by Jeff Carson
After another few moments of contemplation, her forehead slackened and she turned to her gear.
“Let’s set up the tents.” He unstrapped his tent off his backpack.
“Tents?”
“Yeah, we want to get it over with,” he said. “Then we can relax, and …”
She looked past him and rubbed her neck.
Shit. He’d gone three minutes without screwing it up and now he was crashing and burning.
Two tents!
That implied they were going to be sleeping in separate tents. Alone. Damn it. The talk about Rachette had thrown him off. No. It was the box that was throwing him off.
“Wait,” he said.
She shook her head, looking at him like he was hopeless.
That wasn’t anger. It wasn’t disappointment. Her eyes were smiling.
She walked up to him and put a hand on his chest. “David.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know where Tom bought that ring all those months ago for Charlotte?”
Wolf slid his eyebrows down. “No.”
She put her arms around his neck and pressed her body against him. Her eyes narrowed, focused on his lips. “Gonsch Jewelers. The guy in town on Main.”
She leaned back abruptly and watched his face, delighting in what she saw.
“Know how I know that?” she asked.
“No.”
“Melanie Gonsch, his daughter, works at the hospital, too. She’s a blood tech. I told her about the whole thing. About Tom and Charlotte.”
Wolf tried to look mildly interested.
“And then she told me she heard from her father there was another cop in there just recently. Of course she told me. She can’t keep a secret to save her life.”
He exhaled and looked at the lake behind her.
She reached up and kissed him, her lips pressing against his, her mouth opening and her tongue sliding into his mouth, seeking his. They kissed the most passionate kiss they’d ever kissed. It was like they’d invented something new.
She pulled away. “The answer’s no.”
Blinking, he stood frozen, a continuous noise coming out of his open mouth.
Again she leaned back, delighting in the sight of his brain shutting down and rebooting.
“What ... why?” he managed to finally ask.
She held onto him tighter. Pressed her body harder into his. The smile melted from her face. “David. I don’t want to get married.”
“O-kay.”
“But,” her eyes filled with tears, “the fact that you got that ring? The fact that you were willing to ask me . . . wait a minute, you were going to ask me, right?”
He smiled and nodded.
She burrowed her face into his chest. When she looked back up there were tears streaming down her cheeks but her eyes were calm. “The fact that you were willing to do that says so much. I just want what’s good for Ella. But I also want what’s good for you. And I don’t want to push you into becoming the father of a six-year-old little girl, either. You don’t have to do that. I just—”
Wolf put a finger under her chin and lifted it.
They stared at one another. Speaking without speaking. To use words would only complicate things.
“My house is so much better than yours,” he said.
She blinked, pulled her eyebrows together. “What?”
“Will you . . . move in with me?”
Putting her head on his chest, she laughed. When she raised her eyes again, Wolf saw she was thinking it through, and to him it looked like she was rapidly convincing herself it a good idea.
“Here.” He pried himself from her arms and got on one knee. “Lauren Coulter. Will you spread your flowery girl crap all over my house?”
Her face dropped. With a mock scowl she put both hands on his shoulders and pushed.
Landing on his back, she stepped over him and sat down slowly. Bending over, her auburn hair fell onto his face as she pressed her breasts onto him, and then her entire, negligible, weight. She reached one hand down and massaged him through his jeans and he immediately returned the favor through hers.
Her breath was hot in his ear.
“Yes,” she said.
With an involuntary shudder he said, “Good.”
THE END.
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David Wolf Series in Order
The Appointed (Wolf #1 and #2 Box Set)
Foreign Deceit (David Wolf #1)
The Silversmith (David Wolf #2)
Alive and Killing (David Wolf #3)
Deadly Conditions (David Wolf #4)
Cold Lake (David Wolf #5)
Smoked Out (David Wolf #6)
To the Bone (David Wolf #7)
Dire (David Wolf #8)
Signature (David Wolf #9)
Sign up for the newsletter and keep up to date about new books (which are always discounted for the first 48 hours) and receive a complimentary copy of Gut Decision by clicking here -- jeffcarson.co/p/newsletter.html.
