I put a hand over my mouth, and my vision blurred.
Sonterra kissed my belly button and covered me up with the sides of my paper hospital gown. “Maybe this isn’t a good time to talk about this,” he said gruffly, “but the city council offered me a permanent job. They’ll sell us the house if we decide to stay.”
“If we decide to stay?” I took his hand, and our fingers interlocked.
“It’s as much your decision as mine,” Sonterra said. “If you want to go back to Scottsdale, we will. No questions asked.”
I raised his hand to my mouth, brushed my lips along the ridges of his knuckles.
“I think we ought to give Dry Creek a chance,” I said.
His eyes lit up, and a smile quirked at the corner of his mouth.
“Anyway, I wasn’t about to give up my job with the prosecutor’s office,” I added.
Sonterra laughed. “I love you, Counselor,” he said.
I kissed him. “It’s a damn good thing. Think I’ll make it as a cop’s wife?”
He caressed my stomach. “So far, so good.”
Since we were having a heart-to-heart, I decided to tell him about the other Clare. He helped me into my clothes as he listened, and I waited anxiously for his response when I finished.
“Weird,” he said.
“That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“Well, I do wish you’d told me sooner. Why didn’t you?”
“Because I didn’t want you to think I was crazy.”
He grinned. “I’ve known that all along,” he said.
I reached for my purse, and we ducked out of the sonogram room.
“Any more secrets?” he asked, as we approached the elevator.
“Not a one,” I told him. “How about you?”
“Hell,” he said. “My life is dull compared to yours.” The elevator doors whooshed open. Sonterra pulled me inside and kissed me deeply when we were alone.
“In a strange sort of way,” I said, when the kiss was over, and I’d caught my breath, “seeing myself that last time seems like a turning point. Like the end of an era. Maybe I’m not going to trip over dead bodies anymore. Maybe nobody’s going to try to kill me.”
Sonterra curled a finger under my chin. “We can only hope, Counselor,” he said. “We can only hope.”
One Last Look Page 32
