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He took another step toward her, but she took a step back. She wasn’t ready to be that close to him. “What happened?” He asked.
Her glimpse of the future is what happened. Of course, she couldn’t tell him that.
“Dallas Police Department,” two officers came charging in. “Hands where we can see them.”
Hallie and Caden raised their hands in the air. “I’m the owner,” Hallie said. “I was working late when it happened.”
They turned to Caden. “FBI Special Agent Caden Dobbs. I can show you my badge.” They nodded and he lowered his arms and produced his badge. “And I can vouch for her. She is Hallie Owens, the owner of this store.”
“All right,” one officer said. “I’ll still need to see some I.D. before I contact the alarm company.”
“In my bag,” Hallie pointed toward the counter. “It’s under the register in the cabinet.”
One of the officers gestured for her to go ahead and get it. He followed behind, then stood at the counter, his weapon still pointed at her as she reached for her bag. “Place the bag on the counter, then open it slowly.”
She did as she was told and offered him the now unzipped bag. “It’s in the black wallet on the side.”
The officer reached in and pulled out her wallet, then glanced at her driver’s license. “All right. Ms. Owens, we’re glad you weren’t hurt.” He holstered his weapon and nodded to his partner who stepped out, likely to contact the alarm company. “So, can you tell me what happened here?”
“I’m not sure,” she answered. “I was doing my taxes at the register here when I saw a baseball bat coming through the window. I freaked out and ran to the back office where I hid the whole time. I know it makes me a coward, but -”
Caden stepped toward her. “No. It makes you smart. And safe. And alive.” He bit out. “I am so fucking happy that you took such quick and decisive action. Did you see them at all before you hid?”
Hallie shook her head. She was glad she hadn’t or else it would be one more thing to plague her sleepless nights.
“Did you call anyone else?” The officer asked, gesturing to Caden.
She looked at him confused. “I didn’t call anyone. I stupidly forgot my phone by the register when I bolted.”
“You’re alive, Hallie. Nothing you did that led to this moment was stupid. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it was amazing.” Caden pulled out his own cell phone and sent off a text message.
“Who are you texting?” She asked, before thinking better of it, since it was likely none of her business.
“Garrett. He has a barn full of plywood we can use to board up your windows, and as a Texas Ranger, he can take your statement and maybe speed things up for you here. No offense, guys,” he said to the officers.
“Thanks,” she managed to say, then turned her back to him and mindlessly started rifling through her purse. She didn’t know what she was looking for - lip gloss, her cellphone, an Aspirin, it didn’t matter. She was precariously close to losing it. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and seeing Caden here now, being so nice to her, calling his friend for her, was almost more than she could handle.
“Hallie?” The blaring alarm finally turned off, leaving just the sounds of footsteps over glass. Caden’s soft voice barely registered in her dazed mind as she tried to pull herself together. She still had hours worth of work to do on her taxes, but those would have to wait until tomorrow. She’d file an extension if she had to. “Hallie,” Caden repeated. She turned and was surprised to find him standing right behind her. “Let me help,” he said.
“I’m fine, really. I just need to put this stuff back so I can make sense of it tomorrow.” It was getting harder to fight back the tears, especially when Caden put his hands on her waist and pulled her back into him. She turned in his arms and he gently pressed her head to his chest. It was just as well since she didn’t want to look him in the eye, still determined to not let him see her like this. “You never did tell me what you’re doing here,” she said.
His one hand caressed up and down her back, while the other gently held her head against him. “I wanted to see you. I had to see you.” His voice cracked. “I missed you so much.”
She sighed, and his arms tightened around her. “I’m sorry I ran off on you like that.” She’d waited almost three weeks to say those words to him. There was no way she could hold them back now.
“Don’t worry about it. And for the record, if you decide to run off on me again, I will come find you this time. No excuses.” The seriousness in his tone shifted something inside her and she laughed.
Actually laughed, despite her store being in shambles, her windows shattered and glass shards everywhere, this man had her laughing. For the first time since he’d walked back into her life, Hallie looked up and met his gaze. “Hi,” she whispered.
He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but instead, he lowered his head and gently kissed her. First the top lip, then the bottom one, and when her body threatened to combust from him touching her again, she opened for him and he plunged into her mouth like a starving man who hadn’t eaten in weeks. His tongue caressed every part of her mouth and danced with her tongue in a delicious tango until a low moan filled with pure need escaped the back of her throat. He deepened the kiss and she savored these moments. It almost felt like a dream. What this man did to her went beyond words. And that kiss was even better than the first one, if that was even possible. “Wow,” she whispered, just like the last time.
He rested his forehead on hers, his eyes closed as he held her to him. “I missed you so much, Hales. So damn much. And there’s so much I want to tell you, but for now, I just want you to know that I’m not going anywhere.”
“Hales?” She asked, ignoring his promise. After disappearing from her life for weeks, she could hardly take them to heart right now.
He smiled weakly, still holding her. “Is that okay?”
She thought about it for a second. “It does have a nice ring to it, though no one has ever called me that before.”
