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She was so preoccupied that she didn’t see the figure until the person was right on her. She went into survival mode and swung. “Easy Detective, easy, it’s me.”
“Riley!” Her body gave out on her, just went limp in his arms as he reached out to catch her.
“What’re you doing here?”|
“The road to the farm is kinda dark at night; I figured I’d come follow you home.” Celia didn’t know that she was this tired or this despondent, but just having him there, having his loving arms around her, seemed to release something inside her, and the stalwart detective found herself doing something she never thought herself capable of, she broke.
“What’s this?” Riley wrapped his arms tighter around her when he heard the first muffled sniffle. His heart ached for her because although he didn’t know the whole story, he’d heard enough bits and pieces while he’d been sitting inside earlier to know that it wasn’t pretty.
It’s times like these that he hated her job and gave serious thought to sabotaging it. It’s only because he knew how much she loved doing what she did that he held off. He knew she wouldn’t want anyone to see her like this, so he lifted her in his arms in the dark and took her to his truck.
Celia snapped out of it long enough to protest, “What about my truck?”
“I’ll drive you back tomorrow; you’re in no condition to drive detective, so don’t even think about fighting me on this.” He put her in the passenger seat and belted her in before walking around to the driver’s side.
Celia couldn’t believe she was being such a baby in front of him, but when he climbed behind the wheel and took her hand in his, kissing her fingers before turning the key in the ignition, that was the last straw.
Riley gritted his teeth and drove just a little bit over the speed limit as she bawled her eyes out beside him. His gut tied itself in knots as he navigated his way through the streets to home. Thankfully there was no one else on the street this late at night, which is one of the reasons he’d come after her.
He doubted she’d eaten anything since the lunch he’d brought her, and it was way past dinnertime. Riley knew he was catching at straws, hanging onto anything to keep his mind off the fact that she was distraught. He never knew that a woman’s tears could leave him feeling so gutted.
Celia meanwhile was trying valiantly to get a grip on her emotions. She honestly didn’t think the situation had gotten to her this much. Sure, while she’d sat for the last several hours going over every minute detail of his life with Stella with Don, she’d felt uneasy and more than a little sick. But until she saw Riley and felt all the emotions he usually emotes in her; she didn’t know that she was this upset.
“I’m sorry!” Celia repeatedly apologized, which only made Riley more uncomfortable. So much so that he stopped the truck and pulled her into his arms. Sex was the last thing on his mind since he had a pretty good idea what it was that was bothering her so much, and he found himself gritting his teeth not to say something about her job.
He kept quiet and let her cry it out, soaking his shirt in the process, which he did not mind. When she was over the sniffles, Riley kissed her hair and put her back in her seat before starting the drive again. She’d stopped crying, but somehow that didn’t stop him from feeling as bad as he did.
Once they reached the house, Riley went straight to the kitchen and heated up her dinner after seating her at the table. Celia watched him move around the kitchen, getting comfort from the quiet and the fact that he didn’t question her or passed judgment on her mental breakdown.
Riley took the fake steak dinner she’d asked for and placed it in front of her with a glass of wine. “I’ll run you a bath, take your time. I’ll come get you when it’s ready.” He kissed the top of her head again before leaving the room and heading up the stairs to take care of her bath.
Celia dug into her food, suddenly ravenous. She pushed work from her mind for now, not willing to let what she’d learned tear her heart out any more than it already had. Easier said than done. Each time she blinked, she heard the words of a young boy who’d been abused in a very horrible way.
She doubted Don even realized the severity of what he’d endured until he was relaying the story to her. Stella had refused a lawyer since Don couldn’t represent her and had clammed up completely, so nothing was forthcoming from that quarter.
