Page 30

Faith leaned her head on David’s chest and closed her eyes, savoring the sound of his heartbeat. She sometimes thought that her entire life was one bout of stress after another, but when she was in his arms, as close to him as anyone could possibly be to another person, all of that stress just melted away.

“At the risk of ruining a very romantic moment,” he said, “May I just say that you are absolutely incredible in bed.”

She smiled and patted his stomach. “That doesn’t ruin the moment. It just means you’re a man.”

He chuckled and said, “You sure make me feel like a man.”

“You are. I don’t know why you have trouble believing it.”

“It’s not that I have trouble believing it. I just can’t believe you’re mine.”

“Believe it,” she said.

He laughed again, and Faith opened her eyes. “What’s so funny?”

“I kind of expected you to say something like, ‘I’m not yours, I belong to nobody.’”

She rolled her eyes. “When have I ever said anything like that?”

“I don’t know. I just thought that since you’re a strong independent woman you’d have something to say to that.”

“Strong independent women don’t need to remind people that they’re strong and independent. Besides, I’ve chosen to belong to you. That makes me strong and independent enough to select the man I want. And you”—she lifted her head up and kisses his chest—“manly enough to have convinced this strong independent woman to become yours. Not to mention the fact that I have you utterly wrapped around my finger, which is pretty affirming too.”

“You do,” he agreed. “Heart, body and soul.”

She laughed and rolled out of bed. “You’re going to have to work on not being so syrupy, though.”

“I can’t help it,” he said, his eyes traveling languidly over her as she pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. “I’m a lover, not a fighter. Being macho doesn’t come easily to me.”

“I’m not saying you have to be macho. Just don’t put me on a pedestal.”

His brow furrowed. “Where is all this coming from? Is everything okay?”

She giggled and kissed the tip of his nose. “That’s another thing you need to work on. Not everything I say has hidden meaning. To be clear, I respond better to honesty than I do to embellishment. Telling me you love me is good. Telling me you’d cross a thousand deserts and battle a thousand demons to find the last rose on Earth just for the privilege of giving it to me is not good.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he replied, “because we’ve already established I’m not a fighter, so demon-fighting is out. That’s your department.”

“So if I’m attacked by demons, I need to save myself?”

“I mean, I’ll try to save you, but I think we both know I’m not gonna do much.”

She laughed and shoved him playfully. Then the image of him in the hospital bed after West’s attack flashed across her mind, and her smile faded.

“Uh oh,” David said. “Hey, come here.”

She shook her head quickly. “No, I’m fine.”

“Come here,” he said, pulling her close and wrapping her in his arms. “I’m here, Faith. I’m okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest again. Slowly but inevitably, the sound of his heartbeat drove away all of her fear and all of her anxiety. She took a deep breath and released it in a contented sight. “See, this? This is good.”

“Damned straight it is. Besides, Turk can protect both of us.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, he can. Unless the bad guys have doughnuts.”

“Doughnuts?”

“Yeah. He loves doughnuts.”

David pulled away and frowned at her. “You gave him doughnuts?”

“Oh, hush. It was just one time.” She pulled him next to her again. “Besides, he’s a good dog. He should splurge every now and then.”

“As long as it’s just every now and then,” he agreed reluctantly.

“Of course. I have to live with him. It is very much in my best interest not to give him food that will give him gas.”

“Oh, I know. I’ve smelled those farts too.”

She burst into laughter, and David said, “What? I’m serious!”

“I know, it’s just… It’s weird to be in bed with you after… well, after , and now we’re talking about my dog’s farts. It just hit me all of a sudden. That’s not normal, is it? That’s not what normal couples talk about after sex?”

“It just means we’re very comfortable around each other. I hate to say it, babe, but we’re in a long-term relationship now. We’re out of the honeymoon stage and into the ‘hey, can you tell me if that’s a wart or a pimple’ stage.”

“Eww!” She pulled away from him. “Eww! You ruined it! No, let me go!”

He didn’t let her go, but to be fair, she didn’t put up much of a fight.

After, they both dressed and headed downstairs. There wasn’t enough night left for them to pretend sleep was a possibility, so they decided on coffee and ice cream instead. Faith insisted on making the coffee. “You always add too little,” she offered by way of explanation.

As she poured their mugs and set them next to the bowls of Neapolitan ice cream, David asked, “So have you thought about what you’re going to do when Turk retires?”

Faith’s smile faded. She hadn’t told David about her conversation with the Boss. Catching Tyler Grant and rescuing Gina Torres would be excellent press but that didn’t change the fact that West’s trial had Faith squarely under a spotlight the Bureau would very much rather she wasn’t under.

She didn’t want to bring that up yet, though. Not until she talked with the Boss and figured out what her future looked like. “Well, Turk’s coming to live with me. That’s for sure. I’ll fight whoever I need to make sure that happens.”

He frowned with concern. “You don’t think they’d try to take him from you, do you?”

“No. I can’t imagine anyone would object. It’s not common for handlers to keep their K9s after retirement, but it’s definitely not unheard of. And everyone knows Turk is my dog, not just my K9.”

“That’s good. You had me worried for a moment.”

“No need to worry, my love,” she replied, spooning some of the strawberry into her mouth. “Turk is mine for good.”

“What about you?”

“What about me? I already told you I’m yours.”

He chuckled. “I mean what about your career?”

She took a bite of chocolate and tried to compose her answer. “I don’t know.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you thinking of retiring?”

She wasn’t sure how she felt about the hope in his voice. She understood it, but she wasn’t sure she appreciated it. She didn’t want to be done.

It hit her for the first time that she meant that. She wasn’t ready to be finished. For a while she thought she would retire when Turk did and the two of them would move to the Midwest somewhere and open an auto garage. The move was off the table now. She was going to move in with David at the end of her lease if not sooner, and she wouldn’t ask him to leave his practice and move to some dinky little oil town somewhere.

But this was the first time she realized that she wanted to keep working in the field. She’d suffered her fair share of pain in this line of work, but for all the pain, all the grief, all the frustration, there was nothing in life more fulfilling than seeing the look of gratitude on the faces of people like Gina Torres when she rescued them from serial killers.

She looked at David and let her eyes travel up and down his body as he sipped his coffee. There was almost nothing in life more fulfilling.

She got out of her chair and took his coffee mug out of his hand, setting it down safely out of the way. Then she straddled him and sat on his lap, softly stroking his hair. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said, “And I really like where this is going. But… really. Are you thinking about retiring?”

“I don’t know,” she said, caressing his cheek. “I really don’t. For a while, I was sure that’s what I wanted. But I don’t think it is anymore.”

He smiled and did a passable job of hiding his disappointment. It was mixed with more than enough pride and admiration for Faith not to mind. “I didn’t figure you would. Are you going to get another K9?”

“No. Absolutely not. Turk is my only dog.”

“One-kid kind of woman, huh?”

She lifted an eyebrow, and he said, “Joking. I was joking. I didn’t mean an actual kid.”

“You don’t want kids?”

He shrugged. “Well, sure, but it took me over a year to convince you to move in with me, and I still can’t get a date from you. I’ll leave the kid conversation for the future.”

She chuckled. “Well, we can’t leave it too far for the future. I’m not getting any younger.”

“You’re far from old.”

“Yes, but if I’m going to have a kid, I’d rather not be sixty when that kid goes to college.”

“Well, if you’re that insistent, we can solve that problem right now.”

He started to stand, and she said, “ No , we don’t need to do that right now. I’m just saying…” She thought a moment, then finally said, “Look, I’m not good at making plans for the future. Too many things can happen between now and then that can change what the future looks like. I know that’s frustrating for you sometimes, but it’s just the way I am. I know that I love you. I know that I want to live with you. I know that whether it’s tomorrow or when my lease is up in six months, I will be sleeping in the same bed as you every night my job doesn’t take me elsewhere. I know that I will keep Turk for the rest of his life, and that I’ll never have another K9. Past that… I don’t know anything. But whatever happens”—she leaned down and kissed him deeply—“You and I are for real. And we’re forever. Okay?”

He smiled softly. “Okay. I love you, Faith.”

“I love you too. Now”—she kissed him again. “If you’d like, we can go simulate making a baby. It’s only going to be a simulation though, okay? No actual pregnancy yet.”

“Well, you know what they say.” He stood, and Faith gasped as he lifted her off the ground. “Practice makes perfect.”

Faith wasn’t sure she agreed with that, but as sleep came to her after all, courtesy of the rhythm of David’s heartbeat, there was no doubt in her mind that right now, her life was perfect.