Page 33 of Shattered Hearts

“Jerricka? Why?”

“She’snot...connected, exactly, to a couple of cases Pop and I are working on, but I don’t like it. I met her, and she rubbed me the wrong way.”

“Gage, I’ve been seeing her since Zane brought me home. I like her. Trust her. She’s listened to a lot of what I’ve gone through, and I talk to her about being intimate. I think she helped me open myself up to you faster than if I would have tried to deal with what Ash did to me alone. She doesn’t let me hide.”

“Just because she helped—” He stops and tries again. “I don’t like coincidences.”

“She answered my text, today, on New Year’s Day. That’s above and beyond.”

“Or she wanted you to check in.”

I resist the childish urge to roll my eyes. “What does she have to gain by making me go crazy?”

“That’s a very good question.”

“Nothing. You’re a PI. Don’t you deal in facts?”

“Yeah, and the fact is, I don’t like her.”

His bluster is adorable and I laugh. “I love you.”

Gage’s eyes soften. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.”

“I’ll never get tired of saying it.”

The serious talk over, we chat about other subjects that aren’t so heavy. He mentions another movie night and an afternoon at a shopping center to people-watch and eat ice cream. Normalthings people do, but I’m not normal. I wasn’t before Ash sold me and I’m not now, but God, do I want to be.

“Let’s take a walk through the park. Are you dressed warm enough? Then I’ll drive you home.”

“I’d like that.”

He pays our check, and I playfully poke him in the side, which earns me a slap on the ass. I wait for the shame to wash through me, the sting sizzling against my skin associated in my mind with hate and violence, but he winks and I laugh. The moment that could have made me spiral to a dark place passes. We backtrack to the industrial park to pick up Baby—I’m thrilled that I know her name again—and she sits in the extended cab and rests her snout on my shoulder.

Gage drives us to an enormous city park that has a pond in the middle of it. In the wintertime, people skate on it, but I never have. It will be frozen over now, and the city keeps the trails clear. There are several people enjoying New Year’s Day outside, and the parking lot is almost full.

He finds an open spot along the side, and parks. He opens my door, and I don’t waste the opportunity to kiss him, twisting on the bench and clutching at his jacket. Stepping between my knees, he kisses me back, his fingertips digging into my thigh. “Hmmm,” he mumbles against my lips, “what have I started?”

“Something very, very good.”

“Hmmm.”

Baby whines, and Gage breaks the kiss. He brushes his thumb over my cheek in an affectionate gesture that I love just as much as him. “Let’s get some air. Baby’s been inside all day and needs to run off some energy.”

He helps me onto the snow-covered pavement and opens the extended cab door. Baby scrambles out, and he attaches a leash to her collar. She’s trained well enough she doesn’t need it and I wish I’d suggested we go out to my place instead, but if he andZane aren’t getting along, he might not want to spend time out there. I can’t blame him. Zane can be stubborn, and once he gets an idea into his head, the only person who can change his mind is Stella. If he thinks Gage’s and my relationship isn’t helping my recovery, it will be almost impossible to convince him otherwise.

We step onto the sidewalk, and Gage locks his truck and shoves the keyring into a jacket pocket. He wraps his arm around my shoulders, and I snuggle into his side. Maybe it’s better we didn’t drive to the house. After our walk I can tell him I’m cold and ask if he’ll warm me up...in bed.

Clouds haven’t hidden the sun, and I squint into the bright blue and white distance. There’s a group of children building a snowman a little ways off, their parents watching and gossiping amongst themselves. I like how it looks, how the scene feels, but it makes me melancholy, too. Gage said we might not ever have that. I could have children, the way I am now, a nanny, a nurse, like Ingrid, filling in the gaps, but that’s not the kind of family Gage would want.

I sigh.

“Zarah.” His voice is warm and smooth, but concerned, too. He knows what I’m thinking.

I look up at him, smile, and crinkle my eyes, hoping to reassure him, and it works, his frown evening out. He kisses the top of my head.

Baby’s excited, sniffing at all the snow and a garbage can that’s positioned near the sidewalk.

We’re about an eighth of a mile down the trail when Baby spots a squirrel. She tugs on her leash with all of her might to chase it, and Gage needs all ofhismight reel her in. Suddenly, without warning, a silence settles over the park and everyone stills.

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