Chapter 14 #3
"You've earned it."
"But I do need time to think." Jade met Diana's gaze. "A two-year commitment is significant."
Something knowing flickered in Diana's eyes. "It is. Take until Wednesday to decide. That gives you a couple days to consider what you want and to have conversations."
What she wanted. As if Jade didn't already know.
She wanted the work. She wanted to keep building these programs and keep helping the officers who'd started to trust her. She wanted the professional validation of a department that valued what she brought.
And she wanted Maddox. She wanted the mornings waking up tangled together, wanted Zeus greeting her at the door, wanted the hikes and the quiet evenings and the life they'd been building without quite naming it yet.
She wanted both, and she didn't want to have to choose between them.
"Thank you," Jade said. "I'll have an answer for you Wednesday."
Diana stood, and Jade followed suit. But instead of moving toward the door, Diana stayed behind her desk, regarding Jade with that careful attention.
"Off the record?" Diana's voice shifted, losing some of its professional edge.
Jade nodded.
"You've built something good here. Professionally and personally." Diana's mouth turned upward slightly. "Phoenix Ridge suits you."
The words nestled in Jade's chest, warm and certain. "Yeah. It does."
“Then I hope you’ll choose to stay.”
Jade left the office with the contract proposal in hand, her mind already spinning through possibilities.
She walked back through the station to her converted conference room office, closing the door behind her.
She had three client sessions scheduled for the afternoon, but first, she needed a moment to process.
She pulled out her phone, her fingers hovering over Maddox's contact. They'd planned to meet for lunch later this week, but suddenly that felt too far away.
Jade: “Good news. Want to talk tonight?”
The response came within seconds.
Maddox: “Always. Your place or mine?”
Jade smiled, typing back, “Yours. I'll bring dinner.”
Maddox: “Can't wait.”
She knew then that whatever she decided about their contract, they’d figure it out together.
The rest of her workday passed in a blur of sessions and paperwork, but underneath it all ran that current of excitement. She had a chance to really build something here. By the time she left the station at five, she'd made up her mind. She just needed to say it out loud to Maddox first.
She stopped at the grocery store on the way, picking up ingredients for the pasta dish Maddox had mentioned loving. The familiar routine of shopping—selecting vegetables, choosing wine, grabbing fresh pasta—felt grounding after the morning's revelations.
The drive to Maddox's house felt familiar now. Maddox's old but well-maintained truck sat in the driveway, and Zeus started barking before Jade even got out of the car. The front door opened, and there was Maddox, still in her work clothes, Zeus pushing past her to get to Jade first.
"Hey, buddy." Jade crouched, accepting Zeus's enthusiastic greeting of licks and tail wags and that full-body wiggle that meant he was genuinely happy to see her. "Yeah, I know. I missed you too."
When she looked up, Maddox was leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed as she watched them with that soft expression that still caught Jade off guard sometimes, like she couldn't quite believe this was her life.
Jade stood, grocery bags in hand. "Help me with these?"
"Of course." Maddox took the bags, but not before brushing a kiss against Jade's temple, brief and casual, the kind of greeting they'd fallen into over the past few weeks.
Inside, they moved through the familiar routine: Jade unpacking groceries, Maddox starting water for pasta, and Zeus settling on his bed to supervise.
"So," Maddox said, pulling a cutting board from the cabinet. "You have good news?"
Jade started chopping vegetables while she organized her thoughts. This felt important enough that she wanted to get the words right.
"Diana offered me a contract extension," she began. "But it’s not just a renewal. It’s for two years, and it comes with expanded responsibilities. I’ll have a dedicated office and budget for new programs, and I’ll develop training.
" She paused, setting down the knife to look at Maddox.
"And it comes with a significant salary increase. "
Maddox's face lit up with pride. "Jade, that's incredible. I’m so happy for you."
Her body relaxed. “Thank you. It’s a big commitment. Two years.”
"Yes, but you've earned it." Maddox moved closer, resting her hip against the counter. "Your work here has been transformative. Officers actually talk about their shit now instead of white-knuckling through it or taking it out on others."
Jade smiled despite the nervous energy still humming through her. "Speaking from experience?"
"Definitely speaking from experience." Maddox's hand found Jade's, their fingers tangling together. "So what did you tell her?"
"That I needed a couple days to think about it."
Something shifted in Maddox's expression—not quite concern, but a careful neutrality that Jade recognized. It was the look Maddox got when she was trying not to influence something important.
"Do you want to take it?" Maddox asked quietly.
This was the moment, the question underneath the question. Jade turned toward her fully, leaving the vegetables forgotten on the cutting board. She took both of Maddox's hands, needing the touch to ground her for what came next.
"Two years in Phoenix Ridge means"—she paused, making sure Maddox was really hearing her—"it means I'm staying and building a career here. Putting down roots."
"Okay."
"It means I'm choosing this." Jade squeezed Maddox's hands. "The job, yes. But also this city, this life. You."
Maddox's throat worked as she swallowed. "Is that what you want?"
"Yes." There was zero hesitation in her voice.
"I want the work and to build these programs, but I also want mornings waking up with you.
I want Zeus knocking me over when I come through the door.
I want hikes and lazy Sundays and this." She gestured around the kitchen, at the domesticity they'd built.
"I want both. And for the first time, I don't have to choose between my career and a personal life. I can have both."
Maddox pulled her close, and Jade went willingly, tucking her face against Maddox's shoulder where she always felt safe. She felt Maddox's arms tighten around her.
"Then say yes," Maddox murmured against her hair. "Take the contract. Stay."
Jade pulled back just enough to see Maddox's face. "You're sure?"
"Of course I'm sure." Those dark eyes were steady, no doubt or shadows visible. "I want you here. I want this."
The weight Jade had been carrying since leaving Diana's office finally lifted. She was getting a chance to have both. "Okay," she said. "I'll tell her yes on Wednesday."
Maddox kissed her then, slow and sweet and full of promise. When they broke apart, Zeus was standing between them, his tail wagging, clearly annoyed he'd been excluded from whatever important moment just happened.
"Alright, buddy." Jade scratched his ears. "You're included too."
After dinner, they moved to the back porch with their wine, Zeus sprawled between their chairs.
The summer evening settled around them, warm and peaceful, the trees catching the last of the daylight.
Jade sipped her wine, feeling the day's tension finally release from her shoulders.
She was letting the decision settle deep within her.
"Hey," Maddox said quietly, and something in her tone made Jade look over.
"Yeah?"
Maddox was staring out at the trees, her jaw working like she was gathering courage for something. "Your lease. When does it end?"
"End of next month." Jade studied Maddox's profile, sensing something significant coming. "Why?"
Maddox turned to face her, and in the fading light, Jade could see the vulnerability there, the same look Maddox got when she was about to take a leap she wasn't entirely sure she'd survive.
"You could..." Maddox paused, then seemed to decide something. "You could stay here. Move in, I mean. If you want."
Jade's heart stopped, then started again, faster. "You're asking me to move in?"
"Yes." Maddox's voice was even now. "I'm asking. If it's too soon, we can—"
"It's not too soon." Jade set down her wine glass before she spilled any. "Yes. I want to."
They stared at each other for a beat, both slightly stunned that this was actually happening. Then Maddox was grinning and Jade was laughing and Zeus was on his feet, his tail wagging because clearly something exciting was happening.
“We’re really doing this?” Jade asked.
“Looks like it.” Maddox stood, pulling Jade up with her. “Just another step to building a life.”
“Yeah.” Jade wrapped her arms around Maddox’s neck.
The kiss was deeper this time, full of promise and certainty and the future they were choosing together. When they broke apart, Zeus pushed between them.
“You, too, buddy,” Maddox said, crouching to scratch Zeus's ears. "All of us. Our pack is complete."
Jade looked at them, first to Maddox and Zeus, then this house surrounded by trees, and the evening light turning everything golden. She felt a calm weight anchor itself inside her.
Home. This was home.
Not just the place, but the people and the life they were building together.
She'd come to Phoenix Ridge six months ago running from a relationship that made her feel like she was too much. And in that wreckage and hurt, she'd found this: a woman who needed exactly what she had to give, a job that valued her work, and a community that embraced her.
It was a future worth choosing.
"Come on," Maddox said, straightening up and taking Jade's hand. "Let's figure out how we make this place ours."