Thirty and a Half Excuses
Page 3
Joe grinned against my lips. “I’m counting on it.”
I leaned back and swatted his arm. “You’re terrible.”
A devilish gleam filled his brown eyes, making the scattered dark flecks stand out more than usual. “You know we’re her main source of entertainment. We’ve got to give her something to talk about while I’m gone.”
My smile fell, my joy short lived. “So it’s official. You’re going undercover?”
Joe nodded. “I’m sorry.”
I pushed him down onto one of the chairs and sat on his lap. “Don’t be sorry, Joe. You’re just doing your job.” He’d warned me he had a big undercover job coming up soon. We wouldn’t be able to see each other until he was done. I smoothed an imaginary wrinkle out of his T-shirt, then looked into his eyes. “I knew you were a state police detective when I met you.”
He grimaced. “Well, not exactly when you met me.”
“True.” Joe had been undercover then too. He’d moved in next door to me while he was investigating a state-wide car parts ring. Through a host of unusual circumstances, he’d thought I might be involved. But then we became involved in a completely different way, and he ended up saving my life. I saved his too. We’d been together ever since. A little over four months. “But when I found out the truth, I had to accept your job for what it was. It’s what brought us together. I can’t begrudge you for that.”
Smiling softly, he lowered his face, whispering against my lips. “You’re amazing.”
I didn’t feel so amazing. Leaning my forehead against his, I searched his eyes. “So how long will you be gone?”
He pulled back, shaking his head and releasing a long sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe one week, maybe three.”
He hadn’t even left yet, and I already ached with loneliness. The longest we’d been apart was five days, and that had been almost impossible to bear. “Will we be able to talk on the phone?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a few times. If I can risk it.”
“So it’s dangerous then, what you’re doing?”
He cupped my cheek. “Every day I’m a state police detective is dangerous.”
Anger singed my chest. “Don’t do that. Don’t pretend like this isn’t a big deal. It is. The last time you went undercover like this you fell in love with me, and you almost got killed. What if…” My voice broke, and I couldn’t finish.
Joe’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. “What if what? What if I fall in love with someone else?” He shook his head. “Rose, there’s only you, darlin’. Only you.”
I wish I had more confidence, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever be totally confident where Joe was concerned. He’d always feel out of my league. But this time I was more worried about the dying part. “It’s still dangerous, no matter how you spin it.”
“I’ll be careful. I love you, and I don’t want to risk losing that.”
I wanted to say if he really felt that way, he’d never go undercover again. But I didn’t want our last night together to be sad or full of anger, and I knew it wasn’t fair. “You can’t tell me what you’re doing?”
He shook his head.
“Can you at least tell me where you’ll be?”
He hesitated. “El Dorado.”
I gasped. “Where your parents live.” I let the news sink in. “Will they know you’re there?”
“No. I have no intention of seeing them anyway.” A few months earlier Joe had confessed that his family came from oil money. He was mostly estranged from them, though he hadn’t yet told me why.
“You’ll have to see them sometime.”
“The longer I can put it off, the better. My mother keeps calling and insisting that they meet you.”
The prospect of meeting his parents made me almost as nervous as Joe going undercover. “Do you want me to meet them?”
“I’d rather put it off as long as possible.”
I knew Joe didn’t get along with his parents and avoided seeing them, but a small part of me worried that he didn’t want me to meet them because he was ashamed of me.
“You said you’d have to do your father a favor.” I swallowed my guilt. “Because of me.” When I was on a jury for a murder trial in July, I found out through one of my visions that the defendant was innocent. I started investigating the case on my own to prove what I knew to be true, and after the judge found out, he threw me into the county jail. It took Joe; the Fenton County assistant district attorney, Mason Deveraux III; and apparently Joe’s dad, who wielded political influence, to get me out. Later Joe told me that he was waiting for his father to collect on the favor.
“Trust me, the favor will be much bigger than bringing you to dinner.” He took a deep breath. “But I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
And he would. Joe loved me so much, he’d do anything for me. Which is exactly why I needed to be supportive now. “That’s one of the many reasons why I love you.” I placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “You’re going to do great. You’re going to get the bad guys, and you’re going to shut them down. Or whatever it is you’re doing.”
He laughed. “You’re more confident than my boss.”
My smile fell along with my stomach. “Then why are you doing it?”
I leaned back and swatted his arm. “You’re terrible.”
A devilish gleam filled his brown eyes, making the scattered dark flecks stand out more than usual. “You know we’re her main source of entertainment. We’ve got to give her something to talk about while I’m gone.”
My smile fell, my joy short lived. “So it’s official. You’re going undercover?”
Joe nodded. “I’m sorry.”
I pushed him down onto one of the chairs and sat on his lap. “Don’t be sorry, Joe. You’re just doing your job.” He’d warned me he had a big undercover job coming up soon. We wouldn’t be able to see each other until he was done. I smoothed an imaginary wrinkle out of his T-shirt, then looked into his eyes. “I knew you were a state police detective when I met you.”
He grimaced. “Well, not exactly when you met me.”
“True.” Joe had been undercover then too. He’d moved in next door to me while he was investigating a state-wide car parts ring. Through a host of unusual circumstances, he’d thought I might be involved. But then we became involved in a completely different way, and he ended up saving my life. I saved his too. We’d been together ever since. A little over four months. “But when I found out the truth, I had to accept your job for what it was. It’s what brought us together. I can’t begrudge you for that.”
Smiling softly, he lowered his face, whispering against my lips. “You’re amazing.”
I didn’t feel so amazing. Leaning my forehead against his, I searched his eyes. “So how long will you be gone?”
He pulled back, shaking his head and releasing a long sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe one week, maybe three.”
He hadn’t even left yet, and I already ached with loneliness. The longest we’d been apart was five days, and that had been almost impossible to bear. “Will we be able to talk on the phone?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a few times. If I can risk it.”
“So it’s dangerous then, what you’re doing?”
He cupped my cheek. “Every day I’m a state police detective is dangerous.”
Anger singed my chest. “Don’t do that. Don’t pretend like this isn’t a big deal. It is. The last time you went undercover like this you fell in love with me, and you almost got killed. What if…” My voice broke, and I couldn’t finish.
Joe’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. “What if what? What if I fall in love with someone else?” He shook his head. “Rose, there’s only you, darlin’. Only you.”
I wish I had more confidence, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever be totally confident where Joe was concerned. He’d always feel out of my league. But this time I was more worried about the dying part. “It’s still dangerous, no matter how you spin it.”
“I’ll be careful. I love you, and I don’t want to risk losing that.”
I wanted to say if he really felt that way, he’d never go undercover again. But I didn’t want our last night together to be sad or full of anger, and I knew it wasn’t fair. “You can’t tell me what you’re doing?”
He shook his head.
“Can you at least tell me where you’ll be?”
He hesitated. “El Dorado.”
I gasped. “Where your parents live.” I let the news sink in. “Will they know you’re there?”
“No. I have no intention of seeing them anyway.” A few months earlier Joe had confessed that his family came from oil money. He was mostly estranged from them, though he hadn’t yet told me why.
“You’ll have to see them sometime.”
“The longer I can put it off, the better. My mother keeps calling and insisting that they meet you.”
The prospect of meeting his parents made me almost as nervous as Joe going undercover. “Do you want me to meet them?”
“I’d rather put it off as long as possible.”
I knew Joe didn’t get along with his parents and avoided seeing them, but a small part of me worried that he didn’t want me to meet them because he was ashamed of me.
“You said you’d have to do your father a favor.” I swallowed my guilt. “Because of me.” When I was on a jury for a murder trial in July, I found out through one of my visions that the defendant was innocent. I started investigating the case on my own to prove what I knew to be true, and after the judge found out, he threw me into the county jail. It took Joe; the Fenton County assistant district attorney, Mason Deveraux III; and apparently Joe’s dad, who wielded political influence, to get me out. Later Joe told me that he was waiting for his father to collect on the favor.
“Trust me, the favor will be much bigger than bringing you to dinner.” He took a deep breath. “But I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
And he would. Joe loved me so much, he’d do anything for me. Which is exactly why I needed to be supportive now. “That’s one of the many reasons why I love you.” I placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “You’re going to do great. You’re going to get the bad guys, and you’re going to shut them down. Or whatever it is you’re doing.”
He laughed. “You’re more confident than my boss.”
My smile fell along with my stomach. “Then why are you doing it?”
