“So it’s a major operation?”
“Painful, too. I’ll pull out half my hair with the pins.” She’d been gone, but Bergen had kept her up to date with what was happening in town. “I hear that the ballistics on one of the bullets pulled out of John Terrance’s chest matched the bullet that killed his son.”
“I heard that, too.”
She looked him right in the eyes. “You really ought to get that weapon registered.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll have to detain you.”
With a touch too much eagerness, he asked, “Will you tie me up?”
She stopped. She glared.
He took her arm and tugged her along the sidewalk. “I already got it registered.”
“And already got another one that’s not registered.”
With a display of false innocence, he widened his eyes. “Hmm?”
He had Thor’s looks and Loki’s craftiness and if it wasn’t for his touching propensity to be in the right place at the right time to save her life, she really would have to bring him in. “Thank you. For killing John Terrance Jr. and making sure John Terrance Sr. bit the dust.”
“Does that mean you finally trust me?”
She stopped. She turned and placed her hand on his arm. She looked up into his eyes. “Lilith kept saying I learned things when I lived with my family. Well, I did. One thing. I learned how indifference and exasperation could feel like cruelty, and how the wounds left by cruelty never quite heal. I learned … how to be a better person than my father, my stepmother and my stepsister.” Hastily she added, “Which isn’t saying much, but right now, I’m feeling pleased with myself. And … not pleased with myself. Because I learned something else. I learned to be suspicious of everyone.”
“Not a bad trait for a cop.”
“True. A better trait for a cop is to figure out who the good guys are before the bad guys take me out.” She stepped in front of him, stopping him in midstride. “You’re one of the good guys. Thank you for backing me up.” She took a long breath, bolstered her own courage. “I, uh, I love you.”
He laughed at her, and mimicked her. “I, uh, love you, too.”
She hadn’t expect that. She’d hoped for it, but she hadn’t expected it. “Really?”
“Really.”
She wanted to kiss him, but other people were on the streets. Little kids. Tourists. Locals. If she did kiss him, she didn’t know if she could stop and she didn’t think he would, and she really didn’t think the sheriff of Virtue Falls should be arrested for public lewdness. So she smiled at him, really smiled, and admired the way he smiled back. Her admiration went on for a little too long because someone whistled. She glanced around, and walked on.
Stag caught right up with her. “Did the will get read?”
“Yes.”
“How much did your daddy leave you?”
“You wouldn’t believe it.”
“He stiffed you.”
“Left me half a million dollars.”
Stag put his hand to his chest and staggered backward. “Good. God. Gertie.”
She laughed. “Are those the new swear words for the tough Indian bouncer?”
“I don’t swear much. Mostly I beat people up, shoot them and build casinos that will give Native Americans the money to live a better life.”
“Fair enough.” She loved him. He loved her. He was a good guy, mostly, and she was pretty sure she was leaving a trail of little red and pink cartoon hearts. She should be embarrassed. But she wasn’t. She was just happy.
She stopped in front of Mrs. Golobovitch’s apartment. “I need to stop and get my dog.” She knocked. She heard the barking frenzy that meant Lacey knew who was at the door. Mrs. Golobovitch opened it and Lacey raced out and danced around Kateri’s legs. She had ribbons on her ears and a ribbon tied to her collar, and when Kateri sat down on the step and picked up her dog, Lacey smelled clean and felt slightly damp. Kateri held her in her arms …
And Lacey sniffed suspiciously. Sniffed her face, her hair, her neck.
Then … she turned and looked at Stag for confirmation.
“It’s her,” he told the dog.
Outraged, Kateri said, “While I was gone, you seduced my dog?”
He flirted with his eyes. “I’m irresistible.”
“Every day, Lacey goes with him to work.” Mrs. Golobovitch looked pleased to see them together. “But she misses you at night!”
“At night?” Kateri looked sternly at her dog.
Lacey sighed and laid her head on Kateri’s shoulder.
“All right then. That’s better.” Kateri hugged her. “Thank you, Mrs. Golobovitch. I’ve got a check for you and I brought you a gift from Baltimore.”
“I love gifts!” Mrs. Golobovitch exclaimed. “Is it a raven?”
“Uh, no. No more ravens. Edgar Allan Poe’s raven went back to Baltimore and with great ceremony was presented to a museum.” Kateri put Lacey down and hooked her on the leash. “Mrs. Golobovitch, I’ll bring everything by later!”
Stag gave Kateri his hand, pulled her to her feet. They walked on. “What are you going to do with half a million dollars?” he asked. “Buy that house you want?”
She grinned at him. “I already did.”
He laughed, picked her up, hugged her. “Good for you!”
Lacey barked and danced.
“Yes, and good for you, too,” he said to the dog. He put Kateri back down. “You’re going to need a yardman with experience. When I was a kid in Alaska, to make money, I mowed lawns in the summer and strung holiday lights in the winter. I know the trade.”
“But I’d be foolish to take the first applicant for the job.” Kateri resumed her stroll toward the center of town. Lacey and Stag walked beside her. “How much do you charge?”
“I’ll do it for room and board.”
“Room and board? For mowing my lawn?” She was enjoying herself far too much. Teasing with Stag, seeing people’s reactions to her appearance, knowing that in less than a block she’d be at the city center: Town Square Park, Oceanview Café, City Hall … this was Virtue Falls, and here she was at home.
“I’m handy around the house, too.” Stag made his voice low, husky, suggestive. “Good with electrical, fix a leaky faucet, change the light bulbs.”
“That’s all stuff that has to be done maybe once a year.” Kateri’s practical streak could not be tamped down by rampant and eternal love. “Can you vacuum? Load a dishwasher? Do the laundry?”
The pause went on long enough that she stopped to look sternly at Stag.
In a normal voice, he admitted, “Yes, I can do all that stuff.”
“Will you do it without being nagged?”
“Depends on how often you think it needs to be done.”
“It needs to be done when it needs to be done.” She shook her head and walked on, much to Lacey’s approval. “You just failed the roommate application.”
He caught up with her. “I’ve got furniture.”
Kateri hesitated.