by Elle E Kay
Justine's heart ached. How could they ever make it work? Maybe this job interview would pan out. They'd talked about having her work out of the Phoenix field office or even possibly opening a satellite office in Buckeye. She could commute to and from Phoenix from her mother's house, but it would be a long drive. If she could work from Buckeye it would be ideal. If, she got the job, that was. It was a big if. It wasn't like she was the only candidate. They'd interviewed several other qualified agents.
"What are you thinking about?" Brady reached over and took her hand in his while he continued driving back to his place.
"About that interview I had this morning."
"How did it go?"
"I'm not sure yet."
"What's it for?"
"A supervisory position."
"Wow. That's quite a promotion." Brady squeezed her hand.
"It will be if I get it." She sighed.
"I'm sure you'll get it."
"I hope so."
They pulled up beside her car and he came around to open her door.
"Thank you for tonight, Brady."
"You're welcome. It was great. When can we do it again?" He took her hands in his.
"I don't know yet." She pulled her hands back.
"Don't run away from this. I know you're scared and freaked out by the timing and the whole rebound thing, but I can tell you have the same feelings I do. Don't let fear ruin this. Promise me you'll pray about it."
"I will. I'll definitely pray about it."
"That's all I can ask."
She leaned close to him and put her head on his chest.
His arms closed around her and he held her for several minutes before walking her to her car. "I would invite you in, but we both know it would be a bad idea."
"Yes, it would," she said.
"Are you staying up here tonight or flying back to Virginia?"
"I'm going to stay at mother's house and I'll fly home in the morning."
"Text me when you get there, please."
"I will."
He kissed her gently this time and she didn't deepen the kiss because she didn't know how to keep the flood of emotions that accompanied his kisses from overwhelming her. The drive home to her mother's place left her filled with anticipation for the next kiss she would share with Brady and the hope that he would be the one. The man she could fall in love with. If she hadn't already.
∞∞∞
Brady dialed Grayson's number. "Hey Gray, did you talk to your realtor friend yet?"
"I did. He has a few properties for you to look at. I told him to email them to you."
"Oh. Great. I hadn't checked my email. I'll do so now."
"How's the girl?"
"Justine? She's great. Not a girl. A woman."
"And does she know she's the one yet?"
"I'm trying not to scare her off, but I'm failing. I think she's thought about running more than once."
"Don't be too intense. Take your time. She'll come around if she's the one."
"She's the one."
"You've prayed about it?"
"I have."
"Has she?"
"I asked her to last night," Brady said.
"What did she say?"
"She said she would."
"Maybe she is the one," Gray said.
"She is. Her faith in God is strong. I think she's struggling some because of what's happening with her mother, but she's a believer."
"Wonderful. There is nothing more important for a relationship. Two cannot walk together if they are not agreed."
"You'll get no argument here. I've tried it with other relationships."
"Yeah, me too. I'm glad I married a believer," Gray said.
"I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise."
"Let me know what you think of the properties he sent you. Jenna and I can tag along while you tour them if you want."
"Will she make me some of those cookies?"
"You definitely need your own wife."
Brady chuckled. "That I do, but not for cookies. I'll call you later."
∞∞∞
The call offering Justine the job came early Monday morning. There was nobody to celebrate with. She told Lindy, who perked up her ears slightly, but was otherwise disinterested. "The job is for you too, girl. You could show more enthusiasm."
They hadn't made a final decision about the location for the office, but the possible locations were all within an hour of her mother's place. She picked up the telephone to call Brady, but changed her mind. This was the kind of news he would want to get in person. Maybe she'd take the next couple of days off and fly back to Arizona. She was in-between assignments at work, so she had nothing worthwhile to do in Virginia anyway.
After packing her bags, Justine called a cab to take her to the airport. Lindy jumped in to the passenger seat and looked far more excited than she had been at the news they'd gotten promoted. It seemed as if Lindy knew where they were going and was quite pleased about it.
When their plane landed, Justine rented a car and headed straight to Brady's house. She swallowed her disappointment. He wasn't home. Maybe she should've called first. He was probably working.
She shot him a quick text. "Where r u?"
"Work. Everything okay?"
"Yes. Can you call when u get off work."
"Will do."
After driving to her mother's house, she settled in on the couch with the remote in her hand and Lindy cuddled up beside her. They binge watched Netflix while they waited for Brady's call.
Several hours later her cell rang. "Hello."
"Hi. What's up, princess?"
"Are you done work?"
"I am. I'm headed home now. Why?"
"Do you think you could come here instead?"
"To Virginia?"
"No. To my mother's house."
"You're here? In Arizona?"
"In the flesh."
"I'll be there in ten. I'm not showered from work yet."
"That's fine."
"Just so you know, I would've come to Virginia if you asked me to."
∞∞∞
Brady pulled up to Justine's mother's house. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a pack of gum and some deodorant, so he could freshen up some. He ran his fingers through his hair to remedy the hat head and ambled up to the front door, Blitz at his side. A moment after he rang the doorbell, Justine opened the door and flung herself into his arms.
"This is a welcome surprise." He whispered against her neck.
She leaned back slightly grinning from ear to ear. "Hi."
"Hi, yourself." He traced the outline of her jaw with his thumb. "You're in a jovial mood."
"I am."
"Want to let me in on what's got you in such a great mood?" His cell rang and he glanced down at the screen. "I don't want to answer this."
"But you have to. I'm in law enforcement too. I get it."
He took a few steps away and answered. "Trooper Hall speaking."
"Brady. We've got another one."
"Another what, boss?"
"Bomb threat."
"Really? I thought we were done with those."
"This one is far more personal."
"How so?"
"They're claiming they have bombs in five of our stations."
"If that's true, we're talking five bombs."
"Exactly. We don't have enough teams available to handle this. I'm calling in the FBI again."
"I'm with Justine. Maybe she can get you to the exact people who need to be involved sooner rather than you going through bureaucratic red-tape."
"Perfect. What are you doing with Special Agent Gillespie at this time of night? Never mind, I don't want to know."
Brady handed the telephone off to Justine and listened with a growing admiration as she asked questions and then made phone calls to coordinate a response.
When she finished her phone calls, he pulled her close to him for a brief kiss. "I guess I'm headed bac
k to work."
"I'm coming with you."
"I'm sure Fitz wouldn't have it any other way."
∞∞∞
Justine set up a staging area on the local flea market grounds. It became a place for local, state and federal law-enforcement to coordinate the efforts to assess the threat and determine a suitable course of action. She'd gotten the clearance she needed to take Lindy to the nearest DPS station to sniff out explosives. She hoped it was a hoax, but something in her gut told her there was more to it than that.
Brady drove her and Lindy to the station. She did something she'd never done before. Forgetting caution and professionalism, she kissed Brady without worrying about who was watching. "I intend for Lindy and I to make it out of there alive and when we do, we plan to make a life with you."
"Are you trying to tell me something?"
"I'm falling for you, Brady Hall. I don't want to get near any bombs without telling you how I feel first."
"The feeling is mutual. Hurry back. I'll be waiting."
"I'll do my best, but it's up to Lindy how quickly we clear the building."
She let herself out of the truck and allowed Lindy to lead the way into the station. Justine found herself jumping at every sound. Maybe she wasn't ready to do her job again. She had been through a traumatic event whether she wanted to admit it or not. Lindy did her job efficiently, while Justine followed her from room to room. When they'd cleared the building, they made their way back outside. Brady was waiting by the door.
"You were supposed to wait a safe distance from the building."
"I know."
"Yet, you completely ignored the directive."
"Sure did."
"Lindy didn't find anything. Looks like a hoax. Or possibly a diversion to keep law enforcement occupied." As the words left her mouth, her phone lit up, as did Brady's.
"Las Vegas. They found a suspicious package," she said.
"Airport."
"FBI is sending a jet here with the bomb squad. We'll get them diverted to Vegas. I'll make the call."
He leaned against the building and pulled out his phone as she made the call.
After disconnecting her call, she turned to face Brady. "Was that Fitz you called?"
"It was. I gave him your update," he said.
"Thanks. Are they going to move back inside?"
"I believe so."
∞∞∞
They sat around the conference table at the station, waiting on word from the Las Vegas police. It surprised Justine to learn that Marguerite was a nail biter. She and the other woman spoke on and off throughout the night. Maybe they would become friends. She could use a girlfriend and she was growing fond of Marguerite, despite her initial impressions.
When the call finally came it was from Marc, rather than from the Vegas P.D. "Justine, doll, we've found it. Stan did a little acid magic and he's removing it now." Her face grew warm at the endearment. She should've told him he was on speaker-phone. The grins on the faces of the others sitting around the conference table didn't ease her discomfort. Brady reached over and squeezed her hand under the table.
Thank you, Jesus. They still needed to clear the rest of the stations to be on the safe side, but it looked like another disaster had been averted. In the process, she'd learned she didn't mind being on the coordinating end instead of standing next to the bomb. Her new job as a supervisory agent was waiting for her and she was ready to embrace the change.
Brady drove them to another nearby station which Lindy promptly cleared. The DPS bomb squad checked the other sites. By the time the four of them arrived back at her mother's place, Lindy and Blitz were pooped. They both collapsed on the floor in the den and she and Brady sat together on the couch.
"So, as I was saying earlier. I have some news." She gazed into Brady's eyes.
"What news is that?" he took her hand and turned to face her.
"I was offered a supervisory position."
"That's great. Congratulations." He squeezed her hand.
"It would allow me to stay here. My commute would be an hour or less depending on where they put the office."
"Are you serious?"
"I am."
"I knew you had an interview, but I didn't know it could mean you'd stay."
"Would that please you?" she asked.
"More than anything. I was prepared to uproot my life to follow you to Virginia, but this is more than I could ever hope for. It's the best of both worlds. God is awesome."
"That He is."
"Justine?"
"Yes?"
"I'm falling in love with you."
"I thought so."
He pulled her closer. "You did, huh?"
"I did. Because the feeling is mutual. I love you, Brady Hall."
He kissed her with a passion he'd been holding back, but forced himself to separate from her a few minutes later.
"Are you ready to think about forever?"
"Soon," she said.
"I'll take it." He nuzzled her neck, placing tiny kisses along her throat and up to her ear. "I need to get out of here before I lose control."
She put her head on his chest. "Before we lose control."
"Yeah. Before we do. It's late our boundaries could get blurred."
"I could see how that could happen." She held him tighter, making no move to separate.
"Walk me to the door?"
"Sure." She forced herself to move away from him. She glanced over at Blitz and Lindy who were curled up together in front of the heating vent. "Who is going to tell Blitz he has to leave?"
"I guess that's my job." Brady called his dog who gave him a disgruntled whine before joining him at his side.
Chapter 7
Brady got down on his dog's level and looked him in the eyes. "Now, pay attention, Blitz. This is serious. Do you think March 31st is too soon for a wedding? April 1st is Resurrection Sunday and I would love to celebrate it as husband and wife. We can have a double wedding with you and Lindy."
The dog tilted his head and placed his paw over his snout.
"I'm not sure that qualifies as an answer. I'll have to ask Lindy."
Blitz yawned and closed his eyes.
"Fine. Be that way." Brady stood and made his way to the kitchen to make some coffee. Once again, he would have to make do without cream.
A sound outside caught him off-guard. He wasn't expecting anyone. Moving to the door he watched as Justine let Lindy out of the car, while balancing two coffee cups.
He opened the door. "This is a pleasant surprise."
"We were in the neighborhood." She held out a coffee to him.
"You are an angel."
"Not quite."
"I was out of cream. Again."
She smiled.
"Did you hear from your boss?" He asked.
"About?"
"The bombers."
"Not yet."
"Turns out it was the supervisor of the guy who got the call at the nuclear plant. That was supposed to be their big showing, but you thwarted their attack, so they had to regroup. Thus, the bomb at the school to make us take them seriously. And then the false threats as a diversionary tactic. They could've exploded a bomb in Las Vegas Airport. Can you imagine the devastation if they'd succeeded?"
"Well, praise the Lord they didn't," she said.
"Amen."
"Are you working today?" She reached for his hand.
"Not if I can help it. It's supposed to be my day off and I ended up working a double yesterday, so..."
"So, you're free to spend the day with me?" She swung his arm with hers as they walked toward the kitchen.
"Absolutely. I need to feed the animals first."
"I'll help."
They spent the next forty minutes feeding and playing with the animals. Having her there felt natural. Comfortable.
∞∞∞
They sat close together on the bench overlooking the river watching the birds flit over the surface.
"So, are
you going to marry me? Or do I have to wait a designated amount of time?"
"How can I marry you when you haven't asked?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out an engagement ring. It was a princess-cut diamond set in white gold. He'd noticed she wore more silver than gold and thought it would match her existing jewelry.
Getting down on one knee he held the box out to her. "Will you marry me, Super Special Agent Gillespie?"
"Are you serious?" She opened the box. "It's gorgeous."
"Are you going to leave me down here in the dirt? Or are you going to answer my question?"
"I'm probably crazy to agree to this already, but, yes, I'll marry you."
He joined her on the bench and placed the ring on her left hand. "You've made me a happy man."
"Even though you thought I was mentally unstable when we met?"
"I haven't ruled that out yet, but I'm in love with you anyway."
He drew her to him and held her tightly for several minutes before standing and pulling her to her feet. He kissed her as the rain began to fall. When they finally separated he noticed she was soaking wet and shivering. "Shall we head back to the ranch?"
∞∞∞
"March 31st? Are you insane?" Justine paced the kitchen of Brady's ranch house.
He relaxed against the counter. "I'm impatient. Not insane."
"How can I plan a wedding in seventeen days?"
"You didn't want a huge wedding, did you?"
"No. But, I do want my family there. And I want to get married in the church. Wait. Can we get married at your church? I attended a Bible church in Virginia, but I don't have a church near here. My mother was rarely a church goer. She took us to Catholic services for Christmas Eve and Easter, but she didn't take religion seriously."
"Is she born-again?"
"I don't know. I heard her claim to be once, so that's what I cling to. She has so few moments of clarity these days. It's hard to find a time to bring it up."
"How about we head out to the home now? I'd love to meet her."
"Now?"