Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Huck shut his door and crossed around to meet her in front of Staggers Ice Creamery, his steps sure despite the slick ground.
They’d had a quiet night together, and she’d slept well. “Thanks for inviting me to stay last night,” she said, meaning it.
He looked down at her, his gaze steady, expression softening. Today, he appeared strong and broad, wrapped in a flannel shirt that stretched over shoulders built for endurance and hard work. The gray mist hanging in the air framed him, making the bourbon color of his eyes appear calm and mellow. His facial muscles were relaxed, and his thick, dark hair had grown out a little longer than usual. She wondered how often he remembered to get it cut, if at all.
He’d shaved the sharp, rugged line of his jaw, but she knew from experience that by midafternoon he’d have a five o’clock shadow, stubborn stubble determined to reassert itself by three o’clock. The thought amused her.
“What do you think about moving in with me?” he asked, his voice gruff as he opened the door for them.
She blinked, caught off guard by the question, her brain still groggy from the warmth of his bed and the rare luxury of sleep uninterrupted by nightmares or phone calls.
She’d been moving forward on her plans to build the barndominium on her mother’s property. The blueprints were rough but coming together—something small but solid, efficient and functional. She enjoyed living with Deidre, even if her mother’s brand of nosiness tended to veer into interrogation territory. Still, her own space sounded nice. A place that was hers, maybe theirs, but that was a different sort of commitment.
“I don’t know,” she admitted, because honesty was easier than trying to wrap the answer up in polite evasion.
Huck swallowed. “We were making plans to move in together just a month ago.”
“Yes, but I was pregnant with your child. We both decided that was the best path for the baby.”
He looked away, a flicker passing through his eyes before he met hers again. “I understand that. But I think we should still make plans to move forward. With the two of us.”
She held his gaze, thinking through every scenario. It wasn’t stubbornness; it was survival. She’d never lived with a man before. Not really. Her last boyfriend had been, as Kate would put it, a jackass. The sort of man who couldn’t understand her dedication to her job.
But Huck was different. He understood the long hours, the unpredictability. He wasn’t threatened by her work because he had his own life, his own duties, his own frustrations to wrestle with. But he wanted something solid with her. That much was clear.
Often, their cases did cross paths, which could create a sort of conflict. More logistical than personal, though it could still scrape raw if left unchecked. But that had paled in comparison to what was best for the baby and the family they had been trying to form.
Now, there was no baby and no family. Just two people trying to pick up the pieces of what they’d been building.
She saw the hope in his eyes, a quiet determination that refused to be brushed aside. Huck didn’t do halfway. Not with his work, not with his feelings. And not with her.
The realization tightened her chest, but she forced herself to breathe through it. Focus. Process. Evaluate. The same methodical approach she applied to everything else, even when her emotions wanted to claw their way into the equation.
She’d made her life about duty and loyalty. To her job, her family, her principles. But Huck was asking her for something more. And maybe it was time she started figuring out what she really wanted.
“Just think about it. All right?” Huck’s voice remained steady.
“Of course I will.” Thinking about everything was what she did best. Weighing probabilities, considering angles, analyzing risk. But it was different when the subject of examination was her own life.
She left him in the vestibule, scanned her ID against the plate with a quick swipe, the small beep confirming access. As Huck disappeared into his office, probably planning to pore over the stacks of files he kept like an unintentional barricade against the rest of the world, the outside door swung open behind her.
“Oh, wait, wait. Agent Snow, wait a second.”
The voice was familiar. She turned partially, keeping her hand on the open door to shut it at any moment.
Tim Kohnex strolled inside, his dog trailing behind him. Kohnex was an ex-basketball player in his fifties, tall enough to make her feel like a kid. His frame was wiry now, the kind of lean that spoke more of obsessive running than the muscle he’d once built on the court. His gaze fixed on her with the sort of intensity that made most people back away.
“I think you’re here to see Captain Rivers at Fish and Wildlife.” Laurel’s hand remained on the door, fingers tight against the cool metal.