Jag laughed. “Sometimes I think this family has loved her more than I have.”
His father raised his mug. “She’s something special, and she brings out the best in you.”
The toaster popped up a couple of bagels. His father went about slathering them with cream cheese. He set them on two plates and sat down at the kitchen table.
Jag joined him, snagging one of the crispy raisin bagels covered with melting cream cheese. He dipped his index finger in the creamy white stuff, sucking it into his mouth before taking a big bite. He chewed as fast as he could and swallowed. “I want to ask her to stay.”
“So do it.”
“I want to give her the engagement ring back.”
His father spit out his coffee. “As in you still want to marry her? Like jump right back into that pool?”
“I take it you think that idea is crazy.”
“No, son. I don’t think it’s nuts. Not from your perspective. But from hers? It might be.” His father ripped off a piece of his bagel and plopped it in his mouth. “Why did she come back?”
“To try to get an interview from me and finish her book,” Jag said. His heart skipped a beat as he realized she never really gave him a second thought. Being with him during these last two weeks hadn’t been something she’d thought about like he had over the last year.
Or if she had, she hadn’t let him know that.
“That’s the only reason?” his father asked.
“That’s what she told me.”
“And you took that at face value?”
“Dad, what are you getting at?” Jag asked.
“She was madly in love with you. She knew things about you and that case that no one else did. She could have written that chapter about you without ever interviewing you. Did you ever consider that maybe, even if it was subconscious, that she came back because she wanted and needed to be with you?”
“No, actually, I hadn’t,” Jag admitted. Not for one second did he ever consider Callie came back for the sole purpose of being with him. Nope. It had been about the book.
Which meant she hadn’t really changed.
Only she had.
Jag rubbed his temples. “She keeps telling me she’s leaving soon.”
“Do you believe her?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Have you ever thought that she’s wanting you to fight for her? Because, no offense, son, but you never did that before.”
Jag stuffed another large bite of his bagel in his mouth. He chewed slowly, taking in some coffee, letting it soak the bread as he stared out the window into the dark morning sky. His father was right. He didn’t fight for her a year ago because she’d bruised his fragile ego. “I’ve told her I still love her.”
“And what does she say?”
“That she loves me too, but she can’t go back. That once this book is done, she’s closing the chapter and moving on.”
“And what do you think that looks like?”
“Dad, pardon my language, but I have no fucking clue. I didn’t think I’d ever have a second chance, so I’m grasping at a lot of straws here. I’m doing everything I can think of to show her how much I respect her, value her, and love her. Outside of that, I’m at a total loss.”
His father chuckled. He pushed his empty plate away and took a good gulp of his coffee. “I’m not sure you can do much more than that, but I want you to consider one thing.”
“Yeah. What’s that?”
“Look closely at what is making things so different right now from where you were a year ago.”
“That’s actually easy. I’m not the lead detective, and she’s not a reporter.”
“Okay. That’s one aspect. But dig deeper, because it’s more than that. Your old jobs are too superficial and an external conflict that is easily resolved. The two of you are on a different level, and I think it’s more about understanding and knowing what you want out of life. You used to think all that mattered was your record, but now you know that serving your community is what it’s all about. You know that being a police officer isn’t about the impeccable record but about doing right by the people you serve. How is what she’s doing different than being a reporter? What is the purpose of her writing this book?”
Wow. That was a really good question and one that Jag had spent a lot of time pondering, but not one he was willing to ask Callie. Not yet, anyway. “Honestly, I think it’s three-fold.”
“Explain,” his father said.
“She’s doing it for Stephanie. To keep her memory alive as well as every other victim. To give them a voice and make sure their stories are heard.”
“That’s a noble cause,” his father said. “What else?”
“To change the direction of her original reporting. Make up for the sensationalism and go back to what made her want to become an investigative reporter to begin with.”
“And could the third aspect of this possibly be to reconnect with you and see where that takes the both of you?” his father asked.
That wasn’t where Jag planned on taking the third part of his thought process, but it made more sense than his theory, which had been…well, fuck, he didn’t have a third tier.
“It could be,” Jag agreed. “But she’s constantly telling me she’s leaving. Like last night when Mom said we could stay in the same room, Callie made a point of letting me know that it was no big deal if we didn’t share a bed because when the book was done, she was gone.”
“But you two slept together anyway.”
Jag nodded. “Why dirty two sets of sheets for Mom to clean.”
“You are my son.” His father let out a short laugh and quickly cleared his throat. “But it sounds like she might be trying to convince herself that she should leave and perhaps subconsciously wanting you to ask her to stay. But giving her the ring and re-proposing marriage might be a little rushed and could
