Game On (Entwined Hearts) (19 page)

Angela stood up, her mind whirling. “Do you want me to go to Baltimore?” It was hard to keep her voice down.

“No. And yes. I can’t and won’t tell you what to do. It’s not my call.” He escorted her to the door, his hand on the small of her back. Hunter turned her and cupped her face in his hands before delivering a delicate, gentle kiss. “I’ve got some work here to finish up. I’ll be home soon, and so will Jake. You don’t need to decide in the next ten minutes. Like you said, he’s in town for two days and the offer’s good for a week, if not longer. We don’t have to rush into anything.” He opened the door and nodded to Sally. “I’ll be right back.”

Angela let him walk her out to her car, clutching the folder to her chest like it was a pacemaker, keeping her alive.

It’s what I want.

She waved at Hunter as he headed back into the building. He lifted his hand and returned it, blowing her a kiss before going in.

Isn’t it?

Angela drove to her mother’s house, carefully picking her way through the falling snow. If she had Mary-Ann’s schedule right, she’d be home, preparing to go in to work at the library later in the afternoon for her part-time shift.

She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, trying to wrap her mind around Gordon’s offer.

It was a good offer. Good, not great. Enough to warrant the time and cost of moving to Baltimore and, God willing, another step up to New York City in a year or two.

Mentally Angela ran over her files, searching for what would have brought Kittnany, Kittnany & Brown to her office that morning.

None of her cases had been blockbusters, none worthy of even a note in the local paper beyond being mentioned in the crime listings. She’d slogged through some of the most mundane cases in her life, doing the best she could for her clients. For one young college student, a close call had sent him to Alcoholics Anonymous to head off a possible addiction; for her most recent victory, she’d forced a grumpy father to double his child support.

Nothing that would justify time and space on the local news feed, nothing that would matter to anyone other than those involved.

And yet—

As she pulled up into the driveway, tires crunching on the snow, she realized it wasn’t any one single case that had brought Gordon Kittnany to Glen Barrow.

It had been all of them.

“That’s wonderful!” Mary-Ann exclaimed as she pulled an apple pie out of the refrigerator. “I always said you were destined for big things.”

Angela eyed the massive slice now being placed on her plate, the thin crust trying and failing to contain the thick pieces of apple, the cinnamon scent filling her nose. “I thought you were happy about me being here, being back home.”

“I was and still am.” She gestured Angela to sit as she put the two loaded plates on the table. “Isn’t this what you wanted? A chance at the big leagues, as you used to call them? Not that there was anything wrong with the firm you were with, but I know you saw it as a stepping-stone to something bigger.”

“Yes.” She cut through the light brown pastry with ease, loading up her fork. “It’s such a surprise.”

“That someone found out you’re a damned good lawyer? What’s surprising about that?”

Angela laughed through the mouthful of pie, putting her hand up to keep from spitting it out. “Mom.”

“Now is no time to be modest. You’re good at what you do, and it’s about time someone noticed.” She pointed her fork at herself. “I’m your mother. You should know by now I’m going to support you whenever and however I can.” Mary-Ann picked at the plate. “I’m not thrilled about you leaving again, but it’s not like you’re going to Mars.” She eyed Angela. “What do Jake and Hunter say?”

“I’ve told Hunter. He told me to come and see you and relax, I don’t have to make a decision in the next two hours.”

Her mother snorted. “Man’s got some common sense.”

Angela held back a smile, thinking of Hunter’s last culinary attempt to serve them breakfast in bed.

Those sheets would never get clean again.

“Jake’s working, so we’ll discuss it over dinner.” Angela took her time, dissecting the sweet treat. “I don’t want to distract him during work. And this is something we need to sit and discuss, not send texts back and forth while juggling basketballs or criminals or legal paperwork.”

“True. It’s still good news.” Mary-Ann let out a pleased sigh as she ate. “And it’s good to hear about Eric. Son of a bitch had it coming.”

“Mom!” Angela choked again on her mouthful of pie.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re not glad to hear his dick finally got into the wrong place and got bent out of shape.” She made a chopping motion with her free hand. “Be better if it got whacked off, but this is almost as good.”

Angela gasped, taken aback by the ferocity in her mother’s words.

Mary-Ann smiled. “Be sure to pass my comment on to your boys verbatim. Help keep them in line.” She paused and focused on Angela. “Are you going to go?”

Angela sighed, all levity gone from her mind. “I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. If I had gotten this offer six months ago—” She looked at the slice of pie, which she had dissected into a dozen smaller pieces. “I don’t know.”

Her mother reached over and touched her cheek. “You’ll make the right decision. You’ve got good instincts—listen to them. They’ve gotten you this far, and they’ll take you wherever you’re meant to go.”

Jake pulled into the driveway and cut the engine, grumbling at seeing the inch or so of snow that had accumulated on the driveway.

We’ll have to talk. I don’t mind shoveling snow, but I’d rather pay some neighborhood kid to do it for us.

A blast of hot air hit Jake’s face as he opened the front door. He had to admit, the past few months since he’d moved in with Hunter had been nice. The apartment over the bakery hadn’t felt right after Mags left, becoming a lonely wood-framed box filled with sad memories. Now he always came home to a friendly face, be it Hunter’s or Angela’s.

And they had their own memories, wonderful and loving. He couldn’t ask for a better place to be in, mentally and physically.

When he worked the night shift, he came home and slept in his own room, letting Hunter and Angela have the run of the house without worrying about waking him up. Angie owned the master bedroom and could shut the door when she wanted a little privacy. Hunter had turned his old bedroom into a study, the walls festooned with Badger posters and signs, fighting with Jake’s and Angela’s Penn State banners for the rest of the house. A small single bed was there for when the basketball coach wanted to be alone, although that was rare.

The master bedroom was where the three of them spent most nights.

Jake smiled, fond memories of the past few months rushing to the forefront of his mind. Between their activities in the bedroom and the bathroom with the new renovations, he was surprised they all weren’t drinking energy drinks nonstop.

And, speaking of the bathroom . . .

He’d been dreaming all day about a long hot shower with Angie pinned up against the shower tiles, gasping and mewing as he—

Jake swallowed hard and stepped in, shutting the door as quickly as he could.

The faster he got her undressed and over to the shower, the better.

Angela sat on the sofa, wearing a light blue sweater over a white blouse and jeans. Her legs were tucked up under her, and she cradled a pillow in her arms. One look at her face and his stomach sank, the shower fantasy shriveling up and disappearing.

“What’s wrong?” He looked over at Hunter, who stood behind her at the kitchen counter, a stack of take-out containers spread over the marble island.

Hunter gave a shake of his head and looked toward Angela.

Jake yanked off his leather trench coat and tossed it on the rack. “What’s wrong?” he repeated as he approached her. “Did something happen to you today?”

“I’m okay.” Angela didn’t stand up, didn’t move. “I got some—” She glanced over her shoulder at Hunter. “I got some odd news today. I need to talk to the two of you.”

“Oh.” He frowned, unable to interpret her expression. “Hunter got Chinese?” It seemed like the safest thing to say.

“Yep.” Hunter gestured at the plates. “More time to talk, less to clean up.”

Jake toed off his boots and headed for the kitchen. “I guess I’ll need a beer for this.”

“You will.” Hunter beat him to the fridge and handed him a frosted bottle.

“Wait. You already know the big secret?” Jake spun around and frowned at Angela. “You told him before you told me?”

“You’re a cop. You’re out there in danger every shift.” The flash of anger in her eyes startled him. “I don’t need you getting shot or in an accident because you’re not focused on your job because you’re thinking about me.”

The concern in her words embarrassed him, deflating the situation.

“Angie.” Jake opened the bottle and tossed the cap at Hunter.

Hunter caught it without comment and dumped it in the garbage.

“No.” She pointed at him. “Don’t. I worry enough about you out there; I didn’t want to add to it. Now, come sit. Hunter has the plates almost made up.”

Jake sat beside Angela, steeling himself.

She reached over and touched a blue file folder sitting on the coffee table. “I got a job offer. From a big-name firm.”

The nugget of fear in his gut dissolved. “That’s great.” He pulled her in for a kiss. “That’s fantastic news.” Jake released her and frowned. “How—Wait, how did they find you here?”

“This is Glen Barrow, not another planet.” Hunter came around the edge of the couch and handed her a plate loaded up with chow mein, egg rolls, and General Tso’s chicken. “It’s not like she went into witness protection.” He returned to the kitchen.

“Duly noted.” Jake picked up the folder and scanned the top page as Hunter returned with two more plates. “Damn. This is a lot of money.”

“Not if you live in New York City. Or Baltimore, where they want me to go first.” Angela picked up her plate and fork. “They’re willing to pay all relocation costs.”

Jake picked up his plate and speared an egg roll with a fork. “How did they find you? Why did they find you?”

“It seems Eric’s affairs finally caught up with him. The asshole got canned.” The note of glee in her voice wasn’t surprising. “Screwed one woman too far.”

“I saw an ad for that movie on the History Channel,” Hunter deadpanned.

Angela ignored him. “Anyway, when the story about his extracurricular activities broke, it broke big. This firm, they’d had their eye on me since Penn State but were on the fence about approaching me. I dropped off the grid, and they figured I snapped under the pressure, couldn’t handle the workload. But I left because of Eric, not because I was afraid of hard work.” Her voice rose as she stabbed a piece of chicken. “The bastards kept the reason I left under wraps as long as they could, keeping Eric’s screwing around a secret. But now it’s out and these people want me, want
me
back in the big city working on the big cases.” The delight in her voice was a relief to hear, easing Jake’s nerves.

“Great. So when do you leave?”

Angela dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. “They want me to start work in the New Year. They’ve arranged for me to stay in a hotel until I get an apartment. I guess the question is—when do we leave? How fast can we sell the house and pack things up here, move to Baltimore.”

The question shocked him into silence.

He hadn’t even begun to plan that far ahead. All his attention had been on Angie and her chance at redemption in her own eyes, a chance to return to the big city and her old life after her voluntary exile in Glen Barrow.

The impact on his life—on their lives—hadn’t come into focus yet.

From Hunter’s expression, it was obvious he hadn’t thought about it either.

“Angie. I can’t just up and leave town. I’m the police chief. I can put in my resignation with the town council, but it’s not good form to walk away like that.”

Hunter nodded. “Same with me. We’ve got a good team this year—I can start the process, but it’s going to be months before I can get clear. It wouldn’t be fair to the college to up and quit before they have a replacement picked out. I’d also like to help train him, get him settled at the campus.” A shadow fell over Hunter’s face. “And there’s Dad. I’ll have to transfer him to another home. Can’t leave him out here. That’s a search in itself. I’d have to find a good nursing home able to deal with him, switch doctors.”

“Okay,” Angela said. “That settles it. I’ll call Gordon tomorrow and tell him I’m staying here.”

“No. No.” Jake shook his head. “That doesn’t settle it.” He leaned over and put his hand on Angela’s shoulder. “This is what you wanted when you went to Penn State. When you graduated and moved to Philly. It’s taken a bit longer, but now you’re going to be recognized as a good lawyer, a great lawyer. Helping people who need it.” He rubbed her back. “You worked hard for this, your big chance. You can’t decide this over egg rolls.”

“Jake’s right,” Hunter added. He put his near-empty plate on the table and leaned in. “You’re being held back here in Glen Barrow. You know it and we know it.” He swept his arm around. “This is a good little town, but not for someone like you. DUI cases, paternity, maybe a few assaults when the drunks stumble out of Annie’s—it’s not what you’re destined for. You deserve better, and I’m thrilled someone’s realized it.”

“So you want me to go?” Her voice rose during the sentence almost to a shout on the last word.

“I want—” Jake glanced at Hunter, seeking confirmation. “We want the best for you. And if it means leaving us behind for a few months, that’s what we’ll have to do. We’ll cope.” He dropped his gaze to the floor, trying to untangle the invisible knot building inside him. “I’ll follow when I can. It might take some time, but I can get to Baltimore. Or New York City. But I’ll get there and I’ll be with you.”

It was hard to sound optimistic.

He wasn’t fooling himself. The odds he’d be able to follow her around the country were slim to none. He might be able to get onto a local police force, but it’d be tough to bounce from one to the other, losing his seniority with each move. There was always private security, but—