Remember Murder
Page 35
Every word he said was true, every word was uttered with honesty and love and respect, and Claire sat there, not sure what to think or what to do. She looked away from him and thought about what it would be like not to be a homicide detective, not to put criminals, cold-blooded killers behind bars, and couldn’t really fathom it. It had been her life as long as she could remember. But what he said, that sounded pretty good, too.
So she was as honest as he was. She owed him that. “I don’t know what to say right now. You sprang this on me out of the blue. I’ve got to think it through.”
“I’ll give you all the time you need. Charlie already said he’d give you a leave of absence, you told me that yourself. For as long as you want and that you always have a place in his department. You could try it down here for a few months, see if you like it, see if we can make it work. Or we can live here in the winter and there in the summer. I have that kind of flexibility. It’s up to you.”
Claire stared at him, seriously considering what he had proposed. “I’ll think about it, okay. I won’t say I won’t do it yet. Is that good enough for you?”
Black gave a triumphant grin and pulled her into his arms. “Hell, that’s better than I expected. I thought you’d give me a flat no-way. And while you’re thinking about it, think about that marriage thing, too. I can get a priest here in half an hour.”
Then he was kissing her, pressing her back against the sofa, and she lost control of all thought, like she always did with him. Truth was, she loved this guy, too, as much as he loved her. Their relationship had reached a turning point now, one that he had been thinking about, and now she had to do the same thing. She was just happy the choice wasn’t her career or him, as she had often feared it would be. So all she had to do now was decide. But he had given her that time, time to consider what she really wanted out of her life and how much she wanted it. He had given her a very good way to have her cake and eat it, too. Now it was up to her. Right now she had no idea what she wanted, except that she wanted him to keep kissing her and touching her the way he was doing right now. She could think about everything else tomorrow. That’s right, tomorrow was another day. Just like Scarlett O’Hara, but this time with a shiny badge and two trusty guns.
Linda Ladd is the bestselling author of over a dozen novels. Remember Murder marks her exciting return to the Claire Morgan series. Linda makes her home in Missouri, where she is at work on her next novel featuring Claire Morgan.
Visit her on the web at www.lindaladd.com.
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Copyright © 2013 Linda Ladd
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First electronic edition: June 2013
ISBN: 978-1-6018-3050-0
First print edition: June 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1-60183-211-5
ISBN-10: 1-60183-211-7