“You’re damn near perfect. You don’t know what it’s like.” She wasn’t angry with Cole, she was just angry period. She was angry that she had to live in fear. Angry that Stewart was rotting away in prison simply because he had been her friend. Angry that she had no control over her life whatsoever! She was tired. Tired of running. Tired of being afraid. Tired of living only half a life! This tiny taste of heaven with Cole made her want so much more and it just wasn’t fair that it would only be for a fleeting moment. She knew without a doubt that the time would come when she would have to run once again. Start yet another new life. Hide from who she had become.
“We all have our demons, Katherine,” Cole said, his voice low. “I’m no Saint; believe me.”
“You’re a cop. You’ve spent your life saving and protecting others,” she argued, and Cole felt that familiar wrenching to his gut.
“I’d like to believe that, but nobody’s infallible. We all make mistakes. I used to work with Ray,” he said so quietly that she had to strain to hear him. “I was fresh out of the Academy and my first job was on the force in Seattle. Ray was stuck with me as his partner,” he laughed softly, his voice filled with genuine affection. “We got a call that there was a man trying to break into some apartments,” he took a breath. “When we got there, we found one of the apartment doors ajar…” she felt his body tense and held her breath, sensing how hard this was for him. “When we walked in, he came at us from one of the bedrooms.”
Katherine leaned up on her elbow so that she could look at him, and the pain that she saw in his eyes nearly did her in. It was raw and deep. “What happened, Cole?”
“He had a gun in his hand…so, I took the shot.” He squeezed his eyes shut, his features tense as he re-lived it once more. “He was just a seventeen year old kid,” he rasped, and Katherine felt her eyes filling with tears. “Just a damn kid. The damn gun wasn’t even loaded. I hit him in the leg, his artery, and, he bled out…fast. So damned fast. I was told that it was justifiable. He was aiming right for Ray but...” He shook his head and the look on his face broke her heart into a million tiny little pieces.
“Cole, you were trying to save Rays life,” she whispered. “There was no way that you could have known that the gun wasn’t loaded.”
“I never wanted to have to shoot a kid,” he choked out, his voice thick with emotion. “It hit me hard. I just couldn’t get that boys face out of my head. If I had just hit him in the arm… but I was brash and arrogant and didn’t think; I just reacted. It affected Ray and me in a lot of different ways. Not long after that, he left and took the job as Sheriff, and I came here. I needed to get out of a big city. I needed to get away from children carrying guns,” he said softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close. Wanting so much to take his pain from him. “I let that boy down. I could have shot him anywhere else. I just wanted to stop him. I reacted much too fast and made a decision that I’ll regret the rest of my life. So…I know about guilt, Katherine,” he said, his own arms sliding around her and pulling her closer. “I know how damn debilitating it can be. How it can eat away at you until there’s nothing left.”
She didn’t say a word; she merely pressed her lips against his softly, tenderly; trying to convey everything that she couldn’t say. But it was only a moment later that it changed. It became deep, desperate, and Katherine gave herself over to the feel of this man. Life .
They both had their demons, but together they seemed to chase them away with one simple touch. It was almost as if they were healing each other.
Katherine moved her body with the grace of a dancer as she straddled his hips, her mouth on his, and she braced her hands on his chest, kneading that steely muscle beneath her
“We all have our demons, Katherine,” Cole said, his voice low. “I’m no Saint; believe me.”
“You’re a cop. You’ve spent your life saving and protecting others,” she argued, and Cole felt that familiar wrenching to his gut.
“I’d like to believe that, but nobody’s infallible. We all make mistakes. I used to work with Ray,” he said so quietly that she had to strain to hear him. “I was fresh out of the Academy and my first job was on the force in Seattle. Ray was stuck with me as his partner,” he laughed softly, his voice filled with genuine affection. “We got a call that there was a man trying to break into some apartments,” he took a breath. “When we got there, we found one of the apartment doors ajar…” she felt his body tense and held her breath, sensing how hard this was for him. “When we walked in, he came at us from one of the bedrooms.”
Katherine leaned up on her elbow so that she could look at him, and the pain that she saw in his eyes nearly did her in. It was raw and deep. “What happened, Cole?”
“He had a gun in his hand…so, I took the shot.” He squeezed his eyes shut, his features tense as he re-lived it once more. “He was just a seventeen year old kid,” he rasped, and Katherine felt her eyes filling with tears. “Just a damn kid. The damn gun wasn’t even loaded. I hit him in the leg, his artery, and, he bled out…fast. So damned fast. I was told that it was justifiable. He was aiming right for Ray but...” He shook his head and the look on his face broke her heart into a million tiny little pieces.
“Cole, you were trying to save Rays life,” she whispered. “There was no way that you could have known that the gun wasn’t loaded.”
“I never wanted to have to shoot a kid,” he choked out, his voice thick with emotion. “It hit me hard. I just couldn’t get that boys face out of my head. If I had just hit him in the arm… but I was brash and arrogant and didn’t think; I just reacted. It affected Ray and me in a lot of different ways. Not long after that, he left and took the job as Sheriff, and I came here. I needed to get out of a big city. I needed to get away from children carrying guns,” he said softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close. Wanting so much to take his pain from him. “I let that boy down. I could have shot him anywhere else. I just wanted to stop him. I reacted much too fast and made a decision that I’ll regret the rest of my life. So…I know about guilt, Katherine,” he said, his own arms sliding around her and pulling her closer. “I know how damn debilitating it can be. How it can eat away at you until there’s nothing left.”
She didn’t say a word; she merely pressed her lips against his softly, tenderly; trying to convey everything that she couldn’t say. But it was only a moment later that it changed. It became deep, desperate, and Katherine gave herself over to the feel of this man. Life .
They both had their demons, but together they seemed to chase them away with one simple touch. It was almost as if they were healing each other.
Katherine moved her body with the grace of a dancer as she straddled his hips, her mouth on his, and she braced her hands on his chest, kneading that steely muscle beneath her
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