Key. Chapter Twelve: In his Defense

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Chapter Twelve: In his Defense

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Once again, I woke up with Jasper, and we read the newspaper while I sat on his lap. It was becoming my favorite way to enjoy breakfast. The big story on the front page this time was the possibility of snow in the next week despite spring being so close. He wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing my neck several times after we finished. Neither of us wanted to move.

“Are we going to do this every morning?” He inquired with his nose behind my ear. It tickled, making me smile. 

“Mm…” I laughed, shaking my head. “Probably not. It’s stupid early. But for a while. I like this.”

“Me too,” he agreed, kissing the back of the lobe gently. “What are you going to do today?”

“A little shopping, laundry, editing. Exciting things,” I joked as I turned in his lap to look at him in the face. “I’ll make us something nice for dinner.”

“I don’t know how late I’ll be,” he warned. The words already sounded exhausted.

I shrugged. “Just warn me when you’re on your way home. It’s not a big deal. I don’t have an early bedtime.”

“Okay,” he smiled and nodded his head. Gently, he trailed his fingers up my bare knee to the center of my thigh. “Sounds good. I’d like that.”

After he left for the day, I took a shower and cleaned up my mess from breakfast. Once again, I walked to the small shopping center just a block away. It was still in the sixties, but the wind was stronger and colder. The rain would come that evening, and gray clouds were rolling in. It was a much shorter trip than the last.

For the first time in almost a week, I was able to get some real work done on the cop story. It was nice to have a break, but I was ready to get back to it. I was itching to move on from it to focus on a new one. I had a few ideas floating around. A cheesy romance or maybe a mafia tale. I had done from the cop’s point of view. Maybe I could switch it up and try to write a bad guy.

Between making fried apples, washing laundry, starting a pork roast, and baking brownies, I was able to edit three chapters. Between each, I would stand up and do an activity or two, so I wouldn’t get too sore from sitting all day. I got more done than I expected to, and the time just flew by.

It was almost eight when Jasper texted he was done for the evening and was heading to the apartment. I was ready to start the potatoes as soon as he did, already preparing them. Twenty minutes later, I heard him speaking before his keys rattled in the door to unlock it. Then I heard Sam’s voice in reply. The walls were so thin. They seemed earnest, talking seriously about something.

It swung open, and my boyfriend was holding the knob as he stood sideways. He was still speaking, his face animated. “Yeah, I totally agree with you. I think the way they handled it was ridiculous.”

“Yes, it was,” Sam agreed, coming halfway into the doorway. He lifted his head up and took a long sniff of the air. “That smells phenomenal. How are you doing, sweetie?” He asked with a smile. We had seen each other several times and gotten to speak quite a bit since we first met at the bar. He was a nice enough guy, but he was definitely a man’s man who was rough around the edges. He reminded me of my father.

“I’m fantastic, thank you. There is more than enough if you’d like to join us. I just have to finish up the potatoes,” I replied like a good southern hostess. I was standing in front of the stove in a dollar apron I got from the thrift store. Also, I picked up a box to keep all the things I was getting and wanted to ship back to Dallas when we left.

Jasper looked up at me in surprise, but he grinned a little. His partner appeared just as shocked but very much pleased with the idea. I think they almost forgot I would be here waiting for him. “I mean, I’d love to. If it’s alright with you. I don’t want to impose,” he said to my boyfriend. “I don’t know if you had any plans tonight.” He wanted a home-cooked meal, but he also didn’t want to piss off his friend by breaking up our romantic night.

Shaking his head, he stepped inside to allow him in. “No. Please join us.”

“Great! Thanks! He has been bragging about your food for months,” Sam remarked excitedly as he took off his coat after fully stepping inside.

Walking over to me, Jasper quickly gave me a peck on the forehead. “That’s because it’s delicious.” He turned so that his back was to his friend. Then he mouthed, ‘is it really okay?’ I nodded immediately and smiled, lifting on my toes again to give him another deeper kiss on the lips. He held me close to him, his hands on my hips for a moment before he pulled away. “I’ll get changed and washed up real quick.”

After gathering his clothes, he went into the bathroom and left me alone with Sam. We both watched him go quietly.

“Beer?” I offered. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered in a thick southern drawl before plopping down on the couch. I went to the fridge and passed him the remote when I came back with it. “Damn. I see why he wants to have a regular schedule like a human now,” he joked, looking me up and down playfully as he did.

“What? Your wife doesn’t bring you a beer and the clicker every once in a while?”

He just laughed at my question. I rolled my eyes as I went into the kitchen.

I started setting stuff up on the small round table while the potatoes finished. He put on the news, the weather already playing. They were talking about snow, too. There was something about a vortex, and they were considering giving the storm a name. It seemed silly for being more than a week off. They gave a predicted model of twenty different paths, some taking it almost in the opposite direction.

Honestly, I hoped it did. I wanted to play in it. I hadn’t been in anything like a blizzard before, and I wanted to see what it was like. It snowed in Washington, but the winters were mild for the couple of years I lived there. Most of the places I settled in were super hot.

When Jasper finally emerged again, he was wearing blue jeans and a plain faded gray t-shirt. He came into the kitchen, going first to the fridge to get a beer for himself. “What do I need to do to help?” He asked as he opened it. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed a large gulp.

“Mmm…” I hummed as I mashed the potatoes. I added two big handfuls of cheese with some butter and milk. “Come here,” I whispered. He did, narrowing his eyes. He was curious about what I was going to ask for. “Give me another kiss.”

Laughing, he came to stand behind me while I worked. Lightly, Jasper kissed my neck. “This looks really nice.”

“I wanted to give you something to look forward to coming home to.”

He turned my face to the side, so I could peer into his eyes. “You’re enough,” he whispered.

“I know,” I smiled, pecking his lips. “Put some plates on the table. This is almost done.”

Sam sat down and sighed heavily as he leaned his chin back in the air. “This is so nice. Real food.”

“So that burger wasn’t real food? How about that basket of cheese fries?” Jasper joked as he sat, too.

“As much as I love the Gavel, it’s not. That’s what you eat when no one is watching.”

“That sauce was so good,” I mumbled, remembering that night as I passed out slices of pork tenderloin. “Cheesy potatoes?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered with a big smile. “Just give me a big pile of everything.”

He dug in right away. Jasper watched me make our plates with a grin. “Do you want to go back sometime?”

“Oh, my goodness! Are you asking me on a date, Dr. Hale?” I teased, putting a roll on his plate. I gave two to Sam.

Chuckling, he took a sip of his beer. “Yes, darlin, I believe I am.”

“Just like New Year’s Eve?” I questioned. He understood my meaning right away.

“Maybe not exactly,” he clarified, picking up his fork. Playfully, he winked at me. His partner didn’t see it. “There were a few elements of that evening I wouldn’t mind doing without. Like Jerry.”

Sam laughed meanly through a mouthful of food. “He’s still scared of you.”

“He should be,” I responded confidently. “That pervert only looked at my boobs.”

“In his defense,” his friend started, “that night, they were looking back.” Jasper kicked him under the table. “I’m sorry! But that dress-” He got booted again. “Hey! You talked about her titties in that dress for like twenty minutes after you got shot.” Dramatically, Sam scooted his chair back so he would miss him before glancing at me. “As soon as the drugs kicked in.”

“You are such an asshole,” Jasper laughed. “Don’t tell her that. I was out of my mind.”

Leaning in, he whispered. “And it was funny, too.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t talk about my ass,” I remarked dryly. 

His friend cackled as he brought his chair back in. “Oh, he did.”

Steadily shaking his head, he looked down at his plate with amused eyes. He cut his meat with the side of his fork, scooping up some fried apples. “I had just nearly been killed after chasing a lunatic for hours and then doped up.”

“And your first thought was to tell me was how pissed off you were that you stopped fucking for it.”

“I was mad about that, too!” I agreed loudly, and my boyfriend almost choked on his bite as he tried not to laugh. “Well, I was. I had plans! I didn’t know what I was doing would lead to all that.”

After taking a long swig of his beer, Sam took a bite of his bread. “That shit is still wild. I can’t believe you two connected the dots like that.”

Getting more serious, I asked a question that had been on my mind for months. “Has he… has he said anything about Bree Tanner?”

He shook his head. “I’m wondering if he didn’t do it, and she just… disappeared herself, you know what I’m saying? Ran away or maybe a quiet suicide.”

“It has to be him,” Jasper countered firmly.

“He’s spoken about everyone-”

“He’s fucking with the mother and us. King probably has fifty more victims he’s not telling us about.”

“No doubt,” Sam agreed. “But I don’t know about her. He’s different about her.”

Shifting in my seat, I picked at my plate for a minute. “Do you honestly think we’ll ever find out what happened?”

“Statistically? No. It’s been too long,” he answered.

“But there is always hope. We have solved older cases,” my boyfriend added and reached for my hand. “I’ve been looking into it. I’ll try to find the answer for you.”

I laughed uncomfortably. “No. Do it for her mom. I’m just curious. I can’t imagine her pain.”

Jasper sighed. “That’s what we’ve been trying to do. But if Royce did something to her, we’ll figure it out now. It’s only a matter of time before we reveal all of his lies and show him for the soulless monster that he is.”

Getting more of the potatoes, Sam shook his head. “Some folks don’t care if he’s soulless.” He scoffed. “Can you believe how many groupies this douchebag is getting?”

“What?” I said in surprise. “Groupies?”

“Hybristophilia. People who get off on fucking criminals, the worse, the better. It doesn’t seem to matter how horrible they are, there are always a few of them. But since that bastard is so pretty,” Jasper hissed out the last word. “It’s disgusting. These women are delusional if they think he would do anything other than-” He stopped himself from ranting. “They want a Clyde to their Bonnie like it’s Romeo and Juliet.”

“Both of those stories end with a lot of murder.”

“Exactly,” he declared, pointing his fork at me. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat as if he were uncomfortable himself. “To change the subject, this is great. Thank you. You haven’t made this for me before, and I really like it. These apples are excellent.”

“Me too, sweetie,” his friend quickly agreed. “Better than the pizza I was going to order. Jasper is a lucky man to have you up here, taking care of him like this.”

I felt my cheeks heat at the compliments, but I said nothing. My boyfriend took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yes, I am.”

After Sam left for the evening, it was getting rather late, so we went almost straight to bed. Jasper spooned my back, his legs twisted in between mine and his arms around my own under the many thick layers of blanket. There was a definite chill in the air. I could feel it on the tip of my nose since it was the only thing that peaked out from under the covers.

“How are you?” I asked after we got settled. It was clear neither one of us was falling asleep right away.

“I’m okay,” he replied quietly. “I talked to the therapist again today.”

“Oh? How did that go?”

“Well, he said a few interesting things that I’ve been thinking about all day.”

“Which were?” I prompted since he seemed to require it.

Jasper chuckled for a moment. “For one, he feels I need to take more control in activities outside of the office. Since I’ve experienced so much chaos in my otherwise routine environment, I need to seek it out elsewhere, apparently.”

Rolling over, I wrapped my arm around his neck. “Oh, my. I wonder how you can do that. Where, oh where, will you be able to assert your dominance safely in a non-work setting?”

Chuckling again, his hand slid down to my ass to grip it tightly before kissing me. It was so sweet how he smiled against my mouth. “Did my psychologist just tell me we’re not playing enough?”

“Honey, someone had to say it.”

He laughed loudly before kissing me. We made out there for a long time before he rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. “Today, he told me that the people who heal best from trauma usually find some purpose or meaning in the events. Realizing that something positive wouldn’t have happened if the event didn’t occur. He said that for me, it should be easy. I brought a bad guy to justice and did my job exactly how I was supposed to. But that’s not it.”

“So much good came out of-”

“I know, but for me, that’s not it.” He stopped, licking his bottom lip. “If I hadn’t been shot, we wouldn’t have spent the last few months getting closer. It showed me precisely what I wanted in the future. And it’s you. You’re my meaning. That’s why I was handling it okay when we were together, and-” he paused, swallowing heavily before kissing me again. “It’s why I feel better now. Just being around you again makes it easier to handle. You’re my hope even more now than you were before.”

He made me want to cry. Instead, I kissed him again. I wanted to show him I would make him feel better in any way I could. 

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Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

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