Turning to Kasey, she forced the younger woman to look her into the eyes. “There was nothing that you or any other person on earth could do that would have kept me out of that room. If I had to crash through the window, I would have. So for the very last time, to the BOTH of you, I am responsible for getting myself shot. Do I make myself clear?”
Del heard the words and believed them but continued to stare defiantly at her deputy, daring her to say anything.
Jenny stepped in front of Kasey, putting the taller woman’s front to her back, and reached out to Delaney. “I realize that you’re upset right now, but please don’t say anything that you might regret later,” the younger woman turned her head to look at Kasey. “Either one of you.”
Looking at the blonde Kasey bit her tongue and took a deep breath before turning to look at Raelin. “Perfectly clear, I would have done the same exact thing if Jenny had been in that room. I understand that it was your decision, but there is a bit of guilt that I will always keep with me because I had promised to keep you safe. I can let everything but that go, but I’ll work on it.”
Turning back to her boss, Kasey’s face was serious. “I don’t approve of what you did. I don’t agree with your reasoning, but like Rae said, I have no idea what was going on in your life. The past is past, and I’ll leave it at that. Good enough?”
Raelin added a mental picture of her and Delaney at the glen, with the blonde asleep with her head in Raelin’s lap while thinking. “If Ariel hears your emotion, she’s gonna wake up and will want to sleep with us, and I need you.”
She knew her wife was right and knew she had to calm down. Del let out a long breath and finally nodded. “Good enough,” she agreed, backing down. She was just too tired at this point to maintain the anger any longer anyway.
Kasey stared at her friend for a long moment before saying. “I’ll see you in the morning I guess.” Turning to Raelin the Deputies face softened. “I’ll drive by the Nook one more time before I head home. We’ll keep you both informed if something else comes up.” She put her hand on Jenny’s back.
“Let me know if you need anything, Rae,” Jenny offered as they were leaving.
Raelin wrapped her arms around Delaney’s shoulders and whispered that she would be right back before she escorted them out.
Kai joined the threesome outside next to Kasey’s truck. “That sounded interesting.”
Kasey scowled at her sister. “Not now, Kai.”
Standing next to the Deputy, Raelin wanted to make sure that everyone was still friends. “Are we good, Kasey?”
“Yeah, we’re fine, Raelin,” Kasey assured her with a tired smile. “I need to go check on the Nook and make sure Douglas and Michaels are okay. Someone has to be the Chief around here, I guess.”
“Don’t get too comfy in the position. Delaney will want it back,” Raelin softened the words with a smile. She started to step away when she remembered. “Kai, I’m sorry. Here’s something for taking care of Ariel,” she pulled out a folded twenty-dollar bill and handed it to the young girl.
Shaking her head Kai simply smiled at the older woman. “She slept the whole time and you all have dealt with enough tonight. That one was on the house.”
“I insist, you gave up your evening.” Raelin pressed it into her hand and stepped away. “See you guys tomorrow.” She watched as Kasey quickly pulled out of the drive and the truck headed down the road. She stood in the silent night a few minutes before turning to go back inside and find her wife.
Del paced around the front room a few times, trying to sort her thoughts. She knew if she let herself get too worked up, she would wake Ariel with her emotions and she really wouldn’t be in a good place to placate the little girl. She hadn’t been expecting Kasey to be so angry at her and the blast of disdain had nearly knocked the wind out of her when it snuck past her mental defenses.
Coming up behind her wife, the witch wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled the blonde against her. “Stop thinking about it,” Raelin whispered in her mind.
“Kasey is the last person I want to be fighting with right now. I felt the hurt when I snapped at her about what happened. I just really don’t need to be catching hell from her on top of everyone else.”
“Hun, I’m not excusing her for giving you hell. She has no right to do that, and I know that you regret doing what you did, and you hate the way that it came out, but it is a rather big shock,” Raelin tried to explain and kept a hold of her love.
“I know. I’ve already said I’m not proud of it. That’s not who I am Raelin, you know that. That wasn’t who I was then. I was just a desperate kid,” Del said, closing her eyes and leaning back against Raelin’s front.
“Delaney...” Raelin whispered into her ear while pressing against her wife. “I am not judging you. What you did made you into the person you are today, and I am totally in love with you and I’m not going anywhere,” she kissed the blonde’s temple.
Delaney had no idea what she had done to deserve this woman in her life, but she had never been more grateful for it than she was in that moment. “I love you too,” she managed around the lump in her throat, pressing closer to Raelin and squeezing the arms around her waist tighter.
“Why don’t you head on upstairs while I clean up real quick in the kitchen,” Raelin offered.
“Okay, I’m going to take a shower,” Del murmured as she stepped out of the circle of Raelin’s arms and headed for the stairs.
Waiting until she knew that blonde was well up the stairs, Raelin went into the kitchen. “I hope that she didn’t hear you Rori.”
“Well, I’d like an explanation. I heard bits and pieces of things and I really hope it’s not true,” he said from his perch on the kitchen table, next to the bottle of whiskey.
Picking up the glass Raelin drank what was left in the glass and poured herself another. “What exactly did you hear?”
“I heard that the Nook was nearly burned down and that the woman you married is a criminal.” He answered, his whiskers twitching in disapproval as he watched Raelin drink from the glass. “And since when do you drink whiskey?”
Raelin turned and stared at her familiar. “If you are going to start listening to gossip and rumors, you can get the hell out of my house. I will not put up with you putting down my wife. And you don’t know everything about me, so there.”
“I did not say I believed it. You asked me what I had heard and I’m telling you. Do not get snippy with me child, you have bigger things to deal with,” he said evenly.
“And what does that mean exactly?”
“It means someone out there is trying to hurt one or both of you and I’d rather have you spend your energy trying to keep yourself safe instead of fighting with me. We’re both on the same side here,” he said approaching Raelin and sitting near the edge of the table. “Now are you going to let me know what happened so I can at least see if I can find out anything in town?”
Sighing, Raelin sat down at the table with her head in her hands. “I don’t even know where to start. Come to find out, Delaney used to deliver drugs as a teenager, and it’s going to come out as a story in the Picayune tomorrow, so she is suspended during the investigation. In addition to make matters worse, the Nook was fire bombed tonight. There wasn’t much smoke or fire damage, but there was some water damage, but it was minimal.”
“Any suspects?” he asked, leaning to rub his nose against Raelin’s forehead.
Closing her eyes and letting her familiar calm her, the witch sighed. “None yet, but the investigation has just started. Why can’t we have a peaceful life? Is that too much to ask for?”
“I don’t know child. I hope that things will calm once you’ve figured this out. It doesn’t help that Delaney seems to attract trouble where ever she goes,” he said affectionately.
“I hope so...So, how is Tasha? I haven’t seen her today?” Raelin asked, concerned about their newest cat.
“I’m not sure, actually. Last I was allowed t
o grace Miss Moody’s presence; she was bunkered in that comfy box Del built her.” He chuckled.
“She must be almost ready to give birth if she’s in the box. Looks like you’re gonna be a daddy soon, old man.” Raelin smirked.
Rori’s green eyes went impossibly wide. “Raelin, it’s too soon. She isn’t due for another three weeks yet. She’s just having a moody day, that’s all,” he said trying to reassure himself.
“Those kittens may be ready to come out, and you don’t know for sure when Tasha actually got pregnant. I’ll have Delaney talk with her to see how she’s feeling. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like for you to ask the town cats if they saw anything out of the ordinary earlier this evening, and to ask them if they would keep an eye out for anything else.” Raelin stood up from the table.
“I was already making a plan,” he said. “And yes, if you wouldn’t mind having Del check on her that would be great. She hasn’t let me near her since this morning. She said her back is terribly sore and it’s all my fault,” he said sheepishly, jumping down and rubbing himself against his witch’s legs.
“It take two cats to make kittens, Rori. Be careful out there.” Putting the glass in the sink, Raelin stowed away the bottle of whiskey and set the wards around the house before heading upstairs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Del stood in front of mirror having just stepped out of the shower. She’d finished towel drying her hair and used it to wipe a clear spot in the mirror where she was now staring at herself. She heard Raelin enter the room and shook her head, grabbing her brush and starting on the long golden hair as she pulled the bathroom door open and greeted her. “Hey, everything okay downstairs?”
“Rori says that Tasha is camping out in her box and would like it very much if you would have a talk with her to see if she is feeling alright.” Raelin sat down on the bed and sighed.
The blonde’s hand paused in its brushing and she looked at her wife. “Doesn’t that usually mean a cat is ready to give birth?”
“Means that she’s awfully close, yeah.” The brunette gave her wife a small smile. “Feeling better Babe?”
“I feel cleaner, I wouldn’t say better. Did you want to have a shower? I can go down and talk to Tasha while you do that and meet you back up here? Or we can just go right to bed it’s up to you,” she asked, wincing when the brush caught a stubborn tangle.
Standing up, Raelin took the brush from the blonde and started untangling the knot. “Let me work this out and then you can go talk with Tasha. I don’t want to let Rori down.”
“Okay,” she let Raelin work the knot for a minute or so. “I think I need a haircut,” she chuckled.
“Hmm, a trim maybe, but please don’t cut it much. I love your long hair,” Raelin murmured.
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that to you Darlin’. Just a trim, I promise.” Del smiled. “I’ll be right back, lemme talk to Tasha, and then I’m all yours. You say you are okay, but I can feel the stress rolling off you.”
“Go take care of Tasha, I’m going to take a quick shower,” the witch patted her wife on the back and headed into the bathroom, shucking her clothes as she went.
Pulling on a pair of shorts to go under the t-shirt she’d pulled on, Del headed down the stairs and kneeled in front of the box she’d made for Tasha. She gave it a soft knock before calling the feline’s name. “Tasha? It’s me Del, how you making out sweetie?”
“Remind me to bite the hell out of Rori the next time I see him. These kittens feel like they are chasing a mouse in there.” The feline growled.
Fighting back the laugh that threatened to break free, Del nodded. “You think they might be trying to make an escape soon?”
“I hope so, because it’s getting quite uncomfortable to do anything, and I even mean lying here.” The cat shifted a little.
“Is there anything we can do for you? Either now or when the kittens come?” she asked, reaching out a hand and silently asking if it was okay to touch the feline.
The cat lowered her head, asking to be scratched behind her ears. “Not right now, but I’ll let you know when they get here. How are things with you? I hear that there was some excitement earlier. Are you alright?”
Scratching gently behind the calico’s ears, Del let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m as okay as I can be. I’ve been suspended from work and now I have no idea how I’m going to protect Raelin. I was hoping I could figure out who was behind the various threats and vandalism, but now I have to stay away from all of it.”
“Delaney there is investigating and then there is INVESTIGATING. You just have to make sure that you’re not caught. Just pussy foot around. I bet that you could do that just fine.” Tasha’s eyes twinkled for a moment before she shifted again.
“Oh, oh you’re right.” Del grinned. “I knew I liked you for a reason. Raelin and I will be upstairs if you need us.” She smiled, giving the feline an extra scratch behind the ears before taking her leave and heading back up to the bedroom.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Standing underneath the falling water Raelin let it wash away her fears and anxieties. She didn’t want to have to deal with the news conference the next day but understood that it was a necessary evil. Beware any reporter that attacked her wife. Hanging her head she let the water hit her shoulders and moaned.
Del saw that the bathroom door was still closed, heard the water running and knew that her wife was still in the shower, most likely trying to center herself. She climbed into the bed and pulled out a book, trying to calm her own thoughts as she waited.
When the water finally began to turn tepid Raelin turned it off, got out of the shower and began to dry off. As she turned and faced the mirror, her chest scar caught her attention. She ran a finger over the smooth skin. She never blamed Kasey for what had happened, but evidently both she and Delaney couldn’t let things go. Hanging up the towel she quickly got dressed and opened the door to the bedroom seeing the blonde in bed and asleep. Quietly she padded over to the bed slid between the sheets and curled up against her wife laying her arms around her waist.
Del felt when Raelin joined her in the bed and she immediately rolled to face her wife, curling into her front and breathing in the fresh clean smell of her skin. “It’s okay if you are upset with me or disappointed or whatever,” she said softly, her voice still a little rough from sleep.
Wrapping her arms around the blonde, Raelin answered, “I could never be disappointed in you Delaney. We’ll work through this like we work through everything else. Together.”
She pressed a gentle kiss against the skin of Rae’s neck, her fingers tracing the hem in Raelin’s shirtsleeves. “You haven’t really talked about how you feel. You’ve spent all night reassuring me. Tonight was hard on you too.”
“I’m worried about the store, but I’m...I’m scared that the dreams might come true, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them.” Raelin looked over Delaney’s golden head, and out the window to see twinkling stars.
“I’m going to do everything I can not to let them happen. I don’t care what I have to do to accomplish that. I might not be able to investigate under an official capacity, but I’m still licensed to be a private investigator. If I need to go back to doing that, I will,” Del said with determination leaning back slightly to look Raelin in the eyes.
“I don’t want you to do anything that would jeopardize your chance to get back your job. We can figure this out together Delaney,” she stared back into cool green eyes.
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Or Ariel,” Del said quietly, tucking a stray lock of dark hair behind Raelin’s ear.
Leaning forward, the witch let her lips brush against her wife’s. “I don’t want anything to happen to you either.”
Holding Raelin’s face close, Del let their lips brush together once more. “We’ll figure it out, just like you said. Together. I love you so very much Raelin Delacroix.”
“I love you Delaney...from the moment I first saw you,” Raelin admit
ted. “I knew that you were mine.”
“You took my breath away the first time I saw you. I damn near spilled my coffee all down my front.” Del smiled, kissing the corner of Raelin’s lips and then up her jaw. “You stopped me dead with all the bronze skin you were flashing that day.”
Chuckling softly, Raelin smiled. “I was wearing jogging shorts and a tank top, I wasn’t flashing anyone.”
“Maybe not, but you’d been jogging and you looked damn good all sweaty and out of breath,” Del said her voice low as she remembered the first glimpse she’d ever had of her wife. Her fingers instinctively found the skin at the hem of Raelin’s shirt as they lay together.
“I felt your eyes on my body. I think that’s when I really knew we were meant to be together. It was like what your hands are doing right now,” the brunette murmured, and then gasped as Delaney’s fingers touched a sensitive spot.
“Really? I would think the real thing is much better,” the blonde teased coyly, her fingers moving higher over silky skin.
“Ahh...oh, it is...much better,” Raelin breathed out.
“I would hope so, otherwise, I might think I’m doing something wrong,” she murmured back, her lips ghosting over the sensitive skin just behind Raelin’s ear.
“Oh, you’re doing everything right...right there, just right.”
“And this?” Delaney asked, her fingers lightly trailing along the underside of a perfect breast, lips nipping gently at Raelin’s chin.
“Tha...th...that’s good too.” Raelin shuddered at the light touch.
Rolling carefully she pressed Raelin to the bed and hovered over top of her. “I really need to be close to you right now. Is this okay?” Delaney had felt the need to ask, considering the evening they’d had.
“This is more than okay...I need you too,” Raelin admitted.
Leaning down Del finally caught Raelin’s lips in a deep kiss, drawing it out until they were both breathless. She let her weight settle against her wife the hand not holding her up, once more trailing up Raelin’s side, this time taking her shirt with it.
Rising up, the witch helped pull her shirt off before lying back down and reached for Delaney’s. “This needs to come off now.”
Intuition Page 43
