Remi kissed the tip of the finger Dallas had used before rolling off the bed to retrieve the blankets they had knocked to the floor.
“Would you be more comfortable if I went back to the guestroom?” Dallas asked.
“That isn’t a serious question, is it?” Remi smoothed the covers over Dallas before taking her in her arms again. “I want you here. I want you to get a good night’s sleep, and then I want to talk to you about where we go from here.”
Dallas snuggled closer. “I feel almost selfish being this happy, because I realize I’m only going to complicate your life with all the crap I have in mine.”
“We’re going to work together to make your life as simple as possible, and we’ll start in the morning. But you have to let me in and trust me. I’ll wait until you’re ready, if it’s tomorrow or a year from now. Just promise me you won’t disappear because you think you’re doing me a favor.”
“I’ll be here until you tell me to go.”
Remi tried to make her kiss show Dallas how much she cared. “Then it’ll be forever before you go anywhere without me.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Emma stood back as Cain finished reading Hannah a story. It was an hour past her regular bedtime, but Hannah had stubbornly kept her eyes open until Cain came upstairs. They made it through three-fourths of the book before Hannah was out for the night. The way Cain tucked the covers around Hannah and kissed her forehead made Emma sigh. Hannah was losing the haunted expression she often wore up North because she was afraid of doing something to make her grandmother unhappy.
“I love you,” Emma said when Cain was close enough for her to put her arms around her waist.
“And I love you, lass.” Cain placed her palms against her cheeks and kissed her. “Think we’ll have another baby like that?”
“I’ll tell you in a week or so.” Cain closed the door and they strolled down the hall to their room. “Daddy started fixing the holes in our walls today.”
“Did the guys finish sweeping?”
“We’re bug-free at the moment, and they’re going through again tomorrow with the new equipment Lou ordered.” She turned around so Cain could unzip her dress. “On another subject, Remi looked pale when they left. What did you two talk about?”
“Dallas,” Cain said, pulling the covers back since they were both naked. “I found what Remi asked me about.”
“Which was?”
“Are you sure you want to know? I promised I wouldn’t even tell her father.”
When Cain clicked off the lamp the room went dark, the only light coming from under the bathroom door. “Is it something Remi can live with?”
“She’ll have to.” Cain pressed up against Emma’s back. “She might not realize it, but she’s in love with her.”
Emma let the subject drop, knowing how Cain felt about breaking her word. She relaxed, listening to Cain breathing and the house settling, and hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep until the phone rang two hours later.
The receiver dropped from Cain’s hand as she groped for it, and she cursed softly as she had to sit up to find it. She finally pressed it to her ear and said nothing as whoever was on the other line said something brief.
“Sorry for waking you, lass.” Cain stood and went to into the bathroom.
“Who was that?” Emma rolled over with her eyes shut to keep from squinting.
“Katlin.” Cain walked out still naked and headed for the closet. “I’ve got to go meet her, but I shouldn’t be long.”
“Just be careful, okay.”
“You got it.” Cain kissed her and pulled the blankets back up. “Go back to sleep.”
The damp chill in the air made Cain glad she’d put on a sweater. Lou was already waiting for her outside the pool house. “Nice night for a chat, don’t you think, Lou?”
“I was coming up to get you.”
“Katlin called and woke me. What’s going on outside?”
“The guys at the gate said the night crew’s on. They changed when Remi pulled out.”
They left a trail in the wet grass as they headed to the back of the yard. Jarvis had dug an exit, but with the light surveillance they didn’t need to use it.
They scaled the wall and dropped to the neighbor’s yard, virtually invisible in their dark clothing. Once they made it though the front gate, they walked two blocks to the car Lou kept parked on the street. He paid his nephew to move it a couple of times a week so no one would notice it.
“Where’s Katlin?” Cain asked as she got into the passenger side.
“She didn’t want to travel too much, so she’s waiting for us at the Esplanade warehouse.”
They drove aimlessly through the downtown area for twenty minutes before heading through the Quarter and into the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood. With no tail, Lou made no more detours on the way to the storage
