I sighed. “The kind I’ve put off for far too long.” I kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry to leave you like this. I hate it when that asshole is in town.”
“Don’t worry about that. He won’t bother me.”
“No, he won’t. Because I mean to have someone watching this place and you night and day until he’s gone.”
“Talon…”
“No arguments, blue eyes.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. This has got to be the safest town on the planet.”
No,
it wasn’t. I knew all too well.
“Besides, you can’t control me, Talon.”
She was right about that. As much as I wanted to control her, there was simply no controlling the little spitfire that was Jade Roberts. That was part of what I loved so much about her. But I could control whether Colin Morse got anywhere near her. “Don’t worry,” I said. “Nothing will intrude on your daily life. Besides, only one day until court.”
“You’d better show up in court, Talon,” she said. “This is more important than I think you realize.”
Funny. She was right. I hadn’t realized. Oh, I understood the law and the trouble I was in for beating the shit out of that asshole. I understood that she had gotten me a sweet deal. And I knew more than anything how it felt to be locked up. Being locked up would probably have been the end of me.
But like I had for the last two-plus decades, I hadn’t let the significance sink into my brain. I had been existing for twenty-five years. Existing in a gray haze.
Now I wanted to live.
“Thanks for coming in on the weekend again.” I sat down in the hunter-green leather chair that I remembered from a few weeks ago.
Dr. Melanie Carmichael nodded. “It’s no trouble at all, Talon. I’m really glad you called.”
“I’ll make sure you’re paid double for seeing me on a Sunday.”
“Don’t you worry about that. My regular fee is fine. And I will bill you.”
A big lump clogged my throat. I had to finish this. I had to be honest with the therapist.
“So tell me. I’m curious,” Dr. Carmichael said. “What propelled you to contact me this morning?”
“My brother has the hots for you.” I had no idea why I said that. It just popped out. Joe would probably have my head, but it was way easier than telling her why I had called her.
She smiled, and her cheeks pinked just a bit. She glowed in a lovely way. I could see why Jonah was enamored with her.
“He’d probably kick my butt if he knew I told you that, so can you keep it on the QT?”
She laughed. “Perfectly fine.”
“I have to go to court tomorrow.”
“Why is that?”
“Remember last time I was here, and I told you I’d beat a guy up?”
She nodded. “I remember.”
“An attorney got a deal for me. I have to pay a five-hundred-dollar fine and pay the guy restitution. It avoids any prison time.”
“That’s great news.”