra shifts, worked toward my next rank, or volunteered to help Aiden and his old partner before he retired. I promise to try harder to be mindful of that and to clue you in. But a cop’s life is not an easy life?—”
She placed a finger on my lips. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. But I promise, as long as you tell me we’re good and you’re just busy, I can handle that. Your job is important. I’d never expect you to put my happiness above the safety of another person.”
Heart clenching, I nodded. “Do you mind if I tell Rhett about us before we tell anyone else? I feel like he needs to hear it from me first.”
She chuckled. “Remind him that I have a mean right hook and warn him that he’ll be reacquainted with it if he even thinks about laying a finger on you.”
Shit. The mention of a punch was a harsh reminder of how Rhett hit Jackson when he found out he was sleeping with Ashley. I cringed. Hopefully my conversation with him would go more smoothly. But if it didn’t, I’d stand my ground and tell him nothing was changing.
I was in love with his sister.