Page 94 of So Right
He cupped the back of her head and kissed her. “Not at all. I think you’re human and amazing.”
She tipped her forehead against his. “I love you.”
He massaged her nape. “I love you too.”
The door opened, breaking them apart. Officers Talbot and Hendricks came inside and stood at the other end of the table.
“So what the heck are you both doing here?” Hendricks asked, looking bemused. “We looked at the video and saw quite a show.”
Luke let go of Kelsey’s neck and held her hand tight.
Talbot set his hands on his hips. “Miss McDade, the video shows Putnam talking to you at your car. We could see that he reached in through the car window. Then you backed up and left. He spent the next several minutes pacing around the parking lot and waving his hands. He looked quite agitated.”
“I’m fairly certain he was drunk,” Kelsey said.
“Good to know, though the toxicology report will tell us for sure,” Hendricks said. “He started walking along the edge of the parking lot, at the top of that steep slope down to the river. Then he fell over the edge.”
Relief exploded inside Luke. “He fell on the rock?”
“That, or he fell and then you went and hit him with a rock. Are we really going to find your fingerprints on it?”
Some of Luke’s apprehension returned. “I’m afraid so. But only because I picked it up when I found him. I saw the blood and just touched it without thinking. Sorry for messing with your crime scene.”
The officers exchanged looks. “Well, we can’t see what happened after he fell, but once we process everything, we should be able to confirm what happened. In the meantime, we’d like it very much if neither one of you left town.”
“No problem, Officers,” Kelsey said. “Ribbon Ridge is my home. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
Luke sent her a sidelong glance, and she’d turned to smile at him. They looked at each other with love. “Same here,” he said.
Talbot inhaled sharply. “All right, then. You can both go whenever you’d like. But Westcott?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t pick up bloody rocks or go off hitting guys in bars, okay? It doesn’t look too good. Even when the guy’s a felon.”
Luke saluted. “Yes, sirs.”
The cops shook their heads at him, Hendricks with a faint smile, before they turned and left.
Luke stood, pulling Kelsey up with him. “Shall we go?”
“Yes, please.”
“Where? Do you want to go to your apartment?”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “To your house.Home.”
Emotions roiled through him, but he clung to the one he wanted to feel most—love. He kissed her again before escorting her out.
When they got home, Kelsey was beyond exhausted, but she asked Luke if they could invite her grandmother over. Kelsey had weathered so much on her own, and now that she had family close, she wanted to embrace it.
Luke hadn’t minded at all. They’d also decided to include Cam since Brooke had texted to check on Kelsey multiple times since the incident at the pub the night before.
After running to the market to fetch supplies, Kelsey threw together a salad and some scalloped potatoes while Luke roasted a pork loin. As she set the table, she realized it was the first time they were entertaining as a couple. She smiled at the thought.
Brooke and Cam arrived first, with an excellent bottle of wine, naturally. Brooke hugged Kelsey tight. “I’m so sorry to hear about everything that happened.” Her brow creased as she rubbed Kelsey’s shoulder.
Kelsey knew that Luke had talked to his brother after they’d gotten home and given him the scoop. “It’s been an exhausting day.”
