Chapter Twenty-Four
Rick
Rick couldn’t sit still, pacing back and forth across the living room, being careful not to catch his foot in the decorative rug on her floor.
He hadn’t taken a lot of time to appreciate the room and its simplistic setup, and now, when he needed a distraction, his gaze swept over the boneless gray couch he’d been sleeping on the last few nights, the snowman blanket folded over the back.
Pumpkin’s enclosure resembled a cabinet at the bottom, and three out of the four walls of his enclosure were made of glass.
There were no pictures around the room except for a framed black-and-white photograph of the town square.
It was nothing like the colorful, girlish dorm room she’d left behind.
After she’d taken off, Rick went to her dorm, speaking to her neighbors, and the RA let him inside the room that she’d shared with Elasia.
Both sides of the room were fairly clean, although Elasia’s had more clutter, but he remembered the walls on Kaylee’s side of the room had been covered with photographs of her family, friends, and even a few of Kaylee hugging a cat or a dog.
Ansel and his bikers had sucked the color out of Kaylee’s life, and he wanted it back for her.
He’d been waiting for her to come out for over an hour, his gut twisting with nerves. Did she regret what happened between them? Did she think he would use it against her, to get her to testify?
Damn, he hoped not, because he’d never be that big of an asshole.
Her bedroom door finally opened, and Rick spun around so fast, he nearly lost his balance. Her hair was wet and thrown up in a hair tie on top of her head. Wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, she padded across the wood floor in her bare feet, looking sheepish.
“How did I startle you? This is my house.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought maybe you were going to sneak out the window and escape.”
“No,” she said, her expression serious. “I’m through running.”
“What does that mean?”
“When you arrest them, I’ll testify.” His heart jumped in his throat. “I’m still scared out of my mind, but Elasia deserves justice.”
Rick wanted to hug her and tell her again that she’d be okay, but after everything that happened between them, he was afraid that she’d tell him to go to hell.
He’d taken advantage of her when he was staying in her house, and she was scared.
At the time, he hadn’t realized the underlying issues that had led to what happened between them, but his power over her had tainted their relationship, and he owed her an apology.
He just wasn’t sure how to broach the subject.
“About earlier,” she said, tugging at the bottom of her sweatshirt, “I want you to know that having sex with you was completely separate from my decision to testify.”
“It still shouldn’t have happened, though,” he said, watching her reel back like he’d struck her.
“What?”
“I shouldn’t have come on to you like that. I’m supposed to be keeping you safe, and instead I took advantage of your trust and hospitality—”
“Hospitality is a strong word,” she said, smirking. “Considering I didn’t invite you to stay in the first place.”
Her tone was playful, teasing, but it actually made him feel more like a douche.
“I still shouldn’t have done it.” Kaylee stepped closer, studying him with intense scrutiny, and he shifted from foot to foot. “What?”
“Did you lie to me?” she asked.
“About what?”
Her expression was earnest. “About wanting me?”
“What? No!” This time, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching for her, but she stepped back.
“Then, when you said I was yours and if another man even looked at me, you’d tear him to pieces, that was all bullshit?”
He didn’t let her escape him, trapping her in his embrace. “I meant every fucking word.”
“Then stop apologizing,” she said harshly.
“If you want another agent to be my keeper because you feel some type of way about us, fine. But when you apologize, it means we did something wrong, and we didn’t.
I’m a consenting adult who enjoyed several intense orgasms with a single— You are single, right? ”
“Yes,” he said, fighting a smile.
“Another single adult. So what about that is wrong?”
“I can’t think of a thing.” Rick leaned down as if trying to kiss her, but she turned her head, placing both hands against his chest.
“Uh-uh, not so fast! Now that we have that out of the way, I have some conditions about my testimony.”
“What are they?”
“I’m not going anywhere until after Christmas.
I’ve signed up to bake cookies for the Christmas dance, and I’m not bailing on Dana and the rest of the town.
Besides, I have a bunch of things I want to do over the next few weeks in case something happens to me, so even if your powers that be come back and say Bring her in, I need you to promise me you will wait. ”
Rick realized he was a goner when he didn’t even hesitate to say, “I promise.” If his bosses took issue, he didn’t mind telling them to calm the fuck down.
It was becoming painfully clear that despite everything that happened in the past, he’d do anything for her. “What are these things you need to do?”
She paused, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it slowly and said, “I made a list.”
Rick took it from her and read the first line. “Go ice-skating.”
“I know it sounds silly, but I’ve never been and always wanted to learn.”
“Why haven’t you gone before now?” he asked.
“We didn’t have a rink near us, and life kind of got in the way.”
His eyes skimmed over the paper, hiking a brow. “This list is pretty simplistic. No trip to Paris or desire to swim with sharks?”
Kaylee grimaced. “I actually have no desire to travel anywhere, and sharks scare me. And besides, I only have a few weeks while maintaining a low profile.”
“You don’t want to travel?” he asked.
“No,” she drawled out, and he laughed. “Why is that so shocking? Haven’t you figured out I’m not the adventurous type? My favorite time of day is being able to come home, change into loungewear, and binge-watch or read something.”
“Most people have at least one spot they want to see on their bucket list.”
“I do. I want to see the view from the top of a mountain. I’m afraid of heights, so I’ve always been too scared to, and I don’t want to ski or snowboard. I could get hurt.”
“Have you ever considered selling life insurance?” Rick said dryly. “You could list all the ways someone could die—”
“Make fun of me all you want, but these are my conditions. Take it or leave it.”
Rick held up the list again. “So, no Hawaii or Australia?”
“Hawaii is so hot and humid, and their mosquitoes are the size of cats. And everything in Australia can kill you. No, thank you.”
He kept reading. “Do something that matters.” He met her gaze over the top of the paper and smiled warmly. “I think you’ve got that covered.”
“How, by making coffee?”
“Putting bad guys away.”
Kaylee’s face flushed. “Like you said, it’s the right thing to do. I’m thinking of something else, smaller.”
“You let me know when you figure out what that is.” Rick went back to the list, ticking off each item as he read it.
“Cut down my own Christmas tree. Learn how to drive a snowmobile. Try to master the two-step.” Rick quirked a brow.
“I don’t think we have time to head down to Texas and visit any honky-tonks. ”
“There is a Christmas dance at the community hall, smart-ass. At every dance in this town, they are always swinging around the dance floor.”
“Sounds like you’ve got this figured out.” Rick spotted number nineteen and grinned. “Wait.”
“What?”
Rick folded up her list and handed it back. “I think we can check one off your list right now.”