That made him laugh. “Truth. I’m terminal.”
“No, two years on DC’s streets has given me enough of the holy-shit factor. I wouldn’t mind a slower pace. Somewhere I actually get a few hours sleep during a shift.”
“Metro is so heavily populated. Where are you gonna find that?”
She didn’t respond immediately. “Actually, I’m so busy putting one foot in front of the other, I hadn’t looked that far ahead.”
Her voice was thoughtful, as if she was realizing how her job location could very well interfere with this thing they were starting. For Beckett, it was a huge concern. Partially for him, sure. He didn’t want to finally find a woman he could fall in love with only to have her move away and make a relationship even more difficult. But more so for Lily. And if Beckett didn’t feel comfortable introducing Eden to Lily, how could this thing really be a thing?
“I’m also thinking about continuing on with school,” she said, softly, as if these ideas were all gelling now that they’d brought them up.
“For what?” he asked.
She shrugged and looked away, and even before she spoke again, he knew she was going to play this dream down. “I’ve thought about going further in medicine. Maybe becoming a physician’s assistant. My instructors have been trying to sell me on going on to get my bachelor’s with the thought of going on to medical school, but that’s…” She shook her head. “Unfathomable, honestly.” She laughed, brushing the whole topic off with “See why I don’t think ahead? It gets messy.”
Sure as hell did. Yet after a year of working to instill self-confidence in Lily and encouraging her to dream big, he sure as shit wasn’t going to sit here and tell Eden any different.
He tipped her head back, lifting her gaze to his. “Nothing’s unfathomable. Especially not for a woman with your intelligence and grit. Go where your heart leads you. We only live once, right?”
The shift in her eyes mirrored the movement in his heart. She had the craziest way of tempting him toward those three words he’d never said to a woman. Often believed he’d never find a woman he wanted to say them to.
Eden pressed a kiss to his lips, then rested her forehead against his. “I better get dressed.”
When she pulled away, he added a quick “Can I drop you at school?”
She laughed. “You’re adorable. Hopkins is in Baltimore, handsome.”
“Oh, right.” An hour’s drive one way. He’d never make it back to pick up Lily.
“But you can drop me at Union Station. I jump the Acela at two. Gets me to class right on time.”
He forced a smile, even though he was pretty sure they were parting again with nothing more concrete between them than when he’d been standing in front of the ambulance company this morning. “Deal.”
Beckett was weaving his way through downtown DC toward his mother’s house when his cell rang through the car’s intercom system. Kim’s name lit up the dash.
“Shit.” He drew out the word with dread, decided he couldn’t avoid her any longer, and pressed the button on his steering wheel to answer. “Hey, Kim. What’s up?”
“Well, finally,” she said, her voice carrying attitude. “I’m in town, and I’d like to meet.”
He made one of those I-don’t-know-how-I-can-fit-that-in sounds. “This is a crazy week—”
“It’s about Lily.”
She knew what button to push with him, and it pissed him off.
“She’s fine, thanks for asking,” he said, still upbeat. “Great, actually. Listen, is this something we can discuss on the phone? Because—”
“It’s about the custody hearing. So, no, I think it would be better to do it face-to-face. I’m in the city now.” She named a coffee shop. “Or I can grab a taxi and meet you somewhere else.”
She was only six blocks away. He might as well get this over with. “No, that’s fine. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
Beckett disconnected and changed directions. On the drive, he considered approaches and tactics to use with Kim. He tried to call Fred, but his attorney was in a meeting. By the time he’d parked, all the happiness and relaxation Eden had created was gone.
He opened the center console and pulled out the school pictures Lily had brought home a few days before. After pulling the order sheet so he could buy more for his family, he headed inside.
Kim sat near the window, legs crossed, foot swinging restlessly. When the door closed behind him, she looked over and smiled. Sitting forward, she clasped her hands gingerly beneath her chin and kept her eyes on him as he approached.
He remembered why he’d found her attractive all those years ago. For starters, she was a beautiful brown-eyed brunette Barbie. She also made a guy feel like he was the only man on the planet, the way she was doing with Beckett now, never letting her gaze waver from him for a millisecond. Back then, she’d had a whimsical country-fresh girl quality with hemp bracelets, holey jeans, and white gauze blouses. Now, she’d graduated to the sophisticated hot-chick zone, decked out in designer jeans painted onto those long legs and a skintight blouse that showed all her cleavage. And she wore more jewelry and makeup than Beckett bet Eden owned.