by Jana DeLeon
"I'm glad," Richard said, and Dorie could see the relief in his expression. "I've been afraid of what might happen, how you might feel, ever since I found out about Roland. I tried to put myself in your place, but I couldn't come up with anything except anger. I guess I was worried you might feel the same way."
Dorie tilted her head to one side and thought about his words for a moment. "I guess I can see that," she finally acknowledged, "and don't think for a minute that I'm not angry, but I would've been angry about Roland no matter what. His kind tends to bring out the worst in me." She paused for a moment then smiled. "But you have no reason to worry. I have all of Gator Bait to surround me, and coddle me and wear the living hell out of me making sure I'm all right. The phone lines are probably buzzing already."
Richard nodded. "I guess you do. How's Maylene?"
Dorie grinned. "All fired up about being the one to take Roland down and telling anyone who'll listen." She sobered for a moment and shook her head. "She was really lucky, you know."
"Yeah," Richard agreed. "With all the police calls that Maylene made, Roland wasn't about to take a chance of ruining his deal over another nosy female. Between you now and your mother years ago, I think he'd had enough of women to last a lifetime"
Dorie nodded. "I'm just glad it all turned out all right. Maylene's a royal pain in the ass, and a complete nut, but she's still family."
"God forbid," Richard said and smiled.
"What about Buster? How's he doing?"
"He's going to be fine. He'll have a headache for a couple of days-at least until he and my dad are back to normal. Then I'm going to kill them both for going after Roland themselves instead of telling us about the shack on Buster's duck lease that Roland used as a hideout the first time."
"Yeah. I wouldn't want to be in either of their shoes right now" He gave her a puzzled look. "What I still can't figure out is why Roland didn't kill Buster straight away."
Dorie nodded. "Simple really. He was going to keep Buster away long enough to pass some money through the shrimp house account, then turn him loose to take the fall."
Richard shook his head. And given what we now know about Buster and Roland's past, no one would have believed his kidnapping story, especially if that fisherman hadn't gotten to your father in time."
Dorie nodded. "It was his biggest mistake, leaving them alive, but I'm glad he made it. He should have just left Curtis wide open for accusation, but I guess he didn't trust him either."
Richard gave her a small smile and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry about Curtis," he said gently.
Dorie nodded and looked away, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to break through. "I miss him already," she said. "Even though he wanted me dead." She looked back at Richard. "Is that stupid?"
He shook his head. "No. It's not stupid. It's tragic, really. If only Curtis had confided in you before he got involved with Roland, maybe you could have found something else for him."
"I don't think so," she said. "And I've thought about little else since I left Maylene's. I mean, I could have gotten Curtis a job with Wildlife and Fisheries. In fact, I'd offered him jobs many times. The money just wasn't there, and it turns out Curtis had a big gambling habit. "
"Making it easy for him to launder large amounts of money," Richard finished.
Dorie nodded. "But I never knew that he felt that way about the killing in hunting season. I swear I had no idea." She brushed the back of her hand across her eyes.
Looking down at Richard, she tried to smile. "So you finally got your man, Agent Starke. What are you going to do now?" She tried to keep her tone light, but was positive that her eyes gave her away. Every step of the way from her dad's hospital room, Dorie had rolled around the image of the ecstatic looks on Joe's and Jenny's faces. That expression of pure love. A love she thought she'd never find.
Until now. Then it hit her like a freight train as she stared at the man in front of her. All the things she'd said at the breeding grounds stalling for time were the truth. She did love Richard. And she'd only figured that out in time for him to leave.
Well, shit on a stick. She was in love with Richard. This was a turn of events she'd never seen coming, and for someone as perceptive as she was, that was an appalling thought. How had this happened? When had it happened?
She drew in a breath and tried to clear her thoughts. The sex had been great, but then it wasn't like she hadn't had great sex before Richard. Okay, maybe not as great as with Richard but still not anything to complain about.
Usually.
But if it wasn't the sex, that only left the alternative: Dorie Berenger had fallen completely and madly in love with the most aggravating man on the planet, despite her best judgment.
Well, hell.
Finally accepting reality for what it was, she looked at Richard, anxiously studying his expression and trying to decipher what he was thinking and at the same time trying not to place so much importance on his answer. The answer that would make or break the rest of her life. Because, after all, he still had a job to do, and it wasn't over yet. At least not for the DEA.
Richard stared at her for a moment then blew out a breath, still looking slightly dazed that it was all over. "I'll head back to D.C. first. Put together an airtight case against Roland." He looked out the hospital window and shook his head. "After that, I don't know. My entire adult life has been defined by this one man. I don't have any idea what to do. It's like being freed from prison."
Dorie nodded, understanding exactly what he was saying, because she was in the same position. For so long they'd both operated with a single-minded purpose-Dick to avenge his father and Dorie to take care of hers. Now, Dick's lifelong quest had been fulfilled, and in its pursuit, Dorie had realized that caring for her dad didn't have to mean sticking with a job she really didn't want.
"Your buddies from D.C. should be here in an hour or so," she said. "The hospital agreed to release you to them." She looked at him and choked back the tears. "So I guess this is good-bye."
Richard reached up and gathered her in his arms. "It's only good-bye for now. As soon as things are settled, we'll figure out what to do about us. I promise."
She hugged him tightly, wanting his words to be the truth, but couldn't ignore the feeling that everything she thought she knew had suddenly and drastically changed.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Three weeks later, Dorie sat in the Gator Bait sheriff's office and blew out a breath of frustration.
After Roland's arrest, things had changed so rapidly. First, her dad had officially resigned from his job as sheriff, and the special election for his replacement had turned out every sober resident in Gator Bait-a new town record. The townspeople were still celebrating their newfound notoriety for aiding in the capture of one of the most wanted drug dealers in history, but Dorie couldn't seem to jump on the party wagon.
"You've got your feet on my desk." Joe smiled at her as he walked in. Of course, Joe hadn't stopped smiling ever since Jenny had agreed to marry him. Being elected sheriff had just been the icing on the cake. She grinned and moved her feet to the floor.
"Old habits," she said.
He sat down in a chair across from her and nodded. "Maybe it's time to get some new habits."
"Don't start on me again today, Joe. I'm not in the mood. Between you and my dad, there's just no peace in my life anymore. The only person who respects my wish for silence is Jenny."
Joe's face softened at the mention of his true love, but narrowed back into focus a second later. "Don't try and distract me. It won't work this time. You're wasting away here. Why haven't you applied for a game warden position in a big district?"
She shrugged. "I don't want to make a rash decision."
"Rash?" Joe said. "It's been weeks. Jesus Christ, Dorie, I've gotten engaged and become an elected official in the same time frame. You, on the other hand, are living in a room at the motel and still traipsing around the same marsh you grew up in."
&n
bsp; "Are you trying to get rid of me?"
“No, I'm not trying to get rid of you," Joe said, his frustration apparent. "Well, hell, maybe I am trying to get rid of you. He gave her a hard look. "You're wasting time, Dorie. Stop worrying about what might have been. If you want something, then take it. It's not like you have your dad to worry about any longer."
Dorie blew out a breath. Her dad's lack of financial dependence on her was still a sticky point. Apparently, Buster and her dad's foray into covering up drug running had yielded more money than they needed to keep the shrimp house open. Buster had squirreled away the extra in one of those non-reported banks on an unknown island somewhere in the Bahamas. Unfortunately, just as they were ready to retire, a new government had taken over the island and seized all the funds. It had taken them more than twelve years to get a portion of it back.
That "portion" had equaled well over two million.
With Roland's arrest and all other past indiscretions now known to law enforcement, they figured it was time to cash in the funds and retire in style.
They used the money to add handicapped features to Buster's retirement home in Florida and hire a full-time housekeeper/cook/nurse, and the two of them had gone off to the Sunshine State a week earlier, happy as pigs in shit. Dorie had been furious over the money, but there was nothing to be done about it. Buster had laundered it through the shrimp house, so as far as anyone else knew, he'd earned it all.
But the biggest surprise had been when Buster asked Jenny to take over running the shrimp house and made her a partner. She'd stepped up to the challenge, hired someone to work the diner, and was fast becoming the sharpest businesswoman in Gator Bait. Stella was busy telling everyone how Jenny had learned everything from her.
"It just so happens, Mr. Know-It-All," Dorie said with a smug smile, "that I have a new position starting in August."
Joe stared at her in obvious surprise. "You're kidding me. Where? What will you be doing?"
Dorie laughed. "Don't get all excited just yet," she said. "I'm still staying in Gator Bait as the game warden. I'll just be commuting to Lake Charles a couple of days a week for my other job."
"What job?"
"Lake Charles University has offered me a teaching position in their brand-new criminology department. Before I left Rutgers, I'd finished all of my required course work for my Ph.D., and the faculty agreed to extend the deadline for submitting my dissertation. By the end of the year, you'll have to refer to me as Dr. Berenger."
A huge smile broke out on Joe's face. "That's fantastic, Dorie. You'll be perfect for the job."
Dorie smiled back at him. "Just a minute ago, you wanted to get rid of me," she teased.
Joe laughed. "Not exactly. I just wanted you to do something more with your talent. This is the best of both worlds. You're finally using that mind of yours for something besides beating me at cards, and I get to keep my best friend close by."
"That's what Jenny said."
For a moment, a crestfallen look appeared on Joe's face and Dorie had to smile. "Jenny knew before me?" he asked.
"Now don't go pouting on me, Joe," Dorie said. "You know I type like crap. Jenny's been helping me polish up my dissertation since she's a wiz with all those charts and graphs and fancy computer things. I didn't want to tell anyone else until I knew for sure. You understand, don't you?"
Joe smiled. "So that's what you two have been doing all those evenings I had late patrol."
"Guilty as charged," Dorie replied, and the smile begin to vanish from her face. She felt her eyes cloud and turned her gaze out the window, hoping Joe wouldn't clue in on the hurt that lay underneath the excitement of starting her new life.
"Have you called him?" Joe asked, breaking into her thoughts.
She sighed as Joe hit on the one topic she'd been trying to avoid. "Of course I've called."
"So?"
"So what?"
Joe took a deep breath. "So what did he say?"
"He didn't say anything. He wasn't home."
Joe stared at her in surprise. "And he didn't call back?"
She shook her head and avoided his eyes, but it didn't work.
"You did leave a message for him, didn't you?"
"Not exactly," she said, trying to work around the truth.
"What do you mean, not exactly?"
She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Hell, no, I didn't leave a message. The man has been gone three weeks and aside from two calls to get information for his case files, hasn't even tried to contact me. And don't say I didn't make an effort. I might not have left a message, but this is the technology age. How many people do you think he has on caller ID hailing from Gator Bait, Louisiana?"
Fortunately for her, Joe knew when to throw in the towel. He sighed and shook his head. "Well, then move on, Dorie. You're on to something new with your career. Maybe it's time to change other things too. You've been mooning around this town for too long. Even Maylene has taken to inquiring as to your welfare on a daily basis. That's just not right."
Dorie smiled. Ever since Maylene had been given a special award for bravery by the DEA, she had trailed Dorie and Joe as often as possible, insisting she was destined for a career in law enforcement. "No one has to inquire about me, Joe. I'm fine. Just a little bored. That's not against the law, is it?"
"Not the last time I checked," Richard's voice came from the doorway behind them. They both whirled around and stared. "Of course," he continued, "I know how you small towns operate. It's entirely possible you changed the laws after I left."
"Dick," Joe said and jumped up from his chair to offer his hand. "How the hell are you? What brings you back to town?"
"I'm fine," Richard said. "In fact, I'm better than fine. The case against Roland is solid as a rock. He'll never see the light of day. As for why I'm here…" He cast an apprehensive look at Dorie. "I have some unfinished business to attend to."
Dorie sprang from her seat and glared at him. "Unfinished business! You've got some nerve, Richard Starke, to call what went on between us business. And I have news for you-that business was finished when you never called."
Richard didn't even try to look sorry, and she saw Joe cast a sideways glance in her direction, probably trying to figure out if she was armed.
“I was busy," Richard said and smiled.
Joe whistled. "Boy, you're never gonna learn."
"Busy? You were busy?" Dorie stared at him, incredulous. "What the hell kept you so involved that you couldn't even pick up the phone and make a call?"
"Being busy is not what kept me from calling" Richard said softly. "Not being prepared is what kept me from calling. That's why it's taken until now for me to come here. I had to make arrangements."
"What arrangements?" she asked, instantly suspicious.
He gave her a broad smile. "Well, for starters, there was my transfer to negotiate with the Gulf Coast division of the DEA. I'll be based out of Lake Charles."
"Really?" Dorie asked, afraid the punch line was coming.
Richard nodded. "After my big Roland capture, they were ecstatic to have me. I didn't tell them about my secret weapon." He gave Dorie a wink.
Dorie stared at him, too shocked to say another word, too scared that the moment was a dream and any minute it would vanish. But when she blinked her eyes, Richard was still there, right in front of her, smiling at her like it would last forever.
"And besides," he continued, "now that you'll be working in Lake Charles part of the time, I figured we could carpool. That is if you're willing to drive around in that foreign piece of shit I have."
Dorie's mouth dropped open in surprise. "How did you know about the teaching job? I just told Joe a few minutes ago."
"A little bird told me," he replied with a smug smile.
Dorie looked over at Joe and they both shook their heads. "Jenny," they said in unison.
"Here I thought she was respecting my need for privacy, and the whole time she's been passing out information beh
ind my back," Dorie said. "You just wait until I get a hold of her."
"Now, don't be mad at Jenny," Richard said. "She was only trying to take care of you, as usual, and I needed information so I could go about finding a place to live-a place for both of us to live."
"You want to live with me?" Dorie asked, trying not to show any excitement. "You mean, like domesticated living?"
"That is the generally accepted form," Richard said, his voice serious.
"Well, I don't know about all that," Dorie said. "There's still some things I have to take care of first. It's not like I can just up and move."
"Oh, for Christ's sake, Dorie," Joe exclaimed. "Everything you ever owned has sank in the bayou or blown up on your boat. All you have left will fit in a duffle bag."
"Well, me and my duffle bag still have our standards. And I'm not so sure that domesticated is part of my vocabulary."
Joe snorted and rolled his eyes at Richard, who smiled, and pulled a photo from his shirt pocket. "I was kind of hoping that this would do for living quarters." He handed the photo to Dorie. She reached out and hesitantly took the photo, then stared down at it.
It was a picture of a boat. A really, really big boat. All sparkling white, with three levels and a hot tub, of all things, right there on the deck. "Oh my God," Dorie whispered. "You actually bought this?"
Richard nodded. "The hot tub was the major selling point. I figured we could work out your water submersion issues in a couple of different ways. Strictly for scientific reasons, of course." He grinned at her. "Check out the back," he said and handed her another photo.
Trying to control her shaking hands, she took the photo and read the name printed in bold black letters across the back, Dorie's Pleasure. She looked at Richard and tried to hold back the tears that were welling in her eyes.
