The Pretty Ones

by Robin Mahle

  Nick thrust his shoulders back and sucked in his already firm stomach. “What? This not doing it for you, babe?”

  “Any other time, yes, but not right now.”

  “Fine.” He relaxed his muscles and still looked the same.

  The past few days had been really good for the two of them. The case was over and they’d each been consulting on a few different tasks. Kate had continued to explore the idea of working toward profiling and had already registered for the extra training Quantico offered on the subject, which was extensive.

  It all seemed perfectly normal, except it wasn’t. Not once had they discussed the future, or the past, or anything in between. They’d avoided any topic that might evolve into what would happen when Nick left the team. It was coming, but it seemed neither was ready to tackle the subject. Maybe after Thanksgiving, she thought. The job would have him leaving at the first of the year and so it was easy to skirt the topic.

  She did have to admit to herself that a part of her was relieved. She wouldn’t have to worry about him getting hurt or worse. He was going to be in a heavy consulting role and his team would focus on that almost exclusively. Still, it would be strange for her not to be able to run to his office whenever she needed him or vice versa.

  But she would have Dwight and that was okay too. It did bring to mind who might take his place, though. Dwight would be promoted to SSA, she’d keep her status, though no longer a probie. She’d decided to put Vasquez’s name forward. While she was a part of the team, it was more of an administrative, support role. Although she had no idea if Vasquez would be interested, but she suspected she would.

  “Okay, I’m ready.” Nick returned, buttoning the cuffs of his shirt. “All better now?”

  “Much. Let’s go.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Dwight opened his door. “Hey! Right on time.” He stepped aside to allow Kate and Nick in. “Kate must’ve been the one responsible for that.”

  “I was.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for having us over, Dwight. Where’s Abby?”

  “In the kitchen. And you can open up that bottle of wine you’re holding. I’m sure she’d love a glass. She’s been in there all morning.”

  “Perfect.” Kate kept walking toward the kitchen, but stopped short as she happened upon the kids. “Hey, guys. Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”

  “Fine.” Dwight’s daughter approached Kate for a hug.

  “And what about you, dude? Can I get a hug, or are you too cool for that?”

  His son reluctantly pulled himself from the sofa and wrapped an arm around her. “Hi, Kate.”

  She continued toward the kitchen. “Oh my. You’ve been busy.”

  “Kate?” Abby turned away from the stove and drew near. “So good to see you. How are you? Glad to be home?”

  “Absolutely. And I brought some wine.”

  “The opener’s over there and you know where the glasses are. I’ll definitely take one if you’re offering.”

  “You bet I am.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “Can I get you a beer or something?” Dwight took the coats and hung them on the rack near the front door.

  “Sure. Yeah, I’ll take a beer.”

  “Sit down. I’ll be right back.”

  Nick perched on the edge of the sofa and began watching the game as the kids decided they’d be better off in their rooms.

  “Don’t stay up there all day now. We have company,” Dwight shouted as they ran up the stairs. “Here you go.” He handed over the beer. “Cowboys are up by ten. Might be a blowout.”

  “I’d expect nothing less for a Thanksgiving Day game. Thanks for hosting us, Dwight. It was nice of you, especially since Abby’s probably had to do most of the preparations.”

  “Well, in fairness, I was out of town, but yes, she’s done the bulk of the planning.” He held his bottle up. “Cheers. Happy Thanksgiving.”

  “Happy Thanksgiving.”

  After watching the game for a few minutes, and watching the Cowboys score another touchdown, Dwight began, “Why don’t we go see the girls? They might need some help.”

  “Help finishing the wine? I’m in.” Nick smiled and followed Dwight to the kitchen. “It’s sure starting to smell good in here.” He walked to Abby. “Don’t think I’ve said hello to you yet.” The two embraced for a brief moment. “How are you?”

  “Good, Nick. And you?”

  “Great. Thanks.” He walked toward Kate. “How’s that wine? Any good?”

  “Not bad. Not bad at all, actually. You chose well.” She wrapped an arm around his waist.

  They both looked on as they watched Dwight and Abby help each other make the meal. “They seem really happy, don’t they?” Kate asked.

  “They most certainly do.” He continued to watch them. Hugging, kissing each other’s cheeks, and he couldn’t help but smile. That was what he wanted. And he wanted that more than anything with the woman standing next to him.

  Nick never expected to be the kind of man who needed a woman, or needed anyone, for that matter. But he needed Kate. It had taken years to come to that conclusion. Years and a whole lot of denial. But there it was. He was captivated by her beauty, by her intelligence, and most of all, by her sheer determination to succeed. He sipped on his beer again and cast his gaze toward the kitchen window. “Looks like it’s snowing.”

  “So it is,” Dwight said. “Might need to crank up the fireplace after dinner.”

  Nick pulled Kate closer and cast his gaze upon her.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “I’m good.” He stared into her eyes.

  “What? What is it? You’re looking at me funny.”

  “Kate. I’ve been meaning to tell you this since we got back last week, but I guess I couldn’t find the right time.”

  Her expression shifted with marked concern.

  “It’s nothing bad. I mean, I don’t think it is. You might think differently.” He looked at Dwight and Abby again, then back to Kate. “I removed my name from consideration.”

  “What?” She pulled back.

  “I withdrew my name. I don’t want the Unit Senior Agent job at Quantico.”

  Kate appeared stunned or angry or maybe both. She released her grip and walked into the living room.

  Nick quickly followed. “Hey. What’s wrong? I thought this would be welcome news. We’ve been getting along so well lately and…”

  “And what? You thought, hey, I’ll give up my dream. I’ll give up a great promotion to stay in a job I’ve been in for years just so I can hang out with my girlfriend.” She walked toward the coat rack and opened the door.

  Dwight appeared from the kitchen. “Everything all right?”

  “Yeah. We’ll be right back.” He grabbed his coat and followed her.

  She stood outside on the small patch of grass that fronted Dwight’s row house. Flakes of snow fell on her hair, turning it white. “Why would you do that, Nick? I didn’t ask you to give up your dream. I would never do that.”

  “Who says it was my dream? You keep saying that, but I don’t remember ever saying that.”

  “What are you talking about? You’ve been wanting to get out of the field for a long time and you know it. Now’s your chance and you’re what? You’re going to bail because of me?” Kate looked up to see Dwight and Abby staring at them through the window.

  They quickly vanished when she caught them watching.

  “I am so confused right now. I thought you’d be happy. Silly me. I thought you wanted me around.”

  “Oh my God. I do, you buffoon. But not at the expense of your career. You are an FBI agent. It’s what you always wanted to be and I’ll be damned if I take an opportunity like this away from you.”

  “You’re not. Don’t you see? I want to do this. Despite what you think, I do want to be in the field. Maybe not all the time, but yeah, I still get pleasure from putting the bad guys away.”

  She shook her head. “
You remember what I said to you at the hotel? How I couldn’t do my job because I was afraid of losing you?”

  “Yes, I do. But I also remember telling you that you’d have felt the same way whether or not we were sleeping together. We both care very much about what happens to the other. Regardless of a physical relationship, it’s always going to be that way. It has been since I got you out of that damn cellar.” He stopped to take a breath.

  “You realize that even if you had transferred, I’d still be with you. In fact, I’d have felt better about it. Knowing you were happy. Knowing you were safe. I mean, are you kidding me? It was the best thing that could’ve happened to us.” She pressed her palms against her cheeks. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you did this without talking to me first.”

  Nick moved next to her and gently took her by the shoulders. “I thought I was doing what was best for our relationship.”

  “That was best for our relationship.”

  “Well, it’s too late now. What’s done is done and they’re giving the job to someone else. I’m sorry you’re so disappointed in my decision.”

  “We’re going to have to talk about this later. Dinner’s going to be ready soon.” She began walking up the steps.

  “Kate. I love you. Don’t walk away, please.”

  “We have to go inside. They’re already looking at us.”

  He caught up to her. “I’m sorry.”

  “Did you even think about Dwight in this decision? Don’t you think he wants to move up?”

  “Of course, and we did talk about it.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said I should do what makes me happy.”

  “I agree with him.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s just get back inside.”

  “What if I could bring you with me?”

  She stopped and faced him again. “The last thing I need from you is to hitch a ride on your coattails again. Thanks, but no thanks.”

  “Jesus. You are so damn stubborn. You want to learn profiling. That’s what you want to do. That seems to be what makes you happy. You’re already going to do some training at Quantico. This would just be a more permanent solution. Train under Unit Four’s profiler.”

  “Right. They already have one. An expert who far exceeds my current skillset.”

  “I know. But they always need good profilers on the team. Learn from him. After what Sharpe has said about you to Campbell, there’s no way they’d say no. As of the first of the year, you’ll no longer be on probation. Doors will be open to you, Kate.”

  “What about Dwight?”

  “He would get his promotion. He would be the new BAU Resident Agent at the WFO.”

  “You said you withdrew your name? Sounds like it’s too late to me.”

  “I can tell them I’ve reconsidered. They haven’t exactly made the decision yet. It wasn’t supposed to be until the end of the year.”

  She studied him again. “I want to do things on my own, Nick. You of all people should know that about me. I can’t go in there on your recommendation. I won’t be that person again. I’ve already done that.”

  “Wow.” He folded his arms. “How long is it going to take for you to realize you’ve been pulling your own weight since you started at WFO? Campbell knows it. We all know it. It wouldn’t be me dragging you on my coattails. It would be you earning it and joining me at the same time.” He could see she was considering the possibility. “We could buy a house. Together. Maybe someday, I don’t know, maybe get married.”

  “Now you’re just talking crazy.” She held his gaze. “Dammit, Nick. Why are you telling me this now? We’re standing on the porch of our friend’s home in the snow on Thanksgiving. And you’re making decisions without talking to me. It can’t go down like that if you want us to be together. And we haven’t talked about anything. Not the future, not how we ended up standing here right now. And now you’re saying we should move in together. Move forward with our careers together. It just doesn’t happen that way, Nick.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t discuss this with you first and I’m sorry we’re both standing in the freezing cold arguing about a future we never debated.”

  “A future neither one of us are sure is even possible. We fell into bed together without understanding why.”

  “We knew why. But neither of us wanted to admit it. Kate, you left Mike because you wanted to be with me. Even if you refused to admit it to yourself. I know it. I could see it in your eyes, but you held back. And we both let it lie. Look, I don’t know how we got here. But why do you feel the need to analyze it to death? Can’t we just accept it? We finally got out of each other’s way and allowed ourselves to be happy. Would you rather spend the rest of your life pushing away people who love you? Because that’s what you’ve been doing. And I’ve let you do it. But not anymore, Kate.”

  They both fell silent for a moment.

  “I just don’t know if I’m ready. I don’t know if I can leave WFO, my house, my friends.”

  “Me?”

  The door opened and Dwight slowly peeked his head through. “Um, hey, guys, dinner’s ready if you want to come back in now.”

  “Kate?” Nick waited for an answer.

  She turned to Dwight, raising one corner of her mouth into a partial smile. A moment later, she faced Nick. “I’ll get out of my own way and see where this takes us, but as far as the rest of it, I do it on my own; without your help. And I swear to God, you’d better take that damn job. That’s a deal breaker, you understand?”

  He nodded.

  “Then let’s go inside and eat some damn turkey.”

  THE END

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Robin Mahle lives with her husband and two children in Arizona. She found her passion for writing, which later became her second career, after spending 20 years in the construction industry.

  Having always been a lover of books, Robin attributes her creativity to the wonderful overseas adventures she has shared with her husband of 17 years. Traveling throughout Europe and having lived in England opened her mind and with that came a steady stream of story ideas inspired by her author-idols in the mystery/suspense genre.

  If you enjoyed Ms. Mahle’s work, please share your experience by leaving a review on Amazon.

  OTHER WORKS

  All the Shiny Things—A Kate Reid Novel (Book 1)

  Law of Five – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 2)

  Gone Unnoticed – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 3)

  Blackwaters – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 4)

  Endangered -A Kate Reid Novel (Book 5)

  The Kate Reid Series Box Set (Books 1-3)

  Inherent Clarity

  Landslide

  Beyond the Clearing

  Primal Deception - A Lacy Merrick Thriller (Book 1)

  Shadow Rising – A Lacy Merrick Thriller (Book 2) – coming Spring 2017!

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