by Unknown
“Do you like it?” Kate laughed at the strange look on his face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh…but you looked…really confused.”
“You know…I’ve never been asked that before. But yea, yea, I like it a great deal. Tons of room for growth and vision…the possibilities are literally endless. It’s a continually changing field because of all the break throughs in technology.”
“And no one’s ever asked if you like your job…that’s kind of sad.”
“Huh…the women I’ve met lately were more concerned with the type of car I drove and what kind of salary did an engineer command,” Dylan heard the slight hint of bitterness and shook his head.
“Just the wrong type female, obviously.”
“Yeah…the wrong type. And you? Professional roller derby?” He liked the way her lips were curved and the way her laughter was soft and deep at the same time.
“Good grief, no…The bruises would be horrendous,” Kate savored another long taste of her frozen coffee. “I work part time for the prosecutor’s office and have a small private practice. I’m an attorney.”
“You know…I made all kinds of guesses and that wasn’t one of them,” Dylan saw the casual shrug.
“I’m out of costume,” she said with a chuckle. “I can attest to the fact that few people are what you imagine.”
“Knowledge from the career or just life?”
“Before this, I was a cop in New Orleans and San Diego, then DEA for a couple years. Sadly, it’s from observation. I’ve probably become a bit on the jaded side,” Kate finished her coffee and aimed the large plastic cup into the trash bin.
“I’d think it was hard to avoid,” Dylan followed her cup with his and stood up with a long stretch. “C’mon, counselor, I’ll escort you home.”
“You have wonderfully gallant manners, Dylan.”
“I hope that’s a good thing. I’m used to getting the women’s lib lecture…”
“Oh, I think that kind of thing only comes from women who feel their freedoms are threatened and aren’t exactly sure why. I don’t feel threatened. I know I can take care of myself, but I also know I enjoy being treated like a lady.”
Kate accepted the palm he held out when a soothing sound of strings came from her upper arm pocket. She pulled the phone from inside and glanced at the readout with a puzzled frown, accepting his knowing nod as she tapped the accept call button.
“I know…good morning oh kind and benevolent friend of mine!”
“Chloe…” The single word was drawn out long and slow. “Are you drunk?”
“No…of course not.”
“Are you in jail being courted by women with tattoos?” Kate issued a scolding frown at the man laughing beside her.
“No, Kate…I am at the moment, a free woman.”
“Is this some catastrophic…something…that cannot wait until tomorrow?”
“Now that one…I’m just not so sure of,” Chloe said carefully. “I will call your office first thing in the morning.”
“What is it, Chloe?” Kate Fletcher straightened from her stretch, easing the roller blade to the concrete with a small frown.
“I need you to investigate a will…my grandfathers,” Chloe summed up thoughtfully. “I’m more than a little sure something was left to me.”
“Are they bothering you again? Has he found you?”
The anxiousness in her tone wasn’t missed by Dylan, even as she glided out of the coffee area and toward the railing, their hands still clasp.
“I never really hid, Kate…not really.”
“To answer your question, yes he has found her and called her, wanting her to come to dinner,” Simon decided to breach the gap.
“Chloe, you were supposed to call me immediately. I can’t get a restraining order, but we can have strong warnings issued,” Kate held up one finger to the man listening intently to the one sided conversation.
“I’m okay, Kate…honest. I’ll give you a call in the morning, promise. Enjoy your Sunday.”
“Damn,” Kate’s growl wasn’t missed by the man standing at her side, the compact combination slid back into the pocket on her arm.
“You’re worried,” Dylan let her set the pace, dropping her fingers as they moved along the walkway. “But more than a client.”
“You are amazingly perceptive, Dylan,” quiet brown eyes appraised the man striding along with her. “Chloe is a very good friend. One of a dozen or so that live here. We crossed paths a lot growing up and…and we know a lot about one another. Good and bad.”
“Something tells me the history behind this one…irks.”
Kate ground her teeth, attempting to swallow the frustration and failing with a burst of words that had Dylan’s eyebrows arched.
“Grrr…don’t mind me,” Kate exhaled long and slow. “Do you realize that in all probability, over ninety percent of court cases have to do with relatives? There would be so much less stress and aggravation in the world if humans were built in petri dishes and didn’t even consider sex until they were in their thirties!”
“More mature. Like us.”
“Exactly,” Kate agreed without thinking. “Well, not us…I mean…”
“Let’s not totally abandon the notion,” Dylan met the amazingly innocent brown eyes with a wink. “But I do understand. There are times watching the news that I strongly feel there should be enforced birth control and even some kind of test before you’re permitted to have a child.”
The companionable silence was filled with laughter, chatter and the sounds of boats on the water. Dylan came to a stop at the fender of his car.
“So…this is what you drive, huh?” Kate slipped her fingers free and pretended to be assessing the deep green of the sports car.
“Hey, lady, you have your vice, I got mine,” he reached out and grabbed her palm. He leaned against the fender, spread his feet and let her settle between them, well out of the way of foot traffic past them, unseen smiles as people watched the couple. “So what’s on the schedule for the rest of the day? This is Seattle. We have a gorgeous day on tap and could easily find tons of things to amuse us.”
“You know…right now…I have at least half a dozen friends in my head telling me how this should be handled.”
“Like…go on, he’s a nice guy…accept his invitation…” Dylan tipped his head to the side with one of those charming grins that made her think of a kid with a new toy.
“Friends that accept you single and don’t exclude you…but would be very happy for you if you found ‘the one’.”
“Yeah but do you have your mother calling every other day asking about your lack of female companions? In a totally tactful way, of course.”
“Hmm…can’t lay claim to that one…my mom died a few years ago. But I think she’d approve of you,” Kate teased with a grin, gliding out of his reach and nodding to the bright yellow and gold trimmed second story. “I have to shower and change. You can wait for me…”
“Then repeat at my place and take off to explore. Brilliant idea…let me get the paper from in the car and I’ll follow you.”
Kate gauged the traffic and skated to the long, wide stairs she’d had put in, sinking to one to unsnap her skates when a rough hand shot out of nowhere behind her. She felt the taut pressure that had her choking slightly.
Chapter Eleven
“Don’t move, bitch and don’t make a sound,” ground something incredibly smelly next to her ear.
Never one for following orders, Kate let out with a loud science fiction movie scream, wincing when she noticed the knife in his other han
d.
Dylan had closed the car door when the blood curdling scream ripped through the morning. “Kate!”
He took off across the street, dodging traffic and skidding to a halt at the sun glinting off the blade of a knife being held to Kate’s throat.
“Don’t move, bitch…I told you no noise…”
“Let the lady go…”
“No one invited you here, buddy…keep jogging and mind your own business.”
With the new distraction, Kate threw all her weight and muscle behind kicking one skate bearing foot high into the air, catching his wrist and sending the knife flying. She was released immediately, gasping for breath and watching as Dylan used the flat palm of his hand, crossing in front of her to land hard on the man’s chest. The impact sent him stumbling back, falling to the ground and gasping for air.
Without waiting, Kate had her phone out, reaching the emergency number immediately. “Yes, I need an officer at…” she recited the address. “A guy just tried to…I don’t know…he has a knife and was holding it to my throat…”
“Are you alright, ma’am?”
“Yes, yes…I’m fine…my friend has him disarmed on the ground.”
“I have an officer in route to your location. Do you need an ambulance?”
“No…we’re good…just someone to take this guy away and file a report. The police are here, thank you,” Kate ended the call and slid the phone into her pocket. “They must have been close.”
Dylan had one of the man’s arms behind his back, his knee in the small of his back until the officer approached with a pair of handcuffs out. Dylan nodded to the blade lying a couple feet away.
“He was holding that at her throat.”
One officer secured the man on the ground while the other began talking to them, fact gathering and writing as they spoke. Kate answered questions as her fingers worked the latches on her skates, wriggling toes out and free with a long stretch. Half an hour later, Kate glanced up at Dylan. She could still see the tension in the bouncing pulse at his throat.
“That certainly wasn’t on the agenda for the day,” she admitted with a long sigh, accepting the palm to pull her to her feet, her fingers leaving his to retrieve the key ring from her belt loop.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I think the breathing has returned more or less to normal.”
“Go take your shower. I’ll bring these up and read the paper,” he held up the paper he’d retrieved from his car. He accepted her nod and reached for the skates, frowning at just how heavy the things were. The tennis ball yellow socks led the way to the apartment at the top of the stairs. He was going to make an effort to keep his eyes off the length of muscled legs and the twitching behind, but what the hell. You only live once, his conscience assured him with a sigh of appreciation.
Kate gestured to the spacious living area fronted by tons of glass facing the east. “I have juice and ice in the kitchen. Sorry, no coffee,” she called out as she ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time to the loft level.
Dylan wandered around the bottom level, the gleaming hardwood floors bringing a nod of approval as he found a nice full bath with a sunken Jacuzzi tub, office space and generous kitchen. The living area was divided between with a ceiling high room divider, open on both ends and holding numerous small pictures and statues. Nosy, Dylan opened the fridge. Various flavors of yogurt; small bottles of orange juice, obviously meant for rushed mornings and apples. She didn’t live on take out and had a good collection of cookware.
Dylan listened to the shower stop and various drawers opening and closing above him. He folded the paper to the page he wanted, gathered the rest and was standing at the bottom of the stairs when she came through the hanging, tingling beads at the top of the stairs. It made him smile and he wasn’t even sure why. But it was a damned good feeling.
Water glistened off the top of her head as she crossed beneath one of the many skylights in the apartment. She wore a simple set of comfortable looking tank tops, layered and a pair of khaki shorts that stopped just past her knees. A pair of well-worn walking shoes dangled by their laces. She sunk to a lower step and began pulling them on.
“Got just the thing. We can probably be there by one and explore the largest arts and crafts festival on the coast,” Dylan held up the paper to her, waiting while she snatched up her keys and phone, his palm out for hers. “That was speedy.”
“Never let it be said that I held up a chance to explore,” Kate took his hand and latched the door on her way out. “I love Ocean Shores,” Kate settled into the contoured, extra cushiony passenger side of the sports car. “Nice seats,” she said with a wiggle, stretching her long legs out in front of her.
“Nice legs,” Dylan returned, the engine turning over smoothly. He executed a perfect U-turn and started the journey over the Columbia bridge and south.
“Thanks. Do your mother’s calls bother you?”
He frowned slightly. “You mean am I worried about my biological clock ticking down to zero? Not at all. I have a brother and sister and each of them have given her a grandchild. I’m in the clear.”
“When I was growing up, I used to think it would be the coolest thing to have brothers and sisters. Then I started actually watching and listening…now I’m not so sure at all,” Kate lifted the news magazine that had come with the paper, reading through various articles as they drove.
“You don’t usually get along much when you’re young, but it does get better when you grow up,” Dylan spoke from experience.
She stepped from the car and tipped her head way back. “Wow…you live up there?”
“There’s an elevator, don’t look so stricken,” he took her hand in his and led her into the fairly new apartment complex at the south end of Lake Washington. Small planes soared over head and the sun had broken away the fog to glisten off the water. “It’s convenient to work.”
“And you got a spiffy parking spot with your name on it,” she teased, struggling to keep the laughter inside as they rode to the top. “The very top level?”
“I’ll try and be fast,” he said with a rueful shake of his head, tossing his keys and wallet to the table by the front door.
Kate wandered through the apartment. She guessed he spent a lot of time at his office and the gym. It was neat, and mostly tidy, a few things in the sink and left over newspapers stacked for recycling in a bundle and a game controller sitting next to a console. Somehow she had not pegged him as a gamer type. There were a few books on the cushions of the sofa; a nice, eclectic music collection and a great view. She stood gazing out the massive tinted window. Well, I guess you’ve both proven to the other that there is no one else in your lives, she mused thoughtfully.
“So what’s brought such a funny little smile to your lips?”
She hadn’t heard him come up behind her, which was odd since he wasn’t a small person. Her eyes raised from the sparkling water to meet his in the glass of the patio doors.
“Just a thought about rituals…the rituals we endure as we maneuver through life,” Kate turned and took in his casual jeans and shirt with sleeves rolled to his elbows.
“Sounds like an interesting riding discussion. Want something to drink before we go?” Dylan led her out, securing the door behind him and waiting for her response. There was something immensely satisfying about being with a woman who could easily match your stride.
“A very large bottle of cold water would be grand,” she told him without hesitating. “We can hit a quick stop on the way.”
“So what kind of rituals were you pondering?” Dylan opened the sun roof before sending the car on its way.
“Rit
uals that make up how we function. How we progress through a date. Chatter, questions, coffee…”
“We’re calling this a date? Damn, that’ll make mom happy,” Dylan cast a sideways glance at her, pulling the car beneath a fuel station awning.
“You are incorrigible,” she laughed, climbing from inside the car. “What do you want? I’ll get the water…”
“I’m not willing to risk coffee…water will work,” he went to work filling the gas tank. Ten minutes later, they were back on the highway. “So you think of those things as rituals?”
“What do you call them?”
“Never thought about it before. Just the way things are, I guess.”