A Dark Horse
Page 46
Adele couldn’t hold in her grin in any longer. “They offered me the job.”
Natalie let out a loud whoop and pulled Adele into a bone-crushing hug. “I knew it! I knew they would.”
Adele laughed and allowed herself to be, quite literally, smothered in affection. “If I say yes, you’ll be living with the head of Louisiana’s new Missing and Exploited Children Task Force.”
“So you’ll be Agent Lejeune?”
Adele nodded.
“That’s superhot.”
Adele burst into laughter. “If you say so.”
She had received a call from the New Orleans Chief of Police and the Louisiana Attorney General to discuss the position several weeks ago. Unlike the investigation she’d ignited years ago, the press and the NOPD leadership had uniformly supported her through the months of investigations revolving around Lt. Xavier and Sgt. Morrell and others. While there were those at the NOPD who believed she’d simply embarrassed them all over again, this time she’d emerged more hero than villain, and now the NOPD was desperately trying to save face.
That they would use this new offer, instead of any sort of real apology, to somehow smooth over years of pain and a ruined career infuriated her. On the other hand, the offer was solid, the task force was needed, and it would give her the opportunity to do more good than she ever could have as a police detective. And in the end, she decided, those things were more important than the NOPD, pride or politics.
The new job meant she would lead a three-person team that would liaise with multiple state agencies and police departments to work on clearing the backlog of cold cases, as well as current ones, involving crimes against minors, missing children, child trafficking, abuse and exploitation. She would carry a task force badge, have a special weapon’s license, and because she wasn’t technically a member of the NOPD, she was exempt from their physical exam requirements. Technically, she would only answer directly to the governor, though it had been made clear that one of the governor’s lackeys would actually be her normal point of contact.
All that was left was for her to give her answer.
“What do you mean if you say yes?” Natalie cocked her head to the side. “Why wouldn’t you? It’s a fabulous opportunity.”
Adele felt a gust of nervousness. They’d talked about what the job would mean for her personally and professionally, but never what it would mean for them as a couple…as a family. “Working on the task force means there will be times that I’ll be away from home. Not just overnight, but maybe for several days at a time while I’m working on a case. I won’t be able to control the hours. That part will be a lot like being a cop. I’ll get calls on the weekends, holidays, during dinners, and in the middle of the night. And you need to know that I tend to get so focused on what I’m doing that sometimes I forget normal things, like that I was supposed to buy toilet paper and—”
Natalie held up a forestalling hand. “So you’ll have periodic business travel, sometimes you’ll have crappy hours, and you’ll be as dedicated as you possibly can?”
That was one way of putting it, sure. “Yes.”
“In that case, you should definitely decline.”
“Really?”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Of course not!” She pinched Adele in the side.
“Ouch! Christ, woman!”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Take it! When you travel, I’ll be home waiting for you when you come back. I’ll make sure Logan gets dropped off at school on time, and for his weekends with Landry, and that you don’t get rickets, or scurvy, or whatever it is a person gets from living on pizza and frozen dinners alone.” Natalie gave Adele a reassuring smile that brimmed with love. “I’ll always be here, Ella. And most importantly, I’ll always have toilet paper.”
Adele laughed as her heart sang. Though there was a tiny part of her that had to be sure. “I just, I just want to be sure that you’re happy and okay with everything before I go disrupting it. Because I’m really…I just…” She threw her hands in the air, helpless. “I’ve never ever been happier, Natalie. I love you. I feel so wonderful that I want you to feel the same way.”
Clearly smitten, Natalie rested a hand on Adele’s chilled thigh and began to stroke the soft denim. Her eyes shimmered with happy tears that looked a heartbeat from falling. “I already do. So that means we don’t have to worry about keeping things just the same to stay happy. We can do and want more and it will still be okay between us.” The corner of Natalie’s mouth quirked upward. “I’m afraid there’s just no getting rid of me now.”
Adele’s expression softened and a sense of certainty settled deep and irrevocably into her bones. “Okay.” She nodded to herself. “I’ll accept the job. Just not tonight.”
Natalie tugged the blanket up around her shoulders. “Mmm…” She yawned. “I guess it’s a little late to call.”
“That’s not it. Tonight I want to focus on another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“And what would that—?” Natalie froze when Adele, whose heart threatened to pound out of her chest, slid off the bench and onto one knee.
From her pocket Adele pulled out a platinum ring with a single sparkling clear stone in the center.
“Ella,” Natalie gasped and their eyes met and held.
“I had a dream the other night that I was in a hospital bed, and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen was at my bedside, reading, and stroking my hair. I was so in love with her that I couldn’t help myself, I wanted to spend my life with her, so I asked her to marry me. My entire family was there, but instead of answering out loud, and probably embarrassing me even further, she whispered something into my ear.”
Natalie’s eyes shimmered with bright tears, and Adele could see the flames of the fire reflected in their depths. It was achingly beautiful.
“Do-do you remember what she said?” Natalie said, her voice thick with emotion as she cupped Adele’s jaw with a tender hand.
Adele smiled wistfully. “I didn’t until the night of my dream, but I do now.” Warmth crept up her cheeks as she remembered. “You said, ‘Ask me again someday when you mean it, beautiful. My answer will always be yes.’” Adele reached out and tucked a strand of dark hair that was suddenly caught in the light breeze behind Natalie’s ear. She took a deep breath. “Nat?”
“Yes, Ella?”
Adele’s smile stretched muscles she didn’t know existed. Or maybe she knew, once upon a time, and she’d just forgotten…until now. “I really mean it.”
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