Page 93 of Operation: Valiant Angel

Wilson pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re a good person, Rae. Lilly is so lucky to have you as her new mom. Take that role in her life, just like Stella said. She needs a mom. She needs you to be that mom.”

“And you?” she asked.

“I’ll be right there with you, like I promised. While you were in there, I contacted the owner of that townhouse next to Doc and Elizabeth and I bought it.”

“Just like that?” she asked, shaking her head.

“Yes. I agreed to their price, their terms, and no contingency to sell my place. I just bought it. They’ll have their lawyer send the contract to mine with what closing date works for them.”

Rae glanced around the empty hallway. Having this conversation in the hallway outside of the jail’s interview room was all wrong. She didn’t want to plan her future here. “Not here,” she said.

Wilson understood. He chuckled. “Come on. Let’s go. Angel got us a hotel room for the night.” He twined his fingers around hers and led her out. They thanked Detective Arthur for arranging the visit. He walked them out.

Rae watched Jimmy open the door for her on the passenger side of the rental car. She was again impressed with his gentlemanly gesture. “Thank you,” she said feeling emotional.

Wilson pulled Rae into an embrace, concerned by how emotional she appeared. “Are you okay?”

“I will be,” she said. She pulled away just far enough to look into his eyes, into his beautiful blue eyes. “Jimmy, Stella and Blake would have killed Jackson.”

“Correction, they would have tried. There’s a good chance he would have killed them instead.”

The thoughts ran through her mind of the added horror that would have been inflicted on Lilly, no matter which way it would have gone. “I am even more determined now with providing Lilly a safe, normal life where none of those things touch her.”

Wilson waited a beat. “And we will, Rae. Are you doubting we can with the job I do?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s not what I was saying. The world needs more people that do the job you do, because there seemsto be an endless supply of people who do bad things. By the way, Madison said it was over a month before Hahna could sleep in a room alone. Tonight, may be our last chance for that for a while to be alone in bed.” She flashed him a suggestive smile.

He pressed his body into hers and gifted her with a lengthy kiss. When he pulled away, he said, “In that case Mizz Rachel Wilson we better get to that hotel.”

“One more thing, Jimmy. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you,” she said, a little nervous to be putting it out there.

Wilson’s lips pulled into a grin. “That’s good, because I’m pretty sure I love you too.”

“Can either of us really be sure as we haven’t even slept together?” she asked.

“You read my mind. Let’s get back to the hotel and see.”

Six Weeks Later

Rae descended the stairs to find Jimmy and Lilly in the kitchen, busy making breakfast. Lilly stood on one of the kitchen chairs that was pulled up to the counter beside Jimmy. It was their third morning waking in their new home. It was the second morning that Lilly woke up in her own bedroom after sleeping all night in it alone.

“That bacon smells so good,” Rae said. “Good morning, you two.”

“Good morning, mommy,” Lilly said.

Rae loved the sound of that. “How’d you sleep, Lilly?”

“Good,” she said with a smile.

Rae crossed the living room and greeted them both with kisses. She went to the refrigerator, where a chart was held onto it with magnets. She grabbed the sticker pack. “Pick your sticker.” She held the selection up to Lilly. She picked Belle. Rae peeled it from the others and pressed it onto Lilly’s pajama top. Lilly hopped down from the chair and pressed the star sticker Rae gave her next onto the chart beside the star reward from the prior morning for sleeping all night in her own room.

Lilly’s room was planned and the furniture and decorations bought before they took possession of the townhouse. They set it up on their first day in the new place. Her room was decorated with all her favorite Disney Princesses.

Rae pressed another kiss to Jimmy’s lips. She hadn’t slept in. They’d woke early, made love, and then she’d gotten in the shower when they saw on the monitor that Lilly was awake. “I love you,” she said after the kiss.

“I love you too,” he said, his smile hinting at how wonderful their morning tryst had been for him. The simple fact was sex with Rae was better than anything he’d experienced before in his life because he loved her. She and Lilly were his present and his future and it was a future that he looked forward to.

“Can I play with Hahna today?” Lilly asked.

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