Page 41 of Kevin's Destiny

“Can I ask what he said?”

“He demanded that I go to our boss and tell him that I was giving up the job, and that he, Gary deserved it more than I did. I just sent him several laughing emoji’s and blocked him. The last time I saw him was the day that promotion was announced. I’ve since received others over the years, but that was the first major one. I got the job based on my work merits.”

“Have you ever seen him since?”

“No, but I was in DC once for a conference, and I ran into my former director. I never asked, but he informed me that Gary was still right where he was when I left. He never got promoted, not even to Special Agent, he was still just an agent, still only did the minimal time. That’s why he never went anywhere in his career.”

“He stalled out.”

“Yes,” she chuckled. “And according to Director Smith, he was still a gigantic braggart, however, the younger crowd thatcame in over the years never bothered listening to him. Toward the end, he had the reputation of being a has been.”

“The end?”

“He took early retirement, or so I was told. Oh, also, Director Smith said that he’s a security guard at some mall in Miami.” She grinned as she finished her wine and set the glass on the coffee table. She settled back and turned to him fully. “So, to answer your question, no, I’ve never married. I was married to the job. Since moving to Colorado, there was someone here and there, but again, they thought they should be the main breadwinner, and I should quit my job, stay home, push out babies, and wait on them hand and foot. Once I learned that, I stopped the relationship in its tracks.” She shook her head as she sighed. “After a while, it was better to just be alone. I lived in the same apartment ever since I moved here to Colorado.” She shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. “It was close to the office, rent was cheap, and it turned out that when my landlord passed, their daughter took over, and never raised my rent. I guess you could say I was locked into that rent, between you and me, I think it was because I carried both the gun and badge, because there were several times I helped other neighbors out with their boyfriends.”

“Domestic disturbances?”

“Yes, and based on my recommendations, the daughter was able to put in a kick-ass security system to protect the residents. Not just have it installed, but to have it monitored and repaired when needed. I’m not saying it was the norm, but there were a lot of single women, or single parents living there.” She studied him, and nodded. “Oh, and I did background checks on some of the applicants free of charge. Only the ones the landlord got the heebie-jeebies on.” She looked at him intently then asked, “What about you? You speak of Karen, but has there been anyone since the divorce and her going to jail?”

“No, I never even tried.” He shook his head as he placed his empty glass beside hers and settled back. “First, I never had the energy. It took me months to finally realize that Karen wouldn’t be there when I came home from work. Then, I couldn’t put any woman through the judgement.”

“What judgement?”

“My neighbors. The house was built by my grandfather, and the neighborhood was sparsely populated back then. Then others moved in, and it was like its own little town toward the end. By end, I mean Karen’s final arrest from my house. The neighbors were the type that didn’t want to get involved, but always flipped their curtains to watch.” He nodded along with her. “Like I said, I could never put a woman through all that scrutiny, it would be torture, and she’d dump my sorry ass after the first time. It was better to stay single, than go through that.”

“And now?” At his look of confusion, she looked him dead in the eye. “Now that you’re here in Colorado away from prying eyes?”

He shrugged. “No clue. It’s not like I’ll be going to town every night and hitting the bars. That was never my scene, and I’m too damn old to start over.”

As they talked, they had moved closer to one another, and after his last statement, he looked at her in shock when he realized he had her hand in his. With a smirk, he looked at her, leaned in, and took her lips gently in his. When she didn’t slap him, or pull away, he deepened the kiss. It was a long time before they broke apart.

Without saying a word to one another, they stood, clasped hands, and he only looked at her with a raised brow.

“Do you have protection?”

“I do.”

“Okay,” she said, and together they walked into his bedroom. It was a long, long time before either one of them was satisfied enough to fall asleep that night.

CHAPTER 15

“Tellme again why we’re going over to Erin’s Way later?” Yvonne asked as she settled down at the table for their breakfast. She had only left his cabin long enough to go across the road to pick up more clothes for herself. Since having dinner with him on Friday night, they hadn’t left the cabin since, other than going into work on Saturday, that was. The sex had been amazing, but she knew she couldn’t stay at his place forever. Mentally, she made plans to go back to her cabin after the get together later that afternoon, she just needed to remind herself why they were requested to attend.

“It’s Erin’s way of introducing everyone at once. You’ll meet the people that may be coming over to New Double for some reason, whether it’s for something out of the community pantry, or helping in the barns. They will meet you, since you and I will be the first people they see when they come onto the property.” He took a few bites of his breakfast, then wiped his mouth on his napkin before he continued.

“Also, it’s a get together where we will all share a meal, I’ve already stuck something in the crockpot for us to take with us. During this time, it’s also a chance for everyone to catch up with what’s been going on.”

“How are you so knowledgeable about what goes on with these ranches if you’ve only been here two weeks longer than me?”

Kevin grinned as he finished his breakfast before answering, then settled back in his chair with his coffee in one hand. “You forget, my son has been here for almost a year. I’ve come to visit him a few times, and I don’t think you’ve met them yet, you will later today, but there are two lawyers that work here.”

“Really? Like on the ranch?”

“Yes, they were hired because of a case involving Katherine, Caleb’s girlfriend, and they were able to take them to court.”

“Did they win?”

“Yes, and you might have heard about the case.”