Page 66 of Out of Sight

“That’s right. We’ll still have protective orders to watch your apartments until the threat is well and truly over, but you’ll be free to go back to San Francisco and live your life however you want. I don’t recommend working for any more mobsters, however,” he joked.

“Back to the Bay, huh,” Will said, looking out the window.

“But you have to stay on the straight and narrow,” Blake warned. “Find some other job—any other job—that is legal and you pay taxes with.”

“Will’s going to be a personal trainer,” I said with pride. “I’ll build him a website and help him file his business paperwork, but it won’t be long until he can make a fresh start.”

“That’s a decent plan,” Blake agreed. “I know you went to school for all that computer crap. Are you going to start your own business too? Web development? There’s lots of opportunities for both those types of gigs in the city.”

“Bakersfield,” Will interrupted.

“Bakersfield? What do you mean?” I asked, whipping my head around to him.

“I know you want to go back to San Francisco, but I have to go back down to Bakersfield after this. I’m going to do right by Kaylie, and to do that I have to be near her.”

He looked up and met my eyes. Was he really breaking up with me, right here in front of Agent Blake?

“Can you give us a minute?” I asked Blake, not taking my eyes off Will. I heard him make some flimsy excuse and shuffle outside.

“I’m so sorry, Claire,” he began, but I cut him off.

“No,” I told him firmly. “Just wait.”

“But-”

“Don’t make me start throwing things at you again,” I threatened, grabbing random things off the small table near me.

He wisely shut up when I threatened him with the empty bedpan. I paused to get my thoughts together.

“You love me, but you want to be near Kaylie,” I asserted.

“I do. I’m so sorry. But I’ve neglected her and left her without anyone for way too long. And Bakersfield, well, it sucks, honestly. I would never ask you to give up the city like that.”

“Fair assessment,” I answered vaguely. “If you hate it there so much, why go back? I mean, why not bring Kaylie up north when everything is settled?”

“The Bay Area is too expensive, Claire. Even if I can make good money, the care facilities just cost too much money. I could never afford to do it all myself.”

He looked ashamed to admit as much, but it wasn’t his fault. Almost no one could afford to live alone in San Francisco, let alone afford around-the-clock care for another person. It made sense from his point of view, but he wasn’t factoring everything into his calculations.

“But you do love me, don’t you?” I clarified.

“Yes,” he said emphatically, taking my hands in his. “I know I told you I was all in, and I meant it, but she needs me right now and-”

“Okay then,” I cut him off. “We’ll make it work.”

“Long distance?” he questioned. “I think I’m a little too high maintenance for that, Claire. I’d need to be with you, in person, and more often than you or I would be able to get away.”

“Who needs long distance when we can just split the expenses down the middle?”

He pulled back to look at me.

“Blake’s right. A web developer can make serious bank, so between our budgets I think we could afford a decent place locally for Kaylie. But what would she think? Would she like to come up to the bay?”

“Claire, this is a serious commitment. I wouldn’t be able to afford to keep her at a local facility if we break up or you find something else you’d like to spend your money on.”

“It’s like you said, Will: I’m all in.” I held his hands in mine. “Your family is my family. You jump, I jump, Jack.”

“I love you,” he confirmed.

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