by Unknown
“Within a couple hours, we’ve established pretty much that we’re both available, that we appear to have a few things in common and we make each other laugh,” Kate took a long swallow of the water.
“Not such a bad basis for a friendship.”
“To be honest…I surprised myself by talking to you,” Kate admitted, a hint of confusion still in her voice. “So I pretty much figure my inner self is in shock at the moment.”
“Was it my sinister demeanor?” He asked with a teasing gleam. “Or the fact that I saved you from the cold waters?”
“I think it was your boyish smile,” Kate confessed with a soft laugh.
“Boyish? Lady I’m thirty-six years old! I passed boyish…a long damn time ago.”
“Hmm….take some free advice,” she caught his eye and winked. “Perhaps at your advanced years you should take what you can get.”
“I guess I never thought much about the rituals, either,” he admitted when he stopped chuckling. “When you have a goal set in your mind, part of you knows it would be nice to have companionship, friendship…but the smart part of you knows there isn’t time or a space to put another person into at the moment.”
“I’ve seen so many relationships fall apart because one or the other of them put their partner into what I call a shelf spouse….only taking them from the shelf when they feel the urge for companionship and sex,” Kate turned to sit against the door, watching him as he drove and they talked. “I wanted my career. That doesn’t mean I didn’t spend some days wishing for more…just means I spent more time skating and not thinking.”
“What’s changed?” Dylan asked the question of them both.
“I don’t know. Friends. Watching them grow into their relationships. Being mature enough to know it takes just as much effort as the career I’ve built….and there was your boyish smile…cracked that hard core I had built,” Kate patted him on the back. They had been stopped at a light and he was taking a long drink of water. “Easy there…drowning on dry land is a hard one to explain.”
“Just keep the boyish thing to yourself, will ya? I’ve got a rep to maintain,” but he chuckled with her, the easy friendship a good feeling. “I do understand, though. It’s tough to build a solid career that’s important to you without either being alone or hurting an innocent someone along the way. For so long school was such a big part of my life. Then it was internships with a variety of companies, learning the ropes and taking business classes later. Maybe we can blame the fog this morning,” he chided, accepting her smile.
“Hmm…hadn’t thought of that angle. Psychology was my minor and I just find it fascinating. We look at each other and wonder why that person isn’t hooked up already but we don’t ask that question of the person we see in the mirror,” Kate found herself relaxing more and more as the day progressed.
There were bananas dipped in snappy chocolate; pottery of all colors and a ride along the beach in a covered wagon. They walked in the soft sand and felt the cold waters of the pacific between their toes. The sky overhead was clear and the temperature cooling down slowly as Dylan pulled the car into a spot in front of her apartment.
He lifted the bag of pottery from the back seat and walked with her to the door, handing the package over. His hands settled on her shoulders seconds before his mouth tasted their day at the seashore on her full lips.
Kate steadied herself against the strength in him, fingers locked in a tight caress that traveled along his tanned arms. She could still smell the ocean on them, their tongues fencing and teasing in a long, breath stealing kiss. Her fingers wove their way through the longish amber strands at the side of his head, allowing the intoxicating sensations to sweep her out to sea. She inhaled sharply, resting her head against his for a quiet minute.
“Lock the door,” he said simply and gruffly, waiting until she nodded and stepped back inside. He heard the firm grate of the locks before heading back to the car, a light whistle seeping into the quiet night.
Kate leaned against the closed door, eyes closed and a peaceful sigh easing from her lips. She smiled when she recalled him taking her phone and tapping his number into it before sending the call to his phone.
She left the bag of goodies she bought at the festival on the dining table and wandered toward the bedroom when her phone chirped. Kate took it out of her pocket, glanced at the screen and laughed. She looked out the window, smiled at the jaunty wave of his fingers before he made the U-turn and disappeared into the night.
Chapter Twelve
Kate leaned over the sink in the courthouse restroom, splashed cold water on her face and swallowed the shudder that threatened to creep in from her toes. Fingers only shook a little as she worked the long dark hair back into the tight bundle at the nape of her neck, pins stabbing with just a little too much aggression.
She’d been threatened before. That really wasn’t the problem. She’d spent four long hours with the pictures of what he did to the mother of the two young children, as well as what he did to them. She’d questioned and cross examined every witness and expert with a cold, simmering anger that she had long ago learned to control and guide.
“Ms. Fletcher?” A young woman poked her head around the door of the restroom. “Mr. Gaines wants to know if you’re okay.”
Kate exhaled heavily. He worried. As good as she was, he worried about the toll cases like this took on his prosecutors. There was a burn out rate that she had surpassed, that also worried him.
Gray hair and eyes that saw more than they betrayed, Tom Gaines watched his head prosecutor with a cautious eye as she walked from the restroom. He could see hints of water sparkling in her hair.
“I’m okay, Tom. Seriously.” Kate offered a wan smile. “It was a good jury.”
“It was a damn good prosecutor, don’t be so modest. The weather’s holding, go skate around the Sound for the rest of the day. You’ve earned it,” he gripped her arm slightly, guiding her through the cameras and reporters. “I’ll handle these people. Follow orders, Kate. Go home.”
She tipped her hand off the top of her head, waving off the microphones. She enjoyed the soft breeze coming off the Sound, the tapping of her heels on the concrete as she sought her car in the parking garage. The familiar chirp went unnoticed as she hiked her skirt up and climbed into the small SUV, locks absently clicked as had become her custom when traveling alone.
Kate went to the office, accepting the manila folder held out by Chris as she continue on to her office, the door left open between them. “Anything I should know about?”
“Not so far,” Chris responded, blond head bent over the letter she was revising. “Messages on your desk…all the print outs are in the folder, along with the number and name of the attorney handling the probate.”
“Thanks, Chris,” Kate slid her shoes off and sunk into the comfortable chair, one leg bent beneath the other as she read through the file, taking long swallows of the icy water she kept nearby.
Pen poised over the blank sheet of paper, Kate tapped in the number on the outside of the folder.
“I’d like to speak to James Halpern, please. Kate Fletcher calling, representing Chloe Wetherly,” her voice was low, professional and authoritative. She listened absently to the canned music, humming along until the song broke off abruptly.
“Miss Fletcher, what can I do for you?”
“Fax me a copy of the will so I can advise my client how to proceed,” Kate announced with a bright smile in her words.
“The Wetherly’s have been attempting to locate their daughter since the death of her grandfather. I’m going to require proof that you are not only representing her, but that it is actually is Chloe Wetherly.”
“Have you spoken to your c
lient today?”
“Miss Fletcher…”
“Mr. Halpern, Stephen Wetherly hired a private investigator to locate Chloe. The fact that she did not want to be found by her family should tell you something. He has also spoken with her several times on the phone,” she crossed her fingers, eyes rolled to the ceiling. “So you can easily verify with him that yes, this is his daughter. However, I am arranging to fax you copies of her ID and all pertinent papers. She has never been among the missing, she simply avoided her family and was unaware that her grandfather had died.”
“I’ll be in touch with you before the day is out, Miss Fletcher,” and the line went dead.
“Well, he did not sound pleased,” Kate noted, faxing out the documents she had on her computer with a few taps of her fingers.
Padding on bare feet, Kate filled the ice bag and stretched out on the sofa in her office. Dark lashes were closed when the tapping began outside her office.
“Enter.”
“The copy of the will you wanted,” Chris held out the single page and returned to her desk.
“That was fast,” Kate lifted the ice pack from one eye and read through the bequeaths, letting the paper drop to the floor. Sometime later, she knows she heard the phone and hushed tones from just outside her door.
“I’m not dead, Chris,” Kate pushed herself up and tossed the ice pack toward the sink in her little bathroom. “But I am going home.”
“Line two, says his name is Dylan.”
A tiny tinge of regret struck her as she lifted the receiver.
“Good afternoon, gorgeous,” Dylan leaned back in his chair, one hand raised and behind his head. He was staring out into the sun shine and glistening water off Lake Washington but he was seeing Kate.
“Hi, Dylan, you’re sounding enthusiastic.”
“And you’re not,” he said quietly. He’d seen the news. Everyone in the area who paid attention to the news was very aware of the heinous crime she was prosecuting. “You’re not okay, are you, Kate?”
“No…no, not so much. I’m on my way home. Boss ordered me to take the rest of the day off…but I had some stuff to look into first.”
“How about dinner?”
“Not tonight, Dylan…I need some…some decompression time.” Kate stood up and slid her feet into her shoes. “But don’t give up on another day. I’ve got to go, bye.”
Her stride was solid and long, head high. She worked to push the regret into a small box in her mind, positive the flood of emotion would make driving difficult. Kate sat for several long minutes in the cool darkness of her garage, climbing the stairs into her kitchen and dropping her small backpack to the counter. She stepped out of the comfortable low heels, frowning on her journey to the front door.
Her nose twitched appreciably. More than once. She didn’t need to peer through the peep hole. Instinct told her who was on the other side of the door. Her hips leaned against the open edge of the door, one dark eyebrow arched expectantly.
“New job?”
“Hey, a guy’s gotta have an edge these days. Multiple talents are essential,” he waved the very large sack teasingly. “I come bearing gifts.”
“You’re a brave man,” Kate stepped back with a sweeping gesture for him to enter.
“I prefer to think of this as following the line of discussion we had about shelf partners,” Dylan glanced around the living area and remembered the low Japanese style table beneath her sofa. “Why don’t you run get into something comfortable and come join me for some food?”
“Our discussion?” Kate stood with one foot on the bottom step to the loft.
“Change first, Kate, I’ll get this set up,” Dylan was a self-sufficient kind of guy. He filled a couple glasses with ice and water; found plates and forks and spoons and added napkins to the laid out feast on the low, teak table.
Wearing comfortable jeans and an off shoulder crème colored sweater, Kate added a pair of warm footies before padding back to her living area. Despite the mood griping her, she had to smile at the elegantly laid out picnic. Brown eyes that sparkled with unshed moisture traveled along the jeans and casual shirt, her head shaking slightly.
“Dylan…”
He shook his head and walked to meet her, folding her against him for a long couple quiet minutes. He guided her to the table and went to sit on the floor, reaching for a piece of sweet and sour chicken with his fingers. He watched her sit across from him, a cross legged position her favorite as she reached to sample an egg roll.
“So this is your way of refusing the shelf?” Kate drizzled soy sauce over the crunchy egg roll.
“I think so. I’m sure when I’m in a crap mood sometime in the future, you’ll return the favor and rescue me, despite myself,” Dylan winked teasingly, relaxing when she dug into the fragrant vegetable fired rice. “I’m generally a pretty laid back, amiable kind of guy.”
“And you do realize I’m probably not in a very sociable frame of mind at the moment,” Kate stopped talking, set the fork down and lowered her head for a moment. “Dylan, I am sorry…”
“No. Stop right there. I’ve seen the news. I am also sure my imagination cannot possibly do justice to the…the feelings you’re going through from prosecuting this case. That said…I am an adult. Even without you saying it, I know you don’t mean any temper that might erupt,” Dylan ran his hand heavily over his neck, searching for the right words. “Life is…our jobs…just are…good and bad. I honestly don’t know how other people deal with it, but I know for me, if we cannot talk about everything and anything, at any given time, then we’re just as doomed as the sixty percent of the country that are in relationships that are a mess.”
He stopped talking, watching the dark lashes blinking and staring at him.
“Even companionable silence keeps us in the same room. Keeps us…near…in case the other needs to talk. Is that making any sense?”
“You scare me,” she whispered honestly.
“Me? This boyish face?” Dylan felt his breath catch at her words until he realized what she meant. “I don’t know why fate took this time and this space to, literally, send us careening into one another, Kate. But I know I’m much too smart to miss a chance at feeling happy more than just now and then. Stop and think a minute…if you knew I’d had a rough day or week…how hard would you work to ease that strain and pressure?”
“You’re making sense…and yes, I admit…I would be just as pesky,” Kate took a long, slow drink. “I think caring about you…is real easy.”
“I realized this morning during my run that I’ve spent over nine years in higher education and working two jobs to keep things together. And judging by things you’ve told me, you’ve been pretty much the same. So I think we’ve earned this, Kate,” he lifted a spoonful of the creamy soup with a thoughtful taste. “Eat. Your brain needs some nourishment,” he teased, holding a spoonful out to her with a gentle nudge at her lips. “Good girl…now another bite…”
Kate lay looking out the skylight above her bed a long time later. She wasn’t sure where the evening went. She knows they spent it talking about everything and anything that popped into their heads or created a topic from what was playing on the radio. All she knew for certain was that she did like the feeling inside her when they were together. And she was willing to take a risk to keep those feelings.
Chapter Thirteen
Kate worked through a couple requests for prosecution just before noon, taking a break from reading and tapping in a familiar number.
“Kate Fletcher…to what do I owe this honor?”
Kate could almost see the smoldering dark eyes and military haircut. “Hi, Rick…informa
tion and knowledge, I hope.”
“You going to the costume fund raiser this Friday?”
This confused her and brought a slight frown to her lips. “Yes…but that has nothing to do with…”
“I’ll take a nice slow dance in exchange,” he bargained smoothly.
“Hmm…forever Rick…you never give up. And I think a dance might be nice,” Kate thought for a quick second. “Although…I might have a date and I’m not quite sure he’d understand the innuendoes you’re so good at.”
“A date? You? Since when? Not that I haven’t tried…”
“Rick…you and I would kill each other within a week,” Kate’s laugh joined his honest chuckle.