She glanced at Grayson. “He’s getting the bond money for Billy.”
“But he’ll share it with you,” Grayson’s dad said.
Grayson smiled at Kendra and nodded.
“Thanks,” Kendra said. “We’re heading back to Kalispell in hopes of catching Younger.”
“Okay, be safe.”
“If you need help with a fugitive, let me know,” Grayson said.
“Me also,” Kendra said and smiled at Grayson.
Then they ended the call, and Grayson said, “We need to make this official.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I’ve been helping you with cases, and you’ve been helping me with cases. I’m all for continuing the effort and…more.”
“More?”
He rubbed his chin and took a deep breath. “If we were regular people, I would have bought you a ring already. But because we’re shifters and don’t wear jewelry, we don’t have that quaint option.”
“But?” She was trying to be totally serious when he was having such a difficult time making his point.
“No buts. I want you to be my mate. Will you be?” He looked so hopeful that she would agree and not make him work any harder to ask her to mate him.
She chuckled, expecting that if they did this sometime soon or in the future, Grayson would have asked her out to a nice dinner or watched the sunset with her from her back deck, as it cast orange, pink, and golden light across the lake. “Oh, absolutely. We’re not going to really be looking for anyone right now, are we?”
He smiled. “We’re going to a restaurant to celebrate. Where would you like to go?”
20
Glad Grayson planned to take Kendra out to dinner to celebrate asking her to mate him, she didn’t have to think long about where she wanted to go. “What about that really nice steak restaurant in Kalispell on the golf course. The Royal Cut Steakhouse? I would love that.”
“You got it.” He smiled at her as if he knew she would choose that restaurant. It was pricey, but it was for the most important of causes.
He drove into Kalispell and headed to the restaurant. After parking in the crowded parking lot, they went inside.
She was amused that Grayson didn’t seem to be a romantic at heart. Not that she blamed him. He seemed to decide on something, and that was it. He wasn’t one to take a long time to think things through and then plan them out.
She was like that too. She thought it was because of the kind of work they did, where they had to drop everything and go after a fugitive as soon as they learned where he or she might be. He seemed to make plans on the spur of the moment, ever since she had met him.
White lights hung from the roofline at the log cabin restaurant, and extra lighting was on the deck, where additional seating with blue umbrellas overlooked a golf course. Pine trees surrounded the restaurant. A landscaped patio was at the entrance.
Inside the restaurant, a long bar covered one wall, and cloth-covered tables sat along the windows and in the middle of the tile floors. The walls were paneled in wood, and wood beams crossed the ceiling, with crystal lights hanging from them. It was rustic chic. Large paintings of the mountains and the steakhouse in all seasons were featured on the walls. A fireplace surrounded by tile and stone added to the restaurant's hominess and beauty.
Steaks and shrimp grilling in the kitchen filled the restaurant with a mouth-watering aroma.
The restaurant was packed, both inside and out. To her surprise, Grayson gave his name to the hostess, and they were seated right away at a reserved table overlooking the golf course.
“You made a reservation? When?” She couldn’t have been more surprised.
“Last night, while you were showering.”
“But we had to take down Billy this morning. What if we hadn’t captured him in time?” She was rethinking her opinion of Grayson, who she had thought was not romantically inclined.
“I made three reservations for the day.”
