Page 66 of So Bleak

David pulled away and frowned at her. “You gave him doughnuts?”

“Oh, hush. It was just one time.” She pulled him next to her again. “Besides, he’s a good dog. He should splurge every now and then.”

“As long as it’s just every now and then,” he agreed reluctantly.

“Of course. I have to live with him. It is very much in my best interest not to give him food that will give him gas.”

“Oh, I know. I’ve smelled those farts too.”

She burst into laughter, and David said, “What? I’m serious!”

“I know, it’s just… It’s weird to be in bed with you after… well, after, and now we’re talking about my dog’s farts. It just hit me all of a sudden. That’s not normal, is it? That’s not what normal couples talk about after sex?”

“It just means we’re very comfortable around each other. I hate to say it, babe, but we’re in a long-term relationship now. We’re out of the honeymoon stage and into the ‘hey, can you tell me if that’s a wart or a pimple’ stage.”

“Eww!” She pulled away from him. “Eww! You ruined it! No, let me go!”

He didn’t let her go, but to be fair, she didn’t put up much of a fight.

After, they both dressed and headed downstairs. There wasn’t enough night left for them to pretend sleep was a possibility, so they decided on coffee and ice cream instead. Faith insisted on making the coffee. “You always add too little,” she offered by way of explanation.

As she poured their mugs and set them next to the bowls of Neapolitan ice cream, David asked, “So have you thought about what you’re going to do when Turk retires?”

Faith’s smile faded. She hadn’t told David about her conversation with the Boss. Catching Tyler Grant and rescuing Gina Torres would be excellent press but that didn’t change the fact that West’s trial had Faith squarely under a spotlight the Bureau would very much rather she wasn’t under.

She didn’t want to bring that up yet, though. Not until she talked with the Boss and figured out what her future looked like. “Well, Turk’s coming to live with me. That’s for sure. I’ll fight whoever I need to make sure that happens.”

He frowned with concern. “You don’t think they’d try to take him from you, do you?”

“No. I can’t imagine anyone would object. It’s not common for handlers to keep their K9s after retirement, but it’s definitely not unheard of. And everyone knows Turk is my dog, not just my K9.”

“That’s good. You had me worried for a moment.”

“No need to worry, my love,” she replied, spooning some of the strawberry into her mouth. “Turk is mine for good.”

“What about you?”

“What about me? I already told you I’m yours.”

He chuckled. “I mean what about your career?”

She took a bite of chocolate and tried to compose her answer. “I don’t know.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you thinking of retiring?”

She wasn’t sure how she felt about the hope in his voice. She understood it, but she wasn’t sure she appreciated it. She didn’t want to be done.

It hit her for the first time that she meant that. She wasn’t ready to be finished. For a while she thought she would retire when Turk did and the two of them would move to the Midwest somewhere and open an auto garage. The move was off the table now. She was going to move in with David at the end of her lease if not sooner, and she wouldn’t ask him to leave his practice and move to some dinky little oil town somewhere.

But this was the first time she realized that she wanted to keep working in the field. She’d suffered her fair share of pain in this line of work, but for all the pain, all the grief, all the frustration, there was nothing in life more fulfilling than seeing the look of gratitude on the faces of people like Gina Torres when she rescued them from serial killers.

She looked at David and let her eyes travel up and down his body as he sipped his coffee. There was almost nothing in life more fulfilling.

She got out of her chair and took his coffee mug out of his hand, setting it down safely out of the way. Then she straddled him and sat on his lap, softly stroking his hair. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said, “And I really like where this is going. But… really. Are you thinking about retiring?”

“I don’t know,” she said, caressing his cheek. “I really don’t. For a while, I was sure that’s what I wanted. But I don’t think it is anymore.”

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