'I'll stay in the area, of course. It's too pretty here to leave.'
Dylan agreed. 'You don't have to worry about traffic,' he said. 'That's something I appreciate. Boston's another story.'
'You like to fish?'
'Yes,' he said.
'Great fishing around here. Do you ever think about leaving law enforcement?'
'No.'
'Good. We need men like you. What about a change of pace? We don't have many homicides or bombs going off here. Kate's going to be the talk of the town for years to come. She's quite a pistol, isn't she?'
'Yes, she is.'
'Like I was saying, I'm going to retire. I could probably hold on another six months. What do you think? Will that give you enough time?' //br// Dylan was gone.
Kate was just waking up when she heard the front door shut. She bolted upright in bed. She heard a car start and was instantly furious. How could he leave without so much as a 'see you later'?
'Oh, I don't think so,' she muttered.
She kicked off the sheet and jumped out of bed ready to run after him and give him a piece of her mind because he hadn't bothered to say good-bye. Fortunately, she came to her senses before she left the bedroom. Good Lord, she was stark naked. Wouldn't that be a memory to cherish? A crazed, shrieking, and naked ex-lover chasing him down the street.
He probably left her a note, she decided, but she wasn't in any hurry to read it. It would just break her heart. She took her time getting dressed and finally went downstairs. She walked past his garment bag, stopped, and turned back. Now she felt like an idiot. He hadn't left for Boston after all.
But he would leave today. He was all packed and ready to go, wasn't he? A note in the kitchen confirmed it. He'd written the flight number and time on a piece of paper. The airline's phone number was written above it.
'You knew this was coming,' she told herself.
She sighed. Yes, she'd known, but that didn't make it any easier. How was she going to say good-bye to him? She was a wreck just thinking about it. It would be mortifying if she cried. Don't let me cry, she prayed. Plenty of time for that after he's gone.
It was ridiculous to worry about this a moment longer. He was leaving, and that was that. Breakfast. Yes, she'd fix breakfast because that was what a normal, rational person would do. And when she was finished, she would start her day, and the rest of her life… her lonely, pathetic, stupid, I-don't-need-anyone life.
She grabbed a box of Cheerios out of the pantry and opened it. She didn't bother pouring some into a bowl. She stood at the sink looking out at the overgrown garden while she ate dry cereal.
How would Dylan handle their good-bye? With style, she supposed. Yes, style. He was a pro, after all. With all of his experience, he had to have the routine down pat. There had been so many women over the years he'd kissed good-bye.
And now Kate was one of them.
How could she have been so stupid? This broken heart was her own fault. Dylan hadn't tricked her into falling in love with him. She knew what he was.
She'd spent all those weekends on Nathan's Bay with Jordan and the Buchanans, and every weekend that Dylan and his brothers joined them, the phone never stopped ringing. The callers were invariably female, and they were always looking for Dylan.
It drove her nuts. And he was still driving her nuts.
Kate would concentrate on keeping her emotions under control until he left. Surely she could come up with something clever to say… and she hoped to be inspired any minute now. She heard the front door open.
'Kate?' he called.
And there he was, standing in the doorway, looking almost too good to be out in public. No wonder women flocked to him. He was irresistible.
'You're leaving,' she blurted. Oh, boy, that was inspired.
'In a little while, but-'
She interrupted. 'Please, no explanations are needed. I appreciate your help with… you know, the craziness, but now it's time for you to go home. Your life is in Boston.'
His eyes sparkled. What was he thinking? And why was he so obviously amused? Good-byes weren't funny.
'And my life is here,' she continued. 'I'm not going to move my company to Boston. This is where I belong. I watched that video, and I know I'm nothing like Compton, but listening to him made me realize I don't want to be on the fast track, and I don't want to become obsessed with building my company. I'll expand, but at my own pace. However,' she added, 'there will be times when I'm in Boston visiting Jordan, and we're bound to run into each other. It's inevitable. I don't want what happened between us… why are you smiling?'
'You're not going to give me the 'that was then, this is now' speech again, are you?'
Well, she wouldn't now. 'Good-bye,' she blurted out. 'That's all I wanted to say.'
She considered kissing him on the cheek and telling him she'd miss him, but she decided not to. If she got too close, she'd probably throw herself into his arms and start crying.
'Is it my turn yet?' he asked.
Here it comes, she thought. The smooth good-bye.
'Of course,' she said, bracing herself.
He was casually leaning against the door, acting as though he had all the time in the world to dump her. 'I used to hate pickles when I was a kid. It's an acquired taste,' he explained. 'I love them now.'
Now that, she had to admit, was a unique beginning.
'And I call you pickle.'
She gave him a quizzical frown.
He pulled away from the door. 'Jeez, Kate, put it together.'
'I get it,' she said. 'But you love lots of foods. You love black olives and pretzels and sweet corn and pizza and hot peppers and-'
'No, I don't. Those are all really swell foods. But… I only love pickles.'
'This is the strangest good-bye…'
'I'm not saying good-bye. I'm saying I love you.'
'You love… you what? No, you don't.' She waved the cereal box around as she reacted. 'Don't say… you can't…' Cheerios were flying everywhere.
'Every time I ran into you on Nathan's Bay, you interfered with my love life. You were such a pain. When you weren't screwing things up, you were acting like I wasn't there. I was so damned mad at you all the time, but I kept coming back for more. Then it occurred to me that I always made it a point to find out when you were going to be there for the weekend, and I'd show up, too. Yes, I love you. It just took me awhile to figure it out. And when I did, I started calling you 'pickle' just to make you crazy.'
'You knew I didn't like it.'
'So? I didn't much like being in love with you. For a long time there I thought you were ignoring me and it… unnerved me.'
She pointed the box at him. 'What do you mean, you thought I was ignoring you?'
'You love me, Kate. It took me awhile to figure that out, too. I think you've loved me a long time. You just hadn't realized it yet.'
She shook her head. 'No.'
'Yes.' He stepped toward her. 'I love you.'
She was afraid to believe it. 'Do you tell all of your girlfriends you love them before you leave them? Now that's just mean.'
'Jill Murdock.'
She backed into the dining room. 'Who?'
'Jill Murdock,' he repeated, coming toward her. 'When she called the house, you told her I hadn't made bail yet.'
'I don't recall-'
