poured them both a cup of coffee. “We must’ve all been tired. It’s morning all ready,” he laughed. “Sam, I’m going to head back to the city. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and will call you if anything goes down.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Oh, Luke, you can contact Drew directly. Here’s his number. I called him last night and told you him you’d be contacting him. He did take Sam’s car back to the penthouse parking garage.”
“OK, great,” he kissed Sam’s cheek. “You’re in good hands, Love.”
“I know, and thanks for everything. Oh, when you get back, will you check on Dylan?”
“Definitely. I’ll see you two soon. Let me know when you two decide to come back,” he said, as he picked up his bag.
“I will,” she said, as he left the cabin.
“Are you hungry?” Parker asked.
“Not really. Coffee is good,” she said, as she sipped her coffee. Parker shoveled the sugar into his coffee and stirred his spoon
She shook her head and laughed slightly. “Quite a sweet tooth, huh?”
“I guess. I don’t really like coffee that much,” he said.
“Then, whydoyou drink it?”
“I like the caffeine in the morning. Gets me going,” he laughed.
She touched his hand lightly. “There are other sources for caffeine,” she said.
“I know, but I don’t drink soda. I don’t like tea, coffee is bearable, with enough sugar.”
“You should try flavored coffee,” she said, as she stood up. “You won’t need much sugar. Do you like vanilla?”
“Yeah, why?”
She took his cup of coffee and dumped it down the sink. She rinsed out the glass and poured another cup. Then she scooped a teaspoon of vanilla flavoring to his coffee. “Here, try this,” she said.
He stared at her and then the cup. “OK,” he said, as he sipped it. “Wow, this is good.”
“I may not know how to cook, but I can make a great cup of coffee,” she said, as she added it to hers.
“Very impressive. I could get used to this,” he said.
“So, we never talk about it. I mean, it always comes up, but we never really discuss it.”
“What is it?” he asked, as he set his cup on the table.
“What’s going to happen once Jack and his crew are gone?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. I know that Luke said he was working on helping … you know, getting the kills you did off the record.”
“Yeah, he put me on assignment, as an undercover, so this won’t backfire on me,” she sighed.
“Good. That’s good.”
“It still doesn’t help that I murderedthreepeople,” she said.
“I hope you know that you are very brave and strong. These kills won’t come back to haunt you.”
“Just in my mind,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m slowly dealing with it. It’s not easy taking someone’s life, whether they deserve it or not.”
“I know. I wish I could’ve been the one to do it for you.”
“You just need more practice with your hand. That’s all. Does it hurt when you grasp anything?”
“Small things. Like a pen. I hate it because I’m left-handed. I try to write with my right, but it doesn’t work too well. My handwriting is bad as it is,” he laughed.
“I’ve seen your notes,” she laughed. “I could help you, you know.”
“You want to help me learn to shoot again?”
“Yeah, if you wanted to. There’s a lot of trees out here and we could practice.”
“If that’s what you want,” she said.
“Yeah, I do want. We’ll use the handguns first. Parker, I’m sorry that I killed you,” she smiled.
He leaned in and kissed her mouth softly. “It’s all right, but soon, I’ll be returning from the dead.”
“All hell is going to break loose,” she sighed.
“Yeah, but I’m more worried about you. If you can’t face Morrison again, I’ll take care of it for you.”
“I don’t want to think about it yet. I’m not up for going after any criminals right now.”
“Me either. I want you feeling totally better,” he said, as he kissed her cheek.
“I’m sorry that I can’t make love right now,” she whispered.
“Don’t apologize. You need time to heal. Not just your body, but your mind, too. I’ll be here. No matter what,” he said. “Now, let’s grab our weapons and see what you can teach me,” he grinned.
She stood up and hugged him tightly. “I do so love you,” she whispered.
“Let’s go, babe,” he took her hand and they walked out to the living room.
She rummaged through her dufflebag until she found the handguns. “OK, let’s do this,” she said.