Page 70 of Defending Casey

Casey saw the pendant. “It’s gorgeous.”

“It’s probably not something you’d normally wear, but it’s not just a pendant. It’s a tracker.”

Her eyes widened at his words. “A what?”

“It’s something the men who work for the Brotherhood Protectors give our women.”

He opened the clasp carefully and she turned so that he was at her back.

“It’s got a GPS tracker in it. In case anything happens,” she heard a hitch in his voice, “in case I need to find you, I can find you as long as you’re wearing this.”

When she felt his hands release the necklace she turned back around to look at him, her fingers touching the gold pendant hesitantly. “Do you think I’m going to need this?”

Casey saw his Adam’s apple move under his skin and she could sense the subtle shift in his emotions.

“I hope not. I pray you won’t, but I need to know that if something happens that I’ll have a way of finding you.” He continued on as if the subject were as discomfiting for him as it was for her. “I have a matching pendant for Nora. A shorter chain, but it has the same tracker for her.”

A rush of panic made Casey’s heart pound in an unfamiliar rhythm. It was one thing to consider needing one for herself, but for Nora? Casey couldn’t imagine what kind of terror it would be to lose Nora for any reason.

“She doesn’t have an allergy to gold, does she?”

The question shocked her out of her thoughts. “No. No allergy that we’ve come across. But,” she winced a little, “I don’t think she’ll be able to wear it to school.”

“School?” Hale was more than a little confused. “Why not?”

Casey sighed. “It was a new rule when Nora started there. A family had just moved to the area from Denver, and they were quite wealthy. Their daughter wore an expensive bracelet to school for Show and Tell. Sometime between that event and going home it was lost. For two days the children searched the grass on the playground, but it was gone. The girl’s mother threatened to sue the school and make them pay to replace the jewelry, but the family’s insurance company paid for it. Since then, no one is allowed to bring anything of real monetary value.”

Hale took a moment to worry on it. “I’ll contact Hank and see if there’s another way to take care of it. I know we’ll have to figure it out before Nora becomes a big sister.”

He traced his finger along the chain and smoothed his fingertip along her skin, making her breathless with just a simple touch.

Tammy bounced up at that moment, but he wasn’t worried about things with Casey. They’d started to clear the air and when he got her alone, they’d talk about it more.

He didn’t want her to have to bear the attention of the town when he could and should bear an equal amount of their attention, their speculation.

Sure, she had her father and her friends, but for all of the years that they’d been apart, she was the only one people could focus on when it came to rumors about their relationship.

It was high time he put himself between her and the rest of the world. Someday he’d be happy to share that because he knew Casey could give as good as she got, but since she’d been doing it mostly on her own while he’d been gone, he was going to take the weight onto his shoulders as much as he could for a long, long time.

Hale took out his credit card and Casey reached for the zipper on her purse. What happened was as predictable as it was frustrating. He’d already told her he was footing the bill, but he knew he’d have to remind her.

And he did.

Leaning in close, he whispered to her. “All these years, except for the basics that I needed to spend to keep holes out of my socks and my life moving forward, I’ve hardly spent a dime knowing I’d need to put down roots. So I’m paying to put furniture into a house where my wife and our children are going to live. Let me, Case. Please.”

He could feel the warmth of her touch and her smile. “Okay…”

Tammy was eating it up. She was watching them with a bright smile and wide eyes. “You two are sooo adorbs! With the heat passing between you,” she fanned at her face with a clipboard, “I’m glad we have AC here at work!”

She held out the clipboard and Hale saw a delivery information form along with an invoice for the furniture. While he filled out the information, he snuck glances over at Casey. She was walking slowly around the crib, touching the smooth pale wood with her fingertips. Her smile said she was daydreaming, and he felt like he was in heaven.

At least he knew where to find it when they were ready.

He slipped the credit card under the clip and turned it around to hand it to Tammy.

Tammy looked back up at him. “Oh, I forgot to ask if you wanted the delivery guys to put it together for you, or…”

Hale shook his head. “I’ve got it. My friends said they’d help me.”

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